novelapdf Chapter 174 : To You, Whom I Cherish and Hate (5)
Chapter 174 : To You, Whom I Cherish and Hate (5)
Chapter 174: To You, Whom I Cherish and Hate (5)
Whoosh!
Tiiing!
Kuuung!
Crackkk!
Freely shifting between long-range and close-range combat, the two continued their fierce blood-soaked battle.
Whenever Robert Bernhardt unleashed an offensive, Rubia Magnus blocked it.
That single sentence could summarize the bloody fight unfolding before the vault, but reducing it to something so simple failed to capture the overwhelming brilliance of their talents.
Kiiiiing!
His dagger techniques imbued with Poison Aura were being deflected with only the minimum amount of movement.
Without any armor or weapon at all.
‘…Was holy magic really capable of raising physical abilities and durability to this extent?’
It was not impossible.
After all, it was said that fanatics like those from Dellowell, whose faith reached extreme levels, could obtain enough strength to bend steel and enough durability to withstand sharpened blades—as long as they possessed sufficient mana.
But that was merely theory.
In practice, the only known examples in the Empire came from Dellowell itself, making this Robert’s first time facing such power in actual combat.
‘So Eugene Carter is truly someone worthy of being followed and trusted this deeply by such a terrifying genius?’
Countless thoughts tangled together, and for a brief instant, Robert’s offensive halted.
Rubia did not miss that fleeting opening.
“Haaaah…!”
He instinctively moved into a defensive stance against the full-powered punch she launched, but both his enhancement magic and Barrier were too late to block her attack completely.
In the end, Robert was the first to suffer a meaningful blow.
KWAHHHHNG!
After sending him flying all the way into the vault’s outer wall, Rubia grinned.
“That should sting a little, Commander.”
It took him less than thirty seconds to recover his posture.
Still, Robert sat there briefly while the dust settled, organizing his thoughts.
‘…Our talents are almost equal.’
No, if one had to be more precise, hers might even surpass his.
Even regarding experience and skill, he was confident he was at least superior, or at the very least not inferior.
But if that were truly the case, then what exactly created this result?
“…I don’t know.”
As Robert slowly rose and walked toward her, Rubia spoke.
“I don’t sense despair from you, Robert Bernhardt.”
That was her answer to the question that had lingered within him throughout the battle.
“You possessed overwhelming talent and were the eldest son of the Empire’s greatest family. Because those two things overlapped, you’ve never once experienced despair in your life. There was neither anyone capable of forcing it upon you, nor any opportunity for it. The family head never allowed such things.”
“…….”
Rubia Magnus’s life, on the other hand, had been entirely different from Robert’s.
Mallet was one of the weakest Magic Towers even among Duel—
And within it were countless people jealous and envious of her talent.
Her timid personality nearly delayed, even completely stifled, the blooming of her abilities.
But after Eugene Carter appeared, she fully blossomed.
One side reached overwhelming growth without ever knowing despair, gaining arrogance and overconfidence.
The other endured endless despair, gaining a thirst for learning, self-awareness, and an unbreakable determination never to give up.
“The tiny difference between us now comes from that, Robert Bernhardt.”
“…I see.”
Even considering that, the difference between them was truly no thicker than a sheet of paper. They were evenly matched rivals.
That was also due to Robert’s characteristic caution.
Even if he had never experienced despair, it was still true that among Bernhardt’s current generation, his talent and insight ranked second only to Michel.
He might overestimate himself, but he never underestimated or misjudged his opponent’s abilities.
That was why they had remained in a standoff for nearly an hour.
And for both of them, that alone was enough to awaken emotions they had never experienced before.
KUUUUUNG!
One of the buildings deeper inside the vault collapsed next.
Smoke billowed even more violently into the surroundings.
“…The smoke’s blocking everything.”
“Indeed.”
Without either needing to say it first, both immediately began deploying wide-area magic toward the area.
Rainstorm Magic, Gale Magic, and Frost Magic instantly engulfed the surroundings, gradually extinguishing the flames.
In less than ten minutes, every fire burning near the entrance of the vault disappeared completely.
“Now that’s refreshing.”
With a faint smile, Robert charged at Rubia once more.
Having never once encountered an equal rival in his life, his entire being was now consumed by intense competitive spirit.
Rather than merely evading or redirecting his attacks, Rubia also confronted him with her full strength.
It was true that meeting an equal had ignited her fighting spirit—
But the true reason driving her actions was far simpler than that.
‘…To think I can fight evenly against a combat mage of this level. Eugene was right after all.’
Now that she had confirmed it, all that remained was protecting them.
The one she cherished—
And the people he wished to protect.
In battles fought to protect others, she would become stronger than anyone.
---
Creeeak. Creak.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
Even for elite soldiers hardened through countless battles, dealing with skeleton soldiers that endlessly regenerated unless reduced entirely to dust was no easy task.
Moreover, every one of those skeleton soldiers displayed flawless teamwork supported by enhanced physical abilities.
That was why, despite numbering seventeen, the mercenaries could do little besides remain purely defensive.
The real problem came afterward.
“Hold the formation! The moment the right flank collapses, everything falls apart!”
“Leave ‘Ironblood’ to us! They can’t use lethal force against us anyway! We just need to hold out until reinforcements arrive!”
Walter had originally only been brought along for treatment purposes, so expecting anything beyond support from him was unrealistic.
He knew the mercenary corps were vicious bastards, but they were still fellow Imperial citizens. He could not face them the same way he would Beasts or foreign soldiers.
Frederick was much easier to use than Walter—
But for different reasons, he too avoided killing whenever possible.
On top of that, the enemy had fully entered a stalling phase, making it difficult to overwhelm them using only the skeleton soldiers and the two professors without my involvement.
After all, they were still one of the Empire’s premier combat organizations. Their adaptability surpassed most ordinary soldiers.
Our objective was to buy time until Michel completed her mission…
But the larger the disturbance grew, the greater the risks became.
“If reserve soldiers and guards join too, things’ll get way more troublesome! We need to eliminate those skeletons first—!”
“If we do that, we’ll be surrounded instantly! We have to keep holding them here!”
Urgent exchanges flew between Frederick and Walter.
After briefly observing the surroundings, I shifted my gaze toward Clina.
‘You still haven’t fully deployed the grimoire yet, right?’
― Of course not. If I did, you’d suffer an enormous shock.
‘Let’s use the short-term decisive battle techniques of each grimoire now.’
― …Wasn’t our objective buying time? There could hardly be a better environment than this.
‘If it were only me, fine. But at this rate those two might get dragged into it too.’
― Then leave them to their fate. They aren’t people you need to save, are they?
‘The mercenary corps would be one thing, but testimony from reserve soldiers and guards is dangerous. If we mess this up, rumors might spread through Karbenna and the Special Task Force that dark magic appeared here.’
At that, Clina nodded as though understanding before shrugging.
― Both techniques require you to personally approach the enemy to use them. You understand what that means, yes?
‘Meaning I won’t be able to offset the mental corruption with holy magic like before?’
― Correct.
‘…I’ll worry about the aftermath later. Signal the skeleton soldiers to withdraw, and we go in immediately.’
― …I can’t tell whether you’re reckless or bold.
‘Reckless and bold.’
― Kuku… Well, this isn’t exactly new behavior for you. Fine. I’ll play along.
The moment I received Clina’s agreement, I beckoned Walter over.
“If you have any elixirs affecting resistance and anti-magic resistance, bring them all out!”
“All of them?”
“Hurry!”
“Ah, ahh!”
Among them, I selected four types with the least burden on internal organs and downed them all in one shot.
“Y-You crazy bastard! What the hell are you suddenly doing?!”
“Just stay back.”
Then I sprinted toward Frederick and shouted loudly.
“Director!”
“Carter?”
After only three seconds of eye contact, Frederick precisely understood my intentions and nodded.
As if switching places with him, I leapt directly into enemy lines.
At the same moment, two enormous changes spread throughout the battlefield.
“W-What are those things?!”
“They’re suddenly disappearing!”
“Wait, straight ahead!”
“It’s Eugene Carter!”
“What are you doing?! Grab him!”
As I charged through the skeleton soldiers that had vanished without a trace, countless attacks came flying toward me.
Eleven in total.
Six physical attacks, five magical attacks.
All magical attacks were absorbable.
Half the physical attacks were absorbable.
…The moment I calculated that, I deployed Mana Armor over parts of my upper body and cloaked myself entirely in blackish-blue Aura.
Blackish-Blue Aura.
A technique capable of both defense and absorption, converting portions of absorbed energy into mana before releasing it.
The instant absorption finished, I transformed that energy into a slash from Lukezax and swung it in a massive arc toward the enemy lines.
“Ghk?!”
“It’s a slash! Fall back!”
With one gigantic slash, I blew away every enemy currently attacking me and immediately charged toward the vice commander directing the formation.
“Let’s see how well you fight without Formation.”
At some point, a shadow with the exact same silhouette as me had begun running beside me while wielding a bone sword.
---
At the same time, inside the second villa, second-floor office.
Mikhail was receiving a brief report from the butler.
“The family head reportedly left the estate thirty minutes before the incident occurred.”
“…That’s fortunate.”
At a time when the family was facing unprecedented public turmoil and intruders had even infiltrated internally—
The family head Edgar had gone out without a single word, forcing Vice Head Mikhail to take command in his place.
Yet the man himself sat there expressionless without issuing a single order.
Though it was presumptuous to think so, the butler could not help wondering whether things would truly be alright at this rate.
“However, Vice Head.”
“Hm.”
“Do you truly not intend to inform the family head about this matter?”
“Of course not. Nothing would change even if I told him.”
“But Vice Head, surely you understand.”
“Understand what?”
“That at such a critical time, the family head left the estate without saying a word to you…”
At the blatant display of concern, Mikhail curled his lips and asked:
“What, you think Edgar betrayed me and intends to survive alone?”
“I want to trust the family head as well! But the current situation is undeniably severe! We can’t simply keep waiting and trusting forever…!”
“I have my own plans, so leave it at that, Gaines.”
Flinch.
“…My apologies.”
Mikhail rose from his seat and pointed toward the distance.
“The response to the intruders is proceeding smoothly under Robert’s leadership, so don’t worry too much.”
“…Yes.”
“You should go now. Rotate the guards in shifts, and if anything happens, come running immediately.”
“Understood.”
After finishing his orders, the master silently gazed out the window.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
Gaines bowed deeply before slowly backing away.
“Have a pleasant night, Master.”
The door soon closed.
Even afterward, Mikhail remained standing there for quite some time while staring outside.
How much time passed like that?
“You can come out now, Michel.”
Looking sadly at the empty air, Mikhail sat back down.
Then after a brief silence—
Alongside the release of mana, the figure of a woman gradually appeared near the office entrance.
Michel, who had concealed herself with stealth magic for over thirty minutes, glanced toward the closed door before quietly asking:
“Don’t you have anything you want to say?”