The Youngest Son of the Northern Grand Duke Wants to Break Off the Engagement-Chapter 101

Chapter 101
Alter remained with the rearguard unit when he belatedly received news that the subjugation had ended.
It was likely that Benelrode the Incandescent had forced someone to expend too much mana with his breath attack and then suddenly driven them back.
Why had Benelrode the Incandescent aimed his breath attack only at him?
'He called me Tiksa as he looked at me. So, it really has come to that.'
Alter instinctively recalled Tiksa the Frostbane.
One of the Seven Dragons and his old nemesis, sealed away in the northern regions.
On the surface, there seemed to be no connection between himself and Tiksa the Frostbane, yet there were still unresolved matters.
'My mana was altered because of the Frost Witch. Then, how was the Frost Witch able to wield such power?'
The Frost Witch wielded a potent ice element, controlled the northern climate, and continued to exist as a source of mana even after losing her body.
It was far beyond what could be called magic, bringing about overwhelmingly unrealistic results.
Naturally, it meant that a being transcending humanity must have been involved.
'I don't know what method she used, but she must have obtained the dragon's mana.'
Of course, it was mere conjecture, but the end results allowed for some understanding.
It was dragon's mana, so the Frost Witch herself wouldn't have been able to endure, with both body and mana mutating rapidly.
That made it difficult even to cast curses, and the life force of both caster and cursed one might have been interconnected by the dragon's power.
'If the dragon's mana transferred to me... why am I still fine?'
Even the Frost Witch always had cold air swirling around her, with some parts of her body made of ice.
Effectively, it was suppression by the dragon's mana, causing a transformation of her internal structure.
In contrast, he himself had simply lived as a sickly child due to the curse, and had never experienced such dramatic change.
'... Is it because I am a descendant of the dragon that I don't suffer side effects?'
Tiksa the Frostbane had already proven that.
She had mentioned he was both the descendant of a priest and her own bloodline, that her power had once been stolen and only now reclaimed.
In other words, because he had inherited the dragon's blood, he acquired strength to match.
'So, the Frost Witch stole the dragon's mana from my ancestor, and my mother, knowing this, prepared things so I could reclaim it?'
Alter calmly considered the hypothesis but couldn't accept it as it was.
For one, his mother never directly retrieved the dragon's mana herself.
Moreover, Tiksa the Frostbane had simply observed the situation until now, only appearing at the very end.
Surely, action could have been taken sooner—why did things need to come to this?
'There are so many things I don't understand... but there must be a reason.'
With a bitter gaze, Alter reluctantly calmed his chaotic thoughts.
He could not infer the circumstances or decisions made back then.
It must have been the best possible choice at the time, and even a dragon was far from omnipotent.
Perhaps he even ought to be grateful for this much intervention.
'I definitely blocked the breath attack. Judging by the size of the magic circle and the mana consumed, I must have released a breath myself.'
He couldn't bring himself to deny it.
Alraune would probably think the same.
Yet, being unable to even recognize the principle behind it, he had to regard it as little more than a coincidence.
'I probably won't be able to use it often. My current mana couldn't handle it.'
In the end, although he managed to neutralize the breath attack, his breathing was ragged, and he couldn't even support his own body.
It was nearly a last resort—a technique he might have to risk his life to use in future dire straits.
'Most of the monsters are cleared, and what remains is...'
"Alter, how are you feeling?"
"Much better. Are we returning to the defensive line?"
"As soon as the rest of the troops regroup, we'll head back."
Brillie Illenat sat right beside him, steeped in relief.
The holy apostle and the great mage had confirmed the dragon's destruction, and not a single elite soldier had perished.
Still, she couldn't help but worry; there were suspicious parts that bothered her.
"... I've just heard—apparently, the vanguard unit faced off against the Knight of True Flame."
"After we left?"
"Yes. There wasn't any combat, but he absorbed the dragon's mana and escaped."
"..."
Only then did Alter understand the Knight of True Flame's intentions.
He had threatened the Agnes Empire purely as a ruse to deceive the dragons and monsters.
His ultimate goal was to strengthen himself by absorbing the dragon's mana.
"Alter, I can't trust the commander anymore, no matter his reasons. Even if there was justification, his methods were wrong."
"He probably attacked us to deceive the dragons. I can't say I don't understand, but I don't think it was right."
"I just don't get why he did it. What is he trying to become so strong for?"
Of course, Alter could broadly imagine the reason.
Normally, as a Sword Saint and head of a count's family, he would want to solidify his position.
But somewhere, things had started to veer off-track, and perhaps he'd been silently suffering under the weight of it all.
Maybe, in place of his affection for Brillie Illenat, he'd come to obsess over ultimate power.
"Perhaps he just wanted to prove himself? Like you do, Brillie."
"I'm not the same! I couldn't even use a sword at first, but the commander was already recognized by everyone."
"Everyone has different standards. You have to prove yourself with the sword... but the next Sword Saint must pursue even more. Maybe he thought the sword had reached its limits."
"He accomplished so much with his own strength; why reach for more? If he'd waited a little longer, he'd have become Sword Saint!"
"You know as well as I do—titles merely follow after accomplishments. If someone truly wants to be stronger, they'll try anything."
Brillie Illenat moved her lips as if to speak, then dropped her gaze.
She herself had gone against her father's wishes to secretly join the monster subjugation.
From a common perspective, her actions would not be seen as proper.
Through the eyes of Lang Couster, would he have seen himself as any different from her?
"I have no wish to defend the next Sword Saint. I can only guess what he must have gone through."
"If that's really it... he could have told me. I'm his deputy-commander, after all."
"Maybe that's why he kept it from you. Who can reveal their weaknesses to those closest to them?"
Alter, as someone close to the next Sword Saint, brought up his secret affections on his behalf.
You cannot have everything merely by wishing for it, so perhaps he had no choice but to let it go.
He may have even resented Alter for being Brillie Illenat's fiancé, but likely saw the futility in even that emotion.
"Sorry. I must sound like I'm just complaining. I didn't mean to..."
"I'm actually rather relieved. Aren't you saying this because you want to lean on me?"
"Well... maybe that's true."
Brillie Illenat hesitated, then nodded.
Normally, she would have kept such words to herself and acted stoically.
But now, with the dragon annihilated and even the Knight of True Flame gone, her true feelings had slipped out.
"You must feel greatly disappointed in the next Sword Saint, after believing in him for so long. But we can't ignore reality. If he's become the enemy of the empire, mustn't we fight him?"
"I never said I wouldn't fight. It's just... I can't understand him."
Brillie Illenat finally let go of her lingering attachment to the next Sword Saint.
He had already massacred no small number of soldiers and become a monster filled with malice.
With guilt that could never be measured, she could not allow herself to be chained by past ties any longer.
'I must never call him commander again. A monster is just a monster—nothing more.'
* * *
Where human steps do not reach, monsters linger.
Even wild beasts know the perils monsters bring and dare not approach carelessly.
But this time, even the monsters themselves quaked in terror and fled in droves.
For an overwhelming presence loomed in the nearby area.
"Ghk... haaah..."
The man, engulfed in pain, struggled to endure.
But the agony never lessened, causing all his senses to run rampant.
So he vented his fury on everything in sight, scattering red flames as he went.
"Haaah... So this... is the power of a dragon..."
Mana surged within him, but he could not fully control it.
It erupted ceaselessly, and at this rate, his body itself would break down.
Yet how could he possibly discard the hard-won power now before him?
"With this power... there's nothing beyond my reach... urgh!"
Suddenly, the man shuddered and vomited hot liquid.
His overheated blood met the ground and immediately evaporated.
Perhaps his body was already slowly separating from humanity.
"Keh-heh... It truly is... madness..."
Even as he burst out laughing, he instinctively smashed his head against a rock.
The stone shattered completely, blood streaming down his forehead.
Yet the blood dried instantly, and the wound closed in a flash.
"I can't... ugh... afford to falter at this level. I must gain even greater power... gragh!"
He unconsciously released a blast of flame, engulfing everything around him.
All was swallowed by the blaze, yet he burned even that to nothing.
And feeling the heat so intensely, he thrashed even harder.
"I will not die! Not until I've claimed everything as my own... raaargh!"
Seizing his left shoulder, he ripped it open himself.
His flesh and muscle tore away, blood gushed ferociously.
But the dragon's mana quickly regenerated the damaged area and returned it to perfect form.
"If I'd been ready to give up at this, I never would have started! I'll endure—no matter what it takes!"
Confronted by madness, the man struggled not to lose his mind.
If he yielded to the dragon's mana, he would become nothing more than a creature of instinct.
Better to become a villainous being who retains his intelligence, than to devolve into a mindless rampaging monster.
"Not yet. My time to die... must come much later!"
The Knight of True Flame, Lang Couster, steeled himself once more and his eyes blazed.
Having given up his humanity, he had nothing left to lose.
Now, as one who craved nothing but power, he gazed into the twisted future that awaited him.
"Four remain. I will take them all... and rise to the top of this world..."