Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 444

A message flashed in Logan’s mind, urgent and clear: *Princess Louisa. Scrolls on the eastern wall. Location…* Even without the special magic of Kassel Tower, any mage could find and remove these scrolls easily.

This message came just after the Gerad family had been called back, signaling their intention to fight. Logan knew he had to stop.

The people he expected to meet were not where they should be. *This is strange,* Logan thought. *If I really focused, I could find them, but I don’t have time for distractions right now.*

He reminded himself it was only three people he was supposed to meet. Logan was confident he could defeat them instantly, even if they betrayed him.

More importantly, the test of his ultimate power as an Aura Master – what was called ‘Battlefield Domination’ – was complete. He could now control his vast army as easily as moving his own arms and legs. He could even feel their strength and spirit rise and fall with his will.

Yet, using this power didn’t weaken him. In fact, it felt like his own strength was growing. He could feel the energy of his soldiers flowing back to him, making his own spirit soar.

He felt it in every fiber of his being: the legends of Aura Masters as gods of war were true.

So, for now… *I’ll handle this myself,* Logan decided. He remembered the locations of the scrolls he’d seen before the battle. Troops were not returning to the West Gate, Luther and Wicken were at the North Gate, and the kingdom alliance was at the South Gate. That meant the eastern wall was his target.

But a feeling of unease lingered. These ‘5th circle’ scrolls, placed all along the wall, felt like more than just simple destruction magic.

And there was something else troubling him: a strange magical energy, ‘foreign mana,’ that had been subtly shifting since the battle began.

*Scrolls first,* he decided. The moment he focused his will, his body surged with power, moving faster and smoother than ever before.

In this state, he felt powerful enough to defeat even the master of the Kassel Magic Tower, even without using his most special skills.

A confident smile touched his lips. He became a golden ray of light, shooting towards the wall like lightning.

“He’s moving!”

“It’s Logan McLain!”

“The enemy king!”

Panic exploded in shouts from the watching soldiers. “Fire! Shoot him down!”

“Everything you’ve got!” Arrows and bolts rained down – *thwack thwack thwack* – against the golden shield.

The barrage of arrows and bolts, which had been aimed at the larger army, now focused on this single figure.

But the attack, which would have killed even a strong knight instantly, simply bounced harmlessly off his golden shield. Logan, a golden blur of motion, reached the eastern wall without slowing down.

Then, a blinding golden light erupted, engulfing a huge section of the wall, dozens of meters wide.

“No! No!”

“Aaaah!”

“Kraaah!” The imperial soldiers screamed as the light flashed, burning their eyes.

*Ripping, tearing sounds* echoed. The ‘mana scrolls’ hidden in the wall shattered, their magic destroyed – and with them, the lives of the soldiers nearby.

Shouts of alarm rose from the distance. “The scrolls!”

“They’ve found them!” Magicians screamed in panic. But Logan, despite his success, frowned. *This is worse than I thought…*

He hadn’t understood from a distance. But now, having touched them, he knew the horrifying truth. These ‘5th circle’ scrolls weren’t just for destruction. They were feeding on the souls and blood of the dying soldiers around the wall.

*I thought only Kassel Tower did this kind of evil,* he thought, anger rising from the deep wounds of his past. But there was no time to give in to rage.

Souls and blood… These scrolls weren’t just triggers for spells. They were sacrifices. Not for many small spells, but all of them feeding into one massive, terrible magic.

Then he understood. The strange magical energy he’d sensed earlier, the ‘foreign mana’ – it was growing stronger. It was flowing towards a single point, gathering power from the sacrifices.

“Bastards!” Logan roared. Even as he destroyed the scrolls, the dark magical energy grew stronger, pulsing with a will of its own.

With a roar of fury, Logan sprinted along the eastern wall. He ignored the imperial soldiers screaming and attacking.

“Uwaaagh!”

“Kill him!” He brushed aside the enemy knights who threw themselves at him in desperate charges.

“Brother?!”

“Your Majesty?!”

He spared only a glance for his teacher and Galen fighting, for Victoria’s golems battling the enemy magicians, even for his wife facing the Steel Magician. He knew, with the certainty of ‘Battlefield Domination,’ that they were all holding their own, matched against enemies they could handle.

Instead of engaging the enemy directly, a golden aura, shaped like a whip of light, lashed out around him in a fifty-meter radius. It snaked through the air, guided by his senses, tearing apart every remaining scroll.

Just as Logan thought he had destroyed the last scroll, a hand engulfed in blue flames slammed into his path.

*Kwwaaaaaaang!* The sound of the impact exploded through the air.

“Aaaah!”

“Everyone, get back!” The shockwave blasted outwards, throwing soldiers to the ground like rag dolls. Logan gritted his teeth, bracing himself.

Through the dust cloud, Logan saw the glint of golden armor. His eyes narrowed with anger. Then, the dust cleared, and standing before him was a middle-aged man with dark hair and eyes.

“You are… persistent, Logan McLain,” the man said, his voice cold. Logan’s face went white with shock. The word escaped his lips like a gasp: “Emperor…”

As if on cue, cheers erupted from the imperial ranks.

“Uwaaaah!”

“It’s His Majesty the Emperor!”

“The Emperor himself is here!” The cheers of the imperial soldiers echoed across the battlefield.

The cheers of the imperial knights, who had been faltering, surged with new strength. Logan saw their morale instantly rise. Instead of drawing his sword, he threw back his head and roared, his voice shaking the air: “Are you insane?!”

He couldn’t believe it. The Emperor hadn’t come alone. He’d brought all his superhumans, except for the Western Legion commander sent to Luthspellheim. *He came himself?* What about the western front? With the Kassel Tower Master there, the west was surely falling apart. *What is he doing here?*

“…Because of you,” the Emperor said, his voice dripping with cold anger, “I was forced to make a pact with the Empire’s greatest enemy. Consider it an honor, Logan McLain.” *Enemy of the Empire.* The sneering face of the Kassel Tower Master flashed in Logan’s mind. Logan’s face twisted in disgust.

*The one who preached about the sacredness of oaths would betray them like this?* “A pact?” Logan spat the word out. “Madness! You actually trust him? That monster is…”

The Emperor said, “Yes. You agreed to join my war, remember? But only to *join*, not to lead.”

Logan looked surprised. “Wait… what?”

The Emperor smiled coldly. “Don’t you understand the Archmage’s agreement yet? Good. Then we can begin.”

*BOOM!*

As the Emperor stepped forward, blue magic burst from his foot. It shot up like a bright blue arrow into the sky, lighting up the wall to the east.

“Whoa!” someone shouted.

“What’s that?!” another yelled.

“What in the world…?” someone else whispered.

Soldiers who were just fighting stopped and stared. They forgot their fight, watching the light. They felt a huge power, like something pulling at their very being.

Logan knew at once: the Emperor was using magic to control strange power from the scroll. He was sending it into the castle.

Then, *CRASH!*

A building inside the castle, near the east wall, blew apart. From the smoke and dust, about fifty black knights walked out.

They spoke in flat, dead voices:

“Emperor.”

“Your Majesty.”

“Hail!”

*WHOOSH*. Red energy poured out of them, all at once.

Logan’s face went white.

*Even if they are just made to be used and thrown away, so many of them… This changes everything.* Logan thought, his jaw tight with anger.

He spoke, his voice shaking with rage. “I knew it wouldn’t be fair, but to make them like *this*?”

The Emperor smiled sadly. “If you were just a little slower, I would have had a hundred. Too bad for you.”

He meant the power from the scroll.

Logan was too shocked to think clearly.

“You’re doing the same thing as the Cassel Magic Tower! You called *them* enemies!” Logan shouted. “Did you throw away your morals a long time ago?”

Logan didn’t care about being polite to the Emperor anymore. He spoke angrily, but the Emperor’s answer surprised him.

“I also regret it,” the Emperor said.

“Huh?” Logan was completely shocked.

“We were once on the same side,” the Emperor explained. “If they weren’t so greedy, we could have already united the whole land.”

“By destroying people’s lives and souls?” Logan asked, his voice hard.

The Emperor answered calmly, “My ancestor stopped the Great Demon and saved everyone. I have the right to decide what happens to people.”

It wasn’t crazy talk. He said it calmly, like he truly believed it.

Logan was so shocked by this arrogance, he almost laughed.

*He doesn’t even see us as people. We are just things to him, things he can throw away.*

“Taron Ares didn’t save the world,” Logan said, his voice full of disbelief. “It was the Sword God. And before that, Zibric Cassel.”

As soon as he said those words, the Emperor’s face changed.

“What… did you say?” the Emperor asked, his voice shaking slightly.

The Emperor’s magic stopped flowing, and the black knights, who looked ready to jump over the wall, also froze.

*Wait, is this it?* Logan thought quickly.

*Before, they moved even when the Emperor wasn’t doing anything.*

*This must be a weakness.*

*Is it because they are made in a hurry, not properly prepared? Or…?*

Realizing this, Logan started to speak more confidently.

“I’m saying your ancestor didn’t save the world,” Logan repeated. “Didn’t you even know that?”

“That’s a lie! What do *you* know?!” the Emperor yelled, his voice rising.

It was clear: the story of Taron Ares was a weak point for the Emperor.

*He thinks his ancestor saved the world, so he owns the world and everyone in it.*

*Maybe he was taught this wrong story, or maybe he just believes it.*

*If so… I need to push harder.*

The Emperor must feel it too. They were almost equal in power now. A fight would be long and hard, with no easy winner.

Logan knew he had a special power, ‘Up,’ that could help him win. But he needed to save it for later. He couldn’t use it now without thinking about what would happen after.

“Didn’t Taron Ares tell you about the Sword God’s family?” Logan asked, pressing his advantage.

The Emperor’s face went stiff, like he couldn’t breathe.

“Taron Ares was just a helper to the Sword God,” Logan said clearly. “And he didn’t fight some Great Demon. He fought Zibric Cassel.”

“What?!” The Emperor looked completely shocked.

“Don’t you even know the name of the *real* enemy your ancestor fought?” Logan continued. “Or is that why you’re working with the Cassel Magic Tower? With the *children* of that enemy?”

“Stop talking nonsense!” the Emperor roared.

*WHOOSH*. Blue magic exploded around him, proving Logan right.

*He really doesn’t know.* Logan realized.

And from his wild reaction, it seemed like the Emperor was starting to guess the truth himself.

Maybe the real story was lost over time, or maybe the royal family hid it on purpose.

If the Emperor’s pride was based on a *false* story, then destroying that story would destroy him.

“Ares is humanity’s savior!” the Emperor screamed. “We are the masters of everyone! How dare you say such lies!”

The Emperor, who had seemed so wise, now looked terrible, his face twisted with rage.

Logan watched him, focusing all his senses.

He could feel the magic connecting the Emperor to the black knights. He was starting to understand how it worked.

But then, the Emperor yelled, “I will destroy anyone who says such things! I will erase your kingdom, starting with *you*!”

The Emperor’s eyes were wild. Stones from the wall grabbed Logan’s legs. An unseen wind wrapped around him, holding him tight.

At the same time, bright blue flames shot up in front of him, flames that looked like they would burn forever.

Logan knew he had to act now.

*The Emperor first! I will end him.*

The moment he decided this, another power, like a bright light, burst out from inside him, joining the other powers in his heart.

Energy rushed through him, making him stronger, faster. His soul felt stronger than ever.

In that instant, he knew how to solve the problem that had been bothering him for so long.

“It’s finished,” Logan said calmly.

He stepped forward. The magic holding him broke apart. At the same moment, a golden sword flashed through the air.