The Annihilation of Helmund (1)

“…What?”

Father?

Arendel Helmund?

Sharen’s expression went blank, dazed.

Not missing the opportunity, Lizel’s nails flashed, bypassing the greatsword in a heartbeat.

“Crimson Blaze!”

A crimson blaze erupted from Sharen’s greatsword, instantly engulfing Lizel.

Her body lifted into the air.

Stumbling backwards, Lizel wiped blood from her lips, facing a technique clearly different from the playfully tossed Crimson Blaze of before.

“You’re targeting Father?”

Sharen blinked.

‘She’s young; easily swayed.’

Lizel nodded, her smile radiant.

If a head-on confrontation was impossible, then break her down mentally.

“Yes, it hasn’t even been that long since your mother died. Your father will probably follow soon. What a loving couple, wouldn’t you say?”

“…”

“All of this is for the sake of killing Arendel. We have to get him, no matter what–“

“Are you stupid?”

“…What?”

Lizel frowned, observing Sharen’s too-casual response.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you really think Father will die? You don’t know anything at all.”

A grin spread across Sharen’s face as she raised her greatsword.

“Father is a monster.”

Crimson energy surged and bloomed around her.

The greatsword poised once more, preparing a technique.

“Crimson Flare-!”

Sharen’s cry spurred Liesel to desperately clasp her hands together, attempting to brace against the imminent wave of crimson energy.

“Take this-!”

Sharen’s voice echoed from right in front of her face.

“Don’t you dare disrespect anyone’s mother!”

“B-but, you yelled ‘Crimson Fla-!'”

*Thwack!*

The greatsword swung.

Liesel’s body was bisected, ending her life then and there.

Sharen, the greatsword resting on her shoulder, chuckled.

“That’s why you don’t shout out the name of your technique, mhm.”

An answer to Isaac’s previous question about why anyone would telegraph their moves like a fool.

“I’m not a fool.”

Sharen nodded in satisfaction.

“Anyone who says I’m a fool is the bigger fool.”

* * *

“Princess, let us move on.”

“…Something’s off.”

Before the church building.

Despite the suggestion from her guard, Hehirad, Princess Clarisse murmured while surveying the surroundings.

A look of unease painted her expression.

She clearly didn’t believe this incident to be a simple act of terrorism.

“Princess?”

“It’s strange, Hehirad. Doesn’t something feel strange to you?”

“What do you mean, your Highness?”

“Isn’t it… lacking? Too lukewarm to be considered terrorism, wouldn’t you say?”

The number of demonic beasts wasn’t especially high.

Silberna was responding quickly, suppressing them; they wouldn’t cause much damage.

Alois’s monstrous appearance did catch her eye, but Lianna and Isaac’s combined efforts were more than enough to contain him.

“Where are we? The kingdom’s capital, no less. What could they possibly accomplish with this meager offensive?”

Claris had already concluded this was terrorism with a different motive.

“At first, I thought it was revenge against the Transcendent One, Blackthorn the Sword Demon, but that seems a bit… flimsy, doesn’t it?”

“It would seem so.”

“…….”

Then what is it they truly seek?

The immediate incident was Blackthorn.

The battle with the last Sword Demon left a strong impression, but until then, Arundel Helmont single-handedly performed the work of a hundred.

The most heavily guarded individual among the Transcendent Ones is Arundel Helmont.

An individual who must be dealt with as a top priority, now that attempts to win him over have failed.

“Lohengrin, Lianna, Alois, and Sharen, who can be considered Helmont’s main force, are all here.”

If we don’t count the youngest, Edel, as part of their fighting strength, virtually only Armin, the second son, remains.

Now is when Helmont’s entire force is absent, their weakest point.

“But could they possibly target Lord Arundel? Especially in Helmont’s own mansion?”

Even so, it’s Arundel.

The man who renders the weight of battle strength meaningless.

“Especially since the fact that he is suffering from an illness has been kept top secret, hasn’t it?”

“…….”

Unease.

A strange disquiet swelled within.

She sensed something else, something beyond the range of what she could anticipate.

“What on earth is it?”

Princess Claris felt as if insects were crawling through her mind, tickling and unsettling.

Her instincts screamed that she couldn’t simply ignore it, yet she couldn’t articulate exactly what “it” was.

“Are you worried that Lord Arundel might be harmed?”

“It’s too early to pass the torch. Arundel needs to hold firm for at least another five years.”

“…….”

“But you know… truthfully, I don’t think Arundel will die. We’ve all seen it firsthand, what a monstrous man he is.”

“If that’s the case…”

“That’s why I’m even more uneasy. What is it, then? Why do I feel this way?”

Claris, at length, could not abide it.

“We leave for Helmund, immediately. Expedite the situation as much as possible. Ready the departure. And the Pegasus, make it ready.”

The Pegasus.

A gift from the Mage Tower to the Kingdom of Albion, a contraption hailed as the swiftest carriage in the world.

Reserved solely for the royal family in times of exigency, it could traverse a journey of a week in a mere five days.

Dependent on the road’s condition, it might even shorten further, becoming a dream for all carriage aficionados.

“At worst, Helmund is a mere three days hence. If we push, we can make it in a single day.”

Please, let this unease of mine be nothing more than a baseless illusion.

Claris watched Isaac and Lianna do battle.

* * *

Whoosh!

The instant Lianna’s greatsword swept, once more the city’s roads were stained a mire of crimson.

The viscous liquid and the reek of blood were stomach-churning, yet Lianna’s expression remained placid.

“Sister! Ah! The agony you bestow! How sweet it is!”

“……”

Lianna chose to stay silent. The creature before her had already transcended the bounds of ‘sibling’.

A confluence of maddened affection.

And so, wielding her blade brought little hesitation.

‘Where did we go wrong?’

Love, forevermore, mars Helmund.

She herself was proof.

As was Galenia.

Now, Alois trod the same path.

‘Why must we…’

…fall to ruin in this way?

As the blade, laced with bitterness, was about to fall, Alois’s gaze flared, and he grinned.

“You’ve lowered your guard, Siiiiiister!”

“……!”

Lianna, cleaving through the massive right arm, was momentarily blind to the enemy lance piercing in from the opposing side.

Yet, she chose to ignore it, focusing solely on severing the right arm, for a simple, yet necessary reason.

*Kaaang!*

It was Isaac.

With blades crossed, he blocked Alois’s descent.

The frenzied dance of Briqualla’s lightning, evidence that he now wielded its power with a measure of control.

Watching Rianna rage freely, thanks to Isaac’s aid, Alois erupted in fury.

“Don’t pretend to know everything! Don’t act like you can breathe in sync without a single word, you cur-!”

To Alois, the coordinated effort of Rianna and Isaac seemed a greater transgression than the ongoing mutilation of his own right arm by her greatsword.

He screamed, a mixture of blood and spittle spraying forth, but neither of them answered.

“Sister-! Ah! Sisteerrrr!”

From some point onward, the two had fallen silent, focusing only on the honest task of facing Alois.

Perhaps sensing the unease it inspired, Alois continued to desperately call out to Rianna.

“Sisteerrrrr! Does the voice of this brother truly fall on deaf ears! How can you so disregard my pleas as I seek you thusly!”

*Kwaduk! Kwaak!*

“It is I! Alois! Since childhood, always at your side! Always with youuu! I, more than anyone, have been there for you, Sister!”

*Kuduck! Kududeuk!*

“I desire to taste your lips! To lick your skin! To defile you! Defile you! Ah! I want to defile you again and again!”

*Kwaduk!*

His right arm, now utterly crushed.

Alois stood alone, bereft.

Tears of blood streaming down his face, Alois implored his sister, his voice ragged.

“Answer… answer me! I, I am here! Sister! Ah! Sisteerrrrr! Am I not here! Forever yearning for your gaze! Your attention! Your voice!”

Her hair billowed, obscuring her expression. Without a word, Rianna turned away.

Alois reached out desperately.

“Sister? Wh-why? Why do you say nothing to me! You, you must answer! I want to violate you! To make you only mine-!”

*Puwook!*

Alois’s head split in two.

A grotesque sight within the fissure. Isaac, standing before it, sighed.

“Splitting his head doesn’t kill him, either.”

“You fiend! Be gone! How dare you, a lowly thing, stand between me and my sister!”

“……”

“Can’t you see my sister! Get out of here—!”

Alois attempted to swing his left hand, but it, too, was sliced off by a light flick of the blade.

Even so, Alois, unconcerned, continued to lean from side to side, trying to see Rianna.

“Get out! I said get out! You’re blocking my sister—!”

*Thwack!*

The blade sank into his regenerating forehead once more. For a moment, the light faded from Alois’s eyes.

But he quickly regained his senses and cried out.

“Sisssster! Where in the world are you going! I, I’m right here! The brother you must kill no matter what! The one who, if left alive, will defile you! I’m right here!”

*Skritch!*

This time, he was beheaded altogether.

Alois’s head, lying on the ground, continued to weep tears of blood as he shouted.

“Why—! Why do you leave me here! Are you truly letting some commoner like him hurt me?!”

“You’re persistent.”

“Sisssster! If I must die—! If I truly must die—! Then by your hand—!”

*Crack!*

Isaac’s attitude shifted once again as his foot crushed into Alois’s skull.

Tears of blood streaming, his expression overflowing with despair at not even receiving a glance from his beloved sister.

That moment, as if frozen in time, Alois crumbled into ruin.

A hollow end.

But Isaac thought it suited Alois precisely.

‘That lunatic would probably have been overjoyed to die by Rianna’s hand.’

It was only with complete indifference now that he could see the true, despairing look on Alois’s face.

“…”

Isaac drew his sword.

Revenge was undoubtedly not a bad thing, but it seemed he wasn’t so blindly devoted to it.

Was it because everything had been completely erased?

Starting with the divorce, Isaac felt himself moving forward, unburdened by the past.

Alois’s death was justifiable, but he didn’t want to make it the reason for his regressed life.

‘He wasn’t worth that much.’

“It’s over, then.”

Just then, Clarice emerged from the outside with Lianna,

approaching Isaac as he shook the blood from his sword.

“Isaac, I’ve had a thought. Let’s talk as we move. The Pegasus should be here soon—”

“Princess—!”

Heirad, rushing in like the wind, wore a face drained of color.

“Oh, please. Heirad.”

Clarice muttered almost involuntarily, but Heirad, unheeding, quickly reported.

“The Pegasus is destroyed! Ah, it seems the true target of the terror was the Pegasus after all. According to witnesses, the moment the commotion began, suddenly—”

To reach Hellmunt would now take at least three days.

The transcendent’s objective became all the more clear.

* * *

“……!”

Ethel Hellmunt, the youngest of Hellmunt, was reading a book when the ground abruptly began to shake, startling him so badly he burst through the door.

The manor trembled violently, as if about to collapse, and at first, he thought it was an earthquake.

“Young Master!”

“Y-you must escape quickly!”

The servants hastily took care of Ethel. Judging by the crimson sky visible through the window, this was no ordinary earthquake; something extraordinary was surely happening.

‘Of all times—!’

No, perhaps it was precisely *because* it was this time.

With most of the direct line away from the estate.

“This way! This way!”

At the entrance to the Hellmunt manor,

Jonathan, clad in armor, held the door open, evacuating people.

He was holding the entrance, ready for any situation such as the collapse of the manor.

Stepping outside, the sky above the lined-up Hellmunt knights was indeed bathed in a red glow.

The sun and clouds had vanished, and within this inverted world, the expressions of the knights were grim.

The knights of Hellmunt had already suffered heavy losses at Blackthorn.

If they were to suffer further losses here, Hellmunt could be dealt such a severe blow as to never recover.

Just then, the second son, Armin Hellmunt, urgently followed.

“Brother! Are you unharmed!”

“W-What in the world is happening!”

Armin, usually so unremarkable, was a picture of flustered panic.

His gaze darted around, taking in the scene, finally settling on beings that resembled humans, yet were undeniably different.

They strode in from the entrance, their very presence radiating a menacing aura.

‘Those are the Transcended!’

Edel’s eyes trembled.

It wasn’t mere fear she felt.

But a deep-seated resentment, a burning rage.

This place, like their own sacred ground, seemed to embody their fierce animosity towards humans.

Just as the knights of Helmunth gripped their greatswords, preparing to retaliate,

*Thoom!*

A colossal footstep outside the manor forced everyone into stillness.

The greatsword in his hand, his imposing figure…

It was hard to believe this was a man weakened by illness, such was his overwhelming presence.

“Stand aside.”

The knights didn’t dare argue, didn’t hesitate.

They simply obeyed their lord’s command, clearing a path.

The group of Transcended strode forward and stood before Arandel.

“Arandel of Helmunth, I am ‘Apostle.’ One of the so-called Primordial Transcended.”

“…”

“I’ll tell you now, among those gathered here, five others share my title of ‘Primordial.'”

His crimson eyes had already locked onto the five exceptionally powerful individuals.

The ‘Apostle,’ adorned with antlers like a reindeer, addressed the silent Arandel.

“This is truly your last chance. Surrender. If you refuse here, you cannot avoid your death becoming the cornerstone of war.”

“…”

“We Transcended hold Helmunth in particularly high regard, so you-“

“Sword Demon.”

A low voice resonated.

Arandel gestured with his chin towards the red-skinned man at the end of the line.

“Is that the Sword Demon?”

“…The clan that bears that blood. Just as Helmundt has an eldest and a second son.”

Arendal knew, too, that a trap designed to kill him awaited at Blackthorn’s end.

“Hmph, persuasion is difficult. Shall we move on to threats? Five of them. A full five. Skilled swordsmen on par with the Sword Demon, who judged they could kill you alone.”

“…”

“You’re only human, so you don’t want to die, do you? I hear your health isn’t perfect either? I also know about your illness, so first-“

“Merely-“

The corners of Arendal’s lips slowly curved upward.

Arendal grinned, baring his teeth.

His greatsword would never bend towards another.

“Merely five.”

A crimson whirlwind bloomed around Arendal.