signingbooks Chapter 170 : To You, Whom I Cherish and Hate (1)
Chapter 170 : To You, Whom I Cherish and Hate (1)
Chapter 170: To You, Whom I Cherish and Hate (1)
Kwaaang!
Kwaaaang!
Explosions erupted one after another from every direction, causing Robert’s footsteps to quicken accordingly.
Smoke was already beginning to rise from the document archive complex in the distance.
“Those damned bastards!”
The moment he sprinted forward at full speed and arrived at the entrance to the complex, a youthful-looking woman came into view before him.
“…….”
Blue hair fluttering over her black cloak, Rubia Magnus scratched the corner of her mouth awkwardly.
“I had a feeling this might happen… but I never thought I’d end up with this matchup. Guess I hit the jackpot.”
Robert silently pulled out his staff while staring at her.
“…Rubia Magnus.”
“You know me?”
“I make a habit of reading the newspapers.”
“I’m glad you’re someone with culture. Then I suppose I don’t need to explain much further.”
She calmly glanced behind herself before smiling at Robert.
“I’ll give you plenty of time to clean things up later, so for now, would you mind entertaining me here for a bit, Robert Bernhardt?”
“…I honestly don’t understand.”
Her intentions and goals were so obvious that it only made Robert more suspicious.
“What exactly are you trying this hard for? Money? Status? Technology? Did they promise you experimental subjects for research or something?”
“…….”
“What kind of cooperation terms did Michel offer your side that made you pull this idiotic stunt?”
“…That’s an interesting question.”
As the hostility from her opponent steadily intensified, Rubia also drew her wand in response.
Truthfully, there wasn’t some grand reason behind it.
It was true that the treatment Michel had endured stirred sympathy within her.
It was true that she wanted to help a fellow member of Carvena.
And naturally, she also wished to protect a comrade she had fought beside on the battlefield.
But those things were merely secondary matters.
What moved Rubia Magnus to act—what drove her to make decisions—was never her own will to begin with.
“Because that person wishes it so, I merely follow.”
“…That person? Don’t tell me you mean Eugene Carter.”
“You know him well.”
“How ridiculous. Why would you obey a bastard like that?”
“That’s something people like you could never understand, even if you died and came back to life.”
“…….”
This conversation was going nowhere.
Robert immediately poured mana into his staff and unleashed a Mana Missile.
Fwoosh!
Rubia instantly deployed a barrier, dispersing the missile’s power.
The two spells neutralized each other at the exact perfect timing, causing a flicker of hesitation to appear in Robert’s movements.
Only briefly.
He immediately resumed his offensive, but—
Kwa-jik! Kwa-deudeuk!
Paseuseu….
The missile and the barrier lost form and vanished at precisely the same moment.
Even after exchanging nearly twenty attacks afterward, the result never changed once.
Not a single time did the barrier remain intact after blocking the missile.
Nor did the missile ever pierce through the barrier.
Watching that shocking sight, Robert’s expression grew even heavier.
‘…She’s become a completely different person from when we investigated her before.’
Being able to use powerful magic didn’t automatically make someone a powerful mage.
The standard separating second-rate from third-rate mages was mana capacity and recovery speed.
The standard separating first-rate from second-rate was the variety of usable magic and mastery.
And the standard separating transcendent first-rate from ordinary first-rate…
Was precision and efficiency.
How much mana had the opponent used to activate their spell?
How compressed was it, and how thoroughly was it shaped?
How much output had they released?
The faster and more accurately one could analyze those details, the faster and more accurately one could respond.
From the very first attack to the last, Robert intentionally varied both the mana consumption and compression level of every Mana Missile.
Yet his opponent’s responses remained impossibly perfect.
Judging from those circumstances—
That woman, Rubia Magnus… was undeniably a transcendent first-rate mage.
Just like himself.
“…My luck really is awful.”
I don’t particularly enjoy fighting seriously, either.
Robert lowered the staff he’d been aiming and instead drew two daggers into his hands.
“A duel between mages of equal level comes down to the tiniest margin. One insignificant misjudgment decides victory or defeat.”
But I’ve never liked gambling like that.
“Orthodox mages see martial weapon techniques as side paths unworthy of study… but to me, victory itself is the true path.”
Watching murderous mana gather around the blades, Rubia nodded as though responding in kind.
“You can’t speak of justice unless you win… I agree.”
So I suppose justice doesn’t exist for you.
“Because from this point onward, your side will never win another battle.”
With that, she also tucked away her wand and clenched both fists tightly, responding directly to his killing intent.
Divine Aura and Divine Enchantment now covered her entire body.
---
Kuuung! Kuuung!
Dodging the iron pillars that smashed and pulverized the ground with only minimal movements, I handled the enemy’s coordinated assault without much difficulty.
Kkiiik….
Tiiing!
I deflected the mace descending from the front with Lukeaxe, then blocked the hidden weapons rushing from both sides using Mana Armor.
At the same time, I answered the spear thrust aimed from behind with Barrier Blade.
When I countered the five-man coordinated attack with not even a hair’s breadth of error, agitation rapidly spread across their faces.
“…….”
Though only briefly.
“…Formation C.”
“Roger.”
At the vice commander’s order, the positions of the five immediately shifted.
The moment I saw that, my mind instantly formulated a countermeasure.
‘Front’s a feint. Big guy forces jump. Woman and tall bastard exhaust Mana Armor. Spearman exhausts Phantom Swordsmanship. Vice commander aims for vitals.’
Dodge the iron pillar first. Defend against the hidden weapons like before.
Counter the spear with Dark Spear. Reverse attack the vice commander with Phantom Swordsmanship.
“…Strike first to gain victory.”
Finishing the simulation within seconds, I charged forward before the enemy vice commander could even issue the attack signal.
Ting! Tiik!
Kiiiik!
Pu-shuk!
The enemy moved exactly as I expected.
And I executed my simulation flawlessly.
As a result, I succeeded in carving a slash directly into the vice commander’s chest.
“How…?”
The vice commander stared at his wound with an expression of disbelief.
“Vice Commander!”
I immediately targeted the woman who rushed in to protect him.
“Can’t let your guard down.”
“Ella, look out!”
Kki, kki-giik…!
She barely blocked my slash with her dagger before the tall bastard shouted loudly.
“Formation F! Fall back for now!”
The instant his command rang out—
More than ten iron pillars suddenly surged toward me from the front.
Kwaaaaaang!
Some were temporarily duplicated Replicas, yet their power rivaled the originals.
“Kuugh…!”
I distributed the impact throughout my body using Mana Armor and Lukeaxe, but I couldn’t completely nullify the pressure of the sheer mass itself.
In the end, the remaining shock launched my entire body backward, and I instinctively rolled to soften the landing.
“…….”
The pain lasted only briefly.
I immediately raised my head and observed the enemy’s reactions.
They were clearly shocked, but not enough to lose their fighting spirit.
They likely believed their formation couldn’t possibly have been analyzed so quickly, but improvisation was another matter entirely.
‘…I should’ve retired at least two of them in the opening exchange.’
Even if my primary goal was stalling for time, there was nothing to gain by leaving future obstacles alive.
The longer the battle dragged on, the worse things became for me.
I’d invaded alone, relying on advantages only I could exploit. Once the enemy began adapting, things would only grow more troublesome.
And I still didn’t know where the other mercenary corps members were.
Using my full strength here carried far too much risk.
Still, I’d at least injured the vice commander somehow, so if I could just deal with that bastard—
Just as I steeled myself.
“There! Over there!”
“It’s Eugene Carter!”
More than ten unfamiliar voices erupted from the distance simultaneously.
“…Speak of the tiger and it appears.”
This wasn’t just troublesome anymore. It was driving me insane.
Watching the new enemies rushing toward me, I smiled bitterly.
— They’re changing strategies quickly, aren’t they, my contractor?
‘…Sure are.’
— Weren’t there three plans prepared?
‘One got scrapped just now. So there are only two left.’
At that, Clina crossed her legs inside my mind, clearly entertained.
— So what will you do now? Even for you, fighting seventeen elites alone should be impossible.
‘It is.’
If this were confined terrain, maybe.
But in a wide-open area like this? Even more impossible.
If they were ordinary private guards, I could’ve crushed one or two to shatter morale.
But these were elite members of the Bernhardt Mercenary Corps.
Defeating a mere officer or two wouldn’t shake them in the slightest.
If anything, they’d probably celebrate their promotion in rank.
The Bernhardt Mercenary Corps.
A small elite organization comparable to the Imperial Special Operations Force and the fanatics of Dellowel.
There were only three factions in the Empire whose average member rank approached A-Rank.
— Then it’s Plan C after all? That was the optimal stalling strategy you came up with.
‘…No. We’re going with Plan B.’
— …Are you certain? No matter what Bernhardt has become, they are still citizens of the Empire of Ribenia. If you leave them alive, there will definitely be consequences later.
‘Doesn’t matter.’
Because by then, there won’t be a single person left in the Empire willing to believe their words anyway.
The enemies rapidly reorganized their formation.
Without taking my eyes off them, I slowly began pulling out the items I had prepared for the second operation.
---
Step. Step.
Looking upon the familiar scenery of her former residence, Michel took a deep breath.
The Sixth Villa.
Far too many things had happened here.
Hidden talent had blossomed because of one person.
A family once unimaginably close had completely fallen apart.
Sisters who had once been closer than anyone else had become irreconcilable enemies.
The place had long since been sealed shut, its entrance tightly blocked off.
Using unlocking magic, Michel carefully forced it open.
Creeeeeeak!
An unpleasant sound rang out as dust exploded in all directions.
Casting a light spell upon her wand, Michel stepped inside one careful step at a time.
Step. Step.
As they often said, perhaps this talent truly had been a curse.
Perhaps she was a flower that should never have bloomed.
If because of that, Grandfather Johann had lost his life at the hands of the son he loved.
If because of that, conflict between the direct and collateral families had begun.
…If because of that, her mother died and her father abandoned her.
Then what possible meaning did this talent have after all?
“…Even so.”
Even so, she had no choice but to survive.
Because it was the only choice available to her.
Grandfather had said there was no sin in being born.
Maksi had said happiness would surely find her someday if she kept living.
And Eugene had said that family didn’t require sharing a single drop of blood.
If so—
“Then I’ll fight.”
Just as she always had until now.
She had no choice but to struggle in order to survive.
Because that was what Michel Bernhardt did best.
Her steps finally stopped before the study.
The door hung half-broken, loosely dangling from its hinges.
She opened it and stepped inside.
At the same moment, the lightstones attached to the ceiling illuminated the interior brightly.
And there—
“Thought I was gonna fall asleep waiting.”
Chloe Bernhardt stood there.
“Welcome back, Michel.”
Naturally…
“You came prepared to die, didn’t you?”