Karla’s Chapter.
It might be late to say this, but there are cruel depictions.
“Karla…tch, what do you think you’re doing?!”
Count Lester was aghast at the sight of his daughter, floating with the night sky’s moon at her back.
Receiving the hateful cry her father directed at his daughter, Karla smiled cheerfully, as if enraptured by the song of a little bird.
Karla had burned to death the Magicians of the Magician Division who were about to unleash an attack to counter the demon. Even if father and daughter were at odds, attacking his subordinates was a clear act of rebellion against the state. Putting aside his own actions, he was furious that someone bearing the Lester family name had done such a thing.
However, at her father’s attitude of reprimanding his daughter as if it were only natural, Karla looked down on him from the sky, as if to mock him.
“Oh my, did the sparks reach even me? I truly thought you wanted to ‘play’ with me.”
“You…!”
At Karla’s flippant remark, having survived amidst that barrage, Count Lester—Ignace—could not suppress the grinding of his teeth.
In an eerie atmosphere, different from that of a battlefield, even the Magicians whose comrades had just been killed were frozen, holding their breath.
The girl floating in the sky, though smiling serenely, emitted such a sinister Killing Intent from her entire being that, combined with her deathly pale skin, she resembled the “Grim Reaper” he had read about in picture books as a child.
“…”
Amidst this, Ignace turned one hand behind him as if to hide it, issuing orders to a portion of his subordinate Court Magicians.
Several men who received those orders began to move silently, and one among them… a black-haired young man, positioned out of Karla’s line of sight, trembled yet wore a twisted smile.
(…Karla!)
That young man had no intention of tolerating Karla’s existence. More than being a Court Magician under the Lester Family’s control, he had a reason he had to kill Karla.
The Lester Family had three sons. But they had followed their father’s thinking in using his daughter for experiments, and were killed when their younger sister retaliated. If they had lived, they would likely be treading the path to glory as Court Magicians, just like this young man, by now.
Being a Magician was not merely about competing in attack power or flashiness. Strategy, schemes, and even maneuvering were all part of a Magician’s strength, and a Magician’s purpose lay in knowing the abyss of knowledge.
Court Magicians were those who revered comprehensive intellectual power. Noble Magicians, in particular, often sought this intellectual power. For a monster that sought only violent power to kill the next generation of Court Magicians was unforgivable.
But even more than that, he could not forgive the existence of the “younger sister” who had instilled fear in him.
No matter what outrage Karla, who had become engaged to royalty, committed, they, as Court Magicians, could not directly lay a hand on her due to her connection to the royal family. All they could manage were assassinations through assassin guilds or poisoning, but Karla survived them all.
But now, things were different. The Crown Prince had been disgraced, and Karla had lost the protection of the royal family.
This was a battlefield. It would be difficult to hold anyone accountable for a death, no matter whose hand it came by. Especially in Karla’s case, there was no one to protect her.
If Karla, who had been suppressing the demon, died here, the damage might increase, but for the young man, killing Karla was more important than the damage from the demon.
In order to make Karla’s death look like an accident (・・・), the Court Magicians under the Lester Family, centered around the black-haired young man, took aim at Karla floating in the sky. The young man, coordinating with the other Court Magicians, hid behind common Magicians and unleashed magic at Karla.
“—[Flame Javelin]—”
Simultaneously with his shot, a dozen or so offensive spells were launched at Karla from the surroundings… but.
“—?!”
All the offensive magic passed right through Karla, and the [Illusion] floating in the sky wavered and disappeared.
“—Oh my, so you were here.”
“Wh-?!”
As Karla suddenly appeared behind him, the black-haired young man, his face pale, tried to jump back, but Karla’s hand grabbed his arm faster.
“…Uwaagyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Flames overflowing from within her white hand burned the young man’s arm. Karla gazed lovingly at the screaming youth, then, waving the arm she had torn off and turned to charcoal, she showed it off to her father.
“Look, Onii-sama (・・・), now you match our beloved Father.”
The black-haired young man was Karla’s second older brother, the only one who had survived.
Nine years ago, after his older and younger brothers were killed, the young man, fearing his abnormal younger sister, couldn’t even approach the house and became mentally ill, constantly looking for a chance for revenge ever since.
His burned arm was the same one that their father Ignace had been burned by Karla a few months prior. At the wickedness of his daughter, who laughed with an innocent face while swinging the arm like a toy, Ignace clutched his own left arm, which had not yet regenerated, his eyes wide with a furious expression.
“Kill Karlaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
At Ignace’s scream to kill his daughter, no longer caring about appearances, the Court Magicians felt fear and began chanting their spells.
It wasn’t that they didn’t know Karla’s strength. But at the same time, they were also well aware of her fragility. A single hit would kill Karla. That was why, while understanding the threat, they chose to attack without hesitation.
Karla was strong. But it was the strength of a mere fighting mercenary, different from the wise Magicians they revered, and deep down, they looked down on and underestimated Karla.
However—Karla’s strength, honed to kill many single-handedly, surpassed their understanding.
“—Ghk!”
Before he could even scream, a Magician used as a shield was pierced through by [Lightning], and several people behind him collapsed, their internal organs burned.
“F-Fire!”
One of the Court Magicians who saw this cried out in dismay and unleashed [Spinning Blades (Guillotine)], which was intercepted by a Magician ensnared by Karla’s [Ice Whip], becoming a shield of ice. Then, an electric shock unleashed from behind him stopped the hearts of Magicians over a wide area.
“Use lightning here too!”
“But that will harm others!”
A Magician who still retained some reason hesitated at the confused Court Magician’s words. Area-of-effect magic couldn’t be used against Karla, who constantly moved to populated areas.
“Damn you!”
That Court Magician, spitting out words no longer of resentment but pure hatred, drew a dagger and attacked Karla who had appeared nearby.
However, Karla was not just a Magician. Having learned Martial Arts and Physical Enhancement to continue fighting alone, and having gained Thought Acceleration through advanced Mana Control, Karla easily dodged the attack and burned the head of the man she had grabbed.
“Increase the number of attacks! If one hits, she dies!”
The Magicians, being killed one after another, gave up on high-power magic fueled by anger and switched to level 1 magic.
Common Magicians close to nobles, who couldn’t flee due to their positions, also joined in, and small-scale offensive magic rained down on Karla like a torrent.
“—[Tornado (Hurricane)]—”
However, every single one of them was deflected by the tornado swirling around Karla. Unlucky individuals caught in it were swept up into the sky, and any offensive magic that still managed to slip through was blocked by the hem of Karla’s silver-white dress, unable to leave even a single scorch mark on its silvery fabric.
“Fufu.”
As if saying she didn’t need clumsy partners before dancing with her true target, Karla danced alone amidst the blood and death of people.
With one hand, she pinched the hem of her dress to bat away Fire Arrows, and like swatting away an offered hand of invitation, lightning struck down her foes.
“Get back! [Fireball]—tch!”
“Your Excellency?!”
Ignace unleashed a [Fireball], and the Magicians who saw it screamed.
He had called out. But, given the timing, those around Karla had no time to escape.
Ignace was a Rank 5 Fire Magician and had immense confidence in his fire magic. At this distance and timing, he was even confident he could kill a Rank 5 Monster.
Nevertheless, the reason he deliberately voiced it loud enough for Karla to hear was so that the fleeing Magicians would become a wall, blocking Karla’s escape route.
At this atrocity of using not only his own child but even his subordinates as tools, Karla, with a faint smile, leaped back, grabbed that thing (・・) crouching there, which had escaped the tornado’s damage, and using Physical Enhancement and [Weight (ability)], threw it with all her might.
“Heeave ho♪”
“————?!”
Karla’s thrown brother let out a voiceless scream as he collided in mid-air with the approaching fireball, scattering an explosion and flames like fireworks.
DOOOOOM!!
Amidst those who were too slow to escape the scattered flames and scorching heat, screaming in agony, Karla, protected by a wind barrier, smoothed her disheveled black hair with her fingers from the buffeting hot wind, and then smiled at Ignace, whose skin was, conversely, seared by the hot wind from his own flames.
“Oh my, oh my, it seems we’ve lost our heir. We’ll have to start over again, won’t we, Father?”
“Don’t screw with me!!”
Ignace yelled back at Karla’s jesting words.
With all his sons dead, and having even eliminated his own siblings through schemes, the bloodline of the main Lester Family now had only him and Karla remaining.
He had no intention of handing over even a single fragment of the prestigious Count Lester Family and its magical archives to branch families or the like. But the realization that his own life and the Lester Family would be extinguished at the hands of the daughter he had treated as disposable in experiments caused fear and anger to well up within Ignace.
“Don’t screw with me, don’t screw with me, DON’T SCREW WITH MEEEEEEEEEE!! That I and the Lester Family would be crushed by a mere lab rat like you… How could that possibly happen?!”
Ignace, bellowing, having lost himself in rage, gathered an immense amount of magical power in his remaining right arm and aimed it skyward. As if to mock even that, Karla spread her hands, filled with magical power, like wings.
“――【Fireball】――”
“――【Fireball】――”
Father and daughter simultaneously unleashed Fireballs at each other.
In terms of magical power, Karla surpassed him; in terms of proficiency, Ignace was superior. The two Fireballs collided, but this time they didn’t explode. All their power, held back by their mutual magic, swirled between them.
“UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!”
Ignace poured magical power into it as if infusing it with hatred. Whether due to the difference in experience or the fruit of his obsession, the power began to tip slightly towards Karla. The moment Ignace, his face drenched in sweat, managed a faint smile――
“――【Fireball】――”
Karla unleashed a second Fireball with the magical power she had been gathering in her left hand. The combined power of two spells and the doubled magical energy directed all the flames towards Ignace.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Ignace’s scream echoed through the night. Perhaps, like Karla, he was wearing armor made of Mithril; even amidst those flames, Ignace was still alive.
But only his torso and head were protected. He writhed in agony, unable to even stand.
Crunch…
“As expected of you, Father. I’m so glad you’re alive,” Karla said in a cheerful voice as she approached her dying father, her footsteps crunching on the scorched gravel.
“…Stop, please stop. I… for the sake of the Lester Family…”
“I’ve heard that countless times since I was a child, so that’s enough.”
Karla cut Ignace off and gently placed the heel of her Mithril high heel on Ignace’s head.
“Stop iiiit…”
Just as Karla was about to put strength into her leg――
“Please wait, Karla-ojousama!”
“…What is it?”
When Karla glanced back slightly, only with her eyes, she saw the male magician who had first tried to admonish Ignace and had been attacked by his subordinate. He was approaching, leaning on the shoulder of someone who seemed to be a comrade.
“That man… Lester-kakka… I have heard rumors that he did terrible things to you, Ojou-sama. However, after the battle with the demons, someone like His Lordship will surely be needed!”
Running a nation cannot be done with clean hands alone. If the Royal Capital has suffered damage, other nations might see it as a decline in the Kingdom of Claydale’s strength, and there’s no guarantee that some won’t try to interfere.
If it’s a political matter, the royal family and the prime minister will likely manage somehow, but for issues like espionage and sabotage, there will likely be situations where not only the Shadow Unit but also the strategic capabilities of the Court Magician Division are needed.
Since he called Karla ‘Ojou-sama,’ he was likely a vassal of the Lester Family or someone from a branch family. His words seemed to express concern not only for the Lester Family but for the kingdom itself.
To him, Karla turned not just her gaze but her entire serene face and smiled.
“Fufu. What an amusing joke(・・).”
Squish…
Finishing the deed as if crushing an insect, without letting him scream, Karla brushed off the blood that had splattered on her hem as if it were raindrops. As she passed by the man who stood frozen with a pale face, she spoke to him briefly.
“Instead of leaving it to others, why don’t you do it yourself?”
Passing by the speechless man, Karla cleansed herself of the filth with 【Purification (Cleanse)】 and once again leaped onto her “stage.”
“Goodbye, Father. If we meet in hell, let’s play again.”
The conclusion of the Lester Family.
I won’t deliberately write about Karla’s feelings. It’s impossible to express them in a single word.
Next time: Nero and Amor’s battle, and Aria’s battle with the demon.
The 6th chapter of the comic adaptation will be updated tomorrow.
Starting this month, you can also view it on TO Books’ manga-exclusive site, Corona EX.