Shane, who was walking towards his destination according to the report of the dark elf Arwen, was organizing his thoughts.
Nameless made their move.
From Nameless’s perspective, the masked Shane must have been a thorn in their side.
In the Great Mezaiya Forest, he appeared at the most crucial moment and took away the dark elves, throwing a wrench in their grand plan.
In Arunvida, he had nullified Kargato’s spell that made use of an army of 150,000 monsters while also taking the life of the grand chieftain Pagabutan.
On top of that, the crown prince who had been working with Nameless lost Count Salier, causing delays in the supply of non-human slaves, and to make matters worse, his trade ledger brought further trouble.
As a result, the careful plans that Nameless had been preparing for a long time were starting to fall apart one by one.
That’s why Nameless had made their move.
At this point, they couldn’t afford to let the masked man leading the dark elves live, and they were painting a picture where Shane would inevitably be drawn into their trap.
It seems they’ve finally realized something.
Meanwhile, from Nameless’s perspective, it would have been difficult to be certain of the masked man’s true intentions.
Although it seemed like he was cooperating with Olicia based on the circumstances, there wasn’t any solid proof.
However, when the Dark Elf Arwen was discovered, Nameless was finally convinced.
The masked man and Olicia were working together.
Arwen was caught a day before the third terror attack. So the third attack could be interpreted as a signal for me to come alone.
If they wanted to stop the fourth attack, it was likely a call to bring minimal forces.
Their side probably doesn’t have many troops either.
Nameless, who felt it wasn’t yet time to reveal themselves to the world, must also have sent only a minimal force.
Still, that didn’t mean Shane could take the situation lightly.
Nameless’s organization would undoubtedly be plotting to kill him. They would do everything within their power to do so.
The moment Shane stepped inside the mine, he felt it instinctively.
At least legion commander level.
The presence radiated boldly as if it had no intention of hiding itself.
Wrath and Lust should be active in the Nikar Desert by now, and Sloth’s position has not yet been decided. If that’s the case….
Based on this, Shane thought about which legion commanders might be able to move freely at this point in time.
As various possibilities flashed through his mind, only one came to him.
Pride.
The third legion commander, the one who had embodied Pride before Dilaila in his previous life.
“Hoo, so you’ve really come alone.”
Lucifer.
He was looking down at Shane with the same eyes filled with arrogance.
***
—The First Princess Olicia is colluding with black mages!
It didn’t take long for this rumor to spread widely across the Empire.
Several newspapers bravely distributed articles with related content.
Most of them clearly stated that the revelations had come from anonymous sources, and vaguely noted that it was still unclear whether the tip-off was reliable.
But even that was enough to fuel conversations about black mages, terrorism, and Olicia anywhere two or more people gathered.
As the rumors grew, some sensationalist outlets even reported the story as if it were fact.
“Genuinely, Brother’s skills are impressive.”
All of this had happened in just two days.
However, it was as if Olicia had foreseen this situation. She remained as calm as ever.
She had been summoned to the imperial palace.
She needed to explain the truth behind the rumors.
Whether or not Olicia had actually caused the terror incidents, since her name had been mentioned, she had no choice but to address it directly.
Yet none of her usual companions, neither Osten nor her other close aides, were by her side.
“I suppose I have to face this alone.”
This was a choice Olicia had made herself.
What Samuel wanted was to use this political struggle to hinder Olicia’s steps.
Because of this, Osten had left to prepare for the potential fourth terror attack that Nameless might launch, and her other aides had also gone to help him.
As a result, Olicia had to walk into the hearing without any support.
This is nothing.
There were a few reasons why Olicia could maintain her calm.
One of them was because she had seen this kind of tactic once before.
Nine years ago.
When Anastasia had been demoted to Arunvida, Samuel dealt her a political death in much the same way.
After that, Olicia had been carefully thinking of countermeasures to make sure she wouldn’t fall victim to the same tactic.
Moreover, Olicia wasn’t the only one in immediate danger.
There were already people risking their lives on the front lines, not just for her but for the empire as well.
Starting with Osten, who had left the palace to personally lead the forces, Anastasia was also preparing for another potential terror attack without having had a moment to rest since the last battle.
Klein and his team, apart from the injured, were still moving around, and the head of the coalition Mild must have been torn apart by the political attacks coming at him from all sides.
And above all else.
Compared to the burden he’s carrying…
Shane who knew it was a trap set by Nameless had gone off on his own.
Before he left Arunvida for the imperial palace, Adam had come to Olicia, delivering the message Shane had left behind for her.
The message contained measures in case things didn’t go as planned.
Shane had also anticipated the possibility that part of the operation might fail.
Everyone was risking their lives and trying to overcome the current crisis.
So there was no way she could shrink back in the face of such danger.
With that, Olicia straightened her shoulders more confidently than ever and crossed the threshold of the hearing room with graceful steps.
– The noble and rightful First Princess, Zephyr D. Arsha Olicia, is entering.
As the announcer’s voice echoed throughout the hall, the eyes of the hyenas who were already prepared to tear her apart instantly fixed on her.
***
Dark gray hair and obsidian-like eyes looked down at Shane.
“Lucifer of Pride.”
“Hoo, you know me?”
Lucifer’s face showed a spark of interest as he asked. Shane gave a slight nod in response.
Of course, Shane didn’t have a complete understanding of him.
By the time Shane had become a commander and learned of Nameless, the commander of Pride Lucifer was no longer of this world.
All he knew was that, as his name suggested, Lucifer was prideful and possessed the power to match such pride.
After all, the reason for his death in his previous life was his own arrogance, when he challenged the one who ruled at the top of Nameless, believing in his own strength.
In other words, it was rebellion.
But his rebellion ultimately failed, and he couldn’t escape death.
However, that did not diminish his value.
Rather, it was because he had the strength to challenge that he met such a fate.
Lucifer was undoubtedly a formidable foe.
“Of course. An unknown third legion commander of Nameless who doesn’t recognize his own standing.”
“…Interesting. Judging by your words, you seem even more arrogant than I am. But aside from that, it looks like you know quite a bit about me. Who exactly are you?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“Kuku, of course. That’s exactly how I hoped you’d respond. Since you’ve shown up like this, I was thinking I could stretch my body a little. I’ve heard you’re the one who thwarted our plans.”
Before Lucifer had even finished speaking, magic circles spread out all around Shane.
Just from the sheer amount of magical power he could sense, it was clear this was a destructive force carrying the power of a seventh-circle spell.
He cast such a spell effortlessly, without even an incantation.
Dead Rising.
Fwoosh—
In the blink of an eye, the beam of destruction that reduces everything it touches to atoms flew toward Shane.
However, the beam of destruction skillfully avoided Shane as if it were being refracted by a mirror.
“Oh. Impressive. It seems you’ve got a decent understanding of magic as well. Is that rune magic? It looks similar to what that witch uses. Were you originally part of our organization?”
“……..”
“So, no more words are needed, huh? How dull. Well, once I take you, I’ll figure it all out anyway.”
Though he was called Pride, Lucifer was far more talkative than Shane had expected.
Then again, he was someone who thrived on his own sense of superiority.
It made perfect sense.
This time, a spear of the same magical type shot out from beyond the magic circle, aiming for Shane.
Dead Rising, attribute transformed.
Dead Spike.
The spear, charged with the energy of destruction, tore through everything in its path. It even ignored Shane’s refracting rune magic.
It was a spell that Lucifer had quickly modified on the spot after he read Shane’s rune patterns to break through the refraction.
However, the modification had slowed its speed compared to earlier. This allowed Shane to predict its path and dodge it.
“Hmph.”
Still, the edge of his cloak was pierced, and it disintegrated instantly.
The destructive power that broke down anything it touched was truly scary.
At the same time, Shane summoned black blades.
Instead of his usual Wind Cutter, he compressed the fourth circle spell Flame Blades into runes and enhanced them with rotational power to create dozens of spinning blades.
They flew toward Lucifer, tracing an intricate pattern of attack.
But with a simple wave of Lucifer’s hand, every fiery blade in its path vanished.
A disk infused with the power of destruction had formed exactly along the blades’ trajectory.
Such unmatched flexibility in magic.
The power of destruction was not something that could be manifested by a single spell alone.
To break everything down to the atomic level, a corresponding opposing magical element was required.
Since there was no such thing as a force that simply disintegrated everything, the Lucifer before Shane had instantly recognized the nature of his magic and infused it with an opposing magical element, causing it to dissipate.
It was a level of magical control that no human could ever hope to achieve.
Yet Lucifer did it as naturally as breathing.
“Indeed, a power fitting for your kind.”
“……”
After a brief exchange of attacks, Shane finally spoke, and the once talkative Lucifer fell silent.
It could be said that this was his reverse scale.
The reason that arrogant being had challenged the Nameless Ruler was so he could remain prideful to the very end.
“So, Dragonians are different after all?”
“Hmph, of course. My creator is none other than a dragon. Do you think the magic of lowly humans could ever affect me?”
The Dragonians.
Creatures born from the blood of dragons themselves.
For someone with the blood of a dragon, also known as the Ruler of Magic, changing magic circles was as easy as opening and closing a fist.
Because of that, he had every right to be arrogant.
He belonged to a race that inherited the blood of dragons, who once reigned supreme over all living creatures.
And to prove that, Lucifer’s magic surged toward Shane once more.
As if the earlier attacks had been mere probing, various forms of destruction now came at him from all sides.
A shield infused with the element of earth was torn apart as the gaps between the elements widened.
The Wind Cutter spell was shattered by a sword imbued with the power of iron.
A veil of fire was pierced by blades carrying the chill of ice.
With all of Shane’s magic vanishing the moment it manifested, the unimpeded power of destruction came rushing toward him.
“Tch.”
As he gazed at the light of destruction, which no magic could block, he clicked his tongue and swiftly moved to evade once again.
[Master!]
Arcane screamed Shane’s name; her voice was filled with panic.
Perhaps because Lucifer had already observed Shane’s movements once before, his magic pursued Shane to the very end.
“You’re not the only one who can adjust coordinates.”
Lucifer’s calculation speed, which allowed him to modify the magic’s trajectory in real-time, was faster than Shane had anticipated.
As the light of destruction brushed past Shane’s shoulder, his skin rapidly began to disintegrate into dust.
“Kugh.”
Using his magic to stop the wound from getting any worse, Shane looked at Lucifer with narrowed eyes.
“For a mere human, your reaction speed isn’t bad. Now, make your choice. No matter how much you struggle, you can’t resist my magic. Will you surrender quietly? Or do you want to keep going? Personally, I’d prefer if you held out longer. It wouldn’t sit well with me if this ended too easily, especially when I haven’t even gotten warmed up.”
Shane let out a low sigh as he met Lucifer’s gaze which was still brimming with pride.
He tried using his magic as a test, but it was presumptuous to think of defeating the Dragonian race with magic.
“I don’t like the idea of indulging your wish, but fine. Let’s see this through to the end.”
As the darkness spread from Shane’s body, a deeper curiosity flickered in Lucifer’s eyes.
Leave a Reply