Kane looked at Faro and the other nobles one by one.
'You are nothing but sacrifices to meet the Emperor.'
The current Emperor was in a critical condition.
He had entrusted all his duties to the Crown Prince and was in seclusion.
He refused to meet with any of the nobles.
Not even the Guardian, Duke Carl, himself.
Would he accept if his son requested an audience?
He would refuse it, citing his poor health.
'I need to meet the Emperor to get what I want.'
He could also thwart Hatzfeld's plan to overthrow the Empire.
'Everyone here has to die.'
The nobles who came to confront him were all traitors to the Empire.
They were utterly useless rebels.
Faro was even a Hatzfeld's secret suppliant.
He was someone who should never be spared.
"Sasha. Come here."
At Kane's voice, Sasha stood before him.
"Take off your shirt."
"Brother?!"
"Hurry."
His voice wasn't angry.
It was chillingly cold.
It was a voice so different from his usual gentle one, that Sasha reluctantly took off his clothes.
"If you want to confront me, you must first explain the wounds on Sasha's body."
Sasha's upper body was covered in bruises.
They weren't just blue bruises.
There were blackened marks.
They were scars from prolonged abuse.
Not only that.
It looked as if his skin had been seared with hot iron.
Burn marks were clearly visible.
At that moment, a noblewoman expressed her displeasure.
"Do you have proof that our child did that?"
"Yes, show us the proof before you accuse us!"
Other nobles also spoke up, mustering their courage.
But even as they spoke, they were wary of Kane.
A person had died before their eyes.
And it was Viscount Rosta.
He was the strongest person here.
They wanted to question the crime right away.
But they hesitated to step forward. They were scared that they could end up like Viscount Rosta.
"I haven't finished speaking. If you interrupt me one more time, I will kill you first, no matter the reason."
Kane's fierce warning.
The nobles covered their mouths with their hands and fell silent.
Kane turned away from Sasha and called Rose.
"Why are you wearing a man's uniform?"
"That's…."
Blata answered cheerfully in her place.
"It's obvious. Like Sasha, Rose has many scars on her legs, so she hides them with long pants. Wicked people!"
Blata enjoyed the conflicts among humans.
Conflict inevitably leads to bloodshed.
Blata couldn't help but enjoy it.
"Roll up your pants."
"I'm fine, b-big brother."
Rose shook her head.
She held Blata tightly in her arms.
Her intense reaction.
How would her brother feel seeing evidence of her torment?
He was already kind-hearted.
It would break his heart.
That's why she didn't roll up her pants.
But she couldn't refuse Kane's touch.
Kane slowly rolled up Rose's pants,
"How can these be a young woman's legs?"
Kane's voice was filled with anger.
The horrific scars on his beloved character.
Women usually worry about even the smallest blemishes on their skin….
What on earth had she been subjected to?
Her legs were covered in terrible burn marks.
Kane also rolled up the sleeves of her upper garment.
Her arms were as hideous as her legs.
"Do you still need more proof?"
Kane's patience had reached its limit.
Rumble, rumble, rumble—
Kane's aura shook the entire arena.
Dirt and stones defied gravity and floated in the air.
"If I provide evidence, can I do whatever I want with you?"
A sinister aura swirled around Kane.
Waves of water and flickering flames erupted from Kane's arms.
Two contrasting forces dominated the surroundings.
"I'll give you the proof you want."
The moment Kane's sword tip touched the ground!
The purple flames split into several strands.
The targets were their tormentors' children.
"Answer me."
"Th-that, ugh!"
A sharply honed spike pierced one of the offenders' thighs.
"Next."
"I-I was just watching, ahh!"
It wasn't the answer Kane wanted.
A purple spike shattered another offender's Achilles tendon.
"What are you doing!"
A parent of an unscathed offender stepped forward.
"I see, will you answer for your fucking son?"
Trembling…
The parent shook his head and stepped back.
The fear that struck when they made eye contact made the parent lose all his confidence.
He was sure he would end up like Viscount Rosta if he spoke incorrectly.
"You should answer while you have the chance. If you don't want to die."
Kane never promised to spare them.
Overwhelmed by fear of Kane's devilish nature, one of them confessed.
"W-we did it!"
Kane's gaze shifted.
It was the smallest boy wearing the Royal Military Academy uniform.
But his uniform was different in quality.
Clothes drenched in expensive materials.
Clearly a noble child from an incredibly wealthy family.
"Explain in detail what you did to Sasha and Rose."
"We, under Mateo's lead…."
Everyone's faces hardened at his confession.
They had done things that even devils would believe.
Despite this, the parents were already thinking about how to cover up the incident for their children.
* * *
Faro's expression noticeably darkened.
'Our information was wrong!'
Faro reacted like the other people Kane had encountered so far.
The difference was that he was determined to kill Kane.
'The Rehinar family… We can't let our guard down. If left alone, they'll continually hinder Hatzfeld.'
Simultaneously, greed sparked within him.
The glory of killing Kane Rehinar.
If he could kill the still-living dullard duke, Hatzfeld would surely reward him.
He licked his lips.
'This is the perfect time to step in.'
Faro summoned his mana and stepped forward.
The heavy atmosphere pressed down on him, but he quickly broke free.
'At least a Beginner-tier 4th class. The Guardian disguised a genius as a fool. It's a significant strength. But it's not enough to defeat me.'
Faro countered Kane's energy with his own.
Though known as a Mid-Tier 4th class warrior like Viscount Rosta, his true strength was at the peak of High-Tier 4th class.
He was the strongest among the instructors.
"This is the Royal Military Academy! Not only did you commit murder in the capital, but you're also desecrating a place established by the Emperor!"
Faro scolded Kane, invoking the Emperor to undermine Kane's actions.
However, his move was a blunder.
"Name: Faro Ester, Mid-Tier 4th class swordsmanship instructor. Your true identity is Swen Tangeman, the second squad leader of Hatzfeld's Red Spear Corps, at the peak of High-Tier 4th Class, a spear knight. Isn't that right?"
At Kane's unexpected words, Faro—no, Swen's—eyes widened briefly but quickly regained composure.
"You spout nonsense to cover up your murders by accusing me of being Hatzfeld's spy."
Boom!
Kane and Swen's energies clashed.
What seemed like a balanced standoff quickly tilted in Kane's favor with his words.
"You'll need to give your best. My Rune is far more ferocious than you think."
"Ugh!"
Swen's knee hit the ground.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
'I'm being overpowered by a twenty-one-year-old brat!'
He gritted his teeth but felt his body about to burst from Kane's overwhelming aura.
He considered keeping his cover.
But killing Kane was more advantageous.
There were other spies in the Frecia Empire besides him.
'At this point, I must eliminate all Rehinar heirs.'
Swen thought of Kane as foolish.
If he had kept his strength hidden and deceived the world for just one more year, The Empire might have gained a new Guardian.
"Thanks to your rash actions, Rehinar and Frecia will perish together."
Swen unleashed his hidden energy.
Hot mana surged from his body.
He pulled a small rod from his pocket.
Click.
The small rod transformed into a spear.
Whoosh!
Red flames engulfed the spear.
The second fire Rune, 'Mark,' manifested.
"I'll end this quickly."
Swen's arrogant tone.
He bent his knees to spring off the ground.
"What…?"
His body still felt heavy.
He had activated his Fire Mark (2 Runes)..
His body should have felt as light as a feather.
But it felt just as heavy as before.
In fact, he felt even slower.
At that moment, he heard Kane's voice in his ear.
"Did you really think the Fire Mark would be enough to display arrogance before me? Didn't I tell you? My rune is more ferocious than you think."
Kane unleashed his ferocious mana.
—
[Blood Bond (3 Runes) has been manifested.]
[Choose a Breath.]
—
'The Breath of the Blood Tiger.'
—
[Breath of the Blood Tiger (S) has been activated at full power.]
—
Kane's purple mana surged.
Waves of mana quickly swirled around him.
As the mana rotated, pressure radiated outward.
"Ugh."
"I didn't return to the past, to die at the hands of trash like you."
Kane's hand slowly reached out towards Swen.
"I will make good use of the fact that you are a spy of Hatzfeld."
—
[Skill Blood Dance: 4th Move 'Blood Void' has been activated.]
—
This was an upgraded version of Duke Carl's scariest technique, the Void of water.
The only difference was that the Blood Void was used against a single person.
"Ughhh!"
Blood was forcibly drawn out of Swen's body.
Despite his fierce resistance, it was futile.
The more he resisted, the faster the blood drained from his body.
"Nooo!"
Swen screamed.
He had never imagined he would die like this.
"You're noisy."
The moment Kane's wide-open hand clenched.
Splat!
Swen's body exploded.
Flesh and blood scattered everywhere.
Swen died cursing, unable to do anything.
* * *
Another death.
This time, it was the swordsmanship instructor.
He had opposed Kane, but the result was the same: death.
In that brief moment, the nobles' faces turned pale.
"Your fates will be decided shortly. Camilla."
"Yes, sir!"
Camilla responded confidently.
"Go to the house at 42-9 East Boulevard of the capital. There is a locked book on the shelf. Bring it to me."
"Got it!"
Camilla disappeared.
After about 15 minutes, she returned with a book.
"I have it, my lord."
"Well done."
Kane patted Camilla on the head.
She beamed at the rare praise.
"If your names are not in this book, you will be spared, after all that's basic courtesy."
The book was Swen's espionage diary.
Kane was a veteran of this game.
He had played through the story nearly to the end as Ray Hatzfeld.
He knew exactly how the Hatzfeld family's spies operated.
And he was adept at breaking the fire seal that bound the book.
Click!
Using the Breath of the Blood Tiger, Kane broke the seal.
He opened the book to find pages filled with writing.
From their names to…
Details about what they had received.
The secrets of the nobles who had provided it.
It was all meticulously documented.
Kane closed the book after reading it.
He then turned his gaze to the nobles standing before him, whose names were written in the book.
"No need to say anything. You're already dead."
Kane stepped on a pool of blood.
Drops of blood floated in the air.
As he swung his arm, the blood droplets flew towards the nobles.
Splurt!
The droplets pierced their throats and hearts.
Even in their final moments, they didn't understand why they were dying.
By now, the area was filled with students.
They had gathered one by one, drawn by the commotion.
Swen's deliberate efforts to alert the surroundings before Kane arrived had contributed to this.
Mateo pushed through the students.
"That madman!?"
Mateo had been in the infirmary since the night before.
While his classmates had only suffered a broken arm,
His mana circuits had been completely severed.
His condition was much more severe than his classmates'.
So, he had come out late…
"What are you all just standing there for? Arrest the one who committed murder at the Royal Military Academy!"
Mateo's cry spurred the bewildered instructors into action.
But someone moved faster than them.
"You're the last one."
It was Kane.
In an instant, he closed the distance and appeared in front of Mateo.
"Gah!"
Mateo gasped loudly, but he couldn't scream.
Kane's hand covered his mouth firmly.
Kane whispered into Mateo's ear in a low voice.
"Rivan is already waiting for you in hell. Have a good time together."
Kane's grip tightened on Mateo's face.
Crack!
Mateo's face shattered.
With the sound of bones crunching, brain matter spilled downward.
"Aaaah!"
A nearby female student screamed in horror.
The instructors tried belatedly to restrain Kane.
But they were blocked by a sudden swarm of black figures descending from the sky