CHAPTER 292

The moment the orange light flooded the room, the knights charging at Viktor seized their necks and staggered in unison. At least Greg and Nat, being top-tier knights, managed to parry the orange-tinged blade that flew before their eyes.

“Gasp!”

“Ugh!?”

But at that moment, a force clearly superior to the force shook their insides, and as they staggered from the impact, they could not respond even as they saw the youth with red hair and red eyes appear before them.

“Ah…!?”

Crack.

Soon after, they experienced a sensation as if the world was suddenly collapsing, accompanied by a light noise.

And they realized.

Cleanly severed from their bodies were their legs.

“Aaagh!”

“You, you’re insane!”

“Viktor! Bro, you’re here!”

“…How did you?”

Even Viktor couldn’t help but be startled at the young man’s playful tone, but this was not the time for leisurely conversation.

Ronian turned with a mischievous grin, but as he did, the smile vanished, replaced by furious rage.

“I’ve secured the ones with loose tongues, now I’ll kill them all!”

Only after the enraged yell burst forth did a beat later, magic from mages, including Gerothin, pour out.

“Spirit Thorn!!”

As the mages all shouted in unison, grey thorny vines sprouted from somewhere, entangling them and Gerothin on all sides.

Tiding.

Arrows fired in rapid succession by Burdel bounced off the thorny wall and were deflected.

As Burdel clicked his tongue in frustration, a gloomy voice emanated from behind the barrier.

“Corrupt Explosion.”

In that moment, along with the grey mist, the bodies of the dead knights began to swell.

Ronian’s expression twisted at the sight of these bizarre magics, but it was Viktor who, recalling a familiar situation, urgently shouted.

“It’s going to blow! Take cover!”

Even as he yelled, the actual individuals couldn’t move, but Ronian, understanding perfectly, shielded Viktor’s front.

Soon, an orange glow gathered on the sword he raised.

Gwaaaang!

A thunderous explosion that seemed capable of blowing away the entire castle resounded.

The corpses of the knights exploded too, but the shock was blocked by an orange wall, leaving Ronian and Viktor unscathed.

Rumbling.

As the residence crumbled from the explosive aftermath, dust clouds billowed from all directions, yet Viktor was surrounded by the orange wall and unharmed, looking at his friend with startled eyes.

“You, what on earth is this? No, more importantly how are you here…?”

“Oh. They’re getting away! Explanation later!”

Ronian shouted past the dusty haze as he sensed the enemies’ movements, and Viktor, with a stiff face, nodded.

“Right. Go.”

“What?”

Ronian, about to charge through the dust, looked at his old friend with disbelief.

“There may be ties to the Empire. Try to capture at least one.”

Viktor’s mind recalled the recent explosion, urging his friend on instead.

“I must complete my mission.”

“What mission with your injuries…”

Faced with an adamant friend who had suffered major wounds from battling mages, Viktor’s frown deepened. Yet, immediately feeling Viktor’s momentum—as if fully recovered—Ronian’s eyes widened with realization.

“You…!?”

“I’m finally used to it.”

Viktor, with a sly grin, brandished a grey aura above his hand, radiating power as if he had never been wounded.

Looking upon that, Ronian, with a stifled smile, patted his friend’s shoulder.

“Be careful.”

“You too.”

Two friends reunited after years disappeared into different directions, hiding their traces.

***

Rumbling.

“What is this!?”

“The direction of His Majesty’s bedroom!”

“The knights, quickly!”

The royal palace was truly in chaos.

The sudden explosion from the King’s quarters and the trembling palace caused pandemonium, but one middle-aged man calmed the situation.

“Everyone, do not panic! Preparations have been made!”

Even amid the unexpected midnight commotion, the man, all dressed in official attire and with a cool expression, cried out.

“Yes, sir!”

“Yes, Prime Minister.”

“Calm down and do your jobs!”

Upon recognizing the identity of the middle-aged man, all who were lost in chaos stopped and began to move in an organized manner.

“Your Excellency. With this level of control, they must’ve been subdued, right?”

“Definitely. With an explosion of this magnitude, it must be Gerothin’s magic. A mere assassin can do nothing against our prepared mages.”

The middle-aged man, Donati Fello, watched his groveling subordinate and coldly smiled.

However, at that moment, his head tumbled down while his face still bore a smile.

Fushushuk.

As a geyser of blood spurted, the onlookers around him soon screamed in unison.

“Aaagh!”

“The Prime Minister!”

“Call the knights!”

The chaos grew louder. Amidst this uproar, a chilling premonition crept up behind one frozen attendant.

“Where is the King hiding? Lead the way.”

With sweat dripping from his forehead, the attendant nodded fearfully, his pace quickening under the sharp edge of a blade against his back.

Feeling the intense fear as if being on the verge of decapitation, he occasionally made discreet gestures to those he encountered.

“Aaagh!”

But those who noticed ran away, and…

“This!”

Some bold soldiers and knights attacked, yet…

Crack.

Their heads were swiftly cut off and sent flying.

Ultimately, the attendant, giving up on resistance, hastened to lead Viktor to the King.

“It’s strange there are so few knights. Do you know something?”

“I, I don’t really…”

Despite his words, his steps led to the largest room within the royal palace.

The hall where the King conducted official duties.

Smirk.

“The King is in here?”

“Yes, truly! I swear by it…”

Watching Viktor release a disbelieving chuckle, the attendant cried out desperately to ensure his own survival.

“No, I’ve confirmed it.”

Puk.

“It’s just unbelievable.”

Viktor swiftly knocked out the attendant, then steeled his face as he regarded the Grand Hall’s doors.

An immense presence could be felt from inside, clearly not from just one or two individuals.

‘If the artifact was intact, I’d sneak in and cut the King’s throat.’

But now, there was no need for subterfuge.

Grumbling.

Confident, Viktor amplified his power, and the doors to the Grand Hall burst open with a resounding noise.

Through the wide-open doors, stunned gazes poured forth. At a glance, the eyes of over a hundred knights and numerous mages fell upon him.

“Who are you!?”

The knights filled the Grand Hall drew their swords in unison, and Viktor scoffed.

“There sure are a lot gathered. I wondered where all the knights had gone…”

It was probably not just this night that the knights had been assembled but right after Greg hinted at their presence, they must have been waiting in standby.

As proof, many of the knights betrayed signs of fatigue.

And whether because of that fatigue, or because Viktor was alone, only a few approached him.

“The blood on that sword…”

A middle-aged man with a haggard complexion surrounded by knights muttered quietly from the upper seats.

“It’s the blood of Donati Fello. Next is your turn, King.”

As Viktor replied with contempt and confidence, the atmosphere among the gatherers changed dramatically.

“The Prime Minister…!?”

“That bastard!?”

“Kill him!!”

Scores of knights rushed him simultaneously, and the mages also began chanting spells, raising their staffs.

“Don’t kill him, just subdue him!”

Amidst it all, Viktor laughed at someone’s shouted command.

They won’t kill him?

“How kind of you.”

An emanating grey aura blade sprung from Viktor’s drawn sword.

The sheer force within him, evolving into an aura from the life force, raised his confidence to the skies.

– I must protect my younger brother.

That was the greatest goal running through Viktor’s life.

The responsibility brought by his parents’ death became an obsession he had to fulfill, even risking his life.

The purpose of life, forged too early, was simple for the little boy thrown into the world to protect his younger brother.

He had no confidence in fulfilling even that small purpose.

As a child, he lived to physically protect his brother, and as he grew, he lived to protect a place where his brother could be happy.

But there came a time when his brother no longer needed his help.

– I can take care of myself too!

He understood those worried words.

His brother, potentially a mage prodigy at such a young age, didn’t need his protection.

He didn’t need it any longer.

Thus, Viktor turned his attention elsewhere: the gratitude for the master who had saved their lives.

He decided to repay that debt.

But his master did not need Viktor’s assistance; he was a superhuman beyond help.

– You? Haha. Thank you for your heart.

While most would happily laugh, to Viktor, it became a dilemma.

– Then, what should I do?

Affection for his brother.

Grateful feelings towards the master.

Despite being genuine sentiments, disconnected from them, Viktor had lost direction in life.

He did not know how to live for himself, having always lived for others.

– Now it’s time to live your own life. Don’t worry about me anymore!

– Focus on your progress. That, in the end, would help me.

Live your life.

Both people, who he was indebted to, ultimately said the same. Viktor began contemplating his path for the first time.

He trained in swordsmanship, pushing his body to the extremes, and delved into his inner self through meditative recovery.

One day, he faced his deepest desire, lying at the very bottom.

He realized.

– Survive.

The last wish his parents had for him wasn’t about his brother’s safety, but his own survival.

So he lived despite the miserable and tragic life, determined to survive.

‘I will surely survive.’

The innate longing of life and the final hopes of his parents merged to form his own desire.

Peeling away the guilt that layered over altruism exposed his sincere heart.

At first, he was ashamed of this realization, but he soon adjusted his mindset.

– Acknowledge your desires and accept them to use as a driving force for growth.

– That will be the fuel for realizing your unique trait.

– I believe in you.

He remembered the words of his teacher and master and continued his rigorous training.

But training alone wasn’t enough.

To draw out that ‘desire to survive,’ he needed a crisis that threatened his life.

Now, facing such a crisis, Viktor had finally achieved that breakthrough.

“Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Feeling the endless vitality welling inside him, Viktor smiled.

The power of life, an aura evolved from force.

And, at last, his characteristic: ‘Endless Vitality’ was awoken.

Whoom.

A great grey aura blade surged from his sword, too magnificent and potent for anyone recently awakened to aura.

But…

“Top-tier knights!!”

“Still, he’s alone!”

“Take him!”

Regrettably for the knights, the grey aura blade didn’t display the sacred light unique to aura.

That’s why they underestimated Viktor’s level.

‘This might end quicker than I thought.’

Not even he had anticipated that his force’s characteristic would be this advantageous.

– You are a suitable candidate to learn our magic…

The words of the mage flashed through his mind.

He considered the bizarre magic that detonated corpses, along with the characteristics of the ghosts he saw in the palace.

There were differences between corpses and living bodies, force and will, but strangely, their techniques felt similar.

Maybe they indeed had a connection to the Empire.

‘No, this isn’t the time to think about this.’

As swords approached, Viktor’s eyes flashed again.

And he cried out.

“Receive the punishment for defying the Empire’s will!”

“…What?”

The King’s baffled voice from the high seat was drowned out by Viktor’s shout.

Thirty minutes later, Viktor stood before the King on a mountain of the bodies of knights and mages.

Fshush.

“Gurk.”

He casually pulled out the sword lodged in his side, the wound rapidly healing.

Watching the burns from blocking an orb of fire on his left hand heal swiftly as well, Viktor allowed himself a satisfied smile.

“With this, I might as well go without armor.”

It was a joke, of course.

Despite his characteristic awakening, healing wounds still consumed force.

If he could block, he should block.

But the one who had witnessed the scene firsthand inevitably felt differently.

“Monster…”

“King…”

No magic disguise, it was indeed him.

As this certainty solidified, Viktor’s sword made a light move.

Crack.

In the blink of an eye, a rolling head lay before Viktor, who had just sheathed his weapon.

That day, the Tahiti Duchy was turned upside down.