Zodiac (4)
"Craaaaaaah!!"
Rejir, who had lost his wrist, kept on screaming.
The nearby knights imdiately drew their swords to execute the criminal who had hard the son.
Just then, Silia stepped in first, grabbing Louis by the head and slamming him to the ground.
"How many tis have I had to bash your head today?"
"Stay still."
When Silia stepped in, the knights hesitated.
They wondered if there was a need to intervene, when Rejir suddenly shouted like a wild beast.
"That bastard!! How dare he take my hand...!!!"
"......"
"What are you waiting for!! Kill that brat, right now!!"
If a soldier caused trouble, the responsibility fell to the officer.
He needed to be beheaded imdiately, or else taken back to the fortress and never allowed to return.
"Before that, there's sothing I want to confirm."
Rejir frowned, wondering what in the world Silia wanted to confirm.
She gripped the broken magic sword and spoke.
"Is this really a magic sword?"
"Why ask that all of a sudden!"
"It's suspicious how easily it was broken by a 12-year-old, and, more than anything else, sothing is wrong with this sword."
Upon hearing that, Rejir looked pained and incredulous.
He was just about to question her words when—
"Huh?"
From the handle of the broken blade, black energy slowly began to ooze out.
Rejir's expression froze coldly as he belatedly noticed it.
"Wh-What is that!"
"Black magic power is leaking from the broken sword..."
"No way...!"
The scholars on the judging panel opened their eyes wide and started frowning.
Just by seeing the ominous energy emanating from the sword, they could sense its true nature.
At the realization, Rejir broke out in a cold sweat.
As the judging panel feared, this sword had been created through inhumane acts.
"The energy coming from the sword is reminiscent of the unique dark magic power used by demons. How exactly was this made?"
"Th-this is, well..."
Rejir hesitated, unsure how to answer the judging panel.
He simply could not accept the current situation.
He had disguised it as a perfect magic sword.
Even if it broke, the demonic energy hidden inside was not supposed to be revealed.
Yet, after simply clashing with Louis's sword, its true power was now exposed.
'Wait a minute!'
Co to think of it, that brat Louis had said this:
–If you strike with this, you can confirm if the opponent's sword is a cursed sword or not, or sothing like that?
And hadn't Louis just said that the sword he used was a gift from so lord?
'Whoever that lord is, what should I do?'
The one who created the magic swords was Armon, a demon who had seized Dexter's domain from behind the scenes.
That demon was a monster whom only an officer directly under the Imperial Court could handle.
As long as that demon occupied the domain, no secrets would leak.
'Fine. I'll just keep my mouth shut.'
Even if the exhibition failed, it was better than having things about the demonkin exposed.
Better the lesser evil than the worst. As he decided this—
"Earlier, before coming here, we visited a place called Dexter's domain. It turned out a demon was secretly controlling it from behind."
"......!!"
Rejir's chest went cold at Silia's words.
She then proceeded to explain what had happened there with Louis.
That the demon called Armon had been abducting people and using them as offerings for magitech devices.
And she started to recount what the young lord there had told them, too.
"The lord said the magitech device that demon made was going to be used in this very Zodiac exhibition. Like that broken sword."
At Silia's explanation, the spectators started chattering noisily.
Rejir hurriedly objected.
"This is unrelated to us! Do you have any evidence that the demonkin made this?"
"There is evidence. The demon is dead now, so the Dexter family will spill everything soon."
When Louis said that, Rejir wore a dazed expression.
It ant that not the lesser evil but the worst was now unfolding.
"Wait... who did you say died just now?"
"The demon. Wasn't his na Armon?"
"That's impossible..."
If Armon really had died, Dexter's domain would be freed from his control.
Then, the vengeful lord would no doubt reveal all of Armon's secrets.
Of course, that would also include Rejir's involvent in making magic swords for the exhibition.
"The instant your sword turned black, it was all over."
The sword Louis had just used was made in Dexter's domain.
In fact, that was a family that had advanced in the field of magitech.
That was also why Armon created magitech devices there.
"The lord there asked us to use this blade to settle their grudge."
Though the family claid otherwise, there were several swords there.
Among them, Louis managed to obtain a magic sword with a sinister energy.
"Is that true?"
"... Pardon?"
"I asked if it's true!"
At the judging panel's stern voice, Rejir's hair stood on end.
Originally, this exhibition had been to build ties with Zodiac, but if it failed, the consequences would be dire.
And now, not only had he failed, but his illegal acts had been exposed as well.
"We've only wasted budget for nothing."
One of the judging panel mbers spoke with a pained expression.
Now, there was no way to win back their favor.
In the end, the judging panel stood up to leave.
At the sa ti, the barrier surrounding the stage dissolved.
As they all wore disappointed expressions, Rejir's brows furrowed deeply.
"That brat... get rid of those brats at once..."
Then, he gave the command to the knights.
"Kill those bastards right now!!"
At his orders, the knights charged to eliminate Louis and Silia.
The mont one swung a sword to behead Louis—
"Guh!"
The knight attacking Louis was struck in the stomach by Silia's fist and collapsed.
With Silia's swift movents, the other knights also fell one after another.
In the end, Rejir's guards all ended up sprawled on the floor.
Watching Silia defeat them all without drawing her sword, Rejir was dumbstruck.
"Elder Sister, you're so cool!"
"Shut up, you creep."
"......"
At Silia's cold reaction, Louis put on a straight face.
"Why... why did you do this...!"
Rejir lashed out at Silia for causing the situation to turn out like this.
With bloodshot eyes, he scread.
"Do you even realize what you've done!! Do you really think House Bisted will let this slide? You, and that criminal bastard too...! You will both face hell!!"
Rejir was so furious that he seed about to lose his mind. Silia, on the other hand, only sneered.
"Hell? I already went through that two years ago."
She found Rejir's intimidation laughable.
"So, your family won't let it slide? Is your family all you have to rely on?"
"What...?"
Silia suddenly loosened her language and began walking toward him.
A dangerous aura radiated from her.
Rejir, who until now had been full of rage, involuntarily flinched at her presence.
"I know all too well the type of people like you. The mont anything goes against you, you try to fix it by throwing your family's na around."
It's because you have soone backing you up that you try to intimidate others.
That's the typical mindset of most noble heirs.
At that mont, soone's face flashed through Silia's mind.
With that mory, her expression twisted into sothing ferocious.
"I feel sick every ti I see people like you."
Their eyes t, and Rejir was so overwheld by Silia's threatening aura that he froze up.
"Especially seeing trash like you enjoying yourself in this exhibition is sothing I just can't stand."
"I don't know why you're doing this... but do you think Bisted will—"
"What's Bisted going to do about it, huh?"
Rejir tried to threaten her, but Silia spoke as if she didn't care.
Rather, it was Rejir, not Silia, who was in danger now.
"And after using living people as offerings to make magitech devices, who do you think you have the right to be angry at? Do you have ten mouths to make excuses with?"
"Get away...! Don't co any closer!"
Rejir instinctively felt fear and started retreating.
There was no one left to protect him now.
At that mont, the black energy from the destroyed sword fragnts grew thicker.
The smoke-like energy gathered into one, forming a monstrous shape.
"What is this!"
The black energy, now shaped like a wolf, attacked Silia.
Though Silia avoided it easily, she hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
"Why did a monster appear from a broken magitech device... Ah!"
Realizing why, Silia's eyes widened. She scolded Louis imdiately.
"Why did you break the sword!"
"Was that wrong?"
"Just tapping it was enough to reveal the demonic energy. But since you destroyed it, the leaked demonic energy went out of control!"
It was the breaking of Rejir's sword by Louis that caused this. Louis, confused, asked,
"How do you know all this?"
"I learned about magitechs by watching over soone's shoulder a long ti ago. It's just been too long, so I rembered too late."
The spectators that remained ran away when they saw the demonic energy morph into a monster.
As people scread, the demonic energy reacted to the noise.
― Grrrrrk.
The demonic energy shrieked and tried to attack the crowd.
Silia drew her sword to stop it, but there was no need.
In the blink of an eye, Louis kicked and burst the demon apart, causing it to dissipate.
"Co here."
"Heek!"
As if saying "You're next", Louis pointed his finger at Rejir.
Rejir ended up having to get beaten up until the security arrived.
****
The security force arrived at the scene without delay. Upon hearing the report, they swiftly arrested Rejir.
He struggled even as he was dragged off, but since it was clear he had colluded with the demonkin, it would now be difficult even for his family to protect him.
If Bisted tried to shield Rejir, the Holy Nation, which hated the demonkin, would not stay silent.
Nonetheless, Louis and Silia were also key figures in the incident.
Both were questioned by security until nightfall before finally being released.
By the ti they entered the inn, the sun had already set.
Louis, lying on the floor, asked Silia, who lay on the inn's bed,
"There really wasn't much need for you, deputy major, to step in. Why did you get involved so actively?"
"If I hadn't stepped in, you'd have clashed head-on with that noble. Blood would've run through Zodiac's center."
Zodiac is a city protected by the empire.
If either Louis or Silia shed blood in such a place, it wouldn't end well for them.
"But I already spilled blood by cutting off his wrist."
"Still better than taking off his head. And now, the Dexter family's head can sleep easy again."
Silia had only solved the case based on what she heard from that lord.
Arresting Rejir was rely the execution of official duty.
"And with this much, you've gotten your revenge. Now that it's exposed that he worked with the demonkin, neither the empire nor the Holy Nation will let him go."
Even if he was sohow released and returned to his family, he'd most likely be driven out.
Getting his wrist cut off by Louis was just a bonus.
"For all that, you seed pretty emotional up there."
Louis recalled Silia's face on stage.
Anyone could tell she was burning with personal feelings of anger.
"Why do you feel sick every ti you see people like that?"
On stage earlier, Silia had said she'd already been through hell two years ago.
Two years ago was when she'd been assigned to the 7th Legion.
"I get the feeling you and that noble Rejir are sworn enemies."
Silia had been spying from the shadows as Louis and Rejir had their reunion conversation.
Thanks to that, she had a vague sense of Louis's situation.
"We are enemies. If you hadn't appeared with perfect timing, deputy-commander, things would've gotten out of hand."
"I'm envious, though. You managed to hold back even after seeing your nesis's face."
"Have you ever failed to hold back, deputy-commander?"
Silia nodded at that question.
"Do you rember what that Rejir bastard said to you back then?"
Rejir had asked Louis if destroying his domain and even killing his parents felt satisfying.
And then Rejir answered,
–Yeah. It feels damn good.
And when asked what made him so great, he said,
–I'm on a different level than a lowly brat like you!
"I rember. Why?"
Silia, who had eavesdropped on Rejir's remarks at the ti, had nearly lost her mind.
"The bastards who killed my younger sibling said almost the sa thing."
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