Chapter 312
Perhaps sensing Evan's killing intent, Mekel gritted his teeth.
“You cur...!! How dare you!!”
Wooooong!!
The air vibrated.
He was about to manifest his miraculous ability.
Blade Storm Chaos.
It was a will-technique that created a storm of blade energy with an Aura Blade, enhanced with a miraculous ability.
The miracle of swiftness.
A speed that transcended the laws of physics was imbued within it.
That wasn't the end.
Blade Chain Collapse.
It was a will-miracle technique that unfolded a barrier with a sword to crush the opponent.
The moment the onlookers let out gasps of admiration at the sight of him unleashing two will-miracle techniques at once.
Evan's sword moved.
‘Christian's miraculous ability that he showed a while ago, Unified Pierce.’
Unified Pierce was a miraculous ability that pierced through the core of an opponent's attack.
A ridiculous miraculous ability, just as expected of Christian.
‘Manifesting such a miraculous ability is impossible for me, but.’
it was possible to imitate it similarly.
Sharp Sword.
Evan's miraculous ability, which could ignore any defense and cut through it, transcending physical laws.
Evan looked at the will-miracle techniques flying toward him.
He saw not the visible phenomenon, but the essence beyond it, piercing through to the core.
Because he had unleashed two will-miracle techniques at once, there was, conversely, an opening.
‘Now!’
Fwaaaaaah!
“Keoeok!”
Evan's miraculous ability cut through the core of the will-miracle techniques rushing toward him, and Mekel vomited a mouthful of blood.
“Young Master!!”
“D-danger!”
The retainers shouted, but it was too late.
Evan closed the distance.
Mekel swung his sword with a pale face, but.
Slice.
The hand with which Mekel held his sword was severed and flew into the air.
“!!”
Thud!
Not stopping there, Evan precisely struck Mekel's core.
Mekel vomited blood as he was sent flying backward and collapsed.
He had completely destroyed his core, turning him into a cripple.
“……”
The area grew silent.
Everyone was too shocked to speak.
But that was only for a moment.
“Young Master!!”
“You cur, Evan!! How dare you harm the Young Master!!”
The retainers of the swordsmanship family drew their swords.
But Evan didn't flinch.
“He is a sinner who dared to block the Hero's path. It is only natural that he be punished. You, too, kneel before the Hero and show your respect.”
“You cur, Evan!! Have you gone mad?!”
The retainers charged, but fwaat! an Aura Blade blocked their path.
It was Christian.
“That's enough. If you do not lower your weapons at once, I will consider it an act of defiance against me, the Hero, and punish you accordingly.”
“Don't speak nonsense!!”
They were not the kind of swordsmanship family to meekly obey the Hero's words.
They unleashed fierce attacks.
‘This is good. It's a chance to cleanse the swordsmanship family.’
Mekel, who had just collapsed, and the retainers now charging were the pests of the swordsmanship family.
Drunk on greed, they had wielded the power of the swordsmanship family and caused immense damage to the Alliance.
Because of these guys, the swordsmanship family, despite possessing great power, had only held the Alliance back during the Age of Ruin instead of fulfilling its role.
‘Above all, Evan must take control of the swordsmanship family. I have to sweep them all away when I have the chance.’
If Evan took control of the swordsmanship family, he would become an even more useful sucker for him.
As he was stepping forward with that in mind, Evan spoke nonsense again.
“Thank you.”
“…Huh?”
“Aren't you trying to deal with them to avenge my grudge?”
“…No, that's.”
It seemed he had once again crudely read Chris's intention to make him the head of the swordsmanship family and use him, and had misunderstood.
‘...That Mind's Eye, just how seriously broken is it? Its accuracy is practically zero.’
Evan shook his head and firmly aimed his sword.
“Revenge is fine now. I have another goal.”
“…What goal is that?”
“You'll know if you watch me.”
He shot forward.
It wasn't just Evan.
Kwaak!
Claws of earth shot up from the ground and grabbed the retainers' ankles.
“Big sister will help too.”
Yulian smiled sweetly, entered her Spirit Form, and disappeared.
Yulian's level was a somewhat lower 6-Star, but her Spirit Arts could be applied in endless ways depending on their use.
Her surprise interference created openings in the retainers' defenses, and Chris and Evan were not the types to miss such openings.
After that, the fight ended quickly.
The retainers were also powerful, but their opponents were on another level.
Because Chris and Evan were both at the highest level of 7-Star.
With Yulian's Spirit Arts added to the mix, it ended in a one-sided result.
‘...But this Evan guy, his methods are a bit rough. Is it okay for the original Hero to be like this?’
Chris had subdued his opponents by simply neutralizing their cores, but those Evan faced had all either lost their lives or their limbs.
“They're guys who would block your path anyway. It's better to pull them out completely by the roots.”
“…Right.”
Chris looked at the officers of the White Tiger Brigade.
The officers of the White Tiger Brigade were at most 5-Star, with the strongest being 6-Star, so they couldn't join the fight and were frozen awkwardly.
“Open the way.”
“!!”
Chris said in a stern voice.
“In the name of the Hero, I will investigate whether the third prince is a demon worshiper.”
***
News of the Hero's actions spread to the Imperial Palace in an instant.
“…The Hero went to investigate the third prince?”
The second prince asked heavily.
“Yes. It seems he may have sensed a hint of the demonic from the third prince.”
“As expected! I thought that treacherous third prince must have been colluding with a demon.”
The nobles who followed the second prince chattered excitedly.
If the third prince fell as a demon worshiper, the next throne would unconditionally belong to the second prince.
But the second prince's reaction was strange.
“…Everyone, you may leave now.”
“Your Highness?”
“Did I not say to leave!”
Everyone disappeared cautiously with puzzled looks on their faces.
“Damn it!”
There was a reason for the second prince's intense reaction.
‘Even if he investigates my younger brother, no charges will come of it. Because the one who made a deal with the Four Kings' Castle was me.’
An astounding story.
It meant that the second prince, the most likely successor to the throne among the three princes, was the culprit colluding with the Four Kings' Castle!
It was a secret unknown even to the nobles who followed him.
Because the moment it was revealed, he would be sent to the stake.
‘Before the Hero targets me, I must receive the right of succession from the Crown Prince and ascend to the throne.’
He had already made his move with the help of the Four Kings' Castle.
The Vengeful Spirit, the head of the Curse Demonic House, had placed a curse on the Crown Prince and was subjugating his will.
The problem was time.
He was so anxious he couldn't stand it, fearing the Hero would catch onto his tail at any moment.
‘I can't just sit and wait.’
A chilling light shone in the second prince's eyes.
He took his sword and rose from his seat.
“Where are you going?”
“I am going to His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“What? But His Highness the Crown Prince is currently ill in bed.”
It was because of the curse.
It was a high-level curse that weakened the body under the guise of an illness, then dug into the mind's weak points to subjugate it at will.
In other words, the Crown Prince was in an extremely exhausted state, both physically and mentally.
With just a little more pressure, he would give up his right of succession.
‘The throne is mine.’
A chilling light flowed from the second prince's eyes.
***
The third prince, Lauren, was full of composure even after hearing Chris's declaration at the banquet.
‘Because I'm innocent.’
Of course, as a prince, he had committed all sorts of corruption, wrongdoings, and outrages behind the scenes, but he swore he had never joined hands with a demon.
‘Rather, this is a stroke of heavenly luck for me.’
He had a suspicion.
That the second prince was colluding with the Four Kings' Castle.
He had no proof, but he was certain.
‘Thanks to that Hero punk, the throne will come to me. Hehehe. Is this what they call a situation where the bear does all the work, but I reap the rewards?’
Therefore, even when he heard the news that the Hero had come to his villa and was causing a ruckus, he wasn't particularly worried.
However.
A nightmare was unfolding before his eyes.
“You'll have to explain these items.”
The Hero presented several tools before his eyes.
They were all items from the third prince's villa, used during demon worship.
“I-I don't know anything about this! Why are things like this here?!”
The third prince cried out with genuine indignation, but it was not accepted.
“This 'Ashen Ivory' is an offering used when commissioning a death from a demon, and the time this item was used happens to coincide with the death of your political enemy, Count Lavacle, yet you say you know nothing?”
“Th-that's...! Just a coincidence...!”
“Are you denying it even when there are documents proving you ordered Count Lavacle's death?”
It was true that the third prince had assassinated Count Lavacle.
‘But I never commissioned a demon to do it! I just hired the Assassin's Guild!’
That wasn't all.
“This is an offering used when wishing for a natural disaster from a demon. Coincidentally, it matches the time a flood struck the Barion territory, which was in opposition to your faction.”
“N-no!! I never did such a thing!”
This, he was truly indignant about.
It was just a coincidence.
‘I may have cursed them, wishing a flood would strike, but I never prayed to a demon for it!’
The problem was that the Hero had obtained a letter with such content that he had sent to a noble of his faction.
The Hero pressed him even more harshly.
“At that time, there was a large-scale disappearance case nearby. Did you use them as offerings for a human sacrifice?”
“H-human sacrifice!! Absolutely not!!”
“The evidence is so clear, yet you continue to deny it. Your sins will only deepen. Of course, even with the sins revealed now, you won't be able to avoid the stake.”
“It's not true! I said it's not!!”
A truly indignant face.
Since he really hadn't done it, he had every right to feel indignant.
But why had such perfectly fitting evidence emerged?
‘Because I'm the one who framed him.’
Chris smiled faintly to himself.
In his previous life, he was the last emperor of the Karn Empire.
He knew all about the corruption and wrongdoings that the third prince, Lauren, the former emperor, had committed since his days as a prince, through records that only an emperor could view.
He had used that information to cleverly fabricate and plant the evidence of demon worship.
To hide the evidence of demon worship all over the villa, he had used the abilities of Yulian, who was skilled in special operations using the power of spirits.
“I-it's not me. This is... ridiculous....”
The third prince stepped back, the color drained from his face.
He sensed that at this rate, he would not be able to avoid being burned at the stake.
Then, as if overcome with anger, he raised his voice.
“I'm telling you, it's really not me! You, you!! If you're the Hero, shouldn't you be properly looking for the truth?! This is clearly someone trying to slander me with a false accusation...!!”
“Yes, I think so too.”
“Right, this is definitely my second brother's conspiracy...!! Huh? What did you say?”
“I said, I also think this is a false accusation.”
The third prince blinked his eyes.
Chris looked at the pieces of evidence.
“First of all, the evidence of demon worship was placed too openly in the villa. As if it were meant for me to see.”
“……”
Ruina, who had followed along, shot him a fed-up look from the side, as if to ask what on earth he was plotting when he was the one behind it all.
‘I have a plan.’
Yes, both driving the third prince into a corner like this.
and lowering a lifeline to him again were all part of the plan.
Following that plan, Chris looked at the third prince with a sublime expression.
“Above all, my intuition as the Hero tells me that Your Highness is not the type to worship a demon.”
“……”
The third prince had a blank expression for a moment.
Then, as if moved, his eyes welled up with tears.
It's natural to be moved when someone offers a hand after you've been beaten down for a while.
“Y-yes! It's really not me! Thank you for believing me. You really are a true Hero.”