Ch.275275. Reconciliation

●

As soon as Baron Armin Campbell arrived at the Imperial Palace, what surprised him most wasn’t its grandeur, enormity, or magnificence.

Perhaps the familiar face he encountered immediately after taking the portal played the biggest role.

“…What are you doing here?”

“That’s what I should be asking you…”

Duke Tristan and Baron Campbell exchanged glances, blinking at each other.

By rank alone, they were people who shouldn’t normally cross paths, but they had one thing in common—they both knew a certain person.

“…Are you here because of Darwood, by any chance?”

“That’s right, but…”

Gideon approached Armin with a bitter smile, walking deliberately toward him.

And before Armin could react, Gideon grabbed him by the collar and yanked him forcefully.

Fortunately for Armin, this action wasn’t born from any hostile feelings.

As Gideon pulled him aside, a massive stone pillar collapsed with a rumbling sound and crashed down with a thunderous noise.

If Gideon hadn’t moved him, he would have been crushed.

“You’d better be a bit more alert. As you can see, things aren’t exactly normal around here.”

“…!”

At those words, Armin snapped to attention and looked around.

Indeed, anyone paying attention would quickly notice something was wrong.

Naturally, the Imperial Palace is always teeming with people.

There would be people with business to attend to, security forces, and simple visitors. Either way, there’s no reason for such a place to have low foot traffic.

But the palace scenery visible now…

It was so desolate that not even an ant could be seen, let alone people.

It wasn’t just the absence of people—everything was collapsing as if bombed, cracks ran through walls, and even the ceiling had partially caved in.

“What is this…?”

“Well, as always, it’s related to your son.”

“…You mean Darwood?”

Armin questioned with an incredulous expression.

Of course, he’d long recognized that his son was extraordinary, given his simultaneous involvement with Duke Tristan and the Margrave of Tristan.

But even as a father, it was hard to believe that his son could cause the evacuation of the entire Imperial Palace and the partial destruction of the Empire’s most important building.

“This place is already a battlefield. Fortunately, I have some time now to look after you… but I’ll be busy soon. You’d better find a place to hide quickly.”

“What are you doing here, Your Grace…?”

“…”

In response to Armin’s dazed question, Gideon wiped his mouth with a smirk.

“I’m on standby.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m the ‘hidden card,’ so to speak. For confronting the real monster over there, not the fake one.”

“…Pardon?”

Armin looked around in bewilderment.

Fake monster or real monster, he couldn’t see anything around them.

Or so he thought.

“Why, it’s right there.”

With those words.

“One hideous creature.”

Until grotesque ‘flesh’ began to emerge from all directions.

-…

-…

-…!!!!

An entire wall of the Imperial Palace collapsed.

Then.

Flesh began to ooze out from the broken ceiling and shallow cracks in the floor.

It was truly grotesque, swelling rapidly like a balloon being continuously filled with air.

“W-waaaaaah!”

As Armin screamed and stepped backward, Gideon grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and leaped toward an area free of flesh.

Even as his body floated upward, a strange impression formed in Armin’s mind.

Surely not.

Surely it couldn’t be, but.

The appearance of that flesh seemed almost like…

“It’s as if it’s trying to ‘devour’ the entire building…”

“An accurate observation.”

Gideon agreed with a wry laugh to the words Armin had unconsciously spoken aloud.

“That’s why your son specifically told me to evacuate everyone from the palace beforehand.”

“…?”

Armin turned to Gideon with a blank expression.

His son had ‘predicted’ the appearance of such a monster and ordered an evacuation?

“He probably didn’t know exactly what would emerge, but he at least knew something big enough to engulf the entire palace would happen. So he made plans in advance.”

“Are you saying Darwood has some kind of plan against that thing?”

“He always does.”

Gideon answered in a level voice, shifting his gaze.

“I suppose those ladies coming from over there are part of it too. Pieces he arranged in advance.”

Following Gideon’s gaze, Armin drew in a sharp breath.

Over there…

Two young ladies about Darwood’s age were suffering a terrible fate.

The smaller girl who had been running in front was pushed aside, and the taller one following behind was pierced through her entire body by an attack meant for the first girl. Armin covered his mouth in horror.

“…Indeed.”

Meanwhile, Gideon slowly stroked his chin and spoke.

“Though it appears to be mere flesh, its hardness exceeds rare metals, and its speed nearly matches that of adults… No wonder even that man is struggling.”

“Is… is this really the time for such observations…?”

Armin spoke in an exasperated voice.

“Didn’t someone just die?!”

“Hmm?”

Gideon tilted his head at those words.

Armin’s jaw dropped at this inappropriately calm reaction to the scene, but what followed was even more bewildering.

“…Ah, I suppose it might look that way.”

“What?”

“Well, just watch.”

Gideon replied with a slight smile.

“He’s not the type of man to let an important person die so easily.”

“What do you—”

“What you should worry about is not the one being attacked, but the other one.”

With those words, Gideon’s gaze fixed on Victoria, who was staring blankly at the injured Serath with wide eyes.

“…I hope she won’t be too shocked.”

It was unmistakably a voice filled with sympathy.

●

The scene before her eyes felt terribly unreal.

Victoria’s lips trembled as she watched her sister pierced through and bleeding.

“…S-sis…”

A meaningless word fell weakly from her parted lips.

What should she say?

What should she do first?

While these empty questions echoed endlessly in her head, a drop of blood from Serath’s body fell onto her forehead with a plop.

“…!”

Victoria, now completely pale, quickly covered her mouth as if suppressing the urge to vomit.

Chills ran through her body. Her ears rang.

But beyond that, her whitened vision flashed madly before her eyes.

Memories.

The corpses of her family she had seen as a child. They clung to the back of her vision, pounding inside her head.

“…I’m fine.”

But.

Victoria’s body stiffened at the words Serath painfully uttered.

“I’m fine.”

“S-sis…”

Though she had never called her that before, the word flowed out unconsciously.

“Are you… alright?”

“D-don’t talk. The b-blood…”

Victoria trembled as her hands fumbled over Serath’s body.

It was hopeless. As an assassin with extensive knowledge of human anatomy, she knew exactly how severe these injuries were.

She had already crossed a river of no return. It was a miracle she was still breathing.

“I’m sorry.”

At those words falling on Victoria’s ears as she made her diagnosis, her body jerked as if electrocuted.

Sorry? For what?

“N-no…”

Victoria stammered with tear-filled eyes.

That wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

It was just…

She had just been throwing a tantrum.

When she had threatened to kill her sister, she never actually meant it.

She just wanted more attention.

She had deliberately put up thorns and acted out childishly.

To such a Victoria, Serath’s words continued.

“…That day. When the village was attacked. I should have been by your side.”

“…”

“You kept waiting, didn’t you?”

“…”

“I’m sor—”

In the middle of Serath’s sentence, a thick clot of blood that had clearly caught in her throat fell to the floor.

But beyond that.

“I promised I’d come back.”

“…”

At those words.

From the depths of memory.

A dusty, faded scene emerged.

The memories of a traumatized child are never complete.

And the memory that filled those gaps came from Serath’s face just now.

-Hide here. I’ll definitely come back!

It was the same expression she wore “back then.”

That day, it was her sister who hid her in a safe place.

-Over here! This way, you Imperial bastards-!

And it was her sister who sacrificed herself to draw away the Imperial “hunting party” from her.

Even then, she hadn’t abandoned her.

She had sacrificed herself to protect her until the end.

Victoria’s voice began to tremble desperately.

“Don’t die…”

Tears that had welled up overflowed and streamed down her face.

There was no way to hold them back.

“S-sis, d-don’t leave me behind…”

“…I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I-I won’t, w-won’t throw t-tantrums anymore…”

Victoria’s head drooped as she spoke in a trembling voice.

Regret, remorse, grief.

And despair.

Such things.

Were consuming her from the ground up.

‘Please…’

She prays, as if sobbing.

‘Please-‘

Anyone would do.

Help me.

In her chaotic, jumbled mind.

That’s all she could vaguely think.

“-So.”

And, certainly.

There’s always one rogue-like person in the world who prefers to completely break the mood in situations like this.

“If you’re going to have your mental breakdown like this whenever something happens, I don’t understand why you acted like you hated her so much in the first place. Can’t you just live honestly?”

Beside Victoria, who was clutching her head and trembling.

A voice that didn’t match the situation at all fell flatly.

“…?”

When Victoria dazedly raised her head.

There was.

Darwood Campbell holding a sword. And the flesh tentacles that had clearly been cut off by it, though she didn’t know when.

And Serath, who was awkwardly getting up while still in the state of being impaled.

“…??”

What?

Why is this person moving normally?

“…???”

What is this?

What’s going on??

“So, um.”

While such thoughts raced chaotically through Victoria’s mind.

Darwood scratched his cheek absently, looking at Serath who was wearing an awkward smile.

“Fortunately, your sister isn’t going to die. So I think you can stop crying now?”

“…How…?”

“Well, with this.”

In response to her dazed question, Darwood indifferently pointed to his wrist. More precisely, to the amulet attached there.

Soul Linker. The ability contained within was the sharing of beneficial effects.

He had simply shared his “Iron Man” trait—which had played a crucial role in his own survival despite being split in half—with Serath.

Of course, Victoria couldn’t know such detailed inner workings.

But one thing she did know for certain.

She had just been.

Completely played by these people.

“…”

So in front of them.

She had sobbed, begged, said all sorts of cringe-worthy things, and basically made a complete fool of herself.

“…”

While Victoria’s face alternated between red and blue, Darwood spoke with an extremely indifferent expression, as if none of that mattered.

“So, Serath.”

“…”

“You heard her, right? She’s asking for forgiveness. Says she won’t talk about killing you or whatever anymore.”

“…”

“She actually loves her sister so much it hurts, but she’s just been acting like a teenager having a tantrum because of her childish feelings.”

“…”

“This should be enough, right? No need to make things difficult? Reconciliation OK?”

While Victoria’s completely reddened face struggled to follow the situation, her mouth opening and closing, Serath put her hands together in front of Victoria.

It was clearly the gesture of someone seeking forgiveness.

“S-so. Darwood said if we acted this out, we would definitely reconcile…”

“…”

“I-I’m sorry for deceiving you! I’ll make it up to you later—”

Before Serath could finish speaking, Victoria’s full-force punch landed near her jaw.

“…Wow.”

Darwood remarked with fresh admiration, sighing because…

“…Y-you. You… r-really…”

Victoria was approaching him one step at a time, tears streaming down her face.

Of course, she had been unable to hold back such tears earlier too, but now they seemed different in nature.

It was as if her emotions had completely broken down.

“Listen, Victoria. I understand you’re angry, but the situation is pretty urgent right now? I’ll let you hit me all you want later, but for now, please help me with your sister—”

“DIEEEEEEEE!!!”

Well, a high kick delivered with genuine killing intent by a person most specialized in killing people was, let’s say.

It was truly exceptional among the many blows Darwood Campbell had ever received.

●