Chapter 14

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Reinforcement
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Redius Argenta was Diello’s uncle and his only remaining blood relative.

His death would undoubtedly have a great impact on Diello, and it would affect the battle to come.

As a blood member of the main Argenta family, Redius Argenta was one of their greatest assets.

“…What was the scale of the requested reinforcements?”

At my question, the knight answered.

“He said that since the battle is dragging on and cleaning up the field will take time, a force large enough to quickly manage the aftermath would be sufficient.”

“Ah.”

Pielle seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

Phrased like that, it didn’t sound like a major crisis.

“…”

I narrowed my eyes.

But the facts I knew were different.

It was clear the situation on the front lines hadn't escalated to a critical point just yet.

The reason why the experienced commander, Redius, was destined to die even with the support of the family head, Diello.

He would gather every ounce of strength in his body into a final, blazing Overdrive to block the water magic used by a sea monster.

He had sensed something was amiss and even requested Diello’s presence, but neither of them could have known.

That a monster capable of using ‘water magic’—something that had never once appeared in Argenta’s history—would emerge.

I couldn’t let events unfold that way.

Even if this was a contract marriage, I didn’t want to stand by and watch a tragedy I knew was coming.

Of course, this wasn’t some cheap hero complex.

Redius Argenta would become a great asset to Argenta in the future, even after the real Pero arrived.

This was for my own future as well.

*Thud.*

My thoughts settled, and I shot up from my seat.

“Send the reinforcements as quickly as possible. As for the size of the force…”

Normally, Pielle or the knights from the other orders would be the ones to decide.

But they didn’t know about the water-magic-wielding monster.

And I couldn’t tell them about it, either.

I couldn’t just say I’d read it in a book; I’d be branded a suspicious person in an instant.

I needed a way to naturally dispatch a large number of troops.

And the most… efficient way to block water magic.

“The knights are better suited to decide than I am, wouldn’t you agree?”

The reporting knight and Pielle bowed their heads in unison at my words.

To them, I played my trump card.

“However, please organize an escort for me as well.”

“Pardon?”

Pielle’s head snapped up, her surprise evident.

“The battlefield is by the water, and I am an Alloje.”

I held out my hand.

*Swoosh!*

The nearby ink and even the water in the flower vase responded to my fingertips, rising into the air.

The knight and Pielle stared, their eyes wide.

“If the front lines still require manpower even after Diello’s arrival, my abilities will be of use.”

No, my ability would save not only Redius but many others as well.

I was certain of it.

* * *

*I hate the sea.*

Diello murmured to himself.

Hundreds of years ago, for one reason or another, the Infinite Sea was born, and its monsters began to relentlessly covet the land.

The Argenta estate, home to the family that swore to protect the land from the Infinite Sea, was built on a location with a commanding view of the water.

Thanks to that, the wretched sea was a constant presence.

From a distance, some might say it was endlessly beautiful, glittering under the sunlight, but to him, it looked like nothing more than the entrance to hell.

Most of the people Diello Argenta had known since childhood had been devoured by that Infinite Sea.

‘Many wish for you to fall, my lord. You must become strong.’

‘If you cannot, then you must at least grow accustomed to sacrifice, my lord.’

‘Look not at the individual Argenta, but at Argenta as a whole.’

Had his teacher, his last blood relative, not guided him with those words, the young Diello might have broken long ago.

‘To survive, you must become numb.’

The words of his teacher, Redius Argenta, were something Diello carved into his heart every time he came to the sea.

The reason they came to mind so vividly today was likely because he was on the very battlefield where Redius was commanding.

* * *

*GRAAAH!*

When Diello first arrived at the coast of the Infinite Sea’s Fourth Sector, half the shoreline was swarming with monsters.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Diello had drawn his sword upon reaching the battlefield.

*Fwoosh!*

A powerful flame flowed from the tip of his blade, extending like a wave of fire and incinerating the monsters.

The creatures of the Infinite Sea, who wouldn’t even flinch at ordinary fire, reacted only to the flames of the Argenta.

Like paper soaked in oil.

If monsters that burned at the power of a common Argenta were to face the fire of the family head, they stood no chance.

*Sizzzle!*

The seawater dripping from the monsters’ bodies, as well as the water nearby, evaporated in an instant, shrouding the area in a steamy haze.

“The family head has arrived!”

“Hoorah!”

Their morale soaring, the Argenta knights completely turned the tide of a battle they had been losing.

That was only half a day ago, when he thought it would all be over quickly.

Now, the situation on the ground had been turned completely on its head.

*At this rate, countless Argenta will die.*

Diello frowned.

A few hours ago.

Just as he thought the monsters were pushing forward in greater numbers, a massive wave crashed ashore in their place.

‘Wh-what is that!’

While the bewildered Argenta knights cried out, Diello managed to evaporate most of the rushing seawater, but even he had his limits.

Wave after wave crashed down.

With monsters emerging from within the surf, the beach instantly became a scene of utter chaos.

“…”

Diello glared at the monster far out in the middle of the sea, the one controlling the water.

Even when he launched his flames, they were always blocked by a thick wall of seawater, making it difficult to stop it.

He had sent a request for support back to the estate earlier, but he had only asked for enough troops to help with the cleanup.

He never imagined the battlefield would change so suddenly.

*Swaaaa!*

The Infinite Sea that the Argenta were bound to defend against.

The monsters that swarmed from it were mostly mutated sea creatures, unintelligent beings.

But he had never imagined a monster capable of controlling the waves would suddenly appear among them.

One so powerful it could turn the tide of the entire battle.

“They say a monster that uses fire magic recently appeared in the desert the Cartiels protect…”

Diello’s eyes narrowed.

The Cartiels were a family that controlled the wind, and he had heard they struggled because their wind only fanned the enemy’s flames.

But the head of the Cartiel family had already met his Pero and awakened, and he was Siete Cartiel, hailed as the strongest head in their history.

The matter was reportedly suppressed without issue once the family head stepped in himself.

“…”

But here, the true Pero had yet to appear.

Diello narrowed his eyes.

This was, for all intents and purposes, a natural disaster.

“I’ve requested reinforcements from the estate, but I doubt they will make a meaningful difference on the battlefield.”

Diello quickly assessed the situation.

Beside him, the field commander, Redius, bowed his head.

“It is my failure. For now, my lord, you must retreat to safety.”

Redius had requested the family head’s aid to reduce Argenta casualties against what he thought was just a larger horde of monsters.

But the situation on the battlefield had changed with the appearance of the mutant monster.

Against the catastrophic waves, the fire-wielding Argenta were helpless.

If Diello Argenta had met his Pero and properly ‘awakened’ as the family head, the situation would have been different.

Not only he, but the vassals who drew from his power would have been able to wield strength incomparably greater than what they possessed now.

But without a Pero, all they could do was hold the line.

No, it was a miracle that those under an unawakened head could fend off monsters of this caliber at all.

And so, to stop them cleanly, a sacrifice was required.

“I will unleash my Overdrive and stop them.”

Just as Roa had done in the Third Sector, he intended to detonate all of his Argenta power at once to halt the monsters.

Diello frowned.

Another sacrifice, so soon after Roa.

But Redius’s choice was the best one for Argenta.

As an unawakened head, it was impossible for Diello to make his flames reach the monster so far out in the middle of the water.

If someone were to unleash their Overdrive—especially Redius, with his potent Argenta blood—they could break through the water barrier and kill the monster.

“…”

But unlike Roa, Redius had fulfilled his duty as a commander.

He was choosing to unleash his Overdrive for the sake of Argenta, to minimize casualties against a superior foe.

There was no other way to prevent further losses.

As the family head, it was his duty to approve it.

Even if Redius Argenta was his teacher.

And the one who had taught him this grim calculus was the man standing before him—Redius Argenta, his uncle and his last remaining blood relative.

“My lord, your permission.”

Redius bowed his head, offering no further words on the battlefield.

And just like that, those words would become Redius Argenta’s last testament.

“Damned Argenta.”

Diello muttered under his breath.

It was time to make a ruthless but just decision.

He had to give the order.

To command him to burn himself out and stop it, just as Roa had.

It was the right thing to do.

It was the correct answer.

The Argenta family had been maintained in this way.

Diello bit his lip unconsciously as he prepared to speak.

*Thud-thud-thud! Thud!*

The chaotic sound of galloping hooves echoed from the distance.

Diello froze.

Even from a glance, it was not the sound of a small group of knights.

“?”

Diello, who had reflexively turned to look, found his eyes widening.

“What is…?”

Redius, who had been steeling himself for his Overdrive, also paused.

Charging toward them was a force of knights at least twice as large as they had expected.

“Hoorah!”

But what drew the eyes of both Diello and Redius even more than the knights was the person at their lead.

Dark violet hair was thrown back by the speed of the horse.

Revealed beneath it were amethyst eyes, a sight so utterly unexpected to Diello.

“…Croire Alloje?”

The moment his eyes widened, a blue aura extended from Croire Alloje’s hand at the head of the charge.

The power to command water, the ability of the Alloje.