The Villainess Who Was Dumped Got Married into My Family, a Mob Noble from the Frontier, and Turns Out, She's an Amazing Capable Wife? - Chapter 108: The History of Kurogane – Shift

Chapter 108: The History of Kurogane – Shift

“Please use my power. With the magic of a saint, I can purify the evil magic spread throughout this country. If you’ve decided to sacrifice many lives, then one life of a saint should be enough.”

“It’s a sad conclusion, isn’t it?”

The flowing scene paused there as Sebas spoke while pouring another cup of coffee.

“No, perhaps to the people of that time, it was a beautiful story.”

“Indeed.”

I nodded, biting into a cookie and taking a sip of coffee.

“The Saint tried to put an end to the miasma spreading throughout the country, the chaos caused by monsters, and the encroaching despair with her own life.”

Holy and evil, opposing attributes.

If the activation of monsters was due to magic derived from demons, then a strong holy attribute could counteract it.

Why didn’t they do this from the beginning?

That was Patricia’s thought after witnessing this choice.

The answer was simple: the cunning old ones.

“Using Edward to force her to say it was in poor taste.”

“That is also human nature, ho-ho.”

A remarkable person called a Saint would never agree to sacrifice unrelated lives.

I thought it was okay to feel a little sympathy for the past Edward.

“Of course, the conclusion of this moral dilemma, or trolley problem, didn’t end neatly with just one life being sacrificed.”

“Naturally, because purification and barriers are very different.”

If the Saint had purified the land at the cost of her life, there wouldn’t be a barrier left behind.

So why does that barrier still exist in modern times?

Purification and barriers may seem similar but have distinct differences.

To purify or to reject.

The source of all power in this world, magic essence, reacts to the will of the one who controls it.

It responds more to the deep-seated emotions of all living beings than to mere words or incantations.

“Edward… chose to reject, didn’t he?”

“Exactly.”

Sebas spoke with a smile when I asked.

“Perhaps you could call it a story of deep love. He wanted, at the very least, to keep her soul in this world. Before it dispersed into magic.”

“That’s too deep.”

Whether to call it deep or something else, I wasn’t sure.

I remembered something Patricia, who lives in the present day, said when she talked about the barrier in the royal capital.

‘The root of the protective barrier being the Saint is like a creepy stalker,’ she had said.

Back when I was indifferent to romance, I wouldn’t have felt anything about it, but now that I have someone I vowed to protect, my perspective has changed a bit.

“He must have been in a situation where no other option was acceptable.”

“The times were different, and so were their positions.”

Sebas continued.

“There wasn’t much time left, and the Saint was trying to do what needed to be done.”

Edward himself had made the painful decision to cut something away to survive.

“Sacrificing commoners just because he wanted her to live… well, he couldn’t say that.”

“Indeed.”

If he had cried and begged pathetically, there might have been another way, but he had already used up his tears.

The coffee tasted bland, somehow bitter.

After finishing it and placing the cup on the saucer with a clink, Sebas continued speaking.

“Now, as you can probably guess, the past Edward intervened.”

“A demon summoning?”

An atrocity the country’s upper echelons initially planned.

“That’s right. Let me show you. The fateful moment that started it all.”

Sebas snapped his fingers, and a somewhat grainy image began to play.

Zaza, zaza.

The video, resembling a repeatedly dubbed VHS tape, showed a stone chamber that seemed to be beneath the royal castle.

In the center was a large, glowing blue sphere, a mass of the Saint’s magic extracted through sacrifices.

Zaza, zaza.

“The video is distorted.”

“It’s because of the Saint’s magic. With such a massive amount of holy magic, even I am overshadowed by its presence.”

“Hmm, so it really is a weakness.”

“Yes, at that purity, a mere demon would vanish just by touching it.”

The Saint’s magic was truly an incredible force, as even Sebas admitted.

The video continued.

“Wonderful… this is the magic of the Saint…”

“You are captivated, Continent.”

“This is a light that can only shine in darkness, something we can never reach.”

“Indeed. But can we really use such power to quell the turmoil? Even if the world ends, other nations might take advantage before we can rebuild.”

“You have a point, Ignite. If so…”

“Abandoning the already tainted land and moving to conquer other countries might be an option. Continue the demon summoning, and with the combined powers of holy and evil…”

“What are you two plotting?”

A man who resembled Vorsea interrupted Ignite and Continent, who were showing their ambitions before the overwhelming power.

“We decided that the priority should be the welfare of the people. I won’t allow you to disregard Patricia’s resolve.”

“Oh, how scary. The head sage Cascade doesn’t understand jokes, does he, Ignite?”

“Jokes or not, I’m just sharing a very realistic consideration with you both. Do you think other countries will miss this opportunity if we manage to purify the evil? Right now, they’re only causing minor troubles because there’s nothing for them to gain, Cascade.”

The two, with sharp glances, laughed off Cascade’s words.

“I can’t trust you even now. I only agreed to the demon summoning using our blood. Even in times of crisis, what did you say to Edward?”

“What did we say? Only the truth. And didn’t you also agree to the Saint’s sacrifice, just like us?”

“Guh… Ignite, as long as I have any influence, I won’t let you do anything wicked.”

As the three dukes argued, Edward appeared.

“You’re late, boy.”

“Look at this, the brilliance hidden within the Saint’s soul.”

“I can see.”

Edward responded briefly to Ignite and Continent.

Among them, only Cascade noticed something in Edward’s eyes, as if he had made up his mind.

“What are you up to, Edward?”

“Teacher… please forgive me.”

As soon as Edward muttered those words, a large magic circle spread at his feet, and a violent wind swept through the room.

“Wha… gugh!”

“This… this is…”

Blood poured from the necks of Continent and Ignite, who couldn’t move.

Cascade, the only one who reacted and took a defensive stance, glared at Edward and asked,

“What are you doing?”

“I wish I were stronger. But I’m weak. That weakness left her all alone…”

His words sounded like a confession.

Cascade seemed to understand something and listened without probing too deeply.

“I see… I don’t know how you understood the situation, but killing these two won’t change anything. Guiding the country correctly, that is what we who remain must do.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Then, as Cascade moved closer, Edward stabbed him in the chest with the knife he held.

“―!? “

“I can’t bear to lose her.”

“Ed… ward… you… could it be…”

“Whatever choice I made… in the end, she chose to sacrifice herself. That’s what I believe.”

Looking down at the collapsing, agonized Cascade, Edward muttered and then plunged the now warm, blood-stained knife into his own hand.

“But I can’t, I can’t!”

Edward pulled the knife out with a squelch and clawed at his head with his bloody hand.

“I told you not to show any weakness… you…”

Cascade watched with a regretful expression.

“I can’t accept it, I can’t! A world without her, I… I…! So, before her soul scatters into the sky—”

The blood-soaked floor, mingled with the blood of the four duke families, grew darker and darker.

“I must cover it.”

A muddied magic circle was drawn in blood, and from its center emerged a familiar red-haired demon.

“Kufufu, you summoned me well. Here I am, a fool who desires something more than any king. What do you want? I am in a good mood, surpassing even the conqueror is possible now.”

The video became highly distorted at that point.

“That’s Belial’s appearance.”

“Just looking at him pisses me off.”

Due to Belial’s presence or the already distorted video, it became so scrambled that even the voices were no longer audible.