351 – The Imperial Succession War: Redburn Estate Explosion Arc – 3

Duke Redburn had triggered the magical array and departed. As time passed, the estate-wide human sacrifice array would accelerate to maximum speed, claiming the souls of countless people.

And the Duke’s power would increase proportionally to the sacrifices. *This* was the biggest problem.

“Isn’t there any way to stop the array?”

“Think, just think a little… There *is* a way! If we can’t control the train, we erase the whole damn thing. Eradicate the magical array spread across the estate…!”

“How do you ‘eradicate’ something spread over an entire Duchy…?!”

It was akin to suggesting removing all oxygen from the atmosphere to prevent iron from rusting.

“I think I can somehow manage it if I go all out! Though I’ll have to be a little stingy with sublimation…”

*Thump-thump-thump-thump.*

Footsteps drew closer. Armed soldiers were swarming into the basement. Their numbers were only in the dozens now, but they would multiply relentlessly as time passed.

Yuri Ranster made a cold-blooded assessment.

“There’s no advantage in staying here. We should escape first. We’re trapped underground, and the only exit is being flooded with the Duke’s forces. We have to break through. Then, we’ll secure safety and figure things out.”

“Ah, understood! Yuri, move a little to the side. I’ll ‘erase’ all the obstacles.”

*Glimmer.*

A swirl of light danced at the tip of Yuna Yurenster’s finger. If she had the Archmage’s signature move, “Subtraction,” they could break through no matter how many bodies were thrown at them.

Soldiers were beginning to appear at the end of the corridor. Knights in full plate armor were interspersed among the common infantry.

“Intruders, there! Eliminate them!”

“…I wish you’d just close your eyes for a moment, ‘Subtraction’!”

Just as Yuna was about to unleash the flash that would erase all information with her declaration.

*Kwoom.*

*Precognitive Lantern*, an unseen force descended. The direction of her fingertip twisted unnaturally.

“Uwah…?!”

*Beeeeeeeeep–!!*

“Subtraction” fired in the wrong direction, grazing Yuri’s ear. A few strands of pink hair were caught in the blast, losing all information and turning dull gray.

Yuri Ranster wiped a drop of cold sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, and said,

“… Are you finally looking to eliminate the competition in order to secure the one and only empress position?”

“Ah, no! I’m sorry! It’s not that I wanted to do that, but…!”

“Just a jest. It seems the Duke’s enchantment has activated. I can feel a certain… ominous current weighing down on my shoulders. Be careful of friendly fire.”

Her maximum power was restrained.

Well, if the Duke wasn’t a fool, he would have prepared countermeasures against her first. If there was a risk of hitting allies, “Subtraction” would be naturally sealed. All she could do was assist with illusion magic.

If that were the case, Selvier and Yuri would be forced to break through the enemy lines as the main force──

—

Or so he would have them believe.

Duke Maximus Redburn saw the future on the chessboard. The story would unfold as follows:

*Tap.*

The white queen retreated. The instability of the Violet Magetower Lord, Yuna Yurensto, was well known. Thus, concentrating force to inflict misfortune would render her useless.

Moreover, she was faint of heart and impulsive. After the nightmares she suffered in the old tower, her courage dwindled like a candle flame. She’d waste time in a frantic daze, convinced she couldn’t be of help.

She wouldn’t dare use Ascendance either. The fear of another outburst would hold her back. At least while the Prophecy Lantern held sway, she wouldn’t even consider it.

Therefore.

*Tap.*

The white knight leapt into the thick of the black pieces. Yuri Lanster’s records from her time in the Annihilation Corps showed a strong inclination toward independence, preferring to operate solo rather than cooperate with comrades.

With the Violet Magetower Lord’s power shackled, she’d think she had to solve it herself. But the Duke had prepared personnel to counter her close-quarters combat.

Curse casters to slow her movements, the debuffs from the Prophecy Lantern itself, and on top of that, a knight wielding bestial transformation for brute strength.

In the narrow passage, no matter how she twisted and turned, she wouldn’t be able to move freely. The moment her increasingly sluggish body was caught by the knight, it was over. A wrestling match to end it all.

And then.

*Tap.*

The white bishop was rendered immobile. Selvier, the mage from the Red Tower, was said to be an academy student.

Based on what he’d observed during the academy team battles, she too was of the high-firepower projection variety, unable to escape friendly fire. Furthermore, her defenses were terribly weak, so a sniper could easily take her out.

Thus.

*Thud.*

In a dissonant clash, the three women would meet their defeat. This was the Duke’s prophecy.

*Wooo──*

The chessboard trembled. Magic swirled, forcing fate upon the distant battlefield of the real world. Fate converged toward defeat. They were on a downward slope, one wrong step away from plummeting.

But.

*Crack, crack. Shatter!*

” . . . . . . “

The black knight exploded outward. The piece symbolizing the Duke’s knight. Following it, black pawns shattered one by one. An anomaly had occurred. The Duke frowned.

According to the information he had, this prophecy should have been nearly flawless, what had gone wrong?

—

Keep it simple. Sometimes the answer lies in simplicity.

“If you’re worried about missing… just shoot from close enough that you can’t!”

Zero-range firing of “Subtraction.” If you press your fingertips right against them, no matter how temperamental fate gets, you can’t miss.

From within, Mirror Yuna whispers anxiously.

-What if you get stabbed?

The battle between Yuri Lanster and the soldiers looked like a storm of iron. Attacks were deflected, chains were swung, and murderous longswords thrust in from every direction.

To use zero-range firing, you had to throw yourself into that fray. Even with defensive magic deployed, safety couldn’t be guaranteed. The Prophecy Lantern was in operation, wasn’t there a chance of a ‘mistake’ in the defense?

Yuna answered that worry boldly.

“If I get hit… it’ll just hurt!”

-………

Getting hurt is scary. Pain is unpleasant. But conversely, the only cost to pay for helping a friend was just a bit of pain.

The only punch she’d ever thrown in her entire life was the Yuna Punch she’d given Mima. But she would do it. She would try. So she wouldn’t have any regrets.

-I guess it was better not to return Yuna’s courage. If I had, Yuna wouldn’t have stepped forward. But what’s done is done… I’ll help you, Yuna.

*Shuuurrrllrrrk.*

From inside the pointed hat, jet-black arms slithered out. Red light flickered from the tip of each finger. Six of them in total.

Combined with her original arms, that made for a staggering eight shots.

“…Hheeyaahhh!”

Yuna squeezed her eyes shut and threw herself into the middle of the battlefield. Some of the blades that had threatened Yuri altered their trajectory, now aimed at Yuna.

“Witch, die!”

-It’s not Yuna who’s going to be erased, it’s you.

*Shuuurrrllrrrk, Bweeeeiiing──!!*

The jet-black arms bent at grotesque angles and jabbed a soldier in the chest. And when the flash of light faded like a stun grenade, one person was incapacitated.

Against an opponent who didn’t know how to counter “Subtraction,” it was like being shot with a shotgun at point-blank range. Flashes of light exploded one after another.

With a growing number of soldiers collapsing in heaps, the killing intent shifted towards Yuna.

“…Prioritize the small one! Crossbowmen, fire!”

“Hmph.”

*Charrrrllrrrk!*

A chain wrapped around a soldier’s neck and tightened. Yuri Lanster used the choking soldier as a shield, blocking Yuna’s path. *Phew phew phyoong──!* The crossbow bolt, whistling through the air, lost its killing power as it struck the meat shield.

“…Thanks!”

“Yuna, did you decide to take on the front-line position?”

“I can’t just stand by and do nothing…!”

“Then, shall we watch each other’s backs? Covering only the enemies visible within your own field of vision. Let’s go.”

*Thump.* Back-to-back, they faced the onrushing horde.

Yuri Lanster swung her chains, tripped feet, knocked jaws senseless before kicking bodies away. Using people as obstacles to delay their advance. And then.

“Switch.”

“S-Switch!”

A half-turn, and within the shattered ranks, Yuna’s close-quarters *’Subtraction’* blazed.

The Duke’s predicted trajectory was veering in an unforeseen direction. Like a shaman losing authority when a prophecy failed, the Light of Foresight’s output began to plummet.

And then.

“…Preparation complete!”

“What, what preparation?!”

“Preparation to leave!”

While the two fought, Selvier, having finished her long incantation, reached out. Wings of flame rippled from her lower back.

“Flame Angel Stage 3── *’Nova’*!”

*KWAhhh──!!*

The crimson star of an angel created a pillar of fire. The high-temperature, searing column shot vertically from the ground to the sky, blasting through the ceiling. When the flames subsided, the sky was visible.

From the basement to the mansion’s rooftop, a scorched, molten vertical tunnel remained.

“This means we don’t *have* to go straight through, right?! *’Brilliant Scattering Rain’*!”

“Well done, Selvier!”

*Pa-ba-ba-ba-ba!*

She unleashed a barrage of fiery arrows to suppress the enemy. While she provided cover fire, Yuri, along with Yuna, broke away from the fray.

“Let’s go up!”

“I lack the ability to fly. Would it be permissible to hitch a ride, fair maiden of the Crimson Magic Tower?”

“…Just grab on wherever you can!”

Confirming Yuri’s grip around her waist, Selvier *whooshed.* She dramatically flapped her fiery wings, blasting a gust of heat downwards.

Buoyed by the reaction, they rose. The Flame Angel and the operative shot upwards through the newly created hole. And in the basement, only the Archmage of the Violet Magic Tower remained.

The Light of Blooming Words had weakened considerably after the plan began to crumble, and, furthermore, there was no need to worry about friendly fire anymore. The two had fled to the heavens. Therefore, everything was now simple.

Yuna Violetiris raised her hand.

“If you’re worried about missing…”

-Just fire enough so you can’t miss.

*Shhh,* *shhh-shhh-shhh.*

Innumerable hands reached out from beneath the pointed hat. So many that escape seemed impossible, neither to sky nor earth. And from the tip of each finger, a red and violet light flickered in turn.

The soldiers’ desperation, their bewildered expressions, those who cowered, those preparing to defend, those fleeing the approaching calamity, and those wielding their swords to the very end – all of it.

“『Subtraction』.”

KWAhhh––!!

Erased.

—

Floating, floating. Riding a bubble, Yuna landed on the roof of the Redburn manor. Yuri and Selvier, who had arrived earlier, were already surveying the surroundings, their faces grim.

Yuna, too, glanced around.

Looking down, the Redburn duchy shone darkly, black. The human sacrifice magic circle had begun to accelerate its absorption.

“I-It’s bigger than I thought…”

“It’s a duchy, after all.”

A countermeasure was needed. Before countless people died.

“How about dismantling part of the magic circle, then creating a safe zone to evacuate the residents? We might not be able to save everyone, but we could save as many as possible.”

“Or should we just set the entire territory ablaze? Then, the residents would flee on their own. There would be some property damage, but…”

To break the magic circle, the entire territory would have to be overturned. It was possible. But the question was, how to minimize collateral damage in the process.

Just then, a crow flew over.

“Caw, installation complete. We were able to connect a communication network to everyone inside the territory. This makes a live broadcast possible! The human sacrifice magic circle is tracking the residents individually… thanks to that, it was easy!”

“…Live broadcast, you say?”

“That’s right! If we broadcast political propaganda and brainwashing daily, the territory’s public opinion will easily… Caw!”

“Wait, elaborate on the part about tracking each individual in the territory!”

Yuna grabbed the crow and shook it vigorously. The crazed crow, tossed back and forth, explained.

“Caw, the tattoo they received when entering the territory! The magic circle activates based on those with the tattoo. So, we used that in reverse to connect the communication network…”

“So all we have to do is erase the tattoo! If I’d known this, I would have used Sublimation sooner… and wiped it all out!”

Yuna released the crow and prepared magic. Drawing up mana, she drew a cross in the air with her fingertips and declared.

“Sublimation(昇華) – 『Phantom Realm(幻想界) : Gate Opening(開門)』!”

Sssshhh-!

Unlike the crooked and broken rifts of before, this was different. A neat, flawless cross-shaped rift stably maintained the gate.

The boundary between illusion and reality blurred. Things without substance began to appear visually. The tattoos etched on the residents of the Redburn duchy were connected to the magic circle by a single line.

“『Information Distortion』!”

The shape of the tattoos changed. Stars, hearts, unicorns, any texture that came to mind. So that they would escape the magic circle’s recognition.

Thunk.

With the sound of a thread snapping, the earth’s black light began to subside. The human sacrifice magic circle, unable to find its target, fell silent.

Bomb defusal, complete.

—

The chessboard shattered. Utterly.

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

Rage swelled. Where had things gone awry? Was it the negligence of the investigators who gathered the intel? Or had their information changed in that short span?

He ground his teeth, but even as he did, he thought. This wasn’t the time for such things.

There were times when defeat had to be accepted. Duke Redburn cleanly relinquished his territory. And pulled out a crystal ball for communication.

Tzzzzt.

A signal connected after a short moment.

“Faceless.”

“Yes, Your Grace. All… preparations are complete.”

“Good. Have the carefully selected sacrifices loaded onto the carriages and transported. The rendezvous point is the Second Secret Hideout in the Autre Forest.”

“As you command.”

Thunk.

He broke the connection. There was still opportunity left. The Crimson Magic Tower Master and the other intruders would be tied up trying to stop the magic circles in the territory, and the Royal Knights would be scrambling to deal with the traps set in the capital.

During this precious time, he would take the sacrifices from Faceless and perform the final ritual. He would make the Evil God’s power completely his own.

The final moment was drawing near.

“Moving out.”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯Yes.”

Duke Redburn Maximus urgently departed, taking his loyal Roderus with him. Roderus, with his hands hidden behind his back, covertly manipulated a communicator, sending a message.

[Autre Forest. Second Secret Hideout.]

Beep.

“⋯⋯The time has come.”

And the one who received that message was Envers Redburn, who was waiting nearby.

The time had come to settle all grudges. He extinguished the bonfire and rose, heading towards the destination a step ahead. There… the brother would shed the Duke’s shadow that clung to the past.