The deep blue aura drew a line in the azure world, and then…
Silence fell over the arena.
Amidst the wave-like sword strikes, the longsword that had endured until the end shattered into pieces.
Crackle.
The remnants of the sword, almost turned to dust, scattered into the air.
Watching the glittering fragments scatter like falling stars, I swallowed my regret.
‘It finally reached the end of its lifespan.’
The sword I had used ever since I came to this world, the one I had built so many memories with.
Thanks to daily training with it, I was able to save Liliana, meet Luke, and even challenge the Sword Demon Emperor.
With a sense of gratitude for its long service, I gazed at the remnants of the sword for a moment.
Then, I called out to the blue-armored knight lying coldly on the stage floor.
“Gawain. Are you alive?”
“…”
“Rest.”
“…”
I spoke, but no response came.
Only warm, red blood gushed out from the severed upper and lower body.
The knight of the blue shield, Gawain.
Did he know it would end like this?
He lived as the blue shield for his lord, but in the end, that shield was split by a black line.
At that moment, the audience buzzed as they saw Gawain’s cold corpse.
“Sir Gawain is dead…”
“Is… is this real?”
“Wait, no. He was wearing a protective artifact, how could this happen? No matter how powerful the aura, this shouldn’t be possible!”
Someone in the stands shouted loudly.
In fact, he was right.
The protective artifacts used in the Sword Demon Emperor were crafted with great effort in the Magic Tower, capable of blocking a fatal strike once.
Indeed, no participant had ever died in the Sword Demon Emperor until now.
If someone died from a single strike, it meant there was a flaw in the protective artifact.
Amidst the shocking situation, tens of thousands of spectators were in an uproar.
In the upper stands of the arena.
From a seat overlooking the stage, Albireo screamed.
“No!!!”
“Sir Gawain… What is this…”
“Your Highness, what should we do?”
Next to the wailing Albireo, his vassals were in disarray.
Gawain, along with the Magic Tower Lord, was one of Albireo’s greatest assets, making his death even more impactful.
Albireo, looking down at the stage with a horrified expression, turned to the Emperor and spoke.
“Your Majesty! This is unacceptable! Not only did he dare to hide his identity and participate in the Sword Demon Emperor, but he also committed murder! We must imprison Duke Beherit in the dungeon immediately!”
“…”
“Your Majesty!”
The piercing shout from the upper stands reached the stage.
Though Albireo rarely showed such rage in front of his father, the Emperor remained calm.
Perhaps it was because he had experienced fratricidal strife during his own succession struggle.
Or maybe he was just born cold-hearted.
The Emperor’s gaze, still somewhat inorganic despite Gawain’s death, turned towards me.
Finally, he spoke.
“Swordsman Licht, I ask you. Are you truly the Duke?”
“I am.”
“Why did you conceal your identity and participate in the Sword Demon Emperor? And why did you kill Sir Gawain?”
“That is…”
Emperor Aragod looked down at me with lifeless eyes as he asked.
Tens of thousands of people in the arena listened intently for my response.
‘Hoo. Finally, the moment has come.’
As the crowd’s attention focused on me, I swallowed dryly.
Though my identity was revealed unexpectedly, this was the moment I had been waiting for.
After lightly clearing my throat, I spoke as I had prepared.
“It was to correct a wrong.”
“A wrong? What exactly do you mean?”
“His Highness, the Second Prince, hired mages from the Magic Tower to assassinate Her Highness, the Princess.”
“!”
Perhaps because no one expected such words.
The arena fell silent for a moment.
Even though the succession struggle was ongoing, attempting to assassinate a royal during the prestigious Sword Demon Emperor would cause a huge uproar.
Moreover, the fact that the target was the Empire’s treasure, Justia, made it even more shocking.
The audience struggled to speak.
“How could this be… His Highness, the Second Prince, tried to kill the Empire’s treasure, Her Highness Justia?”
“Why would someone as kind as Her Highness Justia…?”
“What on earth is happening at the Sword Demon Emperor?”
People murmured in shock.
The nobles under the Second Prince in the upper stands panicked as their misdeeds were exposed.
Journalists from across the continent were busy recording the unfolding events.
“Duke. Regardless of the truth of your words, there is something we must address first. You have killed the captain of the Imperial Second Knight Order. How do you intend to handle this?”
“Sir Gawain’s death is not my fault.”
“What do you mean?”
“Strictly speaking, Sir Gawain’s death is the fault of His Highness, the Second Prince. If the artifact meant to assassinate Her Highness the Princess hadn’t malfunctioned and reached Sir Gawain, he wouldn’t have died from a single strike.”
“What nonsense! Your Majesty, there’s no need to listen to this man any further! He dares to slander the royal family without any evidence. The only answer is execution!”
Albireo’s face twisted in rage as he shouted.
Despite his outburst, I calmly observed the Emperor’s expression.
‘He’s withholding judgment for now.’
The Emperor remained silent.
Of course, without evidence, he couldn’t just believe my words.
But.
Did he really think I came unprepared?
As the truth battle continued, I waited for the arrival of those who would turn the situation in my favor.
And shortly after.
Click. Click.
“?”
Amidst the chaos in the arena, three women appeared from the upper stands.
“Her Highness Justia has arrived!”
“Isn’t that Countess Gremory, last year’s winner of the Mage Division, next to her?”
“Lady Melissa, the third seat of the Magic Tower, is also here. Why are these three together?”
The nobles were puzzled by the seemingly unrelated trio.
In the midst of the confusion, Justia walked towards the Emperor.
Beside her, Raphaella and a woman in a gray witch’s hat followed.
These were the cards I had prepared for today’s plan.
Under the intense gazes, Justia, now standing before the Emperor, spoke.
“Your Majesty. We guarantee that Duke Beherit’s words are true.”
“Justia. And who is beside you?”
“Deputy Tower Lord of the Magic Tower. Raphaella Gremory greets the great sun of the Empire.”
“Third Seat of the Magic Tower. Melissa Lindiot greets the great sun of the Empire.”
The purple witch and the gray witch knelt briefly before the Emperor.
Seeing this, Albireo’s face showed extreme confusion.
‘He must be really shocked.’
Well, it’s understandable.
The gray witch, Melissa Lindiot, was someone Albireo had recruited.
From his perspective, it must be puzzling why she was standing with Justia.
I recalled the conversation I had with the gray witch during the preparation period before the Sword Demon Emperor.
‘Surprisingly, recruiting Melissa wasn’t difficult.’
Perhaps because of her absolute monarch trait.
When I offered her the position of the next Tower Lord if she betrayed Albireo, she easily sided with me.
After all, Raphaella would eventually go to the Demon Kingdom, so she wasn’t concerned about the Tower Lord position.
And the current Tower Lord would be dealt with along with Albireo.
In the near future, she would likely become the next Tower Lord.
With the key witnesses now present, we could finally corner Albireo and the Tower Lord.
‘But where on earth is Bahamut, that old man?’
Despite the situation unfolding, the Tower Lord was still nowhere to be seen.
Had he fled…?
As I wondered about the Tower Lord’s disappearance, the Emperor spoke to Melissa.
“So. How do you intend to prove the Duke’s words are true?”
“I will be the witness. His Highness, the Second Prince, ordered me to sabotage the protective artifact meant for Her Highness the Princess, and to kill her if we faced each other in the match.”
“Nonsense! Your Majesty, you must not believe her words!”
As Melissa testified, Albireo desperately tried to explain.
Feeling the crisis at hand, he struggled to persuade the Emperor, but the Emperor remained silent.
“Continue.”
“All of this was done with the cooperation of Tower Lord Bahamut Wizardros, who regularly received funds from His Highness, the Second Prince, and engaged in mana draining using children provided by him.”
“…”
“Impossible. The Tower Lord committed such heinous acts?”
“Child trafficking is strictly prohibited by Imperial law. If this is true, it cannot be overlooked!”
“Where is Lord Bahamut now?”
The nobles around the Emperor were shocked by Melissa’s testimony.
Among them were nobles under the First Prince, who seemed eager to use this opportunity to crush the Second Prince’s faction.
‘Good. It’s going according to plan.’
This should be enough to remove Albireo from the succession race.
Using Goldman’s funds to completely dismantle his faction would finish him off.
So far, everything was going as planned.
But.
‘…What is this uneasiness?’
An odd feeling had been prickling at me since earlier.
The plan was succeeding as intended.
Yet why.
Why did this unbearable sense of incongruity torment me?
Then.
As if lifting a dark curtain, a sinister presence emerged from behind.
“Hohoho. Impressive, Duke. This old man is truly amazed.”
“!”
The voice I had heard in the arena corridor yesterday.
Where had he been hiding all this time?
I turned around immediately upon sensing his presence.
“Tower Lord.”
“To corner us like this. I should have targeted you first.”
Despite the dire situation, his tone remained composed.
An endless flow of mana emanated from his entire body.
Tower Lord Bahamut Wizardros floated in the air and spoke.
“Lord Bahamut!”
“Targeting Her Highness the Princess, what is the meaning of this!”
The nobles under the First Prince, who had just noticed his appearance, criticized the Tower Lord as if they were on Justia’s side.
Their actions clearly aimed to completely bring him down.
Seeing this, the Tower Lord laughed heartily.
“Hohoho. Everyone seems thrilled that I’m cornered.”
“How dare a criminal spout such nonsense! You, who violated Imperial law and conspired to assassinate Her Highness the Princess, deserve more than just imprisonment. You must be prepared for execution!”
“Well, well. Since I must leave the Empire anyway, if there’s a bug that wants to die first, keep chirping. Now, who wants to die first?”
“…”
As the Tower Lord laughed and gathered mana, the nobles fell silent.
The arena, which had been in chaos, suddenly quieted.
While he examined Gawain’s corpse in the center of the stage.
I glared at him.
‘This old man is truly insane.’
I had wondered what he was up to, hiding all this time.
Was he planning to go on a killing spree?
But with me here, that wouldn’t happen.
As he finished examining Gawain’s body and slowly straightened up, I spoke.
“Lord Bahamut. Accept your fate quietly.”
“Hmm. Fate, you say?”
“You said you would leave the Empire? You can neither leave the Empire nor kill me. Surrendering is your only fate.”
“Hohoho. How bold. And you possess the strength to match. Indeed, I cannot let you live.”
Despite my warning, the Tower Lord remained composed.
What’s going on?
Surely, his escape routes are blocked.
Why is he so calm?
…Did he prepare something while hiding?
‘Ah.’
At that moment.
A thought flashed through my mind, and I realized the source of my unease.
I had to kill him now.
As I was about to summon my aura in an instant.
The Tower Lord spread his arms wide and spoke.
“It’s too late.”
A murderous intent deeper than the abyss shone through his smile.
An immense amount of mana spread from the Tower Lord’s body in all directions.
“Inter Sectamento Spatio.”
Whoosh-!
As the Tower Lord chanted the spell, a massive magic circle rose beneath the stage.
Then, a hemisphere large enough to engulf half the arena formed.
A deafening sensation followed, and the flow of air became unnatural.
‘Damn it, a spatial isolation barrier!’
Swoosh.
I instantly summoned my deep blue aura, enveloping my entire body.
A spatial barrier of this scale shouldn’t be easy even for Bahamut.
Was he hiding to prepare this?
Looking around, people were panicking.
“What’s this?”
“A spatial barrier!”
“We’re completely cut off from the outside!”
The stands turned into chaos in an instant.
Amidst the pandemonium.
The Tower Lord stroked his long beard and surveyed the people trapped in the barrier.
“About ten thousand people, I suppose. If the Duke does not take his own life, I will kill them all within the next hour.”
His tone was as calm as if he were stepping on ants.
Amidst the screams and cries of the people, the Tower Lord smiled eerily.
“Now, Duke. Choose your fate.”