Notification (4)
Hugo stood among the knights, arms crossed, glaring at Ian.
'Hugo Greysel.'
The current head of House Greysel and Ian's biological father.
And, undoubtedly, the most incompetent head in the house's history.
'I didn't get along with that man until the very end in my previous life as well.'
He was trash who persecuted and tormented his disabled son.
I never even considered reconciliation in the first place, but in Ian's previous life, Hugo died before Ian could do anything.
'He met a pathetic end, right up to the very last moment.'
Hugo had died during the civil war in Hisperion in the previous life.
He hadn't died fighting honorably as the head of a martial house.
Hugo, who had sided with Hisperion's eldest son's faction, was executed for leaking internal secrets to the enemy.
'After Hugo's execution, the Greysel family completely fell into ruin.'
Was it because Hugo's absence was unexpectedly big? No. Not at all.
It was because the whole family took on the mess that Hugo had made.
All of Greysel's businesses and assets were confiscated by the eldest son of Hisperion, and the direct lineage and subordinates of the house were utterly purged under all sorts of pretexts.
At that time, Ian survived the purge thanks to Yuria's protection, but if it weren't for her, he too would have died, buried under the mess Hugo had left behind.
'Hugo Greysel. Irredeemable trash.'
Ian gazed at Hugo with sunken eyes.
'You were never fit to sit in the seat of head of Greysel in the first place.'
Originally, Ian had thought he didn't care what happened to House Greysel.
He didn't feel even the slightest sense of responsibility or belonging to his own house.
After all, he had never been recognized as Greysel's legitimate heir, not even once.
He was satisfied with just being Yuria's knight.
But after Yuria became the family head, she ordered Ian to rebuild Greysel and awakened another identity in him, which had been lying dormant.
'Ian. The Greysel family is a great sword and shield that once protected people alongside Hisperion. Your roots must continue in your own land. Only you, as the legitimate heir, can do this, and it is something only you must do.'
The warmth of the hand Yuria held out to him at that time was still vivid.
'Go to the west of Hisperion. Rise your house again there, and protect your people.'
That day, Ian received the command from his lord Yuria to become the father of this land.
'... And return to me again, with them. I'll be waiting.'
And even now, in this very moment after his regression, that command still burned fiercely through Ian's veins.
'I accept your command.'
A command he couldn't fully carry out in his previous life, trampled by the grand dukes of the demon realm.
The restoration and revival of House Greysel.
And, as Hisperion's powerful vassal, ruling Hisperion's west and bringing it under Yuria's control.
Ian vowed that, as the head of Greysel, he would fulfill this command in this life, no matter what.
'Hugo. It would have been better if you were a man with even the slightest chance of redemption.'
He could tell just by looking at those eyes, steeped in vileness.
'What a bastard.'
Even after returning to the past fifteen years—
Hugo.
'I don't think you're someone I could ever change.'
Maybe if Hugo made up his mind to change on his own, things would be different. But there was no way that garbage, full of stubbornness, would ever do that, not even if he died and was reborn.
'Well, it doesn't matter.'
Ian's only concern was to protect the west of Hisperion and bring it under Yuria's control as she commanded.
If Hugo didn't change, Ian would simply take the head's seat from that revolting trash and carry out Yuria's command.
"Hm..."
While Ian was deep in these thoughts, Hugo was scanning the area with narrowed eyes.
Servants lay groaning on the ground.
The butler sobbed, now bald.
Hugo's eyebrows twitched.
'... What on earth happened here?'
As soon as he was informed that Ian had appeared at the mansion, Hugo had sent the butler and those bulky men.
They should have been more than enough to capture a fourteen-year-old boy who couldn't even use aura.
But as a piercing scream rang out, he had rushed down with the knights—only to be met with this absurd scene.
'... Surely, that half-witted cripple couldn't have taken down those big guys alone.'
Hugo's gaze landed on Sophia.
'That wench...? She's just a maid.'
She was a girl who had been working in the mansion for quite some time, so Hugo knew her face.
'No way that girl, who usually just did chores, could have taken down four grown men by herself.'
In that case...
'Is there an accomplice hiding somewhere nearby?'
That was the most plausible hypothesis to explain the current situation.
Hugo looked around with sharp, narrow eyes.
'I can't see anything.'
—Whooong!
He heightened his senses with aura and looked again, but still, he felt no other presence nearby.
'No one hiding in the vicinity...?'
That would mean Ian alone had taken down those four men and left the butler in such a state.
No, surely that couldn't be.
It was impossible.
After all, Ian was born into a martial house, yet he was a cripple who couldn't use aura.
'The supposed accomplice must be someone not to be underestimated.'
If the mysterious accomplice was more skilled than Hugo, it was no wonder their presence had remained hidden.
'Could another family have made contact with Ian?'
If there really was an accomplice near Ian, it must surely be someone sent by a rival house.
A multitude of possible suspects flashed through Hugo's mind.
From Hisperion's direct and collateral branches to the vassals of other great houses.
'What could they hope to gain by helping Ian? Try to form a new faction in Greysel?'
Since Hugo had assumed the position of head, Greysel had been swarming with enemies inside and out.
They had much to plunder, but too little strength to protect it—that was the current state of House Greysel.
An easy prey.
Within Hisperion now, there was no prey as appealing as Greysel.
'Heh heh... But if they plan to use that half-wit as their front man, they've made a grave mistake. I'll have to show them here just how useless that pitiful wretch is.'
If he beat up and excommunicated that cheeky boy here and now, what would any other house do, even if they tried to reach out?
A weakling who had lost his status as a direct heir—such a one would be able to do nothing whatsoever.
"Drag that brat before me."
Hugo signaled to the knights with his finger.
"If he resists, don't hold back—beat him up. Break his arms and legs if you have to."
To him, the boy hadn't been his son since the diagnosis anyway.
Every time he saw that face, all those miserable memories resurfaced, only giving him headaches.
He would sever this tedious tie, right here and now.
—Step! Step! Step!
Three Greysel knights stepped forward under Hugo's command.
Each was a formidable expert, and their presence was impressive.
But most were in casual clothes, not armor.
At the sight, Ian curved his lips into a smirk.
'Knights attending the head of house aren't even wearing armor? He must have chosen only those off duty.'
Lucky, perhaps.
From Ian's standpoint, since he had to fight them now, it was a fortunate thing.
—Tsk.
Ian folded his arms and warned,
"If you don't want to become cripples, come to my side."
"W-what? Pff, phahaha!"
"... What's he babbling about?"
"Let's just get it over with."
But all he got in response were sneering laughs.
They ignored Ian's warning and kept advancing.
"As expected."
He hadn't expected a positive answer in the first place.
He just needed to be rebuffed like this to feel at ease about beating them.
"You heard the head, didn't you? If you resist, I'll break your arm~."
One knight jeered slyly as he reached out to Ian.
Despite his casual demeanor, his aura was definitely drawn up.
Seeing the men lying around so miserably, he must have been wary of possible accomplices or artifacts.
'Doesn't matter. In fact, I prefer it this way.'
Ian's secret art, Frenzied Insight Style Reversing Heaven, shone brightest when the opponent raised their aura.
Ian unhesitatingly threw a punch.
His target: the knight's solar plexus.
"Ugh!"
—Thwack!
With Swordmaster-level aura, he focused it to the limit in his rear leg and fist for an all-out strike.
With the addition of the orc's strength, Ian's fist darted out faster than even he expected.
Even a knight who had reached the level of an expert couldn't react in time.
"Kuhk!"
The leading knight clutched his stomach, staggering backward, the punch landing cleanly on his solar plexus.
But Ian's assault was just beginning.
'I can't hold back against experts.'
Frenzied Insight Style (狂慧流) Reversing Heaven (回天).
When hitting the opponent's solar plexus, he used the rebound from their aura and added his own, plus the orc's strength, making for exceptional rotational force.
With that squared rotational energy, he spun and delivered a back kick.
—Crack!
Reversing Heaven landed square on the knight's chin.
"Kuhk!"
The knight's head snapped as if it would come off, teeth scattering through the air.
—Thud thud thud!
—Plop!
One down.
"Next."
"W-what!"
The knight in the lead collapsed, teeth flying, and those following him instinctively halted their advance.
"Wh-what just happened...?"
"H-Hans? Hey! Get up! Are you joking around?"
The knights called to the fallen man, but the one they called Hans didn't get up.
"L-lord?"
They looked anxiously at Hugo, but he was dumbfounded.
"... W-what... is this...!"
Hugo's eyes were opened wide as they could go.
"A-aura...!?"
Ian used aura...?
The flow he just felt from Ian was unmistakably aura.
Did that half-wit just use aura...?
The boy had been diagnosed countless times by physicians that he could never use aura in his life, so how?
He even took down a knight who'd reached low-rank expert in just two blows.
Just a week ago, he'd been half a man—a fourteen-year-old—and now he could do this?
'No! It can't be! Impossible!'
The presence he felt was definitely aura, but from what he knew, this was impossible.
Even if, somehow, Ian had cured his aura handicap and hidden it for some reason, at his age, even as the most outstanding prodigy, the best he could do would be low-rank User.
Even for a genius who'd go down in history, intermediate-rank User or high-rank User would be the limit.
But a mere fourteen-year-old taking out an low-rank expert knight with just two attacks?
Impossible!
'A-an artifact!? R-right! That's it! That's the only way!'
To make sure, Hugo had to watch Ian's movements more closely.
"What are you all standing around for!"
Hugo shouted at the knights, his anger misplaced.
"Capture him and drag him here, now!"
"Haa..."
"Tsk."
The knights looked at Ian with grim faces.
Having just witnessed their comrade's brutal defeat, now they were afraid the same would happen to them.
"... No choice."
"Guess we'll have to use our swords against a child."
They drew their swords from their belts.
Still, since the head hadn't given an order to kill, they tied the scabbards to the hilts, making them like clubs.
'Drawing swords, huh...'
Even though knights with strong aura were now wielding weapons, Ian only smiled broader.
Frenzied Insight Style Reversing Heaven was, to begin with, a martial art focused on counterattacks.
If they attacked more aggressively, his Reversing Heaven would shine all the brighter.
"Just like real combat!"
"I'll go left!"
—Tatata!
The knights split left and right, swinging their swords at Ian.
One aimed for his collarbone, the other for his knee.
Both intended to break the boy's body completely.
'Frenzied Insight Style Reversing Heaven.'
But no matter how powerful their attacks were, in the face of Ian's martial skills, they just played right into his hands.
—Whoosh!
Their powerful attacks followed the movement of Ian's hands and feet and came right back at themselves.
—Thud!
—Crack!
"Kuhk!"
"Urgh!"
Both knights' eyes rolled up as they staggered.
One had his orbital bone crushed in, half his face sunken; the other's jaw was dislocated, his cheek drooping.
But neither was quite down yet.
He had to follow up immediately.
'Frenzied Insight Style Extreme Point (尖尖).'
A technique where he concentrated aura to its utmost in one point to produce destructive force exceeding his own mastery.
It was another secret technique Ian had developed in his previous life, fighting countless strong foes.
—Crash!
—Crrrack!
"Ugggh!"
"... Urk!"
One knight was struck at the temple with Extreme Point. The other hit on the back of the head with Extreme Point.
With their eyes rolled white, the two trembled spasmodically and never got up again.
"W-what...!"
Hugo stared at the collapsed knights, eyes wide open.
"A-an artifact didn't do that...?"
As much as Hugo was trash, his eyes weren't just for show.
The martial art Ian had just displayed wasn't the product of brute strength alone.
It was undeniably the work of a genius.
There might be artifacts that made you as strong as an ogre, but none that could grant such martial mastery.
"H-how is this even...!"
He knew the boy had some skill with the sword, but by no means should he have been able to perform techniques like these....
It had only been a week.
In that time, Ian had learned aura, and even supreme martial techniques, and now had returned.
Just what happened to that half-wit in a single week?
Hugo's eyes shook with confusion.
—Throb!
'Ugh...!'
Meanwhile, Ian gritted his teeth, enduring the pain flooding his shoulders and wrists.
'As expected, my body can't handle it.'
He had used both Frenzied Insight Style Reversing Heaven and Extreme Point with an untempered body—there was bound to be a price.
Judging by the pain, his shoulder ligaments and wrist cartilage were probably torn.
If left unchecked, they'd swell badly and could cause permanent damage.
But...
'No problem.'
─《Authority of Projection》─
◆Item
[Healing Potion Lv.15]
─────────
He had already projected a healing potion in advance while shopping at Hisperion's main building.
'No need to awkwardly open a glass bottle and drink.'
He just needed to manifest the pure potion directly onto the injured spot.
—Ssssss...
—Crack! Crunch!
The veins in Ian's shoulder and wrist writhed intensely.
Just five seconds.
That was all it took for Ian's shoulder and wrist to be completely healed.
"Now, only two left."
Ian snatched a sword from a fallen knight's belt and beckoned to the ones standing beside Hugo.
"If you won't come, I'll go to you."
"U-urgh..."
"This is bad..."
The knights who'd been laughing at Ian just moments before now had no composure left.
And the same was true of Hugo, well aware he was on the verge of taking a beating from the son he had scorned.
"U-urgh...!"
But it was too late to turn back now.
All the incompetent Hugo could do was stand dazed, awaiting his execution.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
A good beatup is refreshing...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】