Chapter 43 – Maximilian
2023.12.13
Of course, while Maximilian’s original body couldn’t compare to Leonard’s, he was still a top-class magician, one of the most powerful within the Magic Association. In his current state—inhabiting Craig’s ordinary human body—Leonard was no match for him.
While Leonard could only focus on defending himself, Maximilian yawned lazily as he bombarded his brother with attacks.
“I’ll give you credit for holding out this long. But I’m getting bored, so let’s wrap this up, shall we?”
At that moment, Leonard swiftly reached for the pouch tied to the left side of his pants.
But Maximilian suppressed it with a surge of mana. A power struggle between magicians had begun.
Leonard tried to counter with his own mana and break free, but once their powers clashed head-on, he stood no chance.
“Urgh…”
Maximilian snatched the pouch in an instant and examined the sacred relics inside.
“Relying on something like this? You really are done for. Let’s see… Saintess’s Tear and Dragon’s Breath? Where the hell did you get these?”
“Give them back!”
Leonard desperately reached out. But Maximilian easily dodged him. With a mocking smile, he hooked the pouch string onto his finger and spun it in front of Leonard’s face.
“To think you’ve become this weak and pathetic… it’s almost a waste to keep this to myself.”
“I won’t let you get away with this, Maximilian!”
“You? Not let me get away? What are you going to do about it?”
“You little—urk!”
Maximilian clenched his fist, and invisible threads wrapped tightly around Leonard’s arms. Smirking, he taunted his brother.
“Tell me, what exactly can you do in this state?”
“You bastard…”
“You have no idea how happy I am that you survived. I get to kill you twice. What a privilege.”
Leonard struggled, twisting his body to escape Maximilian’s grip. But his resistance did nothing.
“Damn it… Why are you trying to kill me twice? Was being head of the household that important to you?”
“No, not really. I don’t care about Atillei.”
“Then why?!”
Leonard grimaced in pain as the threads around his wrists tightened. It seemed like he still couldn’t believe his brother was betraying him again.
“Why? Hmm. No real reason. If I had to name one… I just find you annoying?”
“No reason? Just say you were after my power. Or that your jealousy was eating you alive.”
“Haha. Do I need a reason to betray you? That’s not like you, brother. Since when did you care about reasons?”
“I just want to know whether you’re a beast or a human.”
“Think whatever helps you sleep at night. Would you prefer to die by the hand of a beast or a human?”
Apparently amused by his own response, Maximilian burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.
Leonard used the break in tension to break free one of his tightly bound hands and reached for the pouch Maximilian had stolen.
But Maximilian was ready. He dodged again—just barely.
“Oh, right. I almost forgot about this.”
“No—don’t!”
Leonard shouted desperately.
Deliberately making eye contact with Leonard, Maximilian pulled out the two relics and placed them on his tongue, chewing them slowly and deliberately.
A surge of powerful mana burst forth and quickly flowed into his body. Perhaps because he’d consumed both relics at once, his heart beat faster than normal, and heat rushed to his head.
“Haha. I really am glad you came back to life, brother. Last time, you died far too quickly.”
“……”
“What, cat got your tongue? Given up already?”
Leonard spoke, confirming what he saw.
“You swallowed them all?”
“Guh—!”
Suddenly, Maximilian gagged and spat out a mouthful of black blood. The heat that had been rising to his head now began to burn through his insides. He collapsed, doubling over in agony from the pain in his gut.
Leonard looked down at Maximilian’s writhing body with a mocking smile.
“Max… I always told you, didn’t I? Don’t take food from someone you don’t trust. So greedy, as always.”
“The relics… ngh… you made them go into mana overload…?”
It was an unfamiliar pain—yet all too well known.
Mana Overload.
The most terrifying outcome for any magician.
Maximilian’s eyes turned red and bloodshot. Clenching the weeds beside him, he glared at Leonard.
“I was worried you wouldn’t follow me here… but it looks like you did. That’s a relief.”
“You mean you lured me here on purpose?!”
“You think I didn’t notice that you leaked that note to Belluche about closing the lab? The moment my disciple appeared, you came running after him like an idiot. Pathetic fool.”
The situation had reversed completely. Clutching his burning chest, Maximilian breathed raggedly.
“Killing me won’t make you the head of Atillei. Your mana will never be enough to perform the Soul Transfer spell.”
“You’re right.”
Leonard smiled sincerely—almost warmly—and lowered himself to meet his brother’s eye level.
“That’s why I had to feed you the relics and send your mana into overload. I need a catalyst.”
“…You bastard!”
For the first time, Maximilian’s expression crumbled. He finally understood what Leonard was trying to do.
“My disciple once said, ‘Death is mercy.’”
“AAAGHH!”
As Leonard began to extract mana, Maximilian writhed in agony.
“He was right. Sometimes, life is more painful than death.”
Leonard’s rare, genuine smile lingered on his face.
“I’ll give you the most painful life imaginable, Maximilian.”
“Lady Cordelia!”
Searching for someone in a forest as vast as the open sea was no easy task. Baron ran around, shouting Cordelia’s name. Other than a few low-level monsters following him, there was no sign of life.
With each passing moment, his anxiety grew. He had no idea how or why Cordelia had ended up in this forest, but she could never survive here alone.
“…Ron?”
“Lady Cordelia! Where are you?!”
He heard a faint voice. Using a spell to amplify his hearing and vision, Baron pinpointed her direction.
With certainty, Cordelia’s voice rang in his ears. Without hesitation, he sprinted toward it.
The closer he got, the stronger the smell of blood became, and his urgency intensified.
“Lady Cordelia, are you al—oh no.”
When he finally pushed through the brush, a horrific scene lay before him. Even as he stood staring at it, he could hardly believe his eyes.
More than ten monsters were sprawled out on the ground, torn apart in gruesome ways. In the middle of the carnage stood Cordelia, soaked head to toe in blood as if she’d bathed in it.
“Baron!”
“Dear gods, what happened here?!”
“Well, you see…”
“Why is Belluche lying over there? Don’t tell me he handled all these monsters alone?”
“No. It was someone else—well, something else. But first, please check on Belluche. He’s lost a lot of blood.”
Cordelia grabbed Baron’s arm and led him to Belluche’s unconscious form.
Baron carefully examined his condition, then pulled out a small vial and poured it into his mouth. With a quick incantation, Belluche’s complexion improved noticeably.
“How is he? Will he be okay?”
“Just as you said, he lost quite a bit of blood—but he’s not the kind of man to die from something like that.”
There was such confidence in Baron’s words that Cordelia finally felt a bit relieved.
“And you, Lady Cordelia? Are you hurt?”
“Oh, I’m fine. This blood is all from the monsters.”
“That’s a relief. But if Belluche didn’t defeat them, then who—?”
“Well, about that… let me explain what happened just a little while ago.”
“Huff…”
It was pure luck. There was no better word for it.
After taking down the first monster that had lunged at them, Belluche and Cordelia panted heavily. But it seemed their luck had run out after that.
Belluche’s face went pale. He collapsed onto the ground, blood pooling beneath him. Cordelia trembled as she rushed over.
“Belluche!”
“Run… away… now…”
He groaned in pain, barely able to move.
Tears blurred her vision. Clenching her lips, Cordelia glanced down at the bracelet on her wrist.
“I… I…”
There was no other way. She wasn’t abandoning Belluche—there was simply no choice. It was the only rational decision. Anyone would have done the same.
She kept whispering excuses to herself. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to bear the guilt of running while Belluche lay dying behind her.
KRAAAGH!
The monsters, which had been waiting for a chance to strike, swarmed in all at once. Cordelia clenched her eyes shut and opened her mouth, about to call for “Leonard.”
And then it happened.
Out of nowhere, a thin, gray dog leaped out and slammed into the monsters. By logic, it should’ve been knocked away instantly. But shockingly, the monsters were the ones that cried out and flew backward.
“L-Lo… Lottie?”
She rubbed her eyes. Maybe it was just a hallucination from fear. But no matter how many times she blinked, the creature standing tall on all four legs was definitely her Lottie.
