The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Ghislain wasn’t manipulating Gascot out of some twisted amusement. He had a reason.

‘Damn, I need to catch my breath.’

By creating a virtual mana core, he had pushed Astion’s body beyond its natural limits. Naturally, that put a strain on him. He had already taken down more than half of the enemies, but plenty remained.

Even the knights of Fenris had struggled, working together to capture high-ranking priests of the Salvation Order. The opponents present now were fewer in number but slightly superior in level. Fighting against such adversaries was rapidly draining even someone like Ghislain.

‘Well, I expected as much…’

He was confident he could win even in a straightforward battle, but if there was an easier way, why waste unnecessary effort?

Revealing dark magic was bound to provoke a strong reaction. As expected, Gascot erupted in fury, desperately trying to prove his so-called innocence.

“This bastard is a black mage! I saw it with my own eyes! I saw it, I tell you!”

The knights still looked bewildered. Among them were knights dispatched from other noble houses.

Gascot was a knight of great renown, so they couldn’t understand why he was obsessing over something so trivial in such a crucial situation—especially while spouting incomprehensible nonsense.

But Gascot valued his honor as much as his reputation. This situation was unbearable for him.

Ghislain poured oil onto the fire.

“Why suddenly lie? We’re trying to kill each other anyway. Whether I’m a black mage or not, why does it even matter?”

The knights instinctively nodded along. They were subconsciously agreeing with the enemy’s words.@@novelbin@@

That sight nearly drove Gascot mad.

“You! Are you mocking me?!”

Suppressing injustice was already difficult. But being doubted—being distrusted—was even worse.

Seeing Gascot reaching his limit, Ghislain provoked him once more.

“If you’re afraid to fight me, just say so. Don’t make excuses that make you look ridiculous.”

“You… you bastard…”

“You were watching from the back, waiting for me to exhaust myself, weren’t you? Is that why you’re making a scene now?”

“S-Shut up! That’s not it!”

“Then come at me. If you’re scared, you can even fight dirty.”

Ghislain smirked and curled his fingers in a taunting gesture.

The provocation worked perfectly.

“Fine! I’ll kill you here and now!”

Gascot’s face turned red as he unleashed his full power. His sword shot toward Ghislain with tremendous speed.

“Kaaah!”