RBCT Chapter 149
Chapter 149
Chapter 149
The second day of the gathering began.
That said, it wasn’t as though any special event was held, but because of individual schedules and circumstances, those who hadn’t been able to participate on the first day arrived, making the hall even more crowded.
Werner Demedrio, who had participated as the royal representative of the Kingdom of Demedrio, was among them.
“…Seeing you like this, it feels a bit awkward.”
Werner, who faced us in formal attire befitting a royal representative and a prince of a nation, spoke with an embarrassed expression.
I didn’t particularly feel that way, but the others seemed slightly surprised.
“So you really were a prince, Werner.”
Yuria looked at him with a face that said it was only now sinking in. At that, Werner gave a wry smile and pointed in my direction.
“Well, no matter what, it’s not something I should be saying in front of the Empire’s Imperial Prince.”
“That’s true. In that sense, we picked the right side, didn’t we?”
Alice smiled and lightly poked me. I shrugged and looked over our group.
“As I’ve said many times, if you can’t keep up, I’ll leave you behind.”
“You say such cold things. When you wouldn’t actually do that.”
“Yeah.”
Leysias and Yuria chuckled softly. Judging by their reactions, the others agreed as well.
Of course, it was just something I said. Even if someone here were to be eliminated due to some circumstance, I had no intention of abandoning them.
If they were injured, I would heal them somehow, and if they lost their motivation, I would beat some spirit back into them if I had to.
It wasn’t that I intended to embrace everything. I simply wanted to make sure that those around me, those by my side, were protected without fail. That was my greed, and my wish.
“…By the way, where did Petra unni go?”
At Elisia’s question, the others also looked around.
The banquet had already begun, but Petra was nowhere to be seen. I smiled faintly and pointed outside.
“She stepped out briefly for work.”
“Ah, the attack incident?”
I had already told them that a Majin group might attack. In a sudden situation, they could panic, and that panic might lead to some kind of accident.
I could handle most matters myself, but just as Petra had fallen victim to Laplace’s curse in the Holy Kingdom, something unexpected could occur.
That was why I planned to keep my group in a safe zone from the beginning to the end of the banquet.
“So it won’t be our turn. That’s a little disappointing.”
“Don’t be so impatient. By the time you graduate from the Academy, you’ll be able to stand beside me as well.”
Elisia expressed her regret. With their current abilities, it would be too much for them to do anything right now. But they had a future where brilliant growth was guaranteed.
Already much stronger than in the original story, if time continued to pass like this, they really would be able to move together with me starting around the time they graduated from the Academy.
“And I asked a few people to help, so it’ll be hard for anything to happen.”
The Sword Saint had secretly called not only his own knights but also a few trustworthy individuals to speak with them. I was present at that meeting as well, and we thoroughly checked that they had no connection to the Majin or related lineages.
In that way, we secured several collaborators, and if an incident truly occurred, we concluded things with an agreement that they would cooperate on our side.
‘And just in case, I even took out some insurance.’
Normally, either the Sword Saint or I could deal with it, but no one said that it was excessive.
The Sword Saint and all those under him were people who had lost relatives to the Majin. Knowing their meticulousness and tenacity, they instead seemed pleased.
“Then I’ll go around for a bit.”
Most of the important figures had already exchanged greetings yesterday.
Today, I planned to speak with newly arrived participants and observe the movements of those suspected of being Majin.
Soon, the atmosphere of the banquet began to warm up. Then, one of the figures from the Demedrio side approached me.
“Nice to meet you, Your Highness Leios. I am Mercen, the First Prince of the Kingdom of Demedrio.”
Like Werner, he had blue hair, but with a more mature face and a gentle impression, a handsome man whose tear mole beneath the eye stood out.
“If you are Mercen, then you are Werner’s elder brother?”
“Haha, my younger brother is always indebted to you. I’ve wanted to greet you someday, and now I have the chance like this.”
“It’s I who am always receiving help from Werner.”
Perhaps because we shared the common topic of younger brothers, our conversation flowed in a pleasant atmosphere. Werner had said that he liked his older brother, and indeed, having a brother like this made me think I would like that too—he was truly a good man.
After wrapping up the conversation and agreeing to meet Werner together after the gathering ended, we shook hands. As we were about to part, River, who had been observing the situation through my senses, spoke to me.
[Master! This one is a Majin! And a very strong one……!]
“…A Majin?”
At an unexpected timing, an unforeseen word reached my ears. I couldn’t help but ask back reflexively.
This man was a Majin?
“Haha, Excalibur must have told you, right? As expected, the holy sword of salvation is amazing.”
When I blankly lifted my head to look at him, Mercen gazed back at me with a twisted smile completely opposite to the gentle impression he had shown until now.
And in that moment, the atmosphere in the hall flipped.
Pak!
All the lights in the banquet hall went out. Since only a tiny portion were candlelight and most operated through magical devices, it was clear that someone had tampered with them.
“Hurry!”
At the Sword Saint’s command, the knights moved in perfect unison. In truth, the lights going out wasn’t a major problem. Most of those present weren’t limited to such vision.
However, part of it was a problem.
“Aaah!”
“Who is it?!”
Those affiliated with Sword Masters and members of the delegations were relatively weaker. As a result, they panicked in the darkness and were helplessly cut down by Majin who had drawn their swords.
As the smell of blood spread in an instant, we each gripped our swords tightly.
No matter how much of a surprise attack it was, killing a Sword Master in one blow was difficult.
One major difficulty was that we couldn’t distinguish between enemy and ally.
Perhaps fearing that their plan would be exposed, it seemed those whose faces were not revealed had moved. The number of Majin who moved was small, but in a situation where friend and foe could not be distinguished, the repercussions only grew larger.
There were places where true Majin were identified and fought, but cases of fierce sword exchanges born of mutual misunderstanding were not uncommon either. Soon, however, the lights came back on, and the moment the Sword Saint drew his sword at the center, the chaos was instantly quelled.
“To think traitors who abandoned being human would dare appear before me.”
A dazzling light gathered along his blade. As the Sword Saint revealed his momentum, not only the Majin but even others froze in tension.
“I have already identified all of your true natures. If you obediently lower your swords and abandon your hostility, you will not die dishonorably!”
Beside him, Philip shouted in a booming voice. With the Sword Saint stepping in in earnest, they had no chance of victory. Yet Mercen lifted his head with a crooked grin.
“Well, if we fought head-on, we’d die without even being able to lift a finger. But you’re only human. You cannot reach Them.”
Wooooong.
A bizarre sound reverberated. At the same time, a purple mist spread, beginning to dye the space where we stood.
“How dare—!”
With a shout of displeasure at such petty tricks before him, the Sword Saint swung his blade. It surged toward the mist, but only sliced through the banquet hall’s wall in vain. The mist remained intact, blanketing the area as it was.
“Is that so.”
Flames burned in the Sword Saint’s eyes. The Aura Blade clinging to his sword gradually sank and began to fade away.
But I could see it clearly. Upon it lay an unprecedented aura, one that didn’t even invite the thought of trying to block it.
‘Mind Sword? No, what should I even call that.’
Sword Master, and a realm beyond that.
A blade whose nature I couldn’t even begin to gauge with my own level cleaved through the world.
The purple mist split apart. As expected, it couldn’t endure the Sword Saint’s blade—starting from the severed section, it looked as though it was being drawn inward and withering away. But then, another anomaly occurred.
“……!”
Dense purple mist surged toward the Sword Saint. He frowned and slashed at it again, but his blade passed through empty air.
Even so, the purple mist couldn’t intrude any further inward, blocked by the aura the Sword Saint was emitting.
The purple mist also couldn’t fully burrow into his domain. Instead, once blocked by the aura he released, it wrapped itself around him, encasing the area centered on him and confining his movement.
“So it’s the concept of spatial severance.”
Looking at the purple mist enveloping him, the Sword Saint clicked his tongue softly. Then, with an expression that suggested even he found it troublesome, he glanced my way—it seemed it would take even him some time to escape it.
‘Damn it…….’
I never imagined there would be a trick capable of trapping the Sword Saint. No, to be precise, it wasn’t something I had even considered, since it wasn’t an element from the original story.
Thud.
Soon, at the center of the banquet hall surrounded by purple mist, we reached a standoff with the Majin. We outnumbered them, but since we didn’t know what schemes they still had hidden, we couldn’t move rashly.
“…Impressive. To think you had a move like this.”
The Sword Saint now had his eyes closed, focusing his mind to cut through the purple mist binding him.
As I spoke with a hollow expression, Mercen twisted his neck and grinned.
“No matter how much of a Sword Saint he is, he won’t escape easily. By the time we kill you all and leave, he’ll probably be able to come out.”
‘So it wasn’t just me—they were targeting everyone.’
It made sense. The key figures of the continent were gathered here. If Sword Masters across nations were wiped out, the entire continent would stagger. It could face a crisis even before the war with the Demonic Realm.
“Then how do you plan to deal with me?”
Wooooong-.
When I raised my hand high toward the sky, Excalibur radiated dazzling light as it settled into my grasp. At the same time, the purple mist covering the surroundings began to rush toward Excalibur.
[Dimension Eater! Master, this is a Dimension Eater! A being of the Demonic Realm that distorts specific spaces or zones! Inside this, holy power can’t be used! To resolve it, you need holy power from outside……!]
Crackle.
The purple mist coiling around Excalibur spat sparks. As River’s voice crackled with interference, I hastily dismissed it back.
“What a shame. Now even your prized Excalibur can’t be used anymore.”
Mercen shrugged and stepped forward. I glared at him.
“I’ll just knock all of you down.”
Without Excalibur, it would be a bit harder, but that wasn’t all I had.
“[Prometheus’s Flame.]”
I drew the sword at my waist and ignited blue sacred flames along its blade.
The purple mist approached it slowly, but soon seemed to lose interest and retreated bit by bit.
“…So that’s the flame everyone talks about. But.”
Perhaps having already heard about Prometheus’s Flame, he watched it with narrowed eyes. Then he snapped his fingers and smiled slyly.
“Can you handle all of this?”
Rumble rumble rumble-.
The ground shook as the earth heaved upward. From it, all manner of monsters began to emerge.
And at the center—
One existence with the most overwhelming aura fixed us with a menacing gaze, unleashing killing intent.
“You know the name Behemoth, don’t you. Well, if everyone here worked together, you might be able to deal with it. But we won’t just be standing around during that time.
“…Insane.”
Someone muttered a curse under their breath. I felt the same way.
Behemoth was a boss-class monster that appeared only in the latter half; in terms of sheer strength, even if everyone present charged together, it would have been a difficult fight.
As Mercen said, the Sword Saint might be able to face it alone, but fighting while also restraining the Majin would be impossible.
However, that Behemoth was in an unawakened state.
Which meant it had the weakness of being vulnerable to holy power—but with Excalibur sealed, I had no way to use holy power.
“So what will you do now?”
Mercen wore a sneering grin. At that, several people looked at me with grim expressions.
“To think you’d prepare this much…….”
I muttered with a dark expression myself. Mercen, meanwhile, couldn’t hide his triumphant smile.
“To capture the Sword Saint, the Hero, and the continent’s Sword Masters, this much is necessary. Our master wanted to descend personally and savor you himself, but unfortunately, circumstances didn’t allow it.”
At his gesture, the demonic beasts began to move. As we hesitated, I wiped the gloom from my face, let out a small sigh, and asked him,
“So that’s everything you prepared? If there’s anything left, hurry and bring it all out. I’ll give you plenty of time to show off.”
“…What?”
He stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.
“Have you lost your mind, unable to accept the situation? You people…….”
“I know, I know. I get it well enough. You trapped the Sword Saint by severing space with some Dimension Eater thing, sealed my Excalibur so I can’t use holy power, then summoned demonic beasts to overwhelm us all with sheer numbers.”
“You understand well…….”
“Well, looks like you prepared pretty diligently. Too bad for you.”
“……?”
At my confident attitude, he frowned. The same puzzled look seemed to spread among the representatives of various nations behind me.
“I didn’t expect my master to get trapped, though.”
Having Excalibur sealed, or being unable to use holy power when it was required, were scenarios I had fully anticipated.
So I called them.
Fssssss-.
The Dimension Eater surrounding us slowly dissipated.
As the Majin panicked at the sudden turn of events, a group of figures appeared through the entrance of the banquet hall.
“Just as you said, we came right on time.”
“Honestly, you really do use people too roughly.”
With Petra and Silvia at the forefront, Paladins and Cardinals of the Holy Kingdom walked inward slowly, radiating holy light. I greeted them warmly, then looked back at Mercen and grinned.
“Just in case, I called everyone over here too.”
So I hoped it was to your liking.