352 – Imperial Succession War: Redburn Territory Explosion Arc-4

To discuss the lives of Roderus Redburn and Envers Redburn, one must discuss the prophecy.

One day, the Duke asked his allegory, the ‘Prescient Lantern’.

‘The Empire’s strength rests upon the sword and the scepter. My ambition will inevitably turn towards the Empire, so I shall prepare countermeasures. Sword Saint and Master of the Magic Tower, how should one confront these two monsters?’

To this, a soul stained with the desire for dominion spoke:

‘Sow the seeds, and wait. Give blood instead of water, and let them bask in moonlight reflected off blades instead of sunlight. Ensure their suffering never ceases until they bear fruit. Then, one day, you shall obtain a magician who slays magicians, and a swordsman who slays swordsmen.’

The Duke accepted the prophecy of the Soothsayer’s Lamp. Following the path where his soul cast a murky light, he began the work of forging the daggers of the future.

Countless children were conceived and raised as tools of the Duke. He hammered each one into the mold of an assassin, gathering only those who survived the twisting of their souls.

All those who failed perished.

Two thus selected were the brothers Roderus and Envers. Roderus awakened the “Magical Hardening” fable, becoming a dagger well-suited to face magicians. The Soothsayer’s Lamp was correct.

Envers did not awaken a fable, but if the prophecy held true, one day he too would become a swordsman who slays swordsmen. Therefore, he was not disposed of.

Their lives were lives crafted by someone’s plan and intent, and would continue to be so.

That is, unless a mad magician, a walking chaos who had sealed an evil god within his mind, hadn’t disrupted all that fate like a storm…

“He’s here.”

Clatter, clatter, flutter.

The sound of a horse snorting. A driverless carriage halted in the middle of a desolate forest, its wagon packed tight with children meant as a human sacrifice.

Faceless was nowhere to be seen. But it mattered not. As long as these sacrifices were present, nothing else was important. The end was near.

Shling.

As Duke Redburn approached them, Roderus quietly drew his rapier. The blade glimmered in the moonlight filtering through the leaves.

As if seeing that glimmer, the Duke’s movement stopped. Only the rustling of branches in the dark forest signaled the passage of time.

He had intended to ambush them during the ritual, but the Duke seemed to have noticed. His hand, concealed beneath his cloak, moved to the longsword at his waist.

Roderus glared at his back and opened his mouth. His voice was as dry as winter leaves.

“Maximus Redburn.”

“Missing your honorifics. I thought you completed your basic education ten years ago.”

“If there is one thing, one meager thing I’ve learned from you, it is that respect should be reserved for something of value. How can a noble extend courtesy to a pebble rolling in the street?”

“…Your life was supposed to be in my grasp. I asked the Soothsayer’s Lamp countless times whether you had betrayed me or not. I would have twisted fate to reveal a traitor. Yet you stand brazenly before me.”

This was why Duke Redburn had trusted Roderus until the very end. He had been within the Duke’s grasp from the moment of his birth, thus he believed it was impossible for him to evade the Soothsayer’s Lamp.

But he had changed greatly. So very greatly.

“Curious? I have no intention of telling you.”

“… … … …”

Roderus had lived in nightmares for over a decade, but a mere half-year of sweet dreams had changed everything. Now he understood friendship, love, and courage.

A brief tea time with his friends was far heavier than all those years accumulated while being raised as an assassin. Therefore, he would not waver or hesitate. His life belonged not to the family, but beside the people he loved.

So now, it was time to slay the prophecy and reclaim the life that had been stolen.

“We will ask you but two things, Maximus Redburn.”

“…We?”

“I am here also. I have been waiting. A very long time. I have a question I must hear answered from you.”

*Rustle, rustle, rustle.*

Parting the thicket, Envers Redburn emerged from the front. He wore an exotic fighting robe and held a longsword loosely at his side. The Duke was encircled.

Roderus spoke first.

“Have you ever felt remorse for the countless b*stards you spawned?”

“Would one feel remorse for a tool?”

Then Envers asked.

“…Did you love our mother?”

“That also, would you love a tool?”

“…”

So.

If there was truly not even a shred of human kindness, if he truly accepted the lives of others merely as convenient objects to be used.

“Then, know well that what kills you today is not a tool, but a human being.”

“Your corpse will be thrown to the wild dogs, and your name will be cursed for all time. I guarantee it. You will not even become a tool.”

He would be killed here.

*Thud. Thud.*

Roderus and Envers slowly closed the distance.

The Duke’s Metamorphosis Foreknowledge Lantern was greatly weakened. There had simply been too many changes for either Roderus or Envers to deduce through conjecture and inference.

And their numbers also favored the brothers. Flanked on both sides, there was no path of escape.

Even so, the Duke remained composed. He said,

“You were trained as assassins. You have learned many ways to move your bodies. Have you ever considered whose skill it is, and how it was born?”

“…”

“I will show you. I will show you how I killed my brothers and sisters and became the heir of the Redburn family.”

*Shhh.*

A near-silent sound, like silk lightly brushing against itself. And then, somehow, a longsword was in the Duke’s hand. Crimson magic flowed arrogantly along the blade.

Refined movements. The soundless movements hinted at the Duke’s martial prowess. A bead of cold sweat trickled down his cheek…

“Metamorphosis, *’Foreknowledge Lantern: Alone and Evergreen.’*”

*Sway.*

Then, an unseen lantern sways in an arc, painting the air. The brothers braced for a debuff, but the lantern illuminated not an enemy, but the Duke himself.

The Duke prophesied his own victory. The world moved to fulfill the prophecy. The undergrowth bowed low, as if in reverence, and misfortune conspired for his benefit.

“He could use it on himself after all…”

“Fear not, brother. I shall write an epilogue!”

Indeed.

Enbers’s Fable, *Imperial Sword Form*, served as a counter to the Divining Lantern. A fable to bind a fable, a sword to bind a sword.

“Kill him in one stroke, Enbers!”

“*Imperial Sword Form*—!!”

*Krrr-thoom!*

Enbers seized the sky, adopting a swordsman’s stance. Immense pressure bore down upon the Duke, nullifying the effects of the Divining Lantern. In that fleeting window, Roderus thrust with his rapier.

*Clang—!*

The Duke’s longsword casually deflected the rapier. Roderus grimaced, a stinging pain shooting up his arm. The amount of magical power infused in the longsword was extraordinary.

Long years and vast fortunes had gifted the Duke with an immense reservoir of mana.

*Clang, Clang—! Clang—!*

Blow after blow resounded. At first glance, Roderus seemed to be losing in terms of sheer strength. Yet, by the slightest of margins, Roderus’s rapier was faster. The Duke was being suppressed by Imperial Sword Form.

*Shatter—!*

Unable to withstand the disparity in magical power, Roderus’s rapier snapped. But.

“*Mana Condensation!*”

He condensed mana, forging a new rapier on the spot. He pressed forward, little by little. Roderus swung and stabbed with maniacal abandon, as if his imminent death was inconsequential.

An all-out offensive inevitably created openings. The Duke’s eyes calmly assessed the timing, retaliating in the split second between breaths. The Duke’s blade hurtled toward his neck.

*Shhh-whick!*

*Screech!*

Deflecting the blow with a shield forged from Mana Condensation. Roderus thrust his rapier into the Duke’s wide-open chest—

“*Obsidian Stone Wall*.”

*Rumble—!*

A jet-black wall instantly erupted before the Duke. Roderus’s rapier met only the unyielding stone. And then.

“*Crimson Fireball*.”

*KWA-THoooM—!!*

The explosive sphere, unleashed from behind the concealing wall, blasted Roderus away along with the stone.

Rolling across the ground amidst the acrid black smoke, Roderus finally came to a halt, his back slamming against a tree.

“⋯⋯Krrgh.”

In that fleeting moment, he’d managed to ‘harden’ at least a portion of the Duke’s magic, reducing its lethality and allowing him to survive. A formidable destructive power, it was.

Pat. Pat. A torrent of blood, coughed up, splattered the ground. Roderus glared at the Duke through blurred vision. The Duke, sword in one hand, a magic circle shimmering in the other, was walking toward Envers.

The Duke was a mage-swordsman.

—

Envers tracked the path of his brother as he flew backward, then locked his gaze back on the Duke. No time for divided attention.

“Earth and fire, wielding magic from disparate schools… wasn’t that said to preclude true mastery? But that power…”

“You seem to forget that I am a black magician.”

Broadly studying and applying magic from various schools to enhance versatility. And supplementing the resulting lack of raw power with the souls of others. The result was this.

“『Ice Fog』, 『Lightning Whip』.”

“Damn it, nowhere to…”

A monster, unleashing magic from every school with sufficient killing power, and simultaneously wielding precise swordsmanship.

Envers deactivated the Emperor’s Sword Stance. He needed something better than that. He squeezed his eyes shut and retrieved a vial from within his robes. High-proof liquor sloshed inside.

“I swore I wouldn’t use this unless absolutely necessary… Heavenly Devil, possess me!”

He downed it in one go.

The alcohol was a pre-arranged psychological trigger of sorts. The moment intoxication set in and his mind grew hazy, the Heavenly Devil essence that had possessed him during the Tower of Illusion incident resurfaced above his conscious.

His expression turned solemn, and arrogance gleamed in his eyes.

“『Illusion』.”

Swish.

Envers slipped through the air, leaving afterimages of himself in every direction as he evaded and approached the Duke. Sword clashed against sword.

Clang-!

From that first exchange onward, martial arts bloomed from Envers’ hands. A method unseen in this world unfolded. Deflecting, blocking, striking.

His technique was faltering. The Duke recognized that this strange swordsmanship was consuming him.

“Grown up a bit from your pitiful self, have you, Envers?”

“This One is the Heavenly Devil, Namgoong Cheonghwi. Kneel before the pinnacle of the Murim, Duke!”

“You were insane all along. 『Crimson Lotus Fireball』.”

Kwaaang──!

The Duke detonated the magic at point-blank range. Envers formed a defensive barrier with his sword, but the ensuing shockwave sent him flying.

No escaping in mid-air, surely.

“『Dragon’s Breath』.”

The Duke gathered magic of dense concentration, and fired. But Envers, with a natural grace, gathered his own magic and kicked at empty air. A movement familiar, as if practiced hundreds of times.

“Air Walking!”

“Pointless theatrics.”

This might take some time. But victory will be mine. Envers’ swordsmanship and his bestial shapeshifting were impressive enough, but in the end, he had no way to stand against magic.

The Duke was certain of his triumph.

—

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

Roderus rose to his feet. His hands trembled. Surprisingly, not from rage, or anguish, or grief. The tremor stemmed from shame.

He clutched the transformation device, *Dreaming Mirror*.

Magical Girl mode had its advantages, many advantages. Even in this situation. There was no better method for manufacturing the defense he lacked, the ability to create variables. He knew it. He knew it, yet…

He absolutely refused to transform.

Truly, even if someone held a blade to his throat, he would refuse to transform.

He wanted to win while remaining a man. How perfect would that be? The handsome young Roderus Redburn, triumphantly succeeding in his revenge, achieving a happy ending.

Still, he had to do it.

A small voice suggested, *What if Envers gets beaten to a pulp and passes out, then you transform?* But that would not do. The Duke’s power was unexpected. The two of them would have to fight together.

Damn it all.

Right, he had to do it, if only to return home, marry Lulu, and live a long and happy life.

Roderus gritted his teeth, steeled his courage like a man, and raised the transformation device high. And he cried out:

“──『Transform』!”

*Pikang!*

*Bbirong Bbirong Bbirong♬*

A light of iridescent colors enveloped Roderus’ body. His clothing, caught in the light, vanished, replaced by a radiant glow.

The Duke and Supreme Devil Namgung Cheonghwi, startled by the outlandish sound, ceased their combat and turned their heads. And they witnessed the transformation sequence of a magical girl.

*Sharararararang!!*

Accompanied by gaudy sound effects, stars flew in every direction, and a light gathered, altering Roderus’ form. Height shrunk, and the mass lost was transferred to chest and hips.

Hair darkened to sky-blue, growing long, and blue ribbons tied themselves around wrists and ankles. Pure white gloves, drawers known in some circles as pumpkin pants, a tunic covering blossoming breasts.

Over this, a feathered hat and cape reminiscent of ‘The Three Musketeers’ were added, along with a skirt that swirled around his thighs. A rapier hung at his waist.

“⋯⋯Magical Girl Pure Knight, reporting for duty⋯⋯.”

The roaming vigilante of the Imperial Capital, Crown Hall. An avatar of the Azure Rose.

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

“…Wh-what, brother, *hyung-nim*…?!”

Envers, utterly staggered, lost control and reverted from his Celestial Demon Mode.

The Duke, too, reeled as though the very universe had shattered. Even the revelation of Roderus’s betrayal – that faithful tool – paled in comparison to the impact of this moment.

Now, every piece clicked into place. He understood why the Lantern of Foresight had failed to function.

That the eldest son of a family bred to be assassins, dressed like *that*, would become a *woman* and patrol the capital as a vigilante… only a god could possibly have foreseen it!

The Duke erupted, a strangled cry escaping his lips.

“Know your place, Roderus!!”

“Shut up and die, Duke──!!”

Magical Girl Pure Knight, seething with a murderous intent greater than ever before, surged forward, wielding a wand brimming with lethal power.

Round two had begun.