Chapter 116 - Upheaval (1)

Audrey held out 「Soaring」 to me.

After a moment’s hesitation, I looked to my side. Liam was there. He read my mind from that glance alone.

「Try eating it.」

“Do you mean I can digest it as I am now?”

「Who knows?」

Liam stroked his chin.

「You’ll have to eat it to find out.」

“What do you mean?”

「I mean your blood is so diluted that I cannot tell, young descendant. Your body is pathetic, your talent for combat is pathetic, and so is the authority of steel flowing through your blood.」

“...”

「A true Caravan can digest legends and myths alike without hesitation. No blade can defy the bloodline of steel. But you cannot. Your only inborn talent is Suspicion bordering on mental illness. In all my wanderings through the middle realm, I have never seen a Caravan as lowly as you, so I cannot predict what you lack or what will happen. Therefore, you must eat it first to find out. Understand?」

“... Yes.”

Liam poured out his criticism without pausing for breath. My tender heart wounded, I accepted the blade Audrey offered. I could see the corners of her mouth twitching beneath the bandages covering her face, and heard a faint snicker. Suddenly feeling indignant, I complained to Liam.

“She’s laughing at me.”

「Shut up and eat it already, will you? Have you no shame?」

“...”

No one was on my side.

How sad.

I snatched the blade Audrey held and thrust it into the blazing fire. The instant I felt it had heated enough, I put the sword into my mouth. Audrey looked shocked by what I was doing.

“Wait, what kind of insane—”

It was insane, all right.

But not for me.

‘Let’s see just how great this sword is.’

I chewed the blade into tiny pieces. A pain I could never grow accustomed to struck me. As I struggled to hold back a scream, the broken pieces traveled down my esophagus and reached my stomach. A terrible heat engulfed my entire body, as though I had swallowed a ball of fire. It felt like being burned alive.

The sword’s memories would soon arrive—a life rushing over me with overwhelming force.

I focused my mind in preparation.

And then.

“Uh—”

My consciousness snapped like a severed thread.

* * *

At the entrance to the Caravan estate.

Everyone in Rhapsody’s legion wore a grim expression. They were in a very difficult position. They could neither continue the war nor withdraw. If the world learned of the atrocities they had committed and the consequences, their dignity and honor would be dragged through the mud.

“Damn it.”

Even outright defeat would have been less humiliating than this. The helplessness that came from being unable to do anything was terrible. While all the knights were sunk in gloom, the mages were somewhat better off. They were paid for the time they spent here, so they might even be hoping this situation would continue. Wavecatchers had always been money-crazed bastards.

“Whew.”

The one with the most on his mind was their lord, Edan Rhapsody. Rhapsody’s second son had come in the family’s name as its representative. Edan Rhapsody had lost much. So very much. Sitting in a daze, he looked up at the sky.

Where had it all gone wrong?

By Edan Rhapsody’s reckoning, their current predicament was the result of the Iron Prince’s scheme. If Swordmaster Carlos had acted, it was at the Iron Prince’s bidding. Carlos was the sharpest sword on the continent, but he did not act of his own will. He was an executioner who moved solely according to the Iron Prince’s wishes.

‘Why?’

What did Iron Prince Ian Chervil stand to gain by meddling with the six Free Cities? The Iron Prince had no rivals. He had slaughtered every one of his siblings long ago, becoming the sole heir, who needed only to keep breathing to inherit the throne. If he wished, he could sit on the Iron Throne this very moment. He had the continent’s most powerful executioner at his disposal.

The Iron Prince’s future was assured.

He had nothing to gain by provoking Rhapsody like this. Only things to lose. Even the Kingdom of Steel could not take Rhapsody’s name lightly. Once this affair was over, Rhapsody would investigate the truth, and the family’s strategists could hardly fail to reach the same conclusion Edan had. The moment they did, all manner of reprisals would follow. That was not something the Iron Kingdom wanted.

The Iron Kingdom of Chervil was a nation that had to wage war constantly. Its resources and territory were poor, and having forcibly annexed several nations, it was a precarious country that would swiftly collapse if it failed to demonstrate its strength. Built on barren land, the Kingdom of Steel imported the resources it needed. In other words, it depended on other countries’ resources. And across the entire continent, apart from the Heavenly Empire, no lands flowed with milk and honey as richly as the six Free Cities. Economic retaliation from those cities would deal the Iron Kingdom a devastating blow. Surely its sole heir would not want that.

Yes.

That was the sensible conclusion.

But then why, why in the world had he done this?

Edan could not understand it.

To flaunt his power? Impossible. The Iron Prince might have claimed a crown steeped in steel and blood, but he was no fool. His exceptional wisdom was known throughout the continent. Such a man would never have done this for a fleeting moment of glory.

No matter how much he thought, no answer came.

He even began to wonder whether he was wrong. After turning it over again and again, Edan arrived at a thought.

‘Unless he intends to conquer the six Free Cities, there’s no reason to do this.’

Conquest.

That alone made sense.

If the Iron Prince used this incident to swallow the six Free Cities whole and rule them, he would earn tremendous acclaim. It would solve the Iron Kingdom’s fundamental problems and become the crowning achievement of a prince who had yet to accomplish any great feat. But that made no sense. The six Free Cities were natural fortresses. Invading the sea-bound cities required a powerful fleet. One had to win at sea before one could land. And across the vast continent, the six Free Cities’ naval forces ranked among the top three. However powerful the Iron Kingdom’s Steel Legion might be, its might would only shine once it had landed. Besides, the Free Cities had Rhapsody. They had those who wielded the sword of the sea, and the great swordmaster who ruled them. Yes, this hypothesis made no sense.

Unless Father suddenly left his post.

‘Father... leaving his post...?’

The instant that thought struck him, Edan’s eye wavered. The ruler of Rhapsody, lord of the six Free Cities, must never leave his post, whatever happened. That was why the people of the six Free Cities pledged their loyalty to Rhapsody. Their lord had to remain there at all times, ready for any unforeseen danger. That was the duty of Rhapsody’s family head.

But what kind of man was Hugo Rhapsody?

He was a man who could trade the world for his son. A man who could cast aside any duty and come running if his son was in danger. The six Free Cities had enjoyed a long peace. No one would imagine that danger could suddenly descend upon cities that had been peaceful for so long. Not even a swordmaster would foresee it. And if that swordmaster was also a father driven mad by concern for his son, his reason would be clouded all the more...

‘Oh no.’

Edan Rhapsody felt as though lightning had struck him.

He had mustered vast numbers of troops and come here for revenge. Most of Rhapsody’s proud Legion of Freedom had come. He had brought the majority of its elite troops to flaunt their might. Even so, he had not worried. They had the great Hugo Rhapsody. But what if Hugo left his post? Then the six Free Cities would be terribly vulnerable. What if the Iron Kingdom’s Steel Legion landed in the Free Cities while the Legion of Freedom, Hugo Rhapsody, and Edan Rhapsody were all absent? There could be only one result. Defeat. An utterly one-sided defeat.

‘Damn it.’

If it was conquest.

If the Iron Prince wanted war, everything fit. Edan’s eye wavered. He rose from where he had been gazing at the sky and went over to his knights. Strangely, the knights who had been so gloomy earlier now looked positively cheerful. Edan asked the beaming knights why they were smiling. Their answer came at once.

“The family head is coming. He said he would resolve this absurd situation and restore our honor. Everything will turn around now. That worthless fighter, those White watchers acting as though they’re something special—they’ll all learn of Rhapsody’s greatness once again!”

Their reaction made Edan feel as though he might lose his mind. In a daze, he asked whether his father’s coming would not violate his duty. Was he not obliged to protect the six Free Cities? If Father came here, who would defend them? At Edan’s words, the knights answered with expressions of genuine bewilderment.

“Why would war suddenly break out? The Free Cities have been peaceful for over a hundred years.”

“But...”

“Please don’t worry so much. It’s only because so much has happened all at once. You should get some sleep.”

The knights spoke without a trace of concern.

“Even if war does break out, we’ll be fine. Who could possibly break through our Fleet of Freedom? You needn’t worry.”

Yes.

The knights were right.

The six Free Cities’ naval defenses were not easily breached. Certainly not by the Iron Kingdom as Edan understood it. Only the Heavenly Empire and the Black Archipelago possessed naval forces comparable to those of the Free Cities. But, but for some reason, Edan could not shake his unease.

A chill kept creeping down his spine.

* * *

“Your Highness, Hugo Rhapsody has moved, just as you said he would. Remarkable. However profound your insight, to foresee how a swordmaster would act...”

“There is nothing remarkable about it. It was inevitable.”

“Shall we proceed as agreed?”

“Yes. Move with the Steel Legion.”

“We shall.”

Silence hangs in the air.

Two men’s voices had passed back and forth through that cold stillness. With their conversation over, Iron Prince Ian Chervil walked on, his face impassive. He stopped before a throne bristling with sharp points. The Iron Throne, made of blades. The throne of blades that symbolized sovereignty over the Iron Kingdom of Chervil.

The greatest seat in this Kingdom of Steel was stained red with blood. Ian Chervil looked at the middle-aged man seated on the Iron Throne. His body was drenched in blood, and his wide-open eyes held no light. He had long since stopped breathing, and his skin had turned deathly white. Ian studied the man’s dried lips, then the crown resting on his ash-gray hair.

“Step down now.”

The middle-aged man was the king.

Ian Chervil’s father.

He had met a peaceful death, but not an honorable one. A father killed by his son’s blade. Even in the spirit world, he would find no peaceful rest. Ian’s face remained calm as he looked at the father he had killed with his own hands. He did not consider it an act against the bonds of family. Had the man not struggled beneath the weight of the crown from the beginning? Ian believed he had done what he had to do. Without a shred of doubt.

“This seat never suited you, Father.”

Ian removed the crown from his father’s head. The Iron Prince set the blood-soaked crown upon his own. Red blood dripped onto his cheek. Paying it no mind, he cleared his father’s sprawled body onto the cold floor. With a hollow sound, the chilly corpse crumpled onto the gray stone. A young man now sat upon the vacated throne in place of the middle-aged one. The last prince, who had killed all his siblings and finally even the parent who had brought him into the world, had at last become sovereign.

Feeling the warmth of the blood, Ian surveyed the cavernous hall from his throne. From this seat, he could take in the Palace of Steel at a glance. It was a seat that symbolized a sovereign’s authority and power. Ian looked down into the hall and gave a sinister smile. From the Iron Throne, he gazed down at his assembled subjects. They did not even dare look at their former sovereign, who had died so wretchedly. The sight of the dead king, eyes wide and tongue protruding, filled them with an inexplicable dread. While everyone held their tongue, Ian spoke.

“Keep my father’s death a secret for now. No one is to know until I say otherwise. If word of this leaks outside, I will kill everyone who was here. I will not even bother searching for the traitor. I will kill everyone who breathed in this room, kill their blood relatives, and wipe out every person who has ever exchanged so much as a word with them. If you are curious, you are welcome to test me.”

Ian’s words were flat. But everyone present knew very well that this was no empty threat. Ian Chervil was a man capable of such things. Seated on the Iron Throne, he looked at the Grand General and gave an order.

“Prepare to march.”

“... Where to?”

“The six Free Cities.”

The six Free Cities.

Upon hearing the destination, the Grand General replied.

“The six Free Cities will be difficult for the Steel Legion to take. They are protected by Rhapsody’s sword and possess one of the continent’s three strongest naval forces. The Steel Legion will be annihilated before it even sets foot on their soil. Even if we manage to land, the Idler’s sword will cut the Steel Legion’s throat. I beg you to reconsider.”

The Grand General’s words were bold.

Ian smiled at them. A rather decent man. Though afraid, he did not falter.

Ian Chervil graciously decided to explain things to this ordinary man.

“Hugo Rhapsody has left his post. The Legion of Freedom that defends those cities has also departed.”

“Even so, we cannot break through at sea—”

“Do not worry. Others will deal with the fleet.”

Having said that, Ian tipped his chin slightly. The man who had been speaking with him moments earlier slowly rose. As he straightened his back and lifted his head, a sound rang from his body.

CREAK

At the same time, the polymorph magic concealing his true form unraveled. His identity, hidden beneath hair and skin, emerged. First came scales. Scales that no arrow or blade on the continent could pierce. Next, pointed horns rose, followed by enormous wings. As his spread wings cast a shadow over the cavernous hall of the Palace of Steel, golden eyes glittered. Every subject present stared blankly at the man who had revealed his true identity. No, he could no longer be called a man. Everyone here knew the name of that being. They knew what the world called it.

“A master of the skies will be with you.”

A dragon.

“So have no doubts.”

A vortex begins to swallow the continent, spreading beyond the Iron Kingdom.

“There is nothing your new king cannot do.”