Chapter 115: Chapter 115
Chapter 115 - Not Anger
The battle began.
Ferda drew a Magic Circle above his hand.
Three Magic Circles materialized, floating at equal intervals.
"Lightning Bolt."
What he fired was a bolt of lightning.
The element renowned for its overwhelming speed shot forward at Ferda’s gesture, racing toward Lucy.
"A shallow trick."
Lucy was a seasoned Witch who had fought countless battles.
Anticipating that Ferda would use Lightning Bolt, she blocked its path with a mass of thorny vines.
Bang!
The projectile struck the barrier head-on.
But that was not the end of it.
"Oh?"
She had blocked the Lightning Bolt, but what burst forth from within were solid spheres of Mana.
They scattered in every direction and rained down upon Lucy.
"An interesting trick."
Lucy did not dodge.
The spheres brutally pierced her body, yet she did not even blink.
"To draw three Magic Circles without any assistance, and then apply them in such a way..."
The technique Ferda displayed was more than enough to surprise Lucy.
Normally, by the time a Blue Circle user could display such refined technique, they would have already reached the Fifth Circle.
"So you only made use of the speed attribute required for Lightning Bolt. Hiding smaller spheres inside one giant sphere... I know there’s a Magic Circle capable of doing something like that..."
She snapped her fingers as though a realization had struck her.
"Don’t tell me... you handcrafted it?"
"You certainly talk a lot, Pavilion Master."
"Doesn’t that simply mean I have plenty of leisure?"
"I suppose you’re right."
She was right.
A black explosion erupted beneath Lucy, twisting the very space around her.
Darkness—the strongest of all existing elements.
A Dark Bolt had been conjured directly beneath her feet.
The head that had already been pierced was completely obliterated by the Dark Bolt, and the visible Lucy Phyliaz died instantly.
"Hehehe... Splendid indeed."
The voice that echoed was Lucy Phyliaz’s, resonating throughout the entire garden.
Her lifeless body moved like a broken puppet before taking a single step.
At that very moment, her ruined body returned to perfect condition as though nothing had happened.
"Using Barbatos’s Shadow Arts to catch your opponent off guard. A fine strategy, but it lacks depth, little one."
"And you’re the one talking about depth?"
Coming from someone who had forcibly picked a fight with nothing more than a Four-Star Mage, it sounded absurd.
Rather than replying, Lucy simply smiled with obvious delight.
"Come now. Struggle with all your might to defeat this little girl."
Lucy attacked by launching thorny tentacles, while Ferda responded as a Mage, unleashing every spell and method at his disposal.
Ferda already knew.
No matter what he did, defeating Lucy was impossible.
Even the impression that they were evenly matched existed only because Lucy was carefully controlling the battle, making Ferda believe she was only slightly stronger.
"At this rate, this will never end."
Lucy let out a long yawn, clearly bored.
"It seems my true intentions have not reached you properly, so allow me to say it one more time."
An overwhelming Aura burst forth from Lucy.
"If you lose here... I shall violate your fiancée."
"You crazy bitch..."
The curse slipped from Ferda’s mouth before he realized it.
Seeing Ferda finally lose his composure, Lucy smiled with satisfaction.
"Little one, do you know what it means for one woman to violate another? It is entirely different from a man. In an instant, she becomes a slave to pleasure. I wonder... what would it be like to do that to a Dragon?"
Whether those words were true or not no longer mattered to Ferda.
He simply could not tolerate such humiliating words coming from Lucy’s mouth.
Ferda steeled his resolve.
He would fight even if it meant exhausting every last drop of Mana.
But even then, he could never defeat Lucy.
Even if he had once managed to kill Lucy before, it was like throwing a raw egg against a boulder.
Ferda already knew Lucy’s objective.
’To force out my trump card.’
Every Mage possessed a hidden ace.
Whether it was a means of escape...
A decisive finishing blow...
Or a method of taking the enemy down together.
Sometimes they were secrets worth protecting even at the cost of one’s life.
That was exactly what Lucy was trying to draw out.
She was breaking down Ferda’s convictions and reason, forcing him to reveal everything he possessed.
And even knowing that, Ferda had no choice but to play along.
Lucy’s threat could not be taken lightly.
Even if it had begun as a joke, if Ferda failed to show his true resolve, that joke would inevitably become reality.
That was simply the kind of beings Witches were.
He poured everything he had into the battle, yet in the end Ferda was pushed to the brink of Mana exhaustion.
"Is that all?"
Lucy’s veil had been torn apart, and one of her eyes was gone.
She was in utter ruin, yet with a single step, her body restored itself completely once again.
Breathing heavily, Ferda looked at her and asked,
"Are you satisfied now?"
"Satisfied? Do you think I went to all this trouble simply to satisfy myself?"
Lucy sneered.
"I’ve spoken to you with such sincerity, yet my true feelings still haven’t reached you. How unfortunate. It seems Valdrova truly is destined for misery."
Don’t speak my fiancée’s name with that mouth.
He wanted to say it.
But he couldn’t.
After fighting this desperately, all that remained was a crushing sense of helplessness.
If someone else could toy with her so easily...
How could Ferda ever hope to protect her?
You cannot save anyone.
So...
Show them who you truly are.
Something deep within Ferda’s heart began to turn like a mechanism.
A sweet voice whispered softly.
Show her your true self.
"Shut up."
Ferda resisted the voice.
But it seeped into the cracks left by his helplessness, trying to consume his heart.
Once again, the intoxicating ecstasy of being consumed by hatred tried to violate his mind.
Ferda made his decision faster than ever before.
’Rather than surrender...’
He unfolded a Magic Circle.
’I’d rather die.’
Its target was her own heart.
"Dark Bolt."
The black sphere shot toward her heart.
Whoosh!
But all he heard was the sound of it slicing through empty air.
His wrist had been forced upward toward the sky.
A small hand was tightly gripping it.
"...You truly do incomprehensible things."
A young girl with black hair and crimson eyes looked at him with genuine bewilderment.
Her ruby-like eyes sparkled, and the faint fragrance of lilacs drifted through the air.
It was the face of the Pavilion Master—a face that ordinary men would never see even once in their lives.
Ferda could not understand why he was seeing that face.
Behind her fluttered a black veil.
The Dark Bolt had merely grazed past Lucy’s head.
Looking directly into her eyes, Ferda asked,
"Are you satisfied now, Pavilion Master?"
Ferda glared at her fiercely.
His Mana was exhausted, and resisting the voice had pushed him to the limit, leaving him unable to hide the expression on his face.
"That expression alone satisfies me greatly."
Despite her childish face, Lucy wore the smile of a mature woman.
She placed her right hand against Ferda’s chest.
Something flowed into her through his heart.
The splitting headache caused by Mana depletion gradually faded away.
Lucy was replenishing just enough Mana for Ferda’s mind to regain clarity.
"I apologize for forcing you into a battle you never wanted. But, little one... I needed to test you."
"What kind of test?"
"This."
She pointed at Ferda’s heart.
"Didn’t I tell you these eyes of mine can see many things?"
"You did."
"As it happens, these eyes can see what composes your Mana. Normally it is nothing worth paying attention to. But you... you shattered that assumption."
"What is inside my heart?"
"Something alien."
"Something alien?"
"Something that does not belong with the person you are now."
She continued in an unusually serious tone.
"And yet, it is undoubtedly something created by you. It is something that can never coexist within those of us who possess a Red Circle."
"Is that why you provoked me?"
"Indeed. I needed to push you before you realized the reason yourself."
Her gesture implied she had no ulterior motive beyond that.
Would Lucy Phyliaz truly desire anything else from Ferda?
She was the mistress of the Rose Pavilion, the Big Sister of all Witches, and the most powerful Mage alive.
At the same time, she was the foremost authority on the Red Circle.
For now, that alone was enough to make sense of everything.
"So then, little one... can you tell me what it is?"
Ferda found it difficult to open his mouth.
Even knowing there was no point in hiding it after being drawn into Lucy’s scheme.
Because it was the ugliest part of himself.
"Do not tremble. We are practically husband and wife already, are we not?"
"...What?"
For the first time, Ferda stared at her in complete disbelief.
Seeing that reaction, Lucy grinned.
"Hahaha! You removed my veil, did you not? Does that not mean the groom has seen the bride’s face?"
"Stop talking nonsense."
"You truly are delightful to tease. You have such an adorable side."
She covered her smiling lips with one hand.
Perhaps because of that, her crescent-shaped eyes shone with dangerous charm.
"Now that the mood has been lightened with a joke, answer me."
It still left a bad taste in Ferda’s mouth.
But the crushing pressure from before had disappeared.
Just as Lucy had said, the atmosphere had eased.
"This is..."
The thing that had killed his enemies...
The thing that had killed his family...
The thing that had killed his fiancée...
"My anger."
It felt as though he were a sinner confessing his own crimes.
Lucy quietly looked at Ferda after hearing that answer.
"Think again."
The reply was completely beyond Ferda’s expectations.
"Why?"
"Why else? Because that is not your anger."
No.
It had to be anger.
Thinking back to when that voice had first appeared...
It had spoken when Luri was threatened into submission.
And again when he had nearly killed his own father, Erembalt Rosnova, with his own hands.
If that was not anger, then what was it?
"Think again. There must be something that made you mistake it for anger."
Hearing those words, Ferda retraced his memories.
He discarded the answer he had long accepted and focused all his senses as though searching for a new one.
He recalled the dream in which he had tried to kill Valdrova.
Ferda asked himself,
’Was that emotion really anger?’
No.
It wasn’t.
What he had gained by killing his was emptiness.
It was the very emotion that had sent him back into the past.
Then was it emptiness?
He considered that possibility, but it too was not the answer.
Following that thread, Ferda continued toward the truth.
Then something astonishing happened.
The emotion that had always escaped his grasp gradually began to take shape.
This feeling had existed even before he had fallen in love with Valdrova.
Every beat of his heart carried a faint reminder of its existence.
At last, Ferda spoke its true name.
"Regret."
Yes.
It was regret.
The voice of anxiety had always been Ferda’s regret.
The ashes left behind after burning everything upon the earth.
Those ashes had settled deep within his heart all along.
"So that is what it was."
Before Ferda could ask another question...
Lucy moved first.
"So even that love of yours was ultimately born from regret?"
Ferda slowly nodded.
"I know."
"It’s disgusting."
"Hm?"
Lucy raised one eyebrow and stared intently at Ferda.
"I do not know what misunderstanding you have, but I do not find that disgusting, little one."
"That isn’t how your tone sounded."
"That is merely your misunderstanding. Why would I find it disgusting? Had you not possessed those feelings, do you truly believe you would have ever met Valdrova?"
Ferda could answer without a moment’s hesitation.
There was absolutely no way he would have.
Ferda only truly came to know Valdrova after killing her.
Before that, he had condemned her as an Evil Red Dragon who deserved to die.
When the campaign had begun, he had cheered, believing that the age of Dragons would end and the age of mankind would begin.
He had never once listened to Valdrova’s voice.
Yet at this moment, those memories echoed in his mind with cruel clarity.
"Valdrova truly was a tragic woman. The kind-hearted never dared approach her, while those who sought only to exploit her surrounded her. She truly had no fortune when it came to people."
"..."
"And she was needlessly timid as well. Despite possessing the Aspect of Fire and the Aspect of Strength, enough power to tear apart every Monster pouring into the Far East, she never once asserted her authority. In the end, she invited disaster upon herself."
Valdrova had never once ruled over anyone.
The current aristocracy was filled with people who knew she protected the Far East out of guilt and exploited that fact.
Her refusal to assert authority or claim what was hers made her appear like a coward who feared becoming the target of political persecution.
"She wasn’t timid."
Ferda refuted Lucy almost instantly.
"If she wasn’t timid, then what was she?"
"She acted that way because she was stronger than anyone else."
To Ferda, that had nothing to do with cowardice.
He hinself had once been the most feared Mage on the continent.
And it had not been revenge alone that had made him so.
Whenever he prepared for the endless path of vengeance, he constantly expected ambushes.
He deprived himself of sleep and lived every day behind protective barriers, consumed by paranoia.
He had been both an avenger and a coward.
He always needed a guaranteed means of victory, and if he lacked one, he would not hesitate to fight dishonorably.
That was why Ferda knew.
If Valdrova had truly been a coward, she would have ruled over others.
She would have shattered even the heavens above her own head to secure herself.
Lucy quietly observed him before speaking again.
"Your head."
"...?"
"Come here and lower your head."
After a brief hesitation, Ferda lowered his head toward Lucy.
Lucy rose onto her tiptoes, trying to place a hand atop Ferda’s head.
"Hmm... even this isn’t enough. It seems I have no choice."
Lucy pulled Ferda closer and wrapped her arms around his head.
Then, as though comforting a child, she gently began stroking his hair.
"There, there."
"What is this supposed to..."
"Shh. Be quiet. It would be a shame to ruin such a pleasant atmosphere."
Unable to understand Lucy’s one-sided actions, Ferda simply stood there in confusion.
"Little one, you truly amuse me. Speaking with a man like this... it has been a long time since I felt such innocent youthful joy."
She enjoyed the moment for about five minutes before finally releasing Ferda.
"Isn’t it only proper to reward a good child?"
Looking up at him, Lucy’s face was filled with delight.
"Those two emotions you carry... they will become a blessing rather than a curse."
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