episode_0047

Baron Theron gazed up at the sky, feeling a terrible agony simultaneously. He resisted using magic, but it was futile.

His hand began to melt away. The excruciating pain felt as if his body was being torn apart. People around him screamed. A strange scene where humans and other races were mixed together entered the man’s eyes.

Baron Theron, in agony, shouted at Macduras.

“Kael! I called you Kael, but why are you doing this? I don’t understand why there was a misunderstanding between us…”

He tried to persuade Macduras with words, but it was pointless. Macduras’ expression was filled only with emotionless emptiness.

Looking down at the man kneeling in pain, Macduras spoke.

“Do you still see me as Kael?”

At Macduras’ gesture, the red rain falling from the sky began to stop, even around Macduras.

“Who… who are you…?”

Baron Theron was no fool. This space was imbued with the trauma of the man named Kael. Being able to use power in this space meant tapping into his past strength.

In simpler terms, Macduras wielding strange power in this space was simply a reflection of his own abilities.

In other words, the man standing before him, who had killed millions in this mysterious space, was the man in front of him.

He needed to yield. He had to somehow avoid this situation. The disaster at hand was not something a mere nobleman’s plea could resolve.

Baron Theron knelt and begged.

“I was wrong. Truly wrong. I will never again flaunt power or authority over others recklessly.”

Though the man pleaded, Macduras approached him and spoke.

“Why change your attitude now?”

“…”

“Not long ago, were you not threatening to kill me, to make me a fool?”

Macduras stared blankly at the red sphere in the sky.

“Everyone makes mistakes and commits sins.”

“Yes… Yes, I regret my actions taken without knowing the great sorcerer… I deeply regret my reckless behavior. My… my son will face punishment by my hands. So please… have mercy…”

“Mercy.”

As Macduras reached out, thin, sharp thorns emerged from the sphere.

“It’s too late to ask for mercy. Do not resent. If I were weak, you would have surely killed me.”

“Aaargh!”

Baron Theron screamed and tried to run away. But before he could take a few steps, Macduras’ magic pierced his leg. He tried to flee, stumbling and scratching the ground with his arms, but it was futile.

The reason Baron Theron did not retaliate was simple. He knew that with his meager magic and mana level, he couldn’t even touch the man in front of him.

He had to escape. He had to find a way out of this place. Though physically dying in this traumatic space was unlikely, the pain he felt was definitely real. If he continued to be attacked like this, he would surely lose his mind and go insane.

“Stop… Stop… Sto-o-op!”

Baron Theron’s cries echoed. Macduras looked at him and spoke.

“Do you think I will show mercy? Look around you. This is not falsehood but an event existing in my memories. All these people begged for their lives. Yet I killed them all. Do you know why I did it? Because words were ineffective. It wasn’t something that could be resolved through dialogue; it was about using force. Sadly.”

Tears streaming down his face, Baron Theron began to plead.

“I will live quietly… I will not step forward anywhere in the future. Please… please…”

“It’s too late. You’ve had several chances, and you’ve missed them all.”

The concrete began to shine brightly, and the screams of Viscount Theron continued for a while.

— — —

Thud

Viscount Theron falls. Levya, who was watching nearby, along with Theron’s companions, all step back.

“What’s going on…?”

Seeing Viscount Theron fall, the knights and mages who came with him start to panic and assess the situation. However, it didn’t take long for them to make a judgment.

Because Macderas, who had moved with them to the trauma space, was looking at the fallen Theron with cold eyes.

“This bastard! How dare he touch Viscount Theron!”

One of their group used magic, but Macderas swung his sword to dispel the spell.

And he cut off Viscount Theron’s wrist.

Viscount Theron, in agony, regained consciousness. But Macderas looked at him and spoke.

“They seem to be causing a commotion. Isn’t it your job as the master to handle this?”

“Everyone step back!”

As Theron shouted, Macderas spoke to them.

“Why do you follow Viscount Theron?”

“…”

When no one answered, Macderas asked again.

“Why do you follow Viscount Theron? If you don’t answer honestly, I’ll kill this guy in front of you and then kill you all.”

A moment of silence passed. But as a cold chill began to emanate from Macderas’ sword, one by one, people realized that his words were not false or mere bravado and started confessing.

“We need… a huge amount of money.”

“I… I was caught in a weak moment…”

Their stories were full of excuses, but there was no real sympathy. There are no people without stories or villains without reasons. Everyone carries their own unfortunate tales. So that cannot be an excuse.

“You must have enjoyed suppressing the weak with numbers and force, living off your power. Even if you did it reluctantly, you must have felt a sense of belonging and disgusting superiority in that powerful position. After enjoying all that fun, when faced with adversity, you followed out of necessity, right?”

Macderas swiftly rushed towards the man who had been casting spells first, plunged knives into both his wrists.

As the man screamed, Macderas whispered in his ear.

“You won’t be able to use magic again. You said you did it reluctantly, so I personally stopped your misdeeds. How about that? Grateful?”

Despite the screams, the mage could only nod. Macderas’ sword was pressed against his throat.

A sense of insane terror began to creep in.

This man feared neither numbers nor force, power, nor even authority. He casually severed the arm of a noble, dismantled magic with a sword, committed such blatant crimes in broad daylight without hesitation.

In this world, there are those who do not fear the law and, conversely, those whom the law cannot touch.

To the mage, Macderas seemed to be the latter.

If one were to cross paths with this man, meager legal protection would be no defense at all.

“T… Thank you…”

Even with a knife through his arm, thankful for not being stabbed in the neck. Those who had just charged as if to kill now couldn’t even think of attempting another attack. Whether it was a colleague, their superior, or their turn coming up next, they could do nothing but fall silent.

Wiping the blood off his sword, Macderas turned to Viscount Theron and his companions and spoke.

“We feel dirty when we bother weaklings. Get lost right now. If you dare to blabber about today’s events carelessly or seek revenge on my friends, I promise to find each one of you and kill you. The country won’t be able to protect you either. If you think it’s an empty threat, ask Viscount Theron. It will make it easier for you to decide how to act.”

Theron crawled out of his spot, barely stood up, and kicked his son Teveston before shouting in a staggering tone. He seemed to have lost his mind a lot.

“Damn it… idiot… goddamn bastard.”

Leaving Teveston unconscious, Viscount Theron and their companions departed, leaving bloodstains all around.

Levia and Raykan, who had been quiet, looked at Macderas. Eventually, Levia took Macderas’s hand and spoke.

“Thank you… for saving my brother… I’ll repay this favor for the rest of my life…”

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t do it knowingly in the first place.”

“I will definitely repay you…”

“It’s not necessary.”

With that, Macderas got up and left. Reyna followed, saying something from behind, but he didn’t pay much attention.

He simply said goodbye, see you at the academy tomorrow.

As Macderas left, Levia blankly watched his back. Her heart was pounding like crazy.

“Why… am I going crazy…”

The man who had just been uncomfortable now seemed a bit different.

That evening

In the doomed novel gallery, a post appears.

[Willows of Suyang]

Title: I think I’m starting to like my awkward guy friend… How should I approach him…

The winds of substantial change have begun.

Relationships, whether timely or not.