Chapter 496: The Horrific Scene and the Truth

Alexa, the normally calm and composed right hand of Marquis Halagoura, stood frozen before the complete destruction of the castle’s underground facility. His usual icy expression had been replaced by utter bewilderment.

The facility represented more than a century of research by House Halagoura, with knowledge and techniques passed down and refined across generations.

Alexa himself had completed the facility using that accumulated legacy, which made the sight of its total destruction all the more difficult for him to comprehend.

Its defenses had been cutting-edge, with numerous contingency measures prepared for emergencies.

Even curse rebound, one of the few weaknesses of the sorcery involved, had been anticipated. Specialized defensive wards were supposed to absorb or deflect such a backlash.

Every one of those defenses had been destroyed.

The people who had worked in the facility day and night had been obliterated.

There was no doubt that an extraordinarily powerful curse rebound had occurred. It had been so severe that no one inside survived.

Yet Alexa couldn’t believe that a mere Saint’s [Blessing] had caused it.

He knew far more about saintly magic than most people and had already observed Matilda’s [Blessing] during the ceremony in the Royal Capital.

He had also received reports that the attempt to obstruct the Blessing Ceremony in Duke Barriera’s territory had failed.

That failure had still been within the range of his expectations.

His calculations had merely underestimated Matilda’s power by a small amount.

What had just happened in the Halagoura capital, however, was on an entirely different scale.

The original magic used to obstruct [Blessing] had itself been developed from the research that eventually produced this facility.

There was no conceivable way a [Blessing] on Matilda’s level should have been able to overpower it.

That was why Alexa remained convinced that an ordinary [Blessing] couldn’t have caused this destruction.

Nevertheless, the facility and the culmination of more than a century of research lay in ruins.

Even ancient magic stones taken from monsters that had long since gone extinct had been shattered beyond recovery.

Then further reports began arriving one after another.

The tower facilities positioned throughout the capital had also been destroyed, causing extensive damage.

“The towers have been completely destroyed in several places by the shockwaves! What should we do?”

Alexa’s subordinates waited for his decision.

They knew that going directly to Marquis Halagoura would probably earn them nothing but angry shouting. Reporting through Alexa, the marquis’s favored aide, was safer.

Dark rumors surrounded Alexa as well.

Whenever one of the marquis’s subordinates failed badly enough, that person sometimes disappeared without warning, and the black-haired, silver-eyed Alexa was often rumored to have been the last person seen with them.

Even so, his subordinates believed he was simply carrying out Marquis Halagoura’s orders with absolute loyalty, so official reports generally passed through him first.

“…You said the towers were completely destroyed?”

Alexa asked again.

“Yes. Everything shattered as though it exploded from within. The damage looks very similar to what happened here underground.”

The subordinate answered, only now fully realizing how disastrous the underground scene was as well.

“…Understood. I’ll report this to our lord. For now, quantify the damage. And everyone inside the facility is dead, correct?”

“…Unfortunately, yes. It appears there were no survivors.”

Alexa dismissed the subordinates and remained alone, thinking.

“…No matter how I look at it, I can’t believe the Saint’s [Blessing] caused this. And there shouldn’t be anyone capable of producing a curse rebound of this magnitude. Does that mean someone attacked every facility simultaneously? If so, it would require multiple extremely high-level operatives – enough to suggest a national-scale operation. Was it the Northern Empire? Or some unknown great power?”

The possibilities led Alexa deeper into confusion with no clear answer.

He never considered that the person responsible was the dragonfolk [True Saint] who had stood beside Matilda disguised as an attendant, or that the phenomenon had been a [True Blessing].

Meanwhile, several important members of the Kingdom of Luwan delegation had gathered in Matilda’s room together with Tauro, his companions, and Maria.

“Thanks to your help, both the Kingdom of Luwan and our Saint were able to preserve their dignity. Thank you very much.”

Marquis Donaissun bowed deeply to Maria on behalf of Luwan.

“True Saint… today, for the first time, I felt what a real [Blessing] is like. From now on, I’ll devote myself to becoming a Saint worthy of the title someday.”

Matilda, seeming almost like a different person, bowed sincerely before Maria.

Matilda had been worshipped because she possessed [Saint].

Perhaps some of her previous arrogance had been a way of protecting herself from the crushing responsibility placed on her.

Now, after confronting a [True Saint] whose ability far surpassed her own, she had been forced to recognize how much she still lacked.

At the same time, knowing that someone overwhelmingly stronger existed may have eased some of the burden she had been carrying alone.

“I only agreed to help because my benefactor, Lord Tauro, and his precious companion Aeris asked me to. You don’t need to thank me.”

Maria answered modestly, then glanced at Tauro.

Her look clearly meant that it was time for her to return to the Van Dyne Marquisate.

“Ragune.”

Tauro understood and moved into the adjoining room with Maria and Ragune.

There, Ragune opened [Dimensional Corridor], and Tauro used [Spatial Transfer] to send Maria directly back to the Van Dyne Marquisate.

Before leaving, Maria suddenly remembered something.

“One more thing. At the Blessing Ceremony, there was a man present who possesses [Hero]. I believe his name was Alexa. Black hair and silver eyes. Unfortunately, he gave me a very unpleasant impression, so please be careful.”

“What?! Alexa has [Hero]?!”

Tauro stared at her in shock.

“Yes. I understand such an ability is rare among humans here. He also seemed highly capable. I suspect he may be the person who completed the Halagoura facilities.”

The warning left Tauro speechless.

Knowing that everyone else was still waiting, however, he thanked Maria and quickly returned to the Halagoura capital.