Chapter 139
Rank 8 - Part 8
『 Translator – Divinity 』
Magic and fists clashed. In that sense, it was the same as before.
But unlike the fists aimed at Beatrice, the magic directed at the Duke of Wei was clearly different from before.
[Teleport]
She precisely teleported the Duke of Wei's fist with a hair's breadth to spare.
[Ice Shield]
A basic defensive spell tenaciously bound the Duke of Wei's fist, which had easily shattered multiple defensive spells before, weakening its power, even if only slightly.
[Fireball]
Small and simple, but because of that, the hottest flames engulfed the Duke of Wei.
"Ugh...!!"
The magic became more tenacious. The magic became sharper. The magic became faster.
There was no doubt. Beatrice, who had truly ranked up to Rank 8 just a moment ago... was still growing continuously. Even in this single moment, in this fleeting instant!
What a monstrous talent.
The Duke of Wei, facing Beatrice, could feel it more keenly than anyone, directly with his body.
"Ridiculous!"
Crack!
Even his fist, thrown with full force the moment he found an opening...
[Ice Shield]
"Gaaaaaah!!!"
...was blocked. The basic defensive spell was restored as soon as it was broken. [Ice Shield] was continuously restored without rest, and the moment the spell was broken and turned back into mana, she grasped the mana in the air and turned it back into magic.
[Ice Shield] was broken and restored dozens, hundreds of times in that fleeting moment.
And finally, when she managed to completely block the Duke of Wei's fist,
[Wind Blade]
Slash!
With a chilling sound, the Duke of Wei's skin was deeply cut.
The sight of his tough body, which had only suffered minor injuries from high-ranking magic, being pierced so easily by a basic spell...
The Duke of Wei, gritting his teeth, glared at Beatrice with bloodshot eyes.
"How! You just ranked up!"
"...It's quite a miserable sight, considering you said you were going easy on me."
"Well, it's because you're most unstable right after ranking up! Even I almost lost an arm because I couldn't control my strength!"
"So you were waiting patiently for me. You're truly a consistent person, Duke of Wei."
The Duke of Wei's words weren't wrong. Beatrice, who had just ranked up to Rank 8, was caught in a contradiction, feeling both complete and incomplete.
If she tried to use high-ranking magic like before, it felt like the mana in the air would tear her body apart. Even with basic magic, multi-casting was impossible.
But each of those basic spells held power incomparable to before.
"As you said, I can't use high-ranking magic, but..."
"........."
"...it seems like basic magic is enough."
"You bitch!!!"
The Duke of Wei's fist, fueled by rage, was clad in an immense amount of aura. The surrounding space shattered and twisted with a grating sound.
But for some reason,
Beatrice saw a different scene instead of the Duke of Wei.
—Brother, two territories were lost today.
—The Duke of Wei is getting closer. We have to hurry.
—...Yes.
The Finance Director wasn't there. Only Beatrice and her brother Zeke were visible.
Beatrice, who accepted her brother's offer, prolonged the civil war, causing countless casualties,
And in the end, even consumed the souls of those around her and her brother with the necromancy artifact while escaping...
—Why...? Why am I not ranking up to Rank 8!? What am I missing! I've already sacrificed over ten thousand! Even all my close aides!
—...Brother.
—Shut up! You incompetent woman! I shouldn't have trusted you from the beginning! I always had doubts about you...!
—There's still... a soul.
—What?
—You, brother.
—W-Wait! Beatrice...!!
Despite using the necromancy artifact countless times, she couldn't rank up to Rank 8 and was gradually going insane.
And in the end, she even consumed the souls of her close aides and her brother.
And then she smiled.
—...This was it.
—I can hear them, brother. I can hear the voices of the people. I can hear the voices of my aides. I can hear your voice too, brother.
—Yes. Let's...
—Let's go protect the Delphia Kingdom.
Ironically, what triggered Beatrice's rank up to Rank 8 wasn't the tens of thousands of souls or sacrifices, but the pathetic death of a family member.
Beatrice, finally alone, but not alone, stepped forward with a broken smile, and…
On the ruins of what was once the Delphia Kingdom, now barely recognizable as a kingdom after the protracted civil war,
—Let's all... protect the kingdom...
The massive royal castle floated. Trees and earth floated. Corpses floated.
In the Delphia Ruins, where no one survived, once known as the Delphia Kingdom,
Beatrice, who had torn apart even the corpse of the Duke of Wei, floated, having become the 'kingdom' itself, driven mad.
Beatrice, who had reached Rank 8, knew that all of this wasn't just a delusion, but another possibility.
A future that could have been.
'Could it be that the Finance Director knew about this future?'
It was an absurd thought. How could the Finance Director, a mere Rank 1, know about this future?
But if he knew how to cure her chronic illness, and was so certain as if he had seen it before,
If he tried to prevent her from returning to her home country, and even accompanied her to prevent any unforeseen circumstances,
If he deliberately approached her and gained her trust for all of that,
Then...
'Could he be a Regressor?'
She chuckled. Many things made sense if she thought of the Finance Director as a Regressor.
But more importantly,
"Beatrice!!!"
"...How noisy."
She had to deal with the Duke of Wei, who was rushing towards her with all his might to kill her.
It was something that the other her had already done. And she didn't have the Finance Director by her side.
Then, for the current Beatrice, who did have the Finance Director with her,
'There's no reason I can't do it.'
She blocked the Duke of Wei's fist with [Ice Shield]. At the same time, as if he had been aiming for it, he skillfully twisted the trajectory of his fist.
It wasn't aimed at Beatrice herself. Rather, it was aimed at her waist.
At the necromancy artifact containing her brother's soul.
'How despicable.'
And clever. Since Beatrice's trigger for ranking up was her brother Zeke's death, he must have thought that destroying the artifact containing his soul would further destabilize her unstable Rank 8 state.
It was a cunning tactic based on his extensive combat experience, and a truly despicable thought. But Beatrice was unfazed.
[Teleport]
She teleported not herself or the Duke of Wei, but the necromancy artifact itself.
Beatrice, easily thwarting the Duke of Wei's aim by teleporting it from her right waist to her left, scoffed.
"How uncultured."
"You bitch!!!"
Another fist came rushing at her, but she dodged it with a simple teleportation spell.
Her eyes, now cold, turned towards the Duke of Wei.
"There's no need to drag this out any longer."
"What...?"
"I'm ready."
Although her basic magic had become absurdly powerful after reaching Rank 8, it wasn't enough to defeat the Duke of Wei. It was like chipping away at a giant boulder, little by little.
If she continued like this, Beatrice would be the first to tire out or make a mistake. That's why Beatrice wasn't planning on defeating the Duke of Wei with just basic magic in her current state.
But she couldn't use any other magic now that she had just become Rank 8; she would self-destruct.
In a situation with practically no solution,
"Duke of Wei, you said it yourself. That you're also a genius, just like me."
"........."
"But you were wrong. I'm a true genius, beyond comparison even to you."
Just like the Finance Director said, she just had to believe.
I can do it.
I can do it.
My talent... can do anything.
"Th-This is...! No!!"
Thud!
The Duke of Wei, sensing the ominous flow of mana, hurriedly stomped his aura-clad foot. At the same time, the surrounding air and mana were pushed back, creating a temporary vacuum.
It was a move that could not only forcibly cancel her magic but also inflict fatal damage on Beatrice, who used the mana in the air.
But unlike before, only the air was pushed back this time. The mana remained firmly in place, as if fixed, even as the air was pushed away.
"...Don't tell me, you're controlling and stopping all the mana particles? In this entire area?"
It was clearly beyond common sense, like controlling every grain of sand in a desert.
The Duke of Wei flinched for a moment, witnessing it firsthand, and then...
[Day into Night]
One of the spells she used at the beginning of the battle.
The most transcendental magic in terms of range, artificially creating a solar eclipse.
The highest-ranking magic that she shouldn't be able to use in her current unstable state right after ranking up.
"I told you."
"Beatriceeee!!!"
"I'm a genius."
...easily controlled by the chains of her talent.
Woong!!
It had obscured the sun, forcibly plunging the surroundings into darkness.
Of course, it didn't actually cover the sun. It simply created a massive dark sphere in the sky.
The high-ranking magic that merely created a solar eclipse was reborn in the hands of a genius, and...
The dark sphere was soon engulfed in the flames of the sun.
[Night into Day]
It brightly illuminated the darkened world.
The sun descended.
"U-Uwaaaah...!!!"
The Duke of Wei, desperately gathering all his aura, tried to destroy the falling sun, but...
Crack.
"...Ah."
The bones in his fingers, unable to withstand the magic, broke, and...
...the sun fell along with the Duke of Wei.
And then...
There was only light.
***
"...Whoa."
What the hell was that?
Crown Prince Zeke suddenly ran out and was frozen in place, and then Beatrice awakened and dropped the sun to win.
It was terrifying that there was no damage to the surrounding soldiers, except for the Duke of Wei, despite such a large-scale magic attack.
'That's the Duke of Wei?'
Something in the shape of a human, charred black.
It seemed to be breathing as if it was still alive, but the victor was already decided.
Beatrice had truly defeated the Duke of Wei.
'If she goes all out, can she even fight the Headmistress? She's become too strong.'
I hadn't expected this outcome when we first came to the Delphia Kingdom. Beatrice had practically become as strong as the Headmistress, so how was I supposed to demand bribes now?
No, more importantly...
'Is Crown Prince Zeke really dead?'
He suddenly rushed out and then died, caught in the crossfire.
I didn't know why he ran out or what his intentions were, but...
Beatrice, after briefly looking down at the barely breathing Duke of Wei, raised her head.
"Huh?"
"Did you see that, Finance Director?"
"B-Beatrice."
Beatrice, meeting my eyes, smiled. And in the next moment, she was standing right next to me.
She looked the same as always, but she was a Rank 8 now.
As I awkwardly stood there, Beatrice giggled and approached me.
"It's all thanks to the Finance Director. Thanks to you, I was able to end this civil war quickly."
"What are you talking about! It's all thanks to your power, Your Highness Beatrice! Long live the princess!"
"...As straightforward as ever. Then, shall we ride this momentum and say it?"
Huh? Say what?
"Please stay in the Delphia Kingdom."
"...Huh?”
"I've been thinking about this for a while. I need someone like the Finance Director. Now, I can't even imagine being without you."
"There are many people in the kingdom who are smarter and more capable than me—"
"It has to be the Finance Director."
"........."
"So, will you take my hand?"
No, but even so, that's...
That's...
"I see. You already have someone you serve, don't you? Are you thinking of the Headmistress?"
"...I apologize, Your Highness."
"That makes me want you even more. I'm also a Rank 8 now, shall we have a life-or-death battle with the Headmistress over the Finance Director?"
"Y-Your Highness!?"
"I'm joking. It's just a last resort."
Why would you say it's a last resort when you're joking?
I was happy that I had become someone Beatrice could trust enough to consult with, but I didn't wish for this...
Couldn't we just maintain a peaceful relationship where we exchange bribes?
"But it's fine. There will be plenty of opportunities to persuade you by your side, Finance Director."
"Excuse me? But you have to stay in the Delphia Kingdom."
"Well, that's true. I would have stayed, since my brother is dead. But..."
Click.
Beatrice took out the necromancy artifact from her waist and used magic that was beyond my comprehension.
She extracted something that looked like a soul from the artifact and infused it into the teleported corpse of Crown Prince Zeke.
And then,
"C-Cough! Cough!!"
"This is... don't tell me...?"
"I can easily imitate the necromancy magic contained in the artifact just by observing it. And if I reverse-engineer it, this is also possible."
"Wh-What? What am I..."
"Irresponsible brother, are you awake?"
"Ugh, Gaaaaah! My arms, my legs!"
To Crown Prince Zeke, who was missing an arm and a leg due to the Duke of Wei's attack, but had been resurrected(?),
Beatrice slowly approached.
"Brother, look at me."
"...Beat...rice."
"I have so many questions for you. And so many things I want to say."
"Why, why did you bring me back? If you had just let me be recorded as a foolish ruler who was jealous of his sister, you could have taken control of the Delphia Kingdom..."
"But it's all over now, and I have only one request."
"If it's the throne... it's already..."
"I'll be returning to the academy. You take care of the kingdom, brother."
"What?"
"Huh?”