Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings - Chapter 78: In the Flames of War

Chapter 78: In the Flames of War

“——What, is that true?”

Early in the morning, Rofus was pressing the overnight attendant at the student dormitory reception.

The attendant, trembling in front of the upper-class noble Rofus, answered nervously.

“I swear it’s true… Since last night until dawn, Lord Raymond has not returned. Lord Vallum, who came back briefly, also went out to search for him and has not returned since…”

Rofus, having noticed that Raymond was not in his room in the morning, confirmed this with the attendant.

The attendant explained that not only had Raymond not returned, but Vallum, who went out to search for him, had not come back either.

“Vallum too? That’s impossible…”

Just then, August appeared.

“Hey Rofus. I checked the dormitory for the knight family, and the attendant was right—Vallum isn’t there either.”

August spoke while holding his temple, seemingly suffering from a hangover headache.

“What’s going on…”

Rofus narrowed his eyes and immediately cast a wide-area mana detection spell.

Even wider than the one he had used previously on the airship.

It covered an astounding radius of fifty kilometers, encompassing the entire royal capital.

After confirming the mana responses throughout the capital, Rofus frowned deeply.

“What…?”

Rofus was searching for the mana signatures of Raymond and Vallum.

It was hard to believe anything could have happened to those two, but just in case, he used an extraordinary mana detection.

In conclusion, Vallum’s response was not within the capital.

And Raymond’s mana signature—there were countless of them.

Throughout the capital, there were monsters bearing Raymond’s mana—a swarm of summoned beasts.

“Impossible… What on earth—”

Just as Rofus was about to voice his bewilderment, the mana detection spell encountered interference.

It felt as though someone had magically intervened with his detection spell.

The unsettling interference grew clearer—revealing Raymond’s voice.

‘——Hey, good morning, Rofus. Did you sleep well last night? As always, your search range is absurd.’

It was a telepathic message linked through Rofus’s mana detection spell.

A feat achievable only with an extraordinary level of precise mana control.

Rofus clenched his teeth, the grinding audible.

“Raymond… Why have you released summoned beasts all over the capital? Where is Vallum?”

‘…The summoned beasts were deployed to take control of the capital. At my signal, the capital will become a living hell.’

“What are you talking about…!? Last night you were so… After we parted, what happened!?”

‘Nothing. I’m just restoring the world to its correct form. Rofus, you must understand. This world is distorted. Mistakes must be corrected.’

Rofus squinted his eyes in a mix of sadness and frustration.

“Have you gone mad, Raymond?”

‘From my perspective, it’s you who’s gone mad, Rofus. When you were the ‘Shadow Wolf,’ you were ruthlessly reliable. Now you’re like a puppy soaking in lukewarm water.’

“…I see.”

Raymond had mentioned ‘Shadow Wolf.’

A term the current Raymond shouldn’t know.

Meaning, the Raymond Rofus was speaking to now was not the one he knew well.

Most likely, this was the ‘Second Demon King’ from the story—

“Where is Vallum?”

‘Vallum… Though he admitted defeat easily when he was an ally, he put up quite a fight as an enemy. Moved remarkably well even without his dragon.’

“…”

Something snapped inside Rofus at Raymond’s words.

He increased the precision of his mana detection to the utmost, sifting through the myriad mana signatures spread throughout the capital to find the highest quality one.

Then, he glared in a particular direction.

His gaze landed on the academy.

“…On the academy’s rooftop.”

‘…Hmm. I released the summoned beasts widely to prevent you from pinpointing my location. It seems your mana control surpasses that of the Rofus I know.’

“Enough nonsense. Wait for me without running. I’ll correct your twisted mind myself.”

With that, Raymond cut off the telepathic connection.

Immediately after, black smoke began to rise from the city’s streets.

＊

After ending the telepathic conversation with Raymond, Rofus calmly looked at August.

“August. Listen carefully. The capital is currently being attacked by a horde of monsters.”

“…W-What!? Monsters!? What the hell… And Raymond and Vallum!?”

Surprised by Rofus’s sudden statement, August raised his voice.

Rofus narrowed his eyes and shook his head slowly.

“I’ve pinpointed Raymond’s location. Vallum… I don’t know.”

“Are you kidding me…”

About to rush outside, August was stopped by Rofus dropping another bombshell.

“The creatures attacking the capital are Raymond’s summoned beasts.”

“WHAT!?”

“Raymond is… supposedly asleep. I’m going to wake him up. You handle the rampaging summoned beasts with Annegelt.”

“Asleep…? So the summoned beasts are rampaging because they’re out of his control…?”

“That’s essentially what’s happening.”

Rofus couldn’t very well say that Raymond had gone mad and was trying to destroy the capital, so he used a plausible explanation instead.

Technically, Raymond and his summoned beasts had a mutual contract, so they weren’t strictly under his control.

Rofus also wondered why the summoned beasts were obediently following Raymond, whose personality had changed.

However, the situation needed to be dealt with, and the only way to stop the summoned beasts was to confront Raymond.

“Take care of the summoned beasts.”

Leaving the dormitory, Rofus summoned his giant griffon, Despia, from his shadow.

Given the distance to the academy, flying on Despia was far more mana-efficient than repeatedly using teleportation.

With the possibility of facing Raymond, conserving mana was crucial.

As Rofus mounted Despia, August called out to him.

“Wait, Rofus!”

“Didn’t you hear? This is urgent—”

“You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”

“…”

Rofus was silent, taken aback by August’s question.

“What’s with that face? Did you think I wouldn’t notice? Don’t underestimate me.”

“…There’s no time to explain.”

“I’m telling you not to handle this alone. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“…”

Rofus showed a slight moment of vulnerability at August’s words.

August laughed lightly.

“Sorry for stopping you. I just wanted to complain a bit. You guys always exclude me and Annegelt.”

“It’s not like that…”

“I know, there are reasons. But talk to us someday.”

August’s straightforward gaze made Rofus turn his face away, avoiding his eyes.

“…Maybe.”

“No, you should talk to us!”

As August spoke, Despia flapped its wings and took off.

Rofus looked down at August for a moment and spoke.

“Raymond’s summoned beasts are powerful. Take care of Anne.”

Leaving those words, Rofus and Despia flew straight towards the academy.

Left behind, August watched the black trail in the sky and sighed.

“Anne… You should tell her yourself.”

He muttered, exasperated by Rofus’s rare use of a pet name.

Heading towards the girls’ dormitory where Annegelt was, August resolved to do what Rofus had asked.

“For Rofus to rely on me as a friend, this is the first time.”

That made him a little happy, and despite the emergency of the capital being attacked by monsters, his heart danced with excitement.

“That damn Raymond. At least take proper care of your pets…”

While saying that, August rotated his arms in a grand motion and smiled fiercely. He took a step forward—when a giant dragon descended from the sky at high speed, its jaws wide open, and bit down.

In that brief moment, August couldn’t even react, let alone resist.

The dragon chewed August and swallowed him whole.

Witnessing the entire scene, the dormitory attendant screamed and fled indoors.

Still unsatisfied, the dragon glared at the student dormitory.

And the dragon thought, this building is in the way.

Opening its mouth towards the dormitory, light began to converge within it.

This was the charging motion for the dragon’s signature devastating attack—Dragon Breath.

If the dormitory were to take a direct hit from Dragon Breath, it would be reduced to nothing but ashes without any protective spells.

Just as the light gathered and Dragon Breath was about to be unleashed—a sudden explosion ripped through the dragon’s belly.

Blood and flesh scattered, and from the gaping wound, a blood-soaked August emerged.

The blood dripping off him was the dragon’s, and August himself was unscathed, not even feeling the pain of losing a hair.

August looked up at the wide-eyed, astonished dragon with an air of lethargy and swung his arm lightly.

With a loud crack, the dragon shattered into pieces.

In a bored tone, August spoke words that could no longer reach the dragon.

“Didn’t Raymond tell you about me? I’m not good at holding back, so I’m not suitable as a playmate.”

August swung his mighty arm, shaking off the blood.

This was once a member of the Four Heavenly Kings, known as “Indestructible.”

Here, the kingdom’s strongest physique moves into action.

＊

Spreading its black wings, Despia flew towards the academy.

To intercept Despia, numerous bird-like summoned beasts attacked.

Rofus, riding on Despia’s back, unleashed a barrage of dark magic, easily annihilating them.

As he made his way to the academy, Rofus looked down at the capital city, frowning.

“Raymond…!”

Black smoke rose from various parts of the city, and the cries of the people filled the air.

The summoned beasts were causing widespread destruction, and the damage was unexpectedly severe.

Raymond had claimed he was trying to take control of the capital, but what was the point of controlling a destroyed city?

How did he expect to subjugate the massacred populace?

This was precisely the kind of irrationality Raymond had once despised.

Clearly, the current Raymond was a completely different person, Rofus concluded.

Rofus’s mana detection spell also picked up traces of humans fighting back against the summoned beasts.

Though their response was delayed, the kingdom’s knight orders and mage divisions were starting to move.

However, Raymond’s summoned beasts were powerful and numerous.

Even with August and Annegelt handling them, it wouldn’t be enough.

If Raymond was stopped but the capital was destroyed, it would be a pyrrhic victory.

Clicking his tongue, Rofus heightened his mana.

“The spell ‘World Without Light Lightess’ won’t work… It would restrict the summoned beasts, but it would also affect the civilians and soldiers. In that case…”

The advanced spell was highly effective for area control but its characteristic of obstructing vision with a dense dark mist would hinder the fleeing citizens and fighting soldiers.

Therefore, Rofus cast a different spell.

Though lower in rank, it consumed Rofus’s vast mana and expanded to engulf the entire city.

From the shadow of Rofus and Despia flying through the sky, the ground of the capital was dyed in darkness—like a dark carpet laid over the land.

‘Dark Domain Dark Carpet’—a spell that spreads darkness from one’s shadow.

This spell alone could entangle the legs of enemies within the domain, slowing them down, but in Rofus’s hands, it displayed its true potential.

From the dark domain, Rofus’s slain and enslaved familiars emerged and turned their fangs on the summoned beasts.

Numerous swordfish, sea dragons, and other oceanic monsters.

A legion of armored crystal spirits.

And a giant skull wreathed in black flames, the former dungeon guardian, Ghost Prince Ignis Corona.

This was, indeed, Rofus’s total available combat power.

And from the shadow of Rofus on Despia’s back, the Elf King emerged.

The Elf King—Bardel’s body was covered in dense mana, forming armor.

On his head was a helmet shaped like an eagle’s head, and in his hand, a giant battle axe.

Rofus, without even glancing at the Elf King ready for battle, gave instructions.

“…Bardel, you are the most skilled of my familiars. Therefore—take that down.”

Rofus’s gaze was fixed on a giant dragon writhing through the storm clouds above the capital.

A dragon without wings, with a long body swimming through the sky, randomly striking the capital with lightning.

It was clearly a cut above the other summoned beasts attacking the city.

Moreover, being above the clouds, most attacks from the ground wouldn’t reach it.

A formidable opponent if faced head-on.

“Failure is not an option. Show your kingly dignity.”

‘…As you command.’

Receiving Rofus’s order, the Elf King lifted his battle axe and leapt, running through the sky towards the dragon in the storm clouds.

Immediately, a whirlwind of lightning and dark wind erupted within the storm clouds.

Rofus watched this for a moment, his eyes wide, then muttered.

“…It speaks.”

Not having often brought the Elf King out, he hadn’t known.

Even when he was turned into a familiar in the sky city, he had said ‘Lily,’ but Rofus had thought that was due to the intervention of the Wind God. Apparently, that wasn’t the case.

Thinking about it, his other familiars also made noises and growls.

It wasn’t strange for humanoid ones to speak… Rofus tilted his head in thought.

Originally, he had no intention of turning humans into familiars, but now he decided to avoid it as much as possible.

Rofus’s familiars on the ground surrounded Raymond’s summoned beasts in groups and began efficiently exterminating them.

Even if injured, the shadow familiars would regenerate by consuming Rofus’s mana.

This increased their numbers and convenience, but their mana efficiency was extremely poor.

However, compared to deploying tens of thousands of troops across the entire kingdom as in the story, this operation was small-scale.

While Raymond’s summoned beasts used their own mana in battle, Rofus’s familiars had much worse efficiency, but the current level of consumption wouldn’t significantly weaken his fighting strength as it had in the story.

He still had enough power to stop Raymond.

No problem, Rofus reassured himself.