For a Count to move toward a Marquis’s territory was bound to be a gamble.
If a Count moved, it was a given that a Marquis would move accordingly.
Normally, that was the only way things could work.
However, the Marquis who was supposed to receive the report was elsewhere.
He had left the castle, the burrow he had dug for himself.
Accompanied by only a small number of people, he was moving in secret.
He was accompanied by three Aura Experts from the Bauer Knight Order and three 4th-class mages who were hiding their true strength from the world.
Though few in number, they were powerful.
However, the Marquis, who spared no effort in protecting himself, felt uneasy even with this number.
Still, even for the Marquis, any more would be overdoing it.
The place he was going was somewhere no one should know about, except for the loyal subjects who followed him.
While he felt uneasy, the Marquis’s body was heating up.
‘It’s faster than usual.
What is happening?
Heh heh…
Has my body been heating up lately?’
He was also a mage.
He was only a 3rd-class mage, but he had reached a level where one could say he had stepped into the path of magic.
Yet, this power had not been helpful when he was seizing the title of Marquis.
When he was fighting for the position of successor, his greatest strength had been machinations and schemes.
He had poisoned his older brother, who trusted him, to death.
He had sent his younger brothers on distant hunts to have them killed.
He had sent his older sisters far away to be married off.
Even if it was his older sister, if she showed any sign of desire for the title, he saw to it that she lost her life on the long journey.
His magic had never once been useful in such matters.
But now, it was of great help.
It was common knowledge that a mage could use mana.
Because he could use mana, he was able to absorb the Demonic Qi they handed over.
‘It is sustaining my precious life.
Heh heh.’
The absorbed Demonic Qi became vitality for his dying body.
Before that, he could feel his life force fading from his body.
His body, which grew older and more decrepit by the day, warned him that his life could end as early as tomorrow.
But from the moment he poured the Demonic Qi they gave him into his body, youth returned.
He could move more energetically than before.
Some said it was addictive, but…
‘I can overcome that much.’
The Marquis believed in himself.
He believed he would not be consumed by Demonic Qi like others.
The Marquis also knew the source of the Demonic Qi filled with life force.
For him to prolong his life by one month, ten lives of the territory’s residents vanished.
At first it was one, then it was three, and now it was ten.
The number was gradually increasing.
But it was fine.
‘What greater honor could there be than for such lowly lives to save me, the ruler of this territory?’
He believed his own life was more precious than the lives of 1,000,000 of them.
How ecstatic would he feel when he absorbed more life force today?
‘Good.’
The thought of feeling the surging life force again caused the Marquis’s excitement to grow the further he went.
His eyes turned bloodshot.
He arrived.
It was Derwiz’s mansion.
“Wait here from this point on.”
“Lord Marquis… From this time, we should enter with you.”
“No.
It is enough to wait here.”
“Understood.”
Leaving behind the knights of the Bauer Knight Order who watched him with concern, he spoke.
“Let’s go.”
“Haha.
Yes.”
He entered the mansion together with the mages he was collaborating with.
“It’s potent.”
“Is it not unavoidable if we are to extract precious life force?”
The smell of blood that wafted out as soon as they entered was thicker than before.
It was so thick that it was miraculous the smell of blood did not leak outside the mansion.
“I suppose you have extracted more than before today?”
“I am not entirely sure, but… shouldn’t that be the case?
It was faster than scheduled.
There must have been some results.”
“Hoh.
I shall go first.
Make sure the cleanup is thorough.”
“Of course.”
Rattle—
With anticipation, the Marquis entered the secret passage alone.
Blood.
Blood.
Blood.
Streams of blood filled his vision.
Those traces…
Thump, thump.
The Marquis’s excitement intensified.
If he absorbed this life force, how much more would his lifespan increase?
Thinking that he might be able to live forever like this, he stepped further inside.
“You’ve… arrived.”
At that moment, an unfamiliar voice reached his ears from behind.
“Who are you!”
Thwack!
Before the Marquis could even finish speaking, a sword was thrust into his abdomen.
“Urk…!”
The long sword passed completely through the Marquis’s thick belly and extended out the other side.
From behind the Marquis, a voice tangled with both rage and apathy spoke.
“As long as I don’t twist it, you won’t die.
It will just be extremely painful.”
“…Wh-Why, on earth…?”
The Marquis asked, unable to even turn around.
“The reason is right in front of your eyes.”
At that answer, the Marquis looked ahead.
It was the same as usual.
Streams of blood between the center of a makeshift altar.
Commoners.
Groaning monsters.
All of it was the same as usual.
Therefore, the Marquis could not understand.
He could not fathom why the reason for his death was right in front of him.
“Phew.
Then again, bastards like you have no way of knowing.”
Crunch.
The sword twisted slightly.
“Aaaaaagh!
Like this… like this…!”
He was going to die.
Writhed in pain, the Marquis let out a scream.
“Why don’t you scream more?
Isn’t the reason you’re screaming obvious?”
Had the person behind him mastered mind reading?
They knew the Marquis’s thoughts very well.
If he screamed…
He believed that people would come running upon hearing those screams.
Even if something was wrong here, his guards were outside.
And the mages who were moving with him were strangely quiet.
‘…What are they doing?’
They should have been saving him already.
Why had there been no word from them until now?
They were Black Mages.
They were not people who would die easily in a place like this.
Before the Marquis could even feel suspicion, another voice spoke.
“I slit all their throats before they could even open their mouths.”
“Good job.”
The presence of several people was felt.
They moved not to the Marquis’s back, but to his front.
“Show him.”
“Ugh… Gasp!”
As soon as those words were finished, two objects were thrust in front of the Marquis’s face.
Those heads, which remained with their eyes wide open as if in surprise even in death, were familiar to the Marquis.
They were the heads of the mages who had accompanied him.
“H-How…?”
“You should be asking why, not how.
Tch.”
The person who brought the heads replied instead of the person behind him.
“Mages die easily if there is no distance in the first place, Marquis.
It is common knowledge in war; do you not know?”
“… “
“I slit their throats as soon as I saw them.
Heh.
Will the kids who died forgive me even if I say I’ve taken the heads of the Foxes with this?
It’s still a bit lacking…”
It was a voice filled with madness.
Even more than that maddened voice, the Marquis reacted immediately to the mention of taking the heads of the Foxes.
There was only one group he knew who spoke like that.
“The Black Crow!”
“Yes.
That’s right.”
“Y-You bastards!
A war… immediately!
A war!
Urk.”
Grip.
The twisted sword returned to its position.
Thump.
What had they done?
After the person behind him moved their hands a few times, the Marquis found himself unable to move his body at all.
The only thing he could move was his mouth.
“Y-You… dare…
No.
No.
Yes.
A negotiation.
Let’s negotiate.”
“Pfft.”
He had to live.
He had to live to achieve his revenge.
With that single thought, the Marquis begged, even if it meant being pathetic.
He rubbed his hands together mentally, over and over.
But the opponent only scoffed.
The person had a large build but an innocent, youthful face, like a child.
It was Rayrn.
The Marquis had an intuition.
‘I’m going to die.’
The opponent had no intention of letting him live.
The moment the Marquis squeezed his eyes shut.
Bang!
Something approached and exploded his arm.
“Aaaaaagh!”
Even while writhing in pain, the Marquis did not forget to glare at Rayrn.
His eyes burned with hostility.
“Yes.
The people you killed probably had expressions like that too.”
“…Heh.
Are you really doing this just because a few commoners were killed?
Those things… their value…”
Bang!
Another arm was blown away.
As expected, the Marquis sensed that the opponent had no intention of letting him live.
And no matter what methods were used…
‘Why aren’t they coming!’
The Bauer Knight Order, who should have come running immediately upon hearing the screams, was not coming!
He realized it at the same time.
“There are always bastards like you everywhere.
That damn relative value.
It’s not even funny.
A life is just one life, all the same.”
“…That is bullshit.
Human lives have different values.”
“No, they are the same.”
Rayrn leaned his face toward the Marquis.
He grinned.
Thwack!
“Aagh!”
He stabbed the sword into the Marquis’s leg again.
“The Emperor far away dies after grinding through thousands of people just to save himself.
And someone else elsewhere keeps their life sustained even though their brain is dead.
Isn’t it quite interesting?”
“… “
“Still, everyone dies equally.
There is only one life.”
“Ugh…”
The Marquis remained stubborn, refusing to speak until the end.
Nevertheless, Rayrn continued speaking as if it didn’t matter.
“Do you know?”
“… “
“You are definitely going to die here today.
You’ll probably bleed for about three days straight before you finally die.
That’s how it’s going to be.”
Rayrn paused for a moment.
“And your house will be destroyed.”
The Marquis flinched at those following words.
“It will be torn into four or five pieces.
Your stupid successors will see to that.
Even if they join forces, I’ll be the one to tear them apart.”
“By what means could you possibly do that!” the Marquis shouted fiercely.
“Do you even know who I am?”
“No way to know.
No reason to know, either.”
“No.
You should know.
My name is Rayrn Ophern.
I am the youngest of the House of Ophern.
Isn’t that enough of a reason to ruin you?”
“…H-How…?”
The Marquis’s mouth fell wide open.
His mind became a chaotic mess.
He had realized a while ago that the Black Crow had come here.
But for the youngest to have come here?
And the youngest of the House of Ophern at that!
Wasn’t he a child who had only just turned 15?
Such a child had stabbed him in the back and laid waste to this place?
It made no sense!
Even for a genius, it was impossible.
Life experience.
Ability.
It was still time for him to grow.
And yet, for a mere boy to do such a thing.
Regardless of the Marquis’s confusion, Rayrn continued speaking.
“To think you’d come so easily just because a signal was sent, all because you’re hell-bent on extending your lifespan.
It’s funny.
Really funny.
Right?”
“… “
At that moment, someone came crawling in, timed perfectly.
Though the person had turned into a mess of rags, the Marquis recognized him at once.
It was Viscount Derwiz.
The man who had facilitated his dealings with the Black Mages was now a wreck.
“You… you betrayed me!”
“I-I had no choice!”
“Shut up!”
The Marquis thought he would already be dead since this place was being ravaged.
To think he would be alive after betraying him.
The moment the Marquis was about to scream in fury.
“Well, the explanation ends here.”
Thump.
Something flew in and…
“Mmph.
Mmmph.”
It completely blocked the Marquis’s mouth.
With his limbs and now his mouth completely blocked, the Marquis became a living corpse.
And then, just like that…
*Squack.
Squack.*
Rayrn fed his blade to both Derwiz and Owen.
At that moment, the blood that had stopped began to flow again.
The Marquis’s vision grew dim.
‘To think… like this…’
Even he probably didn’t know he would die such a hollow death.
Rayrn, who had granted him such a death, spoke.
“Go pay for your sins in the afterlife.
Let’s go.”
“Yes, Master!”
Leaving those final words, he disappeared as if blinking out of sight.