From a Broken Engagement to the Northern Grand Duke's Son-in-Law

The village of Hounds.

It was a small, rural village on the edge of the Berg County. Most of its people were farmers and herders, a place where many would live their entire lives without ever seeing a squire, let alone a knight.

And that place…

That once-peaceful place… was now filled with squelching blood and corpses.

“…This is grim.”

Even Roxen’s face tightened as he lifted his foot. Blood streamed from his boot. It was like looking upon a vision of hell.

A battlefield was a place where two sides fought to kill each other.

This was a one-sided slaughter.

I took in the entire scene, my feet carrying me forward.

He had told me to come here. He had to be here.

Squelch. Squelch.

“Captain…!”

Lancelot’s voice called from behind me, but I paid it no mind.

It wasn’t long before I found him.

“Wow, you really came?”

I had never seen his face before, but I knew instantly. This was the Baron of War.

A boy with gray hair.

I steadied my breath, met his gaze.

And then—I grabbed his face and slammed it into the ground with all my strength.

* * *

Lancelot stared at Louis.

“…He’s lost it.”

He’d held a sliver of hope that Louis might be all right, but it seemed that hope was misplaced.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Look at him. Anyone could see he was no different from a Demonkin. A man who had reached Grand Master as an archer was now beating a Demonkin with his bare fists.

Through it all, the Demonkin was cackling as if it were the funniest thing in the world.

“Puhahaha! So worked up, aren’t we? And you’re supposed to be a commander?”

The Demonkin—the Baron of War—burst into laughter as he gathered his demonic energy.

<Aspect of War: Marionette>

The villagers lying dead on the ground began to rise.

“Grr…”

“Lou…is…”

Even those who shouldn’t have known the captain’s name called it out as one.

“Young Lord…”

Figures who had been hiding behind the Baron of War stepped forward. Unlike the villagers, they were clad in fine armor and carried sharp spears.

“…Dammit.”

Lancelot swore. He recognized that armor. Of course he did. It was the same armor worn by the men who had taught and trained him.

The knights of Berg County.

The Aura of storms began to swirl behind them. They were a testament to the name of the continent’s most renowned house of the spear.

“All units, prepare for battle…!” Lancelot commanded, taking Louis’s place.

Everyone from the Special Taskforce was present, save for Kai and Hans.

This wasn’t a Marquis. They should be more than capable of handling a Baron-level Demonkin.

“Knights of the North, form ranks! Subdue them with minimal injury! Roxen and Mihael, take the captain’s left! The lady and I will take the right!”

The soldiers moved as one at Lancelot’s command. It would have been natural for them to glare, as if to ask who are you to give orders?

But not one of the knights hesitated.

And that included the Grand Masters.

“Then I shall assist my disciple,” the Divine Archer said.

“In that case, I will watch over our knights,” the Grand Duke added.

Both moved to their positions, stating their roles.

“Let’s go!” Lancelot roared.

And so, a new battle began.

* * *

The Baron of War, Rohan, laughed as he looked up at Louis, who was still on top of him.

Pathetic.

To think he’d just charge in and start throwing punches. A commander of an entire army, unable to control his own emotions? It was foolish, ignorant, and pitiful.

And here I thought this would be more fun.

The man who had killed seven of the Twelve Nobles.

That was not an achievement possible through brute force alone. It required a sharp mind and a great deal of luck, not to mention a command ability far beyond that of ordinary men.

But this? What was this pathetic display?

Pain throbbed in his cheek, but that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was the realization that the man he’d considered a rival was, in fact, a moron.

A laugh escaped him, followed by a wave of emptiness.

“Ha, this is so boring.”

As if his earlier laughter had been a lie, Rohan let out a quiet yawn.

<Aspect of War: Unstrung Puppet>

He activated his Aspect.

Louis froze. For some reason, all the strength had vanished from his body.

“How’s that? Feel like getting off me now?”

Rohan waved a hand. Louis’s body flew through the air, thrown clear of him.

“Ugh… your punches have a sting to them.”

Rohan got to his feet, rubbing his cheek. A moment later, he used his demonic energy to heal the wound instantly and began to stretch.

“Ta-da!” he announced with an exaggerated gesture, mocking Louis.

Louis silently rose to his feet and charged at Rohan again.

“…Wow, you’re a real idiot,” Rohan muttered, watching him.

The same attack again? Did he not realize it would never work?

“Tsk. I thought this would be fun. Just die already.”

Rohan extended a hand, unleashing a blast of demonic energy.

In that instant.

<Halo>

Blood trickled from the Stigmata on Louis’s body as he activated Halo. A crown of thorns materialized, spinning above his head. In the sky, a colossal spear took shape.

At the same time.

“…Die.”

Louis’s voice was devoid of all emotion.

The massive spear of divinity rained down upon Rohan. The shockwave was immense.

Rohan, thrown back by the blast, let out a hollow laugh.

“…Wow. Now that’s a little surprising.”

His body was torn to shreds, but a smile remained on his lips. He was relieved. His opponent wasn’t a complete moron after all.

“Well, not that it matters. You’re still just an agitated mutt.”

Rohan flicked his fingers, and new knights rose to their feet.

“…You son of a bitch,” Louis swore, his eyes fixed on the newly risen knights.

Their identities were unmistakable. They were his family.

“Ahahaha! Let’s start this again, shall we?”

Rohan burst into laughter, waving his hands theatrically.

The most loathsome of the old Legion Commanders, the Legion Commander of War, had returned to the mortal plane.

* * *

I bit my lip, staring at the unconscious forms of my family. I tried to hold onto my consciousness, but it wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped.

How could it be?

The scene unfolding before my eyes was identical to the massacre House Altezia had committed before my regression.

My family.

My people.

They had all met their end without being able to put up any resistance.

That was why I had sworn that, in this life, I would never let them die.

And that bastard had ruined it all.

“Lou…is…”

My father leveled his spear at me, his eyes empty voids. Aura swirled around its tip. Beside him, my two older brothers did the same.

My family.

And the knights who had protected me.

They were all aiming their spears at me, their consciousness stolen.

Rage boiled over. It wasn’t enough that he slaughtered my people—now he dared to touch my family?

I couldn’t hold on to my reason any longer.

…Should I just kill them all?

I would kill him, brutally. I would accept the demonic energy. I would shove an arrow down his throat.

It didn’t matter who else got hurt. All that mattered was my revenge.

That’s right.

“…Just die.”

The Demonbane Aura scattered like snowflakes, each a droplet of pure white blood. Countless petals bloomed in my footsteps. A Mindscape where ash and white flowers spread in unison.

<Golgotha of Thorns>

My Mindscape manifested over the remote village.

But something was different.

The ash, which should have been Demonbane Aura, was now suffused with demonic energy. The divinity, which should have bloomed as white flowers, had transformed into red blossoms stained with rage.

“Pfft!”

At that moment, the Demonkin burst out laughing, as if he’d discovered something amusing.

“It’s actually working? His demonization is progressing just because I got his family? You’re really… the best, aren’t you?”

Demonization?

What did that matter? To achieve vengeance, one must be willing to sacrifice anything.

Family.

Comrades.

Lovers.

One had to be prepared to sacrifice them all. Read full story at n0velfire.net

I continued my assault, not caring who died. My only goal was to vent this feeling, this rage.

“Die.”

I blew away half the village.

“Die.”

I shattered the corpses of the villagers.

“DIIIIIE!”

With bloodshot eyes, I destroyed everything in sight.

How much time passed?

I gasped for breath, glaring at the Demonkin before me. There were still so many. I tried to summon my Aura once more.

Just then, a woman’s voice echoed in my mind.

—Get a hold of yourself.

“Kuh!”

My head throbbed. Only then did I sense that something was wrong and turn my focus inward.

I have to kill him. I just have to burn everything to kill him!

Dammit. Something was wrong with my head. Since when had I been thinking like this? Even if I had surrendered my body to rage, there was no way I would think something like this.

Sacrifice my family for my family? What kind of twisted logic was that?

“You… you did something to me.”

“Wow, it already wore off?” the Baron of War sneered.

In his hand was a familiar-looking gem. A red jewel. It was undoubtedly one of the artifacts used by House Altezia.

“Hmm… that’s strange. Maria definitely said I’d be able to use Crio’s Aspect with this.”

The Demonkin scratched his head in confusion.

“Tch… what a shame. Oh well, I achieved my goal.”

He shrugged, catching a bit of the fluttering ash in his hand. He brought it straight to his mouth.

“Mm, delicious as expected. And it doesn’t even have the stench of that whore, Anatrasha.”

A grin spread across his face.

It was then I realized what was wrong with my Mindscape.

…Its essence has changed.

The very nature of my Mindscape had been altered. It no longer held any potent effect against Demonkin.

On the contrary.

It had become a Mindscape for Demonkin.

“…Are you finally back to your senses?” Lancelot muttered, panting heavily. From the looks of him, he’d been wounded while trying to stop me.

The others were the same. All of them bore wounds inflicted by me.

“…You’re so damn strong, Captain.”

“My liege… should not be subjected to mental attacks… it seems.”

The two of them collapsed.

Only then did I register the fact that I had been the one to hurt them.

I was beginning to understand why the Baron of War was known as the most troublesome of the old Legion Commanders.