Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 369

“Even if our plan works perfectly,” Baros said to Jerome, his voice low, “it will still be very difficult for you.”

Jerome replied, “I am prepared for it.”

Earlier that day, Baros spoke to Jerome, who promised to be loyal again.

Baros said, “The Cassel Magic Tower might be trying to use me to cause trouble for the Empire, but I have no choice. I must take on that role in order to live.”

Jerome responded, “I understand.”

Baros asked, “Even if it puts your life in danger?”

Jerome paused before answering.

Baros continued, “Jerome, I don’t want to be selfish. Let’s find a way for you to live.”

Jerome answered, “I can only think of a way to completely eliminate the ghost and blame it on the Cassel Magic Tower’s kidnapping.”

Baros asked, “Do you think Duke Triss will be fooled by that?”

Jerome replied, “I don’t believe so. But now, I have no choice but to rely on that slim chance.”

Baros exclaimed, “It can’t be! Does that mean I’m saving my life at the cost of yours!”

Baros’s bloodshot eyes were filled with sincerity.

Jerome said, “Even though it was His Majesty’s will, I could not follow the order to assassinate, especially to kill that child. I was just upholding the duty of a knight. Please don’t worry about it.”

Baros asked, “How can I not worry! How can I!”

Baros sighed, “Alright. Let’s do this. It may seem a little cowardly, but I can’t repay you unless you live.”

Jerome asked, “Yes?”

Baros explained, “Isn’t it Cardinal Tracy who is taking me, or rather, kidnapping me? Cardinal Tracy, whatever his real identity might be, is currently known as Cardinal Tracy.”

Jerome asked, “What do you mean?”

Baros said, “You just have to say that the Holy Kingdom ‘worked together’ with the ‘enemy of the Empire’ to kidnap me. And even the case of Commander Max… Blame everything on the Holy Kingdom.”

Jerome, focusing his thoughts and recalling his conversation with the Second Prince, looked straight into his teacher’s eyes.

“If you use the fact that the Holy Kingdom ‘attacked’ the Empire first in both cases as an excuse, it means that the Holy Kingdom is cooperating with the enemy of the Empire,” Jerome stated.

Triss’s eyes narrowed at these believable words.

But something was bothering him.

Triss asked, “What if the Second Prince says something nonsensical?”

Jerome replied, “Wouldn’t it be enough to ignore it? Besides, the kidnappers are masters of mental magic…”

Triss asked, “Announce that the Prince has been brainwashed?”

Jerome suggested, “It would be better to announce it before the Second Prince officially states his position.”

Triss said, “Hmm…”

Triss’s face became serious again. Jerome, watching him, felt his own face grow pale and he swallowed nervously. He had to make the person he served as his lord look like a madman to the outside world.

Jerome thought, *It’s okay. I can’t return to the Imperial Palace anyway. Now, the only path left for me is to wait for war, for chaos. Chaos that will not unfold as the Emperor wishes. That’s why I chose those guys.*

Jerome continued to think, *Before that, no matter how believable the excuse I make to return to the Imperial Palace, it’s suicide. The moment I enter, I’ll die without anyone knowing. My father, no, the Emperor of the Empire is that kind of person.*

Jerome swallowed again, hoping that his lord, who was now facing a new situation in a place he didn’t even know, would be safe.

“Of course, all these measures are far less perfect than the perfect excuse of the Prince’s death. But…” Jerome said.

Some people would say the Empire is being unfair. Others would even say it’s all a trick by the Empire.

“The Saintess and the Holy Sword already know His Majesty’s will, so they will never accept our demands. No matter how small the demand is,” Jerome explained.

Triss asked, “Hmm?”

Jerome answered, “But from the outside’s point of view, it will seem that they are not accepting reasonable suspicions by being unreasonable.”

Triss asked, “That will increase the justification?”

Jerome confirmed, “Yes. At least, wouldn’t it be enough justification for war?”

Triss said, “This plan is too clever to be just your idea, Jerome.”

Jerome could only bow his head at his teacher’s words.

Jerome thought, *Even if I don’t come up with such measures, His Majesty wouldn’t really kill me, would he? Unless I reveal what happened with His Highness…*

Jerome continued to think, *It’s not difficult to frame someone. If you do nothing, even the honor you wanted to protect may be tarnished. So, do as I say.*

Jerome finished his thought, *If you somehow create the appearance that the Emperor wants, considering your family and your skills, you may be able to avoid the death penalty. But even if you do…*

Triss said, “Yeah, well, it doesn’t matter who thought of it. Still…”

Triss sighed and looked at his disciple.

Soon, the words that Baros had predicted, and the words that Jerome had said at first, came out again as they were.

Triss said, “Be prepared to have your title stripped and serve as a common soldier.”

Jerome replied, “Of course.”

Triss’s face remained serious as he looked at Jerome, his own expression grave. He soon withdrew the barrier of aura and said, announcing to Jerome,

“As the situation has become like this, I will take Sir Jerome with me.”

The Empire’s envoy will take the injured Imperial knight.

There was no justification to stop him, but Harman didn’t seem to think so and suddenly blocked him.

Hmm, Harman said. “Then you must tell us clearly that the Holy Kingdom has nothing to do with the Prince’s disappearance.”

At that, Triss raised his eyebrows slightly and turned his head slightly, and he saw a paladin holding something like a communication device, perhaps for recording.

Hmm, Triss replied. “Do you think you can understand what really happened just by looking around once?”

Harman responded, “If you think so, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to leave Sir Jerome here.”

Heh, Triss chuckled. “I thought you were someone who could understand reason.”

A small buzzing sound came from the device Harman held.

Along with the sound, it looked like the space around them twisted. Even though the people around them were constantly taking false breaths, the two did not care at all.

“You want to take away the only witness. The Empire is being unreasonable about this whole incident. If you take Jerome, it will look like you are using even more unfair force,” Triss said.

Triss continued, “Do you think Jerome will change his story just because of who he’s talking to? Maybe the Holy Sword isn’t very good at judging people.”

Harman stated, “I believe in Sir Jerome, but I cannot believe in the Empire.”

Triss asked, “Oh? Are you saying that you, as the leader of the Holy Knights and someone who represents the Holy Kingdom, are against our Empire?”

Harman replied, “I’m just following the rules.”

A low humming sound filled the air.

Triss felt challenged by Harman’s calm tone. Small things nearby started to break as they faced each other.

“Get back!” someone yelled. “Everyone, move away!”

The paladins and Imperial knights escorting Triss were surprised and quickly moved away from them. The power coming from Triss and Harman was immense. Even these elite knights from both the Holy Kingdom and the Empire couldn’t handle it.

Despite this, their faces became serious and hard. This intense standoff showed how determined both men were. Neither would back down.

The two men stood facing each other, their faces hard.

*This is pointless,* one of them thought. *Why are we even doing this?*

These two men were not just strong people; they were important figures from two countries. If one of them got hurt, it would be very bad for the relationship between their countries.

If the Divine Sword was hurt, the Empire would lose all reasons for being here. If the Sword Soul was beaten, the Empire would have an excuse to attack the Holy Kingdom.

Even if they both were fine, just this fight would make the two countries dislike each other more. Fighting like this was silly, unless they actually wanted a war.

Both men knew this was not smart. But now that they were facing each other, they stopped thinking clearly.

*Whoosh…*

*Crackle!*

Red light and white light crashed together. As the lights pushed against each other, the two men’s eyes opened wide.

Suddenly, they saw what they had done wrong.

*Whoosh…*

But the red and white lights were now pushing against each other so strongly that they were stuck.

‘Oh no!’ thought one.

‘Tsk, bad…’ thought the other.

Now, if one of them stopped, it would look like they were losing, and they might get hurt.

It was just a mistake, caused by them wanting to win.

They should have agreed to stop. But…

– You stop first.

– No, you stop first.

They both showed in their eyes that they would not give up.

This was becoming dangerous.

– How dare you challenge me? one of them seemed to say with his eyes.

One man had not found anyone who could fight him for ten years. The other, for twenty years. If they thought the other was weaker, they would have stopped.

But give up when they were so evenly matched?

Neither of them even thought about it. Instead, they wanted to win even more.

*The Empire will not back down anyway,* thought one. *It’s better to beat the Sword Soul here and now.*

*The King wants war,* thought the other. *It will happen sooner or later. It’s good to defeat the Holy Kingdom’s best fighter before the war starts.*

If anyone knew what they were thinking, they would have been scared and tried to stop them. But the two men were too caught up in their pride. They made up reasons to keep fighting.

They looked at each other, grinning fiercely. They had even forgotten why they were fighting in the first place.

Then, at the same time, they shouted loudly:

“Holy Knights, get out of the building!”

“Imperial Knights, move back!”

*BOOM!*

The soldiers on both sides went pale when they heard the shouts. At the same time as a loud explosion shook the ground, part of the building was destroyed.

People have always argued about who is strongest.

Who would win? A knight or a wizard? Someone who uses force or someone who uses magic?

Now, in a time when people with amazing powers are real, this argument was even more popular. Rich people in every country always argued about this at parties.

For the last ten years, two names always came up in these arguments.

– Sword Soul, Tris Hornsby, known as the best swordsman on the Continent.

– Divine Sword, Harman Killerbrew, the best swordsman of the Holy Kingdom.

People told stories about Sword Soul. They said that when the Emperor became king, another prince fought against him. Sword Soul used only one sword to defeat one hundred of the prince’s best knights.

They also told stories about Divine Sword. Once, a huge wave of monsters attacked a small village at the edge of the Magic Realm mountains. Divine Sword stood alone with his sword and stopped them for three days, saving the village.

Some parts of these stories sounded like myths, too amazing to be real. People said these stories were probably made up.

But now, in Noviens, in a place no one expected, the two men were showing everyone that these stories were true.

*Flash!* Blinding white and red lights filled the air. Anything touched by the light was instantly broken into tiny pieces.

*Slash!*

The lights shot out like arrows. Even the temple buildings, which were supposed to be protected by magic, were cut through as easily as paper.

It was like magic, all done with just a sword.

Each swing of their swords sent out beams of light that flew very far. When they swung up and down, they left deep cuts in the ground. When they swung sideways, they destroyed anything in front of them.

Then the lights crashed directly into each other…

*KABOOM!*

The crash made a huge explosion, like thunder. Dust and wind swirled everywhere. Everyone watching was stunned. They could not believe their eyes.

“N-No way…” someone whispered.

“H-How can anyone be so…” another stammered.

“They’re like monsters…” a third voice breathed.

Even their closest friends, who thought they knew how strong they were, stared in shock at the destruction caused by the two men. One of them was Jerome Dicaid, who was also a very strong fighter himself.

“H-How is this possible?!” Jerome gasped.

He was even more shocked than the others.

Jerome was pretty good at using Aura himself. He thought he could understand how strong his master, Sword Soul, was – even if he didn’t know Divine Sword.

But now, all his confidence completely vanished.

*I heard that the best Aura users can even break through anything,* Jerome thought. *But even then, this is…*

It was like a god of destruction had come down to earth, not just a human.

The stories people told about them were not strong enough to describe how powerful they really were. If there were more people this strong, armies would be useless in war.

Jerome just stood there, staring.

Slowly, the lights stopped flashing. The dust cloud slowly went away.

– It is finished.

Everyone in Noviens looked towards the ruined building.