Do Your Own Revolution

#167

“Ha, haha…! Hahaha…!”

They say when anger reaches its peak, it turns to laughter instead.

That’s exactly what happened to Duke Nachtval as he surveyed the battle-torn city of Ruinberg.

“Haah……”

It didn’t take long for his face, which had been laughing in despair, to contort like that of an evil spirit.

The resistance had been far more fierce than anticipated.

The occupation delayed as a result.

The enemy’s reinforcements and new weapons arriving at just the right moment through that gap.

“Really… Nothing goes according to plan.”

Looking back at everything that had happened, it truly was the case.

His successor Zeplant, dead out of nowhere.

The Round Table and magic nobles, declining by the minute.

Their justification, shattered to pieces.

And decisively, even the betrayal of Feilun, whom he had chosen as Zeplant’s replacement.

Not a single thing had gone according to his will.

“But well, it doesn’t matter.”

The Duke’s expression hardened as he spoke in a chilling voice to the two people standing before him.

“Now that Eugene has headed to the imperial capital, the Kalhyram Army has no seven stroke mages.”

The strongest cards they could play were only Guille and Feilun, who held six stroke imprints.

“In other words, besides you two bastards here, there are no mages who could stop me.”

“……”

Had he hit the mark?

Seeing the two remain silent, the smile on the Duke’s face grew deeper.

“Then, I won’t hesitate to slaughter you both.”

“……”

“After killing you two who stand in my way, I’ll burrow straight into the core of the Kalhyram Army.”

The forces gathered in Ruinberg were the cream of the crop from the Kalhyram Army.

If he could crush them all, he could exploit the gap in their battle line.

If he mobilized all the Knight Orders waiting at the main house, it would be possible to break through their line at a single point and strike at their core.

If he could do that, there was still a chance of victory.

“Try it if you can.”

Gritting his teeth at the Duke’s words for a moment.

Feilun stepped forward with his sword, wearing a determined expression.

“Unless you kill us all, you will never leave this place…!”

Just as Feilun shouted with all his might.

“Didn’t I tell you, Feilun.”

The Duke had already prepared his next spell.

“From now on, I’m going to kill you.”

“?!”

Whir–!

“?!”

“This is…!”

Nachtval’s binding spell, [Halo of the Unfaithful].

It was a spell that converted the target’s body into photons and fixed them within his domain.

Though he originally had no plans to use it due to the risk of the target’s physical structure collapsing, the Duke unhesitatingly bound Feilun’s body within his domain.

Now that he had completely abandoned the idea of capturing Feilun alive.

That commoner was no longer just a ‘wayward son’, but merely a detestable traitor.

Screech—!

Duke Nachtval operated his magic circuit at maximum output.

“Try to block this one if you can.”

A radiant light incomparable to moments before.

Gathering the streams of light flowing from his domain, the Duke spoke with a twisted smile.

“I never intended to let you escape in the first place.”

Blast-!

With a short sneer, a massive beam of light engulfed the two.

A light of annihilation that erased everything within its range.

The entire city of Ruinberg began to shake violently from the Duke’s Concentrated Bombardment deployed at maximum output.

Rumble–!

After expending all the magical power his domain could release.

How much time had passed?

“Whew…!”

Taking a deep breath, the Duke gazed with satisfaction at the scene before him.

“This is the price for underestimating the power of the Round Table, you fools.”

When the beam of light subsided, all that remained before him was ash.

No, not even ash – only pure white traces filled his vision.

“Time is of the essence.”

The Duke muttered, looking at the Special Magical Power Unit members engaged in battle with the knights.

These blasphemous rebels who dared to defy the Round Table.

Now that the two six stroke imprint specialists were gone, subduing them would be utterly simple.

“But with this, their plan has failed.”

As he muttered this, the Duke’s hand slowly rose toward the sky.

Magical power gradually concentrated, and spheres of light formed around him.

It had enough power to tear through barriers created by lower imprints like paper.

If he could bring down their airship, the enemy would have no escape route.

If he regrouped the Knight Order and attacked again, he could seize control of Ruinberg.

“The dominion of the Round Table shall continue eternally.”

With those words, the Duke fired his spell without hesitation and-

Slash-!

“…huh?”

The next moment, Feilun’s sword, imbued with magnificent magical power, completely severed the Duke’s arm.

“Gaaaah?!”

After being frozen for a moment, unable to grasp the situation.

The moment he confirmed blood seeping from the severed surface, tremendous pain wracked the Duke’s mind.

“How… How in the world…?”

No, the pain wasn’t what mattered.

Feilun glaring at him with focused eyes.

The Duke simply couldn’t comprehend this situation.

How did this happen?

Surely Feilun should have vanished along with that officer who arrived as reinforcement…!

“Khaa-!”

Just as he thought that, a rough breathing sound came from behind the count.

When he turned around, there was Guille, gasping for breath.

Hiss-!

His outstretched hand was blackened as if burned.

Along with it came the smell of burning flesh.

And floating before him, a hexagonal barrier emitting a red light.

It didn’t take long to realize what this mage called Guille had done.

“You… blocked it?”

His spell, cast with all the magical power he could muster as Duke Nachtval?

A six stroke magician who couldn’t even manifest a [Domain]?

“Hey, Duke.”

Guille was breathing heavily from the effects of Magical Power Exhaustion and the pain in his arm.

But after a moment, he slightly raised his head and smiled at the Duke.

“You know, I’m a much more mediocre guy than you might think.”

Speaking informally to a noble, how irritating.

Muttering that, Guille spoke with a smile on his face.

“My magical power level is roughly in the upper ranks, but I’m not as crazy as Eugene. I’m not as fast as Ortega. And I can’t use precise spells like Matt.”

“What?”

“But there’s one thing. One strength that no one else can replace.”

Saying this, Guille looked at the barrier floating before him and said.

“Endurance.”

Early in the Republican War.

To lure out the Republican hero, the seven stroke mage Petrenko, Eugene selected Guille as his double.

He ordered Guille, then a five stroke mage, to withstand attacks from a seven stroke mage.

An order tantamount to suicide.

Yet Guille, who received this mission, survived.

Against the Republic’s hero.

Against the Republic’s ultimate weapon, raised to overthrow the magic nobles.

‘No, the order is slightly different.’

It was because Eugene knew he could survive that he chose him as his double.

Matt specialized in long-range sniping, and Ortega excelled in close to mid-range rushing attacks using his speed.

Then, what was Guille’s spell that should maintain their center?

Guille, who had alone blocked Nachtval’s magic, was now showing that answer.

Ultimate durability.

Barriers of the highest strength that even Eugene couldn’t completely penetrate.

That was the ability possessed by the future leader of the Special Magical Power Unit.

“I knew you had good qualities, but I didn’t expect you to become this strong.”

“Well, when you have Eugene as your direct superior, this kind of thing happens naturally.”

When he told me to fight Petrenko in his place, I wanted to throw away everything – Special Magic Unit, officer position, all of it.

Looking at the two taking their stances while saying this, the Duke gritted his teeth.

“You bastards…!”

And then.

Swish-!

“Kugh?!”

Taking advantage of the moment when he was still shocked from losing an arm, magical power chains created by Guille wrapped around the Duke’s body.

“This is…!”

Just as he tried to draw up magical power to break the chains.

A look of dismay crossed the Duke’s face.

Guille’s barrier that had blocked his attack.

He realized that the magical power structure forming these chains was the same as that barrier.

“The durability isn’t as high as the barrier, but I can’t break it immediately…!”

The worst situation – having lost one arm and both arms restrained.

Seeing this, Guille gave a signal with his eyes, and Feilun nodded, drawing up magical power.

Click-! Click-!

Numerous shell casings fell with the sound of discharge.

Though he felt burning pain from his overloaded magic imprint, Feilun endured it while gritting his teeth.

“Killing you won’t bring back those who went before us.”

“…!”

“Cutting off your head won’t appease their grudges either.”

Feilun’s photon magic condensing into a single point.

Having shaped numerous light streams into the form of a sword, Feilun spoke with a calm expression.

This revenge wasn’t for those who had departed, but for himself.

Just a pitiful self-consolation to wash away the helplessness of that time when he could do nothing.

“However.”

Once you’ve made a decision, you must see it through.

Thinking this, Feilun charged at the Duke without hesitation and.

“Ku, uh…!”

The condensed sword of light pierced straight through the Duke’s heart.

‘Such an end… Can there be such an end…?’

In his final moment that came without warning, the Duke thought.

Feilun’s magical power quantity and spell power were already considered on par with his own.

That’s why he had used binding spells to ensure victory and unleashed a strike drawing upon all his magical power.

At that moment when he was certain of victory.

For Feilun to have such a shield at that moment.

It was terrible misfortune beyond words.

But the next moment.

‘…No, it’s not misfortune.’

The Duke realized.

The support arriving at precisely the right timing as if predicting this situation.

And among the numerous high-ranking mages of the Special Magical Power Unit, specifically that officer called Guille appearing.

This wasn’t improvised.

Rather, this situation was decided after collecting information and researching countermeasures over a long period.

They had already prepared everything needed to hunt him down.

And the one who predicted all this and sent Guille here was…

‘Eugene, Lorentz…!’

The one who invaded the coronation ceremony, killed Prince Meldir, and snatched away victory from right before his eyes.

The moment that name crossed his mind, Duke Nachtval felt the blood drain from his head.

‘I failed so miserably even with perfect preparations using even Buckenheim’s help.’

And to just two incomplete six stroke mages at that.

‘Then… what about the other nobles?’

Korhonen, and Gloucester.

The Margraves who had fully maintained their power.

Where those ‘seven-stroke mages’ who had lived even longer than himself were hiding their claws.

What… was happening there right now?

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