Chapter 180: Whose Fault Is It (5)

Before I knew it, the night had fallen dark.

Left alone, Harlan Mineta had completely escaped the Rolarsen Mountains and continued walking southeast.

Because all the knights had died in the Naviadal Valley.

He emerged from the forest that even the moonlight couldn’t pierce through, and a meadow stretched before him. Then, at the end of the waist-high grass, a road appeared.

It was the road leading to the Royal Capital of Mineta.

“Phew……”

The image of Raion he had faced in the valley came to mind.

A realm he had not yet reached — Master Emperor.

Whatever he did, he always felt that Raion stood far above his head.

His thoughts didn’t stop. Eventually, he arrived before the western gate of the royal castle.

It was late at night, and the gates were firmly closed.

“Open the gate at once!”

Harlan Mineta’s booming voice echoed through the night.

Even after some time passed, there was only silence.

Irritation began to rise within him as he shouted again.

“Is no one there? I said open the gate at once!”

While the night dew beaded upon the ground, only stillness continued.

Under normal circumstances, someone should have at least peeked out to check who it was.

Yet not a single presence could be felt.

Soon, a twisted smile spread across Harlan Mineta’s lips.

“So you didn’t kill me on purpose…?”

He turned around.

Beyond the dark hill, under the moonlight, multiple silhouettes appeared.

Among them were Raion, Deborah, Caldein, Patrick, Turklan, Jade, Cayman, and even Marquis Conforta.

They had flown from the Rolarsen Mountains to the royal capital using flight magic.

Of course, bringing everyone was impossible, so they had selected only a few.

“Why no answer? You refused to face me at Naviadal. Was this the reason?”

“The one who must stain their hands with blood here isn’t me.”

With those words, Deborah stepped forward.

“Your era is over. Step down quietly now.”

“Who dares decide when my reign ends?”

“It wasn’t yours to begin with, was it?”

“It’s only natural that the strong take what they can. My brother lacked the strength.”

“So that’s why you resorted to poison, unjustly?”

“…You knew?”

“Uncle, you were nothing but a cowardly man!”

Deborah wanted nothing more than to rush forward and sever Harlan Mineta’s head right then.

But the difference in power was undeniable.

Even now, murderous intent and aura radiated from every inch of Harlan Mineta’s body, beyond what words could describe.

Then, the tightly shut gates of the castle slowly began to open.

From within, rows of armed knights and soldiers marched out.

Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack—!

They surrounded Harlan Mineta at a set distance.

“Vagran Ambraze… I didn’t expect you to still be alive.”

Count Ambraze stepped forward from among the knights.

A longer grin tugged at Harlan Mineta’s mouth.

“You refused my offer and vanished. So you were biding your time, hiding and waiting for your chance?”

“You intended to kill me then, didn’t you? I had no choice but to disappear.”

“You’re as perceptive as ever. I should’ve killed you without delay.”

“And with that perception, you made it all the way here.”

Under the bright moonlight, the tension grew sharper and sharper.

Yet Harlan Mineta still hadn’t drawn his sword. His sheer murderous presence alone immobilized the soldiers.

“Do you think this will be my grave?”

In that instant, Harlan Mineta’s aura turned into white flames.

The surge of energy made Count Ambraze’s expression harden.

“You’ve grown even stronger. I didn’t foresee that.”

“So even your foresight can fail sometimes.”

This wasn’t about breaking a low wall.

It was about transcending the limits imposed upon mankind.

How could such a realm ever be easily predicted?

Count Ambraze’s expression darkened.

“Indeed… though I rarely make mistakes, it seems I’ve made a grave one at the time I should have been most cautious.”

“So you admit defeat?”

Count Ambraze couldn’t easily answer that question.

He agonized over how to face a man who had reached the realm of the Grand Master, whose single sword swing could rend even a dragon’s hide.

Then, he turned his gaze toward Princess Deborah and the others standing nearby.

“…I do not know.”

“For someone of your caliber not to grasp all the moves in your hand—how disappointing.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“In such circumstances, perhaps it’s only right to submit. But I intend to struggle—pathetically, if I must.”

At last, Harlan Mineta drew his sword and turned his back.

At that, Count Ambraze shouted urgently.

“Protect Her Highness!”

No one could easily escape the reach of one who had ascended to the realm of the Grand Master.

If so, then the only choice was to block him, even at great risk.

In the next moment, Harlan Mineta’s body moved like fire bursting forth.

Pah-pak—!

It happened just before the knights who had rushed forward could reach him.

A single arc of aura was enough to cut them all down in an instant.

It was the moment when one mistake seemed to bring about a catastrophic blunder.

Kaang—!

The clear ring of a sword striking something echoed.

Those who had tightly shut their eyes in fear lifted their heads.

“As I thought… you were still watching me till the end!”

Standing opposite Harlan Mineta, his teeth clenched, was Raion, sword in hand.

Their blades met in the middle, locked in place, neither giving way.

The knights and soldiers standing around—including Marquis Ambraze—were struck with utter shock.

‘My eyes… they’ve grown far too dull.’

When Count Ambraze had first met Raion, he’d been told the young man was a Swordmaster.

He had thought him a prodigy who’d reached that realm too early—full of arrogance and youthful pride.

But that had been a complete misjudgment.

‘Was it not pride, but composure instead…?’

Unlike the astonished Count Ambraze, Harlan Mineta’s face contorted with fury.

Even as he clenched his teeth tighter and pushed forward, Raion’s body didn’t budge an inch.

“Ghh! How is this possible…?”

Logically, when a heavier man pushed a lighter one, the lighter man should be forced back.

Of course, the reason lay with Raion.

True Martial Art – Tremor Step: Thousandfall.

A True Martial Art technique he had developed after ascending to the realm of a Swordmaster.

By circulating mana throughout his body through his breathing, he could make his central axis heavy as stone.

“Are you going to keep standing there like that?”

“Kh! So brute strength won’t work, is that it?”

Harlan Mineta stepped back, unleashing a torrent of blazing white aura as he swung.

Shwaaaa—! Bang! Kwa-kwaang!

The surging aura slammed into Raion, scattering shockwaves and dust into the air.

“Everyone, fall back!”

“Get as far away as you can!”

In the midst of the chaos, Patrick and Deborah rushed forward, shouting urgently.

At that moment, Harlan Mineta’s aura split through the dust.

Through the cross-shaped rift, his massive frame shot forward.

“You won’t be able to block this!”

At the tip of the sword dragging along the ground, his aura concentrated.

Ground Break.

The ultimate sword technique passed down through the Mineta Royal Family.

It was said that once truly mastered, it became more destructive than any attack and could not be blocked even by 5th Circle defensive magic.

Holding such a sword, Harlan Mineta leapt high into the air.

His aura swelled around the blade as it pierced the heavens and then came crashing down.

“He’s condensed his aura to imitate a gravity attribute?”

The ground, stones, and blades of grass all trembled, rising upward around Harlan Mineta.

It was worthy of being called the Essence of Aura.

His strike descended like a meteor crashing from the sky.

Its magnitude was such that there was nowhere to run—no direction to escape.

“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, then.”

The pull of Harlan’s aura drew everything inward, locking Raion firmly in place.

He felt as if a giant hand had seized his entire body.

In response, Raion flared his sword with the fierce light of White Lightning Flash.

True Martial Art – Sword Form: Severing Bow.

A razor-sharp wind merged with his aura, intensifying the outpouring energy.

In that instant, their blades shone so brightly that they could no longer be seen.

Kwaaaang—!

An enormous shockwave engulfed the surroundings.

Trees and earth were swept away, and even the grass far beyond lay flattened.

Few were left standing.

Only those who had at least reached the realm of a Swordmaster could truly witness that clash.

Raion and Harlan Mineta stood facing each other, less than a step apart.

Crackle— Clang!

At that moment, Harlan Mineta’s sword shattered with a clear ring.

“Kuugh—!”

Blood spilled from his mouth at the same time.

A duel fought beyond the limits of their weapons couldn’t last long.

The sheer force of their full power was unbearable for any human body.

Soon, the center of Harlan Mineta’s chest caved in.

“Kh…! I couldn’t even neutralize it…”

Dropping to one knee, Harlan Mineta continued to cough up blood.

That last blow had caused him severe internal injuries.

“It was a fairly close difference.”

“…Close? Don’t joke with me. You call that a small difference?”

“You’re right. I was only trying to lighten the mood.”

“Heh, heh, heh…”

“You murdered my brother and took the throne, and yet you talk of posture…”

“You’re right. Not a word of that is wrong…”

With that admission, Raion turned his head.

His eyes met Deborah’s.

“What will you do?”

The White Lightning Flash aura that Raion had unleashed had completely scorched Harlan Mineta.

Moreover, his chest had taken such a blow that he couldn’t move.

There was only one thing left to be done.

Having made up her mind, Deborah nodded and stepped forward.

Step. Step.

“I’ll do it myself.”

For the first time, she spoke formally to Raion as she passed by him.

Was it a shift in her heart? Or an acknowledgment of something deeper?

Slowly, Deborah drew her sword.

Shrring…

Standing before him, Harlan Mineta let out a hollow smile.

“…So this is how it ends?”

“What are you so satisfied about? You’re nothing but a man who betrayed my father!”

Shwaak—!

Deborah’s sword, wrapped in aura, sliced toward Harlan Mineta.

A thin red line traced across his neck—then his head fell to the ground.

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