[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
Chapter 176: Rubia (1)
***
“Ugh… Ah…”
A night with a full moon hanging high in the sky.
While everyone else slept, Athena writhed in pain and clutched her ankles.
Both of her ankles were wrapped in cloth. The fabric which was originally white, had now been dyed red.
It happened the evening she was imprisoned. Claire returned to the prison with a few rcenaries.
“There’s a risk of escape. Cut her Achilles tendons.”
The rcenaries were taken aback by Claire Fowler’s order. Even though she was a suspect in a case, Athena was a pureblood.
“Lady Claire… This prison is built with rare tals that absorb mana and cannot be easily broken. Moreover, Lady Athena is currently wearing a mana-sealing…”
“Considering that child’s abilities, we can’t be careless.”
“But…”
As the rcenaries continued to hesitate, Claire slapped one across the face.
A sharp sound filled the prison. With a rattled expression, Claire spoke hysterically to the rcenary.
“If you heard an order, shouldn’t you follow it quietly? Why are you babbling on?”
“Y-Yes, Lady Claire… It’s not that…”
“Who do you think is in charge of the rcenary corps now? Should I call Ulric and have him torture you all to understand the situation?”
At those words, Athena understood who had taken over her father’s position as the leader.
It was Ulric Hopper, Claire’s son.
Honestly, it wasn’t that surprising. Ulric Hopper was a Master Class fighter and an unparalleled pureblood within the rcenary corps.
“Do you understand? Do it as I say, quickly!”
At Claire’s scream, the rcenaries reluctantly surrounded Athena. However, they couldn’t readily carry out Claire’s orders.
“I… I’m alright.”
Athena knew who Ulric Hopper was. He was an honest and reliable man, but soone who could never disobey his mother’s commands.
If Claire truly called upon Ulric Hopper, the rcenaries would have no choice but to be tortured.
The Fafnir rcenary Company wasn’t known for strict discipline, but their punishnts were harsh, sotis even fatal.
“So please, do as she commands.”
The rcenaries bit their lips. In the end, they drew their swords and slashed at Athena’s ankles.
The tendon guards on her heels were very thick. When they were severed, the pain was unimaginable.
However, Athena only shivered violently and didn’t scream.
“Stubborn girl.”
Claire left the cell in a huff. The rcenaries followed suit.
Only then could Athena release a groan. Barely managing any strength, she clutched her ankles.
“…It hurts.”
Even after several hours, the pain hadn’t subsided a bit.
Athena closed her eyes, leaning against the wall, hoping for even a slight lessening of the agony.
So ti passed, but it was hard to tell how much.
The iron door of the prison clanged open, and soone entered. Athena opened her eyes to identify the visitor.
Claire Fowler stood before her.
“Looking good.”
Claire remarked, looking down at Athena. Because of her severed Achilles tendons, Athena could only look up at her.
“You resort to childish tricks.”
There was no way Athena could lower herself to Claire. She spoke to her in her usual manner.
“Childish? What can I do about that? Every ti you do those childish tricks, it makes my insides churn with satisfaction.”
Claire said with a bright smile. Athena shivered slightly at the errie emotions she felt radiating from Claire.
“……Why are you doing this to ?”
Athena asked what she had been curious about all along.
Even though not everyone from the factions disliked Athena, Claire’s animosity was on a whole other level.
“That’s a good question. Actually, I wanted to vent to soone as well.”
Claire lowered herself onto her knees, eting Athena’s gaze.
“What do you think of your father?”
Athena couldn’t answer this question with unknown intentions.
“Your father, Karl… he was a real lecher, the worst kind. He’d change won like it was nothing, and if there was a woman he liked, he wouldn’t hesitate to force himself on her… A truly awful human being.”
Athena already knew it. How dissolute her father was.
“But none of the won Karl slept with were ever dissatisfied. There was no room for dissatisfaction. Where else would you find a man as handso, strong, and high-ranking as Karl in this world?”
rcenary King Karl Hopper was a man who had everything in his grasp.
Wealth, fa, personal strength, and even striking good looks.
“What’s more, Karl never aged. I’m not a knight so I wouldn’t know for sure, but they say he was so strong he even overca aging. So there was no reason for anyone to dislike Karl. But that was also the problem.”
Karl Hopper wouldn’t age. He was always a handso and charming man.
But won were different. They aged with ti. Their skin lost its elasticity, and their eyes drooped. Their beauty as won withered with each passing day.
“Do you know how those old won are treated? They’re completely ignored by Karl. Not even a single visit, as if his affection towards them was a lie.”
Claire’s voice rose slightly in agitation.
“The won who bore him children are at least fortunate. Won who couldn’t even have children were kicked out of the rcenary corps. They dedicated their youth to Karl, yet they received not even a crumbs of compensation in return.”
The situation wasn’t much better for the won who bore the King’s children. They just weren’t kicked out of the rcenary corps, that’s all.
“Can you even begin to imagine the feelings of a woman who loses the man she once loved dearly to other younger won?”
Claire’s eyes darkened. Athena swallowed dryly and asked.
“……What does that have to do with ?”
“Ah, right. That’s what I need to tell you. You might not know this, but… your mother was a woman Karl had been searching for for a long ti.”
It was sothing she had heard directly from her father himself, a long ti ago.
“It was your mother who saved your father from a mortal wound he received fighting a powerful enemy when he was young. Thanks to your mother’s care, he was able to cling to life.”
“After that, your father kept searching for your mother, but apparently wasn’t very successful.”
“Eventually, Karl did find your mother. But by then, she was already old, sick… a truly sorry sight. That’s why I never paid any attention to her. There was no way Karl would still be interested in such a woman.”
Claire gritted her teeth with a grimace.
“But reality was different from what I expected. Karl not only ca back with your mother but also clung to that woman until her very last breath. Why? He wouldn’t even look at once, calling old and never visiting again. He just ignored ! Why only your mother? Why only that woman!”
Claire slamd her fist against the bars of the cell. Her skin tore apart and blood trickled down her arm. However, she kept glaring at Athena.
“……I would love to kill you, but everyone is stopping from doing that.”
Claire sighed, sounding genuinely frustrated.
“Tomorrow, I’m expelling you from the rcenary company. Never return to the Fafnir rcenary Company again.”
Claire turned around to leave the cell. Before exiting, she seed to rember sothing and spoke again.
“Oh, and by the way, they say a man nad Damien is dead.”
Athena’s eyes widened at the sudden news.
“What are you talking about? Why is Damien dead?!”
“I don’t know. A guard went in to deliver his evening al and found him dead from a heart attack.”
Athena dragged herself on her arms towards the bars and grabbed them, shouting.
“You’re lying! You expect to believe that?”
“Believe it or not, I don’t care. Why would I lie to you?”
With that, Claire left the prison cell.
***
“How did you know I was lying?”
Damien readily admitted to Rubia’s accusation.
After all, it was just a lie he told to find out the location of the rcenary King.
Now that he had achieved his goal, there was no point in lying.
“A ssage ca from Master. She heard about your plan and said she didn’t believe you. If He sent you to get the rcenary king’s body part there wouldn’t have been a need to send his direct attendants.”
Damien let out a small laugh. He didn’t expect that Rubia could contact Sla that fast. His luck was terrible.
“Co to think of it, there were more than a few strange things.”
Rubia continued while staring at Damien.
“Dark mages never refer to ‘Him’ by na. He is a far too great a being for that, and there’s always the risk that the Empire might discover his identity.”
There wasn’t a particular reason why Damien had addressed him as “He.” He simply couldn’t bring himself to use honorifics for soone like Dorugo.
“And it was also strange that He would order you to kill Garrot. There’s no way He, who cares for us and loves us so much would never tell us to kill each other.”
Damien nearly laughed out loud at that.
Dorugo cared about the dark mages because they were valuable tools that he could deploy in the coming war of destruction.
“Not only did you trick , but you even killed Kardak! Do you know how useful he was? It’ll be incredibly difficult to find another dark mage of that caliber who specializes in poisons!”
Rubia wasn’t angry about Kardak’s death but rather the loss of a useful “tool.”
She was exactly like the Rubia that Damien had seen in his previous life. She never cared much for n. She saw them as tools to be used and discarded. Her attitude was the complete opposite of her master, Sla.
“You’re awfully confident. Have you forgotten that two of your kind have already fallen to ?”
Damien’s remark caused Rubia to burst into a chilling laugh.
“Are you comparing those two to ? That’s a little insulting to my pride.”
Grand Mages were classified by their proficiency in dark magic. Naturally, a Grand Mage who had studied and honed their magic skills for a long ti would overpower a newly Grand mage.
Rubia wasn’t just a Grand Mage; she was a disciple of the Giant evil Sla. The dark magic she wielded was far superior to anything those two could muster.
“Honestly, what would a knight with a hollow head know? Very well, then. Let show you firsthand in a way you can easily understand.”
Dark mana erupted from Rubia, a dense and volatile energy.
Crack.
One of Rubia’s shoulders jutted upwards unnaturally.
Crack.
Then, her neck twisted sharply to the side.
Groan.
Her entire body began to contort grotesquely. Bones lengthened, tearing through her skin. Hundreds of muscle fibers writhed over the exposed bone.
A towering figure reaching three ters tall.
An inflated mass of muscles that resembles a tumor in appearance.
A hideous form devoid of any discernible gender.
The beautiful woman was no more. In her place stood a horrifying monster that inspired pure dread.
– Ah, refreshing.
In stark contrast to her monstrous form, Rubia’s voice remained hauntingly beautiful. It only made the sight more eerie.
-This sense of liberation, it never gets old.
There was only dark mage sect in this world who fought by transforming their own bodies:
The Berserker Sect.
Specializing in close-quarters combat, they boasted the highest combat prowess among all dark mages.
Just like the Giant evil Sla, Rubia was also from the Berserker sect. The pheromones she exuded were a product of her body-altering magic.
– Resist with all your might. I want to savor this feeling for as long as possible.
Rubia raised her leg which was as thick as a tree trunk. The ground turned into a crater as she slamd her leg down with all her power.
Rubia’s body shot forward in a straight line. Appearing right before Damien, she swung her arm in a wide arc.
Her arm suddenly grew very long and beca a weapon the size of a whip.
***
As Rubia’s attack was about to hit him, Damien also swung his sword in counter-attack. The unleashed aura cleanly sliced off Rubia’s elongated forearm.
– ……Huh?
Rubia’s surprise was montary. Damien seized the opportunity and swung the sword upwards, unleashing a burst of aura.
The explosive energy ripped through Rubia’s body, leaving a gaping wound that stretched towards her head
***
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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