Chapter 14: The Auction House (4)

Kaang!

That was close.

If Adele hadn’t pushed Lily aside and stepped forward, even a slight delay in deploying the barrier could have cost her life. But despite my clear intent to use magic to protect Adele from Luke, she still returned.

Why did she take such a risk and move forward so recklessly?

The answer came to me in a flash.

‘Did Lily die?’

It seems that, in the previous timeline, Lily must have shielded Adele and died for some reason.

Did she not trust me to protect her? A sense of irritation welled up in me, and I frowned slightly as I prepared to cast my magic.

Wooong...

“Stand back.”

At my command, Adele took Lily’s hand and stepped back. Luke, unperturbed, strengthened his grip on his sword and attempted to slice through the barrier.

His eyes were completely vacant.

‘Is he under the mark’s influence?’

If that’s the case, then the emperor must have orchestrated this massacre as well. Glancing around, I noticed that most of the dead were people who had, at some point, been involved in secret dealings with me.

Was he trying to eliminate rebels in this manner?

I had expected the royal family to take extreme measures, but I hadn’t anticipated anything to this extent.

Even in the original story, Luke never unleashed such a massacre.

“Grrr...”

The amount of aura pressing against the barrier increased steadily, causing fractures to appear. Despite using a technique based on spatial magic, he was attempting to shatter it with sheer force.

Is this the strength of the emperor’s sword, even in this corrupted state?

In terms of aura alone, he surpasses a swordmaster. But, having lost his rationality, he’s merely swinging his power around mindlessly.

‘I can subdue him.’

“Gather, commence.”

White energy began to gather in the air, and white magic circles formed in front of me. Sensing a threat, Luke charged at me.

Was he planning to take me down before I could cast the spell?

But that was a mistake.

“Strike.”

The primary reason I favor this spell is its remarkably fast casting speed. In a mage’s battle, casting speed is of utmost importance.

A white spear materialized in the air and flew forward. Luke dodged to the side, but the spear’s trajectory curved mid-air.

Thud!

The spear pierced precisely between his armor plates and lodged itself deep into the wall.

“Ugh!”

Dragged by the spear, Luke slammed into the wall, groaning in agony.

Simultaneously, the power of the mark engraved on his hand began to intensify.

“Haa...”

“Adele.”

“Yes?”

“Go ahead and leave. I’ll keep the door open.”

“Understood.”

Adele took Lily’s hand and left the auction hall. Once I confirmed they were gone, I pulled a glass vial from the air.

Crash!

I dropped the vial onto the ground, shattering it and releasing a white smoke that began to spread in all directions.

The white smoke was the scent of oblivion, an extract from the memory whales that dwell in the Forest of Mist.

Anyone who inhales this smoke will lose memories ranging from at least an hour up to an entire day.

In other words, it’s the perfect tool for cleanup.

“Evan.”

At my call, Evan appeared from the air. It was a spell I’d developed personally—spatial magic that allowed me to summon others to my side.

“You called?”

“Why is it that things always go wrong when you’re not around?”

He sighed as he glanced around, answering, “Ha... I wonder the same.”

Scratching his head in frustration, Evan said, “Then, I’ll go to madam first.”

“Call her ‘miss.’”

“Oh, right. I’ll go to the miss.”

With that, Evan dashed towards the auction hall’s doors. Trouble only seems to strike when he’s not here.

It could just be a coincidence… but who knows?

For now, I’ll have to keep a close eye on the inner workings of the duke’s estate. There may be an extra eye of the emperor hidden somewhere. Just as I was considering this, a voice echoed from the wall.

“Grr...”

I saw a glowing, red mark seared into his neck. The intricacy of the mark was leagues beyond the one on Allen’s neck, visible between the gaps in his armor.

“…It wasn’t enough to stop him.”

Murmuring to myself, I raised my hand.

There’s no way to suppress the mark on his neck. Unlike Allen’s, this one was the emperor’s own specialty. My only option was to subdue him with everything I had.

Wooong...

“Gather, commence.”

White energy gathered in the air, quickly forming into three spears.

“Strike.”

Pang!

The spears flew through the air with a sound that sliced through the silence. Luke, surrounding his sword with aura, launched a powerful slash to counter them. The clash of his slash and the spears canceled each other out, but he used the opening to charge toward me.

“I was prepared for this.”

Snap!

With a flick of my fingers, the white energy formed chains, binding Luke’s body. Though the chains started to break almost immediately, it didn’t matter.

“Gather, commence.”

I had bought myself enough time.

Countless white pathways formed around him, and a dizzying array of white magic circles appeared before my eyes.

This was a spell I’d created specifically for facing a swordmaster.

Wooong...

As mana drained rapidly, a brilliant white spear began to take shape, radiating a level of power far beyond the weapons I’d created before. Gripping its shaft, I aimed the spear’s point directly at him.

“Strike.”

With a short incantation, I hurled the spear with all my strength.

Thud.

The spear pierced through Luke’s shoulder plate and disappeared into one of the pathways.

“Gah!”

Even with the spear piercing his opposite shoulder, Luke charged at me unfazed.

The chains I had prepared in advance reappeared, coiling tightly around his limbs. Though they weren’t particularly durable, using them this way was enough to keep him restrained.

Thud!

“Gah…”

The spear moved between portals, piercing through Luke’s body repeatedly. By twisting space to create a kind of portal loop, I could theoretically attack him endlessly by hurling the spear into these gateways.

Though it’s a rough technique, it’s highly effective in wearing down an opponent’s stamina—even if that opponent is a swordmaster.

…If Luke hadn’t lost his mind, this wouldn’t have been possible.

Clang!

Luke deflected the spear with his sword, glaring at me with labored breaths. The mark between his helmet and armor was gradually weakening.

Wooong…

When I released the spell, he stood before me in a battered state, his eyes blazing. A vivid red aura began to emanate from his body.

…Even in this state, he’s still a swordmaster.

“Gather, commence.”

Four white swords appeared around me.

Simultaneously, his wounds and injuries began to heal under the influence of his aura—a feat only achievable by someone of his caliber.

“Strike.”

“Grr…”

Luke unleashed a powerful aura slash that sent the swords flying before charging at me once more. In the blink of an eye, his blade was right in front of my face.

Wooong.

At that moment, the surroundings shifted. I now stood behind him, facing his exposed back. One of the swords I had previously set aside aimed directly at him.

“Strike.”

With a short incantation, the sword drove straight into his back.

“Ugh!”

Luke coughed up blood, dropping to his knees. Losing his sanity seemed to have dulled his ability to sense even basic traps. Grabbing the blade with his left hand, he applied pressure.

Crack…

The white sword fractured and shattered, the wound in his back beginning to heal immediately under the red aura.

A brutish method…

But undeniably effective.

“Grr…”

Luke glared at me, attempting to rise to his feet. Or rather, he tried to.

“Urgh?!”

Barely managing to support himself with his sword, he staggered before collapsing. It seemed he had been relying on the aura’s regenerative power.

No matter how fast his aura regenerates, it can’t replenish the blood he’s already lost. Though he won’t die, given the strength of a swordmaster, he’ll be unable to move his body any further.

I let out a sigh and drew back the mana I’d expended.

Good thing he lost his sanity; if he hadn’t… who knows how this would’ve turned out.

Normally, the Emperor’s Sword wouldn’t go down so easily.

Especially not someone like Luke, who is rated as having the highest potential among the Emperor’s Swords. But with his mind clouded and his aura control diminished, he was bound to fall like this.

“Sleep well.”

With a snap of my fingers, Luke began to sink into the ground. Letting out pained groans as if something heavy pressed down on him, he eventually fell still.

“Phew… not easy.”

This encounter drained a substantial amount of my mana.

In a world where the concept of mana potions doesn’t exist, assessing remaining mana levels this way is an essential skill. It baffles me why HP potions exist here, yet there’s no equivalent for mana.

It’s not as though they’re trying to persecute mages.

“I need to handle the cleanup…”

The auctioneer was already dead, apparently struck directly by debris when Luke crashed down from the ceiling. It’s a grotesque sight, but one I’m familiar with, so it doesn’t turn my stomach.

Though I can’t deny it leaves me feeling filthy.

“Fire.”

With the incantation, flames bloomed in my hand.

I set the flames at the edge of the auction hall. Though small now, they would quickly grow, given the wooden ceiling.

The reason for setting the place ablaze was simple. I wanted the people who inhaled the scent of oblivion to believe that the smoke from the fire caused their memory loss. There are cases where similar substances are used in actual arson. Soon, the Empire’s news will likely report that some group, not me, set fire here to massacre the nobles.

Whoosh.

Of course, there’s a chance some might burn to death in the process…

But that doesn’t concern me. I’ve never once considered them to be the same kind of human as myself.

Using magic, I lifted Luke’s body into the air and calmly exited the auction hall.

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

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