Chapter 36: Confession

Kwang!

The black steel fist that seemed ready to shatter Moeno’s head in a single blow was lightly caught by the silver gauntlet that blocked its path.

Unlike the loud noise, Klarm received the full force of Muno's punch without much effort.

He soon gently pushed Muno’s hand away and patted his shoulder.

“Calm down.

The execution must follow His Excellency’s will.”

Tsk.

“I understand.”

Although Muno had been enraged just moments before, his expression, as he clicked his tongue and turned away, had already returned to its usual state.

The fury that had boiled up the moment he heard Moeno’s absurd excuse was already buried in the murderous aura of the Demon Devourer.

While he was separating and controlling the Demon Devourer from his consciousness, that anger had also subsided in an instant.

‘This isn’t normal either.’

Muno couldn’t help but bite his lip and fall into thought.

It was the first time he had felt that the special skill he had gained from the painful experiences of his childhood had a side effect.

He was a little confused, but now was not the time to worry about such things.

“By the way, Muno, what did you mean earlier?

That you were one of those insignificant things?”

Ah, shoot.

“……I will tell you about that later.

Right now, this man should be more important.”

“Right.”

When Muno deliberately changed the subject, Klarm fortunately nodded his head readily.

Soon, Tinel opened his mouth with an indifferent expression.

“Moeno. If you want a clean death, you’d better confess everything you know.

That is, if you want to save what’s left of your family.”

Moeno, who had been frozen by Muno’s murderous aura, flinched and turned his gaze to Tinel.

Perhaps Muno’s punch, blocked by Klarm, wasn't entirely ineffective; his bloodshot eyes still gleamed with madness, but his twitching lips seemed to be choosing his words.

“I’d rather not have to bring Sir Gunter from Drasen, Moeno.

I don’t want to throw an old colleague to a ‘deconstruction expert’.”

Huh?

As Muno let out a hollow laugh at Tinel's following words, Moeno flinched noticeably.

It meant the threat had worked perfectly.

‘Really?

That Gunter fellow……. Just what has he been doing with his life?’

As Muno felt uneasy imagining the brutal side of a man who had treated him as friendly as a next-door neighbor.

Moeno forced himself to sit up and looked around.

“Kkeueung……”

He gritted his teeth as he saw the vassals of Connell all turn their eyes away when his gaze fell upon them.

Among them were even his own children and wife.

Was it because of the demonic energy flowing out after the ‘veil’ was broken, or was it because of his own miserable state, rolling on the floor of the Great Hall?

The attitude of his family, so different from usual, once again made him realize his own predicament.

‘If it weren't for that bastard…….’

Enraged, Moeno once again glared at Muno and ground his teeth.

But soon.

“……Promise me, Tinel.

That you will spare my children.”

A voice that sounded as if it had given up on everything flowed from his mouth.

In the physiology of the nobles of this era, where the system of collective responsibility was the norm, even that was an unconventional condition.

Tinel nodded with a heavy face.

“His Excellency is merciful.

You should know that, right?”

“He is only merciful to his own people.

To traitors, he is cruel.”

“You know that and yet……?

Hah……. I will actively recommend it.

Trust me.”

Even after hearing those words, Moeno’s mouth only twitched for a while.

He looked around again as if something was making him anxious, then finally lowered his head amidst the hostile gazes from all sides that either ignored or glared at him, and began to speak.

“……Gaion approached me 10 years ago, just before the life and death of the evil cult became a hot topic.

He approached me, a man with no abilities, saying that I had talent……”

The story of Moeno Connell that began like that was nothing short of a heartfelt personal confession.

Moeno, born a weakling on this continent of Lantra where superhumans ran rampant, was unable to inherit his family’s secret arts, yet became a viscount solely because he was the only son.

He had always lived with an inferiority complex for being incompetent and the anxiety that he might not be able to maintain his family line.

That was why, even though he doubted the words of Gaion, who was the first to tell him he had talent, he couldn't help but be drawn in.

And.

“What he taught me, calling it the basics of Spirit Arts, was in fact the basics of magic.

I didn't know at first……”

When he came face to face with an Outer God to awaken his magical power, he had no choice but to realize it, whether he wanted to or not.

“No, perhaps even if I had known, I would have accepted it as it was.”

“What?”

“Tinel. A bastard like you would never understand my feelings.

Those overflowing with talent like that experiment bastard over there or that high-and-mighty Spirit Master would never understand!!”

Moeno, who was shouting again, flinched as he saw the sharp gazes pouring down on him.

“Experiment?”

Just as Muno felt a pang of guilt at Tinel's muttered words as he tilted his head.

Moeno, as if realizing his situation, lowered his head again.

“At first, I was just happy to have gained an ability.

Besides, Gaion said there was a way to hide magical power, so there was no way I would get caught.

He said I just had to avoid the Spirit Masters and priests……”

“Hmm?”

Moeno smirked at the frowning priests and Spirit Masters.

“The ‘veil’ back then was only at that level.

Just enough to deceive the eyes of ordinary people or Corporeal Arts users.

Yes, it was like that until that subjugation 10 years ago.”

Around the time Moeno had just awakened his magical power, a series of disappearance cases began to occur in Trian.

Because of that, the atmosphere throughout the Trian territory became grim, and when Enoch Trian began to actively investigate the case, Moeno couldn't help but tremble with anxiety.

Even at that time, when the name ‘magician’ had not yet emerged, he could instinctively guess that the incidents were the work of Gaion and his gang, who had extended a hand to him.

But by then, he had already crossed a river he couldn't return from.

“I had no choice but to cooperate. Otherwise, I felt like I would either die or my family would be ruined.

So I even spread false information to deceive His Excellency……”

“You bastard……!?”

The moment Klarm reacted as if having a seizure, Tinel raised his hand to stop him.

And Moeno sighed as he looked at his former colleagues.

“I had no choice in order to survive.

But in the end, it all became meaningless. Because it wasn't long before His Excellency launched a surprise attack on the ‘laboratory’ Gaion had spoken of.

To be honest, I'm still curious where His Excellency got that information.”

“Laboratory?

Not the headquarters?”

At Tinel’s frowning voice, Moeno let out a low chuckle.

“That place was an important base for the ‘organization’, but it wasn't the headquarters. Above all, the place where ‘That Person’ is…… Keok!? Kkeueueuk!?”

Just then, Moeno’s body, which had been confessing obediently, suddenly shot up as if having a seizure.

“Kkeureureuk!?”

At the moment his two eyes bulged as if they would pop out at any second and his head began to swell.

“Seize him!”

With Tinel’s shout, a gust of wind erupted from Rasmia’s entire body and shot toward Moeno’s body.

But before that.

Chwareureureuk.

A black chain that appeared from somewhere wrapped around Moeno’s body.

“What kind of trick is this……!”

Muno, who had scoffed, tried to absorb Moeno’s magical power right then and there.

He was concerned about the onlookers, but he couldn't let Moeno die before hearing the most important words.

But at that moment.

Hwiiiiiing!

The pure white wind that hit Moeno’s entire body a step too late wrapped around the chain.

The effect was similar to magic, but it was a power that felt distinctly different from magical power, with a sense of warmth and comfort.

‘This is Spirit Arts…….’

Just as he was thinking how novel it was, Muno’s eyes met Rasmia’s.

He wondered why her eyes had suddenly widened and she was staring at him intently, but now was not the time to worry about that.

‘What should I do?’

If he were to absorb the magical power while the Spirit Arts was directly colliding with the chain, he felt Rasmia would notice immediately.

Fortunately, Klarm resolved the situation.

“Rami, leave it! It’s an artifact for use against magic! Leave it to Muno!”

“Ah. Yes, I understand.”

Hwiiiiiiing.

The moment the pure white gust of wind scattered in all directions again.

‘Now!’

Magical power was relentlessly sucked in from Moeno’s body, and accordingly, the Demon Devourer began to cheer, but.

Muno’s own expression was not very good.

‘Huh?’

Even though he was absorbing the entire magical power of a 3-Circle magician, he didn't feel much of an increase in his abilities compared to before.

He now knew from experience that absorbing magical power that had already been used in a spell would only serve to replenish his depleted magical power.

But now, even when absorbing the source magical power of the ‘Circle’ located deep in Moeno’s heart, the increase in his abilities was minimal.

The Demon Devourer, which had transcended a level after devouring a 2-Circle and a 3-Circle magician one by one, was now feeling that a single 3-Circle was ‘mere’.

But a more serious problem was.

‘This isn’t Moeno’s magic?’

The magical power that was making Moeno’s eyes and head swell was not being drawn in by the power of the Demon Devourer.

The magical power constituting that spell was very small compared to Moeno’s full power.

But that small amount of magical power, as if mocking the power of the Demon Devourer, was trying to blow up Moeno’s head, completely unaffected.

“Kkeuaaaaaak!”

How could this be?

Why couldn't he deal with that faint magical power?

He was flustered, but he had no choice but to accept reality.

“Damn it. I can't stop it! Get back!”

Muno, who had no way of knowing the identity of the magic, shouted.

The moment the knights stood in front of the non-superhumans, raising their shields and pressing down their helms.

“Aack!”

Peo-eoeoeoeong!

With Moeno’s death scream, his head exploded in an instant, its remains scattering in all directions.

Fortunately, it didn't seem to contain any special additional magic, so a dangerous explosion didn't occur.

But the people who were splattered with blood and brains in an instant couldn't help but frown at the gruesome sight.

Among them, some vassals who were not used to blood were busier emptying their stomachs than mourning the tragic end of the lord they had served.

“Ack!”

“Uwek.”

“Uweewek. What is that……”

“Horrible……”

And among them.

“Aack……”

There was also a noble lady who saw her husband’s gruesome end and fainted, her eyes rolling back.

“Mother!”

Even while hearing the shouts of the viscount's sons, who looked to be around the age of majority, Muno couldn't take his eyes off Moeno’s headless corpse.

“Why……?”

Since awakening his ability, he had never doubted that he was the natural enemy of magic and magical power, with a supreme advantage.

But now, that conviction had been shattered for the first time.

And more importantly.

“Killing someone by making them explode to keep a secret……. Just like those bastards. Damn it.”

As Tinel said, the tail of the enemy he thought he had almost caught had once again grown distant.

“Hah……”

A silver gauntlet was placed on his sighing shoulder.

“What happened, Muno?”

“My abil……. Ahem, there was a magical power that my artifact’s power didn't work on.

It was a very small amount of magical power, and I think that’s what blew up the Viscount’s head.”

“There was another magical power inside his body?”

“Yes. I don’t know what kind of magic it was, but……”

“That’s enough. If you knew, you’d be a magician.

Anyway, what should we do about this?

Sir Tinel, should we report first?”

“Hmm.

We should.

What happens next will be up to His Excellency’s judgment.

The disposal of the Connell family as well.”

Tinel’s gaze fell on Moeno’s sons who were supporting their collapsed mother.

Even if they were to receive lenient treatment, those sons would never inherit this territory again.

But the more important issue now was.

“Where to find these remnants again……. But a laboratory, not a headquarters?

Don't tell me……”

It seemed Muno’s assertion that there was someone behind the evil cult group hadn't been relayed to Tinel, as the last words Moeno spat out seemed to complicate his thoughts.

“There is a way.”

“Hmm?”

“They will eventually target me, so you can use me as bait.”

Tinel’s gaze turned at Muno’s unexpected words.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I was the one who was attacked by them in Drasen in the first place, and I am the one who caught Moeno who was hiding his magical power.

So, they will continue to target me in the future.

I recommend actively utilizing me as bait.”

“Hah……”

Should he praise this young man’s spirit, or scold him?

As Tinel frowned in bewilderment.

The Spirit Master, Rasmia, who had been lost in thought, called out to the young man who had made such an absurd statement.

“Young Master Muno, no, Sir Muno.

Could I have a word with you for a moment?”

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