Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 416

Do not enter the main barracks. Not just you, but no one. If you make a mistake this time, even your family name won’t save you. So, be careful.

Jerome remembered his great-uncle’s face. He had patted Jerome on the shoulder, trying to encourage him.

‘How did I end up like this?’ Jerome wondered.

The young mage looked about Jerome’s age, but he cared more about family than friendship.

This was the man who used to pat Jerome on the back, saying, ‘That’s my nephew!’ when Jerome was called ‘Divine of the Empire’ (a very high honor). Now, he treated Jerome like a disgrace.

‘I guess I should be grateful to the family for this too,’ Jerome thought.

He had stopped the Emperor from killing his own child.

And he had failed to save his master in battle against the enemy.

Those two failures had led him to this: a guard at the Emperor’s barracks.

The battle wasn’t going as he had hoped, but he still believed the Imperial Army would win. So, how could he mess things up?

Sadness filled Jerome. He felt useless, just a guard while the nation carried out its grand plan. Was his choice really wrong?

‘Your Highness Baros…’ he thought.

He had sworn loyalty to Baros, but he didn’t even know where Baros was now. Jerome was paying the price for his loyalty.

It wasn’t that he regretted his choice. He couldn’t forgive himself if he had condoned a father killing his son. But he still felt regret.

‘Was there no way to please both sides?’ he wondered.

He knew there wasn’t, but he still thought about it. Jerome sighed and looked at the battlefield.

– Waaah!

Kuaaaang.

– Aaaargh!

Bang!

The battlefield was full of screams and explosions. The Golden Dragon’s symbol was gone, and only the flame emblem stood out.

‘Macline…’ he thought.

Ironically, he had pledged loyalty to Prince Baros in Macline. Now, seeing himself in this state during the Macline expedition gave him a strange feeling.

‘Where did it all go wrong?’

That question brought back memories of the Imperial Palace from years ago.

His right eye scar stung.

‘Logan Macline,’ he thought, grinding his teeth.

That kid, who wasn’t even superhuman back then, had given him a fatal wound. That wound, that defeat, had taken away his title as ‘Divine of the Empire.’

Now, Logan was called ‘Star of Grandia’ (another great title). He was the king of a small country and the greatest swordsman on the continent, even better than the Sun of Macline.

Where did things go wrong? Or maybe… was the difference always so big?

Back when he was arrogant, having awakened his Aura at thirty, he thought that Logan, a powerful warrior in his early twenties who couldn’t use Aura, was just someone to be lectured. He thought it wasn’t a big deal since he had reached that level in his mid-twenties.

But now…

‘If I hadn’t been careless back then… no, no. I’m still making excuses,’ Jerome thought.

He had been careless at the start of the duel, but not after he was wounded. Still, he had lost, and lost his right eye.

On the other hand, what about Logan?

He couldn’t help but feel angry when he remembered the past. The pain of losing his eye was still strong. When he closed his eye, he clearly remembered the scene.

Logan’s sword strikes came down like a storm. He was learning how to use his special ability, Absolute Sight. Then, Logan tricked him to block his vision and landed a final strike…

Wham!

‘What?!’ he thought.

Suddenly, he felt a hit on his chin, and his body floated into the air. It felt strangely real, and Jerome’s consciousness faded away.

Even though she had done it, Victoria was surprised.

‘So easy? A superhuman?’ she thought.

She was so surprised that she almost lost focus.

‘Focus!’ her master scolded through their magic connection.

‘Yes, yes!’ she replied.

If she lost focus, their plan would fail. She regained her composure and saw Jerome Decaid writhing with a shattered jaw.

‘Finish him…’ her master commanded.

‘He’s not important. Hurry!’ she replied.

She looked around and saw knights rushing toward her golem and soldiers pointing at her. She couldn’t hear them, but they were clearly surprised. She had to hurry.

‘Tch!’ she clicked her tongue.

Her golem could handle a superhuman, but it was hard to keep it going for long or use its full power in this situation.

Victoria focused her mind to control the golem better. Even then, it only took a few seconds to smash the three knights charging at her.

‘Don’t waste time!’ her master urged.

‘I know!’ she replied.

Luckily, all the other superhumans were on the battlefield. Even if the Emperor had guards, they couldn’t stop this golem.

Confident, Victoria entered the barracks.

In the center of the vast barracks, a middle-aged man in golden armor stood alone, staring blankly.

He had black hair and yellow skin. Victoria focused on controlling the golem.

The Emperor’s eyes widened as he looked at her. She could hear sounds again, including the Emperor’s deep voice. But what he said was strange.

Smirk.

“How amusing,” the Emperor said with a smile.

Amusing?

Victoria felt uneasy and hesitated.

‘Hurry!’ her master urged, bringing her back to reality. She felt commotion around the barracks.

Victoria controlled the golem and rushed toward the Emperor like an arrow. She didn’t need to feel uneasy.

‘If I can just kill the Emperor here…’ she thought.

The golem charged at full speed. It’s fist, filled with dark brown magic, was about to hit the Emperor when…

The golem stopped, defying her control.

“A golem… from so far away. So, you’re from the Golem School. Quite impressive,” the Emperor said mockingly.

With a small gesture, the Emperor had stopped the golem. Victoria realized what had made her uneasy.

The Emperor was standing alone in the center of the vast barracks. Beneath his feet was a huge magic circle, spreading like a spider web. She finally sensed the enormous magic power.

Powerful magic stones and special objects that emitted light were embedded in the magic circle. They were all melting into the circle.

‘How much did they put into this magic circle?!’ she thought.

Her senses, dulled by controlling the golem, finally kicked in. She realized who was controlling the magic circle.

‘A Grand Mage?!’ she thought.

If the golem had eyes, they would have widened. No one knew about the Emperor’s fighting skills.

No one expected the Emperor to be superhuman. He had been aging like a normal person, past the age of 50. Most past emperors had aged and died normally. Despite the rumors, people assumed the Imperial Family had no special secrets about Aura or magic.

‘No way! The Emperor?!’ she thought.

Her master must have been flustered too, because she felt the connection breaking and the surroundings blurring.

“That won’t do. Focus, everyone,” the Emperor said.

The consciousness that was trying to leave the golem was forcibly sharpened and expanded.

“Let’s see… Aha, there were two of you, not one. I wondered why…” he said.

They felt a sticky magic power pulling at their souls.

‘How is this possible?!’ they thought.

The master and disciple were flustered. The Emperor chuckled and said, “To reach the 7th class, you need to understand the soul. Keep that in mind, juniors. Ah, if you can escape from me.”

Snap.

The moment the Emperor snapped his fingers, the golem floated into the air.

“Thanks to the souls and magic power of two mages coming to me, I can shorten the time. Thank you,” he said.

What did he mean?

Victoria saw the huge magic circle inside the barracks. She didn’t understand it, but she knew it was dangerous.

‘Huge destruction magic! He’s doing this alone?!’ she thought.

The Emperor, still floating the golem, asked calmly, “Do you know why the Golden Dragon is the symbol of the Empire?”

Wooowoong.

‘Ugh!?’ they groaned.

‘Th, this is!?’

The golem was breaking apart and melting into the magic circle. Clayton and Victoria felt the pain as the golem was destroyed.

“The ancient Gold Dragon was the wisest of all dragons, a master of all magic. The best of the Gold Dragons was the Divine Dragon,” the Emperor said.

Victoria and Clayton’s hearts raced.

‘No!’ they thought.

‘Damn it!’ Clayton cursed.

Their minds and magic power, trapped in the golem, were being absorbed into the magic circle.

Victoria finally understood why the Emperor had thanked them for shortening the time. It was a sacrifice.

This was a ritual to offer sacrifices for the great destruction magic to destroy Kyle Castle. The magic stones and objects were also melting quickly.

“The Grand Mage Taron Ares was like a dragon in human form. He mastered all magic and passed on some of his power through generations,” the Emperor said.

They could no longer hear the Emperor’s words. Their souls were captured by his magic power, and they struggled to escape. But that only delayed the destruction of the golem.

“He defeated those who tried to summon the ‘evil monster’ by sacrificing people. He led the true liberation of humanity. We, the Imperial Family, inherited that power. I am the best of them, the true rulers of people. So…”

Pajijijik.

Blue magic power crushed the golem.

“Can you imagine how angry I was at your pathetic struggles! You fools!” the Emperor screamed, his face twisted in anger.

He had invaded and was angry at their resistance. But he was sincere.

“Now disappear. Repent for your sin as your souls are crushed,” he said.

Ggggeeeeuuuh.

‘Aaaargh, d, damn it!’ Clayton screamed.

‘Ria! Focus!’ her master yelled.

They screamed in pain as their souls were torn apart.

“Your screams will signal the destruction of Macline. I will wipe out the Macline clan and its leaders, who have ruined my righteous plan,” the Emperor declared.

The golem completely melted into the magic circle. A blue beam of light shot from the magic circle, piercing the roof and the sky.