The Villainous Noble’s Father - Chapter 18

“I’m really sorry, my Lord!!”

Alan swung his holy sword while apologizing.

Clang! Cling! Clang!

The sword, wrapped in white magic, slashed at the barrier surrounding me.

He says sorry, but he sure doesn’t hold back.

A vertical slash to the head, an upward strike with the returning blade, and a final thrust to the neck, three quick attacks.

That last thrust? It broke through to the second layer of my three-layer barrier. Wait, is he trying to kill me?

“I truly apologize!!”

Alan’s right hand burst into flames. He pressed it against my barrier as if stroking it gently with fire.

Point-blank magic!?

“Burn out! Burst Fire!”

BOOM!! The flames exploded. With a sharp crack, the first layer of my barrier shattered.

Tch! My barrier!

I jumped back without thinking and instinctively aimed a spell at Alan.

Black Bullet, my standard attack spell, modeled after a gun from my previous life. My magic element is Earth. The spell creates and fires pseudo-metal using magic energy. It produces a semi-stable form of energy shaped like metal, allowing it to bypass most physical laws.

The bullet travels silently, far faster than the speed of sound, and flies straight for up to 300 meters. The best part? Its power. It’s both a magic and a physical attack, meaning only someone with extremely high resistance to both can block it.

In short, if you’re not wielding something on Alan’s holy sword level, you’re getting hit.

So yeah, no holding back.

Alan had just unloaded a full-power four-hit combo and left himself completely open. If I shoot now, I might really kill him. 

That thought froze me for a second.

“Electromagnetic Acceleration! Accel Bolt!”

Leo saw that brief hesitation and struck. His magical sword, crackling with purple lightning, came rushing toward me.

CLANG!!

For a moment, my barrier held against the electrified blade. But only for a moment. It started to crack and splinter with a horrible screeching sound.

Well, of course. That sword was made with the explicit purpose of “judgment,” it was built to cut through anything.

This is bad. I might actually get hurt… or worse, killed.

CRACK! My remaining barrier shattered and the blade closed in on my unprotected body!

“Don’t die, Leo!”

I fired a Black Bullet straight at the tip of his sword.

BANG! With a sharp clash, the magical sword was knocked aside. The sword wouldn’t be damaged, it’s unbreakable, after all. With Leo’s guard down from the deflection, I gave him a light kick in the gut.

“Urgh…!”

He was knocked back a few meters but stayed standing. 

Hmm. He can take that? Guess I still don’t know how to hold back.

I raised my hand, planning to follow up and knock him out, just enough to end the fight.

“L-Lunatic Bolt of the Mad Black Moon!!”

Leo choked up some blood as he shouted the spell.

BOOM!! A massive bolt of black lightning tore through the air toward me.

Dark-element lightning!? That’s!

The lightning Leo unleashed roared with power, dyed pitch black. That spell, his strongest. A one-hit, high-power magical attack. It’s what we’d call a “grand magic.”

Lightning spells are a bit special, they fall under the Wind element but are known for high attack power. And this version is Leo’s original, infused with Dark magic. It’s seriously powerful.

But… honestly? The way we’re fighting is pathetic. Maybe even cowardly. If we’re being real, considering the difference in power, we should’ve been dead a long time ago.

But Lord-sama isn’t trying to kill us. In fact, he’s going easy on us. He’s trying to end this gently, maybe because hurting us would mess up his plans.

Selfish or not, the fact is, we’ve been attacking him with killing intent, and he still hasn’t struck to kill. That’s kindness. No question.

And we’re using that kindness against him.

The black lightning eventually calmed and vanished. Not good. The spell’s effect is ending.

“Leo! Let’s run now!”

My survival instincts, sharpened over the last month, were screaming at me. Our goal is escape. Whether Lord-sama lives or dies doesn’t matter now.

We have to get out right away!

“Yes… a wise decision. But it’s too slow.”

Before I knew it, Lord-sama was standing there, completely unharmed.

“N-No way…”

Leo’s face turned pale with despair. I probably looked the same. Even after Leo’s strongest spell, he didn’t have a single scratch.

“You two worked together to break my barrier, then hit me with Leo’s strongest spell while creating a distraction to escape. Not a bad plan, not bad at all. But… still sloppy.”

He stood calmly, now wrapped in a red aura.

Wait, is that Critical Magic Energy?

“But I’ll give you this, you managed to bring out my ‘Crimson-Eyed Warrior God’ form. That’s impressive.”

Crimson-Eyed Warrior God. That’s probably what he calls the state he’s in now, with that red energy swirling around him. It’s clearly an advanced version of the “Red Eye” technique we use.

“The Red Eye draws power from the lower Dantian in the abdomen. But actually, there are three Dantians. Lower in the gut, middle in the chest, and upper in the head. If you activate all three at once, you gain strength far beyond the standard Red Eye. It’s the ultimate form of body-enhancing magic used in warfare.”

Lord-sama explained it like he was giving us a lesson. Maybe… he really was.

Wrapped in blazing red critical energy, he looked like a god of war.

Ha… haha… what is this?

All I could do was laugh.

Activating all three Dantians? That’s like setting off three bombs inside your body. Of course it would make someone this powerful. He’s on a completely different level, like an ant versus a dragon.

No, this is beyond that. A whole different dimension. Oh right… that’s why they called him the God of Death.

“Don’t worry, Leonard, Alan. I have no intention of harming you. In fact, I’m happy. After less than two months of training, the fact that you can push me this far is amazing.”

He smiled so kindly it almost made you forget how terrifying he was. 

But then, he changed.

“However… that girl is a different matter.”

A wave of pressure slammed into us, so sharp it felt like blades piercing every inch of our skin.

“That girl is a vampire, an upper-level demon. There’s a chance she’s connected to a terrorist group aiming to free the demon race. I can’t let her go.”

His crimson eyes locked onto Leo, who was barely standing, and Yuria, who was supporting him.

Y-Yulia’s a demon…!? And tied to a terrorist group!?

My head spun. Everything I thought I knew felt like it was unraveling.

What am I supposed to do?

“Leonard, I know you feel grateful to her. And if she’s your savior, I’ll show my respect, even bow my head. But… if there’s any chance she’ll threaten the kingdom, the land, or you, I cannot ignore it.”

He’s right… I have a family in this kingdom. In the capital. What if she put them in danger? What if she put Leo in danger?

I… I…!

“I think… Father is probably right.”

Leo, barely staying on his feet, stepped forward with Yulia’s support.

“He’s always right. Much smarter, stronger than I’ll ever be. But still…”

Even as he said that, Leo wouldn’t let go of Yulia’s hand.

Leo… you…

“She’s important to me. Yulia is… someone I love.”

Wait. Did he just say… he loves her?

“I love her. That’s why I won’t let you kill her.”

Time stopped. Even Lord-sama’s eyes widened in shock. Yulia, yep, she’s frozen too, nose bleeding.

“If she’s committed crimes, I’ll take responsibility for her. If she makes a mistake, I’ll stop her. So please, reconsider!”

Leo bowed deeply to Lord-sama.

Guess I didn’t mishear after all. Haa… I see now.

Come to think of it, Leo was always watching her. He kept saying he couldn’t let her die because of guilt or whatever, but really, it’s because of this.

“Y’know, Leo, you call people idiots all the time, but you’re just as bad.”

Sighing, I tightened my grip on my holy sword, Brave Blade.

Weird. It feels lighter than before. Oh… that’s right. The holy sword draws power from the will to protect. And right now, I want to protect my friend. That’s all the reason I need.

The sword burst into bright white flames in response to my resolve.

Yeah. That’s it. Burn brighter! If not now, then when!? 

White fire surged from my entire body.