IPMB 07

Chapter 7

It took less than a few seconds for the plan to be completely revised.

Originally, the plan had been to take the docile heir with them and have him coax the Sacred Relic into obedience, despite having even created a harem for it. Since it felt rather unpleasant to reveal the truth about the Sacred Relic to a threatening Transcendent like Oen Winyak, they had chosen the heir as the next-best option.

If the boy was kind and timid, they figured they could persuade him to keep quiet about the relic’s information.

And if that didn’t work, they could simply erase his memories and send him back.

But…

They had misjudged him.

This boy was a black-hearted snake.

Regina shouted coldly.

“Whatever it is we’re hiding, we can’t put anything like that into the hands of someone like you!”

“That isn’t for you to decide, Regina Kirges.”

“Don’t get cocky…!”

Regina’s planetarium opened wide.

At the same time, a gigantic, translucent hemispherical universe spread out above her head, while a massive scarlet magic circle churned behind the boy.

The killing spell Regina had unleashed was just about to strike Kallion.

I’ll incapacitate him first, then rummage around inside that head of his and find out what he’s plotting!

But in the very next moment, Kallion’s figure vanished without a trace.

“What?!”

All that remained where he had been standing was a crescent-shaped trail of brilliant blue.

It was the mark left in the air by the razor-sharp sword that had already been drawn from its sheath.

Almost simultaneously, murderous intent swept in from directly behind Regina.

Her eyes widened.

When did he get behind me?!

No matter how weak sorcerers were supposed to be in close-quarters combat, this speed was simply impossible.

The boy leaned close to Regina’s ear and whispered cheerfully.

“I’m going to die sooner or later anyway. I don’t suppose you’d begrudge me for going a little early, would you, Kirges?”

His bright red eyes narrowed into razor-thin slits, rushing toward her as though they meant to devour her.

I’m going to die.

There wasn’t the slightest hesitation in the tip of the sword as it rushed straight for Regina’s throat.

Goosebumps covered her entire body.

He really intended to kill her here.

A Transcendent.

And not just any Transcendent—the head of House Kirges herself!

This is what Oen meant by being inadequate? What kind of nonsense is that?!

It was at that exact moment, as utter disbelief spread across Regina’s face, that she sensed something unfamiliar.

Mana was exploding outward in every direction with tremendous force.

Another Transcendent was nearby.

Regina hurriedly completed a defensive barrier and opened her mouth in a scream.

“Whisel…!”

“Oppaaaaaa—?”

But a bright, ringing voice arrived a split second sooner.

Kallion’s sword, which had been about to pierce through the barrier and strike Regina’s neck, suddenly stopped.

“Kali! Are you here?”

The unexpected voice was quite loud.

It belonged to a young girl.

For a moment, Regina forgot the danger she was in and was overcome by a strange feeling.

This voice… somehow sounds familiar…?

“You’re not here, Lord Head! What happened?!”

Just as that grumbling voice—complaining that she’d been made to look like a complete fool—reached Regina’s unusually sensitive ears again, the icy killing intent directed at her vanished without a trace.

However, even though Kallion had withdrawn his murderous intent, there was no way to retrieve the sword that had already reached within inches of his opponent’s vital point.

Yet the blade did not wound Regina’s neck.

With tremendous strength, Kallion bent the sword sideways.

Then he simply let go.

The sword’s direction changed at the last possible moment. It slashed through some point in the air before flying off into the darkness.

He… he threw away his sword…?

To throw away his weapon?

What kind of sudden change of strategy was this?

Whisel’s mana was still lingering near the entrance to the drainage channel leading to the surface.

Her anxious muttering continued to drift over.

“Maybe we really need to go inside. Lord Head, let’s go down there.”

[Do you think I’m your pet? Don’t order me around.]

“You carried me all the way here without saying a word, so why are you acting like this now? If you won’t take me, I’m never going down!”

[Let go of me—cough! Don’t choke me! How does someone so tiny have this much strength?!]

Regina wanted to call Whisel over somehow, but for the first time in a very long while, she found herself unable to get a word out.

Instead of taking Regina’s head off, the boy had embedded the crescent-shaped sword aura into the wall.

The drainage channel beneath their feet split apart without a sound.

The floor twisted, and the bodies of the thirty knights who had been lying on top of it helplessly fell into the sewage flowing beneath them.

In an instant, every trace of the battle disappeared.

Regina barely managed to climb onto the cracked and twisted fragments.

From there, she looked down and saw the boy casually pulling the Imperial Guard Captain out just before he was completely submerged in the wastewater.

The sword was already back in the sheath hanging obediently from the boy’s waist.

“I didn’t expect you to come along.”

Kallion muttered quietly and kicked away the jacket he had dropped on the floor.

The jacket disappeared into the rushing sewage as well.

Kallion casually undid a couple of buttons on his shirt and glanced up at Regina.

His hands were moving hurriedly, as though he were being chased by something.

He was calculating how long it would take the unexpected intruders to descend from the sewer entrance to this place.

Since they’re with Louise Whisel, it won’t even take three minutes.

Regina felt a chill when she saw the pair of reddish-brown eyes looking toward her.

Instinctively, she became certain that the boy was already figuring out how to dispose of her.

Eventually, the heir of Winyak, whose appearance was as enchanting as an angel’s, curled up the corners of his lips.

“Shall we make just one promise, Kirges?”

Kallion lightly walked along while gripping the back of the Imperial Guard Captain’s neck—the man he had just pulled out of a sewer that was practically a cesspool.

The muscular knight, who was considerably larger than Kallion, was dragged along helplessly.

The Sacred Relic that Winyak failed to find is in the Delphiam Imperial Palace.

The purest power of the stars.

The power that formed the foundation of the Transcendent families.

And yet, in Delphiam, they had secretly smuggled away a Sacred Relic left behind by Winyak’s star…

Dangerous curiosity rippled through Kallion’s reddish-brown eyes.

I wonder what it looks like. The legacy left behind by a star.

Mine.

A faint trace of madness that had yet to disappear completely flashed within his reddish-brown eyes.

That Sacred Relic belonged to him.

It had been decided that way a very long time ago.

An explosive power of the stars that effortlessly surpassed human supernatural abilities.

Surely, that too would be beautiful and adorable.

Once he obtained Winyak’s Sacred Relic as well, wiping out the remaining four Transcendent families would be child’s play.

Just imagining it made ecstasy boil inside him.

His heart pounded so violently that it felt as though it might burst through his ribs.

“Haa…”

Kallion stopped and covered his face with one hand.

There was no way to hide the expression twisting messily across his features, somewhere between laughter and tears.

“Ahahaha.”

A red eye flashed brilliantly between his fingers.

How long had he been waiting for this day?

Just how long had it been…?

But that strange madness was quickly brought under control.

His senses were at least ten times more sensitive than those of an ordinary person, and they had detected every movement of the person wandering around above him.

“…You came quickly.”

When he pictured the strawberry-blonde who was probably restlessly fluttering about up there, Kallion’s lips loosened into a foolish smile.

Everything beautiful and adorable belonged to him.

Kallion composed his expression and straightened his back.

Then he raised his left hand and brought it to his lips.

A pristine white bandage, untouched by the chaos of the entire day, was wrapped around the ring finger and wrist of his left hand.

Kallion stopped not far from the entrance and raised his head.

Looking up at the small ventilation shaft leading to the surface, he whispered softly.

“Rosienne.”

His voice dripped with honey-sweet affection.

He could vividly sense the child who had been bickering with someone right above him suddenly coming to a halt.

Within the bandage wrapped around Kallion’s left ring finger, the language of the spell engraved beneath his skin suddenly glowed red-hot.

A sunny smile spread across Kallion’s lips.

It was an expression even his father, Oen, had never once seen.

A naïve, and therefore all the more dangerous, affection glittered in his eyes.

“I’m here.”

The magic of House Kirges manifested.