Chapter 77: Helmut Extermination (2)

A crimson gale rages fiercely toward everyone in its path.

Momentarily startled by its force, the Primitive Transcendents Instinct hastily withdrew, putting distance between themselves and Arandel.

No matter how great the Primitive Transcendents Instinct was, none of them had the confidence to face Helmut’s Arandel head-on.

‘This is ridiculous.’

Strength, speed, endurance—

Everything was in his favor.

After all, Arandel was still human, even if he was from Helmut, so compared to them—who had reached the very cusp of transcendence—his body should inevitably be at a disadvantage.

Moreover, Arandel was a wounded beast.

Even though his condition couldn’t have been good, the scorching aura he exuded showed no sign of ending. When they crossed blades, there was no sense they could possibly win.

“Family Head! Let us join you!”

“Knights of Helmut! Ready your swords—!”

Naturally, Helmut’s knights also assumed their stances, prepared to defend Arandel. But—

“Stand down.”

On the contrary, it was Arandel himself who dismissed them.

“You’ll only get in my way.”

At Arandel’s words, Helmut’s knights faltered and came to a stop.

It was an utterly humiliating situation for them as knights—

For their mere presence to be seen as a hindrance on the battlefield.

“We hear and obey.”

Nevertheless, Helmut’s knights withdrew without hesitation.

If the Family Head judged it so, then that was final.

They neither had the standing nor the qualification to dispute his decision; they could only trust him blindly.

In that case, there was only one thing left for them to do.

“Move out! Escort the non-combatants and direct family members!”

An older, middle-aged knight raised his greatsword and gestured outside.

From the screams and commotion carried on the wind, and the smoke rising into the sky—

It was clear the nearby village had been attacked.

The Transcendent Clan, which had retreated, merely glanced for a moment at the fleeing Helmut knights.

They made no move to stop or pursue them.

Their sole and obvious target was Arandel.

“Father—!”

“Young Master, please, you must go!”

The youngest, Edel, tearfully reached out toward Arandel. But Jonathan scooped him up and dashed outside.

The situation outside the manor was hardly any better.

Those among the Transcendent Clan deemed too weak to be of help in subduing Arandel, along with the beasts they commanded, were carrying out a massacre in the nearby village.

The knights of Helmut immediately drew their greatswords to fight back.

“Krrhk! Kekk!”

“…?”

Observing the carnage, Jonathan stifled a laugh. He bit down on his lip hard, trying to suppress it.

But in the end, unable to endure, he pulled out a handkerchief, stuffed it into his own mouth, and tied it like a gag.

“W-What are you doing?”

Edel looked at Jonathan in alarm.

“Mmph—mmf.”

Unable to speak because of the handkerchief, Jonathan simply motioned for Edel to cling tightly to his back.

****

“……”

A royal palace VIP suite.

There, for her own protection, observation, and effectively incarceration, stayed the Grandmaster.

She silently watched Evergarde, which was in turmoil, through the window.

Though she had the princess’ trust, she was still under protection and supervision for the time being.

Making any careless move could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.

‘Anyway, those brats are there. They’ll manage.’

Not just Isaac and Silverna, but also Helmut’s direct lineage were all in Evergarde.

She waited patiently for the chaos to subside, unconcerned.

Creak.

The locked door opened almost too smoothly.

A man entered, wearing a light smile as if he were some sort of thief—

But Grandmaster knew well that this was a technique to lull the opponent into complacency, a technique she herself had taught.

“Damien? I told you to wait at the Rocky Mountain.”

Damien, her disciple who had been with her at the Rocky Mountain.

He gave an awkward laugh and scratched the back of his head.

“You’ve been gone so long, Master. I got worried and came after you. I never expected to find you in the royal palace.”

“Hmph. And how did you figure out I was here?”

Grandmaster folded her arms.

Sensing her displeasure, Damien replied cautiously,

“My patrons informed me. They said I should go see you.”

“……”

At that moment, a wave of blue mana flickered beside Damien.

It soon took human shape—a method those people used to communicate.

An astral projection.

While the mind was present here, the body was somewhere else, unknown.

A very unique and proprietary means of contact.

—You gave me quite a shock.

The faceless man who appeared through the projection let out a laugh, but the atmosphere was far from pleasant.

It was closer to a sneer.

—We asked you to bring over the man who broke Helmut’s sword, yet here you are becoming the princess’ lapdog.

“Mind your words.”

Grandmaster, still with her arms crossed, bared her teeth.

“My mood is foul enough as is—”

— ……

“And you hold plenty of blame for that.”

—So you’re saying you have a reason for betraying us?

“Your tone irritates me. We cooperated on the condition you would help me find my friends, yet you dragged your feet, so I asked someone else for help.”

—…We are also still searching.

“Hmph, then did you know that this man who supposedly broke Helmut’s sword is actually my fellow disciple’s pupil?”

The faceless man fell silent.

Grandmaster chuckled in return.

“How incompetent.”

—So you intend to sever ties with us like this?

“Well, I no longer have much need for you, do I?”

Grandmaster.

She shrugs her shoulders as the faceless man addresses her with a laugh.

— Good. This actually works out perfectly. We’ve decided to change our sponsorship target as well.

“Hmm?”

— From this day forward, the world will belong to the Transcendent Clan, and we, their ‘patrons,’ have decided to support them.

“…You speak of betrayal over and over, yet now you betray your own kind.”

— We do it to survive. Don’t you think we need to preserve the human race?

“By becoming livestock? An interesting perspective.”

— But you’ve experienced this before, haven’t you? So, how is it? Can you give us any advice?

“……”

Grandmaster clams up.

However, the murderous aura radiating from her entire being is raw and vicious beyond anything seen before.

— Look, today the Sword of the Kingdom will be broken. And before long, the Transcendent Clan will move in earnest.

The Sword of the Kingdom?

Arandel Helmut?

Grandmaster’s eyes narrow slightly.

She wavers for a moment at the mention of targeting Arandel, then aims a warning at the fading astral projection of the man.

“Don’t ever show yourself before me again, or you’ll die.”

— I’ll keep that in mind.

And with that, the faceless man vanishes.

With a sigh, Grandmaster shakes her head. Beside her, her disciple Damien carefully asks,

“M-Master, if Arandel dies… won’t that mean war will break out immediately?”

After all, the Transcendent Clan fears Arandel more than anything.

But Grandmaster shakes her head.

“I have already crossed swords with Arandel. He is not the sort who dies so easily.”

“R-Really?”

“I’ve never before encountered anyone so powerful…”

As if craving a smoke, Grandmaster wets her lips and turns her gaze back out the window.

“Life or death… that choice is entirely in Arandel’s own hands.”

****

Twilight was beginning to fall when the thunder of hooves echoed near Helmut.

The villagers cowered in renewed fear, but soon sighed in relief when they saw who it was on horseback.

“Ah! It’s Rihanna-nim!”

“O-Oh, you’ve arrived!”

“Rihanna-nim has returned!”

Exactly two days had passed since the terror attack on Evergarde.

Because the royal carriage and Pegasus had both been damaged, they had no choice but to ride here on horseback.

Their horses were visibly fatigued from the hard ride, but they had arrived nonetheless.

Following behind Rihanna were Isaac and Silverna, as well as Princess Clarice and her escort knights.

Naturally, none of them looked to be in good spirits.

The ranks of Helmut’s knights seemed drastically thinned, and the townspeople, huddled among the ruins like mice, looked terrible as well.

Even though two days had passed, the attack of the Transcendent Clan must have been so fierce that they still hadn’t managed to remove all the bodies.

“O-Oh, you’re here! Unnie!”

At that moment, Edel, who was at the forefront of restoration efforts, ran up, nearly in tears.

Rihanna dismounted and embraced her youngest sibling, then asked carefully,

“What happened here?”

“Two days ago… The Transcendent Clan came.”

Two days ago.

The same time as the terror attack on Evergarde.

So their true objective had indeed been Helmut.

“They said five of the Primitive Transcendents showed up. But Father faced them alone—”

What Edel went on to recount was astonishing:

The battle lasted a full day and then another half a day beyond that.

Thunderous booms, like lightning striking, resounded continuously. Only a few hours before their arrival had the clamor of battle finally ceased.

“…The sky is still red.”

Isaac, listening to the explanation from behind, murmured softly.

Whatever blazing energy Arandel unleashed, it dyed the sky beyond the dark clouds a deep crimson.

Even the mana in the air felt thick.

Proof that a fierce and brutal battle had been waged.

The second son, Armin, was nowhere to be seen.

Though they were curious what had happened, their priority was Arandel.

They hurried through the village and headed straight for the manor.

“Please, Arandel-nim. Please…”

Princess Clarice, following behind, wore a pallid expression.

She mumbled as though in prayer, her eyes revealing how desperate she was.

“The kingdom still needs you.”

The moment Arandel was gone, it was inevitable that the Transcendent Clan’s offensive would explode forth.

But there was no new generation ready to take over Arandel’s role just yet.

Hoping that Arandel had prevailed, the reinforcements reached the entrance of the manor.

In truth, maybe that answer was already decided.

As he neared the manor, Isaac thought:

‘If the Transcendent Clan had won…’

It was likely that the village below would not have survived unscathed as it had.

It would have been reduced to rubble, and the people would have greeted them only as corpses.

Because of that, Isaac was wagering on Arandel being the victor.

Though it was hard to believe that he had singlehandedly killed as many as five members of the Primitive Transcendents.

However—

When they reached the ruins that could no longer be called a manor—

Where only the entrance remained standing—

Isaac had no choice but to believe.

Helmut’s pride, the rose garden, was gone.

All the garden’s roses had been crushed in the aftermath of battle, leaving only petals scattered across the ground.

Amid those petals lay members of the Transcendent Clan.

Countless of them sprawled upon the earth, each meeting a gruesome end.

And there, beneath a sky shrouded in dark clouds like a curtain, waited a man.

Atop the rubble, Arandel Helmut sat in silence, slowly turning his gaze to those who had come for him.

“Arandel-nim! You’re unharmed!”

The moment Clarice cried out with a bright smile, Isaac blocked her with his arm.

“Isaac?”

“……”

He didn’t want to believe it.

No—saying he couldn’t believe it was more accurate.

“Ah, father?”

Sensing the same ominous feeling, Rihanna murmured in confusion. But Arandel remained silent, simply looking at those who approached.

He was not dead.

He had not collapsed.

He had not been broken, nor had he been defeated.

He merely sat there in silence—

as though awaiting the next battlefield.

Seated amidst the crushed rose petals strewn across the ground, his presence evoked something beyond sheer intimidation—pure fear.

“I’ve been waiting.”

With a low voice, Arandel reached once more for his greatsword.

“I—Is that… Isaac?”

Silverna, who had seen a similar phenomenon before, shook as she struggled to speak.

Isaac too had no idea how it had come to this.

He felt a chill, as if he were witnessing the worst possible future manifest before his eyes.

But it was already done.

“Take your stance.”

He bit his lip and placed his hands on the twin blades at his sides.

The eyes of Arandel, once crimson, were now stained black—

Proof of his vassalization.

– – The End of The Chapter – –

 

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