Episode 145: At the End of Honing Skills

　Witnessing Julius’s body being blown away right before his eyes, Leon staggered wildly on horseback.

　His entire body was covered in severe wounds, and on top of that, his abdomen had been pierced by a lance. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was even still conscious.

　Even so, he mustered every ounce of his willpower, straightened his posture, and let out a shout with all his might.

“—I’ve taken down Knight Vice Commander Weissmaster Julius!”

　The moment he yelled that, he clung to the horse as if completely spent, pitching forward.

“Captain Leon!”

　The young soldier, Robert, tried to approach Leon. But Leon held him back.

“I’m fine. More importantly… join them and press the attack now!”

　Right after that, a new voice echoed across the battlefield.

“This is our chance… let’s go!”

　The one who shouted was Ricardo.

　As if responding to his command, the Serodonia soldiers who had been lying on the ground all rose up at once.

“Answer Lord Leon’s valiant fight! Seize victory right here!”

　With Ricardo leading the charge, the Serodonia army surged forward aggressively toward the kingdom’s knight order.

“We’re going too!”

　Dominik gave the order, and the infantry battalion shifted to the offensive all at once.

　The defeat of Knight Vice Commander Weissmaster Julius, along with the vampires’ revival—.

　This series of events greatly shook the morale of the kingdom’s knight order.

“Why!? How are those Serodonia prisoners reviving!?”

“More than that, is it true that Lord Julius has been defeated!?”

“Enough, just focus on the enemies in front of you for now!”

　The kingdom’s knights tried desperately to hold on, but they couldn’t turn the tide.

　Before the fierce assault from the infantry battalion and the Serodonia soldiers, their formation was starting to crumble.

　In the swirling chaos of the battlefield—at the feet of the soldiers and horses, a single shadow was crawling along the ground.

“Guh… what… what happened…”

　Its true identity was Julius, who should have been blown to pieces by Leon’s attack.

　He had been blasted apart centered on his chest, appearing to have met his end.

　But—Julius was barely clinging to life, reduced to just his upper body from the chest up.

　Moreover, the chaos of the battlefield ironically worked in Julius’s favor.

　Without anyone noticing, he managed to crawl from the main street to a side alley.

(Leon Vague… what on earth did that guy do to me…!? And those Serodonia prisoners… why have they regained their strength…!?)

　From the alley, Julius watched the battlefield.

　Seeing the scene unfolding before his eyes, he arrived at a certain realization.

(…I see. Those Serodonia prisoners—they were pretending to be exhausted!)

　Indeed, as Julius surmised, the Serodonia prisoners had suffered severe damage to their souls from the backlash of vampirization.

　However—they hadn’t reached their absolute limit yet.

　Just before they became completely immobile, they had stopped moving on their own, feigning that they could fight no more, and waited for the right moment.

　Their aim was singular: the instant Leon defeated Julius.

(At this rate, we’ll be defeated. But no matter what… I can’t afford to lose.)

　Defeat would mean the loss of everything.

　The status he had built, the honors—all of it would crumble away.

　Julius gathered what little magic he had left and attempted to regenerate his own body.

　With Lugdura’s power dwelling within him, it should have been possible.

　But—for some reason, it wasn’t working.

(It’s no good. My magic… it’s depleted…! Leon Vague… what the hell did you do to my body!?)

　That single strike had not only blown Julius apart but also erased nearly all the magic from his body.

“—Hey, you there, knight!”

　From the depths of the alley, Julius raised his voice, calling out to one of the kingdom knights fighting on the main street.

　At first, the knight looked around, unsure where the voice was coming from, but eventually spotted Julius and hurried over in a panic.

“Knight Vice Commander Weissmaster! You’re alive!”

　For a moment, relief and joy flashed across the knight’s face. But in the next instant, his expression froze.

　He was left speechless at the sight of Julius’s wretched form, lying on the ground with everything below his chest gone.

“A-are you alright!?”

　The knight dismounted and crouched down in front of Julius.

“Come… closer… and… take off your helmet.”

“Huh? Y-yes!”

　Doing as he was told, the knight removed his own helmet.

　In the next moment, Julius’s hand shot out, sharply grabbing the defenseless throat.

“Guh…! Knight Vice Commander Weissmaster… wh-what are you…!?”

“Give me… your magic…”

　Just as vampires draw magic from blood, Lugdura, being a necromancer, gains power by feeding on life itself.

　Julius, who had been granted that power, could also absorb others’ life force and convert it into magic.

“Gah… aaaah!”

　The knight’s face twisted in agony. It was the soul’s scream against having his life stolen.

“S-stop, please! Knight Vice Commander Weissmaster…!”

“Shut up.”

　In Julius’s mind, his life up to now flashed by like a lantern show.

　Born in a poor village, orphaned, tilling the fields with his foster father.

　No matter how hard he worked, life never got any better.

　That’s why he staked everything on the lance.

　To climb up. To prove them wrong. To become someone who would never be looked down on.

　He saved the village from monsters to gain recognition and rise higher.

　He persisted without faltering at the officer academy, followed Luverios and Zefard—all for the sake of aiming higher.

(That’s why… I can’t end here. I can’t lose everything I’ve built!)

　A single memory resurfaced in Julius’s mind.

 

◇

 

　It was right after it had been decided that he would be adopted into a noble family as a son-in-law.

　He visited his rural hometown after a long time and reunited with his foster parents.

“Oh, Julius! Have you been well!?”

“I heard you’ve become the vice commander of the kingdom’s knight order. You’ve really made something of yourself.”

　The foster parents he met after several years seemed much smaller than in his memories.

　To those two, Julius held out a leather pouch.

“Please accept this.”

　Inside was enough money for his foster parents to live the rest of their lives without working.

　And then, Julius quietly declared.

“—With that said, I would like to dissolve our adoptive relationship.”

“Eh…?”

“From now on, I will be entering a noble house. Having people like you as relatives would be an inconvenience.”

　Julius was now a man accepted into noble society.

　He was highly trusted as King Luverios’s confidant, his position unshakable.

　But his foster parents—they were nothing more than poor commoners from the countryside.

　If such people were listed as relatives, it was obvious that the nobles would whisper behind his back.

　To Julius, that was nothing less than a ‘stain’ that would tarnish his glory.

“Think of this as severance pay. From now on, I will cut all ties. …Never claim to be my foster parents again.”

“J-Julius…?”

“This much money should be sufficient compensation for the effort of raising me.”

“Wh-what are you saying…?”

“Then—excuse me.”

“W-wait… we didn’t raise you for something like this…”

“Julius! Come back! Money doesn’t matter! More than that… if you go down this path, you’ll surely destroy yourself someday…!”

　Without lending an ear to his foster parents’ voices, Julius walked away.

　And—he never visited that village again in his lifetime.

 

◇

 

(I don’t need parents or family. My desire is—just to rise higher. To become the next Knight Commander Grandmaster and reach even greater heights…!)

　If things went smoothly, Knight Commander Grandmaster Zefard would nominate Julius as his successor.

　Julius was currently a viscount, but becoming Knight Commander Grandmaster would grant him the rank of marquis by kingdom custom.

(Marquis…! A position that can break into the upper echelons of the kingdom. I… can go even higher!)

　More strength poured into Julius’s hand gripping the soldier’s neck.

　The absorbed life force converted into magic and flowed into his body.

　Soon, bones formed in his lost lower body, and regeneration began—but in that moment.

　—Thud.

　Suddenly, something pierced Julius’s body from behind.

“Wh…at…!?”

　Twisting his face in pain, Julius turned his body to look back. What met his eyes was a tall man covered in blood from his injuries.

　The lance gripped in his hand had impaled Julius’s back.

“Leon Vague…!”

“You’re a tenacious bastard… you…”

　The magic dwelling in Leon’s arm flowed back through the lance into Julius’s body.

　—Yes, just like that time. The same sensation as the moment his body had been blown apart.

“Stop.”

　Julius spoke quietly, but with unwavering resolve.

　He had barely survived by a hair’s breadth before. But if he took the same attack now, there was no chance of survival.

“I can’t die here. I—still have to reach the top.”

　He had abandoned his parents, cast aside emotions.

　To never be looked down on. To gain the power to look down on others.

“If you spare my life… I’ll give you the position of Knight Battalion Commander Major Commander. When I become Knight Commander Grandmaster, I’ll promise to nominate you as Knight Vice Commander Weissmaster. I can even arrange with His Majesty Luverios to grant you noble status. …It shouldn’t be a bad deal.”

“…What the hell are you talking about?”

“This battle… in the end, King Luverios will win. Join our side. Then, you can cast off your miserable commoner status…”

“Don’t decide on your own that I’m miserable or whatever…!”

　Leon infused magic into the lance.

　An unpleasant magic swelled within Julius.

“Stop… If you follow me, you’ll have status and glory…!”

“—I don’t need it.”

　Leon poured all his remaining magic into the lance.

“I…!”

　The moment Julius tried to say something—his body shattered with a roar.

　Complete annihilation, not even a fragment of flesh left.

　In that instant, what were the words Julius had been about to mutter?

　Were they words regretting the past? Or a desperate wish clinging to glory until the end?

　There was no way for anyone to know anymore.

　After a brief silence, Leon let out a deep breath.

“This time… it’s really over.”

　His voice was hoarse, faint, and trembling.

　Leon himself was reaching his limit.

　Blood flowed from his entire body, and he had a deep wound in his abdomen. His magic was nearly depleted as well.

　There was probably no chance of surviving now.

　Even so, he had no regrets.

　Defeating Julius, who had been granted Lugdura’s power, was his duty as a participant in the ‘human experiments.’

　Having accomplished that and completely brought down Julius, he was convinced that victory on this battlefield was now assured.

“…Well, for me, I did pretty good. The debt I owed that guy from officer school… this should pay it back.”

　He could feel the strength draining from his body.

　His knees buckled, and Leon’s body slowly tilted toward the ground.

“This is… as far as I go.”

　The cold, hard ground approached, carrying the scent of death.

　Just as he was about to collapse—.

“‘This is as far as I go,’ huh. I thought that was a line you only hear in fiction, but there really are people who say it in real life.”

　With that voice, Leon’s crumbling body was caught and held.

　Appearing in his vision was a young man with silver hair and blue eyes. With a sardonic smile on his lips, he dropped the words.

“What a troublesome princess. Can’t even stand on your own?”

“…You’re late.”

　In a raspy voice, yet with a hint of a smile, Leon muttered.

“No, nothing’s late at all.”

　In the next moment, the pain rapidly faded from Leon’s body.

　Siegfried was healing Leon’s body with his own blood.

“…Tch, I was supposed to die here and get some peace…”

“What are you talking about? I still need you to keep working for me from here on out. Live, and keep suffering for my sake—Princess.”