377. Lena Ep – Bloodline

‘Why am I acting like this again?’

She didn’t know the reason for her actions. She tried to hurriedly rise, but her knees seemed glued to the ground and wouldn’t budge.

Panicking, Rera looked around. Just like her knees, her politely bent waist wouldn’t straighten, so she could only see beside her, behind her, and the near front.

Rolling her eyes, she noticed everyone around her was kneeling.

However, to her right, she couldn’t see anything as it was hidden behind someone’s leg…

“Rera, don’t be tense. Slowly loosen up. You can stand.”

It was Ray’s leg. He was standing perfectly fine. Gritting her teeth in frustration, Rera thought,

[I know Lena’s true name because of our engagement. She will be granted {Mana Flesh}.]

With a bit of stubbornness, she was able to move slightly. She thought,

‘If Ray is standing, then I must stand too!’

─ Fueled by pride, she pushed herself up to her knees. Just then, someone patted her head.

It was probably Ray. He shouted encouragement to everyone.

Wahh-!!

Wow! Ha!!

Courage surged from deep within. I can do this. Ugh, as I straightened my back, I even felt a refreshing sense of accomplishment.

“Good job.”

“Good job, you say. But what is going on?”

Finally, Rera could properly look around. Priests, noble lords, knights, royal guards, palace servants, and even royalty were all struggling to rise. Ray replied,

“I don’t know. But it looks like magic to me. Look, the knights seem to be the only ones managing to get up.”

He was right.

Almost everyone, including the priests, was flailing their upper bodies left and right but couldn’t stand up, whereas the knights were the only ones managing to get a bit off the ground.

This meant our enemy knew magic… Rera clicked her tongue in disbelief.

“Isn’t that a bit excessive? They can’t only use magic!”

In her line of sight, two individuals were clashing.

One was the boy who had suddenly appeared moments ago, and the other was (presumably the Evil God) Caroman de Tatalia, who seemed proficient in both magic and martial arts.

The spear drew a heavy arc.

The king was using an ancient spear technique. He excluded excessive movements like body rotation, exclusively using his arms, waist, and legs to manipulate the spear. With just that, he was dominating the opponent wielding the Oblivion Blade.

Of course, the mysterious boy was no pushover either.

He occasionally whistled, and from the air, a gigantic black horse would leap forth. The black horse intended to trample the king.

Each time, the Evil God utilized a spear floating in the air.

One of the hundreds of spears shot forth swiftly and pierced the black horse, causing it to vanish with a mournful cry. But whenever the boy whistled again, the horse reappeared, as if uninjured, and kicked at the king. Thanks to that, it seemed the boy was managing to hold his ground.

However, unfortunately, the boy’s defense reached its limit. After searching for long enough, the king shouted in anger.

“You are not Leonel. You aren’t even from this world!”

Whether the boy replied or not, she couldn’t hear. The Evil God’s roar continued.

“Why are you here? No, it was you who summoned this filthy Avatar of the Dirty God. Don’t interfere and get lost! Hand over Leisia!”

“I-I can’t do that!!”

A final youthful voice reached her ears. Somehow, it seemed familiar… Rera shook her head and shouted,

“Whoever you are, you’re on our side! Let’s go help!”

It seemed many knights shared similar thoughts. Struggling to get their bodies together, they shouted and charged forward. It was the moment the king’s eyes gleamed.

“Oath of loyalty! Execute the traitors!”

Bam! Blood exploded from all directions. The knights were stunned and at a loss.

The royal knights running alongside turned around and began slashing at their own side.

Though the knights shouted in confusion at what was happening, their pupils were blank, and they calmly wielded their swords.

“You bastards…! Profit!”

“Back! Behind! Be careful!”

It wasn’t just them. The royal guards who had been kneeling and unable to stand joined in too. Amidst the chaos, the king unleashed a barrage of incantations.

“Empire’s decree! Oberg pledge! Imperial summons! Council assembly! Hahaha!”

A golden aura descended upon the shoulders of around seventy royal knights and about twelve hundred royal guards.

Later, it became known that one out of ten citizens of Oberg had been conscripted as soldiers from outside, and some nobles and royalty began to shake off their knees and stand.

The ominously shining golden light.

Backed by the royal family and nobles, the Empire’s legion, led by the royal knights and guards, began to showcase its might.

Rera could see the king smiling triumphantly.

That was until someone lifted a staff.

*

“D-damn replica witch!”

Leah didn’t care whether Duke Astroth was frothing in anger or not. Following the staff’s lead, she moved her arms and commandeered the area.

Mana was freezing. She wouldn’t be able to use magic now.

Duke Astroth seemed to have reached his boiling point as he began pounding the ground with his spear.

And no wonder, as the guards and knights who had lost their magic quickly regained their senses, the golden aura of the imperial council began to dim without reason.

The countless spears that had been floating in the air fell to the ground.

Rendered utterly powerless.

Seizing the moment, Leah shouted.

“Now! You there, run!”

The boy, who was fighting the duke and introduced himself as Minseo, embraced Princess Reriana and stepped back.

She thought he was brave, but as he approached, he trembled with fear.

“Reriana! Are you okay? Lady Leah, please bless my sister!”

“Don’t make a fuss, Your Highness. The princess just fainted in surprise.”

“Still, just in case…”

Ugh. Just blessing her would be more comfortable.

Leah casually blessed the princess. In truth, she was more interested in the reunion between Reb and Minseo.

Since she had shared several lives with Reb, it must be quite a delight for him, right?

She had thought they’d embrace immediately, but huh? They were just staring at each other blankly.

Uh… Hey?

You guys?

Leah was puzzled but didn’t intervene. Soon, she sensed the complex atmosphere flowing between them.

Are they embarrassed— no, are they apologizing to each other?

It made her think of the situation where two very close friends would part ways, and then meet again after decades.

“…”

“…”

Fortunately, perhaps the burden weighing on Reb’s heart was lighter, as he took the first action.

He asked for a handshake, and Minseo accepted it with both hands. Reb quickly gripped his hand with both of his own.

The gesture ballooned, and soon they were hugging tightly, pounding each other’s backs.

Leah saw tears welling up in their eyes but pretended not to notice. What could possibly make them so apologetic and sorrowful? ─ She had no idea.

Then it happened.

Duke Astroth’s roar echoed.

Turning her head, she saw the duke this time pointing his spear to the sky, seeming to vent his frustrations to the four Avatars of the Divine.

“Ha! You want me to fight without rookies, bishops, and knights? You filthy scoundrels, always the same… Fine! I’ll grant your wish!”

The king ‘placed’ his spear in mid-air.

As if showcasing it on an invisible display rack, he waved his arms broadly towards us. Many flinched at the movement.

But it didn’t harm us. The hundreds of spears that had been scattered on the ground quietly levitated and filled the air.

Leah said, “Huh?” and swung her staff again, but it was useless. This time, it wasn’t her using magic…

Astroth finally began to expend his precious divine power. He hung the spear up in the air and vanished like smoke.

“Huh?”

“What, what the? He disappeared!”

The king literally disintegrated into ashes, leaving no trace behind.

In the grand hall of the palace, with the ceiling blown open, people murmured.

Is it over?

So abruptly?

No matter the question, some started to carry the injured priests away. There were royal guards trying to regroup amidst their disarray from rushing at the Evil God.

And the angry nobles said,

“What on earth is happening here, Prince Lean de Yeriel? Clarify the situation.”

People wanted to settle things. Just moments ago, we had a clear enemy right before us, uniting us all, but now that the enemy was gone that was no longer the case.

Signs of division were apparent.

The knights who had swung blades at their allies began to create distance, and the nobles started calculating the repercussions of this incident.

The cardinal, holy knights, and priests were just as loud and chaotic.

“Lady Leah. Please watch over Reriana for a second.”

But we all knew the fight wasn’t over yet. It was the moment Prince Lean de Yeriel stepped forward to calm the people.

“The king has gone mad! The royalists! This is a treachery concocted by royalists!”

A commotion erupted. Though the speaker remained unknown, the nobles quickly judged which side he belonged to.

The swordmaster faction looked around nervously. And realizing… Count!

“Count Hermann Forte! Are you alright, Count!”

He shook his head.

Count Forte was found amongst the distant rubble. As they recalled his fierce battle against the enormous beast, the swordmaster faction’s nobles shed tears. Some cried out in anger.

“Damn royalist bastards!”

But was that reason enough for a bloodbath? A young noble from the swordmaster faction made a rash decision.

Grabbing a floating red spear nearby, he stabbed a noble from the royalist faction. The knight tried to intervene, but the young noble skillfully deflected him and achieved his goal.

“Ugh!”

Blood. And death.

The young noble who wielded the spear appeared just as surprised. But with a defiant expression, he raised the spear and incited a rally.

“Let’s fight! The royalist’s treachery is now clear, what are we hesitating for?”

“What the hell is going on!! Treachery, you say!”

“Our side also lost Marquis Tatian! Don’t spout nonsense! Huh? What are you doing? Wait!”

Now it was the royalist noble who grabbed one of the red spears lying around and stabbed a member of the swordmaster faction. Immediately, confusion was evident on his face.

“Wait! Wait! Stop! Everyone stop…”

As Prince Lean waved his arms and raised his voice, it was already too late. Commands to “Kill!” began issuing forth, and a melee broke out from all sides.

Meanwhile, this perplexing incident was also occurring among the people of the Cross Church.

An injured royal guard, who had come for treatment, stabbed a priest. The soldier dropped his sword and panicked.

“What are you doing!”

“I-I didn’t do anything!”

The soldier was quickly subdued by the holy knight. But a nearby injured soldier struck that holy knight, escalating the situation.

“Priests, back away from the injured patients immediately! Hamlet, tell the injured to retreat!”

Priestess Ophelia said. But at that moment, her eyes widened.

“O-Ophelia!”

“…”

Hamlet Oldenburg, the Knight Commander of the Royal Guard, drove his sword into her throat. Ophelia looked up at her former lover in shock. As their eyes met one last time, she offered her last comfort.

“This isn’t… your doing…”

A scream rang out. Everywhere, shouts and desperate cries of innocence echoed.

Battles erupted everywhere due to the divisions. Rera, clutching Princess Reriana, anxiously stomped her feet.

“What is going on here! Reb, do you know why people are acting like this?”

“I don’t know… Agh!”

Leah gasped. Reb had just aimed a sword at her. The blade flying towards her face…

“Ugh!”

Sailed past her ear, striking a soldier who had snuck up behind her.

Leah turned around. As blood sprayed, obscuring her vision, she saw it.

The soldier clutching a spear had eyes that were burning crimson.

Heh. Duke Astroth was in there. No, he had been. Leaving only innocent victims behind, he vanished again.

In the past, Leonel’s sin.

Astroth was shamelessly using the bloodline Leonel had passed down to him, making use of it to live on in it.

After a thousand years, there wasn’t a single person who hadn’t inherited Leonel’s blood.

Being born with the talent for bodies and well-stacked mana meant being deeply rooted in the blood of the first swordmaster, Leonel.

Astroth could inhabit any body. Foolish people. My beloved humans.

You are ‘me.’