I Became the Teacher of the Imperial Family’s Bastard

059. The Night Becomes a Cradle (1)

In an instant, the path was blown wide open.

It was a situation that brought out a hollow laugh, and it instilled confidence in my choice to run.

‘As expected, a genius is a genius.’

Although the Crown Prince tends to be dismissive now, he is still the leader of the golden generation.

Each one of them had such an outstanding aspect as a force.

How much more will a wizard of this caliber contribute in future battles?

Such thoughts came to mind, but I soon brushed them off.

It was not a situation where I could afford to indulge in imagination.

“Then, please.”

“Yes.”

Kiiiiing―!

Beatrice’s prosthetic arm shone.

Ziiiiing―!

This time, unlike before, the beams of light split in all directions, intercepting each individual entity.

Leaving that behind, I spoke to the Crown Prince and Gilgore.

“Let’s run.”

“Got it.”

Thud!

We dashed down the open road.

Mutants attacked us from all sides, but we weren’t so weak that we couldn’t fend off a few.

Splat!

We quickly cut through them to the end of the floor.

Then, down to the next floor through the hole.

Anxiety welled up inside me.

If we had caused such a commotion, the enemy would surely be prepared by now.

We couldn’t give them that time.

The prince had the same thought.

“Excuse me.”

“Huh.”

The prince slung the Kirgo over his shoulder.

With our mobility secured, we moved even faster.

We were heading down continuously when we stopped.

“A fork in the road.”

“Yes.”

At the deepest part, the path spread out to both sides.

I frowned.

Move together from here?

No, that would be a waste.

“I’ll go alone. Your Highness, take him and…”

Where should I go?

The answer was clear to my eyes.

‘…What is this?’

To the left of the path.

A massive, alien power was swelling.

This was definitely not a curse or black magic.

In other words, it was something like this.

‘Have they given up on running away?’

And then, I resolved to fight.

How grateful I am.

I let out a hollow laugh and said,

“I’m on the left.”

“Do you see anything?”

“Yes, roughly.”

With that answer, the prince nodded.

“Please. See you later then.”

“Yes.”

BOOM―!

The prince smashed the right wall.

What was visible inside were not mutants, but those who appeared to be officers of the Dagger.

The prince drew his sword.

Girgore gripped his staff.

I took a deep breath.

‘Now…’

I too must prepare for battle.

The pocket opened.

Something sprang out from within.

A saw-blade sword with a red blade and a cloak of the wind wolf with a mane.

These were the warrior’s gear I had chosen after much deliberation, the ones I could handle best.

* * *

Kallios unleashed his mana and checked each enemy before him.

And then he asked,

“Can I kill them?”

“……”

“No answer. I’ll take that as a yes.”

When he glanced at Girgore, the expression had vanished from his face.

Gloom had painted his pupils a dark color.

The group he had raised himself was committing atrocities.

Kallios understood the sorrow of the matter as a ruler.

However, the depth of that emotion was shallow due to Kallios’s arrogance.

“Don’t be too upset. I will correct it and guide you properly.”

The Gregor that Kallios saw was quite a talented individual.

Compared to Beatrice or Verheim, who were often lost in trivial matters, he seemed to know clearly what needed to be done.

But when it came to handling subordinates, well…

His political acumen seemed lacking.

If Kallios were him, he would never entrust a dagger to an individual.

He would never expect improvement on its own or development by relying on one exceptional person.

‘You must make various groups compete. If they were watching each other, it would have been better than now.’

He knew that no matter who led, they wouldn’t be as good as him.

So, he would rather create many who admired his will, making them watch each other and maintain the status quo until his return.

Gregor did not do that.

His trust in his subordinates was excessive, leading to this one-sided misconduct.

It was something that could be summarized to that extent.

“Strike!!!”

The dagger was raised.

At that, Kallios stomped his foot.

Boom―!

Mana crushed the space.

Within it, Kallios advanced.

Blue mana drew a straight line through the space.

Splash―!

Blood splattered.

Life faded from the eyes of the daggers filled with malice.

The only ones who managed to block it were those who had reached the expert level.

Yet, they too were suffering from the overwhelming pressure.

“What on earth…!”

“Why are you surprised? It’s just that you are all inferior.”

Kallios gripped the sword in a reverse grip.

The Imperial Swordsmanship Storm Style, though it did not awaken the sword’s will, was unparalleled when it came to swiftly overwhelming numerous enemies.

“Come on, let’s finish this quickly. I have no time to play with small fry.”

And so,

Kwagwagwang!!!

A storm of mana swept through the space.

* * *

Girgore was in a rather strange, yet familiar state of calm.

It was an emotion that should be called ruthlessness.

Even as the daggers he had personally nurtured died before his eyes, Girgore felt no sorrow.

Though he knew each of them by name and face, they felt like passing strangers.

Why was that?

Perhaps it was because they had betrayed his expectations.

Having lived for himself for so many years, Girgore felt not affection but possessiveness for what he had cultivated, and the moment they betrayed him, he discarded his feelings for them.

It was only upon realizing his own emotions that Girgore acknowledged it.

‘Ah.’

The fence of the weak he had personally built no longer existed.

They were nothing more than something wearing the guise of daggers.

That fact was somewhat regrettable.

Girgore pitied no one but himself.

He only pitied himself for having thought to spare them and use them again, dividing the severity of their sins.

Kugung!

The daggers were swept away again by Kallios’ water strike.

At that moment, Girgore stepped forward.

“That’s enough.”

At Girgore’s words, Kallios stopped.

The daggers’ gazes turned towards him.

Though he was in the shadows, those who survived now were the core members of the daggers.

Their eyes wavered as they recognized him.

“You are sane.”

Then their sins were deeper than the boy’s.

From noble mtl dot com

“No one stopped it. No one thought to correct it.”

What was the reason?

Survival instinct? Personal gain? Innate wickedness?

It doesn’t matter.

They lost the most fundamental mindset that a dagger should have.

“I placed you there because you were weak. But what is this?”

Knowing they would be more miserable than anyone, knowing the most bitter hunger.

That’s why I placed them there, thinking they would see the bottom better than those who didn’t know.

But how can humans be so duplicitous?

Those who were no longer hungry did not try to understand hunger.

Those who were no longer miserable tried to ignore the misery of others.

This was the result.

Broken.

Girgore made that judgment about the component called a dagger.

Girgore’s eyes closed.

“If an item is broken, the maker should take responsibility.”

“Oh.”

When Girgore smiled bitterly, the prince withdrew his mana as if intrigued.

It was right after.

Thud—

The staff struck the ground.

Then the curse entwined around Girgore’s body resonated with the staff.

Wooong—

A faint vibration occurred.

Right after that.

“Ugh…!”

Shadows rose from the ground and strangled the surviving daggers.

Girgore spoke.

“It’s the shackle of karma. Your necks will be squeezed as strongly as the weight of what you have harmed…”

Thud—

With one more strike of the staff on the ground, this time, the black mist swallowed their bodies.

Crunch, crunch, the sound began to be heard.

The flesh of the daggers was gnawed away by the mist.

“aaargh!!!”

“This is my disappointment. If possible, die painfully. Let’s do one more.”

With the third strike of the staff, the eyes of the daggers turned black.

“This is confusion. You will return to the moment of hunger and die.”

“aaargh!!!”

Just three times.

The number of times black magic was used was only that much, and with just that, the daggers moved towards their certain death.

Girgore spoke.

“Let’s go. That child will be at the end.”

The screams blended like a song.

In the midst of it all, Girgore looked at Kallios with indifference to everything.

It was a sight that vaguely piqued Kallios’s interest.

“Hmm.”

Kallios spoke.

“You are quite useful. Your decisiveness is commendable.”

It was proof that he understood Girgore’s intentions correctly.

* * *

I ran quickly.

And thus began the ‘synchronization’ with the weapon obtained from Girgore.

‘This is uncomfortable.’

High-level artifacts had a grain of mana intertwined with the weapon itself.

The higher the grade of the weapon, the more densely this grain manifested, and for that reason, high-level weapons required a considerable amount of time to synchronize the user’s mana with the weapon.

These two were no exception.

The saw blade sword was relatively easy.

Because it was the weapon of an enemy I had fought to the point of exhaustion, I already had a grasp of the weapon.

The problem was the cloak of the wind wolf.

‘So this was the structure.’

The cloak, unlike ordinary cloak artifacts that serve as shields, acted as a medium for something.

I understood its effect.

The mana of the person synchronized with the cloak took the form of a wolf, charging at the enemy with a will to reconcile.

Before the regression, I was utterly puzzled about how it worked, but now that mystery was being unraveled.

‘Was a spirit dwelling in it?’

A spirit was dwelling in the cloak.

A peculiar spirit without attributes, borrowing the attributes of its user for that reason.

Synchronization was quite bothersome.

It was right after I somehow managed to do it.

I summoned a wolf as a test.

Whooosh—

A wolf made of wind ran alongside me.

Its form was slightly different from when the great warrior wielded it.

It was a bit more jagged, with sharp claws and teeth protruding.

How could I use this?

I didn’t ponder for long.

“Bite.”

The moment I spoke.

Boom—!

Something burst through the wall.

But the wolf had already received my command.

[Growl!]

The wolf bit the enemy’s sword, blocking the attack.

I looked at the enemy.

“Ahaha! Caught me?!”

Dressed in a robe that covered the entire body.

How delightful.

“Finally caught you. You dog.”

“Did you enjoy the hide-and-seek?”

“Enjoy? You b*stard.”

I was completely exhausted from searching for him, as he hid so well.

He drove away the wolf.

I raised the sacred tree and swung it at him.

Then he took a defensive stance.

My eyes narrowed.

‘As expected.’

When I first discovered his supernatural ability in the corridor, I was puzzled.

It wasn’t just that; I couldn’t understand why those aiming for the empire were granted such abilities.

But if you think about it for a moment, the answer was obvious.

“Has God abandoned humanity? Is that right?”

“Ah, Pharos. You’re still a nuisance. That’s why I didn’t want to be discovered.”

Boom!

I unleashed mana while our swords were still clashing.

His robe fluttered, revealing his true identity.

Brown hair, a smirk that made me want to punch him, and…

‘…Golden eyes.’

The symbol of deep divine power was cast upon him.

My eyes saw beyond.

He put more strength into his sword.

And then he unleashed some kind of supernatural ability.

I knew all too well what that was.

“The blessing was there.”

“Destiny is with us.”

The divine power of destiny, and the blessing that Verheim had lost. He was holding it.

Whirr―!

My sword path twisted under the unprecedented power.

It was the compulsion of the blessing.

My upper body was fully exposed.

He aimed to stab there.

Thoughts continued.

Why did the god of fate grant his blessing to that dark figure?

Then what exactly is the church of the Holy See?

And why does he know Pharos, why does he know these eyes?

Dozens of thoughts rushed through, but I erased them for now.

“If I keep hitting, something will come out.”

“Can you win?”

“Of course.”

If it were only the divine tree, it would have been a bit troublesome.

But, I had many other useful weapons.

The blessing of the gods, powers directly bestowed from a higher dimension.

But you know what?

“In the end, you’re nothing without these abilities.”

Kiiing―!

The magic of the eyes was activated.

It felt like my eyeballs were burning and my brain was being crushed.

But the price was clearly being paid.

The overwhelming presence that enveloped him, I could see the point of impact somewhere.

Even a divine being has its own texture.

I gripped the handle of the saw blade sword tightly.

As I swung it,

Kkagak―!

“Guh…?!”

The saw blade sword began to gnaw away at the blessing.