SLSL 66

Chapter – 66

Carlisle saw it.

Something pale white being dragged somewhere…

It was probably Crowley’s soul, and the unidentified beings that dragged him away were perhaps messengers taking the wicked to hell.

Of course, Carlisle neither knew where Crowley was dragged nor cared.

‘It can’t be a good place. He had accumulated karma.’

But that was enough for Carlisle.

That Crowley would suffer eternally, in everlasting pain, even in death.

“…What is it.”

Carlisle, who had turned his back on Crowley’s corpse, flinched in surprise.

It was burdensome because the gazes of everyone, friend and foe alike, were fixed on him.

“You, what are you?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’?”
“What was that just now?”

Selena ran up to Carlisle and asked urgently.

“What do you think it was? You should know better than anyone.”
“That’s why I’m asking what exactly it was. That power just now… What on earth…”
Selena made an expression of confusion, as if she couldn’t understand it at all.

It’s not like she wouldn’t know about Blood Awakening.
She was the first among Grand Duke Guntrum’s children to achieve Blood Awakening.

“Why, can’t I achieve Blood Awakening? The blood flowing in my veins is also Sigurd’s.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“Then?”
“It’s hard to put into words.”

Selena made a troubled expression.

“You know? Over the past hundreds of years, thousands of ancestors have achieved Blood Awakening.”
“Of course I know.”
“Then you know there are records on most of the supernatural abilities?”
“I do.”
“There are about a thousand different abilities. Many overlap.”
“That would be right.”
“But your ability…”
“Is it one you’ve never heard of?”
“Yes.”
“Then it seems I’m the first Sigurd to manifest this ability. Isn’t that simple?”
“That may be so, but… Phew.”

Selena let out a deep sigh and tightly closed her eyes.

“Fine. Let’s not talk. Arguing with you will only worsen my temper.”
“It was already bad.”
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing.”
“You said my temper is bad.”
“You heard me, why are you asking?”
“You’re really…!”

Flames of anger flickered in Selena’s eyes before quickly dying down.

There were far too many eyes watching them.

Within the Sigurd family, they might not care about having arguments or even grabbing each other’s hair and fighting, but this was a battlefield.

Before being siblings, they were soldiers, and in Selena’s case, wasn’t she a high-ranking officer in the Decaron army?

She couldn’t possibly get into a scuffle with her bratty younger brother in front of everyone.

Doing so would surely damage her dignity and demean her authority as a high-ranking officer.

Carlisle, of course, had nothing to lose.

‘You, I’ll deal with you later.’
‘By all means, try.’

As Selena threatened him with her eyes, Carlisle responded nonchalantly, as if to say ‘go ahead and try,’ then turned his head.

“Charge!”
“Everryyyone, Charrrrge!”

Just then, the warriors of the Butcher tribe began to flee.

“Honestly.”

Carlisle shook his head as if he couldn’t be bothered.

The savages had a habit of shouting [Charge] and running away when the tide of battle had turned decisively and they faced the risk of annihilation.

They considered dying in battle an honorable death, but being slaughtered one-sidedly when defeat was imminent was considered a dog’s death, hence they fled.

But why shout [Charge] while running away? It was purely because of pride.

The barbarian warriors were famously a race brimming with a spirit of never retreating from battle and belligerence.

From their perspective, running away was so damaging to their pride that they had to at least shout [Charge].

To the question from a certain continental person, ‘Why is that a charge?’, a certain chieftain famously left the wise saying, [Charging backward is also a charge.]

But while they could invade as they pleased, retreating—charging—was another matter.

Thump thump thump thump thump!

The ground shook, centered around Evangelin.

Crack, Creeeeak!

The ground split, and walls dozens of meters high rose up, surrounding Bowden Fortress.

“……!”

The barbarian warriors were greatly bewildered by the suddenly appearing walls.

With walls so high that not even [Thunder Leap] could dare to clear them rising up, they could no longer execute their ‘charge.’

“None shall escape.”

Selena swung her inherited sword [Asurada].

“Ba, Balhalrr… Keuhuk!”
“Kuaaaak!”

As if she had never been growling at Carlisle moments before, Selena, living up to her epithet ‘Valkyrie of Blood Blossoms,’ swept away all the charging barbarian warriors.

Just as she had swept away Crowley’s undead army with a single sword, it took Selena only a few seconds to ‘butcher’ the Butcher tribe.

Only one enemy remained.

Chieftain Zarkan, who had been captured by Marlanello and was being forcibly taught manners.

“My loyalty. It is an honor to meet you, Sir Marlanello. I am the commander of this Bowden Fortress, Lieutenant Helen.”
“Sir? That is undeserved. I laid down my sword long ago; now I am merely a butler serving the Sigurd family.”
“B, but……”
“What is it you wish to say, Lieutenant Helen?”
“I wish to behead him.”

Helen glared fiercely at Zarkan, who was collapsed and groaning.

“Hoho. It won’t be easy, are you sure?”

In reality, Zarkan had ‘not at all’ lost his combat capability.

Although his nose and mouth were smashed, his teeth were all gone, and he had some bruises, his limbs were perfectly fine, and he was physically still intact.

“It doesn’t matter. He is the one who killed my subordinates. Please allow me to execute him with my own hands. I beg of you.”
“If you’re begging…”

Marlanello gave a wry smile.

He too was a person with decades of experience fighting savages in the past.

No one would understand Helen’s current feelings better than Marlanello.

“Very well, Lieutenant Helen. He wishes to kill you.”
“Yooouuu damnnn humaaan.”

Because his teeth were all gone, Zarkan growled with a slurred, leaking pronunciation.

“If I die, you can return alive and well. I promise.”
“Doo yooou reaaally thinkk I’d beeelieve thaaat?”
“Brigadier General Selena. I request your permission. If this fellow wins, please let him go.”
“I grant your request, Lieutenant Helen.”

Unlike with Carlisle, Selena readily granted Helen’s plea.

“That’s discrimination.”

Carlisle pouted, but Selena pretended not to hear.

“Pick up your weapon, savage.”
“Haave it your waaay.”

Zarkan picked up his weapon from the ground and growled at Helen.

Soon, Helen and Zarkan faced off.

The duel unfolded with Zarkan overwhelmingly dominating Helen from start to finish.

Zarkan surpassed Helen in every aspect: strength, speed, experience.

Nevertheless, Helen somehow continued the duel.

Just as Carlisle had, she was kicked in the chest by Zarkan, sent flying and tumbling across the ground, her leg broken, limping, yet she did not fall.

“L, Lieutenant Helen!”
“Damn it!”

The soldiers stamped their feet anxiously, torn over whether to intervene or not.

That’s how great the difference in skill and strength between the two was.

To the point where it wouldn’t be strange if Helen was bisected at any moment…

In such a difficult duel, Helen faced Zarkan with tenacious grit and focus, walking a tightrope on the boundary between life and death.

Then, at a certain moment.

Stab!

Helen’s sword pierced through Zarkan’s jaw from below to above, exiting through the back of his head.

It was a perfect strike, exploiting Zarkan’s opening flawlessly.

Shluck!

Helen pulled out her sword.

Thud!

Zarkan’s massive body collapsed.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

A thunderous cheer erupted from the soldiers.

Grind!

Helen gritted her teeth so hard they nearly shattered, using her sword as a cane to push herself up.

Her condition was truly a complete mess.

A white bone was sticking out from her broken leg, blood trickled steadily from long gashes on her back and thigh, and blood poured incessantly from her mouth.

“Lieutenant Helen!”
“Are you alright?!”

The scouts were the first to run to Helen and support her.

“Medic! Mediiiiic! What are you doing, you bastard!”

Begman, who had a particularly close relationship with Helen, nagged the medic while trying to check her condition.

“Russell… Private… Keuhuk!”
“Yes, Lieutenant Helen.”
“Cut off the enemy commander’s head… Cough! Hang it on the fortress wall… Along with the Decaron flag… To show that our army… Cough! Cough cough! …has emerged victorious!”
“Understood!”

Russell hurriedly dashed, hung Zarkan’s head on the fortress wall, and promptly raised the Decaron flag.

Flutter!

Coincidentally, the wind blew, causing the Decaron flag to wave powerfully.

“Fuck! We wooooon!”
“We won! We won!”
“We did it! We wooooon!”

The soldiers each let out cheers, fully enjoying the joy of victory and the relief of survival.

Amidst it all, there were those who didn’t smile at all, and Carlisle was one of them.

Carlisle neither shouted victory cheers nor expressed gratitude for being alive.

Instead, Carlisle approached Gwen’s corpse and looked down at her intently.

Her eyes, having ceased functioning as an undead, were still wide open, and her face was grotesquely distorted, making it impossible to find any trace of her former bright and gentle appearance, even if one scrubbed their eyes.

Moreover, even though she hadn’t been undead for long, decay was remarkably rapid, with black livor mortis spreading like a skin disease here and there on her skin.

“……”

Carlisle couldn’t bring himself to utter any words and looked down at Gwen with a complicated and heavy heart.

He was confused.

So much so that he himself couldn’t quite grasp the emotion he was feeling…

Peek, the baby dragon poked its head out.

“Butler.”
“……”
“Butleeeer.”
“……”

As the baby dragon kept calling, Carlisle finally answered in a low voice.

“I’ll give you food a little later, so don’t bother me now.”

However, the baby dragon’s business didn’t seem to be just about food.

“Was that friend a close friend?”
“No.”

Carlisle shook his head.

“Just an acquaintance. We exchanged a few words.”
“But your heart hurts?”
“That’s not it either.”