Chapter 196

The boy crawled on the ground and clung to the feet of Valenciaunos.

Valenciaunos was a symbol of ruthlessness and cruelty, but he couldn’t help but hesitate at the thought of cleaving the boy’s face in half, which looked just like his own.

“Yeah. It seems that royalty is royalty, after all.”

Instead of striking down with his sword, he twisted his leg backward and partially severed the wrist of the boy attempting to cling to his leg.

“Ahhh!”

The boy screamed, and the sword hilt fell to the ground with a thud from his torn sleeve.

“How did you know—!”

Valenciaunos looked down at the distorted face with a smug expression.

“I’ve done it a lot. After clinging to the feet, I stab the back of the knee, grab both legs, and flip you backward, then stab under the neck.”

“Damn it!”

“You, a royal, have grown to be me.”

Valenciaunos kicked the boy’s chest with his white shoe.

The hood, which had been tattered since he was hit by Rudi’s shotgun arrow, ultimately tore apart, revealing the boy’s upper body in the darkness.

Valenciaunos frowned as he looked at the boy’s body.

“What kind of monster are you?”

The boy glared at him reflexively.

It indicated he was sensitive enough that even facing death would cause him to frown, but Valenciaunos was a cold-blooded man who kidnapped saints and killed fathers in front of their daughters.

“I’m a human!”

“Humans have belly buttons. It seems you were born from an egg?”

The area below the boy’s abdominal muscles was pristine, without any marks.

Valenciaunos inferred several facts from that appearance.

One.

“A homunculus created using royal blood. Although securing the blood wouldn’t have been too difficult, even a decent blood mage struggles to create a homunculus. No matter how much knowledge and strength you receive from the ancient ones skilled in life magic and blood magic, a lot of equipment and space are required. This implies they possess such resources.”

Two.

“No matter how I look at it, he is human. Despite using green flames, the aura of corruption is hardly felt. The knowledge gained from the monastery… the sacred relic is definitely certain. It seems he has even reached the level of implanting it within his body. This will be a tough battle.”

Three.

“No matter how vast the empire is, having that level of equipment and space completely in secret is difficult. He must be under the patronage of a high noble of at least count level… This is rather good. The more they rely on the human world, the greater the damage will be when I wipe them all out.”

Four.

“There are several infiltrators who have blended into society. They gain power not through the body, but through the mind. They don’t just rampage after gaining power from any ancient ones; they are systematically organized to avoid the mind consuming the body.”

Five.

“Did it really use to be like this before my return?”

Valenciaunos fell into a moment of reflection.

Of course, he didn’t forget to aim his sword at the struggling boy.

“If this level of knowledge and power existed before my return… I should have been much stronger. But the infiltrators we faced were just monsters. The world before my return was more chaotic due to civil wars and conflicts, so if the power of the infiltrators was strong, it couldn’t have been weak, right?”

Two scenarios came to mind.

The first hypothesis was that the infiltrators suffered damage as they were caught up in the wars of the great lords.

“Back then, they must have issued a bond and requisitioned people and property. Excluding those at the priest level or bishop level, everyone could have been dragged into the war and potentially died, unable to act or react.”

It was surprisingly reasonable reasoning.

“In order to operate beyond the provinces, they would ultimately have to disguise themselves as merchants. During that time, if merchants were spotted moving near the front lines, they were simply captured and the people sent as soldiers, their supplies as military goods, and their carts and horses to the front lines.”

As the nationwide network collapsed and became a patchwork, ultimately only a few heavyweights survived, possibly leading to the collapse of the infiltrator organizations.

The second hypothesis was that they didn’t even need to step forward at all.

“The great lords were already turning the world into hell. Due to the war, there weren’t enough forces to close the magical realms, and chaos erupted as the magical realms flooded from all directions. Perhaps it was a case of not needing to raise a finger.”

When he and Jeilliris finally gained stability and began to oppose the infiltrators, Justianus once again incited a revolt.

“And then I died and time was turned back. Perhaps from their perspective, nothing was done and it all ended. How hollow.”

Having considered that, Valenciaunos aimed the sword he had taken from the boy.

“I will take you alive.”

“Do you think you’re royalty?”

* * *

The boy seemed bewildered by his sudden change in demeanor and only wore a dazed expression.

Valenciaunos asked as he drew out Black Tear.

“I asked if you think you’re royalty. Answer.”

As the boy donned his torn hood again, he replied.

“They said that I… will enter the imperial palace someday.”

“Right.”

“There’s the same blood flowing in me as yours.”

“Exactly. Though I hate to admit it.”

“The definition of family differs for everyone, but it seems we are indeed blood relatives.”

“So.”

“Yeah. I am royalty. The royalty who will kill all the rotten relatives and reform the empire.”

The boy said defiantly.

Valenciaunos felt irritated by the boy’s wavering attitude and responded.

“It seems you don’t particularly want to live. Shouldn’t you be licking the bottom of my shoe?”

“You seem to have forgotten, but I have six explosive spells hidden in this underground waterway. They’ve already all been cast, and I can detonate them at any time.”

“Then it seems you are not royalty.”

A question flickered in the boy’s gaze.

The Great Lord straightened his disheveled uniform and said elegantly.

“If you were truly royalty, you should cherish the citizens.”

The boy frowned as if to say not to speak nonsense.

“Weren’t thousands abandoned?”

Valenciaunos replied calmly.

“To protect hundreds of thousands, or even millions. I didn’t enjoy the process, though I had to place my seal because I couldn’t kill them all.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“What about you? Are you doing this to save someone? No, you are merely obstructing oaths of loyalty and causing chaos in the empire. Thus, I am the Great Lord who made a cruel decision with a heart full of tears, and you are merely an ugly criminal.”

The boy staggered as he stood up.

“Are you saying that out loud?”

Valenciaunos didn’t place his hand on the sword hilt.

“With just the two of us here, and since I don’t expect you to speak, I’ll say it.”

“I dislike the current royal family.”

He simply shrugged with confidence.

“Why? You wouldn’t think they killed your parents, right? Have you received brainwashing education that we are rotten? What’s the basis?”

“…….”

“We didn’t particularly hold a festival during the great famine. Seizing the throne through purges is a common occurrence in Solletarass’s history. Jeilliris didn’t even say that nonsense about let them eat cake if there was no bread. You hardly seem to be a year old; where did you hear about us being rotten?”

The longer the conversation dragged on, the more the boy hung his head, and Valenciaunos grew exhilarated.

“A lot of people died.”

“I know.”

“Yet nobles and royalty didn’t die.”

“Right…….”

“Then can’t we return?”

Valenciaunos suppressed a slight aversion and spoke.

“Boy. Act like royalty. Be loyal to the Emperor and sacrifice for him. Love the whole empire and take what you see as pillars of your heart.”

“…….”

“Then I will treat you with the respect due to royalty.”

The boy took a step back.

“Don’t say nonsense. I’m an infiltrator.”

Valenciaunos extended his hand, with his eyes shining.

“Can’t you control it?”

“I can blow out a mental wave.”

“Then hundreds will die. I can kill hundreds with a single magic spell as well.”

“As you said, I am a homunculus. I have neither father nor mother.”

“I was born of my mother’s death and saw my twin brother kill my father. I cut my half-siblings to pieces with my own hands and burned them. The fact that we are blood relatives doesn’t change, but whether we can become family is determined by effort.”

“…….”

“Let’s go. Nephew.”

Valenciaunos turned his body.

He heard footsteps following him.

He briefly leaned against the wall and stifled a gag.

After all, lies were not to his liking.

* * *

Valenciaunos stood in front of the empty spiral staircase.

From the waterway, the shouts of the black iron knights could be heard as they killed ghouls.

The boy didn’t look back anymore.

“I’ll go up first.”

“No. I’ll go first.”

The boy ascended the staircase ahead.

Bright sunlight could be seen from the door’s crack up ahead.

The boy slowly opened the basement door.

His hands trembled with a strange excitement and fear of beginning a new life.

BANG!

Before the door fully opened, an arrow flew in, piercing through it and straight into the boy’s shoulder.

“Ahhh!”

And before his scream could finish, a knight clad in white armor rushed in, grabbed the boy by the collar, hurled him to the ground, then covered his mouth and dragged him out.

Valenciaunos remained completely unfazed or shaken.

He simply ascended the stairs with a leisurely pace.

“Are you done?”

“Done.”

Outside the basement, Rudi, Tenitia, Sererassie, and the senior constables were stationed.

Sererassie looked down at the boy with glimmering eyes of joy and gestured to Tenitia.

“Don’t worry. You will contribute to the achievements of this genius, right? It will hurt a bit, but that’s none of my concern.”

Tenitia forcibly pried open the boy’s mouth, and Sererassie took out a blue vial from her bosom and poured it down the boy’s throat.

The boy felt his strength dissipating within him and gritted his teeth.

“Valenciaunos!”

“Why are you so angry?”

Valenciaunos stepped out of the basement with a carefree gait.

The shameless and solid smile on his face resembled that of a transcendent heterogeneous race that toyed with humans long ago.

“You deceived me…”

“The imperial law does not punish those who are not even human for deception. Furthermore, I have also been granted the right to conduct sting operations and inducement interrogations by the Emperor, the ever-supporting sun of the empire.”

“You said to live like royalty! So you would treat me with royal regard!”

The boy bellowed, glaring with red eyes, and Valenciaunos laughed like a predator.

“Yeah. Isn’t that the opportunity given now? A chance to sacrifice for the Emperor. Devote yourself honorably!”

“You deceived me!”

The Great Lord shook his head.

“No! You deceived me. You said you had six explosives prepared, but it wasn’t seven?”

“!”

The struggling boy relaxed his body.

The constables placed shackles on the boy’s limbs and attempted to gag him.

A moment of victory flickered in the boy’s eyes, and Valenciaunos raised a hand to have the gag removed.

“Seems like you want to say something?”

The boy grinned mirthlessly and said.

“If I… stop binding my power, it will explode right away. This city will become a sea of fire. Hell will descend upon this land, and you will all be cursed!”

“Lies.”

Sererassie interjected sharply.

She signaled to the constables again to gag the boy and pulled her blue hat’s brim down to shade her from the afternoon sun.

“Valen. Don’t listen. It’s a lie.”

“Really?”

“You know how you’ve set off delayed explosions, so you should understand it can’t last that long. It’s about suppressing an explosion that’s already occurred.”

“True.”

“Maintaining seven explosions for several days is something at least the Emperor can do. You might have finished the casting, but you likely haven’t memorized the activation phrase, and since that brat is now weakened….”

The longer she spoke, the more Sererassie’s face turned pale.

Her blue and yellow eyes spun in different directions.

“It could go off at any moment…?!”

KUGUGUGU—!

With a tremendous noise, the underground began to shake.