I Obtained the Final Boss' Power

Chapter 46 : Bald Grandpa (2)

Bald Grandpa (2)

Decades ago, there was an incident where a massive horde from the demon realm attacked the Empire.

Countless monsters burst out from a suddenly opened rift in midair and turned the entire continent into a hellscape.

The area contaminated by the demon realm transformed as if it had become an unknown world.

The lands that fell to the attacks of monsters and demonkin advancing from there were similarly tainted.

As a result, the continent that once formed a single empire was split into two.

If nothing was done, the entire continent would fall, not just the Empire.

In the end, humans had to do things they would not normally have considered, just to survive.

Of course, individuals had to strengthen their own power, and those who could not, had to use their wits to find a way to live.

From that point on, the average strength of those called knights and mages increased, and among imperial citizens, one particular technology began to stand out.

The crafting of magitech devices using magic power.

What is now called magitech emerged as a widely recognized concept.

The event that brought about the hellish tragedy and, simultaneously, the Empire's development, was called the Demonkin War.

Heroes emerged in every field during that war.

On the knights' side, who wielded swords, there was Laika Bisted, founder of the Bisted family.

On the magitech side, there was Ferus Maclean, who invented numerous magitech devices and established the field of magitech.

Had it not been for the strength and wisdom of those who distinguished themselves in the war, the continent might have completely disappeared, not merely been split in two.

Everyone in the Empire remembered their achievements.

It was only natural for these heroes of the Demonkin War to have accumulated immense power.

But there was no guarantee that such power would always be used for good. Since everything changes with time.

"The Bisted family today has changed so much."

Ferus said, recalling the past.

He spoke with Louis while simultaneously repairing the fortress wall.

He had come to Paruzan Fortress for this very conversation.

"Laika, the previous head of the Bisted family whom I knew, was far removed from selfishness."

"Perhaps the problem lies not with Laika himself, but with his descendants?"

Louis said as he carried materials for the reconstruction of the wall to Ferus.

They were various minerals and monster remains obtained while hunting monsters in the demon realm—all suitable for fusing with or reinforcing the wall.

"You must have heard how I ended up being dragged to this fortress."

It had been a day since Ferus came to the fortress.

In that time, Louis had worked alongside Ferus and shared many stories, including how he joined the 7th Legion.

"I could tolerate them teaming up with the 7th Legion, seeing it as a power play, but to think they went as far as that..."

"And that's not all. See those guys over there?"

Louis pointed to Alpher, Tyr, and Haif carrying materials in the distance.

Having been broken by interrogation, they had become Louis's slaves; they were assassins Bisted had sent to Paruzan.

"When I interrogated those guys, I heard some truly shocking things."

The problem lay not only with Bisted.

The Imperial Court, which Bisted fervently supported, also exuded a suspicious stench.

"To summarize in a single line:"

—The true power in the Empire now lies with the Crown Prince.

"What could that possibly mean, with His Majesty the Emperor still alive and well?"

Those three said nothing more. Apparently, that was all they knew.

"Are you sure it's wise to tell me this? If I happened to be a fervent supporter of the Crown Prince, you wouldn't have made it out of here unharmed."

As Ferus said, Louis's comments just now were extremely dangerous.

Even if this was the demon realm, where not even royalty could enter at will, it didn't mean interference was impossible.

Ferus himself coming and going as he pleased was evidence enough.

With the extraordinary authority he wielded as a hero, nothing was truly impossible for him.

"Isn't the same true for you, headmaster? Yesterday, you shared some pretty sensitive information with me, too."

Ferus had come all the way to the fortress to confirm one thing

.

He wanted to see for himself whether Louis was 'something wearing the skin of a human,' like Laika Bisted.

"You said there was one other person on whom the spell didn't work. And that person was coincidentally one of the heroes who saved the Empire."

"..."

This torture spell created by Laika affects all humans without fail.

No matter how powerful they are, at best, they could only grit their teeth and endure the pain.

If it doesn't work, it likely means the person is not human.

"Both you and I shared dangerous stories, didn't we?"

"That's only because you're a soldier who can't freely leave here."

"But if I build up more rewards, I can go out easily. Don't you know how I visited Zodiac the last time?"

"..."

No one in the fortress could truly touch Louis now.

Even the rewards given to soldiers meant nothing to him anymore.

"I played a great role in the recent stampede. All the materials coming into the fortress now—I gathered every one of them myself."

Ferus looked at the mountain of demon realm materials stacked beside him, his mouth hanging open.

A magitech specialist would have gone berserk with excitement, but Ferus pretended to be unfazed.

"In any case... I wanted to investigate you because you seemed connected to Laika."

"Was it such a great concern that you postponed other matters to come to this grim place?"

As the head of an academic field, Ferus surely had many places to be.

There must have been far more important things than coming here.

Even so, he had come to see Louis.

"During the Demonkin War, I saw him often. My inventions played a big role on the chaotic frontlines."

Ferus had seen him fight with his own eyes.

Although covered in the blood of monsters and demonkin, there was a resolve in his gaze: the determination to defend the Empire.

"When he beheaded the demonkin chieftain, I was there, too. To be honest, he nearly killed me back then."

After Laika cut off the enemy leader's head, he suddenly turned on his own allies.

His eyes lost all reason in a flash—there was no longer conviction, only the cruelty of a wild beast.

"I barely survived that day by keeping my wits about me... not just me, but all of us."

Fortunately, the rampaging Laika lacked precision in his movements.

Without any will, slashing only on animal instinct, it had been easier to find an opening.

The surviving members of the expedition, along with Ferus, joined forces and managed to subdue Laika.

Some were of comparable skill to Laika himself.

"Those of us in the expedition somehow managed to suppress him. In the confusion, I was able to inscribe a spell on a comrade."

The spell was not as complete as it is today; no one knew what would happen when it was cast.

At worst, Laika might have died—but there was no alternative for stopping him.

He desperately wanted to end things without killing an ally.

"With my heart pounding, I triggered the spell. Since it hadn't been fully developed, its power was unimaginable compared to now. But..."

Amazingly, Laika felt no pain.

Seeing no effect, everyone despaired, but then—

"He calmed down. Just after the spell activated, his eyes returned to normal."

It was a moment that sent chills down everyone's spine and made their knees shake.

Though there had been no pain, Laika regained his consciousness.

Seeing that return in his eyes, the expedition finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"I still remember the look in his eyes that day, as clear as ever. That's why I could tell instantly."

As he worked, Ferus stared intently into Louis's eyes and said,

"Though it's a subtle difference, your gaze is very similar to what I saw in Laika that day."

Ferus had realized this ever since watching the footage of Louis at the Zodiac Tournament.

Louis's pupils in the video called Laika to mind.

To confirm, Ferus replayed the video with the energy measurement function enabled.

He saw Louis's levels momentarily turn into the black numbers that indicated he was not human and was convinced.

"You and Laika must have some sort of connection."

Upon hearing this, Louis was openly surprised.

Laika being calmed from his rampage by a spell sounded almost identical to himself.

As Ferus said, it seemed likely there was a connection between Laika's rampage that day and the power of the Chaos Dragon that Louis now bore.

"But I'm fine now. Why does my gaze seem strange?"

Louis was currently in a normal, un-rampaged state.

There was no sign his eyes had changed.

"That's why I said there's a subtle difference. Even if you seem fine now, it's not certain that you're free of all influence."

"..."

In other words, even without revealing his scales, there was a possibility he could go mad.

"I don't know what kind of strength you possess, but you shouldn't rely on it too much. Otherwise, you might lose the ability to distinguish even your loved ones."

With a wave of his hand, Ferus drew together the materials Louis had collected.

As alchemy activated, the Gigant Vulture in his hand broke down into its particles and merged with the materials.

The lump spun around in midair and then came together as a single mineral.

Though a scholar, Ferus had learned telekinesis magic, so the boulder-sized mineral floated in midair.

Placing it at the site of the wall, he fused it to the existing structure with a touch.

There were patches along the wall with an odd, grayish color different from the rest.

All of these were sections rebuilt in this manner from fallen structures.

Only two sections remained.

Work that would have taken other magitech experts days, Ferus finished in just two.

'Still, that's something I'm worried about.'

—The true power in the Empire now lies with the Crown Prince.

He kept mulling over Louis's earlier words.

"Um, excuse me..."

At that moment, one of Louis's team members, Rio, approached Ferus.

"The mage officer and the deputy-commander... they said you should have this."

Following errands from Klein and Silia, Rio handed over a tray with tea and candy.

"And they're sorry the hospitality's lacking... they said to tell you that..."

"What a wonderful child you are."

The old man gratefully accepted the goodies the young girl offered.

Realizing at a glance that Rio was a soldier here, Ferus felt somewhat disheartened inside.

Still, trying to act like a kindly elder, he patted Rio on the head.

"If you ever need anything, let this old man know. If you need a weapon for fighting monsters, I'll craft one for you in a heartbeat."

Having always shown an interest in battle to survive, Rio was deeply moved by the offer and smiled brightly.

"Thank you so much, bald Grandpa."

In that instant, the warm, flowery mood turned to one of a volcanic eruption—a hellscape about to explode.

Louis had to hastily restrain the old man, who looked set to go off like a volcano.

****

Armored soldiers walked through a dense forest. They were no ordinary soldiers but convicts forced into a suicide squad.

Aiden, the commander of the 4th Fortress Kaliion of the 7th Legion, caught sight of the 5th Fortress, Paruzan, ahead.

"Just as the rumors say, it sure has changed since I last saw it."

Aiden let out a small scoff at the partially collapsed outer walls of the fortress.

Most had been rebuilt, but the defenses clearly remained weak.

[Is that the fortress where the stampede recently occurred?]

A bird floating beside Aiden spoke. It conversed in the human tongue, as it was actually a spirit being used as a medium for communication magic.

"Yes. It's also the place where I and my fellow recruits once trained."

[I'm not interested in such details. Still... the communication magic is unstable...]

The voice coming from the spirit grew fainter, as if it could be cut off at any moment.

"Because of the demon realm's environment, smooth communication isn't possible. We'll lose the connection if we go deeper."

[Any case... move as I asked, and your wish—]

As the transmission became even more erratic, Aiden answered politely,

"I understand, Your Highness the Crown Prince."