Chapter 76: Helmut Extermination (1)

“……What?”

Father?

Arandel Helmut?

Sharen’s expression goes blank.

At that very moment—Rizel’s claws flash brilliantly past the greatsword, not missing the opening.

“Red Wave!”

A crimson flame bursts forth from Sharen’s greatsword in an instant, engulfing Rizel.

Rizel’s body hangs in midair. She staggers backward, blood trickling from her lips—clearly, this was a far cry from the playful “Red Wave” Sharen had casually thrown around before.

“You said you’re targeting my father?”

Sharen blinks.

‘She is young, so she’s easily swayed.’

Rizel grins brightly and nods. If a head-on clash is impossible, shake them mentally.

“Yeah. It hasn’t been long since your mom died, right? Your dad’s about to follow her any day now. Quite a loving couple, eh?”

“…….”

“This is all for killing Arandel. Somehow, we’re going to—”

“Are you stupid?”

“……What?”

Rizel scowls at Sharen, who responded so lightly.

“What do you mean?”

“You think my father’s going to die? You all really have no idea.”

Sharen smirks and raises the greatsword.

“My father is a monster.”

The roiling crimson aura rises. Once again, the greatsword readies a technique.

“Red Wave—!”

At Sharen’s shout, Rizel frantically brings both hands together, prepared to fend off the oncoming surge of crimson fire.

“This—!”

Sharen’s voice comes from right in front of her.

“Who said you could talk about my mom like that?!”

“B-But you shouted ‘Red Wave’—!”

Slash!

The greatsword whips through the air. Rizel’s body is cut in half, ending her life on the spot.

Resting the greatsword on one shoulder, Sharen laughs.

“That’s exactly why you shout the name of your technique, mmhmm.”

A response to what Isaac had asked before: why bother calling out your move in advance if you’re not a fool?

“I’m not stupid.”

Sharen nods in satisfaction.

“The one who called me stupid was the bigger fool.”

*****

“Your Highness, we should move,” said Heyrad.

“……Something’s off.”

In front of the church building— Despite Heyrad’s suggestion, Princess Clarice looks around with a troubled expression. Something is nagging at her. She doesn’t see this incident as a mere act of terrorism.

“Your Highness?”

“It’s strange. Heyrad, don’t you think something’s odd?”

“What do you mean?”

“Doesn’t this seem too small-scale? For a terrorist attack, it feels… lukewarm.”

There aren’t that many demonic beasts. Silverna responded quickly, so they’re cleaning them up without suffering major losses.

Yes, Alois looks horrific, but Rihanna and Isaac are handling him together, and that seems sufficient to keep him in check.

“And where are we? This is the capital of the kingdom. A strike of this level can’t accomplish much.”

Clarice suspects there’s some other motive behind this “terror.”

“At first, I thought it was revenge against the Transcendent who called himself Sword Demon in Blackthorn, but that doesn’t seem like enough to justify all this, right?”

“It doesn’t, Your Highness.”

“…….”

So what is their real objective?

Recently, the most noteworthy incident was Blackthorn. Yes, the battle against that final Sword Demon was intense, but before that, Arandel Helmut alone practically handled an army by himself.

For the Transcendents, Arandel Helmut is the greatest threat. Ever since the attempt to recruit him failed, he’s become their top priority to eliminate.

“Helmut’s main forces—Lohengrin, Rihanna, Alois, and Sharen—are all here.”

Unless you count the youngest, Edel, as part of the battle force, that really just leaves the second son, Armin.

Right now, almost all of Helmut’s strength is absent from his estate, making this moment the weakest he’s ever been.

“But do you think they could really go after Sir Arandel? And in Helmut’s own manor, at that?”

Even so, it’s Arandel. He’s powerful enough to make the idea of a “fair fight” meaningless.

“Besides, his illness has been kept an absolute secret, hasn’t it?”

“…….”

A swell of unease rises within her. She senses something beyond the realm of ordinary guesses.

“What on earth is really going on…?”

Clarice felt a crawling itch in her mind, as though insects were scurrying around inside her brain.

Her instincts told her she couldn’t just stand by, yet she couldn’t quite pinpoint why she felt that way.

“Are you worried that Sir Arandel might be in danger?”

“It’s too early for a change of generations. Arandel needs to hold on for at least another five years.”

“…….”

“But honestly… it’s not like I believe Arandel could die. We’ve all seen it ourselves—he’s a monster of a man.”

“If that’s what you think—”

“That’s exactly why I feel uneasy. What is it? Why am I so anxious?”

In the end, Clarice couldn’t bear it any longer.

“Let’s head to Helmut. We’ll settle things here as quickly as we can and prepare to depart immediately. Get the Pegasus ready.”

Pegasus—

The gift from the Magic Tower to the Kingdom of Albion, rumored to be the fastest carriage in the world. Only royalty may ride it in emergencies, and it can shorten a week-long journey down to five days. Depending on road conditions, it might take even less time. Enthusiasts call it the dream carriage.

“At most, it’ll take three days to reach Helmut, maybe only one day if we push it hard.”

Hoping her unpleasant premonition was just a false alarm,

Clarice kept her eyes on Isaac and Rihanna as they fought.

****

Whuum!

The moment Rihanna’s greatsword swung wide, the streets were once again drenched in a sticky crimson.

The viscous liquid and the stench of blood were nauseating, but Rihanna’s expression remained calm.

“Noona! Ahh! Even the pain you give me! How sweet it is!”

“…….”

By now, Rihanna had decided not to speak. The person in front of her was something beyond a mere younger brother— A manifestation of mad, twisted love.

So she had no great hesitation in swinging her sword.

‘Where did it all go wrong?’

Love always ruins Helmut.

It had ruined her.

It had ruined Galenia.

Now, Alois was following the same path.

‘Why do we all…’

…end up so broken?

Right before her sword, filled with bitterness, could strike again, Alois suddenly flashed a grin.

“You’ve let your guard down, Noonaaaaa!”

“……!”

Rihanna was in the middle of slicing off his massive right arm, and for a split second she failed to notice the crimson aura stabbing in from the other side.

But she didn’t bother reacting. She silently continued to sever his right arm, because—

Claaang!

Isaac was there.

Crossing his two blades, Isaac blocked Alois’s crimson strike. The raging lightning of Bricalla crackled around them, proof that Isaac was gaining increasing control over that destructive power.

Seeing Rihanna rampage freely thanks to Isaac’s assistance, Alois spat out furious words.

“Don’t act like you understand each other without saying a word! Don’t you dare coordinate as if you’re of one mind, you lowly cur—!”

It seemed that Alois cared far more about Rihanna and Isaac fighting in perfect sync than he did about his right arm being hacked apart.

He hurled curses, mixing blood and spittle, but neither of them responded.

“Noona—! Aah! Noonaaaaa!”

From some point on, both Rihanna and Isaac had closed their mouths, facing Alois silently and directly.

As if that unnerved him, Alois kept calling out to Rihanna in desperation.

“Noonaaaa! Can’t you hear your little brother calling for you?! How can you ignore me when I’m so desperate to see you?!”

Crunch! Crack!

“It’s me! Alois! I’ve been by your side since we were young! Always with you—who do you think supported you more than anyone else?! It was meeeee!”

Squelch! Crunch!

“I want your lips! I want to taste your skin! I want to violate you! Violate you! Ahh! Violate you again and agaaain!”

Splat!

By now, his right arm was completely pulverized.

Standing there with ragged breaths, Alois shed bloody tears as he looked at his sister like a pitiful supplicant.

“Answer me… Please, give me an answer… I’m right here! Noona! Aah! Noonaaaa! Look at me! Don’t you see how much I crave your gaze, your attention, your voice?!”

Her hair swirled around, hiding her expression. Without a word, Rihanna turned away.

Alois reached out frantically.

“Noona? Wh-Why? Why won’t you say anything to me? An—answer me! I want to violate you, Noona! I want nothing more than to make you—”

Puuuk!

Alois’s head split clean in two.

Isaac, looking down at the grotesque sight, heaved a quiet sigh.

“He won’t die even if you split his head, huh.”

“Begone, you filth! How dare you, a lowly nobody, stand between me and my Noona?!”

“…….”

“You can’t even see her! Get out of—!”

Alois tried to swing his left hand, but that too was swiftly severed by a single slash.

Even so, Alois didn’t care in the slightest, leaning desperately side to side just to catch another glimpse of Rihanna.

“Go away! Go awaaay! You’re blocking my Noona—!”

Thwack!

A blade struck his regenerating forehead again. For a moment, Alois’s eyes lost focus, but soon he came to and started screaming once more:

“Noonaaaaa! Where are you going?! I—I’m right here! The little brother you must kill no matter what! If you leave me like this, I’ll only defile you! I’m right heeeere!”

Slice!

This time, he went straight for the neck.

Even though Alois’s head fell to the ground, it continued to shed bloody tears and scream.

“Why—! Why are you leaving me here?! Are you really going to let this lowly peasant finish me off?!”

“How pitiful.”

“Noonaaaaa! If I must die—! If I truly must die—! Let it be by your hand—!”

Crunch!

Isaac’s blade once again split open Alois’s skull, burrowing deep inside.

Alois wore a look of utter despair, unable to even catch the eye of the sister he loved so desperately.

In that frozen moment, as though time had stopped, Alois’s final remnants crumbled away.

It was a hollow ending.

Yet Isaac thought it somehow suited Alois.

‘This madman would probably have been happy just to die at Rihanna’s hands.’

Only in this moment of complete indifference could one see his expression of true, anguished despair.

“…….”

Isaac pulled his sword free.

Revenge hadn’t felt wrong, but it seemed he wasn’t the sort of person to be entirely consumed by it.

Was it because he’d undone everything that once was?

Ever since his divorce, Isaac had felt he was moving forward without being trapped by the past.

Alois’s death was justified, but Isaac had no desire to make it the reason for his new lease on life.

‘He wasn’t worth that much.’

“It’s over.”

At that moment, Clarice appeared outside with Rihanna.

She approached Isaac as he wiped blood from his sword.

“Isaac, there’s something I’ve been thinking about. Let’s talk as we go. The Pegasus should be arriving any minute—”

“Your Highness—!”

Heyrad rushed over like the wind, his face ashen.

“Oh, please, Heyrad.”

Clarice muttered under her breath, but he didn’t notice and quickly reported,

“The Pegasus is destroyed! It appears the true target of this terror attack was the Pegasus. According to witnesses, the moment the commotion started, suddenly—”

Now it would take at least three days to reach Helmut.

Their goal—the Transcendents’ real objective—was becoming all the clearer.

****

“……!”

Edel Helmut, the youngest of the Helmut family, had been reading a book when the ground began to shake violently.

Startled, he burst out of his room.

The entire manor quaked as though it might collapse, and at first he believed it was an earthquake.

“Young Master!”

“P-please, you must get to safety!”

The servants ushered Edel along in a panic. Glancing out the window, he saw that the sky had turned scarlet. Clearly, this was no ordinary tremor—something far more ominous was happening.

‘Of all times—!’

Or perhaps it was precisely because so many of the direct heirs were away.

“This way! This way!”

At the entrance to the Helmut estate, Jonathan, clad in armor, held the door open, guiding people to safety.

He was keeping the entrance secure just in case the manor actually collapsed.

Stepping outside, Edel looked up over the gathered Helmut knights. The sky overhead was a deep, unsettling red.

The sun and clouds had vanished, as though the world had been flipped upside down. The knights’ faces were grim.

The Helmut knights had already suffered grievous losses against Blackthorn.

If they were to be hit again here, Helmut might be dealt a blow so devastating it could never recover.

Then, in a rush, the family’s second son, Armin Helmut, ran out behind them.

“Brother! Are you alright?!”

“W-what is going on?!”

Armin, usually so inconspicuous, now looked around in confusion.

What he saw were beings much like humans in appearance—yet clearly something else.

Stepping in from the entrance, the ones who approached carried an unmistakably ominous presence.

‘They’re TTranscendents !’

Edel Helmut’s eyes trembled.

It wasn’t simply fear he felt.

It was as though relentless hatred and fury toward humanity had materialized in their every step—this was their domain.

Just as the Helmut knights gripped their greatswords, ready to counter,

Thud!

A massive footstep from outside the manor forced everyone to pause.

A greatsword in hand, a commanding figure—

Hard to believe he was a man said to be suffering from a chronic illness, for the aura he exuded was overpowering.

“Stand down.”

The knights neither objected nor hesitated.

They simply parted, making way at their master’s command.

A group of Transcendents strode forward and stopped in front of Arandel Helmut.

“Arandel of Helmut. I am ‘Apostle,’ known as a Primitive Transcendent.”

“…….”

“I’ll tell you upfront: among those who have come here, there are five in total—like me, they are called ‘Primitive.’”

His crimson eyes had already identified five exceptional powerhouses.

Apostle, with antlers reminiscent of a stag, spoke to Arandel, who remained silent.

“This is truly our final offer. Surrender. If you refuse, your death will become the cornerstone of war.”

“…….”

“We Transcendents hold Helmut in especially high esteem, so we wish to—”

“Sword Demon.”

Arandel’s low voice rumbled.

He motioned with his chin toward a man at the edge of the group, his skin a deep crimson.

“That one—he’s the Sword Demon?”

“……He belongs to that bloodline. Just as Helmut has a firstborn and a second son.”

Arandel already knew that a trap had awaited him in the final moments of Blackthorn, all meant to kill him.

“Hah… You leave me no choice. Then let’s move on to threats, shall we? Five. A whole five of them—each one as skilled as that Sword Demon, who thought he could kill you on his own.”

“…….”

“You’re human; surely you don’t want to die. And your body isn’t in perfect shape, is it? I’ve heard of your illness, so first—”

“Only…”

Arandel’s lips curled into a slow smile.

He grinned so broadly his teeth showed, and the greatsword he gripped never wavered.

“Only five.”

A crimson whirlwind rose up around Arandel, swirling fiercely.

– – The End of The Chapter – –

 

[TL: That “Only Five” was so badass. I love it!!

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