The Zervis before him was no inkling of his household’s noble dignity remaining.
Eyes bloodshot, hair disheveled in a ghastly visage
no different from starving urchins scrapping over scraps in the slums.
“A pathetic sight, Zervis Ornament.”
With a tone almost pitying, Kurtz spoke:
“As one who calls himself a Duke of the Six Great Households, standing at the empire’s apex…you should remain unwavering and steadfast in the face of any hardship befitting the head of a Ducal line.”
At least, that was how Kurtz had known a Duke to conduct themselves.
Having lost her parents, comrades, freedom and even magic – though it left her unable to so much as stand – she never once let her demeanor as head falter before him.
At Kurtz’s words, Zervis let out a trembling, hollow laugh.
“The ‘proper’ conduct of a Ducal head, you say…?”
Eyes blazing with resentment and malice, he gripped his short gun tightly as he glared at Kurtz.
“Am I to believe the one obstructing my ambition is this mere child before me? That one of the Six Great Households supporting the empire has been made a fool of by an unknown brat? Such an asinine notion is inconceivable – an impossibility that cannot exist!”
Spreading his arms wide in a grandiose gesture, he broke into a wild, unfocused peal of laughter.
“–There is no such existence before my eyes!”
The instant those words left Zervis’ lips, the gem set into the short gun flashed a brilliant glare.
Immediately after, the floor, ceiling and walls of the passage rumbled and shook.
The surroundings transformed through repeated deconstruction and reconstruction in a dizzying cycle.
[Alchemy]
Temporarily breaking down physical objects into their components through magic, rearranging and reconstructing them.
“No matter who stands before me, I cannot permit them to remain.”
Manipulating matter itself through force of will.
House Ornament had built its legend through the art of alchemy.
As an elated enemy dropped a bridge, they despaired to see a new stone bridge transmuted before their eyes.
Against enemy strongholds thought impregnable, they collapsed the terrain itself before raising greater fortifications to crush the forces vainly seeking to retake them.
When an enemy’s shock troops threatened imperial territory, they instantiated fortresses at their vanguard, annihilating those foolish enough to launch ranged strikes.
“–Any who dare obstruct my path need only be crushed underfoot in Ornament’s name!”
A vast, dome-shaped space continually reconstructed.
Primitive weapons – stone spears, swords, ballistae, bows, catapults, trebuchets, barricades and walls –
generated endlessly from converted materials, mud-formed mannequins arrayed around them.
The cramped underground spawned an entire [fortress] never meant for such confines.
Its absolute defenses, overwhelming firepower, garrisoned mannequin troops
and ability to rapidly expand allowed the First Ornament to earn a sobriquet from his conquered foes:
[The Impregnable Lone Castle of Ornament]
Single-handedly raising fortresses overnight, routing and annihilating armies without soldiers of his own.
Through his overwhelming power and achievements, Ornament had risen to become one of the noble ducal houses supporting the empire.
“Hahahahaha!! My lifelong ambition as Ornament has been crushed!? This place is the graveyard of Zervis-Ornament, the head of the Ornament Ducal House who reached such lofty heights and glory!? A powerless child not even within my field of vision dared to obstruct my path!?”
Twisting his expression with lingering resentment, Zervis glared at Kurtz standing before him.
“–Indeed. With my power alone, I cannot kill you.”
Those words were true.
Although aware of future information, Kurtz himself was merely a powerless child.
Unlike Artesia who possessed formidable innate magic, he did not wield the exceptional magical techniques passed down through generations by the six great ducal houses.
Which is precisely why–
“–Your death will be brought about by your own power.”
Right after Kurtz declared those words,
the [Fortress] Zervis had manifested began crumbling with a rumbling sound.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
To be precise, it was not crumbling.
The [Fortress] and weapons were reverting to their [original form], transforming into sand, gravel and clumps of earth.
“Wh…why…why why why why why why…!?”
Cradling his head, Zervis stared dumbfounded at the sight before him.
It was not that he could not comprehend what was unfolding right in front of his eyes.
Rather–because he understood it better than anyone else, Zervis cried out in a shattered voice.
“Why–are you using [Alchemy], the secret art of our house!?”
What was happening before him was [Decomposition], one of the processes of alchemical magic.
Only members of the Ornament Ducal House and nobles affiliated with the Ornament faction were permitted to wield this magical technique, which was transmitted as part of their secret arts.
Even if one understood the theoretical magical knowledge obtained elsewhere, without the specialized alchemical training, the precise mana control techniques mastered over many years, and the corresponding mana capacity, it was impossible to use this magic that could not be replicated by outsiders.
And yet, the creations manifested by Zervis were continuously being [Decomposed] by the same system of magic, forcibly reverted to their original state at a rate exceeding their generation.
“–[Method of Recording and Reproducing Specific Mana Signatures]”
Declaring so, Kurtz took a step forward.
“[Rejuvenating Effects of Generated Substances] [Experiments on Reactions from Mana Void States] [Maximum Mana Generation Quantity and Rate] [Mutual Interactions and Transmission Between Similar Mana Signatures]”
As Kurtz listed off the terms, Zervis’ eyes widened greatly.
“Why…why…”
Uttering the words he had murmured so many times before, Zervis weakly dropped to his knees.
The meaning behind those words, Zervis understood better than anyone.
Only a member of the Ornament Ducal House could comprehend it.
“Why…do you know the contents of the [Philosopher’s Stone] that Ornament has researched…”
“If you I not disregarded your character and methods, you would undoubtedly be an exceptional person. For you are the one Ornament spent three hundred years painstakingly researching to elucidate the properties and effects of the [Philosopher’s Stone], ultimately perfecting it.”
So saying–Kurtz displayed the red, glowing stone in his palm.
This was an event destined to occur ten years in the future.
Through large-scale research aided by the Sylvayu Invasion and human experimentation on elves, Zervis had fully unraveled all the special characteristics of the [Philosopher’s Stone], making its power his own.
Yet, the [present] Zervis could not comprehend it.
“I scattered multiple [Philosopher’s Stones] amidst the collapsed passageway, and when you regenerated it with alchemy, I had them record and transmit the mana and formulas to the [Philosopher’s Stone] under my control…allowing me to reproduce your own alchemical magic.”
Had Zervis been calm, he might have noticed the [Philosopher’s Stones] strewn about the collapsed passageway.
Even if unable to grasp the undiscovered effects and properties being exploited, he could have suspected some ulterior motive.
But–Kurtz had orchestrated everything to strip away Zervis’ composure.
Beginning with the carriage incident, he planted doubts about the involvement of a third party through various factors.
He insinuated the existence of the [Philosopher’s Stone] was known to other ducal houses.
The risk of losing the key to his plan, the [Philosopher’s Stone], pushed him into a mental corner.
He made it seem like trusted subordinates had betrayed him, leaving him utterly isolated.
“This was the optimal solution I devised to kill you.”
Upon hearing Kurtz’ words, Zervis’ body trembled as he cast a spell.
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