Kays Translations

Chapter 115: To the Top of the Tower

Lucius sprinted through the capital and into the tower. As he passed through the estate of Viscount Girard, he shouted loudly upon entering.

“Melania! Mika!”

Hearing Lucius’s call, Melania and her brother emerged from among the villagers.

“Lucius-sama, what’s wrong?” 

Melania asked.

“Get out of here quickly! Soldiers are pouring in!” 

Before Melania could ask further questions, the area around the tower entrance grew suddenly noisy.

—They’re here.

The tower had only one entrance and exit. There was no escape.

“Melania! Lead everyone in the village to the top of the tower! As high up as possible!”

The presence of soldiers flooding in was unmistakable. These were not ordinary troops.

“What’s with those soldiers!?”

“My doll is still at home!”

“Forget it! Your life is more important!”

As the villagers scattered like spiders, Melania quickly guided them up the tower.

Time needed to be bought.

“What about you, Lucius-sama?” Melania asked.

“Don’t worry, Melania. I’ll come to get you all.” 

Lucius reassured her.

Appearing silently from behind was Lucius’s puppet, Sol.

“Master…”

“Sol, go with Melania and the others.” 

With a small nod, Sol’s presence vanished, leaving Lucius alone in the village.

Shortly afterward, powerful figures appeared, their strength suggesting they were ready for war. It was excessive just to confront the Kyrgyz tribe.

Lucius quickly recognized who they were.

“Captain Mark of the Royal Guard… Why?”

Standing before him was the elite Royal Guard of the kingdom.

More knights continued to pour in from behind. The number seemed overwhelming, as if every knight stationed in the capital had gathered.

“Lucius, you are under suspicion of murdering His Majesty… Surrender quietly.” 

Captain Mark commanded, glaring at Lucius. He seemed extremely agitated.

“His Majesty… Murdered…? Captain Mark, what are you talking about?” 

Captain Mark did not respond to Lucius’s words, his eyes bloodshot.

“…His Majesty… His Majesty… His Majesty…”

—Something’s not right.

Not only Captain Mark, but all the knights present were behaving oddly, wrapped in an eerie fervor.

Amid the confusion, Dion, the western heir to the throne, appeared from behind the knights.

“My Forneus’s power, the curse of charm, was quite a hassle. Ensnaring all the knights with it, especially those possessing first-class familiars, required a significant emotional shock. Thanks to that, they easily believed my mother’s claims.” 

Dion sneered, a blood-red eel-like creature coiled around his right hand.

“Knights, do not permit Lucius to surrender. Ensure he is silenced permanently.”

“Your highness Dion… What is this? Is it true His Majesty has been killed?” 

Lucius asked, his voice trembling.

“It is true. However, the narrative is that you committed regicide. Fight the knights as a rebellious hero and perish. If you surrender, those vile puppeteers will be slaughtered.” 

Lucius’s heart pounded wildly at Dion’s words.

“A narrative that I killed His Majesty? Does this mean you…?”

A sinister smile crept onto Dion’s face.

“His Majesty was your kin! Why would you do such a thing!?” 

“It seems you are ignorant of noble history. Assassinations of kings have occurred numerous times. Compared to historical facts where kin devoured each other, and even children were killed, this is nothing. Surely, you’ve heard of the West-Windsor family’s reputation?”

Of course, Lucius knew. It was well-known throughout the country.

“The family of misfortune and fortune, the West-Windsor house.”

The West’s leading family was infamous.

Generations of heads of the house were often short-lived. Healthy individuals suddenly died or wasted away, obviously due to assassination or poisoning.

Additionally, there were those who suddenly lost their familiars’ powers, had wives brutally murdered by beasts, or children who succumbed to incurable diseases—dark stories were plentiful.

However, it wasn’t all misfortune.

There was also much luck.

When the finances faltered and an economic crisis loomed, they discovered a silver vein. When a large army attacked from the sea, a historic storm sank most of the enemy fleet. During a drought that threatened to destroy most crops, they tapped into abundant groundwater supplies. They were famous for overcoming overwhelming calamities with extraordinary fortune.

For better or worse, the family has been tossed about by both calamity and fortune.  

“The disaster of his death will undoubtedly bring me fortune.” 

Dion declared.

The king seemed to have thought it better to have a quick succession. Perhaps because of this, he didn’t appear to cling much to his life. This may have been the vulnerability Dion exploited.

Lucius clenched his fists tightly.

The absence of knights in the guest corridor, Dion’s close proximity, and Adelaide’s summons at the last moment—all were orchestrated to frame him.

Even the actions and words of Viscount Girard and Sextus seemed to have had ulterior motives.

—If only I had stayed in the audience chamber at that time.

Regret washed over him, but he quickly dismissed it.

It was likely not just one thing. Multiple traps were laid out like a spider’s web, and he had merely touched one of the threads.

“Do you desire the throne so desperately?” 

“Of course. That is my reason for existence. For that, I would curse the knights and vassals alike.” 

“It’s not just the Kyrgyz… The capital is filled with curses.” 

“You carelessly stepped on the tail of a venomous snake that spits curses, Lucius. Now, follow the king into death.”

Something snapped inside Lucius.

“Dion!”

He swiftly conjured a treasured sword with his magic and slashed at Dion.

“Go.” 

Dion commanded.

At his word, the Royal Guard sprang into action. They were the elite of the elite.

The first to move was Captain Mark.

“Manifest, Agares!”

Shouting, he placed his right hand on the ground. In the next instant, blades of rock erupted from the earth.

The blades were so massive they sliced through the flimsy houses.

—Tremendous magic power.

Lucius activated the white-eye magic core hidden deep within his eyes.

He manifested Chiyou.

Simultaneously, he drew his magic spear.

In one swift motion, he slashed horizontally.

The ground’s blades were cut apart by the magic spear. But Captain Mark’s expression remained unchanged.

—What’s next!?

Immediately, fangs emerged from below, attacking his feet. A massive mouth appeared from the floor.

The jaws were large enough to swallow even the colossal Chiyou whole.

“A crocodile!?”

Lucius quickly conjured a shield and braced it downward. The moment the shield was bitten by the rocky fangs, his body was launched into the air.

He was hurled toward the upper layers of the structure by the force of the rock mass.

Roars echoed through the tower, and clouds of dust rose.

Lucius, still being pushed, was flung from the village area to the middle of the first layer.

After piercing through several buildings, he finally stopped, but the rock-formed crocodile remained clamped onto his shield.

The shield creaked under the pressure.

—What incredible biting force and impact. The shield won’t hold.

Lucius thrust his magic spear at the crocodile from the side of the shield. Anger filled the rock-formed crocodile’s eyes.

The magic spear pierced through its belly, and the rock-formed crocodile crumbled into pieces.

As Mark’s familiar, Agares, disappeared, the replicated magic spears fell to the ground.

“Somehow managed to fend it off.”

Looking around, Lucius saw the knights climbing up in pursuit.

—What should I do?

If he fought seriously, he could undoubtedly defeat everyone except Captain Mark. It would likely be a close battle, but he could also defeat Mark.

However, that would mean killing the entire Royal Guard. Lucius lacked the skill to hold back against the Royal Guard while ensuring he didn’t kill them.

—Sol’s dispelling… won’t work.

Healing spells were slow to activate. It was difficult to use them accurately in battle. Even Lucius rarely had his armored soldiers use healing spells during combat.

Lucius was already branded with the stigma of regicide. If he were to annihilate the knights on top of that, he might not even be granted a chance to explain himself.

As he thought about the future, images of his mother Emily, his sister Iris, Lauren, the maid Matilda, Kiel, and Paul came to mind.

If he was indeed accused of regicide, execution by association was certain. Dion and Adelaide had already gone so far as to kill the king. Mercy was out of the question.

—I must protect everyone.

However, teleportation from inside the tower to the outside was blocked. Moreover, the Kyrgyz people would be massacred.

“Shall we split up?” 

Lucius stood at the edge of the rocky platform, exposing himself to the knights.

Immediately, one of the Royal Guard’s gun magic was fired.

The attack took the form of a magma shark, a familiar sight to Lucius. He aligned his sword along his arm, coating the blade with his blood.

Leaping towards the shark, he sliced its belly open. The blood entering the magma swelled, and about ten blood wyverns emerged, tearing through the shark.

Upon landing, he summoned armored soldiers from the shadows, equipping them with the magic spear that had pierced through the crocodile.

“Take mother and the others and leave the capital immediately. It’s too dangerous here.” 

Lucius ordered.

The dragon knights quickly mounted their respective wyverns. Some vanished into shadows, others became invisible by cloaking themselves in wind, and some merged with the ground.

Each of them possessed stealth-oriented techniques. They were once part of a unit within the dragon knight corps that specialized in espionage and assassination. Some would surely slip through the knights’ encirclement.

“Go.”

With Lucius’s command, the dragon knights disappeared.

The situation had reached a critical point.

The king was dead, and Lucius had been framed for his murder. The people would curse and slander him.

Many nobles supported Lady Adelaide. Moreover, the Royal Guard, who should protect the king and the capital, were all inside the tower, manipulated by Dion’s sorcery.

The people, the nobles, the knights—there were no allies anywhere.

“In any case… I need to buy time.”

If the king had truly passed away, the news would spread throughout the country in no time. It wouldn’t be long before Lord Strauss and Lord Leelinzs heard about it.

They would undoubtedly enter the capital soon. Until the four great noble families intervened, hiding while avoiding conflict was the best course of action.

“I have to go to the upper layers of the tower. High enough that no one can follow.”

Some time later—

Lucius and the others reached the fourth layer. Outside the tower, it was probably just before dawn.

Everyone was sweating as they traversed the scorching land, where magma boiled.

The Kyrgyz people walked on, feeling as though they were in a living nightmare.

Most had not brought their puppets due to the sudden upheaval. Even Melania was without hers.

It wasn’t just the lack of puppets.

The fourth layer was teeming with monsters, as if they had gathered all the gun monsters in one place.

And to counter them, the dragon knights created by Lucius’s magic were rampaging.

Just as Melania had warned, it was best not to manifest mounts or white spirits inside the tower, as countless gun monsters attacked them in response to powerful external threats.

However, the most terrifying of all was not the gun monsters or the dragon knights, but the three-headed evil dragon.

It devoured the gun monsters like toys, venting its frustration from not having been able to rampage for a while. A girl, the puppet Sol, rode on the back of the black-silver dragon.

Any deviation from the path would mean getting caught up in this monstrous battle.

Melania, representing the clan, timidly addressed Lucius, who walked silently at the front.

“Lord Lucius, how far must we climb?”

“At least to the fifth layer. If the knights chase us that far, we’ll go up to the sixth.”

The blood drained from the faces of Melania and the Kyrgyz people walking behind her.

“T-To the sixth layer…?”

“If we don’t, I won’t be able to protect you.”

Lucius cast his gaze down at the overlapping rocky platforms below, sensing non-monster magic.

—At this rate, they’ll catch up.

If he were alone, he could move faster. But now, he was with the Kyrgyz people, including young children and the elderly.

If they couldn’t outrun their pursuers, they had no choice but to hide in a place where they couldn’t be followed.

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle all the monsters. Just follow me. Melania, are we close to the fifth layer?”

“Yes. If we pass through that magic circle, we’ll reach the top floor of the fourth layer.”

There were two ways to ascend: directly climbing with ropes or using specific magic circles that connected certain points. It seemed they would use the magic circle to reach the top floor.

“Hurry.”

Lucius urged them on.

As Lucius stepped toward the magic circle, a red light streaked across his vision—a familiar sight.

“Is it the Fairy King again?”

Though Melania had previously mentioned that its appearances were rare, its frequent visits made it seem otherwise.

The red-glowing Fairy King hovered at Lucius’s eye level, its six pairs of wings resembling a halo.

Its face, coldly beautiful, now reminded him of the puppet Sol. It might have been related to the magic stone provided earlier. Sol was created using the Fairy King’s magic stone, making them akin to parent and child in some sense.

Suddenly, dust and heat surged as the evil dragon, which had been toying with the horde of gun monsters, descended behind Lucius.

The Kyrgyz people, terrified, hastily backed away from the dragon.

“What’s the matter?”

The evil dragon was intensely focused on the mere fairy. Additionally, Chiyou was—

—On guard?

Curious, Lucius gave a slight bow.

“Thank you for the magic stone earlier.”

It was said that some monsters possessed intelligence surpassing that of humans. Whether they understood human speech was uncertain, but Lucius expressed his gratitude nonetheless.

“No thanks are necessary. The ‘price’ for our aid has already been paid.”

—The monster speaks human language.

Lauren had previously mentioned being spoken to by an gun monster. Lucius knew some monsters could speak human languages, but it felt surreal to experience it firsthand.

“Did you mean for the magic stone to help me? And what do you mean by ‘price’?”

He knew about the “price” of the tower.

Those who entered a new layer for the first time had to pay to return below. The price could be in magic power, blood, curses, or even life.

However, he didn’t understand the Fairy King’s reference to a ‘price.’

“The conditions he set have been fulfilled. Therefore, I will grant you the power to protect the kingdom.”

The Fairy King continued, ignoring Lucius’s questions.

“However, as you are now, you cannot receive this power. For now, you shall spend time in the prison of the mind.”

The Fairy King stared at Lucius with an expressionless face.

—The prison of the mind?

Confused, Lucius saw the red fairy rush towards his face. As it touched his nose, red light scattered and it vanished abruptly.

His vision was enveloped in red light.

“Desire power. Only then will the prison be shattered.”

A chilling sensation coursed through his body.

—What is this!?

As his vision cleared and he saw the surrounding magma, the Fairy King had already disappeared.

Lucius, still puzzled, began to search his surroundings. The puppet Sol, riding the evil dragon, spoke haltingly.

“…It’s the same as the ‘Eternal False Accusation World’… a curse…”

Sol stopped abruptly and then vanished.

“Huh? Sol disappeared—”

Lucius’s words were cut off as he attempted to express his shock. Strangely, he couldn’t find the next words.

“Lucius-sama?”

Lucius turned to Melania’s voice.

“Hey, Sol… who was that?”

Melania and the others tilted their heads in confusion.

“Sol? I’ve never heard that name. Was it someone you knew?”

Lucius couldn’t remember why he had just mentioned the name. It felt as though he had been suddenly thrust into a different world than the one he had been in moments before.

But standing still would allow the knights to catch up. Lucius pushed thoughts of Sol to the back of his mind.

“…It’s fine. Let’s hurry.”

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