I Obtained the Final Boss' Power

Chapter 23 : Zodiac (5)

Zodiac (5)

"You had a younger sibling?"

At Louis's question, Silia gazed out the window beside the bed at the scenery unfolding beyond.

On the darkened ground below, the only bright thing was the shining moon.

"I did."

As the night sky came into view, the face of the person she had missed all her life floated up in Silia's mind.

"But I don't anymore."

At the same time, even the memories she wished she could forget resurfaced.

They were the worst nightmares, ones she wanted to bury forever and never recall.

"Did you know? I wasn't originally someone who could become a knight."

As Louis said, Silia once had a little brother. His name was Sylvest.

The siblings had lost their parents and were left to wander among the wilds.

There was nowhere that would take them in. With no money, they were treated as wildlings and sent away at every door.

With nowhere to go, the siblings had no choice but to continue a life in the wild.

Silia had no guardian. But becoming Sylvest's protector was possible for her.

It was only natural to look after a younger brother who had been frail since birth.

Silia learned the life of the wild with that brother.

She built shelters to shelter them from rain and wind, slaughtered wild beasts to guard their dwelling, picked fruit to gather food.

That way, Silia awakened to her own talent. She realized it as she easily felled beasts that anyone else would have fled from.

"I heard you were a noble by birth, deputy-commander."

"That's why I said it. I wasn't originally of a status to become a knight."

There was almost no possibility of a homeless wildling becoming a titled knight.

If anything, she seemed more suited to be a bandit or a mercenary.

"But the chance to change my status came along."

Dangers in the wild threatening the siblings were not beasts alone.

All the continent's territory outside of the exceptions was lawless land crawling with monsters.

Their refuge was eventually destroyed by monsters stronger than any mere beast.

Silia fought the monsters with the skills she'd honed in the wild.

Fortunately, she managed to defeat them all, but she was gravely injured herself.

Even her little brother ended up badly hurt.

Heavy blood loss slowly robbed them of consciousness.

If they fell asleep like that, they'd simply become food for the wild animals nearby.

She thought—this was the end.

But when she next opened her eyes, it wasn't the afterlife—it was the inside of a carriage.

Inside the carriage sat an old man. Suspecting he was a black-market dealer, Silia asked why he'd rescued them, but he replied:

― You cleared out all the monsters impeding this road ahead. So, I am giving you a great reward.

It turned out, the old man was a family head from a house that valued martial prowess.

He had instantly recognized Silia's talent and taken an interest in her.

"Thanks to meeting the family head that day, we were adopted into that family. That's how a wildling was transformed into a noble."

"The family head must have been a good person."

"That's right. Though, of course, only he treated us well in that house."

With the family's backing, the siblings could showcase their hidden talents.

In the end, Silia entered the Empire's academy and even graduated as the top knight apprentice.

Her little brother Sylvest, though weak in strength, excelled in academics and magitech.

It seemed as if the siblings' lives were walking a path of blossoms.

"But it's not like everyone around us was good. The main family members as well as the classmates at the academy—many hid their jealousy behind friendly masks."

Of course, those people were no match for Silia.

Even if they tried to trample her in secret, they were simply overwhelmed by her talent.

The real problem came after her graduation.

"In the end, I left them behind and was appointed as a knight under the Imperial Court. Up to that point, there wasn't any problem. At least, not until the news came from the academy that Sylvest had taken his own life."

The sudden death of the little brother she had protected all her life.

Unlike the family members who had never given her an ounce of affection, sylvest had been her only true family.

Silia burst into tears at the news, her heart breaking. And it wasn't hard to figure out the reason for her brother's suicide.

"Why did he take his own life?"

"Because while I was gone after graduating, word spread throughout the academy that we siblings were of wildling origin. It's obvious what Sylvest must have gone through in that situation."

Most of the students at the academy were talents from excellent houses.

Realizing that a pair of lowborn siblings had dared to stand among them?

It was an intolerable thing, from their perspective.

"But I couldn't touch those responsible, not as a knight."

Every single one of those who had driven her brother to despair was a renowned noble heir.

Anyone with sense would know—no matter what they did, you must never touch them.

"So I decided to throw away my sense."

She returned to the academy, outwardly for an official visit, but she ran rampant there.

She left her brother's tormentors half dead, and even disabled the guards who tried to stop her.

One fool, who shamelessly said he was glad her brother was dead, had his entire face smashed.

If the staff hadn't arrived just in time, everyone present might have been killed.

"That's the reason I was dragged into the 7th Legion."

"But usually, wouldn't that be a death sentence?"

"Normally, yes."

Thanks to the family head squeezing out his last remaining power, Silia avoided execution.

But the price was that he lost all authority and was driven out of the family.

Even so, that last act from the family head ended up almost meaningless, since the place where Silia was assigned was the 7th Legion—where you might die at any time and no one would know.

"At first I was a wildling, then reversed my life's fortune—only to fall into the abyss in an instant. Absurd, isn't it?"

"......."

"Of course, saying all this to you guys probably doesn't mean much."

Now Louis could understand why she was so reactive whenever he called her elder sister, and why she was so offended by Rejir's misdeeds.

"So that's why you helped me."

"Don't get the wrong idea. Even so, you're just another soldier of the 7th Legion. Why would I bother caring for a mayfly's life?"

With those words, Louis made a disappointed expression. He'd thought perhaps their relationship would grow closer after this, but it seemed expecting much from a 7th Legion officer was a stretch.

"But somehow, you feel similar to me. Not only did you lose your family, you were unjustly assigned to the 7th Legion too. It's the same—having similar bastards for enemies."

The reason she helped Louis was simple. It wasn't just because she was on duty—it was a sense of kinship.

At the sight of someone in a situation so similar to hers, her rational, cold judgment was blunted.

"And......"

Silia suddenly turned and stared at Louis, lying on the floor. Then, sensing something, she simply closed her eyes.

"It's nothing."

.

.

.

With dawn breaking, the two of them went down to the first floor of the inn and sat at a table.

Again, Silia ordered only for herself, and Louis pouted in displeasure.

"Why didn't you order for me again?"

"Do I really need to say?"

When Silia glared sharply, Louis just sighed. Of course—officers were all the same.

"Thank you for waiting!"

A short time later, the ordered food arrived. The innkeeper set Silia's portion only on the table.

"If you need anything else, please let me know."

"Just a minute."

As the innkeeper was heading back to the kitchen, Silia stopped her.

"I'll order a separate portion for him."

"Yes, of course."

Louis was startled by Silia's sudden order.

"What's gotten into you?"

"Unlike last time, this place actually gave me just what I ordered. If they'd given you a complimentary meal again, it would have meant this was the same as the last place."

An inn is supposed to only give you what you actually order. If they just hand out extra food without asking, you should be suspicious.

Soon, Louis's food was set in front of him as well. He sniffed it, dipped a finger to taste, and said,

"There's nothing odd about it."

"Then that's a relief."

After all, this was an inn in the magecity Zodiac.

Even though it was less fancy than the premium inns, there was no sign of crime here.

Silia had to know that. Yet even so, she ordered for Louis, which drew another comment from him.

"Thank you, elder sister."

"......"

As Louis thanked her and began to eat, Silia's hand slowed as she brought food to her mouth.

Her expression was tinged with bitterness as she ate. Louis wondered how such a fragile heart had ever climbed to the rank of commander.

Just then, a tracking magitech device in Silia's pocket let out an alarm.

Silia frowned as she checked it, confused by the sudden alert. The reason was the brief word on the display.

[Emergency]

It was an order to return to the fortress immediately.

****

"That was truly a ridiculous exhibition."

"That's right."

Within a massive building in Zodiac, several scholars were having a meeting.

They were grumbling about the recent Bisted family exhibition. They had been the judging panel for the event.

"Thanks to it, our precious budget was wasted. When the society head arrives soon, how are we going to explain this...?"

As they knew it, the society head was a veteran of the demonkin war, notorious for a temper as rough as the life he'd led.

"Just thinking of facing him already makes my head spin."

"To think they'd enter such a magitech device in an exhibition."

"If not for that 7th Legion officer, it would have gone unnoticed."

Items made by demonkin typically stand out.

Disguising one as an ordinary item is almost impossible, unless several conditions coincide—such as using a living person as a sacrifice, or the demonkin craftsman being extremely skilled.

"Still, how did that 7th Legion soldier manage to expose it? Revealing it would require the maker's strength or a part of their body, wouldn't it?"

"According to security's interrogation, even his sword was a magitech device. It's said to have been coated in demon's blood discovered in Dexter's domain."

"......"

As they continued talking, the conference room door opened. The moment they saw the old man who entered, everyone froze.

"D-Director!"

"Never mind greetings. Just report to me about the exhibition."

Ferus Maclean, the director of Zodiac. Dispensing with pleasantries, he took a seat, and at his urging, the scholars began a halting explanation.

As he listened, Ferus's face grew more and more sour.

"So... you ruined the exhibition?"

"Yes, but only Bisted suffers the loss. We only—"

"I don't care. I'll see for myself with my own eyes."

Ferus demanded a record of the exhibition.

Thankfully, there was a video-recording magitech device that had captured it from start to finish.

Per his order, the crystal orb was placed on the table, and a video began to play.

The exhibition proceeded smoothly at first—until a single soldier stepped onto the stage.

It showed Rejir's magic sword being shattered by the soldier's blade, and the soldier bursting the monster born from the sword with a single kick.

"Hm?"

With each scene, Ferus's brow furrowed further.

The process of the exhibition going to ruin seemed the cause of his anger, frightening the scholars.

"All of you—leave."

"Pardon...?"

Startled by Ferus's unexpected command, they gulped.

They didn't know what he would do alone in the room, but felt it would be better not to stick around.

"Very well, we'll go now."

At last, they left. Alone, Ferus immediately manipulated the magitech device.

This crystal orb was not just a video player. It had another hidden function that he alone knew about.

At his command, numbers began to appear throughout the video, over each person's head on the stage.

It was a function that displayed the physical energy output of living beings as numbers.

As the recording played with this function active, Rejir using the magic sword and its destruction drew no reaction from Ferus.

The real interest began when the monster emerged from the sword.

Numbers over the humans' heads were white, but those over monsters were black. Humans — white; monsters or demonkin — black.

"...!"

And when Louis killed the monster, Ferus was greatly surprised.

The moment the monster's body exploded, Louis's number turned black for an instant.

"That's...!"

Ferus immediately thought—he had to find that boy at any cost.

****

In the Bisted family's mansion, one man twisted his face in anger. It was Alber Bisted, the family head.

"Not only did the exhibition end in disaster, but you even lost your wrist?!"

"I've no excuse..."

"And to top it off, you were caught relying on the power of the demonkin..."

The report from a knight who entered his chamber only made Alber's face redder.

The family now faced scorn from the magitechs world, and the supply of magitech goods was to be cut off.

Especially, the Holy Nation would put enormous pressure on them. He needed to come up fast with a measure to quell everyone's outrage.

"Looks like I'll have to cast Rejir aside after all."

"Do you mean it, sir?"

"If I stand by now, I'll only make more enemies. That brat has been a disappointment for ages, so it's just as well."

Having reached this decision, Alber recalled the source of this disaster.

"To think... he was still alive."

He'd heard that the one who cut off his son Rejir's wrist was Louis, the very boy whose whole domain he'd destroyed and dumped into the 7th Legion.

How had that boy managed to come out of the fortress, and with a deputy-commander as his companion at that?

Alber clenched his fist, feeling uneasy. If he left things as they were, worse troubles than this one would come upon his family.

'I can't afford to let this go.'

Alber opened the window, and from outside, a black bird flew in and landed on his shoulder.

It was a contracted spirit. Though weak in combat, it could fly anywhere and survive in any environment.

Then, Alber sat at his desk and began writing letters.

― From now, I will make sure you receive a great reward. In exchange......

He folded the two letters multiple times and fed them to the spirit, which had been trained to deliver and regurgitate them to the intended recipients.

The spirit, having swallowed the letters, then flew off toward an officer in the 7th Legion who had connections with Alber.