I Obtained the Final Boss' Power

Chapter 21 : Zodiac (3)

Zodiac (3)

The Bisted family is known far and wide as the descendants of the hero who brought the war against the demonkin to an end.

That hero was none other than Rejir's grandparent.

Now, having stepped down from all affairs and handed the family over to his child, his fame continues to serve as the foundation that allows the family to flourish today.

Thanks to this, the power he built was now within easy reach of his children.

Thus, Bisted was a house that everyone admired.

As the descendants of the hero, it was only natural that many held high expectations for them.

No matter the time or place, they must never disappoint anyone.

As a result, the gathering that day stirred up great turmoil in Rejir's future.

Ever since losing to Louis, everyone's gaze toward Rejir had soured.

Even the swordsmanship instructor he respected belittled Rejir, expressing disappointment.

Despite having devoted effort to teach him, why had he lost to such a little brat?

That rebuke hit Rejir hard.

Louis Seifert. This was all because of him.

He was certain the reason he had lost back then was because of some dirty trick.

Otherwise, there was no way he could have been defeated.

'Right now, the problem is restoring my fallen reputation.'

As part of that effort, Rejir chose Zodiac's magitech device exhibition.

Coincidentally, the family was in the process of crafting a magic sword, and he intended to display its performance at Zodiac.

At the very least, he had to emphasize that his sword skills weren't trash.

Even before stepping onto the exhibition stage, Rejir recalled the sword techniques his instructor had taught him, practicing them several times.

What's more, the location was Zodiac—a place where scholars lived.

To people who had probably never even held a sword, his skill would appear incredible.

In fact, this effect worked.

Not only the spectators but even the judging panel of scholars were watching Rejir's swordsmanship with wide eyes.

'Success.'

With this, rumors would spread, evaluating his skill highly.

Then, people would inevitably start doubting whether he had truly been defeated fairly at the gathering.

Of course, this alone wasn't enough. Right now, he had simply set a small branch alight.

To fan the flames of certainty, he needed to demonstrate clear ability or achieve a result worthy of his status.

For example, he could singlehandedly subdue a powerful monster that even knights struggled with.

Or he could thoroughly crush the one who had humiliated him before.

Normally, he would have naturally chosen the former.

It was a bit troublesome, but there was no other answer.

However, now, he no longer needed to do that.

"Well then, I will now proceed with a live demonstration!"

Rejir announced confidently from the stage.

As the spectators buzzed about what else he had prepared, someone stepped onto the stage.

When they saw Louis, shackles on his wrists, the spectators whispered in confusion, wondering who the boy in shackles was. At that moment, guard soldiers tore Louis's old shirt.

The spectators gasped at the stigma drawn on the boy's back.

"As you can see, this boy is a soldier of the 7th Legion. In other words, a criminal."

At those words, the noise grew even louder.

As the crowd questioned why a criminal was here, another person ascended the stage.

"I am the one who personally brought him here."

When Silia appeared on stage, the spectators' eyes went wide.

Her uniform was one that only corps officers were allowed to wear.

"I am Silia, deputy commander of the 5th Fortress of the 7th Legion. As long as I am by his side, this boy will not be able to do anything."

Silia reassured the spectators by making her position clear.

With an officer present, there was nothing to worry about. Just then, a member of the judging panel asked:

"However, why did you bring that criminal here?"

"His name is Louis Seifert. I am sure some of you are already aware of him."

The moment those words were spoken, the judging panel was visibly shocked.

Staring carefully at Louis's face, the judges finally recalled.

At the noble gathering, the judges had been present as prominent figures themselves.

"He's the one who defeated Sir Rejir that time, isn't he..."

"I have always wondered—was that duel truly fair? Would the offspring of the Seiferts, who coveted His Majesty the Emperor's property, have engaged in the duel by proper means?"

There were many who had lost faith in Bisted that day.

Even the scholars among the judges were snorting in disapproval.

So now they understood why the Bisted side insisted on the exhibition:

It was meant to serve as a stepping stone for recovering their fallen reputation by any means.

If their goal was simply to prove the performance of the magitech device, it would have been understandable.

However, bringing up a past defeat at an event like this left a bad taste.

Several scholars, having noticed this, scowled at Rejir.

Nevertheless, at this point, it was too late to call off the exhibition.

The stage itself had already been reinforced, and additional strengthening work was done to make it withstand testing.

A transparent barrier had also been set up to prevent any damage to the spectators in the front rows.

Using other types of barriers could have saved costs, but since the audience needed to witness the demonstration up close, the most expensive transparent barrier was used.

This exhibition was essentially a weapons test.

Since magitech devices could sometimes go berserk or explode, mages specializing in healing had also been stationed.

Too much budget had been invested to call it off now.

"Yes. I understand what you are all thinking. This is a venue for demonstrating the performance of magitech devices. It has nothing to do with a sword duel. Therefore, through this duel, I intend to showcase the capabilities of the magic sword crafted by my house, Bisted!"

With this declaration, Rejir drew the magic sword made by his family.

At the same time, his guard knights forced an identical sword into Louis's hands.

He would demonstrate the magic sword's performance to the scholars, while simultaneously overpowering Louis in the duel.

Rejir's aim was to achieve both.

Since this could be considered a real-world test of the magic sword, there was little ground for the scholars to object.

Furthermore, few people saw this as a bad thing.

― Killing him shouldn't matter, right?

― Exactly. After all, it's the 7th Legion, filled with people less than beasts.

― I saw him at the library earlier...

― Does that mean a criminal was reading books next to us?

― Execution!

The moment someone bears the stigma of the 7th Legion, they can no longer be treated as human.

As criminals who deserve death, they are thrown as food for monsters.

So essentially, they're calling for the execution of a serious criminal.

As the crowd shouted for execution, Rejir smiled.

'He really means to kill me.'

Louis thought as he looked at the magic sword forced into his hand.

No, what he held was not a magic sword.

The scent it gave off was completely different from Rejir's.

What's more, it was significantly heavier.

It seemed more suitable for strength training than actual combat.

Compared to Rejir's sword, the blade wasn't sharp at all.

In other words, it was a failed product.

"So, Louis. Now everything's fair, isn't it?"

Seeing Louis with the fake sword, Rejir smiled.

"I don't know how you beat me last time, but do you think you can use the same tricks under these circumstances?"

"You still think I won by cheating?"

"Do you really not get it? Does it seem reasonable to you that I, who received expert instruction, would lose to someone who's barely held a sword?"

When he put it that way, it almost made sense.

The problem was Louis's monstrous talent defied common sense.

Of course, few people would believe it right away.

"Do you see how people are looking at you? That's how society views the 7th Legion."

Rejir turned his head to the audience as he spoke.

"With the mark of the 7th Legion on you, you'll never be treated as a person. For whatever reason, you're never returning to the world of the living."

Louis also turned his gaze to the audience.

He could clearly feel their hostile stares.

It was enough to make him sigh, but he couldn't blame them.

After all, nobody there knew the circumstances that had made him a soldier.

"So, I suggest you give up about now."

"Give up on what?"

At that question, Rejir curled his lips up.

"On your own life!"

Lifting his magic sword, flames erupted from its blade.

The column of fire leaping from the sword startled not just the spectators, but the judging panel as well.

Among them was a master craftsman, who watched the output from the magic sword with fascination.

"A holy sword emits light from its blade, and a cursed sword steals the soul of the one it strikes—or so the legends say. But such things do not exist only in legend!"

Those things could never have existed since the very birth of the world.

Ultimately, it meant they were the result of human ingenuity.

"This place is a stage to prove that. Consider it an honor to be the foundation for such a stage!"

With that, he swung the sword wreathed in massive flames at Louis.

Without warning, the attack began, but Louis dodged lightly.

"Lucky move. How about you try bringing out some fire of your own? With enough focus, even someone without magic power can manage a weak flame!"

With just concentration, huh? Louis tried once, but nothing happened.

No surprise, considering he'd been given a fake.

"Can't do it? It was made so anyone could use it—why is it just you who can't?"

In fact, earlier in the audience someone had managed to create flames with a magic sword.

Even a person who had never touched a sword or magic before could manage it easily.

Thus, Louis would seem like someone incapable of even the simplest task.

With this impression planted, Rejir would cut off Louis's head. That was his scheme.

"Well? Try using the move you used to beat me last time!"

Rejir launched a relentless assault against Louis with the flaming sword.

Unable to block with his own sword, Louis kept dodging.

Hard to counterattack?

Of course. The sword that criminal boy was holding was a failure that drained its user's strength.

In this, Rejir would simultaneously flaunt the magitech device's performance and recover his honor with Louis's death.

Knowing this was within his grasp, Rejir swung his sword with a smile.

CRASH!-

At that moment, as Louis swung his sword for the first time, the sound of something breaking echoed.

"Huh?"

The pride of the Bisted family, their prized magic sword, had been destroyed.

A supposedly sturdy, well-made fine blade was shattered by a mere failed product, weaker than an ordinary sword.

Rejir, previously grinning, now stood slack-jawed in disbelief.

No matter how many times he blinked in doubt, nothing changed.

"How... did this happen?"

"Good question. How did this happen?"

Louis spoke with a mischievous smile.

"It doesn't make sense for your pride and joy to break that easily, does it? Especially since I'm not even wielding some kind of fake."

"...!"

Impossible! Wasn't Louis the one with the fake sword, not him?

Just to be sure, Rejir inspected every part of the broken sword from the pommel and beyond.

There's a way to tell if a sword is fake.

A fake feels less magical power, and is unnecessarily heavy.

But up until it broke, none of those criteria fit this sword.

In short, this broken sword was the real deal.

"How strange. If you happened to bring a fake by mistake, want to use mine instead?"

Louis held out his sword, making Rejir shrink back in fear.

He knew all too well he'd make a fool of himself using that fake.

Moreover, the word 'fake' coming from Louis's mouth was unsettlingly out of place.

It made Rejir feel as though Louis knew everything, for some reason giving him a bad premonition.

"Bring me another magic sword!"

Fortunately, there was more than one. A guard hurriedly brought over an identical sword.

At least, there's no aura about him.

Louis didn't seem to have any special strength that could destroy swords.

Could he be pulling a trick again? But with a 7th Legion officer watching, that seemed unlikely.

The looks he was getting just now were none too pleasant. This was his only chance to recover.

"Changed your sword? Then I'll change too."

Louis dropped the sword in his hand, and instead, drew an old, worn sword from his belt.

"This one's lighter after all."

Was this some kind of joke? Even if it was fake and a failure, it was still stronger than a normal sword.

And yet, he was tossing it aside for that battered old thing?

Louis, boasting, added,

"I got this as a gift from a certain lord before coming here. They said if you strike the opponent's sword with this, you can tell if theirs is a magic sword or not, or something like that."

"Quiet!"

Though Louis's words sounded ominous, Rejir ignored them and charged.

As flames enveloped his sword, he slashed, but Louis ducked and dodged the blow.

The attack, sailing past, struck toward the judging panel, but was stopped by the barrier.

Taking advantage of the opening, Louis closed in and swung his old sword twice.

CRASH!-

The sword in Rejir's hand shattered.

Another incomprehensible event, and Rejir's eyes trembled.

"What...?"

At the same time, Rejir's wrist, still clutching the sword, hit the ground.

"AAAAAAHHH!!"

Blood gushed from Rejir's severed wrist as he screamed, and guards rushed to his aid.

However, because everyone's attention was on Louis, who had cut off the wrist, hardly anyone noticed—

From the destroyed sword, a dark aura reminiscent of the dead began to seep out.