NOVPUB#122
Swoosh-
While looking at the monster corps facing her, Irene slowly extended her hand.
The monsters lowered their bodies slowly following Irene’s gaze.
The moment all preparations were complete, Irene issued orders to her corps without delay.
“All troops, advance.”
One word.
At that one word from Irene’s lips, hundreds of monsters began charging while breaking formation.
“Kieeek?!”
“Kwok! Kwork–!”
Along with seemingly confused cries, Arachne’s monsters advancing indiscriminately hesitated.
At the vanguard of Irene’s corps stood Elcryer, a monster created with the seven stroke imprint.
They felt instinctive fear upon sensing the magical power emanating from its black body.
Kiiiing-!
A small crack formed like that.
Monster ‘Elcryer’, having found an entry route toward Arachne, immediately raised its mana core’s magical power output to maximum.
Kukwaang—!
With a thunderous roar, Arachne’s corps’ front line was completely shaken.
“Kruk?!”
“Why. This wasn’t in your expectations, was it?”
Irene’s monster corps struck the queen monster Arachne’s corps.
The only being that could stop that immense violence was this one before my eyes.
Alexander.
A pure-breed monster that Arachne had created with utmost care.
It hurriedly tried to shake me off to join its corps, but I had no intention of letting it go easily.
Kakakakang–!
Consecutive attacks emphasizing speed and physical abilities dizzyingly disrupted my vision.
It was difficult to handle at first, but that was only momentary.
When all its decisive attacks were blocked, urgent colors clouded the monster’s eyes.
‘Its true nature is gradually being revealed.’
After exchanging offense and defense several times like that, I noticed this Alexander monster’s weakness.
‘While its physical specs and speed were certainly top-tier, this one lacks experience.’
Its combat style gave a feeling more similar to fighting a human than a monster.
Attacks with a consistent system and angled movements.
Though powerful at first, as battles continued, its behavior patterns began to become standardized.
‘You could say its high intelligence became a hindrance instead.’
If it had been an ordinary monster, it would have been more difficult than now.
If it had abandoned reason and attacked recklessly, it would have taken much longer to come up with countermeasures.
But with an opponent showing ambiguously intelligent movements like now?
The moment you grasp the pattern, it means you can respond accordingly!
Chwarururuk-!
“?!”
When chains formed where it had stepped, it flinched as if startled.
Create chains at predicted points to make an opening, then exploit that gap with the penetration formula [Spear of Mithra].
Once, twice, and thrice.
As if realizing its movements were being read, it immediately operated its mana core at maximum output.
‘Since skill battles aren’t working, it plans to overwhelm with physical abilities, huh.’ 𝓃𝓸𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
Just what I wanted.
A monster shooting straight forward without technique or deception.
I aimed Heresy forward as if to welcome it.
The formula I used was the explosion formula, [MOAF]
I fired a magic bullet to draw out magical power to the maximum, then struck with magic at full firepower.
Kukwaang–!
An enormous impact that shook the entire space.
My explosion formula tried to melt its bio-armor, while Alexander tried to pierce through my magic with its spear.
Crack. Crack.
A clash at maximum output from both sides.
As the explosive aftermath subsided, the results of my battle with Alexander gradually began to show.
“Kruk, krururu……”
“Persistent one.”
My defensive barrier spread in front.
Alexander with half its face completely blown off.
The monster and I facing each other hurled curses at one another.
The result of the confrontation was a draw.
However, this battle was my victory.
“Kiiiiiik–!”
“?!”
Alexander hurriedly turned its head at the cry from behind.
While our battle continued, Irene’s monster corps led by Elcryer was suppressing Arachne’s corps.
“Don’t come! Don’t come—!”
“……”
“A mere fake! Mere incomplete creatures created by a fake–!”
Overwhelming magical power emitted by the seven stroke imprint.
Unable to handle that, Arachne’s corps was collapsing one after another.
Arachne struggling desperately as if unable to accept defeat.
Seeing that sight, Alexander’s actions changed while confronting me.
Claang–!
After glaring at me briefly, Alexander disappeared from before my eyes.
The next moment, it was blocking Elcryer who had been charging toward Arachne.
“It’s not over yet. Not yet……”
“……”
Arachne shouting while having lost reason.
Alexander looked at the queen briefly like that, then raised its magical power and sent Elcryer’s body flying far away.
“Good Alexander! Quick, get them! Those fakes……”
As Arachne’s cries grew increasingly manic like that.
“No.”
After briefly speaking, Alexander shook its head while grabbing the queen’s shoulder.
The monster silently gazing at Arachne.
As if understanding what that gaze meant, Arachne ground her teeth and swung her hand.
Woong–!
What formed matching Arachne’s gesture was a black sphere.
That which had a similar shape to what Irene had used soon began changing its form unpredictably.
“Wait, fake.”
The queen looking viciously at Irene said while grinding her teeth.
“Next time, I will surely kill you.”
The next moment, Arachne and Alexander’s forms had vanished.
They disappeared from the rift while abandoning their corps.
“Phew……”
Did they run away.
Thinking that, I looked at the battlefield once more.
A situation where the pure-breed monsters had withdrawn, leaving only regular monsters without consciousness.
Seeing the monsters starting to rampage here and there after losing control, I slowly lowered my gun barrel.
‘If I use any more magical power, I’ll collapse right away.’
To block the contamination spewing from the rift, I always need to keep a certain amount of magical power in reserve.
The remaining monsters can be left for Irene’s monsters and Margrave’s doll corps to handle.
While catching my breath after turning off my Domain like that.
“There will be much to discuss when we return. Isn’t that right, Eugene?”
The Margrave’s low voice was heard from behind me.
“The appearance of monsters capable of communication. And a queen specimen commanding such monsters, and that queen targeting that child…”
“I will tell you everything.”
If no one else, I can’t hide it from Margrave anymore.
I opened my mouth while looking at Margrave.
“About Irene. What I know about the monsters and rifts. I will tell you everything. So…”
As if guessing my next words, Margrave Kassel spoke.
“I, too, must tell you what I promised. What your imprint is, what His Majesty’s true intentions are.”
Hearing those words, I realized.
That the conversation we would have upon return would become a secret known only to me and the Margrave.
That was the deal made through this expedition.
The condition for sending back Margrave, who was supposed to die in the rift, to the northern lands.
“Phew.”
The Margrave aiming at the rift’s center while completing the second mass formula.
“It has been a long, long time.”
He was looking at the center of the Great Rupture he had watched for decades with mixed emotions on his face.
“How many northerners were sacrificed to the teeth of monsters bursting from the rift.”
“……”
“The northern sea covered in contamination. A war of attrition with no end in sight. How long we endured to end all of that.”
After finishing his words, the count immediately concentrated and aimed at his target.
Finally ending the task I’ve devoted my life to.
Muttering that, the margrave ground his teeth and fired his magic.
Paaaat—!
Along with a dazzling light, space began gradually collapsing from the rift’s core.
Korhonen’s mass formula had destroyed the rift’s nexus.
***
“Lady Reina! Please look at this!”
Drilling equipment installed in the glacier zone.
At the technician’s cry who was monitoring the rift through the observation window, Reina’s automaton approached there.
“The rift… It’s disappearing.”
“…!”
The rift that gradually faded before completely vanishing.
Confirming that, Reina nodded with a heavy sigh.
‘Father succeeded.’
Thinking that, Reina tightly shut both eyes.
The path to the rift was one-way.
The method of return had not yet been properly discovered.
There was a hypothesis that an exit would form when destroying the rift’s core, but nothing had been verified.
‘The Margrave and Eugene, and Lady Irene who followed him…’
It would be reasonable to consider them dead.
Thinking that, Reina opened her mouth with a gloomy voice.
“I suppose… I should prepare a letter to send to the homeland.”
Kassel Korhonen. And Eugene Lorentz.
That they had advanced fearlessly toward the rift and succeeded in completely eliminating the unprecedented calamity that had struck the north.
And that they died gloriously in the end.
Saying that, Reina bit her lip and held back her grief.
Because she had been powerless throughout all those numerous incidents that occurred in the north.
Just as Reina, who had forcefully swallowed her feelings of powerlessness, turned her head.
Kukwaang–!
The ice floor not far from the drilling equipment burst open.
“What! Monsters?!”
“Impossible, the rift just disappeared…!”
While startled knights were shouting, something rose from the split hole.
Something groping the cold ice floor.
Reina’s eyes who turned on the automaton’s monitoring equipment immediately grew wide.
Because that which rose from the water was a human hand.
“Imperial army uniform sleeve… Then could that be…?”
Just as Reina who closely examined the hand opened her mouth in disbelief.
“Puha! Heok…! Heok……”
From the ice-cold water, Eugene’s face suddenly emerged.
What was hanging on his shoulders were the unconscious Margrave Kassel and Irene.
The knights and technicians who saw that could only be astonished.
“Escaped from the rift? No, how…”
“No, more than that… Don’t tell me he swam up? Through tens of meters of ice water?”
She had a rough idea of how it was done.
He probably activated his magic imprint to prevent temperature drop, then swam up from the glacier bottom.
Of course, though she could guess the method, Reina was no less astonished.
Maintaining and managing three people’s body temperatures simultaneously.
It was certainly not something one would do in their right mind.
“Never again… Swimming or anything like it. C-cold……”
Eugene who emerged from the water like that staggered a few steps on the ice floor before collapsing.
“Oh! Eugene died!”
“I’m about to die, Irene. So hurry and call someone.”
“Here~! Over here~!”
Irene waving her hand toward the drilling equipment.
While everyone was dumbfounded, Reina who quickly grasped the situation ordered the knights.
“What are you all doing not going to receive them immediately!”
“…!”
The head of the family Kassel and Eugene had returned, and were collapsed unconscious in the middle of the glacier,
If not retrieved immediately, they would truly freeze to death.
“Hurry! Quick!”
“To think they really returned… Just what…”
The startled knights immediately prepared sleds and ran out onto the glacier.
Eugene and the Margrave being supported by knights onto the sleds.
When a knight who examined Margrave Kassel gave a hand signal, Reina looked up at the sky with a sigh of relief.
“Really… It’s over.”
The northern sky that had been cloudy due to the rift’s influence.
The sky that had been constantly gray since birth was now clear.
***
“The sky has cleared.”
“Pardon?”
A quiet plain located on the empire’s outskirts.
At the emperor’s words looking at the sky, Andrei who was waiting asked back puzzledly.
“Your Majesty. The sky here has been clear from the start…”
“I’m not speaking of the sky here.”
Though Andrei tilted his head not understanding, the emperor merely wore a faint smile.
However, his eyes were emitting a strange light different from usual.
“The relocation plan the Margrave handed over is canceled.”
His friend’s magical power felt from the far northern lands.
Confirming that, the emperor’s expression was bright.
“Isn’t it good that you returned alive. Kassel.”
Just as the emperor said that while looking at the northern sky.
“Cough, cough! Cough!”
“Y-Your Majesty!”
Seeing the emperor making rough coughing sounds, Andrei hurriedly approached and examined the emperor’s body.
The emperor’s hand that had covered his mouth to stop the coughing was soaked with blood.
“Your condition is getting worse, Your Majesty. Using the imprint any further…”
“It’s alright, Andrei. It’s fine.”
The emperor who forcefully waved his hand muttered while looking at the blood staining his hand.
“The time left to me wasn’t much anyway.”
“Your Majesty…!”
Seeing Andrei calling him with a voice about to cry, the emperor smiled slightly.
“Andrei. Originally, I… was supposed to die long ago.”
“……”
“Giving up everything. Bearing the knowledge and truth about the prophecy alone, destined to die lonely in a dark room.”
Looking at the far northern sky, the emperor’s eyes sank deeply.
“That child granted me a second life.”
He saved him from predestined death, gave a second chance to change the empire, and showed hope in the name of uncertainty instead of predetermined destruction.
“Everything I accomplished was possible because of that child’s choices. Therefore……”
The boy returned everything he had given up.
Then what should he give to the boy in return?
That answer had already been decided long ago.
“I will give the empire to that child.”
“…!”
The eastern Gloucester, the northern Korhonen.
The two Margraves solved long-standing problems in their lands, and in return came to follow his successor.
If the two Margraves support Eugene’s back, no one would dare raise objections.
“Your Majesty.”
Then now, only one obstacle remains.
“Only those of imperial blood can inherit the throne.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
Blood lineage.
The imperial blood given at birth.
Without that, Eugene could not become emperor.
Could not grasp the empire as his legitimate successor.
“That is why, I……”
The emperor who turned around with a faint smile slowly opened his mouth.
“Plan to abolish the House of Franz.”
Andrei’s eyes immediately grew wide hearing the emperor’s words.
“Your Majesty. Those words just now…!”
“They are as you heard them. Andrei.”
To hand over the empire to that child.
To pass on the empire to the flame that will open a new era.
“I will dissolve this Kalhyram Empire.”
