46 – Misunderstanding and Tears in Leviah
Tebeston shouted at MacDerrus.
“W-Who…Who are you? Do you happen to know that bastard, Lecan?”
Seeing MacDerrus’s aggressive demeanor, Tebeston thought that he might be someone related to him. So, even while rolling on the ground, he tried to show some respect by nodding his head. But soon, he didn’t need to do that after hearing MacDerrus’s response.
“He’s a stranger to me. And I don’t have the noble authority you think I do. If we have to categorize, I’m just a commoner. Why? Is that a problem for you?”
“You f*cking bastard!”
After MacDerrus finished his response, the man tried to gather his strength and attack again. But MacDerrus kicked him again, sending him back to the ground. Moaning in pain, Tebeston shouted to the people around him.
“Why are you just watching! Tell that bastard to stop!”
Only then did the people standing behind finally start to move. Unfortunately, their attacks didn’t reach MacDerrus.
“Come on, hit me a bit!”
The men swung their fists, but MacDerrus easily dodged them with swift movements. And with precise strikes to their jaws, he incapacitated them one by one.
Thump.
With each swing of MacDerrus’s fist, the bodies of the men who fell unconscious were slammed into the ground.
“I… I can’t fight against someone like this!”
When the seven collapsed to the ground, the remaining ones all fled. Unfortunately, it seemed that Teveston, the troublemaker, was not a good leader. Seeing others find their own way out when danger arose, it was evident.
Now, all that remained were the unconscious bodies and Teveston, tormenting Lycan.
MacDerris quietly looked at Lycan and spoke.
“Thank you… for helping me…”
But instead of accepting the gratitude, MacDerris asked one question.
“Are you unjustly treated?”
“…”
Lycan didn’t answer, as he was too busy observing Teberos beside him, but his expression alone revealed his disintegration.
“If you feel unjust, strengthen yourself. Even without using magic, you can win in a duel. If there is something you want to protect, make the effort and cultivate the will to match it.”
MacDerris placed his hand gently on Teveston’s shoulder and added.
“Don’t lose your current mindset. When something precious comes along, the desire to protect it propels a person endlessly forward. Social status, innate magical abilities, none of that matters. The most important thing is willpower.”
“I appreciate it, but… that kind of thing… isn’t important. The reason you were able to defeat Teveston was simply because you were strong…”
Lycan hit the nail on the head. However, MacDerris immediately refuted.
“You’re not entirely wrong. But from the start, I didn’t possess this powerlessness. Above all, the reason I got involved in this battle was because you wanted to fight to protect something. I like people like that. If you were just getting beaten without any will, I wouldn’t have intervened in this fight. Whether it’s possible or not doesn’t matter. If you want to escape from torment, strengthen yourself. That’s the only way.”
At that moment.
“What the hell… this damn bastard made me like this, and now this lowly commoner dares…”
Teveston’s face began to resurface as he rushed forward like a madman. His target was MacDerris. He cast a secretly prepared spell.
In an instant, chains made of magic from both sides rushed forward with a swishing sound. They aimed to hinder MacDerris’s movements and then mercilessly beat him.
MacDerris parried the attack with a swing of his sword.
“This is unbelievable, damn it… Why… why me, an inferior investigator…”
As Teverstone rushed forward, he looked at MacDuras with a desperate gaze. MacDuras approached, staring at the boy’s face expressionlessly.
“Now I can see fear in your expression. When you were jumping around as if everything in the world belonged to you, where did the fear go when someone stronger than you appeared? Pathetic.”
As MacDuras got closer, the boy tried to turn and flee. However, MacDuras cut off the boy’s Achilles tendon with his sword.
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Thunk!
“aaah!”
“Damn it… damn it… when my father comes… you’ll die… you’ll be killed…”
“Oh, that’s quite a fearful thing.”
MacDuras cut off the other Achilles tendon of the man’s opposite ankle expressionlessly. The man’s screams echoed throughout.
Suddenly, someone rushed from behind.
“Leikan!”
In an instant, MacDuras turned his head, thinking it was Teverstone’s father coming. However, standing there was a familiar girl.
“Levia?”
The girl with the mentioned face, Levia, ran towards them with tears streaming down her face. She was desperately kicking her own brother.
“Are you okay…? What happened, Leikan… I’ll protect you…”
Levia wrapped her arms around her brother’s devastated face, shedding tears. MacDuras simply watched the scene, remaining motionless.
After a few moments, Levia spoke to MacDuras.
“Kael… Did you help us…?”
MacDuras didn’t answer. Instead, Leikan, buried in his sister’s embrace, spoke in his place.
“It’s true that he helped us… He’s the one who put all those guys lying on the ground and Teveston writhing on the floor to sleep.”
Upon hearing the boy’s words, Leviah struck Kael’s chest and spoke.
“You said he wouldn’t help! You told me not to talk to him anymore! But why is he doing such a dangerous thing without saying a word?”
Leviah looked at Teveston lying on the ground and continued.
“He… He’s wearing the clothes of a noble. Kael… He’ll face retaliation. He’ll undoubtedly suffer something terrible… Why did he take such a risk to help my brother?”
“Retaliation?”
Macderas approached Teveston, who was lying on the ground, and stomped on his head with force. The guy’s body convulsed and he passed out.
“If he was afraid of retaliation, he wouldn’t have interfered in the first place. And he didn’t know he was your brother.”
“Does that make sense? You’ve seen a picture of my brother before…”
“He said he lost his memory.”
“…”
Leviah looked into Kael’s eyes and thought. So Kael pretended to lose his memory to avoid burdening her unnecessarily, and to distance himself.
The fact that he didn’t help his brother, and that he acted coldly at the academy, it was all just an act. Kael still liked himself without hesitation.
“Is it because of me that you did this?”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Do you think I’ll forgive you for doing something so dangerous because of me? Do you think I’ll accept your confession? Why did you take such a risk? Don’t you know what happens when you get involved with nobles…?”
“Leviah. Don’t make a fuss. It’s noisy. And I’m already involved with the nobles. The father of that Teveston, who will soon become a cripple, is coming here.”
Upon Macderas’s words, Leviah looked around as if she had regained her senses.
“Run away.”
When the man didn’t respond, Leviah shouted again.
“Run away. I won’t mention you.”
“What should I do?”
“I… I’ll say that I asked you for help. And I won’t mention your house or whereabouts. Don’t come to the Academy, just run away. If they can’t find you, the only one responsible will be me. I’ll take the blame since I’m the one who offered you help. In the noble circle, they’ll come to me for responsibility. That’s how it’s going to be… Quickly, escape, Kael.”
MacDerrus stood still and spoke.
“Running away is what weaklings do.”
“Nobles are different! They are not opponents that can be dealt with by your swordsmanship! They might really kill you, those people have that kind of power and authority! There was a reason why I couldn’t interfere even though I knew my brother was being tormented!”
Leviah hit MacDerrus’ chest and shouted.
“Please, run away… You’ve worked hard and become strong now… You can live without being tormented anymore… You’ve gained excellent swordsmanship skills to be recognized anywhere you go, just like you wanted… Why are you risking your life here… Why just because of me… I always rejected your confession, why on earth…”
“Excessive self-consciousness. I don’t feel any romantic affection for you. And above all.”
MacDerrus gestured towards the outskirts.
“It’s already too late to run away.”
Loud cries could be heard. Men dressed in splendid robes, surrounding a middle-aged man, started walking towards them.
He counted the numbers.
About twenty men. All of them are magicians.
“Who is it?”
The middle-aged man at the center of the group, who seemed to be the leader at first glance, asked coldly, wearing the splendid emblem that only nobles are allowed to wear on his chest.
When no one answered, he asked again, his voice becoming colder.
“Whose doing is it that my son has been reduced to such a state?”
“I… I did it…”
Levia replied and held the hands of Macderrus and her younger brother, Lycan, hiding them behind her. However, it was impossible for Levia’s slender body to completely cover the two men.
After forcefully shaking off Levia’s hand, Macderrus stepped forward and faced the men. He finally spoke, looking at them.
“That’s what I did. I should have taught that brat a lesson. I almost killed him, but he said he would call our father, so I held back. Still, I think I should leave a testament.”
Suddenly, the men burst into laughter.
“Hey, can’t you see the mark on my chest? Can’t you feel the mana of the wizards around us? If not, do you want to die? Even if you kneel and beg, it’s not enough. What is this ridiculous attitude? If you kneel and beg now, I might spare one of your limbs.”
Levia desperately grabbed Macderrus’ clothes, but he shook her off again and continued to speak.
“I see what you mean. If I kneel and beg like a dog, will you forgive me?”
Hearing Macderrus’ words, Baron Theron raised his hand and spoke.
“You worthless scum.”
In an instant, a mental magic spell was cast. The men used magic and sneered.
“You will see the most terrible moment of your life, repeated dozens, hundreds, thousands of times. Even if you cry and beg for it to stop, it’s too late now.”
Macderrus analyzed the magic formula being cast. He already knew this type. It was called Trauma Magic. It stimulated the opponent’s trauma and induced mental contamination.
Unfortunately, Macderrus knew how to counter that magic. But this time, he didn’t.
“Link.”
Instead, he simply connected his mind with the men using a few words. From now on, the traumas Macderrus experienced would be shared with Baron Theron.
“I thought you were just an idiot, but you know how to use magic. But it doesn’t matter. You’re just a brat. Your traumas can’t contaminate my mind.”
As the men shouted, the Trauma Magic was cast.
In an instant, the surroundings darkened.
Macderrus stood there, blankly staring at the sky.
Baron Theron, who was drawn into his trauma, looked around.
“Please… please save me…”
“Stop… stop… I surrender… I surrender, please…”
The screams of countless people, the blood filling the battlefield, and the putrid stench of corpses that pierced the nose.
Theron trembled as he looked at Macduras. Macduras spoke expressionlessly.
“Did you think my trauma would be something like childhood pain?”
Macduras, holding a massive robe and a staff that seemed absurdly filled with mana.
Theron, the viscount, realized that something was wrong and desperately turned to run somewhere. However, in this vast battlefield, there was no escape route.
Thud… thud…
As Viscount Theron ran away, he stopped in agonizing pain and looked blankly at the sky.
In the sky, red rain was falling.