My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 130

§ 130. Sacrifice

Dyson’s mouth gaped open.

Not even a sound escaped. His expression of horror alone betrayed his pain.

Dyson wasn’t one of the Demon Lords of the Seven. He was just a Dark Elf consumed by the madness of Insteez.

And Dark Elves, like humans, couldn’t live without a heart.

Thud.

Dyson’s body finally collapsed to the floor. Red blood poured from his mouth and chest, staining the ground crimson.

“Why… why…”

Dyson’s voice, like the scraping of metal, escaped his lips.

Asrandiz approached, step by step, a resentful gaze fixed on him.

“Why… me…”

Asrandiz simply stared at Dyson, offering no answer.

“I’m sorry… I’m truly sorry…”

He could only repeat these words.

Asrandiz, the forest keeper of the Dark Elves, burdened by a fate that forced him to kill his wife, whom he had loved all his life, and his only son, with his own hands.

Asrandiz’s eyes seemed utterly calm. Tears didn’t flow.

“I’m truly… truly sorry…”

However, the depth of sorrow in his voice was unfathomable. Did he not even deserve to shed tears?

Asrandiz’s voice was deeper and darker than any sorrow.

“Ah… ahh…”

Dyson’s metallic voice faded away.

Poof.

Only then did Cyan pull out the Insteez [a magical artifact] that had been lodged in him. At the same time, a tremendous amount of blood poured from below his abdomen.

“Kugh…!”

The pain that swept through his entire body caused Cyan to falter. It was fortunate that it hadn’t pierced through his back; otherwise, the pain would have been unbearable.

Cyan slowly looked around.

Osly, gasping for breath, supporting himself with his greatsword. Panat, sweating profusely. Serah, collapsed as if exhausted. And tens of thousands of barbarians.

The tens of thousands of barbarians were still consumed by madness. Dyson’s power had weakened, but the power of Insteez remained.

Therefore, it couldn’t be said that the war was over yet, but it would be soon. The Dark Elf sentinels, the Arcanic Magic Corps, and the soldiers of Battenberg were adequately confronting the barbarians.

Especially Kendrick’s and Ruben’s knight orders. After confirming Dyson’s death, Kendrick immediately engaged the barbarians, and their performance was truly insane.

Kendrick, a Death Knight of Upper Master level, and Ruben’s knight order, wielding magic with the buff of [a magical enhancement]. Receiving a +450% ability boost, the barbarians were being swept away like fallen leaves.

It was over.

With Dyson’s death, the situation in the north came to an end.

Thud.

Only then could Cyan collapse. Blood gurgled from his abdomen in sync with his heartbeat. He was suppressing the bleeding by drawing on his mana, but he couldn’t completely stop it.

“Are you alright?”

Asrandiz slowly approached and asked Cyan. However, he soon examined Cyan’s condition and pressed his lips shut. It didn’t look alright at all.

“I’m… fine.”

But Cyan forced the words out. To be honest, he wasn’t fine, but he couldn’t bring himself to say he wasn’t fine in front of Asrandiz.

The pain Cyan was experiencing was merely physical. With good treatment and rest, he would return to normal. But Asrandiz was not so lucky.

The pain of having to kill his family as a forest keeper… Even with good treatment and rest, there was no way to go back to the way things were. Was there even a way to heal it in the first place?

The one who was least alright here was none other than Asrandiz.

Asrandiz stared at Cyan silently. Then, he slowly turned his gaze to the fallen Dyson. Crimson blood had soaked the floor, forming a puddle. His wide-open eyes showed no sign of closing. The faint signal of life was also slowly dissipating.

“I… I was too late.”

Asrandiz muttered quietly. And as expected, Dyson didn’t answer.

Asrandiz stared at Dyson like that before slowly turning his head. At that very moment…

Twitch.

Dyson’s finger twitched and moved. Soon, Dyson’s hand reached out and grabbed the Insteez lying on the floor.

Asrandiz was surprised and looked at Dyson, and Dyson’s gaze turned to Asrandiz. However, Dyson didn’t say anything. He squeezed out even the strength to utter a voice to grab Insteez, the last signal of life fading away.

Dyson’s expression was clearly saying this: It’s not… too late yet. Father.

Kwaaaaaaaaah!!!!

Red mana exploded from Insteez. The spreading mana instantly dyed the world crimson. At the same time…

“Kuaaaaaaah!”

“Euaaaagh!!”

Terrible screams erupted from all directions. And those were none other than the screams of the barbarians. The tens of thousands of barbarians all stopped moving. Each of them knelt down in agony, unable to bear the intense pain.

Screams like wails erupted from all directions.

Thud.

Plop.

Before long, the barbarians began to fall one by one. And then, they showed no further movement.

“D… dead?”

A quiet voice was heard. Soon, crimson mana spewed out from the fallen tens of thousands of barbarians. The power of madness that had been cast soared into the sky and began to gather and coalesce.

And it wasn’t just the barbarians. Dyson’s body also stirred, and red mana soared into the air. Along with it, Dyson’s life, which had been faintly felt, disappeared.

The coalesced power of madness was instantly sucked into Insteez.

Kwarururururung…! A sound like thunder was heard from Insteez, and it trembled. The power of Elodie [a powerful mage] contained within Insteez, combined with the power of madness, unleashed terrifying power in all directions.

“T, this is…!”

Asrandiz’s eyes widened. Following that, Panat’s horrified voice erupted.

“The mana of Insteez… is going berserk…”

The rampaging mana of Insteez meant one thing.

“Soon… Insteez will explode…”

The explosion of Insteez. Dyson had burned his last strength to make the mana of Insteez go berserk.

The power contained in Insteez is not a simple power—a transcendent power in which the power of the great mage Elodie is sealed.

“I, if that level of mana explodes…”

And that Elodie’s power was about to explode.

“About half of the north… will be blown away…”

Panat muttered in vain.

“H, half of the north?!”

“That’s absurd!”

People were horrified and shouted at Panat’s words. The firepower to blow away half of the north indicated the absolute fact that everyone here would die, not to mention the northerners who knew nothing, even the Dark Elves in the Dark Elf village. There wasn’t enough capacity or time to evacuate even those people.

“How could such a…!”

“It’s cruel, but that’s the only way right now! There’s no way to stop that right now…”

Just then.

“This is an error committed by us Dark Elves.”

Asrandiz’s distant voice was heard. Looking there, Asrandiz was making a determined expression in front of Insteez.

“The forest keeper has a duty to take responsibility for it.”

And the words of Asrandiz that followed. Panat, who noticed the intention, shouted.

“Impossible! No matter how much the forest keeper is a mage comparable to the head of the family…!”

Clench.

But Asrandiz didn’t listen. Asrandiz grabbed Insteez and controlled the rampaging mana.

Kwaaaaaaaaah!!!!

The exploding wave of power was all sucked into Asrandiz.

“Kuaaaaaaaaagh!!!”

Asrandiz screamed terribly. The vision turned red, and crackle─! Crimson lightning erupted from Asrandiz’s entire body.

“Kugh…!”

Cyan was thrown away, caught in the wave of power.

-My lord, are you alright?

Fortunately, Kendrick approached and supported him, so he was able to avoid being completely thrown away.

Kwaaaaaaaaah!!!!

A storm of crimson mana raged in all directions. The wave of power far exceeded the range of perception. Just facing it made his mind dizzy.

“Kuaaaaaaaaagh!!”

Asrandiz’s screams didn’t stop. Blood was pouring from every hole in his face.

“D, Dad…!”

“Forest Keeper!”

Serah and the sentinels shouted and ran.

“Don’t go!”

Panat shouted at those people, but it was meaningless. They couldn’t approach the raging torrent of power. The rampaging power of Elodie, the storm of infinite mana, raged endlessly. Asrandiz’s screams were also constantly heard. The situation was reaching its peak.

At that very moment.

Drip.

In an instant, Asrandiz’s scream subsided. At the same time, the raging storm of mana gradually subsided. The rampaging mana of Insteez also gradually stabilized. The felt wave of power also stabilized together.

A quiet silence descends.

“I, impossible…”

In the meantime, Panat’s voice muttering in horror was heard. But people didn’t look at Panat. Everyone was looking at Asrandiz as if they had promised.

The appearance of Asrandiz who was looked at was standing while gasping for breath. The great mage who reached the 8th Circle, the Dark Elf forest keeper who wields the mana of darkness, and Elodie’s distant descendant.

“Y, you did it!”

Panat shouted again with an admiring face.

“Really… you’re really amazing! As a fellow mage, I can’t help but respect this…”

Panat muttered with a hollow smile. At the same time, people sighed in relief.

“W, we’re alive…”

“We’re alive…”

Tension was relieved, and everyone collapsed on the spot.

Only.

“Everyone, don’t approach!”

Cyan’s cry and…

“Dad… Dad… is not Dad.”

Only Serah’s voice full of fear was heard. People’s gazes turned to Cyan and Serah in an instant. Cyan was looking at Asrandiz with a stiff face. Serah was looking at Asrandiz with a face full of fear. And the voice of Asrandiz that is heard.

【Infinite… darkness….】

Asrandiz’s eyes were shimmering with a red glow.

#

In an instant, Asrandiz’s body staggered. Was it the trace of the intense pain that remained? Asrandiz’s body, staggering and regaining his balance, looked painful.

【“Endless… pain….”】

It was a bizarre voice, not the kind that a being in this world can make—the sound of scraping metal, the sound of fire burning, and the sound of hail falling. It was a voice that seemed to combine all these sounds, and the terrible malice and madness that is felt.

“W, what is this…”

“What… what on earth is going on…!”

Expressions of shock and surprise on people’s faces, and a clear emotion of embarrassment was engraved.

“Asrandiz! Don’t give in to the evil!”

Only Cyan seemed to know something and shouted. Cyan gritted his teeth and looked at Asrandiz.

Asrandiz, who controlled the rampaging mana of Insteez—to be exact, Asrandiz, who accepted the rampaging mana of Insteez.

Elodie’s power was sealed in Insteez, but that wasn’t it. It seemed that Elodie had not simply sealed her power. It seemed that she had sealed something else in Insteez while sealing her power—to be exact, in order to trap something in Insteez, it would be accurate to say that she sealed her power.

However, it seemed that something had awakened due to the rampage just now, and Asrandiz took over Asrandiz’s body as he accepted the mana of Insteez.

【“Kuaaa…! Kuagh…!”】

Asrandiz seemed to be fighting it now.

I don’t know what it is. There was a sense of malice, but it was not certain whether it was a Demon Lord of the Seven. One thing is certain now: if left like this, a terrible evil that will never exist in the world will be born again—the worst evil without any restrictions or interference.

“We have to get rid of Insteez.”

Cyan clenched his sword. Blood poured out from the abdomen pierced by the use of power. Intense pain swept through his entire body, making him dizzy, but Cyan didn’t hesitate.

Cyan stepped on Mahon Muyoungbo [a movement technique] and rushed towards the Insteez that Dyson was holding. At that moment…

Jjeoeong─!

A barrier of red mana blocked Cyan’s sword. At the same time, a rough hand grabbed Cyan’s neck.

【“No.”】

A bizarre voice digs into Cyan’s ear.