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Chapter 185: Madman and Genius

–Going back in time a little.

In the dungeon of the royal castle. Fernando stepped onto the lowest floor.

The people imprisoned here are those who have committed serious crimes that set them apart from the ones on other floors, but at the very bottom there is a special area with even tighter security.

「Bride, can you hear me?」

「Used and…thrown away…a pawn….disposable…used…pawn…」

「Can you still understand my words?」

「Aaaaaaa… Used!!」

「…Did I guess wrong?」

The former Daytona clan master, Bride of the Flames, had his spirit shattered by Aun in the previous Ranking Battle, and his personality became distorted due to the repeated torture and forced taking of confession pills. With drool dripping from his mouth and his empty, unfocused eyes, there was no sign of the prime Bride. In other words, he was no more than a broken puppet who can only speak a limited number of words.

「I never thought you would fall this far just by losing to Aun once.」

「A? Au…, Aun? Aun!! Aaaaaaa!!!!」

「Your emotions are still intact? If so, I can still use you.」

「K-Kill! Kill! Aun!! KILLLL!!!」

「You are the best as a vessel, but even after activating the taboo skill [Demon Transformation], you couldn’t match him…There’s no other choice but to forcefully raise the standards.」

Although he looked calm, Fernando was actually anxious.

That’s because after receiving the information that [Black Thunder] was heading towards the capital, all contact with the 3,500 soldiers sent to Plainvelt suddenly got cut.

If he were to think of the worst-case scenario, it would mean that something powerful and unknown to him was at work. Moreover, there is a high probability that it is someone who is allied with [Star Supremacy]… an enemy, so to speak, which can be inferred from the actions of Black Thunder. If an attack was launched on Plainvelt, they would definitely return to Plainvelt. However, that was not the case. In fact, he wasn’t able to buy even a second of time.

In which case, he has no choice but to buy some time in the royal capital. However, if asked if his own army had the strength to counter that non-standard force, he would have no choice but to shake his head.

In that case, there is no choice but to “make” it. A monster with a power comparable to that non-standard force.

「Let this guy out of prison and equip him with all the weapons and armors you have prepared.」

「H…However, Your Highness… this man no longer has enough ego to be controlled by anyone…」

「Control? Is there a need to control? What we need is a force that can stop Black Thunder. If he already has this much hostility, there is no need for control… Or are you saying that you guys can stop the Lightning Emperor?」

「N-No… That’s impossible.」

「In that case, just follow my instructions. You do understand that the battle from here on out is the real deal, right?」

「I-I understand…」

Fernando was about to turn on his heel after watching four guards put Bride in a chokehold and move him out of the cell, but suddenly, an eerie laughter reached his ears.

「Kufufufu… I had heard that His Highness Fernando was incompetent, but it seems that is not the case.」

「You are…Bloody Joseph, huh… I see, so you were in this area too.」

「Your goal is to halt them, right?」

「You must have heard the conversation earlier, right? I was looking for a piece that could at least buy me some time.」

「If that’s all you need, I can help you.」

「You don’t look like the kind of guy who would be subordinate to anyone. What is your purpose?」

「Kufufu…I just want to know. The truth about the human-demon war 2000 years ago, which has been buried in darkness.」

「Hmm. So? What do you want from me?」

「No, no, I don’t have any demands… If you can just let me out of here, that’s all I need. I’m really tired of seeing this scenery.」

「…That sounds too good to be true.」

「To be honest, I don’t care about this rebellion… I don’t care who wins. What I was looking for was “chaos”. Your Highness has already achieved that. Just think of my offer as repaying that favor .Besides, there aren’t many useful pieces like me, you know?」

Fernando put his hand on his chin and thought about it for a while.

He also knew about Bloody Joseph. Although the information was from 10 years ago, his combat power was said to be one of the best in the kingdom. Honestly, he’s the kind of person he wants desperately. However, the negotiations so far have progressed far more easily than expected, which was causing some confusion.

Moreover, how could a man who has been in prison for 10 years know about the coup d’état? The strange feeling from his words further emphasized Joseph’s abnormality.

However, thinking about it calmly, Fernando assessed that the returns were worth the risk. Besides, Fernando had nothing to fear since he was going to release an even crazier person into the open – the frenzied Bride.

「Fine. I’ll accept your proposal. However, I’ll add two conditions. You must stop someone from Black Thunder for 10 minutes. Also, under these conditions, you will sign a slave contract with me. I’ll make it so that if the conditions are met, the slave contract will be automatically canceled.」

「Kufufufu… that’s fine. You’re not incompetent, after all. You’re a talented person who deserves to be called a “genius”.」

「Huh, I won’t lax the terms just because you praise me.」

「I was hoping you’d reduce it by a few minutes.」

While smiling at each other, Fernando placed his hand on Joseph’s left chest and activated the [Enslavement] magic.

As a member of the royal family, Fernando was naturally prohibited from learning such magic. This is because if someone is investigated through [Appraisal] and it comes to light, not only the trust of the individual, but the trust of the royal family as a whole will be destroyed.

Therefore, he learned it during the preparation period of the last few months. The reason why he was able to learn [Enslavement] in such a short period of time without anyone knowing about it is probably due to his intelligence and his deep knowledge of these skills.

In this way, two madmen will be released into the wild…but only heaven knows how this will turn out.