“[Magical Burial]!”
I thrust my open right hand towards Alice’s chest.
Just hit her. Even if she tries to block, a touch is all I need to win.
In that moment, [Magical Burial] should activate and break the brainwashing.
So I aim for the widest target area, making it harder to evade.
“Lukewarm. But I caught a dangerous scent.”
“What…!”
Releasing her sword with her left hand, Alice twists her hips, the sheathed blade half-turning to parry my thrust.
What kind of sense of smell is she using to avoid even a touch…!
“Hey, no time to be surprised. I’ll end this.”
The slash wielded with inhuman arm strength, single-handed.
“[Lightning Bolt]!”
But thanks to Reina’s timely magic interrupting Alice’s attack, the blade never reaches me.
“Thanks for the save, Reina.”
“It’s not really worth thanking me for.”
Reina maneuvers to avoid interfering with my attacks, using her magic to fill the gaps after I strike, supporting me.
Alone, I would already be dead, but with her help, we’re at least evenly matched.
“Hmph… How bothersome.”
“That’s more our line.”
I resume the same defensive stance.
I certainly want to avoid a prolonged battle. But I can’t recklessly attack when victory is unclear.
The way to win against a superior opponent has always been the same.
Countering with precision strikes. In this fight against Alice, that is the path I must follow.
“You’ll stubbornly cling to defense, huh. …Fine. Then I’ll make you realize the error of that thinking.”
“…What!?”
“This is…!”
Alice’s killing intent spikes explosively.
So that wasn’t even her full power earlier…!
I find myself taking a step back.
Danger signals blaring loudly in my brain.
I mustn’t fight, they scream. Flee quickly.
But for some reason, my fear doesn’t paralyze my thoughts – they continue to turn.
… Is this the Alice I know?
Can the one wielding a sword, bereft of [Justice] and controlled by [Evil], truly be called Alice?
Is the Alice I fear merely a soulless monster, swinging a blade without conviction?
I didn’t choose to cowardly flee because the desire to save Alice kept me rooted.
Subjugating my instincts with reason, I force myself to face her.
Because I believed that was the path of light we must walk.
“Reina! Hide behind me!”
“[Twenty-Four Bolts of Lightning]!”
Reina responds instantly to my call,
unleashing a barrage of lightning arrows to fortify our defense.
Yet the impending sense of death refuses to subside.
“──[Afterimage Void Slash Gale]”
Ten afterimages of Alice. One of them launches a slash attack.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
[Ladies and gentlemen, please bear with us for a moment. We are currently preparing the merchandise. Please wait a little longer.]
This announcement has been repeatedly made on the stage.
The slave auction advertised has yet to begin, and the gathered noble guests are starting to voice their discontent.
I see… Ouga and Reina have succeeded!
Suppressing my smile, I join the nobles in grumbling about the delayed start of the slave auction.
I’m afraid today’s slave auction will not be held.
Since Ouga and Reina freed all the slaves, they have likely already escaped the Andraus territory by the carriage they used earlier.
Without any merchandise, the auction can never begin.
So, I’ll just continue to act as the villainous lord as usual until this party is over.
“–Duke Vellet. May I have a moment?”
“What can I do for you, Lord Andraus?”
…I’m surprised he’s the one approaching me.
I was feeling a bit relieved, so his sudden appearance caught me off guard.
“Come with me.”
“Ah, of course.”
Without explaining the reason, Andraus tersely urges me to follow.
I don’t have any excuse to refuse.
Could it be that my actions have been discovered ?
I still lack enough information to make a judgment. At least, I can decide after going with Andraus.
After handing my drink to a waiter, I follow behind him as he heads outside.
He’s heading towards the back entrance of the mansion where the slaves are kept.
“…What seems to be the issue, Lord Andraus?”
“It seems some pesky rats have interfered with our slave auction.”
“What!? Is that true!?”
My heart races. …Don’t panic.
He hasn’t said the rats are Ouga and the others yet.
I absolutely can’t let him catch their trail.
“The slaves have all escaped.”
“…I see. So the auction has been delayed because of that…”
“By the way, you also entrusted us with some slaves today, Duke Vellet. My apologies for the inconvenience.”
“No need to apologize, Lord Andraus. We’re comrades, after all.”
“Thank you, Duke Vellet. …Thank you truly.”
As Andraus says this, his expression shifts to an unpleasant, leering smile.
…I can’t shake this ominous feeling. Cold sweat trickles down my back.
“But, I’d like you to rest assured. It seems my prized slave has been safe, and is just now capturing the rats for me.”
“…I see. That is good news then.”
I’ve never been more grateful for the accumulated years of experience.
In my younger, less experienced days, I wouldn’t have been able to rein in the swirling emotions in my chest.
“Yes, it is good news. So, Vellet…”
Thin arms wrap around my shoulder,
like a snake closing in on its prey.
“Why don’t we go see together? Watch as my prized slave tortures the rats who dared interfere with us?”
I can only nod in response to his whisper.
I clench my fist tight enough for my nails to dig in, struggling to contain the surging emotions.
The rage towards the devil before me is boiling like magma.
But the anger I direct the most is towards myself.
For making the complacent judgment that Ouga would produce excellent results, and bringing them this far.
Despite my beloved son and daughter facing a terrible fate, I suppress this rage as the head of the ducal family, to fulfill the King’s duties.
I want to kill this man before me just as much.
“I’ve prepared a seat, let’s go.”
“…Hahaha. So you lured me here for that. I’m grateful.”
“Think nothing of it.”
As we descend underground, I see three familiar slave merchants sprawled on the floor, apparently unconscious.
But Andraus pays them no mind.
Right now, all I want to know is whether Ouga and the others are safe.
Suppressing my agitated feelings, I follow behind Andraus.
He’s intentionally moving slowly, like an old man.
…I must not let my guard down. I can’t afford to be caught as well.
After what felt like hours, though it was only a few minutes, we arrive at an open doorway.
“The rats who freed the slaves and my prized swordsman are in this shelter.”
I don’t want to step in. I don’t want to see.
Swallowing down those feelings, I cross the entrance.
“…Haa…Haa…”
“[Heal]! [Heal]! [Heal]!”
Below, I see Ouga bleeding profusely from the chest, with Reina desperately casting [Heal] spells.Below, I see Ouga bleeding profusely from the chest, with Reina desperately casting [Heal] spells.
“…Haa…Haa…”
“Ouga! Are you alright…?”
“…Ah…I’m saved.”
My vision is blurry from blood loss. My head is spinning.
Is my sternum shattered to pieces? But thanks to Reina’s desperate [Heal] casting, the pain is only enough to cause nausea.
I want to praise myself for not losing consciousness even with the [Limits Transcendence] I activated just before the attack.
Certainly, the situation looks overwhelmingly unfavorable for us.
But for me, this level of damage is nothing, as I was able to etch the sight of Alice’s sword strike into my memory.
That fact alone gives me hope.
“…I never expected this technique to leave you alive. Unexpected.”
I see the surprise on her face.
…She’s forgotten, hasn’t she. If she was brainwashed, she’s just a doll being manipulated after all.
“…Let me correct one thing.”
Placing my hands on my knees, I slowly rise up and point at her.
“You’re not Alice. You’re correctly known as Chris Ragnica.”
Alice honed her sword skills to execute [justice] out of a caring heart – to strike down evil in order to protect others.
She cuts [evil] to save. That’s why she wields the sword day and night, and has achieved her current ability.
But the strikes of one merely being controlled, without Alice’s true feelings behind them, are nowhere near as fearsome as her usual blows.
The woman before me is just a fake using Alice’s specs.
The killing intent is immense, true. But the weight of Alice’s [Afterimage Void] when she wasn’t fully serious was more vivid, instilling clearer fear in me.
That’s why the earlier [Afterimage Void] is a real attack but innefective
My reason has overcome my instincts, dispelling the fear.
“I’ve been saying that from the start. What are you–“
“Ragnica! Just kill her already!”
“Yes, my master!”
Glancing up, I see the enraged Juke Andraus and the unwavering gaze of my father.
Hehe…Looks like they’ve brought her to the Andraus.
But that old man…he’s panicked, isn’t he.
I don’t know if he’s determined we’ll die here, but his command has exposed him as the one who brainwashed Alice.
…I see. So it was him. He’s the one who defiled her pride.
From the day she swore to be my sword, Alice has been mine.
Her resentment, the justice she wields, her untarnished pride – all of it has been mine.
Because I thought of it as the dignity of a villain who would shoulder others’ lives.
But to treat her merely as a tool through the easy means of [brainwashing], without even that resolve?
I absolutely won’t forgive that act of his.
I shift my pointing finger from the doll-woman to the old wretch observing from a safe distance.
“You’re next. Don’t move from there.”
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gonna regret messing with waifu oldman