Chapter 47: Main Event (4)
In the heart of the Republic stood the Weimar Palace, residence of the Führer.
Rumble.
A loud roar echoed through the sky, which was thick with dark clouds.
Swish.
Soon, rain began to pour down in torrents.
A middle-aged man stood by the window in the highest office of the palace, staring out at the scene beyond.
“Your Excellency.”
At the sound of a voice behind him, the Führer, the apex of the Republic, turned around.
“Why?”
The man’s voice trembled with barely concealed emotion.
“Why did you send Leighton and Lenya instead of me?”
Standing before him was Schneizel, the second-ranking enforcer of the Republic.
“Why, you ask?”
The Führer placed the glass he had been holding onto the desk.
“Because it was more fitting.”
His cold, colorless eyes stared straight into Schneizel’s.
Schneizel met his gaze and, to his surprise, felt a momentary fear well up inside him.
“But… but Leighton is only fourth in rank! And Lenya is barely even worth mentioning! How could you send those weaker than me to the most crucial tournament where we must secure victory against the Empire?!”
“Hmm…”
Schneizel swallowed hard.
“No, they were the most appropriate choice.”
The Führer turned back to the window, looking out over the capital’s streets below.
Recently, Leighton had been acting strangely, hiding his power.
But he is my finest creation.
If I use his brother as leverage, he’ll have no choice but to obey.
The Führer clasped his hands behind his back, raising his right hand slightly.
Whoosh.
A blue flame flickered to life in his palm.
“Schneizel, do you remember what my dream was?”
“…Lebensraum. To establish a living space for our Free Republic and to spread the ideals of freedom across the continent.”
The Führer’s lips curled up into a faint smile.
“Exactly. We came close to achieving Lebensraum after our victory in the Fatherland Defense War, but then a new enemy arose: the Empire.”
A mighty nation, built on the authority of bloodlines, with a long and storied history.
No matter how quickly the Republic had grown in a short time, it was no match for the vast resources, power, and manpower that the Empire had accumulated over centuries.
To topple the Empire, a fortress of iron, and to spread freedom, we needed something more.
Whoosh.
From the blue flames in the Führer’s hand, a bottle containing the Elixir of Miracles appeared.
“But Rudera, this world is a treasure trove of vast resources that can topple the existing order and balance. This elixir, which rivals even the legendary Elixir, is so common it’s almost laughable.”
“Your Excellency…”
‘This man is rambling again,’ Schneizel thought, frowning at the familiar sight of the Führer’s eccentric tendencies.
“That is why the Tower of Labyrinth will be a decisive battleground for determining the future supremacy of the continent. For our Republic, it is the most important conflict zone.”
‘But what does that have to do with my question?’
“And Leighton is the most fitting person to bring us victory. That is why I sent him.”
‘No, I mean, why did you send him instead of me? Why do you keep changing the subject?’
Schneizel was on the verge of screaming in frustration at the Führer, who only said what he wanted to say.
‘Leighton is hiding his power, but he’s up to something. There’s no way he’s just ranked fourth. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have been able to accomplish what he did. There’s no one in the tournament who could stand against him alone.’
By now, the Führer’s eyes had taken on a blue hue.
‘Foolish son. You’d better win.’
Publicly, it was known that the Führer had no children, so no one knew that he was actually a doting father.
Not even his son.
—And now, the third duel participant… It’s the Republic’s enforcer, Leighton!
Flash.
Leighton appeared in the middle of the arena, bathed in blue light.
He clenched the glove on his left hand with his right.
—And his opponent… from the Great Forest, the Elven Dictator… Aus!
His opponent appeared in a flash of blue light on the opposite side.
A young elf girl with golden twin tails and black glasses stood before him.
Though she looked young, her pointed elf ears made it clear that no one in the audience thought she was a child.
“…Oh no…”
Leighton’s face stiffened.
He knew from the public draw that his opponent was a special dictator selected by the Elf Council.
Normally, the Elf Council elected and governed with two consuls, but in emergencies, they could appoint a dictator, either one of the consuls or a special individual.
Considering the nature of elven society, he had expected a formidable opponent.
He even thought he might lose this duel.
However, the order he had just received from the Führer made it clear that he had to win this duel at any cost.
“That damn man…”
Who would have thought he’d take Wald as a hostage?
I sent Wald away to the academy to divert attention from him, but did he catch on to my plan?
If the worst happens, I might have to execute the plan immediately.
But regardless of whether I proceed with the plan, the most important thing is ensuring Wald’s safety.
To do that, I must win this duel, even if it means using that power.
“Hehe, your face is all stiff, mister.”
The elf girl grinned as she saw Leighton’s frozen expression.
The mysterious aura she had when she was expressionless had vanished, replaced by a mischievous look.
“What’s the matter, old man? Scared of a little girl like me?”
“You say little girl… but you look older than me.”
Given that she was an elf who had risen to the position of dictator in the Elf Council, which was only open to ancient elves, Leighton guessed that she was at least several hundred years old.
Ding.
—The match is about to begin.
“Guessing a lady’s age? How rude, mister!”
The moment the match began, the elf girl charged at Leighton with blinding speed.
“Ugh!”
Leighton quickly cast shield spells and retreated.
In previous qualifying matches, she had won by summoning spirits from a distance, so he hadn’t expected her to attack so aggressively.
He hadn’t properly prepared for this.
Boom.
A large crater appeared where Leighton had been standing.
“Heh? Your reflexes aren’t bad. Still, that’s pretty pathetic.”
The elf girl smirked at Leighton.
‘Isn’t she supposed to be a spirit summoner? But she’s using close combat…’
This was far beyond what Leighton had anticipated.
‘Is she really one of those ancient elves, a monster filtered out from among them over centuries?’
Leighton gathered his magic and formed hand seals.
Swoosh, swoosh.
Thousands of slashes flew toward Aus.
It was a powerful attack that would slice her into pieces if she didn’t deploy a shield or surround herself with aura.
But she just stood there, motionless.
Clang.
Despite the devastating power of his attack, which should have pulverized everything in its range, Aus remained completely unharmed.
“…How is this possible?”
Leighton’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“You’re pathetic, old man. Is that all you’ve got, a bunch of cheap tricks? In that case…”
Aus stomped the ground.
Boom.
As she leaped forward, the ground beneath her feet cracked.
“Just lose like all the other losers!”
Boom.
Leighton’s shield was pierced, and Aus’s fist struck him square in the chest.
Crash.
With a tremendous shockwave, Leighton was sent flying across the arena, crashing into the opposite wall and leaving a large crater.
“You couldn’t even block that? How pathetic!”
Aus grinned as she looked at the bloodied Leighton.
The audience erupted into chaos.
“Hey! Don’t lose! I bet everything I have on you!”
“He’s supposed to be an enforcer! Why is he so weak?!”
Some worried about their bets.
“That’s it, crush him!”
“Tear those Republic scum apart!”
Others reveled in the violence.
“I’m about to turn my life around!”
“Elven Coin to the moon!”
“This is it! I told you I’d make a fortune!”
And still others dreamed of sudden riches, lost in expectation.
Rustle.
Leighton pulled himself out of the rubble of the arena wall.
‘So that’s how it is.’
While deliberately taking the blow at close range, he had closely observed her condition.
She hadn’t just stood there and done nothing when his slashes hit her.
The four elemental spirits had been protecting her body.
Simultaneously contracting four elemental spirits was rare enough, but summoning and controlling all of them in real-time?
How many centuries would you have to live to pull that off?
At this point, calling her a young girl was an insult to every girl on the continent.
‘The spirit shield is formidable, but it’s not impenetrable.’
If he could analyze the magic patterns of the spirits and reverse-engineer them, he could penetrate the shield with his slashing magic.
‘The problem is that she’s constantly changing the magic patterns.’
The spirit shield, being formed by intelligent entities, was constantly shifting its magical patterns in real-time.
Unless time itself stopped, no human brain could break through that kind of shield, even with the most advanced supercomputers.
But in theory, it was possible to stop time.
‘Ugh.’
The blood gushing from his wounds splattered onto the ground.
He was already losing consciousness.
But his mind remained clear.
‘I could use the Elixir.’
He clenched the vial in his pocket.
The instant he decided to drink the Elixir, a strange sensation washed over him.
It was as if the whole world had stopped.
He even wondered if he had unknowingly cast the spell to stop time.
But when he saw the young girl walking towards him, he realized this was the power of the Elixir.
Time, which had already been moving slowly, slowed even further.
He looked up, stunned.
For the first time since the match began, Leighton’s eyes met the Führer’s.
The Führer stood on the balcony, high above the arena, looking down at the scene.
There was a certain madness in those cold eyes.
They said, “Win.”
‘How… disgusting.’
Leighton clenched his fists, pulling his shaking left hand toward his chest, and channeled the power of the Elixir into his body.
For a brief moment, the magic circuits, which had been about to collapse, were restored.
The broken bones, which had been riddled with cracks, were mended.
The fractured heart, which had been crumbling, was reconstructed.
All this with a single breath.
With a single, painless breath, Leighton’s broken body began to rebuild itself.
Even as he stared in shock, unable to comprehend what was happening, Leighton instinctively pulled the trigger.
He released the pent-up magic energy from within his body.
“Manifest.”
At the same time, Aus’ spirits, who had been walking slowly towards him, came to a halt.
“…What?!”
In the next moment, Aus was startled by the sudden surge of magic energy emanating from Leighton.
Crackle, crackle, crackle.
Red bolts of electricity formed a magic circle, trapping Aus within.
At that moment, Aus recognized the technique Leighton was using.
“You… You bastard! You dare to use that against me?!” she shouted.
But it was too late.
Boom.
With a deafening explosion, Aus vanished in a flash of blue light.
When the light faded, the young girl had completely disappeared.
All that remained was Leighton, who had collapsed onto the ground, trembling.
He was unable to move, but the magic energy coursing through his body was undeniable proof that he had won.
—Leighton has won! He is advancing to the next round!
But Leighton didn’t hear the announcement.
The sudden power he had obtained from the Elixir had taken a toll on his body, and he felt his consciousness fading.
As he was being transported to the infirmary, Leighton had one last thought before blacking out.
‘I can’t wait to get out of this goddamn Republic.’
Then, everything went black.