I Obtained the Final Boss' Power

Chapter 57 : Take the New Recruit (1)

Take the New Recruit (1)

"From today, this is where you'll be living. Let's get along from now on."

Silia spoke as she brought in Alber, the new recruit who had just been transferred, to the squad quarters.

Upon hearing those words, Alber felt disgusted inside. On top of it all, this squad quarters was where Louis lived.

"N-Nice...to meet... you."

On the surface, Alber said he was glad to meet them, but inwardly, he wanted to twist his face and scream.

'Damn it! How did I end up with guys like these!?'

And of course he'd feel that way—after all, he had been among the highest of the high in the nobility.

He was even the son of the noble hero, Laika Bisted.

Yet he'd lost all those ranks overnight and had fallen into this place— the ruin known as the demon realm.

The reason for this incomprehensible situation was the emperor's sudden and drastic crackdown.

"A new recruit's here, so why don't we all introduce ourselves?"

Louis sat down in a relaxed manner and was about to start introducing himself.

"No, there's no need for that. You already know all about me, right? Isn't that so, Lord of the Bisted house?"

"......"

Alber immediately understood and flinched, closing his mouth. Of course, this situation was daunting for him.

"Still, you must really be close to the 7th Legion, just like the rumors say, if you personally volunteered as a soldier here. That deserves a round of applause."

Louis spoke as if he was proud, but it was sarcasm, not praise.

Alber momentarily felt his temper flare at the sight of Louis clapping clumsily.

"What on earth happened...?"

"Hmm?"

"How did you survive in those ruins!"

Unable to contain himself, Alber shouted.

It wasn't just ridicule that angered him—he had an incomprehensible question.

"What happened to Sir Garce! Where's the summoned Great Devil! And... kuhk!!"

As Alber rambled, he took a punch to the abdomen and spat blood.

Louis followed up by hitting Alber's head and smashing it into the floor.

"I'll be the one asking the questions, bastard."

"Kuhk..."

With his face buried in the floor, Alber groaned, blood streaming from his head.

Just then, the squad quarters door burst open as other soldiers hurried in.

"Young master! We finished the job!"

At that moment, three members of the intelligence squad entered the squad quarters.

Among them, Alpher spoke loyally, and Louis issued a new order.

"All right, then go help with the next task. You know the corpse of that giant monster the officers hunted? Give a hand butchering it."

"What about our break? And why aren't you doing anything?"

"With my rank, you think I still do that?"

"......"

Anyone could see it was unfair, but they had no choice but to follow Louis's orders.

With heavy hearts, the three were about to leave again.

"Wait!"

Then, Alber raised his head, spotted the intelligence squad, and shouted.

"You haven't forgotten who I am, have you! Obey my orders, right now!"

They had been under Alber's command.

Naturally, the Bisted house and the Imperial Court's commands were to be obeyed unconditionally. But...

"Who are you, mister?"

The three glanced at his face with doubt, then went about their business.

Just a month ago, when they'd met again at the ruin, they still recognized him—so why now?

Louis explained the reason.

"Try to understand. Since that day, I've retrained them a bit."

And so, even abandoned by his own subordinates, Alber was left utterly stupefied.

****

The month leading up to Alber's transfer—many things had happened to him.

After being stabbed in the abdomen, Alber barely survived because he received timely medical care.

On top of that, he escaped the ruin in secret and felt safe for a moment.

But that relief was only brief.

The event in the ruin brought a massive backlash to the Bisted house.

In essence, everything that led him to be dragged into the 7th Legion began that day.

Having transferred in as a new recruit, Alber now sat upright, blood running down his head after being beaten by Louis.

"So, what happened to the illustrious Crown Prince?"

"Yes..."

At Louis's question, Alber began explaining everything that had happened so far.

At first, he refused to talk, but after a few "lessons" he spilled the details.

After a few beatings, even his speech had become polite.

"You all know the Crown Prince possessed extraordinary magic power. I'm sure everyone here knows that well, too."

Crown Prince Orbel was also famous for his skills as a mage.

Even without his royal authority, it was said he could protect himself. His magic power was so vast, no one dared challenge him.

"But... his magic power suddenly stopped working."

It was a sudden turn of events.

The Crown Prince, who had always been so self-assured, was struck by a bizarre affliction.

That source of pride, his magic power, vanished completely from his body.

A sudden, total catastrophe—like a bolt out of the blue for him.

Magic power he'd dreamed of and possessed for a lifetime was lost overnight.

There was no sign or warning—it just happened one day. The shock of it drove the Crown Prince to madness.

"That's not all. From that day, even His Majesty the Emperor changed strangely and tried to execute Prince Orbel."

"But he didn't succeed."

The Crown Prince had already escaped. So it stopped at just demotion.

Overnight, he lost both his authority and his prized magic power.

What was happening?

Could it make sense that someone would lose all their power and backing overnight?

Anyone could see it was absurd.

"His Majesty the Emperor, who had always treated the Crown Prince well, suddenly changed. And then, because of the investigation into the Crown Prince, all my actions came to light and..."

Alber, too, had been in league with the Crown Prince.

The evidence that they'd made a deal with a demon and affiliated with a dark mage organization was discovered, costing him his aristocratic rank.

That was why he was in the 7th Legion fortress now.

"How could something so outrageous happen...?"

As if possessed by a vengeful spirit, people could change overnight.

A truly chilling notion, yet there was a hidden reason behind it all.

"The Emperor didn't become strange. He just reverted to his true self."

"... What?"

"More precisely, you could say he returned to being normal."

Louis's words startled Alber. But Louis followed up with something even more shocking.

"Honestly, since the Great Devil was killed, shouldn't everything have gone back to normal?"

"What did you just say?"

The Great Devil was dead? That was nonsense.

"Think about it. When did the Crown Prince lose his magic, and when did the Emperor change?"

It all happened about a month ago. Alber remembered the dates exactly.

"And what happened the day before?"

"That was..."

It was the day of the ritual at the ruin.

Wounded at the time, Alber left everything to Garce and retreated with the help of dark mages.

As he'd escaped alone, he didn't know the details.

"Ever since that event, the Crown Prince immediately fell. Do you really think that's a coincidence?"

"......"

At Louis's words, Alber's heart began to race madly. Sensing the heartbeat, Louis's lips curled into a sly grin.

"And those of us who should have been sacrifices to the Great Devil are still standing here alive."

Louis gestured to the squad members in the quarters.

Silia stood beside Louis, asserting her presence. Not a single one had died.

"So? What are you thinking now?"

"......"

Goosebumps crawled up Alber's spine, leaving him speechless.

Not only had these people survived the Great Devil and Garce, but this meant they had killed both.

The fact that he had been dragged in here proved their words were true.

There was no point continuing this conversation.

"And one more thing."

Now, the squad members who'd been quietly seated all stood up together.

Acting as one, they surrounded Alber, their gazes full of resentment.

"You haven't forgotten what you did to our house, have you?"

"T-That's..."

Domain lord of the Seifert domain—his son, Louis Seifert.

Alber well knew who Louis was.

"You led the destruction of the Seifert house's heir. No need for me to say what's going to happen to you, is there?"

That alone explained everything.

He still remembered seeing his parents—who raised him for 12 years—stabbed, and watching the domain he'd grown up in for 12 years burn like firewood.

"I'm sorry! Just once... Just once, please...!"

Sensing Louis's wrath, Alber trembled and bowed his head.

"But there was no other choice! You know what would happen to the Empire if the 7th Legion wasn't filled! This was all to meet that—"

Detecting the feebleness in his pleas, Louis sighed as if growing weary.

"Fine, I get it. I'll let you go just this once."

"Really?"

At those words, Alber's face brightened. He thought he finally saw a way to survive—until,

"But it seems those guys don't feel like letting you off."

Suddenly, oppressive stares bore into Alber from the squad around him, who looked on the verge of tearing him apart.

"Did you know? They're all from the Seifert domain, too. Can you even imagine what they went through?"

Look at Louis—he lost both his parents and home at once. What must the villagers—these squad members—have suffered?

They survived only by hiding in a secret underground tunnel, but lost everything else.

Louis was fine only because of some strange power, but the others weren't.

They'd never forgotten.

After Seifert domain fell, they were forced into the 7th Legion, suffered the officers' cruel treatment, and lived every day at risk of being thrown to the monsters—a living hell.

And now, the culprit who caused their hell was right before their eyes.

"No need to explain the rest, right?"

The one who destroyed their village and families was right in front of them.

This was a chance they'd never get again.

"You said you'd let me go just once!!"

"Yes, I did. But who knows what they'll do?"

Did he think Louis was the only one who resented him?

Louis lazily lay back, mocking Alber as if it were someone else's business.

"Hey, deputy-commander! Can't you stop them?! If I'm crippled, how am I supposed to fight monsters?!"

Desperate to survive, Alber pleaded even with Silia.

But she only made the same expression as the others, raising her hand.

"Kyaaaaak!!"

A spell engraved on her hand inflicted intense pain on Alber.

Tortured for about ten seconds, Alber screamed and collapsed on the floor.

"He won't be able to move for a while. Do as you wish—within reason."

Silia left the aftermath to the squad members and exited the quarters. It was none of her concern.

"You... do you think you'll be safe if you touch me...?"

Even barely able to move, Alber somehow managed to speak.

"If anything happens to me... my son won't leave you alone...!"

"So what?"

At his desperate words, Rio replied coldly.

"What does that matter? There's no one left to protect you now."

"My mom and dad died because of you!"

"And after burning down our village, you say that?"

"Come to think of it, aren't Dimo and the others dead because of this guy too?"

What crime had their village committed?

Their squad members' anger matched Louis's own.

Unlike Louis, who'd been mature since birth, they couldn't control this rage.

"Guys, I just had a great idea."

Pram, who was among the squad members, spoke up.

When the scowling squad asked her what, Pram answered in a cold voice.

"When our village burned... I saw my mom die right in front of me. I know you all went through it, too, but I still dream about it."

Pram remembered the nightmare she'd rather forget. But it made explaining that moment easier.

"My mom... to save me... Her leg got caught under the burning ceiling instead of mine. She shouted at me to run, but soon her voice turned into screams."

Before fleeing in tears, Pram saw it. Her mother's leg, pinned down and burning.

"What kind of pain must it have been, feeling your leg burn? Even now I wonder. And the one who did that to her is right here."

Looking down, Pram's eyes glinted with a strange light. From her hands, an ominous magic began to gather.

"Plus, the timing's perfect. I get to try my new magic."

"What are you... going to do...?"

With that cursed hand, Pram grabbed Alber's leg and said,

"I'll make you just like my mother."

At the same time, a red glare flashed in Pram's eyes and Alber's leg began to rot and decay.

"Th... this is... dark magic...!"

"That's right. The power of the Great Devil you worshipped like a god. Now it's mine, though."

"What?!"

As Alber's mind reeled, his arms and legs began to rot and wither away.

"──!!!"

His sporadic screams filled the whole quarters.

****

With one arm and one leg rendered useless, Alber was thrown onto the floor of the fortress's underground training hall.

He could barely even walk now, making it impossible to escape. Let alone fight monsters properly.

"Aaaah..."

Lying with his face against the floor, he let out a low moan.

Just as he felt hope was lost, someone's shadow fell over him.

"Huh...?"

Standing before him was his own son, Rejir.

Reunited with his son, who had one hand severed, Alber broke down in tears and hugged him.

"My son!! I've missed you!!"

As Alber sobbed and sniffled, his son whispered in his ear.

"I missed you, too."

A strange twitch played at the corner of Rejir's lips.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

It's parricide, but they deserve Rejir and Alber deserve it...

Also, I like that the villains are irredeemable...

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】