Episode 173: The Mastermind

A few nights had passed since the battle for the royal capital.

The collapsed Kirchhen-Almas Castle.

Atop its rubble lay a single corpse. Pale blue hair, as if drained of pigment like ice, and a scarlet mantle symbolizing royalty. The man who was once the king of this nation, Luverios.

Siegfried, true to his word, had revived Luverios’s body once more. However—his shattered soul would never return to that body. It was nothing more than a lifeless husk.

A man approached the corpse.

“How fortunate… to find a body preserved in such pristine condition.”

The voice belonged to—a young man with white hair, clad in the uniform of a court secretary. The subordinate of Prime Minister Joachim, Shemhazai Raguzarudo.

“Well then…”

He reached out toward Luverios’s body.

—At that moment.

“So, you’re the villain pulling the strings from the shadows, aren’t you?”

Shemhazai looked up at the voice. There—atop the pile of rubble, standing with the moonlight at his back, was a young man. Silver hair, azure eyes—Siegfried.

Tilting his head, Shemhazai asked, “What do you mean by that?”

“…What do you mean?”

“You came to retrieve Luverios’s body, didn’t you? That body still holds traces of Lugdura’s magic. As a member of the ‘Silver Falling Star,’ you’d want to acquire it to analyze Lugdura’s power.”

“Oh, you saw through that much, did you?”

Shemhazai let out a low chuckle.

“How did you know I’m part of the ‘Silver Falling Star’?”

“That smirk, that carefree attitude… It’s the hallmark of a ‘scheming villain’ or a ‘mastermind villain.’ I knew it from the moment we met. To you, this kingdom is nothing more than a temporary stage for your machinations.”

“Hmm… I’m not quite sure what you’re getting at. But I’ll give you credit for seeing through my true identity. Well done.”

Shemhazai hoisted Luverios’s body onto his shoulder. Siegfried spoke to him coldly.

“Leave that man where he lies.”

“Why?”

“That man fulfilled his role as a villain. He was killed countless times by the people of this kingdom, his soul shattered. As the symbol of the villain in the Kirchhen Kingdom arc—I will bury him in this royal capital with my own hands.”

“Hmm… I truly don’t understand. Why care about such a foolish man?”

“You say he doesn’t matter?”

The pressure emanating from Siegfried seemed to strike Shemhazai’s skin as if it had physical form.

“It’s true that man was cunning yet foolish, utterly selfish. But that cunning and foolishness brought color to the Kirchhen Kingdom arc. To call it meaningless—I don’t agree.”

“Haha… I still don’t get it. Well, I have no intention of fighting a monster like you.”

Shemhazai raised his right hand lightly, waving it like a conductor’s baton.

“With that said… I’ll take my leave. Until we meet again.”

With those words, his body was enveloped in a glow of magical light… and vanished into the void.

 

◇

 

The moment his figure disappeared into the void, Shemhazai reappeared in an entirely different location.

It was the outer edge of the royal capital—atop the towering city walls.

Spatial Leap.

As the name suggests, a spell that instantly transports oneself or a designated target to another location. Spatial magic can only be wielded by those with a specific bloodline, making it as rare as vampiric Bloodcraft or Lugdura’s Necromancy.

“Well then… time to bid farewell to this backwater. I’ll return to the ‘Empire’—to our great Arcane King, Lex Arcanum.”

Muttering as he gazed down at the royal capital, he began to weave the formula for another spatial leap—when suddenly.

A firm grip seized his left arm.

“Wha…?”

“We meet again.”

Standing there was the silver-haired young man… Siegfried.

He held Shemhazai’s arm, a smile on his face.

“Wha—!?”

Shemhazai’s expression stiffened.

“Why…!? How are you here…!? No, how did you know I was here…!?”

Siegfried’s appearance atop the city wall wasn’t surprising in itself.

After all, he possessed physical abilities that could overwhelm even Lugdura. With pure physical prowess, reaching this place in mere seconds was entirely possible. But—

“The royal capital is filled with countless people… Finding me among them should be impossible…!”

Cold sweat trickled down Shemhazai’s cheek as he questioned.

Indeed—the real challenge was pinpointing Shemhazai’s presence. Whether by sight or sensing magic, locating him in a capital teeming with people was like finding a single grain of sand in a sandbox.

“It’s simple. You’re a ‘scheming villain,’ aren’t you? People like you, in situations like this, always choose high places. You look down on the city after a battle, muttering some cryptic line that foreshadows future events—it’s a classic pattern.”

“Wh-what…!? What are you talking about…?”

“And you did exactly that, didn’t you? ‘To our great Arcane King, Lex Arcanum’—quite the intriguing line, full of potential for future developments. You’ve laid some excellent groundwork. I’m grateful.”

As Siegfried spoke, deep within his eyes… an unfathomable darkness flickered, like a shadow stalking its prey.