Chapter 142

Chapter 142. Choosing to Abandon Humanity

Despite the confidence I had projected, a flicker of anxiety crossed Sir Zeke’s features.

“Hmm…! Wouldn’t it be wiser to reconsider?”

“Is there a specific concern?”

At my inquiry, Sir Zeke clamped his teeth over his lower lip.

“You certainly won’t find any benefit there.”

In other words, you are going to encounter something unpleasant.

He offered no further explanation.

Well, even if he were to spell it out, it would essentially be a long-winded way of saying, “Our Family Head is an absolute nightmare,” so he was hardly in a position to speak plainly.

The members of my party echoed this sentiment.

[You foolish thing. Think it over. This is the Lortel Family Head. He operates on an entirely different plane than anyone you’ve dealt with before.]

Shine, for once, was clearly hesitant.

Even Parun—who had left the final decision to me—expressed his apprehension.

[It is a poor choice. While Lortel may be a family of knights, the Family Head is a different breed. You are aware of that, aren’t you?]

Indeed. I am.

Once someone ascends to the role of Family Head, they become something other than a typical knight.

They wield honor—the supposed highest virtue—as a convenient tool to keep their house in line, while regarding faith and similar ideals as tiresome accessories.

What does that imply?

‘He might view us as nothing more than walking treasure chests to be plundered.’

Since this meeting was arranged in secrecy, he would have even fewer inhibitions.

Nevertheless, I did not change my mind.

And it wasn’t solely because of Sir Zeke’s involvement.

‘Ultimately, I never had a choice to begin with.’

The Young Lord’s assurances? The pride of the Third Sword?

What is that worth?

In the presence of the master of Lortel, the Young Lord is merely the Young Lord—and the Third Sword is just one among ten.

Regardless of their individual prowess, if the master of Lortel decides to act, they are powerless to stop him.

If I were to trust them and ignore the summons?

Would the Family Head simply let it go?

‘He would crush us—he would never allow such a slight to go unpunished.’

So, I had no option.

Only—

I turned to Sir Zeke with a question.

“Sir Zeke, did the Family Head request the attendance of all three of us?”

“…?”

“I mean, I am asking if it would suffice for me to go alone.”

“That is…”

Sir Zeke hesitated.

Perhaps he was attempting to gauge the Family Head’s true intentions, but I interjected before he could finish.

“I will go by myself. These two are just dead weight. I expect that should be sufficient, shouldn’t it?”

Sir Zeke remained silent for a long moment.

It was clearly weighing on him.

Beyond the initial preparation to bring all three, Sir Zeke was now stuck in a position where he had to fulfill the Family Head’s directive, and he was likely questioning whether taking only me was the correct path.

Before he could answer, however, I had already sent a message via magic to Shine.

Even now, Shine’s voice was ringing in my mind.

[Have you lost your mind? You reckless idiot. Where do you think you’re walking into by yourself? The other side is the Family Head! The Family Head…!]

[Hey, give it a rest. You’re being incredibly noisy. What else do you expect me to do?]

[If you are going, then we must all go together—]

[How am I supposed to know what kind of chaos you’ll cause? Keep quiet and accept it as it is.]

[Accept what as what—]

Disconnect.

I severed the connection to Shine’s abrasive message.

That was when Parun’s voice echoed in my ear. Fortunately, unlike Shine, Parun remained relatively composed.

Though—

[Will you be safe?]

She was just asking, clearly worried.

I gave a steady nod.

[What alternative do I have?]

[…That is true, but.]

[Do not linger near the castle. Head to Flick Mountain immediately. You know the secret route, correct? Take Shine with you by whatever means necessary.]

[…Mm.]

Parun didn’t reply instantly.

But I ended the transmission.

Even if Shine resisted, the level-headed Parun would follow my instructions.

As I forced my will onto the party, Sir Zeke finally finished his contemplation and spoke.

“For now… very well. It likely will not matter.”

“Thank you.”

“……”

At my clipped response, Sir Zeke pressed his lips together tightly.

I mirrored the action.

It was absurd.

Like a naive calf being led to the abattoir, thanking the errand boy sent by the butcher.

Of course, Sir Zeke wasn’t about to laugh—but regardless.

“I shall bid them farewell for a moment.”

“…Understood.”

After requesting a moment from the Third Sword, I spoke to the party via magic now that they had calmed down.

It wasn’t a formal discussion, like promising to meet again.

It was more of a practical exchange regarding what to do if things went wrong.

By the time we concluded our talk—

“…We really must depart now.”

“It appears so. I will return.”

I said my goodbyes to Shine and Professor Parun.

“Oh, right.”

“…?”

“…?”

Before I had taken more than a few steps, I paused and looked back at them.

“If I happen to return to my hometown… hmm. No, there is nothing worth saying about that place. Then, let’s see—once this is finished, I was originally planning to… well, I hadn’t really given it much thought.”

“What sort of nonsense are you spouting?”

At Shine’s inquiry, I shook my head.

“Nothing. I will be back.”

The jinx is absolute.

There was no sweetheart waiting for me back home, nor any grand plan for when this was finished.

So, I began to walk behind Sir Zeke—

And then, one thing I had been putting off occurred to me.

‘Right. I was going to raise a wyvern.’

But wait… this—

That doesn’t count as a broken promise, does it?

Following Sir Zeke, I entered through a side gate on the periphery of Lortel’s inner fortress.

Had they cleared the area beforehand? I didn’t spot any guards.

“Mask your presence and follow me.”

Sir Zeke issued the order and then stifled his own presence.

It didn’t seem strictly necessary, but perhaps the esteemed Family Head preferred total secrecy?

‘Likely.’

Here, a thought occurred.

‘Even if it is a private meeting, does it truly require this level of caution?’

Even if we entered openly, no one would find it suspicious that a guest was being escorted by the Third Sword.

But I dismissed the thought just as quickly.

‘…Well, what can you do.’

If Lortel’s dignified, noble Family Head desires it, then fulfilling that desire is only appropriate.

But what does “appropriate” actually mean? It refers to the kind of heart that most people possess.

And the key word there is “people.”

So?

“I am choosing to stop being human.”

“…?”

At my abrupt declaration, Sir Zeke startled.

But only for a second. Then his expression shifted to one of genuine shock.

“Y-you… what are you doing?”

What am I doing?

I am abandoning my humanity.

Tzzzz—

As if by muscle memory, I released the aura I usually kept tightly constrained. No—releasing wasn’t enough; I let it pour out.

At first, it was subtle.

Pajit, pajijeuk!

Like a thin stream emerging from a crack in a dam, the aura was intense, but the volume was laughably small.

However.

It was at that moment that a massive surge of presence swept through the surroundings.

Boom!

Like a torrent bursting from a collapsed dam, a colossal wave of mana surged outward, raging as it engulfed the area!

With all my might, I asserted my existence as I strode forward.

“W-what…!”

Sir Zeke, rattled, stood paralyzed—but I paid him no mind.

In a sense, it felt like walking into the slaughterhouse on my own terms while leaving the errand boy behind…

‘Not bad.’

Indeed. Not bad at all.

But at the same time, I was curious.

My aura grew more potent with every step, and soon, the martial forces of Lortel began to emerge in response.

The first to sprint out were—

“An intruder!”

“Take your positions!”

Chureok, cheok.

Regular knights clad in armor adorned with the Lortel crest.

Despite the late hour, they rushed out fully equipped for combat.

Their eyes burned with malice, and because of this, Sir Zeke had his hands full.

“Stand down and sheathe your intent!”

Sir Zeke halted them before they could draw their blades.

I could guess his motivation.

‘He is trying to prevent bloodshed.’

Regardless, I was a guest invited by the Family Head—or rather, he was desperate to avoid a situation that could not be reversed.

Meanwhile, the regular knights couldn’t mask their confusion at the Third Sword’s interference, as if the heavens had suddenly spoken.

“Sir Zeke…?”

“How can you…?”

Their eyes were filled with doubt.

Because the Third Sword was holding them back, they didn’t charge me, but they were clearly wondering what the hell was happening.

As the awkward, tense standoff continued, I stood my ground and curled my lips into a smirk.

Was I truly that shocking?

“You must cease this as well.”

Sir Zeke projected a cold aura toward me.

But I had no intention of stopping.

‘My curiosity remains unsatisfied.’

It was then that the aura dominating the vicinity grew even more violent.

Kugugugung—!

A savage flow. The air itself began to tremble.

“Kgh!”

“Hup!”

As the Lortel knights wavered for an instant from the sudden pressure—

I expanded my senses to match the reach of my aura. And it was right then that something truly massive was caught within my perception.

‘At this magnitude… a captain-class?’

As that realization hit me—

Swaeaeaeik!

A presence that had been distant closed the gap in seconds.

‘…!’

I hurriedly raised a barrier.

The collision occurred immediately afterward.

Boom!

The impact rattled my entire frame—and I coughed up blood with a heavy heave. Even with a barrier, the force was immense.

But the shock lasted only a moment. I straightened my hunched posture and lifted my gaze.

Beyond my barrier, I saw a man.

He was not fully armored like the regular knights, yet regardless of his attire, he was a knight radiating a power that commanded respect.

“…Captain!”

Hearing the regular knights shout, my suspicion was confirmed.

‘As I thought. A captain.’

“You. What in the hell are you?”

The captain of some unknown order glared at me, his eyes overflowing with murderous intent. But only for a moment.

“Captain Ekst, halt. Sheathe your blade.”

“…Sir Zeke? What exactly is—”

“I will explain later. For now, withdraw your aura and step back.”

Sir Zeke restrained Captain Ekst.

Ekst looked as if he couldn’t grasp the situation at all, but quickly, under Sir Zeke’s stern gaze, he retreated in frustration.

It was then that Sir Zeke approached me with a rigid expression.

“Enough. I do not know what your plan is, but end this now.”

No. It wasn’t finished.

While steadying my churned-up insides from the captain’s blow, I ignored Sir Zeke’s warning and pushed my aura even higher.

‘We have provoked a captain, yet still.’

Is it impossible to summon the Family Head with only this much?

‘We are reaching the limit.’

It cannot be helped.

I resonated the circles in my core.

Uuuwoong—

The circles hummed as if warming up.

A power, qualitatively superior to anything before, was on the verge of overflowing—

In that instant.

“That is enough.”

A deep, commanding voice.

Pushing through the ranks came an elderly knight.

“It is the dead of night. Is this not a bit too much commotion?”

Is that man the Family Head?

No, he wasn’t.

“Hamelan-nim!”

Hamelan—right. A name I had heard whispered.

In this age, the First Sword of Lortel.

It was no surprise I hadn’t sensed a single trace even as he approached this closely. Even now, standing right before me, his presence was entirely absent.

‘The Family Head, who I was supposedly summoned to meet, does not appear…’

Instead, the First Sword himself has graced us with his presence.

Damn it—if that is the case—

‘How much more must I do before the Family Head arrives?’

No—right now, Family Head or not, it appears my neck is at risk first.

I had thought Sir Zeke could manage things to a degree… but having the First Sword show up was the worst-case scenario.

Just as I had that thought—

“With me standing right before you, are you still thinking about something else?”

Flash!

A burst of light blinded me.

“…!”

For a heartbeat, my vision went blurry.

I blinked.

And when my sight returned, I faced a truly chilling reality.

The tip of a sword was hovering a fraction of an inch from my pupil.

Gigeuk, gik!

It vibrated incessantly, as if struggling to pierce through, but it was being blocked by something.

When I expanded my perception, I realized whose blade it was—and what was obstructing it.

First, the wielder was Hamelan.

Lortel’s First Sword.

“Hmm.”

With a mysterious smile, he looked at the one who had caught his blade—none other than Sir Zeke.

Sir Zeke, gripping Hamelan’s blade with a hand that was dripping blood, spoke with visible effort.

“First Sword… sheathe your weapon.”

“Why don’t you draw your own sword? I almost sliced your hand off.”

“Without express permission, for members of the Ten Swords to cross blades is prohibited by house law.”

“Oh? You are remarkably rigid about following such orders.”

“…?”

At the biting comment, Sir Zeke’s face showed his confusion—

Pajijeuk—

And then aether flared violently along the blade.

“Kgh…!”

“You are aware, aren’t you? I have no intention of harming you. I intend to slay Lortel’s trespasser. Now tell me—are you still going to refuse to let go?”

What did that mean?

It was his intent to strike me down, even if it meant severing Sir Zeke’s hand in the process.