Battle to subdue the Crepins (2)
Anyway, the goal at this point is not to subdue the Crepins.
As I said, if you don’t destroy his family background and prestige first, you won’t be able to clean up after him even if you subdue him.
-Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Dust rises in the study. In an instant, Crepin blew away the dust with a gust of wind and raised his left hand again.
It’s a power that I have absolutely no idea how or how it works, but having played through Act 4, I have a rough idea.
Although he was in an imperfect state and could not fully embody the power of the evil god, he was able to control the ‘physical forces’ around him according to his will.
Gravity, inertia, friction… at least the flow of physical energy can be controlled as he pleases, within the limits allowed by his magic power.
It will give you a sense of conquest, as if the energy flow of this world is in your hands.
In order to control something beyond physical power, long concentration and long-term accumulation of magical power are required. This is the level at which it can be used in combat immediately.
Now the power of the evil god has not been fully unleashed. If you want to subdue them, now is the best time, but the order of things is fixed.
I gathered magical energy into my hands.
– Quang!
Preparations were completed for the magical power to rush into one point.
Lieutenant fire magic ‘one-point explosion’.
Crepin Rosstaylor also quickly reacted to the speed of the magic power and took a defensive stance, but unfortunately the direction of the attack was not Crepin.
– Kwaang!!!!
The floor collapsed and the roar enveloped the mansion.
Unfortunately, the peaceful and joyful social church ends here.
* * *
― Kwagwagagaga River! bang!
The sound of the explosion caused by Ed’s magic was heard straight downstairs.
The same was true in the main hall, where a banquet was in progress.
The nobles who were chatting while lightly clinking glasses of high-quality wine momentarily made puzzled noises.
The sound of part of the outer wall collapsing along with the sound of vibration. Surprised by that, the crowd began to murmur.
Eventually, a retainer who seemed to be quite old came out and calmed the situation, but Crepin, who was in charge of the situation, was nowhere to be seen.
Everyone, including Selaha, who was chatting among the crowd, and Senir Bloomriver, who was looking at the sky alone on the Claris Terrace, who was enjoying dinner, had embarrassed faces.
Most people didn’t know what was going on, so they stopped the party and waited for the employees to figure out what was going on.
“…Hmm.”
Meanwhile, 1st Princess Selaha took a breath.
Although it was a sudden situation, there was nothing suspicious about it. Above all, it was very suspicious that Crepin Ross-Taylor and Ed Ross-Taylor were away at the same time.
“The wine tastes good. I think I drank too much.”
As Selaha spoke, he passed the empty wine glass to the servant who was waiting next to him. It means I will stop drinking now.
And I went out to the terrace to sober up a bit. When I turned my head and looked at the exterior wall, it seemed like there had been an explosion in the upper floor.
“Hmm…”
Selaha was lost in thought, then burst into laughter, opened the door, and went out.
* * *
― patter patter.
The sound of dust falling.
The floor of the study collapsed, and many books and documents were rolling around on the floor.
― ‘It was said that a strangely large response to magical power could be felt in the area below Duke Crepin’s personal study. But… due to the structure of the mansion, the kitchen is located below the study. ‘There is no way such enormous magical energy can be felt in the kitchen where the employees work.’
According to the information Yenika found, there was a space below here where a strange magical response could be felt.
According to the design of the mansion, it is known that there is a study of the same size right above the kitchen, but the study was clearly too large compared to the size of the kitchen below.
There was a high possibility that a space that was not in the blueprint was prepared next to the kitchen.
Needless to say, the entrance to there will be in Crepin’s study. It would be best if we could find the entrance, but since the situation was not favorable, we just destroyed the floor.
― Crispy! Kaaaaagh!
“Aaaah!”
When the ceiling collapsed, several startled maids ran out of the kitchen. But I couldn’t see it. It was blocked by the huge outer wall, so only sound was leaking in this direction.
As expected, the floor of the study just covered the space between the kitchen and the secret space next to it.
The place where I fell was exactly that part of the secret space.
“Kuhuhhh…!”
“Yenika, are you okay?”
“Yes…!”
A small secret space made of bricks. There was only one passage leading somewhere.
The dark passage extends downwards and downwards. Looking at its depth, it seemed to extend all the way to the underground space.
It seems like I’ve come to the right place.
― Hwaaaaaaaaa!
Dust rose again and Crepin rose from within it.
He clenched his left hand tightly, compressing the air around me, but I reacted quickly and rolled my body to the side.
-grasp!!
The stone next to me burst from the pressure.
Crepin was impressed when he saw me naturally avoid it.
“Your reaction speed is amazing. It’s as if this isn’t the first time you’ve faced someone today.”
Of course. I have dealt with Crepin, who is still in a state of taste, several times. It was by no means an easy opponent, but compared to the evil god Mevuller, he was cute.
“Do you know what your mistake was?”
I shook off my clothes, got up, and spoke quickly.
“The thing that bothered me the most is that this mansion is entirely your domain. The employees and guards are all Rosstaylor people who follow your orders.”
“…”
“You allow my people to enter such a space. You have thrown away the greatest advantage.”
What you need to do now is not to subdue Crepin. There is an order to everything.
I grabbed Jenica’s hand and dragged her as if I was throwing myself into the underground passage.
“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much?!”
Yenika, who was startled, was quickly dragged along and sucked into the passage. I ran straight down the stairs.
If such a secret space was created and hidden, there was a high possibility that there would be a lot of evidence of Crepin’s evil deeds.
– Clap!
There was no way I could stay still after seeing Ed running into the passage.
Crepin Rosstaylor quickly grabbed his sword and tried to take a step forward.
But I couldn’t chase him.
– Quang!
― Kwagagagagagagagak!
There was no rain, but lightning struck.
As if to stop the crepin from heading towards the entrance, the lightning struck in front of it and again raised dust.
“Hmm…!”
Crepin quickly covered his mouth with his sleeve to endure the aftermath. And when the dust blew away again, there was a girl standing there tidying up her fluttering collar.
Her white hair, neatly tied into two strands, is shiny. The confidence shown despite his small stature is impressive, but his blank, sleepy eyes make him lose energy again.
She is adjusting her large witch hat, mumbling some beef jerky, and stuffing her hands into her coat pockets. Then, he starts talking lazily.
“I’m sorry.”
― Pabababak!
At that moment, the hilt of a sword made of light appeared in the air and flew straight into the ground.
The huge sword hilts erected around her like a defensive formation… are not things that can be manifested as easily as breathing.
High-ranking light magic ‘Bright Sword Handle’.
In between, all kinds of intermediate barriers are intertwined like a spider web, creating an impenetrable defense line.
“From now on, this is a no-go zone.”
Lucy Mayril, a rare genius wizard.
She appears like a thunderbolt and takes over the space in an instant. She shows no signs of getting tired after manifesting dozens of middle-level magic and even high-level magic.
“What are you doing now…?”
“Why? Are you upset?”
Just hearing you say it seems like a provocation.
However, if you listen to the calm and pure voice… you can’t feel that intention at all.
When Lucy fights, she doesn’t do anything like that to provoke her opponent and shake their composure. Because there is no need to do that in the first place.
I’m just telling the facts as they are.
“Then… break through and come over.”
Although it is a barrier ceremony that appears in just a few seconds, it is a wall of steel that cannot be broken through even if all high-ranking spirits are dragged along.
Crepin narrowed his brows little by little as he stared into Lucy’s flawless eyes.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the carriage that departed from Old Deck, there is Lortel sitting with his legs crossed and his arms crossed.
The sight of him staring at the wise man’s seal for a long time as he heads towards Ross Taylor’s mansion has a certain charm about it.
All kinds of accounts fill the walls of the carriage. There were a lot of things left to check.
Nevertheless, Lortel was heading out of Old Deck, even if it meant taking the time to do so.
Moving on to the imperial capital Cloeron, Princess Fenia with a serious expression was leading a horse out of the stables at night.
The imperial coachman tried to dissuade the princess with a perplexed expression, but a commoner could not stop her.
He placed a luxurious saddle on the strongest and strongest horse and rode on it. The hem of the dress was uncomfortable, but it was a waste of time to change.
Just like that, Princess Fenia rushed out of the castle without permission, leading only four guards.
The soldiers who were watching quickly reported the incident, but it was already too late.
There is only one direction that everyone is heading towards.
This is the Ross Taylor mansion where Crepin Ross Taylor is operating in secret.
* * *
― Clap! Crack!
I ran down the stairs for a long time, holding Yenika’s hand.
I had to take advantage of Lucy’s time outside to quickly figure out what this secret space was.
The fact that it was hidden so tightly means that this space is Crepin’s vice and a place where all secrets are contained.
I go down through the dark passage for a while, and as I go down again, a sound starts to sound little by little.
It’s already time to reach the underground space. From here on out, it seemed easier to think of it as just being underground.
I spoke as I ran out, holding Jenica’s wrist.
“Listen carefully, Jenica. From here on out, you must remember everything you see. It is much more credible if you testify together than if you claim to be the only eyewitness.”
“What’s beyond here?!”
“I don’t know that! You’ll have to see!”
“Ugh!”
In any case, there is a high possibility that evidence of tooth-clenched efforts to bring down the evil spirit has accumulated.
No matter what, as long as you can leave with something that can be used as evidence, everything will be smooth sailing from then on.
Before I knew it, the stairs leading down ended and I was in a long hallway.
It feels like a tunnel made of bricks. Since there is no place for light to enter, a procession of magically created torches continues to the end of the passage.
Jenica and I ran down the hallway.
After running for a while and running again, a large wooden door appeared at the end. I feel like I’ve finally arrived.
There is nothing more to measure. Where is the time to prepare your mind?
I just kicked the door down.
– Boom!
The door opens with a rattling sound, and the structure inside comes into view at a glance. At first glance, it doesn’t seem to be much different from the study seen upstairs.
It is a fairly large space filled with bookshelves, and one side is filled with various experimental tools.
There are a couple of desks attached, and there are traces of research on various magic circles on them. And beyond the lab, on the opposite wall, there was another door.
I don’t have time to go through these documents one by one right now. Jenica and I just took in the surrounding scenery and ran straight to the next room. First of all, it was necessary to become familiar with the overall structure.
“Hehe… Hehe…”
Yenika is weak when it comes to using her body. I felt like I was already physically exhausted.
– Boom!
And after opening the second wooden door… we had no choice but to stop.
“Ugh… Huh…!”
Spread out on both sides of the narrow hallway are countless prisons. Solid iron bars are lined up vertically.
There are probably more than 10 rooms that were used as prisons. I felt Yenika’s wrists shaking.
“Are you okay?”
“Uh…yeah. Let’s keep going.”
Jenica consciously did not look inside the prison, perhaps because she felt something with her animalistic senses.
I looked out of the corner of my eye several times, and the inside of the particularly rotten prison was… the contents were just as I had imagined.
A prison is a facility for confining people.
In a way, it was obvious what was inside.
As I continued across the hallway and reached the end, I finally came into an open hall.
In an underground space where I thought there would be no light at all… a ray of moonlight is coming down from the sky.
It was as if I thought it would be nice to have at least some light in this space. Even in a deep underground space, a small hole was drilled into the inconspicuous ceiling… A space where ventilation was taken into consideration.
In the center of the large rotunda… there is a human figure.
“…Ah… Huh…!”
Yenika couldn’t stand it and started gagging.
It was in the shape of a human… and was clearly standing on its own feet. However, his chest had been pierced by a great sword.
It feels like I was pierced by a great sword that fell from the sky. Now that I think about it, I wasn’t standing on my own, I was pierced through. The great sword that penetrated was stuck in the floor, supporting the body.
The sight of that blond hair flowing down in abundance is familiar.
It’s… the painting on the huge portrait that is the first thing you see when you enter the main entrance of the Ross Taylor mansion…
When I thought that it was the same as the rich hair I saw there, a goosebump ran down my body.
The size and appearance are similar.
However, the physical condition is strange.
There is no left arm.
I don’t even have a right leg.
One eye has a stab wound, as if it had been cut with a knife.
There are marks all over the body that look like they were pierced by needles.
The one remaining eye is comfortably closed. He seemed to be sleeping really comfortably, as if his terrible physical condition was no problem.
“Ed… that person… Ed’s…”
I couldn’t help but widen my eyes and look at him. No matter what anyone said, I couldn’t deny it.
The woman who was once called the shining jewel of the Ross Taylor family was right.
I tried to calm my pounding heart.
I’ve been sick of looking at corpses. I have seen thousands of people die in just a few seconds.
Maintaining composure is a specialty. No matter what situation comes, I grit my teeth to think rationally.
“It is said that evil spirits come down with blood as payment.”
I slowly opened my mouth.
“You used my blood-flowing daughter for experiments in order to control the power of the evil god as if it were your own limbs.”
Yenika covered her mouth, holding back tears. When I saw the various wounds on Arwen’s body, I seemed completely speechless.
“Did they try to forcefully mobilize my daughter, and if that didn’t work, to mobilize their other children as well?”
I mumbled that… and stood still for a moment.
First of all, I was thinking of saying a moment of silence for Arwen, who left in pain.
“Well that’s only half true, Ed. Have you forgotten?”
I had no idea that an answer would come back.
It was an unbelievable sight.
A girl who had been pierced by a sword with almost half of her body parts missing.
The one remaining eyelid gently lifted, revealing bright eyes.
Naturally, his mouth and throat were moving normally.
Yenika’s legs lost strength and she sat down. I too opened my eyes and saw that scene.
“It’s been a long time, Ed. You’ve grown a lot.”
The voice was just as I imagined. I wonder if this is what Tanya would feel like when she becomes an adult.
“I’m…even more disgusting than when I saw you before, right?”
Is it okay to answer?
Arwen Rothtaylor spoke calmly, in a way that made you think so.
