armyinform Chapter 175 : To You, Whom I Cherish and Hate (6)
Chapter 175 : To You, Whom I Cherish and Hate (6)
Chapter 175: To You, Whom I Cherish and Hate (6)
The strongest technique of the Book of Bones, Oste—
Bone Sword.
A serrated sword created by compressing the bones of a thousand skeleton soldiers into a single blade. It possessed tremendous durability, cutting power, and amplification effects for demonic and evil-attributed attacks.
For magic swordsmen whose entire bodies had been consumed by demonic energy, it was an item boasting unrivaled efficiency.
But for me, its effects were limited.
Of course, that only applied when the user was Eugene Carter.
When Clina White possessed Eugene Carter’s shadow and wielded it instead—
The story changed completely.
KWAANG! KWAAAANG!
Every time sword clashed against sword, a bizarre explosive sound erupted.
Barely managing to deflect the sword strikes, the vice commander shouted while staring at the shadow glued tightly beside me, wildly swinging the Bone Sword.
“What the hell have you done, Eugene Carter?!”
“Who knows…!”
The strongest technique of the Book of Bright Shadows, Notria—
Shadow Possession.
It created a shadow with physical specifications completely identical to the original body and operated it independently.
If there was no suitable operator, the grimoire automatically copied the original body’s combat style and fought on its own—
But in this case, Clina White, who resided within my Mana Heart, had become the operator.
‘You weren’t secretly a swordsman in the past or something, were you?’
― These are your combat instincts, not mine.
The enemy attempted to counterattack the shadow swinging the Bone Sword mercilessly—
But every strike simply passed through the shadow without landing even a single meaningful hit.
“T-This makes no sense!”
“How are we supposed to deal with this…?!”
For just a moment, their attention was stolen by the dazzling display of swordsmanship performed by the shadow.
“What do you mean how? Just die.”
I instantly exploited that fleeting opening and once more drove Lukezax into the vice commander’s abdomen.
“Kuh… Kugh…!”
Firmly grabbing the shoulder of the struggling bastard, I glanced behind him and spoke calmly.
“I’ll give you one final chance.”
“Withdraw now, heal everyone including yourself, and quietly welcome the morning. Then everyone lives.”
But if you still refuse to give up and insist on fighting us to the bitter end—
“Half of you die by my hands.”
“…….”
“You understand what I’m saying, right?”
The enemies immediately began wavering.
“H-He’s bluffing…! Don’t panic…!”
Even while impaled, the bastard still tried to rally his men like a proper vice commander.
“This bastard only temporarily doped himself with dark magic! Soon an enormous backlash will hit his body! We can still win if we attack now! Hurry—”
“Oh, so you can still speak?”
Without the slightest hesitation, I twisted the sword buried inside him over half a turn.
Crunchkk!
Flesh and bone twisted apart internally as blood burst out everywhere.
“KAAAAAAAHHH!!”
“Get a grip, asshole. You’re not dying.”
“Guh… Grrghhh….”
“He’s right though. Dark magic doping. It does have a time limit.”
But you know—
“I wonder… how long it lasts?”
“…….”
“If this were truly a flame about to burn out, would I really be standing here leisurely waiting for you all to make a decision? I’d be trying to kill one more of you in that time instead. Right? Hm?”
Right then.
The giant who appeared to hold the second-highest rank among the squad members lowered his steel pillar and raised both hands.
“We’ll withdraw, so hand over the vice commander, Eugene Carter.”
“You should’ve done that from the start.”
I violently kicked the vice commander with my left foot, sending him flying back toward his comrades.
“You’ve got ten seconds to disappear.”
.
.
.
Unexpectedly, the bastards retreated without any further resistance.
The moment they withdrew, I severed every mana path connected to the grimoires.
And immediately afterward, a tremendous backlash hit me all at once.
Dizziness, headaches, double vision, light distortion—
“Ghk….”
Even after suppressing it as much as possible with elixirs, the backlash was still this severe.
Using dark magic without holy magic carried far too much risk.
Supported by Walter and Frederick, I slowly moved forward.
“Where do we head now?”
Forcing my remaining mana to circulate through my body so I could at least restore my vision properly, I answered Frederick’s question.
“Take Walter and return, Director.”
“What?”
“Hey, Carter! Your body’s already in this state, and you’re still sending us away—?!”
“Instead, cause as much trouble as possible on your way back. Keep the guards from coming here.”
Frederick immediately understood the meaning behind my words and glanced toward me.
“…So the fight still isn’t over yet?”
“Yeah.”
“Confident you’ll win?”
I broke into a wide grin.
“One hundred percent.”
“In that case… good.”
Frederick nodded in satisfaction.
“Then I’ll gladly carry the burden for you.”
He grabbed Walter by the shoulder and turned around.
“Let’s go, Clark.”
“W-Wait a second!”
Walter hurriedly pulled out every medicine he brought and shoved them into my arms.
“…No, seriously, when the hell did you make all this?”
“Just shut up and take them already, dumbass!”
Muttering complaints about how nobody ever listened to him, Walter finally turned around as well.
The two of them disappeared into the distance.
After determining my current location through the surrounding buildings, I quickly moved again.
My destination—
The second villa, Mikhail Bernhardt’s mansion.
---
“Something I want to say, huh….”
Closing his eyes briefly at the question, Mikhail steadied his breathing.
Michel unconsciously clenched her teeth.
Because she understood all too well that the first words spoken by him—
By her father—
Would determine the ending of this story.
So she prayed sincerely.
“…Please.”
Please tell me you’re sorry.
For treating me cruelly all this time.
For never treating me like your daughter.
For sacrificing me for the family’s peace.
For placing false accusations upon me.
For every act of evil and coercion—
Please sincerely apologize.
That was what she wished for.
But—
The answer she received was unbearably cold.
“You must be feeling quite pleased now that everything unfolded according to your plans.”
With eyes filled entirely with hostility—eyes that could never be mistaken as those of a father looking at his daughter—
He spat the words out sharply.
“When did you discover that Maximilian was still alive? After the Joint War? It must’ve been then. Otherwise, those people wouldn’t have moved this radically.”
“…….”
“There’s no way that bastard gathered all that information alone… naturally, you helped him.”
Then Mikhail twisted his lips mockingly.
“So, how did it feel tormenting your father like this? After enduring everything all these years, it must’ve felt exhilarating.”
But what a shame.
“If you thought this level of damage was enough to destroy us, you were mistaken. We will never collapse. I won’t allow it. Even if I must take your life, I’ll survive. Because that is my role for Bernhardt.”
“…My life.”
Because she understood perfectly well those words were directed at her—
Michel could only grit her teeth harder and raise her voice.
“That’s… something a father says to his own daughter? You’ll kill me just to survive? For the sake of a family like this?!”
“A family like this?”
KWAAANG!
Mikhail slammed the desk instead and pointed at her as though lecturing her.
“We are Ribenia, and Ribenia is us. Bernhardt’s destruction is Ribenia’s destruction.”
Did you think repeatedly driving my beloved daughter toward death ever sat comfortably with me?
“For the nation above blood ties. I swallowed my tears and chose to cast you aside. Because your existence was a disaster to Bernhardt.”
“…The one who created that disaster was you, Mikhail Bernhardt.”
“No. That was the achievement of your illustrious grandfather Johann. Promoting you into the direct line back then was the worst possible move beyond anyone’s control. To clean up that mistake, the current family head had no choice but to kill his own parents. All because of you!”
“Because of me? Don’t be ridiculous. Your greed killed Grandfather and created whistleblowers like Maxy. Bernhardt’s destruction is entirely your responsibility. You climbed to the positions of family head and vice head, yet all you know is rationalization and avoidance. Grandfather must be weeping in heaven!”
“How dare you spout such nonsense before me, Michel Bernhardt!”
“You’re the one who should watch your mouth!”
KWAAAAANG!
Not yielding, Michel violently stomped the floor and shouted with firm resolve.
“You’d better be careful.”
“If you understand what this is that I’m holding, then apologize right now. For every evil deed you committed—before everyone!”
In her right hand was the true will.
Mikhail instantly recognized what she held, yet merely scoffed without even blinking.
“Hmph. Stop bluffing with that meaningless forged will.”
“Oh really? Then shall we take this to the Imperial Court and the Assembly for verification? Let’s see whether Grandfather recognized you or me as his true successor.”
“No. That won’t be necessary.”
Mikhail slowly rose to his feet.
“I will correct my own mistakes personally. I’ll kill you here, Michel.”
“…….”
Watching him draw and point his wand at her, Michel slowly lowered her head.
Tears kept threatening to spill, forcing her to tighten her eyes desperately to hold them back.
“You… You truly…”
She expected this outcome.
But even knowing that did not make it hurt any less.
Even so, she had to endure. For everyone’s sake.
Just as she reaffirmed her resolve—
“Just as your mother bore responsibility, you too must bear your proper responsibility.”
The words that should never have left his mouth caused Michel’s pupils to widen violently.
“…What?”
As though her reaction meant nothing to him, Mikhail tilted his head.
“So you still didn’t know? Why your mother died at such a young age.”
No. That couldn’t be true.
No matter how much this man before her resembled a demon wearing human skin, there was no way he had personally taken the life of the woman he loved and chose for himself—
“As the one who gave birth to the seed of discord, she needed to prove she was necessary for Bernhardt. Just as I did.”
“I joined forces with Edgar and found Bernhardt’s next survival strategy.”
“But Julia failed to produce comparable results.”
“Instead, she committed the outrageous act of gathering branch family members together while insisting she’d let you live like a proper human being….”
As if lamenting the matter, the man rubbed his forehead.
“As vice head, I couldn’t simply stand by and watch the family divide itself. Even if the target was my own wife.”
“That… can’t be….”
She did not have many memories of her mother.
But she vividly remembered being loved by her.
When she heard news of her mother’s death one day, the young girl blamed herself even for that.
She thought the problem was that she had been born at all.
For the first and last time, she even considered abandoning the promise she made with her grandfather.
Back then, she gave up only because she was afraid of dying.
But occasionally, she wondered—
If only she had never been born.
Or if she had died just a little sooner after being born.
Then perhaps her mother and father would never have drifted apart.
Perhaps Grandfather would never have suffered such a horrific death.
To deny those thoughts, she desperately continued living.
Believing the day would come when her father understood and accepted her again.
Believing he would kneel before her and beg forgiveness.
“My beloved daughter, I’m truly sorry for everything.”
For that one warm sentence—
Something so natural and simple for others—
She endured everything just to hear it.
Just to be acknowledged as a daughter by her father.
That tiny thread of hope was what barely kept her alive.
But now it was too late.
Far too late.
Just like with Chloe—
They had come far too far for reconciliation.
“…You are no longer my father.”
And so Michel Bernhardt drew her wand.
“So you don’t need to ask forgiveness from me, nor thank me, Mikhail Bernhardt.”
She raised it through her tears and aimed it at him.
“I’m leaving this cradle behind and going to my real family.”
At long last—
Her twenty-eight-year childhood finally came to an end.