Chapter 68 - Sometimes Humans Are Crueler

The fox crashed into a corner, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“Ow, ow, ow.”

He slowly rose, setting his dislocated jaw back into place.

“So that wasn't enough to hurt you.”

“It did hurt. I'm telling you, it hurts.”

Despite his words, the fox showed no sign of alarm. The instant his eyes flashed toward Amelia—

CLANK!

A black chain materialized in midair and snared the fox's wrist.

“Huh?”

CLATTER!

With an ominous rattle, the chain became four. Both hands, both feet—the black chains bound all four of the fox's limbs.

“A mage...”

Amelia sprang up, her head nearly reaching the ceiling.

BOOM!

She brought her enormous hammer down on the bound fox. A direct hit. The satisfying weight of the impact traveled straight through the handle.

But beneath his nine tails, the fox wore a savage grin. He had raised them to block the hammer.

“You'll need nine more chains.”

As soon as he spoke, one tail moved independently, striking at Amelia's side.

CRUNCH!

Amelia reflexively twisted her hammer to block, but the tremendous impact sent her flying back. She gritted her teeth and had just regained her stance when—

WHOOSH!

The fox was right in front of her.

His face appeared so abruptly that she thought he had used magic, but he hadn't. The gust of wind from his movement proved it.

He was simply fast.

He had simply run over.

“Ngh.”

As if trying to hide her alarm, Amelia swung her hammer horizontally.

WHOOSH!

Infuriatingly, the fox bent his knees to duck beneath it, then took a step back.

“That speed...”

“Yes, you've seen it before, haven't you? It's the first prince's ability.”

“How is that possible? My brother is dead...”

“He is. He's right here.”

The fox stuck out his tongue and pointed into his mouth.

“What on earth...”

“But you know, I hear it wasn't originally the first prince's ability either. Did you know that?”

Instead of answering, Amelia drew the hammerhead back behind her shoulder, ready to swing.

“They captured children and experimented on them here. Experiments to artificially implant magic and swordsmanship into human bodies. No studying or practice required. Isn't that ridiculous?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Cruel. Sometimes humans are crueler.”

The fox spoke as he walked like an actor crossing a stage. Amelia circled in the opposite direction, maintaining her distance.

“The experiment was... well, half a success, apparently. One test subject escaped, and even that one supposedly has side effects. But something that absurd still worked halfway. Besides...”

The fox tapped the floor with one tail.

“The subject escaped, but the data stayed here. Doesn't that make the next attempt easier?”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I'm talking about the first prince.”

The fox conspicuously held out the ring on his right hand and continued.

“How did a boy who couldn't hold a candle to the fourth prince, Chiron, as a child suddenly acquire such speed? The first prince got it through those experiments. The mage tower sacrificed children and gave the prince a pair of legs.”

“Nonsense...”

“Hard to believe? Well, I understand. But that wasn't the part I found unbelievable. Prince or not, how did he get the mage tower to conduct those experiments and actually produce results? But then, ah.”

SMACK!

The fox smacked his fist against a tail.

“There was something bigger behind him! There's no way the first prince did this alone.”

“My brother wasn't the sort of person to do that. Whether someone backed him or not, he would never have done something so audacious.”

“Really? If I were inferior to a demon's child, I think my pride would be... terribly wounded.”

“Shut your mouth.”

“As you know, Chiron is kind to a fault. Let's say you really wanted to finish him off, when the king already disliked him. You could just casually let slip that poor children were trapped here...”

The fox's eyes slid to the side.

“Just let it slip. Wouldn't Chiron have rushed straight here to save them?”

Amelia couldn't answer. She remembered how Chiron had seemed unsettled from the moment the mage tower came up.

“He'd certainly have come to save them. Because he's Chiron. Because he was born with both strength and compassion.”

“...”

“Then you pin everything that happened at the mage tower on Chiron, and ta-da! So easy, isn't it?”

The fox clapped two tails together and snickered.

“Chiron gets a helmet put on him and is driven out. Then you make his youngest sister, who's close to him, run away too. Now there's no one left to interfere with your succession rights, is there?”

The fox abruptly stopped circling.

“What, did you think the world revolved around you? That other people stood still if they weren't important or mentioned? Everyone acts, Amelia. Even when you're not watching, they think and act.”

The fox bent down to meet Amelia's eyes.

“The first prince had you both from the beginning.”

“...”

“Well, I got that first prince, though!”

“Ha. Now I understand. You're what Hasgard meant by the Death God's cult.”

“Wow. Wow! Daywin knew that much? Of course. Of course he did.”

The fox laughed delightedly and looked down.

“But aren't you the ones who were beaten?”

“Hm?”

“You tried to kill me and corrupt Chiron, but you failed.”

Amelia stepped closer.

“You also failed to kill Hasgard's family and plunge him into despair.”

Her hammer bobbed with every step.

“And not only that—you raised undead all over the country, but they were put down before anything could even begin, weren't they? The way I see it...”

Amelia countered with a smile, tapping a finger against her temple.

“You need to do a little more thinking.”

GRIND.

The fox ground his long fangs together, losing his composure for the first time.

068

Unbeknownst to the fox, a distress signal had been sent from the mage tower.

As soon as it reached the royal court, the king appealed to the lords for help. The seven lords with voting rights gathered before their respective magic devices to confer remotely.

“Your Majesty! We must send troops!”

“Scouts first. Might the signal not have been sent by mistake?”

“The mage tower, make a mistake? They would never do such a thing. How could mages who research magic make that sort of mistake...”

“They're human. Surely they can make mistakes.”

“It wasn't just any signal. It was a distress signal. They said they were under attack.”

“Which mage tower are we talking about? I'm in the south, so...”

Everyone blurted out whatever came to mind, and the meeting could make no headway.

But one lord alone watched in silence.

'The underground laboratory...'

He was the very man who had joined forces with the first prince and ordered the experiments.

'In the worst case, everything... will be exposed.'

Cold sweat ran down him, his teeth chattering.

As he trembled with anxiety, the king addressed him in a thin voice.

“Grand Duke Keln, you've been silent all this time.”

“Ah, Your Majesty. I-I was thinking.”

“What do you think, Grand Duke?”

“... Troops.”

Grand Duke Keln abruptly collected himself and spoke.

“We must send troops.”

Whoever the intruder was, if they belonged to a third party, the underground laboratory would be discovered. In that case, it might be better to destroy everything.

And if it was the kingdom's army, he could exert a little influence and just barely keep the secret from leaking.

“You think so too, Grand Duke Keln...”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The mage tower's talented people are national assets... are they not? That makes them Your Majesty's assets as well.”

Grand Duke Keln spoke shamelessly, as if he had forgotten that he had diverted those assets to act as he pleased.

“If someone covets them... then it is only right for Your Majesty to step in and punish them.”

“Hmm...”

“Your Majesty, you must not. You know very well that the mage tower's arrogance is nothing new. They have repeatedly flouted royal commands and acted independently. Moving the army now would only embolden them.”

When another lord objected, Keln flared up.

“Do you intend to let all that talent die?” he shouted. “They sent a distress signal! How can you turn your backs on people in danger?”

As the lords began to argue, the king sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead.

'That mage tower is the place that wretch Chiron visited long ago. The damned brat still gets on my nerves even when he's out of sight.'

A moment later, a royal secretary approached and whispered to him.

“I see... Amelia...”

The news was that Amelia had recently headed toward the mage tower.

“We shall watch a little longer. Then we will send the army.”

At the king's words, Keln secretly clenched his fist.

* * *

“A berserker who grows stronger the more blood she sheds.”

The fox licked the blood running down Amelia's arm.

“As you said, rather violent for royalty.”

He slowly moved away from Amelia, who had dropped her hammer and collapsed. Squatting on his tails as if they were a chair, he stared at her as she drifted out of consciousness.

Amelia lay beside the tower master's corpse, waiting for death.

Blink. Blink.

Her eyes closed and opened ever so slowly.

“Still, lose too much and you'll die, won't you? You're human, after all.”

“Gah, hhk...”

Amelia coughed up blood and gasped for breath.

“All right. I've decided. I'll eat you after the tower master.”

“What... did you say?”

“I thought your ability was useless, but it seems it's not quite that bad. That first hit surprised even me.”

The fox smiled, rubbing the crown of his head.

“Your ability is better suited to a strong body like mine. Just look. Even now, magic that's good for nothing except speed is different in my hands. A solid foundation is everything.”

“You're... just a beast...”

“Hmm. If I kill you now, you won't stay as fresh, but...”

He lightly lifted Amelia's chin with a long nail.

“You're noisy, so I'll kill you.”

Just as he was about to slit Amelia's throat with that nail—

“You're the noisy one.”

SWISH!

A blade came flying at the fox's waist.

CLANG!

The blow carried enough force to cut him down in an instant had he not blocked it with a tail.

“What? I'm sure I sent you all the way to the bottom.”

The fox stared at Daywin, his eyes wavering.

“How did you get back up here?”

Ignoring him, Daywin planted his sword in the floor and adjusted his gloves. He rolled his wrist once, then met the fox's eyes again.

“So, not yet after all.”

He looked away once more, toward the tower master's body.

“Your Highness, I will protect you from here on.”

“...”

Wiping away her blood, Amelia glared at the back of Daywin's head.

“Damn brother... I... told you... not to say... that...”

“Then surely it's all right for me to say it.”

“Don't... be ridiculous... The real Hasgard has a halo...”

HUMMM!

A halo shone clearly above Daywin's head.

“H-how... are you...”

Leaving Amelia wide-eyed behind him, Daywin took up his sword again and pointed it at the fox.

“It's been a while, you furry bastard.”