“Are you all right?”
“Brother... Grandfather...”
Aseraian patted Cheion’s shoulder again as he muttered in a daze, still unable to make sense of what was happening. Screams continued to erupt from all around them.
“Aaaah!”
“Gah!”
The soldiers and knights were being pushed back, even though they were up against an elderly marquis.
What is this? That strange power... And that black aura?
It wasn’t his imagination. A black aura was rising from Marquis Merial’s body.
“Did the Marquis become a Master while we weren’t looking?”
Aseraian laughed helplessly, picked up a sword from the floor, and approached Marquis Merial.
“Aaaah!”
Another young noblewoman, who hadn’t managed to escape in time, suddenly found herself in the path of Merial’s sword.
BOOM!
Aseraian rushed to stop him, but stopped when a transparent barrier suddenly appeared in front of the young woman.
WHOOSH!
The barrier spread out, completely enclosing Marquis Merial.
BANG! BANG!
Trapped inside, Merial repeatedly slammed his sword against it.
“I figured I should at least stop him.”
Cheion’s weak voice came from nearby. He was the one who had cast the barrier.
It was the best Cheion could do. Despite his grandfather’s strange state, he simply couldn’t bring himself to attack him.
BOOM! BANG!
CRACK!
“—!”
But the barrier didn’t last long. The black aura around Marquis Merial grew thicker and darker, until the barrier finally shattered.
WHOOSH!
FLASH!
FWOOOSH!
Yet the moment the barrier disappeared, other forces quickly closed in around Marquis Merial.
“Isn’t he practically a monster?”
“Why did he suddenly go berserk?”
“He was never right in the head to begin with.”
It was the three dukes. Wind, water, and earth surged up around Marquis Merial, trapping him from all sides.
[Grrr... GRAAAAAAAH!]
As the restraints kept hampering his movements, a horrifying sound came from Marquis Merial’s throat. The inhuman shriek was enough to send chills through everyone who heard it.
BOOOOOOM!
In the end, even the three dukes’ powers were blown apart.
“...Hah.”
“What is that?”
“He really is a monster.”
When Marquis Merial emerged from their restraints, he looked completely different.
His body had grown three times its original size, while his arms and legs had stretched to grotesque lengths. His face was almost unrecognizable, twisted horribly as though it had melted in intense heat.
[Grrrr...]
There was no longer anything human in the sound that came from his mouth. He was unmistakably a monster.
Hissss.
Pitch-black liquid dripped from Marquis Merial’s body onto the floor, melting the solid marble as easily as snow.
“...Poison?”
Everyone who saw what happened was even more horrified.
THUD!
The ground shook as he took a single step. The sheer force he gave off swept through everyone around him.
“How could a human turn into a monster...?”
Even seeing it with their own eyes, they could hardly believe it.
WHOOSH!
BOOM!
[GRAAAAAAH!]
“Let’s deal with this first. We can think about it afterward.”
“Agreed.”
Attacks came from both sides at once, severing Marquis Merial’s monstrous arms and sending them tumbling to the floor. Kainel and Ceres stood before him with swords in hand.
[GRRRRR!]
To everyone’s astonishment, tentacles sprouted from the stumps where his arms had been. The sharp appendages immediately lashed out at the people around him.
“Aaaah!”
An attendant who failed to get out of the way screamed as a tentacle shot toward him.
SLASH!
“—!”
But the tentacle was sliced clean through just before it could reach him.
WHOOSH.
Wind scattered around the severed stump and faded away. Attacks of water and earth followed close behind.
[GRAAAAAAH!]
“...It regenerates after being cut.”
“It reminds me of a Chimera.”
“It regenerates even faster than they do. Look. Even cutting off its head doesn’t stop it.”
It was a monster in every sense of the word. The attacks from the three dukes, Kainel, and Ceres barely slowed it down as its body continued to regenerate at an incredible rate. Even after its head was severed, it kept moving.
[Ceres, thirty centimeters below its left breast. That’s the core.]
Elliet’s voice suddenly sounded in Ceres’s ear.
“Beneath its left breast—”
Ceres immediately told the others. But before she could finish, a sword charged with tremendous force drove straight into that spot.
BOOM!
[GRAAA... Aaaaah...]
With a deafening roar, the monster’s body slowly collapsed.
“What a shame. I didn’t intend to kill it this easily.”
It was Harua. An immense power and killing intent radiated from his entire body, making it hard to believe he was an old man.
[GRRR...]
With its core destroyed, the monster gradually fell silent.
WHOOSH.
A brilliant light suddenly burst forth. When it faded, someone else appeared where the monster had been.
It was Marquis Merial, lying dead with his body covered in wounds.
***
“Julia~”
“Uncle Gino!”
As Julia was leaving the academy, she spotted Duke Nora waving at her from the outside. She ran over with quick little steps.
“Ahahaha!”
“Eeeek~”
Duke Nora scooped Julia up and spun her around. The little girl burst into laughter.
Round and round.
Giggle, giggle.
“......”
While the two of them happily greeted each other in front of the entrance, someone nearby lowered his head.
...This is so embarrassing.
It was Antonian.
With the recent kidnappings and the unrest in the capital, the dukes had been taking turns coming to pick up Julia and Zien.
“Are you being a little overprotective?”
“Overprotective?”
“Yeah. Do you really have to go this far...?”
“Want me to show you what real overprotectiveness looks like?“
“...No. Just do whatever you want, Ceres.”
He had once made the mistake of asking if they were being a little too overprotective, only to shut his mouth when Ceres gave him a chilling look that asked if he wanted to be included in that overprotection.
But still...
“Hahahahaha.”
“Giggle, giggle.”
Round and round.
...Isn’t this a bit much?
Antonion, who had been keeping his head down, glanced to the side.
He spotted Zien approaching from a distance, only to see him flinch when he noticed Duke Nora and Julia. When Zien began slowly backing toward the classroom, Antonian waved him over.
Come here. Come here. Don’t leave me to suffer through this alone.
Sharing the embarrassment makes it easier. Get over here.
“Oh, our Zien!”
“......”
Round and round.
“Ahahaha.”
“......”
Before long, Duke Nora had scooped up Zien after Julia. Zien squeezed his eyes shut and let out a silent sigh.
Meanwhile, Antonion watched him with a deep sense of relief. He couldn’t be more grateful that he was no longer young enough to be picked up like that.
After Zien was put down, Julia walked over and asked him the question.
“Zien, aren’t you going to the Magic Tower today?”
Nod.
Zien simply nodded.
The unexpected appearance of a monster at the Crown Prince’s birthday party had thrown the entire capital into an uproar.
It was bad enough that a monster had appeared inside the Imperial Palace. But when peoole learned that it was Marquis Merial, the situation became even more chaotic.
Since then, Cheion had shut himself away. He hadn’t left his laboratory for days.
Zien’s magic lessons had been put on hold as well, so he hadn’t had a lesson in days.
Zien sighed inwardly. He didn’t mind taking a break from magic lessons for a while, but...
I wonder if Miss Ceres went to the Magic Tower today, too.
He just didn’t like the thought of Miss Ceres having to worry about her master because of what had happened.
“Zien, why don’t we get some delicious cake before we go home?”
“...N-no...”
“Hmm? You said yes? All right, let’s go!”
“......”
Zien, who had been lost in thought, could only let out another sigh as Duke Nora took his hand and led him away.
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