Tsuyokute New Saga (LN)

Book 6: Chapter 18

“So this…is it, huh?”

Watching his own troops fall into panic, Dargof returned to his senses and let out a defeated mutter. If this had been a battle to protect the future of the Galgan Empire from an outside threat, he might have sent out his forces anyway. However, having suffered so many losses, and being treated as the one rebelling, his heart was now broken. Of course, he wasn’t lacking the necessary talent to pull it off. His experience was telling him that this was an unwinnable battle. He didn’t care much for his own safety, but having come this far, he wanted to die a dignified death. That was his honor as a commander. Returning to the main army would make him a coward. Konrad may have run away, but Dargof didn’t care much for that.

“To think…a day like this would come.”

He grabbed himself the deadly poison he had prepared just in case he would need it. And right as he intended to take it and die a peaceful death—

“That won’t do, sadly.”

He heard such a voice.josei

“Who?!” He screamed and reached for his sword at his hip, but the other person was even faster.

A cold sensation rushed behind his back, aiming at his neck. But right after, a boiling heat filled his whole body, and his mind grew hazy.

“Agh…Gah?!”

“Do you know ‘Blood Eye’ by any chance? Concentrated to the utmost limit, it can act as a strong stimulant.”

Blood Eye was known as a medicine that drastically raised your battle prowess at the cost of your own life. However, Minagi instead used it as a strong poison, as she stabbed the needle into Dargof.

“If you’re going to die, why not choose a better place first? Good luck.”

“Ah…Ahhh…Ahhhhhh!”

His entire view turned red, as his brain melted away. And then, he heard one final murmur reaching his ears.

“Maizer did this. It’s all Maizer’s fault, got it?”

Continuously whispering this, Minagi pushed Dargof outside the tent.

“What is the situation like?”

“No major resistance to report. The greater half decided to run.”

One of the generals answered Maizer’s question. Even the general himself was bewildered at this. They gathered all these troops, anticipating they would be meeting some level of resistance.

“It appears they suffered a nightly raid before we even arrived. And quite a fatal one…I wonder who exactly set this up.”

“…Who knows.”

Maizer feigned ignorance, but he obviously knew that this was Kyle’s doing. However, fighting and defeating Konrad head-on would sound better in the history books, so he decided to keep Kyle’s existence shrouded.

Then again, I doubt anybody would believe me even if I came clean…

When Maizer first heard about this plan, he doubted his ears, but he still decided to bet on this chance. It needed a bit of a ridiculous plan like that in order to become Emperor. And in the end…he won that bet.

To think he would pull it off…I guess that’s what makes him a hero.

Maizer was thinking about this when a report came in.

“G-General Dargof has been spotted!”

Together with this report, Maizer already spotted him in the distance.

“Maizeeeeeeer!!”

His eyes were bloodshot, in a literal sense, as he ran toward Maizer at a speed that shouldn’t be humanly possible. He was just wildly swinging around his sword, not allowing anybody to get closer. He suffered several injuries and wounds already, but it was like he didn’t feel any pain.

“That…is supposed to be General Dargof?”

One of the generals uttered these words in disbelief. Even though this was supposed to be a colleague, they could hardly recognize him. Responding to this, Maizer screamed.

“Dargof! I’m right here!”

Dargof stopped moving instantly and turned toward Maizer with his red eyes, running directly at him. The surrounding soldiers and generals tried to step between them, but Maizer wouldn’t allow that.

To think he’d go this far…

Maizer observed Dargof with a cold look in his eyes, pulled his blade out, and then waited. Then, he used his sword like a mirror, reflecting the sunlight to shine it directly at Dargof.

“Gah?!”

His vision and senses were strengthened by Blood Eye, which was both a benefit but also a weakness. Suffering from the severe stimulus, Dargof covered his eyes and stopped. Maizer used this opportunity to raise his sword, slicing down at Dargof from the top of his shoulder all the way down to the hip, cutting him in two. Even if Blood Eye granted a pseudo-immortality, this much damage was too much for him to bear, as he fell to the ground and collapsed.

“Traitor Dargof has been struck down!”

A few thousand soldiers had observed this duel when they heard Maizer scream these words, cheering in joy.

So this is what a clown feels like…I can hardly wait to become Emperor.

Maizer grumbled as he waved at his retainers and soldiers.

*

A bit away from the battlefield, hiding amongst the thicket, Kyle and the other two had safely retreated, joined by a fourth individual. Kyle and Minagi sighed in relief, but Seran was still keeping watch around them. Kyle was curious about this, but he first confronted Minagi.

“What about Dargof?”

“It worked out quite well. Now it just depends if the prince can use him to his advantage.”

The bet worked out quite well, but it was impossible to check on that from up close.

“Well, we were lucky that it played in our favor…Oh, someone woke up.”

“Ugh…Where am I…?”

The fourth person present was actually Konrad, who was abducted by Minagi amidst the chaos.

“Finally awake, are you?”

Hearing a familiar voice, Konrad freshened up immediately as he glared at Kyle.

“Hurry up and kill me. You shouldn’t have any reason to keep me alive.”

“That’s wrong. You…are the only one I want to save!” Kyle hesitated, but still pleaded.

“Save…me…?” Konrad was unsure of what Kyle was even saying, only for his expression to change into that of anger. “What use is there in keeping me alive?! I don’t plan on begging for my life. And I am the son of Emperor Benedix! You will not be left alive!” He put his hand on his hip, looking for the sword that had already been taken from him.

“You’re wrong! I just want to save you! And my mother asked for this, too! To rely on you!”

“Seraia did…?”

Understanding Kyle’s intentions behind his actions, Konrad was bewildered.

“You are my mother’s savior…as well as that of my unborn little sister. I don’t want you to die!”

Konrad could feel Kyle’s devotion and desperate attempt to convince him.

“…She’s as kind as always, I see. If I had never met here, I may have been able to live a cunning and shrewd life like Maizer,” he said, sounding like a convicted criminal who had accepted his own death. “But, what good will keeping me alive do? It will only cause more trouble.”

“There are plenty of ways for you to just stay alive!”

Of course, Kyle was just being selfish. He had killed countless people that very night, now wishing to save the man behind the reason for it all. Seeing Kyle like that, Konrad showed a smile and opened his mouth to say something—

“…?”

Suddenly, Konrad stopped moving and fell over like his strings had been cut. Even his face in death looked pleasant, like he had no regrets.

“Th-This is…”

Kyle was bewildered. It reminded him of the same death that Eldorand was put through.

“Yes…No mistaking it.” Minagi’s face was as pale as ash.

She was certain that this was her master Souga’s doing. Only Seran stared into the forest ahead of them, not giving Konrad’s corpse a glance.

“Seran?”

“I had a bad feeling about this…But I was hoping I was wrong. Because there’s no way you’d be here…” Seran didn’t respond to Kyle calling his name and continued. “So, why exactly do I have to see your face right now…Old hag?”

“So you did see us. Honestly, I’d rather not have revealed myself here, but oh well.”

The person who appeared from the shadows of the tree was undoubtedly Kyle’s and Seran’s master, Leyla. And she had no change at all since they last met half a year ago.

“I was sure I hid my presence fully, though.”

“Yeah. Something felt off, but I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it. But when Konrad died, you leaked a bit of your presence, right?”

“To think you would catch on to that…Maybe I’ve aged.” Leyla facepalmed.

“It’s proof of my growth. So, answer my question. Why are you here?” Seran asked his foster mother with a deep voice.

“…I’m just here as a guard. He’s the real star.”

At Leyla’s command, the other individual showed his grin, one hand on his hip—An old man with grey hair.

“Souga…”

The legendary shinobi, and Minagi’s master, revealed himself.

“So it was you after all…You’re the one who killed Prince Eldorand…and Prince Konrad.”

“Quite. And to think you figured me out. But I doubt you’ve grown that much, so it must be the age getting to me.” Souga looked at his pupil with a relaxed gaze and then glanced at Kyle. “…It has been quite a while, hasn’t it, little Kyle? I’m glad you’re doing fine.” Souga showed a calm yet teasing smirk.

In this world, this should be their first time meeting, so this statement made it feel like he had grasped Kyle’s heart. Kyle was shocked to his core but tried to play it cool since he was in front of Minagi and Seran. Usually, Kyle would have felt a warm connection to the both of them…but now they seemed like entirely different people almost.

“…Why are you two together?”

A brief silence followed, to which Kyle finally opened his mouth to voice this doubt.

“It’s simple. The Mera cult was behind this. And we side with the Mera cult.”

Kyle had anticipated such an answer, although he really wished he wouldn’t have gotten it after all.

“Old hag, you’re part of the cult? Don’t fit you one bit.”

“I’ve got a lot on my plate, is all.” She seemed to be speaking the truth because she sighed in exhaustion.

“I’d love to ask about what exactly you have on your plate, but will you tell us?”

“I don’t mind…But you guys must be tired, so let’s leave the details for another time, yeah?”

“Indeed. But your zeal is appreciated.” Souga agreed with Leyla, as the two turned their backs on the three and attempted to walk away.

“That won’t do…If need be, we’ll make you talk by force.”

“Yeah, agreed. Let me help you.”

These words were not something you should say to your own master, but when Kyle finished uttering them, Seran joined in. Watching those two pupils of hers, Leyla sighed deeply once more.

“Now listen here…We just ended up on different sides of the coin. I don’t see you guys as enemies, nor do I have any intention of doing so. Get that through your thick skulls.” She shook her head, speaking with the same voice the two were used to back at Rimarze. “So, you don’t gotta be so scared.” She smiled.

A wave of hostility and rage momentarily filled Seran, but he quickly calmed himself and flashed a confident smirk.

“What a cheap attempt at a provocation. Then, one last thing from me…Though, it’s not for you, old hag.” Seran took out a throwable knife from his pocket, throwing it at a small tree to the side of the two.

“…You can have this back.”

“So you realized. You two, you can come out.”

Called by Leyla, the two invaders who fought Seran at the public bath appeared. Since they wore the same clothes as before, their faces were covered, but Seran could tell.

“So they were your followers. I was wondering why their movement felt so familiar.”

The eerie sensation he had felt when he fought them resulted from that. It’s because he saw Leyla’s shadow behind them.

“I thought Kyle and I were supposed to be your only pupils?”

“I changed my mind, is all. I also heard about you having to run away butt-naked with your tail between your legs.”

“I’m reflecting on that, geez…”

Learning that the one person he definitely didn’t want to know happened to find out left Seran severely depressed.

“Anyway, I don’t plan on staying here longer than I have to. Let’s have a proper talk next time…Also, tell Lieze-chan I said hi.”

Kyle and the other two didn’t move. Or more accurately, they couldn’t. They knew that they wouldn’t be able to beat those two, let alone with the support from the other two. Right as she walked away, Leyla turned around and threw something at Kyle. He reflexively accepted it, which turned out to be a letter. She said to “Read it later.”

“So…they let us go?”

A moment passed after those four left, when Seran broke the silence.

“…” Minagi simply had her gaze focused on the ground.

Right there, they heard cheers coming from the battlefield, as they witnessed the moment Maizer’s army had grasped victory.

“So it’s finally over…”

Of course, to Kyle and the others, this was far from the ending, but at least the civil war—the uproar inside of the Empire was quelled. The civil war that had lasted a year in the past history now went by in a mere ten days. For that reason, the Empire managed to maintain most of its military prowess.