◈ Chapter 43. Into the Tomb
The castle of the Agustus family was originally a typical mansion.
However, under the reign of Kaien, it was extensively renovated into a fortified castle as it stands today.
Perhaps due to its superior maintenance compared to the Albrime family, the prestige of the Agustus family was still palpable.
“It feels intense, Lord Sirius.”
“Is it really okay for us to enter like this?”
Alreon and Bellid expressed their concerns.
Passing through a neatly arranged formation of armed soldiers is more nerve-wracking than rushing into a chaotic gathering of Black Guild members.
“Alreon, Bellid, no need to worry.”
But Sirius spoke nonchalantly.
“Think from the perspective of the Agustus family. After we’ve come all this way, would they just try to kill us out of the blue?”
“What?”
“That’s….”
One wouldn’t hastily kill someone they despise… They won’t just abruptly dispose of someone they find repulsive.
“At the very least, they will insult us to our faces before attempting to kill us.”
“Um….”
“In the end, they are planning to kill us, right….”
Bellid sighed.
“Well, it can’t be helped. If they come at us, I’ll handle it with my sword skills… Ugh.”
Bellid, who was blabbering, fell silent.
It was because a sinister aura was felt from the front.
“Hey, right now….”
“Lord Sirius….”
Even Bellid and Alreon could sense it.
Something unsettling awaited them ahead.
“….”
Sirius continued to walk forward.
And then, a vast space appeared.
“Pleasure to meet you, Sirius Canisroot….”
A middle-aged man was sitting on the chair.
Though he had a dignified appearance, his expression was not particularly bright.
“I am the head of the Agtas family, Kaien Agtas.”
“…”
But Sirius’s gaze was not on Kaien, but on the figure standing next to him.
Because there was a person standing in the background.
Although his face was not clearly visible, the exposed skin suggested he was an elderly man.
The ominous aura that had been felt since earlier… was emanating from that old man.
“Nice to meet you, Kaien Agtas.”
Sirius looked back at Kaien.
Sirius’s calm demeanor seemed to displease Kaien.
“I never expected to face you like this, Sirius.”
“Is that so? I was anticipating something like this.”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought we should have a talk.”
“Hmm…”
Watching Kaien clear his throat, Sirius spoke.
“Kaien, what business do you have calling me here?”
“From our side?”
“You must have called me for a reason.”
With that, Sirius turned around.
Although the door was closed, there were soldiers waiting outside.
“You wouldn’t have called us here to kill us, right?”
“That’s…”
After Kaien cleared his throat, he continued.
“Well, of course, there is a reason.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about the recent incidents you’ve caused in this area.”
Kaien coughed and continued.
“Sirius, they say you’ve been killing many civilian organizations. It’s unacceptable for Agtas family’s influence to tolerate such actions within their territory.”
“I prefer if you were straightforward, Kaien.”
Sirius replied in a cold voice.
“They weren’t civilian organizations but rather the underworld. Thugs, murderers, human traffickers… they were all criminals.”
“Well, that’s…”
“And your Agtas family has not been properly cleaning up that trash.”
“…!”
Kaien flinched.
“I’ve already heard testimonies from underworld affiliates. They said your Agtas family was taking bribes from them.”
“That, that’s absurd! Why would our prestigious Agtas family take such dirty money!”
Of course, what Sirius had heard was that lower members of the Agtas family were taking bribes.
Therefore, Kaien knew that she was innocent, but she deliberately said so to provoke.
“Oh, really? So, you didn’t even take bribes and yet you were turning a blind eye to the misdeeds of the Black Society?”
“What, what are you saying?”
“It’s unbelievable. If you had turned a blind eye after taking money, that would have been somewhat understandable, but you didn’t even take money and still let it slide… Could it be that you secretly admired the Black Society?”
“Sirius…!”
Kaien’s face turned red as she raised her voice.
“The Southeast is different from the Northeast! The land is vast, and the population is large! It’s impossible to go around catching every member of the Black Society!”
“Don’t make excuses. It must have been a lack of will on your part.”
“What…!”
“In reality, I went around catching every member of the Black Society.”
“But that was only temporary! It couldn’t be properly eradicated!”
“Kaien, don’t make excuses.”
Sirius retorted in a cold voice.
“You simply turned a blind eye to the Black Society. If it didn’t interfere with the dominance of the Agtas family, you didn’t want to exert force unnecessarily.”
“What…!”
“In fact, weren’t the bandits who raided the supplies coming to the Agtas family thoroughly suppressed? You only cracked down on the Black Society members who directly harmed the Agtas family, while letting others go free.”
“Ugh….”
“Your family has a large military force. Just patrolling the areas with poor security regularly to restrain the Black Society would have been enough to hinder their activities. But you didn’t even do that.”
Even the powerful Ultenstein hesitated to directly clash with the Agtas family.
If the Agtas family had taken proper action, they could have effectively suppressed the Black Society.
“All that was in your minds was to dominate the entire East and expand into other regions. So, you didn’t want to mobilize your forces for things like cracking down on the Black Society.”
“Sirius, watch your words…”
“Kaien, isn’t it the duty of a noble family to protect the people from the threats of the Black Society?”
“Ugh….”
“It seems like you aspire to be among the top 5 noble families on the continent. But how can you claim the ‘honorable family’ status when you turned a blind eye to organizations that even trafficked children…?”
“….!”
Kaien’s hands trembled as she gripped the armrest of the chair.
“Sirius, how dare you…!”
“Kaien, may I speak for a moment?”
Someone interrupted Kaien’s words at that moment.
It was Velid.
“I am Velid Albraim. I have something to say.”
“How dare you… siding with Sirius when you claimed to remain neutral!”
“No, it’s not that….”
Velid blushed as he cleared his throat.
“Kaien, I was surprised when I toured the Southeast this time. The security here is much worse compared to the area controlled by our Albraim family.”
“What, what do you mean?”
“At first glance, it seems fine. The cities are larger and the markets are more lively compared to the underdeveloped Northeast. But if you just venture into the back alleys, you can see women being grabbed by the hair and dragged around. I witnessed pedestrians being stabbed with knives and robbed of their wallets multiple times.”
“….”
“Of course, it might be difficult for the head of the family to oversee such places. It’s probably the subordinates who manage those areas. But Kaien, you are not exempt from responsibility.”
Belleed’s statement was quite logical.
Not as provocative as Sirius, so Kaien found it difficult to get angry.
“Hmm….”
Kaien groaned.
Today, Kaien was prepared for a fight with Sirius.
But what was actually happening now was not a bloody fight, but a condemnation of the Agtas family system.
“Lord Kaien, for the Agtas family to truly become an honorable family… Shouldn’t we prioritize taking care of the people in our jurisdiction rather than trying to strengthen our position alongside the various noble families of the continent?”
“Hmm….”
What frustrated Kaien even more from his perspective was that Sirius and Belleed’s statements were convincing.
But that fact couldn’t be acknowledged.
Because they were enemies of the Agtas family trying to dominate the entire east.
Moreover…
“Clink, clink, clink….”
Right at that moment.
A sound of someone clicking their tongue beside Kaien was heard.
“Truly pathetic, Kaien.”
“Oh, Father.”
“Foolish lad, falling for the sophistry of such scoundrels.”
Kaien’s father, Valerion Agtas, spoke up.
“Belleed, was it? Seems like Klynd Albraim raised his son wrongly.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“Why should we care even about the lives of commoners rolling in the alleys? There’s nothing to gain from protecting them.”
“But protecting the common people is a duty of noble families!”
“Such duties don’t exist, Belleed. It’s just noble families wanting to show off, that’s all.”
Belleed looked surprised at Valerion’s words.
“Then, what about the honor of the Agtas family?”
“Honor? Of course, it’s important. But it doesn’t come from protecting the lowly folks in the alleys.”
“W-What…”
“The honor of a family comes from achieving great deeds that will be remembered in history.”
Saying so, Valerion looked at Sirius.
“The Rigel family is considered one of the continent’s Big Five Noble Families because they accomplished great deeds in the distant past. That honor has been enduring until now.”
“….”
“Our Agtas family is also striving for such a feat. Well, what I and my son are pursuing might be slightly different.”
Kaien dreams of dominating the entire east and taking a place among the Big Five Noble Families of the continent.
But Valerion’s aspirations were different from Kaien’s.
“In that sense… Sirius.”
“What is it?”
“I hope you would cooperate for the sake of our family’s great deed.”
“Cooperate, you say.”
Sirius responded in a calm voice.
“What do you desire?”
“You seem to be using a very unique and intrinsic magic. Based on the information I’ve gathered, it appears to be a magic that affects the human body.”
“…”
“Originally, intrinsic magic requires reaching the 9th circle to pursue… You couldn’t have reached the 9th circle yet, so you must have obtained the ancient intrinsic magic from somewhere.”
Speaking in a solemn voice, Valerion raised his hand.
“I want to study that… Give yourself up.”
Right at that moment,
A monster leaped out from behind Valerion’s tent.
It had the appearance of a quadrupedal beast, with no skin and muscles protruding from its entire body.
“Siri, Uss…!”
Upon hearing the monster’s voice, Alarion raised his voice.
“Lord Danju! It’s Baldwein’s voice!”
“What? Could it be that monster is him?”
Baffled, Valed said, stepping back.
But Sirius remained unfazed.
Boosting his inner strength, he moved towards the charging monster.
And like a wolf tearing into its prey’s neck, he struck its throat.
“That’s Nanggyoin(狼咬刃)!”
Recognizing the technique of the Black Shadow Escape Swordsmanship that had been taught to him, Alarion exclaimed in admiration.
If it were an ordinary blade, it wouldn’t have been able to sever the throat, but Sirius’s blade already contained the power of Bai Lang.
The sharpened blade, like a piece of ice, precisely severed the monster’s head.
“Grrgh…”
The decapitated monster’s head and body rolled on the ground.
It emitted a smell akin to a corpse, suggesting it wasn’t a living creature.
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“Ha ha, splendid!”
Valerion burst into mad laughter.
Upon which, new monsters emerged from the tent.
Skeleton soldiers moving on their own without bones… they were undead soldiers.
“Oh, Father!”
“Stand back, Cayenne!”
While scolding Cayenne, Valerion raised both his hands.
“I want to observe with my own eyes what Sirius Canisroot’s intrinsic magic is… Ugh!”
At that moment, the hood Valerion was wearing was ripped off.
It was because Sirius’s thrown dagger grazed past Valerion’s head.
“You…!”
“As I suspected.”
Recovering the dagger with a burst of power, Sirius coldly retorted.
“I had a bad feeling. Your body was nothing short of a corpse.”
Valerion’s face was partly distorted.
It was a face resembling a decaying corpse.
“Does mastering the war magic lead to this? Or is he forcibly extending their lives?”
“Sirius, you…!”
As Valerion shouted, the undead soldiers leaped forward in unison.
It was a terrifying sight, but Sirius remained unfazed.
“No matter how you look at it, they are beings defying fate.”
Sirius raised his internal energy and coldly spat out.
“Send them all back to their graves.”
Of course, Valerion was included.