Ch.249249. Nicholas (2)

●

I discovered something while experimenting earlier.

Calivan’s ‘speed’ is incredibly fast—faster than I expected.

How fast? By the time my fist was about to reach Nicholas and smash his head, he had already ‘summoned’ someone and returned.

We concluded that since his main body is a ghost, he’s not much affected by the laws of the material world.

[ Activating Skill: Swordsman’s Focus! ]

[ Reflexes and cognitive abilities dramatically enhanced! ]

This means that if my consciousness slows down just a little, we can comfortably exchange conversation.

As the world decelerates around me, I speak to Calivan, whose presence I can feel again within the Soul Linker.

‘Did you call everyone?’

If I were to call for an “emergency situation,” certain people would show up.

That’s what I’m referring to, and Calivan probably understood without issue.

[Of course.]

True to my faith in him, Calivan immediately confirmed, then continued with a slightly uncomfortable voice.

[…But.]

Calivan looked at my fist, just about to connect with Nicholas’s head, and continued.

[Is this really okay?]

What?

Surely he’s not going to start with nonsense about how I shouldn’t kill him, or how I should consider the consequences—

[Isn’t this too merciful a death for his crimes?]

“…”

If such words are coming from his mouth, this person must have been truly disgusted by Nicholas.

Of course, I share the same sentiment, so I’m in no position to judge.

‘Don’t worry about that.’

I answer with a smirk.

‘Do I look like someone who would half-ass something like this?’

[That’s true.]

‘…’

Hearing his statement filled with an oddly confusing trust, I activate skills sequentially.

[ Using Skill: Mental World! ]

[ Beneficial effects currently on you are shared with nearby targets! ]

Calivan’s unique skill. The ability to share my buffs with humans around me.

The designated target is Nicholas, who’s about to have his head pulverized right in front of me.

[ ‘Trait: Iron Man’ is shared with the target. ]

[ ‘Skill: Swordsman’s Focus’ is shared with the target. ]

[ ‘Skill: Desperate Situation’ is shared with the target. ]

[ ‘Skill: …. ]

At the very least.

I won’t let this bastard die peacefully.

●

They say most deaths that seem extremely painful aren’t actually as bad as one might think.

Even burning at the stake, seemingly the most painful execution method, more often results in death by smoke inhalation before the flames can kill.

In other words.

What Count Nicholas was currently experiencing was extremely unusual.

It began with the man before him suddenly throwing a punch.

Count Nicholas was never a martial fighter. He had no ability to respond to such a sudden attack.

Death approaching without time to react.

His head would burst from the impact, and his consciousness would fade to black.

Or rather.

That’s what should have happened.

But instead.

At the moment the fist touched his face, time immediately ‘stopped.’

More precisely, his senses were dramatically stretched due to the “Swordsman’s Focus” skill shared from Darwood.

And then, immediately after.

“…!”

A pain like his soul being torn apart engulfed Count Nicholas.

“—!!! -!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

If only he could die.

A sensation so intense he prayed for immediate death to end this agony.

But consciousness doesn’t fly away so easily. More precisely, it’s not ‘permitted’ to.

Stat enhancement from “Desperate Situation” shared from Darwood. Life force strengthened by the “Iron Man” trait.

Even as his entire body is torn apart by the Blue Demon’s power of ‘Pulverization,’ he feels every bit of that pain with heightened senses.

Skin tears. Muscles decompose. Demonic energy penetrates deep into his internal organs, grinding everything to nothingness. Pain filled with indescribable malice seeps into every cell, every muscle fiber, every joint of bone.

And through this entire process.

Despite his body being shredded to pieces, he remains agonizingly alive, each step of the process etched into his nerves.

It burns his mind. He opens his mouth to the pain that burrows into the depths of his soul, but he cannot even scream.

The actual time that passed was probably only 1-2 seconds.

But to Count Nicholas, with nerves stretched by Swordsman’s Focus, it felt like an eternity.

And during that time.

Something is captured by his optic nerves that haven’t yet decomposed.

His eyes meet those of the man who delivered the punch that ‘pulverized’ him.

-…

Clear eyes.

Eyes so serene it’s hard to believe they belong to someone committing such a malicious act.

And a certain kind of ‘detachment’ underlying them.

In the world flowing slowly as if stopped, meeting that gaze.

A shudder ran through Count Nicholas’s mind.

– Ah, I see.

A realization came to him.

Though he couldn’t define it precisely.

For Nicholas himself, it was undoubtedly a realization that would make him feel some kind of ‘willingness.’

– This man is, just like me-

But before he could complete that sentence.

His consciousness went dark.

Forever.

●

“…”

“…”

A truly rare sight.

The Emperor and Chancellor simultaneously losing their composure and sharing similar sentiments.

While Darwood contemplated how the flying head of a high-ranking noble like a count could create such a beneficial experience of uniting these oil-and-water personalities, Sullivan spoke in a deeply sunken voice.

“…Though I doubt I’ll understand even if you tell me, I must ask. What were you thinking?”

“He was disgusting, so I killed him.”

“…”

Well. At least it’s not an unreasonable explanation. Count Nicholas was certainly a disgusting person.

Though Darwood usually doesn’t cause violent incidents despite his tendency to stand out, the fact that he did this suggests that Count Nicholas himself must have provoked it.

But the repercussions this will cause is an entirely different matter.

“…”

Sullivan’s mind cooled down rationally.

Questioning the cause, assigning blame, asking why—those can all come later.

Right now, analysis and countermeasures for this insane emergency situation come first.

Assuming everything goes as smoothly as possible and the situation is resolved efficiently.

Compressing all kinds of complex political exchanges into one sentence, imagining the most ideal future.

“…Darwood, this will trigger a civil war.”

This is already an unavoidable fact.

“This is the perfect excuse for the Council of Elders who have been bowing their heads until now. They’ve been relatively quiet until now—”

“Really? Quiet?”

At Darwood’s flat voice saying this, both the Emperor and Chancellor flinched simultaneously.

Perhaps.

Even from just the nuance of his voice, they realized what this man was about to say.

Darwood’s following sentence would likely concretize their impressions.

“Honestly, you know it too. They’re already fully prepared to fight. They’re the type who would create an excuse if they didn’t have one.”

“…That’s true.”

The Emperor frowned, looking at the Count’s corpse on the floor.

“But giving them a ‘justification’ like this is a completely different matter.”

It may be inevitable, but ‘when’ it happens is also extremely important—that goes without saying.

“The Council holds most of the military authority. If we’re not sufficiently prepared, we’ll be swept up too. That’s why Sullivan and I have been trying our best not to give them any excuse—”

“A moment is all we need. Just hide the fact that he died by my hand.”

But the Emperor fell silent at Darwood’s casual response.

As if he had expected such a reaction.

As if he had something in mind.

“Even a flimsy cover-up will do. If you two join forces, you can manage it, right? It’s enough if his death appears to be an ‘accident’ rather than murder.”

If giving them justification is the biggest problem, then just obscure that ‘justification.’

After all, if the Emperor and Chancellor use their authority simultaneously, they can block even questioning such an absurd excuse.

However.

“…But conversely, they’ll do anything to obtain such justification.”

The problem is, if the Council of Elders has similar means available, they’ll attempt a frontal assault through any means necessary, defying all common sense.

“The House of Count Nicholas… and by extension, the Council of Elders are known as the biggest patrons of the Demonic Spire. With their technology… they might ‘summon souls’ to question the deceased about the truth, or even perform limited resurrection. Isn’t that possible for the Demonic Spire?”

Darwood snorted in response.

Indeed, it was a method that remained in his memory too.

In Chapter 5, Count Nicholas had a strange pattern of reviving during a boss fight using magical artifacts from the Demonic Spire. It wouldn’t be strange if he truly came back from death.

But.

“Actually, I’d prefer if he came back to life once more.”

“…What?”

“Killing him once isn’t enough for this man.”

“…”

“I really hope he comes back to life one more time. Next time, I’ll tear him apart more thoroughly.”

“…”

As the Emperor and Chancellor simultaneously lost words, Darwood continued with a smirk.

“The civil war was already at the stage of happening today or tomorrow. If it’s going to happen anyway, wouldn’t it be right to prepare a more efficient way to end it?”

“…You sound as if you’ve already prepared such a method.”

“I just thought of it spontaneously.”

Darwood answered the Chancellor’s question without hesitation.

Fast enough to make both the Emperor and Chancellor narrow their eyes simultaneously.

‘…This man.’

‘…This person.’

Killing the Count was, honestly, clearly an impulsive action. Given this man’s disposition, it doesn’t seem like he would have planned and committed such a ‘killing act.’

However.

He must have already thought about how to ‘clean up’ the aftermath.

In that brief moment.

‘…What kind of monster is he, really?’

‘He’s an amazing person every time I see him…’

As the Emperor and Chancellor each inwardly groaned with such thoughts, Darwood spoke again in a calm voice.

“Of course, we need to move quickly right now for that.”

Undoubtedly.

It was a dignified voice befitting a man who had spontaneously declared he had a method to ‘efficiently end’ an empire-scale civil unrest.

“…First, I’ll go handle what needs to be done most urgently.”

The Emperor and Chancellor could only swallow their sighs, unable to even guess what terrifying move this man would make next…

●

“…Mr. Darwood.”

Lucien addressed Darwood before him with a bewildered expression.

Actually, he hadn’t seen him for quite a while so he was rather glad, but after hearing what he suddenly barged into the chapel to say, that feeling was about to completely disappear.

“Could you… repeat that? My hearing hasn’t been good lately.”

“Let’s go on a date. Tomorrow, in the downtown area.”

There’s already a lot to say about just this much.

Suddenly barging in and, what, a date?

With her?

He was already finding it hard to breathe, but what followed was even more absurd.

“…No, that’s one thing, but what you said after that—”

“You want me and Yuria to go on a date together?”

“…”

“If you want, I can prepare two leashes. One for you too.”

“…Is Yuria wearing one already confirmed?”

“Yes.”

“…In the downtown area?”

“That’s right.”

So I didn’t mishear.

Lucien’s vision went dark.

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