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Chapter 35 Part 2 – The Royal Guards rush in with a battle cry while Solomon, one of the five heroes, begins moving in the darkness.

 

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Ranzan

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「…as expected, the Royal Guard, strongest of the kingdom. And it seems that Valentine will fight even without his morning-star. It seems that the demon dog Gallam is in a bit of a predicament.」

A tall man in an academic gown opened his eyes and he pulled open the robe.

He was talking about the battle to the death between Scarlet and the rest and the demon dog Gallam.

His eyes shimmered like a bizarre insect from behind his tiny, round pince-nez glasses.

The long figure of him standing in the moonlight made him look like he was born from the shadows.

「W…who are you…」

The demon dog trainer who was crawling along the ground trembled.

His teeth were missing here and there and he could only squeeze out a whisper.

This criminal looked like cattle that had barely avoided being cut up in a slaughterhouse.

His right shoulder was broken while his left was cracked, but he couldn’t feel the pain.

He was like a man in the mouth of a man-eating tiger.

And he could feel imminent danger from this tall, young man.

Even as a youngish lad, he was imposing.

The young man looked at the old man uninterested and turned back to the interesting battle. He caught himself looking fascinated by what was going on, and assumed his usual cool composure.

In the first place, the demon dog trainer and he were far from the collapsed Duke’s residence.

In the moonlight, even the nocturnal trainer had no idea what had happened to his dog.

The young man, however, could understand without his owl’s eyes.

At the moment of the explosion and collapse, the demon dog trainer was scooped up by this young man with his glasses and dragged to a safe area.

The old man had no idea what had happened.

Falling, murderous rubble, repeat explosions, and noxious glow swirled like hell on earth.

The trainer thought he was dead and screamed, and all his hair turned white.

However, the young man escaped death like he was taking a brisk walk, avoiding the peril around him while carrying the old man on his shoulder. Almost as if he knew the correct path ahead of time, his clothes weren’t burnt or torn even though they were light and delicate.

「Also, the physical ability of that kid…」

「Oh, you noticed that? Yes. I used the “Blood Redemption” as well. IT was that strengthening technique that drove you all to ruin. It made me a bit intoxicated to reproduce that technique with my unprecedented technology. Bradd, however, exceeded even my expectations. To see him recall that technique he had used over the 108 times at that age…my intoxication cleared right up! It seems he can only exert that miraculous power when he’s protecting Scarlet…I remember him from the “true history.”」

As if he just noticed the trainer again, he looked over, his glasses glimmering over his ecstatic face, and then came close to the old man.

The old man could hardly understand the meaning of the young man’s wods, but he knew the youth had read his heart and trembled a bit at him.

There was only one group of people that could understand the “Blood Redemption.”

「Boy…are you of the Law-free Crew…」

He thought he had been kidnapped by them in retaliation for the attack on Bradd.

They can cause immense pain by manipulating blood flow. Sudden death would be better.

And if you survive, the aftereffects are so severe that again, death would be a release.

The young man pressed the glasses up with the tip of his finger towards his forehead as he glared at the old man.

Almost as if he was angry that the old man had said a secret thing too loudly.

「The Lawless Crew? Did you think I was going to get revenge? No, I am not one of them. I can use their skills, however. Just because you can use the Blood Redemption doesn’t mean you’re a member of the Lawless Crew. If it could be used by all of them, the village of the Lawless Crew wouldn’t have been destroyed over the “108 times.”」

He slid his finger down his nose as if he was holding a scalpel.

「So, why did you help me?」

「I saved you for my soulmate, Alisa…I want you to use your skills for her. She’s running out of pieces, so to speak.」

The mouth of the old man shook a bit when he heard the youth’s words.

「Alisa…」

The old man, after all, was a master in avoiding capture and crisis.

He felt that this youth was a harbinger of destruction and would feel uncomfortable even sharing the same town with him.

The fear of destruction didn’t loom this large even when he confronted the Crimson Duke.

He also felt a foreboding doom from the name, Alisa.

In a reality in which two such monsters existed, his own pride as a villain seemed crushed into the dust.

The young man nodded happily at the frightened reaction of the old man.

「I don’t mind if you know about what I am doing, but if you want me to lend me your power, I will need two or three more years to create an army of dogs.」

The old man felt like a dog himself with this youth, the trainer that could punish him.

「It seems that too much force has gathered onto Scarlet’s side. An awakened Bradd and the “Lawless Crew.” Seraphy and the Orange Company. Valentine and the Royal Guard. The duchess is alive, and perhaps Arnold…and Scarlet herself and her abilities… The balance needs to be restored. Since Alisa is dealing with the four families alone, I am the only scout of hers that is available. She will be angry, but there’s also weakness for others as well…」

The youth’s clean cut features seemed to collapse a bit.

「You really don’t need to know anything. There is no need for you to know. Just do what I say when I say it.」

His fingers moved to his neck, and the old man began to sweat.

「You have no power to refuse. And so you can never escape, I’ll tell you Alisa’s true name and origin as a present from me. When you learn this information, or anyone does, they will be targeted if they don’t fall in line.」

The old man’s complexion changed as the youth whispered into his ear.

「There’s no way! That…the man of the Iron Mask?!」

「Oh, so you know of him? I guess you do know the underground well. No one could believe it. So in order to pledge allegiance to Alisa, I have been sent here to speak to you. If you enjoy violence, you don’t even need to believe me, but you can illicit power and fear all the same. Like this…」

The young man’s fingertips touched the demon dog trainer’s chest and made a strange movement.

There was a light popping sound.

「Eeeep!」

He knew this was the heart-stopping technique of the Lawless Crew, and he fell back on his haunches.

His face turned pale and it was distorted in fear.

The youth giggled.

「Come, come, it’s just a threat. But don’t forget that I can kill you at any time. Better to be a slave than dead, right? Well, I have one more thing to threaten you with.」

That said, he bent over and put his hand behind a truck of the tree beside the old man.

The old man looked over the bow and his eyes popped out in surprise…a long bow…one that could shoot through a mountain of armor.

But the shape of this bow was in an M-shape, the exact same as the one the duchess had, who had defeated the old man soundly before.

「A composite bow of that size!?!」

「Heh heh, yes, it WAS difficult for me to make this. Now we can challenge Bradd and Arnold’s ability. The Blood Redemption and long-range shooting…and that’s not the limit! With my abilities, it would be fun to take on the Duchess and the Royal Guard alone…」

He rolled up the sleeves of his academic robe to show his biceps.

Then he pulled the arrow and pulled it back in the bow.

「And one more. We need that demon dog Gallam to take one more effort. We need to see if that Blood Redemption can be used on your little pup. If activated, it won’t last long, but he’s going to die anyway, so it doesn’t matter. The drug is applied to this arrow shaft already, and I’ll inject it with a long shot into the body of the dog.」

His lenses shimmered after another laugh.

「Look. It takes a strong body like mine to pull a hard bow this easily. Twice as much as the duchess’. But let me tell you this…I’m only 10 years old. I’ve developed this body with medicine and training. You can believe that, or not.」

He was going to laugh at what he thought for a second was a joke, but the old man knew countless criminal geniuses and knew there was no bottom to their strange realities.

「Yes, humans can become anything with knowledge. They can even break the bonds of nature.」

He said quietly and calmly, but there was a clear madness in his voice.

「Who…who are you?」

The old man said as he swallowed and gazed at this young man.

His glasses shone in the darkness.

「I am Solomon. I am from a family of spellcasters. The duchess’ abortion, Romalia’s flame flower all are from us. We also collaborated in the training of those demon dogs as well. The destruction of this manor as well, I’m very interested in…Some call me a mixed up academy student. I was called on of the five heroes…in some timeline. No, that story had nothing to do with me now.」

He softly laughed, exhaled sharply, and then Solomon fired the arrow.

If Cornelia was here, she would have been surprised to see the bow.

It was a high trajectory, and watching the arrow disappear into darkness, Solomon muttered,

「Well, Bradd. This is a declaration of war, from me to you. From now the dog will have your Blood Redemption. If you can pass this trial, protect the princess, then I will consider you strong enough to be my rival…and Seraphy, I am here.」

He looked far off and squinted.

「This lecture of the mad-love the Crimson Duke has for his wife will be your test. This Duke can be a very dangerous opponent. If you mess up, you’ll be dead. However, there is no way to defeat Gallam and the Blood Redemption without him here. If you go straight to the Duke’s residence and he is not in time, his wife will be lost. Come, Seraphy. Read the wind and steer, and lets see if your ship is as fast as they say.」

Then Solomon waxed nostalgic.

「…it’s been a long time, old friends. If you’re not worth the battle, I’ll kill all of you but Scarlet, and this time I’ll own her. The Dark Alisa. The Scarlet of Light. No normal man will be a match for either. And with this, I bid you good luck.」

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