Chapter 45. Surrendering Cleanly
If his vision had been clear, Valerion might have been able to evade.
However, due to Sirius repeatedly casting dark magic to keep Valerion disoriented, Valerion couldn’t see clearly.
By the time Valerion realized Sirius had swung the sword, it was already too late to dodge.
“Crack…!”
Pwoosh!
At an incredible speed, the sword flew through Valerion’s abdomen.
The bleeding wasn’t too severe since Valerion was already half a corpse.
But half of him was still alive.
Enveloped in pain, Valerion couldn’t properly control his flight magic.
“…!”
He was falling.
Realizing this, Valerion hastily constructed a spell.
As an 8th Circle mage, Valerion could deploy spells without needing to gesture explicitly.
Thanks to this, he narrowly avoided crashing into the ground.
However, that wasn’t the end of it.
Ssuaek!
A dagger flew through the air, slicing through the wind and embedding itself in Valerion’s neck.
“Ugh…!”
However, it wasn’t so fatal.
If he were an ordinary human, this would have been his end, but Valerion was half a corpse.
As long as he kept his wits about him, he could endure.
“Hmph…!”
Valerion drew his dagger and threw it far away. Then, a smirk of determination appeared on his face.
Now, Sirius was weaponless. No matter how strong Sirius was, he couldn’t resist dark magic barehanded.
From Noble mtl dot com
Foolish man. Thinking like that, Valerion unleashed his spell.
“Die…!”
He unleashed all the remaining magical power.
A storm of dark magic raged. Though screams echoed around, he paid no attention.
At this moment, what mattered most to Valerion was subduing Sirius.
A vast darkness, like a nightmare, engulfed the surroundings of the powerless.
But then, right at that moment.
“…!”
Sirius burst through the darkness.
Looking down at the astonished Valerion, Sirius moved his hand in mid-air.
A burst of white energy erupted, unfolding a spectacular scene.
The white chill tore apart the dark magic, halting its spread.
Sirius’s ki wave overwhelmed Valerion’s dark magic.
And then, facing the wide-eyed Valerion, Sirius charged.
“Sirius…!”
Valerion desperately gathered his magical power.
To block Sirius’s approach, he created layers of overlapping dark shields.
However, with just a wave of his hand, Sirius tore through all the dark shields.
Even without a sword, Sirius had the power to penetrate Valerion’s magic.
“This brat…!”
Feeling despair, Valerion raised his right hand.
In a final attempt, he planned to infuse Sirius with the sinister aura of command magic.
But even that was futile.
Sirius seized Valerion’s wrist and infused him with the burst of white energy.
“Ugh…!”
A bone-chilling cold to the core!
An sensation Valerion had never experienced in over a hundred years. A scream erupted from Valerion’s lips.
“S-Sir, Sirius…”
Trembling all over, Valerion spoke.
“L-Let’s… negotiate.”
“Negotiate?”
“You… You truly possess remarkable power. But there is room for further growth.”
Already, not just his arms but even his torso, Valerion was frozen.
In a state of no longer being able to resist, Valerion pleaded for his final breath.
“To help you become stronger, I can offer assistance. With my vast knowledge, I can guide you.”
“…….”
To Sirius, it was nothing but a laughable conversation.
Valerion was treating Sirius as if he were a prodigy who had accidentally gained tremendous power.
However, since Sirius had already experienced the pinnacle of martial arts, he had no need for Valerion’s guidance.
“K-Kaien, if it’s me speaking, you should listen well. The entire Agtas family will support you. Make yourself the ruler of the entire eastern region.”
Valerion’s voice was urgent.
But Sirius did not respond in any way.
He simply continued to channel his pure martial energy, holding Valerion’s wrist.
“You will have the power to trample at least the top five noble families on the continent. So, so….”
Before Sirius’s cold gaze, Valerion cried out.
“So… please stop this…!”
That was the end of it.
Valerion could no longer make a sound.
His entire body froze under the continued infusion of cold.
Even his half-decayed skull.
Sirius withdrew his hand.
Then, switching to the Northern Light energy, he struck Valerion’s chest.
From Valerion’s shattered body, the magic power of an 8th Circle mage leaked out.
Into the Northern Light energy that devoured everything like a vast black sea, the frozen magic power melted away.
“…….”
Leaving Valerion’s shattered corpse behind, Sirius looked around.
Many people were staring in shock.
The Agtas family’s mansion was in chaos due to Valerion’s indiscriminate dark magic.
Many were injured in the chaos.
If Sirius hadn’t brought Valerion down, the damage would have been greater.
“Cour-Courtesy!”
At that moment, amidst the collapsed buildings, Valed stood up.
Despite being injured from fighting the undead, he raised his arm without hesitation and shouted.
“Sirius Canistrut of the Regal family has defeated the berserk sorcerer Valerion! You can all relax now!”
“Ohh…!”
Thanks to Valed’s quick summary of the situation, the Agtas family members belatedly accepted the reality.
They realized that they had also been saved by Sirius, risking their lives.
At this moment, Sirius was not the lawless outlaw threatening the Agtas family in the northeast, but the savior who protected people from the rampage of a mad ancestral lord.
“…….”
In that atmosphere, there was a person standing with a bewildered expression.
It was Kaien Agtas, the head of the Agtas family and Valerion’s son.
“Kaien Agtas.”
“……!”
Sirius approached Kaien.
And facing each other, he spoke.
“If you’re willing to challenge to avenge your father, I will accept it.”
“…!”
“If now is difficult, then tomorrow is fine, or the day after. Wait for it.”
What is this man talking about?
Kaien felt his body trembling.
“Whether you come alone or bring your subordinates, it’s fine. I will fight alone.”
“Alone…?”
“The others are injured.”
Belled, giving a speech to the people, was quite injured.
Alraeon, who was sitting nearby, was also heavily wounded.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s not for revenge on your father. Even if it’s to choose the true lord of the eastern region… as long as we minimize bloodshed and decide among ourselves.”
“S-Sirius…”
“And, we will fully accept the outcome.”
Hearing those words,
Kaien finally realized.
Sirius had been moving all this time for this very moment.
The public opinion battles, the confrontations up to this point, the bloody battles against Valerion… all were for this situation now.
It was to make Kaien acknowledge his defeat.
“hehehe…”
Laughter flowed from Kaien’s lips.
Since inheriting the position from his father, Kaien had wielded immense power in the southeastern region for twenty years.
Because of this, he had been under the delusion of being a significant figure.
But at this moment, compared to the young man in front of him… Kaien felt truly insignificant.
“…”
If Sirius wanted, he could take Kaien’s life right now.
No, he could have just found Kaien and assassinated him without wasting time.
In fact, Sirius had the power to do so.
Even if he didn’t kill him, there could have been a way to force submission by creating chaos.
Threatening Kaien’s son, Pariel, as a hostage was also possible.
In some way, Sirius could have forcibly subjugated the Agtas family.
But Sirius didn’t do that.
The Agtas family was different from just a local minor family. It was different even from a mere influential family.
Forcing submission without genuine acceptance would only lead to future threats.
So Sirius hoped Kaien would genuinely surrender.
If, even after all this, Kaien did not acknowledge defeat… then Sirius would not hesitate to end Kaien’s life and bring ruin to the Agtas family.
Since Sirius had given him the choice… Kaien also had to provide an answer.
“Sirius.”
Kaien gazed at Sirius’s face.
He recalled Sirius’ criticism of the Agtus family for their failure to properly manage the southeastern region.
He remembered how his father, who cast spells without caring about the consequences even when the family members were involved, had been restrained.
And he recalled the reassurance that his son was receiving proper treatment, so there was no need to worry.
“Please take charge of the entire eastern region. The Agtus family will follow your lead.”
With those words, Cayenne bowed his head.
It was the moment when the once powerful Agtus family in the southeast sincerely knelt before Sirius Canisroot, the youngest descendant of the Regal family.
* * *
Sirius discussed future matters with Cayenne.
Cayenne was surprised that Sirius didn’t ask for much from the Agtus family.
“Is that all you want?”
To deploy the Agtus family’s troops to various regions to strengthen security.
To establish a system to coordinate with Sirius for any future incidents.
That was the summary.
“If you want to show goodwill, it would be nice if you could provide some financial support to Entroville. The pier facilities were damaged when Paris attacked.”
“….”
Sirius had no desire to conquer the Agtus family.
If he could involve the Agtus family in creating a true martial alliance in this world, that would be enough.
Destroying the Agtus family and allowing the Regal family to take over the land?
If Sirius wanted that, he would have tried to establish a religion, not a martial alliance, in this world.
“Cayenne, soon I will act through the ‘Alliance’ that dominates the Black Societies.”
“…!”
“Establishing a system to deal with them is the most important.”
As warned by Ultenstein and others, the Alliance will be watching the situation in the eastern region closely.
To understand and respond to their movements, this side must also take the form of an alliance involving various factions.
“And… this is a personal request.”
“What is it?”
“I am currently looking for an herb called Bingbaekhwa, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere. Please inquire about it with the Agtus family as well.”
“Hmm, it’s a name I haven’t heard before… I will inform the subordinates.”
“Thank you.”
Upon hearing Sirius’ gratitude, Cayenne flashed a charming smile.
Just half a day ago, he had felt like a fearsome warrior, but now Sirius in front of him was a mature man calmly carrying on the conversation.
Even though Sirius was only twenty-five years old, facing him like this did not give the impression of dealing with a young man.
“I think this should be all I ask for… Soon, someone from the Regal family will also come, so please coordinate with them as well.”
To unify the entire east, it was essential to ensure a friendly relationship between the Regal and Agtus families.
In that case, it would be better for direct descendants of the Regal family to come and discuss rather than Sirius.
“Then… is Lord Lutvein coming?”
“Well, that will be decided on their end. Justicia might come in his place.”
By now, Justicia’s sister would have arrived at the Regal family, so there was a possibility they would come together.
Perhaps even their husbands might appear together.
“Justicia….”
Kaien gently stroked his chin and murmured, “I’ve heard many rumors. They say he’s not only exceptionally talented but also incredibly handsome…”
“Wait a moment, Kaien.”
Right at that moment,
Belled urgently whispered to Kaien as they sat in the meeting.
“You shouldn’t speak so recklessly. Sirius might misunderstand and think you harbor ill intentions towards his wife.”
“Oh! What a mistake…!”
Kaien, flustered, quickly lowered his head.
Kaien was well aware of the rumors that Sirius had ruthlessly dealt with those who coveted his wife.
“S-Sirius, please don’t misunderstand. I, as a man, have only ever loved one woman as my wife throughout my life. I have never harbored ill intentions towards your wife, so I hope you won’t be angry.”
“….”
After letting out a deep sigh, Sirius delivered a swift blow to Belled’s head for his unnecessary words.