There Are No Bad Young Ladies in the World - Chapter 138



＜ 4-Star (3) ＞

A rain of monsters falls.

Along with the army of monsters spewed out by the roaring demon’s form, the number of corpses raised by the Arch Lich exceeded hundreds.

Each monster was weak enough to be easily defeated, but when they formed an army, even seasoned mercenaries had no choice but to flee with their tongues out.

However, those gathered were only the brave.

Led by the hero Rodeia, along with the veteran special forces, the best soldiers from the Count of Belmiard, and the Beldern mercenaries who had spent their lives killing monsters─ they were the ones who knew how to draw their swords even in front of the surging horde of monsters.

Before the Belthus mansion became a breeding ground for monsters, they all had determined expressions, ready to finish this.

The blood of goblin corpses spread through the night air, the wings of bat monsters were torn, and the tusks of trolls wielding broken spears were shattered.

Nevertheless, the surging horde of monsters did not lose its momentum. Rodeia clicked his tongue at this absurdly overwhelming offensive.

‘An Arch Lich and even higher demons… There’s a limit to just endlessly killing these small fries…!’

He dodged the axe blade of a charging goblin corpse and swung his holy blood sword, slicing its neck in two.

Then, looking up at the second-floor railing of the main hall, he saw Derek drawing his sword under the moonlight.

‘We must help Baron Ravenclaw and eliminate the source of all these monsters. Subduing Grand Duke Belthus is the top priority…!’

Grand Duke Belthus was a 5-star mage, someone Derek couldn’t handle alone.

However, to approach him, they first had to kill the Arch Lich controlling the first floor of the main hall.

That chilling high-ranking monster seemed to have the intention of not letting anyone get close to Derek, controlling all the soldiers on the first floor of the main hall.

It wasn’t easy to break through this. This monster not only resurrects countless corpses but also unleashes high-level magic on its own.

‘First… that Arch Lich…!’

With that, Rodeia swung the Holy Blood Sword and charged towards the Arch Lich.

– Whoosh

On the second-floor railing of the main hall, Grand Duke Beltus, facing Derek, had blood vessels popping in his eyes, and dark red magic was rising.

This lord, who had been infused with an overwhelming amount of necromantic magic, was astonishingly struggling to control it.

Even the traces of madness that Pine had deliberately injected, a 5-star mage somehow managed to handle it.

However, his physical condition did not seem normal.

He was coughing up blood, his fingertips trembling, and drooling. Fighting against the madness of this necromantic magic was certainly not an easy task.

“Huff… Gasp, huff… Huff…”

“…”

“You… you… did you plan this… turning my mansion upside down… and… and making me like this…”

Derek, with cold eyes, took a combat stance and did not give a long answer.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That… necromancer… that guy must have… another purpose… besides killing me… Gasp… Huff…”

At the moment when he drew his sword to kill Derek, all this happened.

Although he couldn’t find clear evidence, it was too coincidental. He was convinced that Derek was somehow involved in this.

Derek feigned innocence.

However, judging by his cold eyes, it didn’t seem like he was clueless. Grand Duke Beltus ground his teeth as he looked at Derek.

“You… damn b*stard…”

“…”

“You will regret making me angry for the rest of your life… Even if I end up in this miserable state… Even if I am falsely accused of something absurd… I will drag you… I will drag you to hell with me…”

Grand Duke Beltus manipulated countless people like chess pieces, killed them if they were no longer needed, framed his rivals, drove them to ruin, and ruled with blood on his hands.

However, Derrick had no intention of morally condemning him or speaking righteous words.

Now that he had been involved in the aristocracy for a while, he understood.

There was no one completely clean among those who lived by power. In one way or another, they all had blood on their hands, committed dirty deeds, and sometimes turned a blind eye to the right path.

Derrick, too, had blood on his hands since his mercenary days, and he was by no means spotless.

This is the world. Grand Duke Beltus might have just been struggling to rise higher in this muddy world in his own way.

Of course, from the perspective of those who suffered at the hands of Grand Duke Beltus, it was a matter of grinding their teeth and bleeding with resentment, but in the end, he was just a man who would stop at nothing to pursue his ambition.

Being born of noble blood and looking up at the stars in the sky with ambition.

It might be a truly romantic thing, but──shouldn’t he have considered the price?

“Your words are long, Grand Duke Beltus.”

When Derrick’s eyes glinted, Grand Duke Beltus’s pupils widened for a moment.

Come to think of it, Derrick had never criticized Grand Duke Beltus for his evil deeds or cruel actions.

The reason Derrick pointed his sword at Grand Duke Beltus was not due to any moral conclusion.

It was a much more primal reason.

If you point a sword at someone, you must be prepared for the tip of the sword to be pointed at you as well.

That was all Derrick was saying.

“Didn’t you want to hold the southwest of the continent in your hands, and further, to make your name known across the entire continent with power and authority?”

“…”

“Did you really think such ambition could be achieved without any crisis?”

Just as there was a time when Derek reached out to the sky, harboring ambitions for a 7-star magic he didn’t even know existed… This man, too, only sought to climb higher and higher towards that lofty starry sky.

He has no interest in the cruel circumstances that occurred in the process.

If their paths overlapped and one of them had to step aside, at least Derek had no intention of doing so.

Thus, Derek drew his sword and kicked off the ground, charging towards Grand Duke Beltus.

– Whooosh!

Flaming human-shaped spirits rose around Grand Duke Beltus.

Each of these spirits, equipped with high-grade armor, was the result of 4-star summoning magic.

– Swoosh! Clang!

However, before the spirits could draw their swords, they were all engulfed in frost.

It was the 3-star combat magic ‘Freeze’. The memory of the time when Siern had instantly mastered the magic he had spent almost his entire life learning came to mind.

– Crackle! Swoosh!

In an instant, all the objects around the railing froze, and even Grand Duke Beltus’s feet were bound by ice, fixing him to the ground.

However, Grand Duke Beltus manifested the 2-star combat magic ‘Burst’ and shattered the ice, leaping backward and wielding more magic.

Four swords rose from the ground, aiming to pierce Derek’s body, but Derek also rolled once on the ice and dodged by throwing himself.

– Thud! Thud!

The rising swords shattered the ice floor.

Grand Duke Beltus did not miss the brief gap and manifested new magic. Although his own magic was almost depleted, he was desperately trying to utilize the necromancy magic forcibly injected by Pine.

Grand Duke Beltus was a completely different entity from the wizards Derek had faced so far.

If he hid his skills or held back thinking of his opponent, Derek’s life would be at risk in an instant.

From noble mtl dot com

You must give it your all.

Scrape together every ounce of strength from the very bottom, and exchange blows with the sole determination to kill your opponent.

If you lose focus for even a moment, your neck will be pierced by the blade.

The sharp sensation, like walking a tightrope over lava, courses through your body, sending chills down your spine and making every hair on your body stand on end.

Death is near.

Ironically, the closer you get to death, the more vividly you feel alive.

– Pababak! Pak!

– Kwagang! Kwang!

Grand Duke Veltus begins to summon all kinds of weapons.

Steel swords, barbed spears, golden arrows, sharp scimitars, maces, and throwing weapons… So many weapons that it’s hard to count them all, enveloping the surroundings like a storm.

Before Derek could even cast a defensive spell, his body started to get scratched. The speed was so fast that it was hard to react, but Derek broke through the wall next to him and threw himself inside to secure a safe zone.

“You damned b*stard… You have no idea what you’ve done…! I am fundamentally different from you in nobility of birth and the scale of my ambition…! I… I have been chosen by the era to reach greater heights…”

Madness and desire. The flames rising from Grand Duke Veltus’s eyes began to burn with a more ominous energy.

– Kwang!

The inside of the wall where Derek hid was a VIP bedroom.

The giant demon’s fist, which roared as if it would cover the sky, now struck down towards the bedroom.

– Kwadeudeuk! Kwang!

This mansion belongs to Grand Duke Veltus, so he knows every structure inside out.

All the summoned creatures move according to Grand Duke Veltus’s will, and even the demons and monsters are under his influence.

No matter what anyone says, this is Grand Duke Veltus’s territory, and it is not an exaggeration to call it the kingdom he built.

The level of magic was 5-star, and the battlefield was entirely his domain.

To fight Grand Duke Beltus one-on-one in such a place was indeed an unreasonable demand.

However, Derek, without changing his expression, threw himself out of the room.

– Pababak! Pak!

He rolled on the floor once and ran into the hallway.

The main hall on the second floor was too spacious. The wide space meant that many summons could be deployed and utilized effectively.

To gain an advantage in the battle against Grand Duke Beltus, the use of summons had to be restricted.

One of the most certain methods was to lure him into a narrow space.

“You’re… using your wits… Kuhk… Huhk…!”

As he chased after Derek, the intense pain of necromancy magic once again struck Grand Duke Beltus’s mind.

Nosebleed flowed, and the blood vessels in his eyes became even more pronounced. In the burning agony, Grand Duke Beltus barely held onto his sanity.

He was a man destined to rise higher. He was not someone who would fall so futilely here.

Imprinting that resolve, he used levitation magic to fly into the hallway.

– Hwaaak!

Magic enveloped his hand, and he grasped the 5-star magic weapon ‘Light of the Empire.’

Though it was a replica far inferior to the original, its power was still worthy of being called a war weapon.

If struck directly by the magic wielded by Grand Duke Beltus, one would surely die instantly.

As if to prove that fact, the amount of magic emanating from the staff was much greater than before.

– Tadadak, Tak!

Derek, running down the hallway, was thoroughly analyzing the surroundings to seize the opportunity for a counterattack.

Luxurious carpets, curtains, and all sorts of antique artworks filled the hallway. Although it was impossible to check every room’s structure, most of them seemed spacious. At the end of the hallway, along with the outer stairs, there were various tool storage rooms managed by the servants, the office of Grand Duke Beltus, and some empty rooms.

‘Hoo… Hoo… Hoo…’

Derek was taking deep breaths.

Even as he ran down the hallway, various monsters popped out to hinder his path, but Derek struck them down one by one with his sword.

His movements were so smooth and natural that it seemed as if no one had ever obstructed his path from the beginning.

However, the moment he let his guard down, everything would end. The combat magic unleashed by Grand Duke Beltus was far beyond the ordinary level in terms of firepower.

Cold sweat trickled down Derek’s back, and a chilling sensation ran through his entire body.

Life and death. A battle with his life on the line.

It was a sense of death, sharp and blue, that he had hardly experienced since becoming stronger.

In his childhood, it was something he took for granted, like a daily routine. Whether he was catching a goblin or facing a troll, he always had to risk his life, and a moment’s carelessness could cost him an arm or a leg.

That sense of walking a tightrope amplified all of Derek’s senses to an extraordinary degree.

It was said that only in the midst of crisis and fierce battles could one burn all their senses. The chilling sense of crisis, as if needles were pricking every pore, stimulated Derek even more.

– ‘Scrape everything down to the bottom, defeat the higher beings, and remember that sensation in your hands. I understand the pleasure felt at that moment better than anyone.’

– ‘Killing is a delightful thing. Of course, you don’t seem like the type of person who would be swept away by such pleasure.’

Although he couldn’t agree with the utterly insane remarks of Pine, he had to acknowledge what needed to be acknowledged.

Only in extreme situations where his life was on the line could he see the realm that lay beyond.

Derek, drawing out all his strength for each bout, could finally face the limits of his own extremity.

– Boom! Bang! Crack! Snap!

High-powered magic flew at an unbelievable speed, destroying the hallway.

Even though combat magic wasn’t supposed to be his specialty, the combat magic of Grand Duke Beltus was more powerful than the magic Derek wielded.

– Crack! Snap!

And, his way of utilizing magic is completely different from those clumsy wizards.

His magic doesn’t feel like it has boundaries. His power, which appropriately blends combat, confusion, and summoning magic, seems to transcend the very system of magic itself.

The system of magic accepted as the norm in this era is, after all, just a system established by a genius named Adelbert.

The magic handled by those who understand the essence of magic itself is at a level that ordinary wizards cannot even reach.

The fireballs he shoots contain necromantic power received from Pine.

It’s not a flame that burns limbs, but a power that burns and annihilates the soul and vitality entirely.

The sword he summons to float in the air contains confusion magic.

Illusions mix between the sharply edged swords, and if you try to dodge just by looking, it will instantly sever a part of your body.

– Snap! Crackle!

Derek rolled on the ground to avoid the sword strike and chanted a spell to shoot fireballs at Grand Duke Beltus.

– Snap!

However, Grand Duke Beltus crushed Derek’s fireballs in mid-air with just a frown.

Such a way of utilizing magic has never been seen or experienced before. It must be part of the magic utilization that Grand Duke Beltus has researched over countless years.

Derek’s arm trembled. His pupils dilated once more.

Seeing Derek’s reaction, Grand Duke Beltus’s lips curled up.

“Why? Have you finally understood the gap between you and me?”

A being of a level two steps higher.

No matter how much of a genius Derek is, growing at an unbelievable speed… he could never reach a fully matured 5-star wizard.

Did he understand that fact? Seeing Derek’s astonished expression, Grand Duke Beltus raised his voice.

“Gah, gah… Hoo… You… can’t even… follow my footsteps… Die here…”

Centered around his staff, a greater magic power begins to manifest.

3-star summoning magic: Stone-armored Turtle, Shadow Spirit, Magic Crow, Flame Wolf… So many summoned creatures appear that it’s hard to count them all.

However, Grand Duke Beltus does not directly utilize these summoned creatures.

He draws out an even greater magic power and merges all those summoned creatures together.

A magic that fuses summoned entities.

A type of magic that cannot be found in any magic book and has never been heard of.

Pine said,

To reach the realm of 4-star and above, one must be able to touch their own unique domain without being bound by any system or stage.

If you have been running on a predetermined path until now, from 4-star onwards, you must fully pioneer the field of magic yourself.

As if to prove that fact, Grand Duke Beltus’s magic was filled with all sorts of unpredictable variables.

Derek’s arm trembles even more.

Grand Duke Beltus, seeing Derek’s state, revealed a blood-filled smile. That smile was quite chilling.

“You must be terrified. Now you understand how arrogant you have been.”

– Bang!

Without any respite, the demon’s fist descends from the sky once again.

Not only Grand Duke Beltus but also all the numerous entities he summoned must be considered in the fight.

A response speed that is impossible for the human brain is required. Of course, Derek somehow managed to dodge and avoid a fatal injury.

Starlight seeps through the hole in the ceiling.

The form of the fused summoned entity that Grand Duke Beltus summoned had all its joints twisted, and all sorts of elemental energies were flowing out.

It was a figure that seemed to be a combination of a wolf and a human. When the monster spewed fire, Derek, who had been focused on dodging the devil’s fist, was hit directly.

– Crash! Bang!

With superhuman reflexes, he managed to surround himself with magic and narrowly avoided losing his life.

However, along with the sensation of his shoulder blade burning, his whole body ached as if some bones were broken.

The moonlight streaming through the broken ceiling illuminated Derek’s figure, pinned against the wall.

Covered in debris and gasping for breath, Derek’s life was clearly on the brink of death.

“Ha, haha… haha… ha…”

The madness of necromancy once again began to erode Grand Duke Beltus. Despite drooling, the archmage, who was still holding on, glared fiercely.

“Yes. You are feeling emotions befitting your level. Fearful, afraid of death… haha… haha… yes, death… how does it feel to face death…?”

There were many new nobles like Derek who boldly challenged Grand Duke Beltus on his journey.

At first, they all charged with their eyes wide open and heads held high, but in the end, when trampled, robbed, and threatened with a sword, they all trembled with fear, unable to withstand it.

Derek was no different in the end.

Beltus lived with great joy in crushing the petty arrogance that was nothing more than the bravado of young nobles.

He liked the sight of Derek, buried in the dusty debris, trembling and wide-eyed.

It was at that moment when Grand Duke Beltus wore a smile filled with madness.

“Yes… it’s exciting…”

However, Derek’s trembling did not stem from fear.

The form of madness differs from person to person.

It was the same for Derek.

“What…?”

– Crackle, pop.

Derek is fundamentally a taciturn person, but that doesn’t mean he never smiles.

He smiles when necessary.

It was something required of him as a noble. Occasionally, he would even flash a dignified smile, already a mature nobleman.

However, as for the current Derek, he was not wearing such a courteous smile.

Rather, it was a much more primal smile.

Grand Duke Beltus opened his eyes wide in agony.

In a situation where anyone could see that he was facing a superior being, in an environment where death was imminent… Derek was engulfed in excitement.

The tremor of someone witnessing a higher level of magic.

It seemed closer to a catharsis that comes just before reaching a certain state, rather than fear or dread.

Grand Duke Beltus was not the only madman present.

The first-time witnessing of magic utilization, the first-time witnessing of summoning magic of this level, the first-time witnessing of magical weapons of this caliber, the first-time witnessing of summons of this difficulty.

Encountering these things when everything had become tedious, standing at the boundary of the 3-star level as if blocked by a wall.

These scenes combined, touching the skin of a genius who absorbs everything.

What captivated Derek’s mind as he slowly rose was not fear. It was closer to the pleasure felt by a magician discovering a higher state.

He spoke.

“Yes… The way you utilize magic is unique… I think I get it… Interesting… Really interesting…”

After glimpsing the fragment of that talent growing by absorbing everything like a sponge, it was the other side that was engulfed in fear.

Grand Duke Beltus suddenly realized.

This man must be killed here and now.

From noble mtl dot com