Chapter 206: Silverleaf Academy (LIV)

“Heal me.”

Aestrea sharply ordered Lilith, who followed his orders unhesitantly, making the huge hole on his chest disappear completely, replaced by human flesh.

Just in an instant. That was how marvelous an SSS-rank demon was.

Clink…

With that, he stepped forward as his fingers curled around one of the thick ice-blue chains connected to the collar around Lilith’s neck.

Clack!

With a sharp pull, he jerked her forward.

“Ahhn~!” Lilith moaned softly, her knees hitting the stone floor with a slap.

Her hands clutched the chain as she was dragged across the cracked ground, but her smile never faded. She licked her lips, loving every second.

The others stepped aside as Aestrea walked toward the glowing red exit gate.

But just as he reached the edge—

CLANG!

A silver sword blocked his path, its blade shining under the broken sunlight.

Aestrea looked up lazily.

Leon.

His golden eyes were cold now, no longer calm.

His sword arm didn’t waver as he stood firm in front of the exit, and behind him stood Lucas, Rose, Iris, Maya… Ethan stood on the sidelines, not wanting to confront Aestrea.

“I can’t let you leave,” Leon said clearly, containing a clear hatred in the tone of his voice as he stared at Aestrea.

“Not after what you said.”

Aestrea didn’t speak as his hand was still on the chain, almost playing around with it.

“You admitted it yourself that you were planning to kill the Emperor. That’s treason towards the Empire, the highest kind!”

Leon took another step forward.

“I am Crown Prince of the Empire,” he continued, his voice louder now, cutting through the silence, “and under my authority, if you refuse to come with us…”

He hesitated slightly.

“…you’ll be branded an enemy of the Empire.”

Silence fell over the group.

No one moved or protested.

Even Ella, still on her knees in the back, said nothing.

They just stared.

Aestrea could still feel Derek and the others’ worried gazes, but he decided to ignore them.

Because if they showed some kind of connection to him, they would also be condemned by the Emperor, so it was simply best for Aestrea to act alone.

And well…

He knew a day like this was going to happen, after all, since he had planned on getting the Emperor’s head, he knew that he was going to eventually leave the Empire.

As for the place he was going to go to…

He didn’t know.

At his words, Aestrea blinked once… then let out a soft chuckle.

“Hah… really?”

He tilted his head, then gave the chain a small tug again, forcing Lilith closer to his side.

She giggled, even as she panted, her breath fogging from the cold still clinging to the collar on her neck.

“You all heard what she said,” Aestrea said, gesturing lazily at Lilith with one hand. “Your precious Emperor was being controlled by this whore.”

“Mmm~ you’re so mean, Master~” Lilith let out a pleased hum.

Aestrea ignored her.

“I didn’t betray anyone,” he continued, his voice calm but sharper now, his patience almost running out.

“I was cleaning up the filth sitting on the throne.”

“That doesn’t matter!” Leon suddenly shouted.

“Manipulated or not, he’s the Emperor! You want to assassinate him!”

His golden aura began to rise, swirling around his body, burning the air around him with an unnatural amount of pressure.

Aestrea even raised an eyebrow in complete surprise, but he quickly reciprocated.

Thoom…

A pulse of freezing air slipped from his body, causing cracks to appear on the floor beneath his feet.

To his actions, Lucas was the one to step forward, gripping Excalibur tightly, as his eyes narrowed at him.

“…Don’t you dare!” he warned sharply. “After that high-grade spell, your mana must have run out, so you have no choice against us!”

Aestrea tilted his head slightly, then scoffed with a tired smile.

“Oh, please. Did you forget that I’m a Magic Swordsman?” he lazily replied, as he brought his fingers out, before snapping them.

Snap!

Vrrmmm!

Twelve violet swords materialized in a circle around him, floating in the air. They hovered there, each one pointed directly at the group ahead.

Lucas was slighly taken aback, after all, he had completely forgotten about Aestrea’s SS-rank aura!

“Shit…”

Leon gritted his teeth and stepped beside him, his golden aura flaring up.

His sword rose again, shining with pure light.

“This is your last warning. Surrender now, or we take you down, here and now!”

Aestrea slowly shook his head at his words.

He let out a long breath, almost like he was bored.

Then, he dropped the chain in his hand.

Clink…

The metal links unraveled and fell against the stone with a soft rattle.

And then—

Thud!

He kicked Lilith aside with his boot.

“Ah~”

She let out a soft gasp before tumbling over and landing softly, her body twisting slightly like a cat thrown onto a couch.

But she didn’t even seem upset. If anything… she looked turned on.

Aestrea didn’t even glance her way.

Instead, he stretched his fingers again, and a single violet sword formed in his left hand with a quiet hum.

He rested it on his shoulder, the tip glinting.

His eyes shifted back toward Leon and the others.

“You really want to do this?” he asked quietly.

Leon didn’t flinch.

“Absolutely.”

Hearing his words, Aestrea scanned the group in front of him; everyone was on their way to attack him except Violet and Ethan.

Ethan was pretty much loyal to him, so it made sense.

As for Violet, she had a contract with him, and of course, she wouldn’t try to attack him. However, it was also clear that she wouldn’t help him.

And Derek and the others…

Aestrea silently made a gesture for them to leave.

Derek’s eyes widened, his fists clenching around the axe handles at his waist.

But James reacted quicker.

He reached out, placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“…Let’s go,” he said under his breath.

Derek gritted his teeth but said nothing.

The two of them turned away, heading for the exit gate without looking back.

Maria and Mia were slower to move. Both hesitated, casting one last glance over their shoulders. Their eyes trembled not with fear, but pure frustration.

They wanted to stand with him.

But they knew him too well.

They wouldn’t change his mind.

“…Tch.”

They followed.

Aestrea waited until their footsteps faded behind him, then finally turned his eyes back toward the group.

He adjusted his grip on the violet blade, still resting across his shoulder.

His voice cut through the air like a knife.

“…Hey, Lucas.”

Lucas tensed slighly, hearing him calling out his name.

“I gave you a warning not long ago. One hour, maybe.”

He took a slow step forward.

The ground beneath his boot cracked slightly from the weight of his aura.

“And now?”

Thrum…

A scarlet mist began to leak from his eyes, thick, smoky, and strange, like bleeding fog.

“You’re pushing it.”

The mist curled out slowly, coiling around his shoulders, mixing with the cold air still lingering from earlier.

His fingers flexed slightly around the hilt.

“…Aestrea, you’re coming with us, whether you like it or not.” Lucas gritted his teeth.

He slowly took a step forward and then…

BOOOM!

His foot cracked the ground as he launched himself straight at Aestrea, Excalibur flashing with light.

ZHHHHM!!

A golden arc split through the air as he swung down hard, aiming straight for Aestrea’s chest.

WHOOSH!

Aestrea leaned back slightly, the sword narrowly missed, slicing through the air just above his skin.

Then—

CLANG!

Aestrea’s violet blade blocked the follow-up slash, sparks flying.

Then, Lucas spun around fast, aiming a kick to Aestrea’s side, but Aestrea raised his forearm, taking the impact head-on.

He slid a few steps back, boots grinding across the cracked floor.

“RAAHH!”

Lucas dashed again, twisting his body and slamming a downward slash aimed at Aestrea’s shoulder.

BAM!!

Aestrea ducked under it, stepped in, and threw his elbow into Lucas’s gut.

“UGH!”

Lucas staggered back, but then another golden flash appeared right beside him.

『 Royal Swordsmanship: Heaven’s Punishment! (✦ SS-level Swordsmanship ✦) 』

BOOM!

A line of golden energy blasted forward, shooting straight at Aestrea’s ribs.

Aestrea clenched his jaw, twisted his foot, and dashed sideways, barely avoiding the blow. The blast grazed his arm, cutting through his coat and drawing blood.

“Damn it.”

He didn’t even look at the wound.

Instead, he clicked his tongue and spun his sword once in his hand.

『 Ice Series: Frost Crash! (✦ 6th-level Spell ✦) 』

KRRRSHHH!!

A wave of frozen mist erupted from the blade, slamming into Leon and Lucas. The cold air hissed as ice grew instantly over the floor, locking their feet in place.

Luckily for them, Iris raised her staff just in time.

『 Holy Series: Divine Barrier! (✦ 6th-level Spell ✦) 』

A golden shield of light formed in front of Leon and Lucas, blocking the frost with a loud crackling noise as the cold air slammed into it.

SHHHHRK!!

The ice hissed and splintered against the barrier, but held back just enough.

But she wasn’t the only one.

Rose, albeit hesitant, chanted a strong magic against him.

『 Fire Series: Rose Bloom! (✦ 6th-Level Spell ✦) 』

A glowing red rose formed in the air in front of her, spinning slowly. It floated toward Aestrea, each petal unfolding with a shimmer of heat.

And then….

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!

The rose burst open in a massive explosion of fire and heat, engulfing Aestrea’s side in a blazing blast.

But just before it hit—

『 Shield Series: Winter’s Barrier! (✦ 6th-level Spell ✦) 』

CRACK!!

A thick wall of ice erupted in front of him.

The flames slammed into it, melting the surface fast, but the barrier held.

Barely.

When the fire faded, smoke curled into the air, and the ice wall was left scorched and cracked.

“Fuuu… that was dangerous,” Aestrea cracked his neck.

Snap!

His body glowed faintly as his aura thickened, the violet energy rippling around him like smoke caught in the wind.

It crackled and sparked, twisting upward into the air, making the twelve hovering swords come to life again.

Then, with a flick of his fingers—

WHOOSH!!

The swords shot forward like arrows.

Lucas raised Excalibur in both hands, gritting his teeth.

『 Breaking the Sky! (✦ A+ level Swordsmanship ✦) 』

CLAAANG!!

He parried two of the violet swords, but the rest curved around him, aiming for the others. Leon stepped forward fast, his sword moving in a clean horizontal slash—

『 Royal Swordsmanship: King’s Wall! (✦ SS-Level Swordsmanship ✦) 』

A golden arc burst out, blocking three of the swords midair.

CRACK!

SHRING!!

The sounds of metal colliding filled the air.

Maya charged from the right, fire coating her gauntlets.

“RAHH!!”

She slammed her fist into one of the flying swords.

BAM!!

It shattered, but she was pushed back, her boots skidding across the stone.

Rose held up her hand, hesitation in her eyes, and released another spell—

『 Fire Series: Flame Burst! (✦ 5th-level Spell ✦) 』

A ball of flame exploded out, aiming for Aestrea’s side.

BOOOM!!

But Aestrea ducked, twisted his body, and sent another blade whirling toward her. B

『 Divine Series: Sacred Veil! (✦ 6th-level Spell ✦) 』

But a soft glow blocked the blade just in time, thanks to Iris.

However, that gave Aestrea the right amount of time to act.

He pushed off the ground with a sudden burst of aura—

BOOM!!

And appeared right in front of Lucas, his sword drawn, eyes burning.

Lucas barely raised his weapon to block—

CLAAANG!!

The clash sent a shockwave through the ground, rocks flying outward.

Aestrea twisted his wrist and slammed his knee into Lucas’s stomach.

“UGH!!”

Lucas spat blood as he stumbled back.

Aestrea prepared to follow up with another swing, until his instincts suddenly screamed at him, however…

It was still too late for him to react.

STAB!!

A sharp, horrible sound split the air.

Aestrea’s eyes went wide.

His breath caught.

His fingers twitched.

And a second later—

GGRK!!

A mouthful of blood poured from his lips.

He staggered forward, pain shooting through his spine.

He looked down.

A sword… had pierced straight through his back.

His legs gave slightly, and he slowly, shakily turned his head around.

His vision was blurry… spinning… fading.

But even through all the chaos—

He saw her.

Standing right behind him.

Sword trembling in her hands.

Her entire body was shaking.

Tears streamed down her face.

Her lips quivered.

“…I’m sorry,” she whispered.

It was Ella.

“…Y-You…?” Aestrea muttered hoarsely, blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth.

BAAM!

Clink!

He exploded his mana, causing a shockwave to push both Ella and the sword away from him. Blood dripped from his chin to the ground.

“…Fuck,” he brought his fingers to his face, causing the blood on them to paint his face.

He didn’t expect something like that from someone who was obsessed with him.

But, since she is indeed obsessed with him, she would probably take the opportunity that he was weak to maybe imprison him.

And it really was just as he thought.

“An elixir, huh?”

He mumbled absent-mindedly.

There was a purple fluid in the place where Ella stabbed, and that same fluid was an elixir… that would only work after thirty minutes.

However…

There was something else that Ella had completely forgotten about.

“Lilith… heal me.”

Aestrea ordered her once again.

Lilith only grinned at his words, enjoying the show as she shook her head, looking at the rest of Lucas’s group with a ounce of pity.

Glow…

A dark glow covered Aestrea’s wound as the hole in it was replaced by flesh in a mere instant.

“I guess that’s it…”

He wiped the blood on his lips.

“Today’s the perfect time for a coup d’état.”