Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 752

The shattered edge of Idgal gleamed, catching the light. It grazed Ian’s cheek, leaving a paper-thin scratch.

‘Idgal has a shadow?’ Golden and crimson eyes glared at each other, ready to devour. A massive aura rippled around them. The mages and Berik could only watch Ian, unable to approach.

“If that’s the case-”

‘If Idgal has a shadow, then I must have one too. Is that you? Just as the god sent me, didn’t the shadow send you? I’d say that’s a correct deduction.’

Ian used his core strength to push away the king’s attack.

Wham-!

“Let’s see if you can keep up.”

Ian’s other fist flew towards Kumasha’s face. It was so fast it almost looked like teleportation.

Kumasha’s eyes widened, but the child reflexively ducked, barely avoiding the attack.

Thud!

As if expecting it, Ian slammed his knee into the child’s chest, then grabbed his hair with his other hand and slammed him against the wall.

Crash!

The palace shook, and a dust storm swirled. The mages glanced up as plaster dust fell from the ceiling. If the battle continued like this, the entire palace would soon collapse.

“Haa, haa…”

Ian panted, creating distance from the king. Just as the illusion magic tried to ensnare him again, a faint vibration followed.

The mages sensed something was amiss and focused their gaze on the floor.

“L-Lord Ian.”

“…It’s an earthquake.”

An earthquake.

They knew better than anyone the correlation between this, the rifts, and the appearance of monsters. It had been the same in the northern Great Monster Zone and in the capital of Cliford.

Ian frowned, as if annoyed.

‘The power is getting stronger.’

It wasn’t about the physical force of the attacks. It was the momentum, or the aura. He could subtly feel something invisible empowering the child. He didn’t know if the child felt it too.

“…Set up a barrier.”

Ian commanded after a moment of silence.

If there was a passage connected to a rift in this underground area, then the best course of action was to seal this place off completely. To completely cut it off from the outside, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.

But if they did that, everyone here would die. They would have to drop their individual shields. It was practically an order to commit suicide.

Whirr! Whirr!

But the mages, without a moment’s hesitation, expanded their shields to support the palace ceiling. This left more openings for the king’s ‘invisible attacks’ to slip through, but there was no other way.

“Reinforce the connection to the floor!”

“Captain Hale! I’ll take care of this side!”

If a rift were to open from the underground, they would be the first line of defense.

While the mages were separating the palace, or more precisely, the massive hall they were in, into an independent space, Berik gripped his sword tightly, his nerves on edge. His sword was the only means of protecting the mages.

“Berik! Stay focused and protect us!”

“Shut up! You’re distracting me!”

“You’re a funny one. We’re the ones using the power, why are you so worked up!”

Whirring!

The barrier grew stronger, taking shape. It was the same one they had set up when Rutherford had invaded the palace. A solid barrier where those outside couldn’t hear those inside, and those inside couldn’t leak their situation to the outside.

“…Damn it.”

Berik frowned, as if a bad memory had surfaced.

Meanwhile, Ian continued to clash his sword against the red Idgal, thinking.

‘If I get close, illusions appear, and if I keep my distance, he’s hard to catch. He’s perfectly receiving the power of Idgal.’

A tricky opponent.

‘There seems to be a condition for forming the shadow.’

What could it be? Figuring that out was the priority.

‘If I think of it like puppetry…’

The first condition for a puppeteer’s attack is that the ‘timeline’ must be the same. The second is that the target’s ‘space’ must be visualized. If you exclude the secondary conditions and look at the big picture, that’s it.

‘Then, wouldn’t creating a shadow be similar?’

Ian thought of Philia. Toloon hadn’t tried to bring his mother to his base.

‘Spatial restriction.’

That meant it could only happen in the palace or the temple, those two spaces.

‘What about the timeline?’

Besides sharing the present, what else could Kumasha and he have in common?

“Ah.”

Ian suddenly exclaimed, as if he had realized something.

He was connected by the god, and Kumasha by the shadow, so they had been sharing a timeline since before they were born.

‘It’s becoming more and more similar.’

Kumasha, having blocked Ian’s attack, countered with a similar movement. The child’s eyes grew colder, and his swordsmanship was becoming more refined.

If Ian were to use magic here-

‘…I don’t know.’

He couldn’t be sure of victory.

Didn’t the monsters that mimicked mages show some power, even if only for a moment? There was a possibility that Kumasha could perfectly replicate him.

The more he thought about it, the more troublesome it became. Ian continuously created and shattered Idgal, aiming for the king’s heart.

Swish!

‘One strike.’

That might be the answer for now. To end it in one go before the opponent could copy him.

Ian stood firm and threw the Idgal in his hand to the ground.

Clang!

The Idgal shattered into pieces.

The mages supporting the barrier looked at Ian, wondering what was going on. But when they saw their superior reverently clasp his hands and draw a magic circle, they felt their hearts drop.

‘He’s, he’s drawing a magic circle.’

‘We’re, we’re dead.’

You, me, and all of us.

Every time Ian drew the formula of a magic circle, not a chant, he showed his limits. And sometimes, he surpassed them, creating new standards. That is, a standard of power that far exceeded the common sense of a mage.

Hale spat out the cigarette he was holding and shouted.

“Hold on!”

Whirr! Whirr!

As the magic circle glowed, Ian’s hair fluttered lightly. The king simply watched, holding Idgal, then slightly curled his lips. It was a smile that could have meant he was amused or that he had been waiting for this.

「Myriad Stars」.

The world turned dark.

Everything except their own bodies was submerged in darkness.

The mages pretended not to see their own faintly glowing bodies and closed their eyes, while Berik slightly opened his mouth. It was as if they were in the middle of space. Countless tiny, sparkling things filled the world.

“Whoa-”

Their admiration was short-lived-

It began to slowly rotate clockwise, like a meteor shower. Kumasha rushed towards Ian, who was chanting, and Berik blocked his path.

Swish!

Boom! Bang!

As if reacting to the sound, the swirling meteors gathered and grew larger. They were falling towards them. Slowly, but surely. Their trajectory was aimed at the king.

“…Ian Verosian.”

The king pulled out the red Idgal. He was ready to cut down the meteors. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but he had no intention of standing still and dying. If he could endure and overcome this, he would then smash a meteor into your head.

“Ian!”

Berik stood in front of Ian, who was still muttering magic spells, and twisted his sword.

And then-

Whoosh-!

“It’s coming.”

The dark world became blindingly bright, as if it was being erased.

Kumasha endlessly created Idgal, blocking his path. But the meteor pressed down with increasing force. Like a child’s petty prank, trying to crush an ant. Like the needle attack he had launched at the Bariel army.

“Farewell.”

As Berik said that, everything was erased without a trace.

Ian also frowned, and everyone else naturally turned their heads and closed their eyes. It was such a powerful light that it felt like it would steal everything if they didn’t.

“… !”

At that moment, something foreign caught Ian’s eye. In the bright world, something dark was gradually seeping in.

It was a shadow. There was no need to wonder whose it was. It was Kumasha’s.

Swish!

The child’s shadow stretched out, becoming so large that it filled the space.

It was darkness itself. With a light gesture, it blocked the meteor. The endless light began to fade, and the darkness filled the mages’ barrier.

Crack-!

“Uh!”

“No! Hold on!”

Its power thrashed wildly, trying to break through the barrier. Berik lowered his stance, protecting Ian by sticking close to him.

Thump thump thump-

Thud!

The building itself vibrated, as if it was twisting, along with the earthquake. The mages continued to struggle to block the darkness, but it was a meaningless resistance. It was the moment Ian raised his head.

Crackkk-!

Clang!

The barrier was completely shattered. The palace ceiling was torn off, and darkness and Ian’s light flowed out through the gaps, mixing together. It was like a trapped wind finding its freedom, stretching out wildly.

“…”

Ian slowly looked up at it. It had a human form, but it couldn’t be called human, and it had the form of a monster, yet it evoked a sense of awe.

“…That, that’s the god’s shadow.”

Berik, who had been blocking Ian, muttered. It was a fact they could intuitively understand without anyone saying it. Ian, that was what you faced in the abyss, and the true history of all the events that had led to this.

The thing’s head moved slightly, looking down. That small movement made everyone’s body freeze. It was the natural reaction of insignificant beings witnessing a transcendent existence. It was primal fear.

“Ha-”

It was on a different level from the chaos that had come out of the belly of the secret-eating gypsy. The mages all took a step back with terrified faces, watching its movements.

-Ian Verosian.

A reverberation that made their hearts stop.

Ian slowly rose to his feet. Unlike the mages, he was slightly smiling.

“As expected of a shadow, your actions are laughable.”

Just as the god had helped Ian when the shadow tried to swallow him in the abyss, the shadow had stepped in when Ian tried to swallow Kumasha on the earth.

Ian nodded, as if it was a good thing.

“I won’t let you get away this time.”

* * *

At the same time that light and darkness leaked from the palace, the strange silence was broken.

They didn’t know yet. The reason why no presence had been felt inside the palace was all thanks to the mages’ barrier.

Of course, they didn’t have time to realize that.

“Eek! Th-that-”

“What is that? I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“Mage! Is that a monster?”

“No, it’s different from a monster. I think that’s-”

The Bariel main force was in an uproar. Something larger than a magic tower had appeared nearby.

Jin was also flustered and speechless with surprise. However, Aileen’s mutterings gave the people around her an answer.

“…It’s a shadow. The god’s shadow.”

The source of monsters and the master of the abyss.

Jin unknowingly clenched his collar and inhaled sharply. That monstrous thing was the god’s shadow. He was overwhelmed by the presence beyond imagination, and even the name of emperor felt infinitely small.

“Your Majesty.”

At that moment, Aileen’s resolute voice awakened his spirit.

“Please remain calm and give your orders. It is a moment that determines the fate of Lord Ian and everyone else.”