#Chapter 91
—
Shuga could not conceal her shock at Arthur’s transformed appearance.
“G–Good heavens… what is that…”
Arthur, his entire body wreathed in electricity, looked like a living bolt of lightning.
That alone was astonishing, but the two beings standing at his side were something far beyond common sense.
“High-ranking… spirits?”
Spirit summoners were considered far rarer than even fifty-year magicians.
And these were not just any spirits, but high-ranking ones, said to be handled only by the very best of summoners.
While Shuga was left agape, unable to close her mouth, Schneider muttered in a low voice.
“…A monster.”
“Who? Me?”
Startled, Schneider quickly raised his sword.
At the same time, Arthur, who had lunged forward with a spatial leap, swung his blade.
**Clang—!**
Sword aura and lightning clashed, scattering fierce sparks.
But the one who was pushed back—was Arthur.
‘As expected, sword aura. Even lightning, he just cuts it apart.’
This was why there had to be a gulf between swordsmen who had manifested sword aura and those who had not.
‘The moment sword aura is manifested, they’re recognized at the knight level for a reason.’
With that thought, Arthur leapt into the air and once again used spatial leap.
“…!”
Schneider’s eyes narrowed as he watched.
‘Magic, high-ranking spirits… what is this guy?’
After a brief hesitation, Schneider bit his lip.
In this chaotic situation, one thing was certain.
If he let his guard down, he would die.
Just then, Arthur suddenly appeared behind him using spatial leap.
**Klang—!**
Lightning and sword aura collided once more.
Within that clash, Arthur drew his Beast.
“Son of a—!”
Cursing, Schneider tried to twist his body.
Or rather, he tried to.
\[Arthur!]
\[Arthur—!]
With the cry of the two spirits, Schneider’s body was restrained.
His eyes widened at the anomaly, and the five rings engraved on his chest spun violently.
**Bang—!!!**
With the thunderous roar of Beast’s shot, his waist was nearly torn apart.
Had it not been for the mana suit he hastily deployed in time, his body would have been cleaved in two.
Of course, having half of his waist ripped away was hardly a good sign either.
“…You bastard!”
Spewing blood, Schneider swung his sword.
But the strike was nothing like before.
The sword aura that had manifested was unstable, the downward swing having lost its target.
Arthur easily slipped past the attack and, in one motion, sliced clean through his neck.
**Thud.**
Schneider’s head rolled away and disappeared somewhere.
Witnessing that, Shuga fell to the ground with a thump.
“H–Hu…h?”
Meanwhile, Arthur shook the blood from his demonic sword and grumbled.
“Ugh, that was rough. Almost died.”
“……”
Barely regaining her senses, Shuga swallowed dryly.
‘Rough? After winning so easily?’
Just then Arthur turned his gaze.
Shuga instinctively took a step back, whispering.
“…Is it my turn now?”
“Your turn?”
“Yes. You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?”
Arthur laughed.
“Why would I kill you? You’re my escort target.”
“……”
“But I do need some explanations. Why did you stab Kassel and run off?”
As Shuga’s lips parted to answer—
**Boom—!**
A massive explosion shook the train violently.
Losing her balance, Shuga collapsed, and Arthur looked up.
The torn ceiling—
From within it, a man glared down at them with a furious expression.
But the magic surging around his body was anything but ordinary.
“…A magician?”
The whirling mana distorted the very air, heralding disaster.
‘Good lord… at least an eighty-year magician?’
One was only called a true magician after fifty years of training.
But the torrent of mana emanating from that man was at least eighty years’ worth.
‘That’s practically at palace magician level… Why would such a figure be here?’
As Arthur clicked his tongue, the man at the center of the vortex opened his mouth.
“I sent them to abduct, yet all of them ended up dead.”
“……”
“Was this your doing, mercenary?”
Arthur nodded.
“Yeah, that was me. And you are?”
“First mate of the Pirates. Aron Frail.”
Arthur’s eyes widened.
‘So that’s why such a dangerous man is here—he’s the first mate of the Pirates.’
The Pirates—one of the greatest powers ruling the underworld of Arcane.
If this man was their first mate, his power made perfect sense.
‘Hmm… so what do I do?’
He still had one trump card left if he borrowed Undine and Gnome’s strength, but if that one strike failed, he could be in real danger.
‘And I’m already running on fumes… this is tricky.’
As Arthur clicked his tongue in thought, Shuga suddenly clutched her mouth.
“Mmph—!”
Gagging, her eyes rolled back.
At the same time, something burst forth from between her fingers.
Arthur gasped as he saw what emerged from her mouth slowly take form.
“Oh… Mr. Balans?”
The old man with two heads.
Balans turned his head and replied.
“Well done, mercenary. Take a rest for now.”
—
—
Balans floated slowly into the air after emerging from Shuga’s mouth.
Seeing that, Aron Frail bit his lip.
“…That bastard Balans.”
Balans let out a cackling laugh.
“Quite the state for pirates. So… how does it feel to fall into a trap?”
At his words, Aron twisted his mouth into a sardonic smile.
“A trap? You think you can kill me?”
“Oh ho. You think I can’t?”
“The bravado of a dying old man… truly terrifying.”
Balans smiled brightly.
“I’ll return those words to you. Youngsters these days have no manners. In my time, at least, we kept some respect.”
With those words, Balans snapped his fingers.
In that instant, a door opened in midair, and two men appeared.
Members of the Seven Sovereigns.
The Fifth Seat—Kassias.
The Seventh Seat—Paran.
They gave Balans a brief bow before turning their eyes toward Aron.
“How nice to see you without your lackeys.”
“Let’s finish this. Once we have you, Captain Masius won’t be able to hold out any longer.”
Aron’s expression twisted, and he roared.
“Silence!! Our captain will never give in!”
With that shout, mana exploded around him.
**Boom—!**
That was the signal. Three members of the Seven Sovereigns clashed with the Pirate’s first mate.
Watching from below, Arthur stroked his chin.
“Oh-ho… so that’s what this was?”
From the fragments of conversation, it seemed this whole situation had been a trap laid to lure in the first mate.
‘So Shuga was actually the bait.’
Which meant this mission itself had been fake.
At that moment, Shuga, who had fainted, came to.
“Kh–Khuk!”
Arthur turned his gaze and asked the drooling woman.
“You okay, Shuga?”
“…Feels like I’m dying.”
“By the way, your father just came out of your mouth, you know?”
At that, Shuga’s body trembled violently.
From her reaction, Arthur realized she had no idea about any of this.
‘Hmm… The picture’s coming together, but one piece is missing.’
The relationship between Shuga and Balans.
And why she suddenly ran away.
If he solved those two, the situation would make sense.
Thus Arthur healed Shuga’s body with Undine’s power.
“…!”
Startled, Shuga opened her mouth wide.
The burning fever she had just felt vanished, her body suddenly restored to normal.
Then Arthur asked.
“Can you explain now? What’s really going on here?”
Shuga slowly lifted her head.
Her eyes looked more clouded than when they first met.
“…If I explain, will you kill me?”
Arthur blinked.
“All of a sudden? Hmm…”
“……”
“I’ll hear your explanation first, then if I think it’s worth it, I’ll kill you. How’s that sound?”
Shuga hesitated for a moment, then nodded and spoke.
“There’s something I have to explain first. I’m not… human. Strictly speaking, I’m a homunculus.”
—
—
At her words, Arthur tilted his head.
‘A homunculus?’
Artificially created human—or doll.
‘So that means… Shuga is an artificial human made by Balans?’
As Arthur let out a low exclamation, Shuga murmured.
“I’m a doll, created by Balans… by his hand.”
Arthur quickly asked.
“Mr. Balans reached that level of a magician?”
“…No. It wasn’t him. Balans requested it, and I was created by another’s hand.”
“And who was that?”
Shuga hesitated, then closed her eyes tightly.
“Whitebeard… the most wicked demon and magician in this world. I was born by his hand.”
Arthur blinked.
Then he scratched his head and muttered.
“Wow… Whitebeard really sticks his nose everywhere.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Mr. Whitebeard. I’ve run into him a few times. Seems there’s nowhere he doesn’t meddle.”
This time Shuga blinked in disbelief.
This mercenary… knew that legendary black magician whom even she had never seen?
Then Arthur asked again.
“But why did Balans want you made?”
Shuga composed herself and answered.
“To lure my husband, Baan Prime.”
“…Baan Prime?”
“Yes. The first in line to inherit the Prime Kingdom—and my husband.”
Arthur’s eyes widened.
“Then…”
Shuga nodded.
“Yes, that’s right. I was crafted as Baan Prime’s ideal woman—an artificial being, a homunculus.”
“……”
“Everyone has their ideal. Balans made me to match Baan Prime’s ideal type, and in the end, succeeded in marrying me to him.”
Arthur caught his breath.
“Wow… so all to seize the Prime Kingdom?”
“…Something like that.”
“And then the Pirates got involved?”
“That’s right. The Pirates have allied themselves with the second prince, Heron Prime.”
Arthur’s jaw dropped.
“Wait… the Pirates allied with the second prince, Heron Prime?”
“Yes. The Seven Sovereigns back the first prince. The Pirates back the second. The Prime Kingdom is now riven by civil war between these two factions and princes.”
“……”
“And in the midst of that, there were assassination attempts, so I had no choice but to hide under Balans’ protection for a time.”
Arthur stroked his chin.
“And just as you were about to return, this incident happened?”
“…That’s right.”
“Hmm… I roughly get it, but, Shuga.”
Arthur tilted his head.
“Even so, I don’t understand why you stabbed Kassel.”
“……”
“And why collude with the Pirates?”
Shuga’s lips quivered.
But soon, she showed an expression as though she had given up everything, and spoke.
“Would you believe me if I said… even a doll can love?”
“A doll?”
“Even if I’m a created monster… if I felt affection for the man who gave me endless love—would you mock me for that?”
Arthur blinked.
“You mean…”
“As long as I live, my husband will remain at Balans’ mercy.”
“……”
“So at first I tried to commit suicide, but I failed.”
Arthur tilted his head.
“Because you’re a doll?”
“…Yes. This body is denied even death.”
“Hm… so you asked the Pirates to abduct you instead?”
Tears spilled from Shuga’s eyes.
“Yes. I asked them to make it look like I left because I couldn’t endure anymore. That way, at least, he would give up on me… That’s why I staged this.”
Watching the clear tears fall from her eyes, Arthur stroked his chin.
‘…Now it makes sense.’
Why this situation unfolded. Why Shuga betrayed midway.
He finally understood it all.
‘Balans must have already realized that Shuga asked the Pirates to kidnap her.’
He simply let her betrayal play out.
‘Since she can’t die by normal means, he turned her into bait to lure the Pirate’s first mate.’
Perhaps even the rumor about a spy within the Seven Sovereigns was fabricated.
It was all staged to make others believe, to gather mercenaries and brokers—all as bait for the first mate.
‘Oh… when seen this way, everything clicks perfectly.’
As Arthur smiled at having solved all the mysteries, Shuga, lying collapsed, spoke.
“…Now, please kill me, as promised.”
Arthur turned to her.
The doll—no, the woman—was pleading with a tear-stained face.
“With your strength… maybe you can kill me. So please… end me.”
At her request, Arthur stroked his chin.
Then drew his Beast and loaded a black bullet.
**Click—!**
Shuga shivered despite herself as she watched.
But soon she accepted reality calmly, closing her eyes.
At that very moment, Arthur asked.
“But Shuga… something just crossed my mind. Will everything really be solved if you disappear?”
“…What?”
“Think about it. The reason you’re disappearing is because of Baan Prime, isn’t it? But if you vanish…”
Arthur tilted his head.
“…Will Baan Prime really live on? If you ask me, I think he’ll follow you in death.”
Shuga’s eyes widened.
—
