Chapter 61: Sword Tournament (8)

“Isaac…….”

Rihanna’s eyes went wide.

She felt immense pride realizing that her husband was the very center of the thunderous cheers that seemed to shake both sky and mountains.

Moreover, she felt relieved, certain that even if he left Helmut, he would still be recognized by others without much difficulty.

“I’m so glad.”

No longer was Isaac someone who needed protecting.

In fact, just being acknowledged by Arandel Helmut would likely send Isaac’s reputation soaring among the other nobles.

Those other nobles, who must be licking their lips at the prospect, would undoubtedly swarm the moment they heard Isaac and Rihanna were divorced.

“…….”

Merely imagining several women courting Isaac pained her, but even so, Rihanna joined in the applause and celebration.

‘This is the greatest farewell Helmut could offer.’

She had no idea how far he would go, but she wished Isaac would spread his wings and truly soar.

Rihanna then grabbed hold of her mother, who was about to rise from her seat.

“Stay where you are.”

“…Rihanna?”

Galenia’s eyes twitched as she looked at her daughter gripping her so suddenly. She was about to scold her for such disrespect, but Rihanna refused to let go.

“The only reason they’re still waiting for the Sword Tournament is out of the princess’ consideration for Helmut.”

“…….”

“I don’t know what you’re planning to do, Mother. But please don’t bring Helmut down any further.”

It was her final plea as a daughter, prompted by Rihanna’s sense that Galenia’s intentions were anything but ordinary.

Instead, a sly grin crept across Galenia’s lips.

“Rihanna, can you accept this situation right now? That the supposedly mighty Helmut swordsmanship has been beaten by a mere commoner?”

“But it’s the truth. Isaac overcame it fair and square. And no doubt, he’s shown Helmut a path forward.”

That was surely why Arandel was reacting as he was.

“Mother, it’s over now.”

With a sigh, Rihanna declared it plainly. She knew from her conversation with Isaac that the princess Clarice, was already suspicious of Galenia. In reality, that suspicion meant Galenia was finished.

“He should have stayed bedridden back then.”

Galenia had known ever since Milli that her trail had already been uncovered. She wasn’t the lady of the Helmut estate for nothing; she received reports on nearly every incident within its walls and could more or less guess her own future.

“Mother?”

“Never once did I approve of him—your husband.”

Creak Creak!

Suddenly, goat-like horns sprouted from Galenia’s forehead. At the same time, a dark power surged from her body, forcing Rihanna back.

“Krrgh!”

“Stay put, my daughter.”

“Why on earth—?!”

Rihanna’s voice was swallowed by the sound of unfolding wings. Bat-like wings spread wide from Galenia’s back, and before anyone realized it, the whites of her eyes had vanished, leaving them pitch-black.

Everything happened so abruptly that no one could react.

Arandel lifted his head and looked up at his wife.

“…….”

“…….”

Neither of them spoke. Instead, grotesque screams broke the silence from behind.

“Kyaaah!”

“What the—?! What’s happening?!”

“These bastards have gone insane!”

“They’re suddenly stabbing people! R-run!”

Not just the nobles, but the Transcendents hidden among the crowd revealed themselves, beginning a hunt for human prey.

One Transcendent was worth a thousand warriors—quite literally, a single one could massacre dozens of humans.

With a mere gesture, they snuffed out two or three lives at once, turning this lantern-lit venue into a frenzied scene of screams and flying flesh.

“This is the downfall of Helmut!”

Galenia’s cry echoed long and loud.

If the earlier duel between Isaac and Lohengrin had signaled the downfall of Helmut’s swordsmanship, this was, quite literally, the fracturing of the Helmut name itself.

“Mother, why on earth…?”

Rihanna couldn’t make sense of any of it. Galenia loved Arandel more than anyone, and more than anyone she strove to uphold Helmut’s honor. Doing this here would destroy that very honor.

“M-Mom?”

“Mother?!”

The children of Helmut looked skyward, unable to hide their shock. Sharen and the fifteen-year-old youngest, Edel, were close to tears.

Yet Galenia’s gaze was fixed on only one person.

Isaac.

Several things had tied her hands.

By sacrificing herself to protect Isaac, Milli had enabled Isaac to confirm that Galenia was a Transcendent. Once Isaac informed Princess Clarice, it was revealed that Galenia had been colluding with the Transcendents.

From that moment on, everything started to go awry.

However, Galenia had not planned such a radical, dramatic entrance. She hadn’t intended to reveal the hidden Transcendents in this way.

Even the Transcendents themselves, though taken aback, found themselves going along with Galenia.

As though they’d been waiting for this very moment, they began slaughtering humans, again and again—almost as if it were their calling.

They must have been hiding among humans all this time, suppressing their desires over and over.

“Aaaaaaaa!”

Creak!

Galenia snapped off one of her own horns. The moment she did, dark energy began to condense around her. Having never learned to properly control her power, she chose to run wild.

When that horn broke, all the energy that had been dormant within her exploded at once.

At Galenia’s bidding, it surged toward Isaac.

Isaac, who had just finished his duel and was already exhausted…

Lohengrin, lying unconscious right in front of him, about to be caught in the crossfire…

But Galenia showed no hesitation.

Because—

She knew this attack would be stopped.

Clang!

The dark energy vanished far too easily, swallowed in a single bite by a crimson aura as mighty as a lion seizing its prey.

Arandel Helmut himself had stepped in front of Isaac to block Galenia’s assault.

‘Just as I thought…’

Tears trickled down Galenia’s blackened eyes.

Arandel should have become a Transcendent.

That was the only way he could survive—or so she had believed.

That was why Galenia wanted, no matter what, to entrust the family to Rihanna and leave with Arandel.

Even though he refused, she clung to a shred of hope, trying somehow to depart with Arandel and abandon Helmut. But now—

‘Now you’ll never leave, will you.’

The man who had stood there, halfway to nowhere his entire life, had at last found a new path forward.

Arandel’s expression glowed with excitement and fervor. Thanks to the new possibilities Isaac had shown him, Arandel would remain with Helmut until his dying day—continuing to pursue the sword to the bitter end.

That was Arandel Helmut.

That was the man she loved.

So, what must Galenia do now?

There was only one answer.

****

Claaaang!

The surge of dark energy was far more intense than Isaac had expected, and for a moment, he panicked. His body felt utterly drained, every step a burden.

Even amid the chaos unleashed by Galenia’s sudden actions, the figure who now stood in front of him was shockingly unexpected.

It was a massive back, emanating a crimson aura. As though declaring that none of the other Helmut offspring were the real deal, the aura roiled thick and fierce.

Many had been awed by Lohengrin’s crimson aura mere moments ago, but the instant they saw Arandel’s aura, it raised a question: Are these two really the same technique?

Arandel was simply overwhelming.

‘There’s no way I could win.’

Though he had defeated the eldest son, Isaac was certain. If Arandel so much as swung his arm, Isaac would be cut down instantly.

And that very man was now protecting him.

“Impressive.”

Arandel spoke without even looking in Isaac’s direction. In a situation where he was facing off against his own wife—who had become a Transcendent traitor to humanity—he remained utterly unshaken.

“Isaac!”

A beat later, Rihanna rushed in after Arandel, clinging to Isaac in relief once she saw he was safe.

“I’m so glad… Truly, thank goodness.”

“Rihanna.”

“You did so well… You were incredible.”

The sight of the two of them standing in front of him—his wife, whom he most wanted recognition from, and Arandel, whom he revered—moved Isaac deeply. For the first time in his life, he felt a thrilling sense of being acknowledged by those he held in the highest esteem.

By now, the assault had subsided, and the cries of panic were fading. Knights of Helmut had rapidly moved in, subduing the Transcendents.

What had started as a sudden ambush lasted only a moment before it backfired spectacularly on the Transcendents.

“Why is Helmut considered so great?”

Arandel slightly turned his head, asking the question of Isaac and Rihanna. Rihanna, confused by the abrupt query, was about to retort, but Isaac answered with a smile:

“Because it exists.”

“Haha.”

A grin tugged at the corners of Arandel’s mouth.

“Correct.”

How… how did this man deliver such a perfect answer?

Just then, one of Helmut’s knights—charged with bearing Arandel’s sword—stepped forward and knelt.

Holding out a greatsword with both hands as though offering tribute, the knight placed it in Arandel’s grasp.

‘The very air has changed.’

The moment he took up the real blade, it felt as if everything around them had fallen still.

A crushing sense of majesty pressed down on the area. Just standing nearby, one felt an intense oppression, almost making it hard to breathe.

Rihanna tightened her hold on Isaac, shielding him.

“By existing, it is great.”

Helmut has no need to strive to be ‘great.’ Merely following its own chosen path has already made it worthy of praise.

There’s no reason to chase anyone else. No reason to follow someone else’s back.

To be Helmut is to walk one’s own path—nothing more, nothing less.

The eldest son had failed to realize that and, in the end, lost as a mere imitation of Arandel.

“Having seen something marvelous—”

Arandel gripped the greatsword with renewed strength.

“—I shall bestow the proper honor.”

He swung the greatsword.

The technique Lohengrin had tried to imitate now revealed its true form:

Red Death Strike.

It smashes, rends, burns, and breaks—Arandel’s single, devastating strike.

Yet at this place and moment, Isaac alone realized that this blow was indeed an Extinction attack.

Because no one else would believe it could possibly be the same move Lohengrin had shown—not when the difference between them was on an entirely different plane.

****

Without a second of hesitation, Arandel swung his sword at her, and Galenia watched it come with a soft smile.

‘As expected.’

Everything had already collapsed. The suspicion born in Milli had reached the princess. Before long, the fact that the lady of Helmut had betrayed humanity to the Transcendents would spread far and wide.

Moreover, Arandel had taken a liking to Isaac. He would never leave with Galenia.

‘Now, the only thing I can do for you…’

…is to die.

And by Arandel’s own hand, no less.

Only then might Helmut be spared at least part of the fallout.

Arandel remained the same as ever—killing even his wife for the sake of the sword. Swinging his blade at his wife for the greatness of Helmut.

‘If you can remain just as you are—’

That was why Galenia had loved him.

‘Then I… shall die.’

She loved him, and for that love, she would face ruin.

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

 

[TL: I'm having very confused emotions about Galenia. I kind of admire her love, but I also don't like her.

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