魅力影院

Chapter 157

By the time ‘Conviction’ rolled across the floor, the outcome was already decided.

Kwadangtang! Kukung!

Arwen, pierced by Ed’s dagger and slammed to the ground, coughed up the blood she held in.

Ed sat atop Arwen, adding more force to the dagger plunged into her shoulder. His hand tightened around the hilt, and the force driving it into the ground intensified.

“Keuh… Keug…”

Arwen was a swordsman of exceptional skill but not of overwhelming physical strength.

Once overpowered by Ed’s might, she found it difficult to escape. Ed, aware of this, kept his grip on the dagger, pressing Arwen into the ground.

“Kuu… Ugh…”

Arwen tried several times to muster the strength to rise, but as the bleeding continued, her energy gradually waned.

Eventually, her struggles ceased, and her flailing arms quietly rested on the stone floor.

Ed, who had been clenching his teeth to subdue Arwen, slowly began to relax. He realized that she no longer had the strength to resist.

Arwen, eyes tightly shut, spoke.

“Finish it.”

“Arwen, sister!”

Just then, Tanya, having barely managed to get up, shouted out.

Behind Ed, who pinned Arwen down, Tanya staggered closer.

“We don’t need to go this far.”

Tanya’s face, teary-eyed, pleaded.

Just having burst onto the battlefield, Tanya did not fully grasp the situation. Yet, she clearly knew that the gruesomely transformed girl before her was the same Arwen who’d once held and comforted her.

“I don’t know what you had to endure…”

Tanya was one of those who knew Arwen up close.

She had been celebrated as the fitting heir to the Rothtaylor family and deeply understood Crebin’s innermost thoughts.

As the first appointed heir, it was likely that Crebin had mutually shared his thoughts and feelings with Arwen openly and without reserve.

If so, she probably grasped the darkness within Crebin quicker than anyone.

Yet, Arwen had not denied him. Tanya could not believe this fact.

“… We can start over. Let’s just talk for now.”

“One thing is certain…”

Even with blood in her mouth, Arwen made herself clear.

“If I am free, I will raise my sword again. By my own will.”

“There must be a reason for you to do this!”

Tanya, teary, rushed over to plead with Arwen.

“Look at what’s happening now. The mansion is destroyed, there are monsters in the sky, and people are dying… Is this really what you wanted? This isn’t what you wished for!”

“Ed.”

Arwen, with eyes shut, spoke.

“Finish it.”

Before Tanya could say more, Arwen cut her off.

“I need to rest now.”

Hearing those words, Tanya was lost for words.

Arwen, crushed on the floor, barely breathing, was far from being in good shape.

Though Mebuler’s power had partially restored her body, it had been nearly a half-corpse to start with.

She had endured immense pain while partaking in Crebin’s research and survived to the end. She knew that if she died, Ed and Tanya would be next.

In the end, she fought with such a body. She was stabbed with a sword. The agony was indescribable. Arwen herself had said that the power of Mebuler came with a terrible pain.

“It’s been a hard life. You’ve suffered a lot.”

“Was it worth it?”

Arwen just gave a thin smile in response.

She had followed Crebin all her life. As his eldest daughter, the glorious heir, the single sympathizer indulging in his wickedness as if embracing pure evil.

In affirmation, she turned away from morality, bowed to departing siblings, and dismissed the objections of her vassals.

Then, the only question Ed had for Arwen was whether it was worth it.

No answer came back. The answer lay in seeing Crebin for himself.

Ed closed his eyes once, then opened them and lifted the dagger—a ceremonial dagger for various ceremonies at the Rothtaylor mansion. One of the few tools Ed had when he first started living in the wild.

The blade, hardened by many battles, glowed in the moonlight.

It was the end of someone’s long journey.

* * *

As I charged full-tilt into the domain, the mansion grounds grew nearer.

Princess Phoenia clung to her steed, galloping down the path, and her escort knights spurred their mounts to keep up.

Even at such a gallop, the monstrous entities floating in the sky were becoming visible.

The grotesque flesh-covered eyeball monster looked unmistakably like the evil deity Mebuler from mythic times.

It was inconceivable that there was another monster engaging it in a one-on-one battle.

Kwaang! Kwang!

Despite Mebuler’s appearance being incomplete, it’s not a foe an average human can handle.

Yet, there was a disaster on the ground to match that in the sky.

The numerous high-rank magic circles carving through the air are each an endeavor a skilled magician must exert their full effort on.

But the sorcerer firing them off as if they were expendables. A silhouette visible at the edge of one’s vision, small as a bean, but Princess Phoenia recognized it instantly, due to familiarity.

Lucy Mayrill, known throughout Sylvania as a rare genius.

That she was facing Mebuler so directly was clearly to aid Ed Rothtaylor.

Lucy Mayrill was known to be peculiarly favorable towards Ed Rothtaylor, and Princess Phoenia was very aware of that fact.

Tadak! Tadadak!

Finally, the mansion’s outer wall came into view, and the moment to enter with the knights was upon us.

―Tang! Kaang!

Numerous knights visible to Princess Phoenia bore the emblem of teal vines on their armor, undoubtedly the knights of the Telos Congregation.

They were engaged in combat against all manner of creeping tendrils, gremlins, and humanoid flesh monsters spilling from the mansion’s entrance.

“Damn it! We have to clear this side first! More gremlins are coming out from inside!”

“We can manage…! But they are too many! To reach the abbess, we have to clear a path straight through…!”

“We need to form a separate entry team! If we move as a separate unit while dodging the main force, we can reach the central mansion where the abbess is!”

The gremlin’s horde seemed to be under someone’s command.

They deployed just enough forces to subdue individual targets, but for large armies, they brought overwhelming numbers.

Besides, the entrance was too narrow.

Once inside, if we could reach an open space, we could move as a separate unit to scatter the enemy forces. Our objective, after all, is not to annihilate the enemy troops but to rescue the abbess.

However, the single entrance in the massive outer wall was unfavorably narrow for attackers.

Whack! Kaang!

Princess Phoenia’s guard leapt from their mounts and joined the fray immediately upon arrival. They smashed their magic into the tendrils and crossed swords with the armed gremlins.

“You, you are…! No…! I’m, I’m sorry! I was out of line!”

A commander from the congregation who was orchestrating the fight knelt quickly upon seeing Princess Phoenia’s face.

His aides, too, promptly lowered their stance upon recognizing her.

Princess Phoenia shook her head, signaling everyone to rise. Now was not the time for formalities.

“What’s happening here?”

Princess Phoenia jumped from her horse and gathered her gown. Covered in dirt and devoid of dignity, but she paid it no mind.

“We haven’t assessed the full situation yet. We were camped around as the abbess was attending a social gathering. Then suddenly… as you can see…”

No more lengthy explanations were needed. The urgency of the situation was evident, and one need only watch to understand the events unfolding.

Princess Phoenia bit her lower lip and looked up at the skies above the mansion. Between Lucy and Mebuler, an unbelievable exchange of high-level magic was ongoing.

The spectacle was dazzling to behold.

The night sky brightened periodically with the light of magic. An odd comparison to make amidst the crisis, it was like fireworks so bright they could blind.

Then, it happened.

Kwakwang! Kwang!

A piece of the thick wall surrounding Rothtaylor’s property was shattered by high-level magic.

Kwakakakak!

Dust rose suddenly as a large hole appeared. The knights, taken aback, braced for combat. If a horde of gremlins swarmed out, it would be like an attack from the flank.

But the first face to emerge was… Sinir Bloomriver, head of House Bloomriver.

She was sweating profusely and gasping for air. Before the knights could react, Sinir shouted back.

“Everyone, come out now! The Telos Congregation’s knights are here!”

With that cue, a group of dignitaries under the protection of the spirits finally burst out from behind the walls.

“Aah! We’re alive!”

“Finally, we’re out of this hellish mansion! I’ve survived! I’ve survived!”

“Thank you, God! Thank you for sparing this miserable life!”

Seeing the elite group emerging, the congregation’s commander quickly ordered his subordinates to protect them all.

Solid knights rushed forward to shield the dignitaries, and the nobles were moved by their devotion.

Wet with tears, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“We must quickly inform the royal palace about what has happened here!”

Amidst the chaos, a noble who had regained his composure raised his voice.

“Already more than three high nobles have perished, and over ten local nobles. The orchestrator of this act must be reported to the palace and left to hang at the gallows!”

“Yes, damn it! Those Rothtaylor family bastards! They’re all lunatics obsessed with their schemes!”

“Prepare to send a dispatch to the palace immediately! The palace must be informed of the horrific disaster unfolding here!”

“Princess Sella was also present at the scene… to perpetrate such an act… it’s a direct challenge to the royal family!”

And so, the voices of the nobles gradually grew louder.

They exchanged words among themselves and then crowded towards the commander of the cathedral knights.

Just as they were about to insist on preparing a report for the palace, the figure of Princess Phoenia caught the eyes of the distinguished guests.

The Third Princess, Phoenia Elias Clorel. Mere mention of her name exempts the need for a further introduction. She was the girl whose name was widely known among all the nobles who looked up to the royal family.

“Pr-Princess Phoenia!”

“Why would Princess Phoenia be here…!”

“No way, in such a place…!”

The faces of the nobles brightened. While unsure why Princess Phoenia was present, the extent of Rothtaylor family’s atrocities would be needless to explain if she had witnessed the entire situation herself.

Princess Phoenia was not only a key figure in the royal family but also wielded tremendous influence. If she could be convinced of the situation, what would follow could be settled swiftly.

“Respected Princess Phoenia! Look at this disaster! We have seen the whole situation from within! The Rothtaylor family’s evil deeds and the massacre they have planned for a long time!”

“That mad clan head intended to offer us all as sacrifices to that monster! We had no choice but to flee for our lives!”

“All of the Rothtaylor family are the same! Whether it’s the successor Tanya Rothtaylor or the son Ed Rothtaylor, they all deserve death! They are all in cahoots! The retainers too, most of whom have already turned into monsters!”

While the guests were shouting, Princess Phoenia calmly assessed the situation.

The one stalling time against the floating Mebuler in the sky was surely Lucy Mayrill, who had sided with Ed.

Thus, Princess Phoenia concluded that at least Ed was not allied with Crebin. It seemed more apt to view him as standing at the opposite pole.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for Lucy to be blocking that giant monster.

Having quickly determined the state of affairs, Princess Phoenia was about to evacuate the guests to safety.

Flap Flap

Several manifested spirits flew in and plunged towards the broken outer wall.

From the grand army of spirits covering the sky to the ones that flew in… there weren’t many spirit summoners who could handle such a number of spirits.

The spirits that had been hovering around now seemed to have completed their check and flew back into the estate through the hole in the broken outer wall.

Princess Phoenia, before anyone could stop her, mounted her horse and hurriedly drove it towards the damaged wall section.

“What, what?!”

“Princess Phoenia?!”

The knights were taken aback, unprepared. After all, who in the world would brazenly enter the hellish estate grounds?

Yet, Princess Phoenia spurred her horse on, following the spirits. Leaping over the rubble of the broken wall, she ran alongside the perimeter wall of the estate and finally saw what the spirits were aiming for.

A sparrow fluttered its wings and perched on the tip of the girl’s finger, chirping away. It was as if it was a subordinate reporting everything it had seen.

Beyond the broken outer wall, Princess Phoenia saw the girl who had escorted the guests out and was contributing to minimize casualties by commanding the army of spirits.

Surely, she was single-handedly covering for the multitude of gremlins surrounding them.

She had managed to save every one of the numerous high nobles single-handedly.

It was a feat worthy of royal commendation and possibly even a small title, but the girl seemed indifferent to such honors. To begin with, she hardly ever revealed herself before others.

She looked busier than ever, as if there was something more pressing at hand, pacing back and forth impatiently.

“Yes, I understand. Clearing misconceptions is important, but right now, preserving lives is more imperative… I need to go to Ed’s side first… persuasion can come later.”

The girl, conversing with the spirit under the moonlight, looked hurried.

It was then she seemed to realize the presence of Princess Phoenia.

“Ah-uh!”

Startled by the sight of Princess Phoenia, the girl appeared clumsy and incongruent with the formidable power she wielded.

She seemed flustered, not knowing what to say as tears welled up and she flailed her arms in panic.

“You protected the guests, Yenika Faelover.”

“I just did what Ed asked me to. Now, I need to go to him.”

Yenika didn’t elaborate much. While she had succeeded in minimizing casualties, Crebin’s plan had not been completely thwarted.

The most crucial task was capturing Crebin. He was the mastermind behind all these events and the catalyst for the advent of the evil god Mebuler.

“Ed… Rothtaylor?”

“Your Highness. You should not listen to those guests. I understand the desire to bring down the Rothtaylor family, but…”

Yenika addressed Princess Phoenia directly.

“Ed is now trying to stop Crebin Rothtaylor. Please believe me. Ed may be a direct descendant of Crebin but at least he has not taken part with him. Even if he is a member of the Rothtaylor family, Ed has always been on his own…”

“I believe you.”

Relieved by Princess Phoenia’s quick response, Yenika lowered her head.

Yenika hadn’t expected Princess Phoenia to trust Ed so readily.

She thought she would need to present more logical arguments to convince her, but Princess Phoenia had never doubted Ed in the first place.

In fact, if he truly thwarted Crebin, instead of a gallows, he would be hailed as a national hero.

“Just, I need to confirm it for myself. Where is he now?”

As Princess Phoenia spoke, Yenika pointed towards the annex of the estate.

There, on the rooftop, Crebin Rothtaylor was positioned.

* * *

The sound of footsteps grew louder as they ascended the staircase, reaching the rooftop.

―Clang, clang!

A greatsword was dragged across the floor, hitting every step along the way.

The blond youth, drenched in blood, made his way up the stairs that led to the rooftop.

He held a dagger in one hand, reversed, and in the other, the hilt of the greatsword ‘Judgement,’ a relic of Arwen.

The holy sword of Luden, equipped with all sorts of protective spells and even augmented by acceleration magic, was now in Ed’s possession.

Arwen’s other greatsword, ‘Dawnbringer,’ was heavier than expected, and the elemental spells infused into it were within Ed’s own repertoire, so he hadn’t bothered to collect it.

After all, Ed had never trained in greatsword skills. Therefore, even if he picked up a greatsword, even a powerful weapon, he couldn’t fully harness its capabilities.

Clang, clang!

However, he had another reason for bringing the sword.

Ascending the stairs, the sound of the greatsword clanging against the steps repeatedly resonated on the rooftop.

Crebin Rothtaylor had an inkling. Ed Rothtaylor was approaching.

All respect for the family had burned away, leaving only the blood-soaked beast, hellbent on the hunt for Crebin, coming his way.

Though the estate grounds had nearly turned into a living hell, the annex that Ed had swept through remained eerily silent.

Tanya sat slump beside Arwen’s corpse, gripping her cold hand and resting her face on her shoulder. Ed had left Merilda as a guard for Tanya while she collected herself and now, he was heading to the rooftop alone.

Clang! Clang!

The sounds of the greatsword clashing against the stair steps slowly ceased, replaced by the sound of it scraping across the rooftop floor. He had reached the top.

Under the open sky, the blood-drenched boy walked forward.

Dragging the greatsword along, he stared down at Crebin, who was seated nonchalantly on the shattered parapet.

Crebin recognized at once the identity of the greatsword in Ed’s hand.

“You’ve arrived.”

At Crebin’s words, Ed remains silent. He merely draws the greatsword he brought with him, Arwen’s sword, and impales it into the floor.

Crash!

The blade buried in the floor was soaked with blood.

He had brought this sword to demonstrate clearly whom he had slashed through to make his way here.

Ed’s path had always been a thorny one. Crebin was aware of that fact.

From his seat like a throne upon the spread parapet, Crebin quietly stood up. The magic circle meant for the sacrifice was still operational. Though far from completion, its target was already clearly aimed at the nobles.

The VIPs themselves are unaware that the magical sights are trained on them at this very moment.

“It’s been a long journey.”

Crebin spoke softly.

“Let’s put an end to it.”

Standing beside the impaled greatsword, Ed quietly raised his head.

This was the end of his lengthy and disheartening connection with the Rothtaylor family. He bowed his head in silence and began to ready his full strength. His fierce eyes, between his bloodied face stared down Crebin, as he summoned all the magic within himself.

The wind blew.

Around Ed, at the rooftop of the Rothtaylor family’s annex, a whirlwind rose up.

As the rising wind calmed, a mighty wolf’s howl resounded.

Awoooo, the howl of Merilda cut through the night sky above the Rothtaylor estate.

From any point within the estate, one could clearly see the overwhelming presence of the colossal wolf squatting over the annex rooftop, growling softly.