<The Path That Must Be Taken>
The Imperial Army entered beyond the crumbled castle walls. I became their spearhead, breaking the path forward, and the private soldiers of Kaillus were swiftly crushed. Screams, gunfire, and the sound of exploding magic echoed from all corners.
I swung my sword at the soldiers guarding the entrance to the inner castle. Their bodies were torn apart along with the gate.
CRRRACK!
I broke through and ran inside. I didn't stop for a single moment. I pushed forward like a chariot until I reached the central area.
The Imperial Army scattered in all directions of the inner castle, but I alone descended below.
Somewhere in the basement of this castle, there had to be a secret channel. A passage leading to the outer coast.
The records from before my regression were clear on this.
I ran down the stairs, reaching the final level of the basement.
“……”
However, on the dark floor, there was no channel, not even a trace of moisture. It was a cavernous space mostly used for storage.
But it had to be here somewhere.
I focused mana into my optic nerves. My vision turned blue.
Suddenly, a certain sconce on the wall caught my eye. There were many sconces, but this one alone was slightly askew, and near the drips of wax, there was a circulation of mana.
I grabbed it and twisted.
ZAP!
A spark flew. My palm was badly burned. It seemed they had placed a rather formidable magic security ward on it.
But it didn't matter. I just had to cut it down.
I swung my sword.
SLICE-!
A section of the wall split open, revealing a hidden passage. It was a staircase that led even deeper.
I strode down. A moment later, a damp air washed over me. The smell of water. Then, a wide-open space was revealed.
An artificial waterway where a small boat was moored, and standing there, people.
“……”
I discovered the four direct descendants of the Kaillus family. They, too, turned to look at me.
I met their quiet gazes and uttered a single phrase.
"By order of His Imperial Majesty."
There was no reply. In the silence, the sound of the flowing waterway echoed.
Suddenly, I found this whole situation to be bitter. And at the same time, puzzling.
The decapitation operation had already been carried out. If so, the coastline should have naturally been the first to be blockaded.
And yet, they had chosen the most obvious escape route.
Are they foolish?
Is this the only path left?
Or perhaps.
—Shhng.
An old honor guard of the Kaillus family drew his sword. He was a strong man. But his body was already riddled with injuries. Blood flowed freely from gunshot wounds on his shoulder and leg.
A knight who can wield a Protective Aura is relatively safe from gunshot wounds, provided they have enough mana.
In other words, his mana was depleted. And yet, he stood to block my path.
“……We have never plotted treason.”
Yusef, the Lord of House Kaillus, said as much. His calm voice was laced with sorrow.
I looked at him. Yusef, the current Lord of House Kaillus, and his wife, eldest son, and eldest daughter. A total of four people.
“Yes.”
However, this is the irreversible tide of history. Even if I were to let them go here, they would soon be captured and killed all the same.
“We are aware.”
At my response, they let out a deep breath.
“What is your name?”
Yusef asked for my name.
“Maximilian Albrecht von Ebenholz.”
Their expressions suddenly grew calm. I maintained my courtesy toward them. I did not rashly point my sword, nor did I show any sign of aggressive speech.
They were nobles worthy of respect.
“Ebenholz……”
Yusef gave a faint smile.
What is in the heart of one who accepts death? As I see it, do they perhaps believe in a next life? For some unknown reason, they seem to be anticipating some kind of ‘next’.
……Next?
A brief thought flashed through my mind. I recalled the words of Zephestian from the past.
‘It can’t be helped. That youngest son of theirs seemed quite promising, too.’
The youngest son of Kaillus.
I counted the members of the family.
“……Four people.”
The direct line of Kaillus consisted of five people.
The records from before my regression. The direct descendants of House Kaillus were indeed annihilated. But they had not all been killed together in the same place.
Therefore, the conclusion was this.
The four people before my eyes were acting as decoys.
To focus the Imperial Army’s attention on themselves, to protect the family’s last hope at the cost of their own lives.
Embracing the belief that if that boy survived, their lineage could continue.
The Empire had far too many who had faded away just like this.
They all died trying to protect their own beliefs, and the values they tried to protect were stolen by villains.
“You are missing one person.”
At my words, Yusef’s expression turned cold.
THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD—
From above, the distant sound of the Imperial Army running could be heard. It seemed they had discovered the secret passage I had opened.
“Young knight of Ebenholz, a family of the great old guard, who was there at the Empire’s very beginning.”
Yusef spoke in a low, gentle voice.
“In exchange for the lives of my family, may I ask for but one wish?”
I felt I knew what his request was. Words were unnecessary.
I simply gave a faint smile and a nod. They, too, understood my meaning.
It wasn't just Yusef; the faces of his family brightened in an instant. The old knight also lowered his sword diagonally.
For them, who were prepared to joyfully accept death, I drew up my mana. I raised my longsword.
These are not people I wish to kill.
Because they are righteous nobles.
However, this is the way of the world.
We are short on time.
In the torrent of history, I too am swimming for my life, just as they are.
“It is regrettable.”
A final farewell.
If possible, without pain. So that they may not see each other’s deaths.
In that instant, my sword moved forth. A silver flash cut through the darkness.
It was quiet.
There was certainly no sound.
I cut them down as if it were natural, and they collapsed like blades of grass.
“Here! It seems to be a secret location…?”
From behind me, an officer and soldiers of the Imperial Army came running. Wiping the blood from my blade, I turned to face them.
“The situation is concluded. Secure the bodies.”
“Ah, yes! Sir!”
I walked past the saluting imperial soldiers.
A respectable family had been ruined by the greed of a villain. I did not feel particularly good.
Above all else… I still had work to do.
After the decapitation operation ended, a victory party broke out in the inner castle of Kaillus. It was a celebration of the mission’s success. Bloodstains and liquor bottles were scattered across expensive carpets, and lewd laughter bounced off the portraits hanging on the walls.
“Hahahahaha!”
Their faces already flushed red, they were downing bottles of the finest wine Yusef had collected. There were even some who were secretly pocketing family heirlooms.
I slowly descended into that place. The soldiers, lost in their drink and spoils, did not notice me.
“……”
I stood still, my eyes sweeping over the faces. I watched the dozens of soldiers coming and going through this chaotic scene.
Thump.
With sunken eyes, I searched for the target my heart pointed to. Somewhere here is ‘that race’.
Thump.
Soon, my gaze locked. I strode across the hall.
—
A soldier, staggering with drink. I deliberately bumped his shoulder.
The wine glass filled with red wine flew into the air and fell. Droplets splattered on my knightly uniform.
“Aish, who the hell…”
The soldier turned around. His eyes widened, and he hurriedly bowed his head and apologized.
“Ah, Sir Knight, my apologies!”
“……”
Without a word, I wiped the wine drops clinging to my chest. A few nearby soldiers glanced this way, but the party was still in full swing. The roars were deafening.
“I’m sorry! I’ve committed a great discourtesy!”
His apology slurred at the end.
I was curious.
Is this an act? Is the effect of alcohol on them similar to its effect on us?
I still don't know. Because they are not human.
“……No.”
Instead of getting angry, I simply offered a faint smile.
“It’s fine.”
There was no need to get angry.
“Ah, my apologies. Please, rest well!”
The Imperial soldier—no, Isenheim—turned away with a servile smile.
In that instant, I gripped my sword.
—
There was no sound. The soldier’s body and neck were simply separated. Isenheim's face flew into the air.
THUD.
Blood gushed from the headless corpse. Gurgling up like a spring, it filled the soldiers’ cups.
The soldiers who belatedly grasped the situation scrambled to their feet.
“Uh, uh!”
“Kh, what the, uh, Sir Knight?!”
“Your orders! Your orders!”
“Atte…tion!”
Everyone snapped to attention. They seemed to have sobered up in an instant, their faces pale and drawn.
I spoke to them.
“……We have still let one direct descendant escape. Therefore, we are still in a state of war.”
The battlefield is quite a convenient place. As the final overseer, a knight has the authority to execute soldiers, and in a ‘state of war’ like this, there are more than enough pretexts to kill anyone you want to kill.
“Did someone dare grant you permission to covet the possessions of an Imperial noble and laugh and carouse here?”
The reason for the execution was clear. Breach of military discipline. Plundering of a noble's private property. Defiling a knight's uniform.
The laughter stopped. The raucous shouts that had been ringing in my ears vanished. Only a deep silence remained.
The soldiers had already formed a line. There was even a man whose teeth were chattering in fear.
Military discipline was established.
“……”
I walked out of the inner castle under the gazes of the soldiers.
Fortunately, among the Imperial forces here, Isenheim had been the only one.
“—You didn't have to go that far.”
Someone approached from the darkness. I looked at him. It was Jekerḍ Kaillus, the one who orchestrated this decapitation.
“It is an honor, Sir Knight. I am Jekerḍ Kaillus. Ah, I shall be shedding that disgraceful last name soon, so you need not worry about it.”
He gave a thin smile and swept back his hair.
“You could have left them the spoils. I was planning on permitting it.”
He was already acting as if he were the master of Kaillus.
I spoke to him.
“I could not bear to see mere common soldiers coveting the property of a noble.”
“Indeed… First, I must express my respect and gratitude to you, Sir Knight.”
Jekerḍ bowed his head.
“To think you discovered a secret passage I didn't even know about. However, as you know, there is still one rat left.”
Jekerḍ’s expression turned cold.
“Akkad Kaillus. The 16-year-old youngest son. The whelps of this wretched family particularly cherished that child.”
There are people who hate to see a happy family. People who want to tear it down.
Either a true villain, or someone with a deeper, darker reason.
“I knew of the passage's existence, but not its location. But it was obvious it would lead to the coast. The reason these traitors insisted on using that secret passage was likely to buy time for that Akkad to escape.”
He is a man who is needlessly good at peering into others' minds. One of the sycophants who will cling to the Emperor and become one of his masterminds.
One I want to kill one day…
No, one I must kill.
“Yes. I understand.”
I had seen Yusef Kaillus for the first time today. Before my regression, his corpse had been horribly desecrated.
But in this life, we made a silent promise. The Kaillus family bet their lives on it, willingly offering their heads.
Solely to save their last child.
Fortunately, I know Akkad's escape route.
[…The mastermind Yusef von Kaillus and four other direct blood relatives attempted to escape through a basement channel to the coastline but were killed at sea. Another blood relative who attempted a separate escape was discovered near the Mekken Mountain Range on the western border… the body was found near a ridge.]
The Mekken Mountain Range on the western border.
“I will take the Mekken Mountain Range.”
At that, Jekerḍ's face bloomed with delight.
<The Path That Must Be Taken> End