Chapter 240
As the Sun Duke had told the Armenian knights, he had no intention of intervening unless there was evidence from the Eastern Duke proving he was a Magi or one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Thus, he merely watched as Yan was helplessly slapped.
Of course, he was inwardly surprised when he noticed the Eastern Duke’s weakness.
Even when the Eastern Duke was in danger, he had no intention of stepping in.
Although they shared the title of Duke, they had no significant connection.
Even if they were close, he wasn’t foolish enough to interfere in this situation where he was proving his innocence.
As he continued to watch until the end, the Sun Duke suddenly drew Ifrit from the scabbard at his waist and spoke softly.
“He was right.”
This was because a dark aura began to emanate around the Eastern Duke.
The aura was so dense that the moment he sensed it was Magi, his face hardened with discomfort.
The knights surrounding the Eastern Duke also stirred.
They had eyes and could handle mana.
There was no way they couldn’t recognize the dark aura bursting from the Eastern Duke’s body.
“M-Magi!”
“Why does the Duke have Magi…!”
Amidst this, the Sun Duke stepped forward.
“Y-Your Grace, the Sun Duke!”
As the Sun Duke suddenly stepped forward, the knights, sensing the gravity of the situation, called out to him in a flustered tone.
The Sun Duke infused mana into Ifrit and spoke.
“From now on, according to the Empire’s Protection Law, I will judge the enemy of the Empire, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, who appeared during the proof of innocence.”
As soon as he finished speaking, white flames erupted from both Ifrit and the Sun Duke’s entire body.
Unlike the Eastern Duke’s dark and ominous aura, the flames were pure and clean to the point of being noble.
“Haah!”
He then launched himself towards Werner, who was about to wield the Magi.
* * *
Yan’s eyes widened as he saw the Magi flying towards him.
‘Strong!’
And fast.
He wondered why it hadn’t been used until now.
Thanks to his memories from his time as the Special Task Force Leader, he knew about the existence of the Seven Deadly Sins, but he had never encountered them.
It wasn’t that they hadn’t appeared in the Empire, but they were so elusive that whenever Yan led his agents, they couldn’t find any trace of them, as if they had never existed.
‘Besides, the timing was off due to the Emperor’s orders.’
There were times when he had to abandon a pursuit and return to assist the Emperor, even when he had found a clue by chance.
So.
‘Who knows what tricks that guy with the pitch-black eyes will pull.’
He knew well that the longer he dragged this out, the more disadvantageous it would become.
The main characteristics of Magi were contamination and expansion.
The more Werner used the Magi, the more the mana in the air would be tainted with it.
This would slow down the release of mana.
Yan calmed his eyes and drew Ascalon like lightning, swinging it towards the mass of Magi.
Crash!
The tremendous recoil traveled through Ascalon and hit Yan directly.
He almost lost his grip on Ascalon.
Yan frowned and looked down at his hand holding Ascalon.
His grip was torn, and blood was dripping from Ascalon’s handle.
“Damn it.”
It meant that Ascalon’s power couldn’t stop the Magi.
Just as he barely managed to fend off one mass of Magi,
he saw countless more masses of Magi flying towards him.
“Haha, this is insane.”
Can he block all of that?
Well, if he doesn’t want to die, he has to.
Yan steadied his breathing and raised Ascalon.
At that moment,
“I’ll handle this.”
The Sun Duke appeared beside Yan.
Covered in white flames on his body and sword, he looked like a hero from legend reborn.
He raised Ifrit, looking at the approaching masses of Magi with a determined gaze.
Then he glanced at Yan and said,
“I’ll scatter the Magi, you focus on killing him.”
With those words,
the Sun Duke, cloaked in white flames, glared at the masses of Magi.
His figure blurred.
Soon, he appeared above.
Taking a breath in mid-air, the Sun Duke swung his sword towards the masses of Magi.
White flames poured endlessly from Ifrit.
And those flames quickly formed a barrier.
Boom! Boom!
Bang! Bang!
The barrier made of white flames firmly withstood the attacks of the masses of Magi.
But it shook as if it would extinguish at any moment with each collision.
Even a powerhouse like the Sun Duke couldn’t easily extinguish the Magi.
* * *
Unlike Aquinas, Werner could maintain his sanity even while using Magi.
He laughed maniacally as he watched the situation unfold before him.
“To think I can deal with all these eyesores at once! The heavens are truly on my side!”
No matter how formidable the Sun Duke was, it wasn’t easy to block Magi, which was a level above mana.
Look now!
The barrier of white flames created by the Sun Duke was already faltering under the barrage of mana he was unleashing!
“If I had known this, I would have used it from the start. Then that ‘Pride’ fool wouldn’t have dared to spout nonsense!”
Werner burst into wild laughter and spread his arms wide.
More Magi than before erupted from his body and flew towards the Sun Duke.
At this rate, he could kill them all within an hour.
Werner couldn’t stop laughing at the thought of desecrating their corpses.
* * *
Yan bit his lip as he watched the Sun Duke struggle to fend off the Magi.
‘This is an unexpected situation.’
Before Werner revealed his true nature, Yan thought that he and the Sun Duke could easily defeat him with their combined efforts.
But now, it was clear that Werner was a formidable opponent.
The Magi Werner emitted had already completely contaminated the surroundings.
This meant that mana couldn’t flow properly in that area.
And for Yan, who relied heavily on mana, this was a severe disadvantage.
‘There’s only one way to break through this.’
He had to completely dominate the space.
In other words, he had to deploy a domain where Werner stood.
But how?
Yan quickly racked his brain, sweating.
How had he managed to deploy a domain against Aquinas?
What had he realized, and what conditions had been met for the domain to be deployed?
“Damn it! I don’t know!”
Yan, who rarely uttered such words, couldn’t help but do so at this moment.
He couldn’t think of a way to deploy the domain.
At that moment,
a telepathic message flowed from the Sun Duke, who was blocking the masses of Magi above.
A domain is a phenomenon where you engrave your identity into the ground. You have already deployed a domain once. This means you have already established the path you must take and engraved it into the ground. Remember what your path is.
Yan’s brow furrowed.
The path I must take? What is that?
As if answering Yan’s thoughts, the Sun Duke’s telepathic message continued.
My loyal knight Merriott said that you seem to have gained an understanding of coexistence. Although he hasn’t reached the second rank, his insight is exceptional. So think about what ‘coexistence’ means to you.
Coexistence?
Together?
At that moment, thoughts that had unconsciously crossed Yan’s mind before deploying the domain against Aquinas flashed through his head.
These were thoughts mixed with the mindset that, unlike the solitary emperor, he chose coexistence.
The memories that initially surfaced faintly began to become clearer, imbued with Yan’s identity.
‘I have always overcome obstacles by adapting to the given situation. I will continue to do so in the future.’
‘If the one who can overcome the situation is a friend, then a friend, if an acquaintance, then an acquaintance, or if an enemy, then an enemy. I will use and work with everyone.’
‘Then, perhaps… if I can encompass all of that…’
Wouldn’t I become complete?
No.
Yan’s eyes sparkled.
“I will become complete.”
And thus achieve a single goal.
That is the path I must take.
As he realized this, a flood of information began to pour into his mind, as if all his senses were opening.
Ascalon, held by Yan, began to shine white.
It was a light different in nature from the Sun Duke’s white flames.
A warm light that was hard to believe came from a sharp sword.
And that light began to absorb the information flooding into Yan’s mind.
Whoosh!
As Ascalon emitted light, the Sun Duke, who was handling all the masses of Magi above, gave a faint smile.
“As expected, he’s impressive.”
He shouted towards Yan with all his might.
“I will open the path! Go and judge the enemy! Engrave what you have realized into this land without holding back!”
With those words, the Sun Duke’s eyes calmed.
His body, which had been shaking incessantly due to the collision with the masses of Magi, suddenly stood still.
Step!
The Sun Duke took a step forward and poured all his power into Ifrit.
Ifrit trembled as if it couldn’t withstand his full power.
The Sun Duke gripped Ifrit tightly with both hands and slashed horizontally through the air.
Then, the masses of Magi flying towards him were instantly consumed by the white flames.
From where Yan stood to where Werner stood,
the masses of Magi were completely annihilated in a straight line.
“Go!!”
At the Sun Duke’s roar, Yan’s eyes widened.
The most suitable sword technique came to his mind.
Merriott’s Black Point.
And Dragon Fang.
If he mixed Merriott’s Black Point with the first sword technique of the founding emperor, Dragon Fang, which tears everything apart with the dragon’s fangs, it would create an incredible synergy.
Having decided on the sword technique, it was time to use it.
Thud!
Yan’s foot pushed off the ground forcefully.
Yan’s figure disappeared without leaving a trace.
But Werner, whose senses were heightened beyond human limits, could see Yan charging towards him with an unusual aura.
He burst into mad laughter and shouted.
“Kyakakakak! No matter what you do, it’s just a futile struggle now that I’ve unleashed the Magi!”
He emitted Magi and condensed it into his left hand.
Werner’s left hand turned pitch black and began to transform into the shape of a sword.
In that state, he thrust towards Yan, who had reached him.
“Dieee!!”
At that moment, an immense light burst from Yan.
Roarrr!
A sound like a dragon’s roar followed.
A red dragon emerged from Ascalon and, along with Werner’s Magi-infused left hand,
Slash!
completely pierced through his torso.
It was a Dragon Fang on a different level from any Yan had used before.
Even Werner was speechless, his mouth agape in shock at the Dragon Fang Yan had just unleashed.
“W-What… is this…”
Drip.
Sizzle!
Soon after, Werner, whose torso had turned pitch black, fell forward.