In the pitch-black space, a pair of blue eyes shone brightly.
The man with golden hair, even visible under his robe, was Isaac von Fresia.
"Ulrich, Chief Attendant. It's you?"
"Isaac!? How did you get here?"
Ulrich was flustered.
The Crown Prince, who should have been in the royal palace, was not supposed to be here.
At that moment, Isaac spoke in a low voice.
"You're even skipping honorifics now."
He walked past Ulrich towards Kane, ignoring him completely.
But no one could stop Isaac.
The energy around him was distorting the space.
Spatial distortion.
It was a phenomenon caused by the energy he was emitting.
"Ulrich, did you do this to Kane?"
Ulrich flinched under Isaac's gaze.
'Was the Crown Prince always this powerful?'
Currently, Isaac was known as the strongest among the Twelve young stars of the continent.
He was called the "Nebula of Moonlight."
[A/N: Beno was "Nebula of wind"]
But in the end, he was just a nebula, the one likely to succeed and become a Star-lord in the future.
He wasn't one of the Twelve Star Lords yet.
No matter how strong he was, he was merely the best among the heirs.
'I thought he was still stuck at High-tier 6th Class….'
Ulrich felt a sense of unease from Isaac.
An unsettling feeling.
His intuition had never been wrong.
'I need to verify this.'
With his hands behind his back, Ulrich gathered mana into his palm.
A marble the size of a fist seemed to form, but it soon disappeared.
As the wrinkles on Ulrich's face twitched.
Zing—
Three magic circles formed above Isaac's head.
From them emerged the black marbles that Isaac had prepared in advance.
Boom!
A massive explosion was heard.
Yet Ulrich's attack wasn't over.
At some point, he had a whip in his hand, which he swung towards the explosion.
Rip—
With a single strike, the ground split.
Even so, Ulrich continued to whip at an incredible speed.
His intention was to shred Isaac to pieces.
After a moment, Ulrich's whipping stopped.
His subordinates held their breath and stared silently in the direction of the dust.
But then.
"He's unscathed?"
Ulrich's eyes widened.
Isaac didn't have a single scratch on him.
"Why didn't my attack work?"
As Ulrich's expression showed his confusion, Isaac yawned deeply.
"This is boring. If you don't do it properly, you'll end up suffering, Chief Attendant Ulrich."
Swish—
When Isaac drew his sword, the sense of unease Ulrich felt intensified.
The intimidating presence that had scared him from the start.
With the sword in hand, Ulrich felt as if he were standing on thin ice.
"Have you been hiding your power?"
"Everyone keeps an ace up their sleeve."
"I knew the Crown Prince hid daggers behind his smile, but I didn't expect it to be this severe."
Ulrich reluctantly acknowledged Isaac's strength.
"But, Your Highness, this isn't the royal palace. I've told you repeatedly that outside the palace, your life is always at risk."
"I never thought it would be by the Chief Attendant."
"If only you hadn't shown up here, you might have lived a bit longer. Don't blame me."
Although Ulrich admitted Isaac was stronger than he had thought, that was all.
The fact that both Kane and Isaac would die remained unchanged.
There was no need to delay any longer.
Ulrich signaled to his subordinates.
His subordinates unleashed their mana.
Each one wielded formidable power.
Upon Ulrich's command, dozens of spells would be unleashed simultaneously.
Isaac smirked at their stance.
"The Chief Attendant isn't the only one with subordinates."
Before he even finished speaking, shadows enveloped the area.
Isaac's guard.
The Black heaven Guards revealed themselves.
Ulrich's face hardened.
"You came well-prepared to capture me."
Ulrich dropped the pretense.
No longer the Chief Attendant, he was now the Executioner Seven of the Meyer family.
He fully reverted to his role as the Seventh Executioner.
"Then I will treat the Crown Prince with the appropriate respect."
The Chief Attendant threw off his robe.
He took a deep breath.
"Hmmph!"
His scrawny body swelled greatly.
He even seemed taller.
Even when not revealing his power, his presence was intimidating, but now he was like a giant mountain.
"Phew. Is that the Chief Attendant's true form?"
"Yes. This is my true form, Ulrich Siemens, I'm also known as Executioner Seven of the House of Sun."
Ulrich revealed his true identity without hesitation.
Revealing his identity meant he was confident he could kill the Crown Prince and the Black Heaven Guards here and now.
"Not much to see. Your body just got bigger, but your skills remain the same."
"Ha ha. Still as arrogant as ever, brat… Kill them all, leave no one alive."
The two factions clashed.
A battle between knights and mages.
Their skills were evenly matched, making it uncertain which side would tip the balance first.
That applied to Isaac and Ulrich as well.
* * *
Thud—
With each clash of their immense energies, shockwaves rippled outward.
Ulrich was a close-combat mage.
He fought using the hard muscles of his body to their fullest potential.
Boom, boom!
Isaac's sword and Ulrich's fists collided violently multiple times.
"Haha, where did your earlier bravado go?"
Ulrich pressed Isaac hard.
A close-combat mage was more troublesome than expected.
He attacked up close like a knight, but then suddenly used magic to create distance.
It was difficult to predict when and where the next attack would come from.
"Can't you fight without running your mouth?"
"Hahaha. You still seem to have some energy left."
As Ulrich's fist neared Isaac's abdomen, Ulrich opened his hand wide.
Bang!
Isaac's body was flung backward.
He corrected his stance by dragging his longsword along the ground.
A single line of blood trickled from his mouth.
He had no time to wipe it away.
Ulrich's mana-formed whip immediately followed with another attack.
Whack—
The whip struck Isaac's side.
"This is the difference between you, who grew up like a delicate flower, and me."
Finally, Ulrich's assault ceased.
He looked down at Isaac, who was on one knee.
Isaac wiped the blood from his mouth with his sleeve.
"Is that all? That's disappointing."
"You're all talk."
"Seems like you have nothing more to show. Now it's my turn."
Isaac disappeared in an instant.
When he reappeared, he was beside Ulrich.
"When!?"
Ulrich lost sight of Isaac for a moment.
But the result was devastating.
Isaac's sword slashed across Ulrich's body.
"That tickles."
Ulrich thought it was a light scratch.
But contrary to his expectation, the sword wound was far from light.
"Ugh!"
This time, Ulrich fell to his knees.
No blood flowed from the wound.
Instead, there was an intensely cold sensation.
The wound turned blue.
It was a symptom of being affected by the Mana of the moon.
The moon had properties similar to ice, with extreme cold.
An intense yin energy.
Additionally, it had the property of darkness as well, and the wounded area began to slowly decay.
Isaac let his sword dangle as he spoke.
"I've completely read your movements now."
"Ugh, you mean you've analyzed me in that short time?"
"I was looking forward to facing a close-combat mage for the first time, but you're quite disappointing."
"What kind of nonsense is that from a brat like you!"
Ulrich charged like an enraged bull.
His entire body was enveloped in dark mana.
If that huge figure crashed into him, it would be instant death.
"Will you acknowledge this technique?"
Isaac's longsword began to glow white.
The blade lengthened gradually.
Stronger than a sword aura, it was sword force.
Isaac's sword descended upon Ulrich.
He used the Moonlit Ascension Slash, one of the sword techniques exclusive to the Fresia royal family, based on the Breath of the Moon.
"You think I can't block such a sword force?"
Ulrich enveloped his arms in mana.
He even created a mana shield for additional protection.
Boom!
The mana shield clashed with the sword force.
With the sound of shattering glass, the shield disappeared.
Isaac's sword force struck Ulrich's arms directly.
"If you had just run away, it would have been tiring, but thanks for underestimating me, Chief Attendant."
Isaac smiled brightly as he swung his sword down.
Splurt!
Blood sprayed into the air.
"Aaaaargh!"
Ulrich's screams followed.
Both of his arms fell to the ground.
"You deceived His Majesty and me quite well."
As Isaac's sword moved to behead Ulrich.
"If you kill me, you gain nothing. Don't you want to know how many like me are in the Fresia Empire?"
At Ulrich's words, Isaac's sword halted.
"I'll just work my ass off to find them. Plus, that friend over there will help, so I'm not too worried."
Isaac pointed to someone.
Kane was slaughtering the 'enforcers of judgment', Ulrich's subordinates.
With eyes full of madness, Kane was brutally decimating the remaining enemies.
"You'll never find them without my information, you—"
"Shut up."
Isaac's sword sliced through Ulrich's neck.
Ulrich's head rolled to the ground.
* * *
Kane was slowly regaining control over his body.
[The Five Elements blood extreme physique has detected the Bloodstone.]
[Blood Bond is beginning to absorb the Bloodstone.]
[Progress: 1…100%]
[Blood Bond has completely absorbed the Bloodstone.]
[The properties of the Five Elements blood extreme physique and Smooth Flow have been activated.]
[Blood Bond (3 Runes) has transformed into Blood Oath (4 Runes).]
['Breath of the Blood Tiger' has been upgraded to SR-.]
['Breath of the Blood Phoenix' has been upgraded to SR-.]
[The Blood element of the Five Elements has been completely mastered.]
[Passive ability has been disabled due to the full life force.]
Kane, who had been killing the Enforcers of Judgment, suddenly stopped.
"Time to die."
['Breath of the Blood Tiger (SR-)' has been activated.]
['Blood oath (4 Runes)' is manifesting.]
The blood scattered on the floor began to float as droplets. The range was much wider than before, and the quantity had also increased. It could even draw blood from living people, as it was doing now.
"Aaargh!"
"Hey, why is this happening—"
"What's going on!?"
Ulrich's subordinates began to die one by one, drained of all their blood and fluids. Even those with the strength of a beginner-tier 5th class were not spared. Only those who resisted with mana at the last moment managed to survive.
"Blood Sword, Fly."
Of course, Kane wouldn't let them be. He sent the blood droplets flying, killing all remaining enemies. Total annihilation. Not a single enemy was left alive.
"You're back to normal, Kane?"
"Thank you for saving me. You arrived much quicker than I expected. If I had known, I wouldn't have consumed the Bloodstone."
Isaac chuckled, having not heard the word 'Bloodstone.'
"When did you think I'd show up?"
"I thought you'd appear when my life was hanging by a thread."
"I was planning to return to the palace right away, but something felt off. Plus, I came to tell you that Count Dyer is on the move."
"Count Dyer?"
Count Dyer was currently searching for Wood Wolf's egg. Because of this, he was stuck in a secret place… Could he really be moving? Then suddenly, Kane remembered the favorability factor.
'Ah, I killed Mateo too, didn't I? So his hostility toward me must have peaked, making Count Dyer act differently.'
It wasn't just a light tap; it was a full-blown punch. Killing two of his sons meant the hostility was at its peak.
"It seems your story has reached Count Dyer's ears. You'll need to be careful when you go back."
"Did you come here just to tell me this?"
"Among other things."
Isaac acted nonchalantly, as if to say not to worry about it. He had a surprisingly caring side.
"But…"
Isaac looked at Kane with a curious expression.
"You've gotten stronger in what seems like less than half a day. Are you going to catch up to me within a year?"
"That's too long," Kane joked.
However, Isaac took his words seriously.
"Hmph, I'd better work hard too. I can't let you surpass me."
"There probably aren't any more Hatzfeld spies left in the capital. But since they've lost contact with the Seventh Executioner, they'll be planning something else."
"I'll handle that. Don't worry."
After exchanging a few jokes, they said their final farewells.
"See you next time."
Kane then kicked off the ground and disappeared. The leader of the Black Heaven Guard approached Isaac.
"Executioner Seven is one of the executioners of the Sun Family, Meyer. The fact that he infiltrated the Fresia Empire, hiding his identity for decades within the palace, is a serious matter."
Despite the Black heaven captain's concerns, Isaac mumbled while looking in the direction Kane had gone.
"He's quite cunning."
"Your Highness! This is not something to be taken lightly."
Even with the Black Heaven captain's worries, Isaac continued with his thoughts.
"It seems that he was sure I would kill Ulrich."
"Is that important?"
"It is. Depending on how much Kane knows about the Meyer Family, my course of action could change."
Isaac was aware of the dark clouds looming over the empire. However, grasping their true nature was challenging. Identifying the infiltrators within the empire, especially those from the Meyer Family, was not easy. Kane's arrival in the capital had advanced their stagnant investigation significantly. Today, they managed to kill the Seventh Executioner, a high-ranking member of the Solar Family. The identity that had eluded them for so long was revealed thanks to Kane.
"I must repay him for saving me from that crisis. Spread the word that we're conducting a large-scale operation to root out spies so that the nobles won't submit petitions to punish Kane."
"Wouldn't that just make them hide more?"
"We have this book that Kane helped us acquire."
Isaac held up a book they had found in Instructor Faro's house, who had been a Hatzfeld spy. He smiled widely, a coldness in his expression.
There were signs that a bloody storm was about to sweep through the palace.