I Obtained the Final Boss' Power

Chapter 143 : Egosword (3)

Egosword (3)

A massive boulder cut across the entire elf village.

Its velocity, easily surpassing the speed of sound, combined with its mass to generate a powerful shockwave.

All the buildings were blown away and the ground was completely split apart.

Even the central hill-like terrain in the middle of the village was flattened into a plain.

"Keu... keuheok..."

Despite being struck by a boulder, as if a disaster had torn through, Bellain tried to get up again.

"Grrk..."

He attempted to move his legs to raise his body somehow.

However, due to the severe damage he suffered, he couldn't get his body to properly respond.

Blood flowed from his head, obscuring his vision.

Louis appeared before Bellain and gazed at him with admiration.

"How can you not die after taking that head-on?"

That was a boulder he had thrown with all his strength.

Even though he hurled it at a human form, not at some monstrous shape, he had enveloped it in aura, increasing its power far beyond usual.

Bellain's durability, surviving such a boulder throw with his bare body, was astounding.

"I suppose that's what it means to be called a Hero."

Silia spoke, standing next to Louis.

As someone said to be Swordmaster-class, it was entirely possible to survive even such a direct impact.

Thanks to that, Silia's certainty deepened.

"There's no doubt. That strength was originally the family head's."

At Silia's words, Bellain bit his lip in anger.

"There you go again, spouting nonsense...!"

Was she trying to deny once more that the power he gained through the divine ritual was his?

As someone who placed absolute faith in the ritual itself, Bellain found it infuriating.

On top of that, he was now in a situation of defeat.

He no longer had the strength to get up and counterattack, so all he felt was bitterness.

"Well done, everyone."

At that moment, Kelian appeared and spoke, prompting Silia to ask with a puzzled look.

"You were watching?"

"Of course. Naturally, so were these two."

Kelian brought forward the two people who had been standing behind him.

"This can't be...!"

"That Lord Bellain could be defeated..."

The Weissman couple, who had been pushed forward, were unable to hide their shock.

One of the Holy Nation's strongest forces, the Hero, was lying on the ground bleeding.

From the perspective of the Imperial Court, it was as if a Swordmaster had been savagely defeated in front of its people.

"It has been a while, both of you. Have you been well?"

Silia greeted them in a tone devoid of any warmth.

The couple couldn't respond to such a greeting from Silia.

Until just moments ago, they had been underground, but Kelian had brought them aboveground to witness the battle.

The sight of her blocking or deflecting Bellain's attacks was unforgettable.

"Do you have anything in particular to say to me?"

"What is there to say to you..."

Brute Weissman deliberately turned his head away and ignored her.

Then his wife, Alua Weissman, protested furiously.

"Don't tell me you're still holding a grudge about your younger brother? Are you still convinced that your brother died because of the rumor we spread at the academy?"

"I see you know well."

"That was ages ago! Don't you remember you destroyed our family over that four years ago? Haven't we already paid enough for what happened? Are you planning to torment us again?"

As Alua's protests continued, Silia clenched her fist.

"It's like you're pretending to be the victims, isn't it?"

She shot them a sharp look and spoke.

"What did you do so well to hold your heads high like that? What are you so proud of that you walk around with your shoulders thrown back?"

"Alright! I admit it, your brother died because of us! We are truly sorry!"

Brute quickly bowed his head before Silia.

"Yes... back then, it was our fault. We committed an unforgivable sin..."

Following her husband's cue, Alua had no choice but to bow her head as well.

"Why did you do it?"

"..."

"..."

When Silia asked bluntly, the two fell silent for a moment.

"It was out of jealousy..."

Then Brute opened his mouth again.

"As you know, our family is descended from a great Swordmaster. Of course, we were always expected to live up to that lineage."

"That's right. We were always being praised for our exceptional bloodline by those around us."

That wasn't wrong, so Silia simply listened.

"But think about it. We suffered under that pressure, only for these wild siblings that the family head picked up to turn out even more talented than us. So what were we then?"

"We're the ones who officially inherited the blood, but then some kids picked up from the streets turn out to be more talented—that drove us crazy."

Orphans with no parents showing more talent than themselves, who belonged to a supposedly great lineage.

The sense of loss was beyond words.

"I know all too well. That's why you always looked away from me and Sylvester, isn't it?"

Silia had known those reasons for a long time.

"We probably just looked arrogant. Kids with inferior blood acting superior to you."

"..."

"..."

As there was no reply, Silia continued.

"But really, that's not important now. It's all in the past."

"R-really?"

"Then you're letting us go?"

The Weissman couple lit up with hope at the possibility of surviving.

"But it turns out you did much more wrong than just that."

"More wrong?"

"What do you mean..."

At that moment, they heard someone behind them.

"You should probably ask the person behind you about that."

The couple stiffened as they turned around.

"Ask our family head."

Andrew Weissman, the family's original head.

The once-renowned strongest man of the Imperial Court, now a gaunt old man, was standing behind them.

"Huk...!"

"F-father...!"

At the sight of Andrew, whom they hadn't seen for four years, the siblings froze stiff.

"It's been a while. Have you been well?"

"Father... are you in your right mind?"

"Yes. Do you remember I stayed behind alone in the elven forest to save you all?"

"Yes! We never forgot your grace from back then!"

Brute forcefully declared, trying to escape from the situation.

"My grace, huh..."

But Andrew's expression turned cold.

"It's true; I wanted you to live lives the right way. I hoped you could use the family's fall as a stepping stone to become better people."

He just wanted them to live respectable lives.

Andrew had willingly chosen to suffer here in hopes that his children would face reality and live on.

"But why did you repay that grace... in this way?"

Andrew gestured toward Bellain, who lay collapsed beside him.

"While I was being brainwashed by the fruit's effects... why did you drain all of my strength?"

"What do you mean...?"

"Don't pretend you don't know! I know everything."

The memories from when he was brainwashed remained intact.

Thanks to that, Andrew remembered everything.

The Weissman family could have lived peacefully with Andrew remaining here.

But, in their desire for power within the Holy Nation, they had siphoned off Andrew's strength themselves and offered it to the Holy Nation.

"Is this what you call gratitude?"

"F-Father..."

"You despised Silia and Sylvester as wildlings, but then did this even to me, your family head?"

"That's..."

Andrew picked up Bellain's fallen sword.

The chilling blade terrified the couple.

"I hoped you would live normal lives... but now even that hope has withered."

"Wait! Please listen to our side!"

"You already broke your word to me. There's no turning back now."

Even robbed of strength, Andrew's sword looked sharper than anything.

The couple tried to flee that blade, but Louis tripped their legs.

"And do you know whose descendant Silia—the one you called savage—really is?"

"What...?"

Even Andrew had only recently learned of Silia's bloodline.

His first reaction, of course, was one of shock.

Even a man once called a Swordmaster couldn't help but react that way.

"Great Mage Mirianne, grand Swordmaster Frederick—Silia and Sylvest are both their descendants!"

"What...!"

"That's more than enough reason for your deaths."

"Wait...!"

After that, the couple's protests were no longer heard.

"I'm sorry."

Slice—

The sound of their heads being severed and Andrew's regretful voice were all that remained.

Having beheaded his own children, Andrew looked at Louis with a hollow expression.

"Is everyone watching? There isn't a shred of falsehood in what's happening right now."

He stared into Louis's eyes and spoke strangely.

"So do not resent Silia. If you must bear resentment, let it be toward me. That is the last mercy I wish to give you, my descendants."

Through Louis's eyes, Andrew wanted to convey his words to someone else.

Naturally, whomever Louis looked at, Andrew's words would be delivered to the intended recipient.

"Everything's recorded now, right?"

"Of course. Besides those two, the Weissman family still has survivors."

The only family members in the village had been those two.

Andrew wished, for the sake of the rest or so that Silia would not be burdened by unnecessary grudges, that this would be enough.

"But are you alright? You worked yourself to exhaustion for four years just to protect those two."

"It's fine. I'm not the family head anymore."

By the time they stole his strength, the line had already been crossed.

Thanks to that, he could finally let go of all lingering attachment to his descendants.

"Yes... it's fine."

But in the end, he had killed the descendants he had risked his life to protect.

Even if he said he was fine, the sense of loss would be immeasurable.

"I'm sorry, Silia. Sorry for troubling you by insisting on protecting people like them all this time."

"It's okay. Every decision was the family head's."

"And..."

Andrew looked at Bellain, who was still lying on the ground.

"That story just now... is it true?"

Bellain wore a look of horror.

"That girl... she's really the Great Mage's and the Great Hero's descendant!"

[Yes, it's true!]

At that moment, Silia's twin swords, Bloodline, spoke with a voice.

[This child carries our blood. And you still intend to keep fighting?]

"Then—are you actually...!"

A weapon possessed by a lingering spirit, an ego sword.

Though the Holy Nation had long regarded such things as evil, there was no guarantee that only evil spirits would reside within them.

"N-no way. It must be a lie. How could the spirits of such great ones possibly end up inside a weapon like this?"

Mirianne was said to have become one with the World Tree, and Frederick was said to be holding back the seed of the demon realm.

Who could believe that those two spirits resided here?

[Well, it's up to you whether you believe it or not.]

[But you did just call us evil demonic swords, didn't you?]

"...!"

He no longer had any allies around.

He wanted to call his soldiers, but none could be seen since earlier.

Perhaps they had been caught up in the aftermath of the previous battle.

No. He couldn't die like this.

Just as he tried to move his body with the last of his will—

"You'd best not struggle anymore."

"Urgh!"

Andrew jabbed his finger into Bellain's chest.

Immediately, he couldn't move his body, nor could he summon any magic power.

"Just as I thought, your power is exactly like mine—even down to the weaknesses."

"What did you just do...!"

"My aura usually erupts from my heart. So, I blocked the flow of magic power from your heart."

"I thought you'd lost your strength?"

"This is the best I can do, having lost my power."

Even without his full strength, it seems once a Swordmaster, always a Swordmaster.

Kelian and everyone else marveled at his skill.

"Haa..."

Having accomplished such a feat, Andrew then lamented as he looked at the decapitated heads of his children.

"Please, let me be alone a moment."

Wearing a sad expression, Andrew withdrew from the scene.

No one stopped him.

"You bastards!!"

Then, someone shouted from nearby.

"You think you'll get away unscathed after this!!"

High Priest Tyrone came up from the underground, yelling in their direction.

"You destroy the elf village and interfere with the production of the sacred stone? I'll not let this stand!"

"And if you don't, what'll you do about it?"

When Louis retorted, tyrone curled his lips into a smirk.

"The special task force directly under Kilvus Imperial Court. Outwardly, you hid under the 7th Legion to evade our Holy Nation's eyes, but thanks to Saint Pram coming here, we've been able to dig into your past."

In Tyrone's hand was a crystal orb.

It looked similar to a magitech recording device often used by magitechnology engineers.

"Seifert domain. Am I right?"

At those words, Louis's heart pounded.

"This isn't just a standard recording device. It shows the scene in real-time."

The moment Tyrone activated the device, an image appeared in the air.

The instant Louis saw that image, all light vanished from his eyes.

"It's the weakness of your 7th Legion special task force... kehhek!!"

And, before anyone realized it, he was strangling High Priest Tyrone's neck.

On the screen, the Seifert domain was burning in flames.