The Northern Grand Duke’s Crazy Son-in-Law

42. A Gift Without Warning

“Phew·······.”

Gilberton let out a relieved sigh, reading just his grip on his sword.

The blue aura fluttered like a flag in the wind.

The surroundings were dark and gloomy, making it hard to breathe.

“Ma-gyeong-.”

A Ma-gyeong had occurred in the north.

“These damn things······.”

Gilberton gritted his teeth, his mind hazy from overusing his aura. He shook his head and gripped his sword tightly.

“Are you okay over there?”

He turned to see the 7th Division Captain, Oldman Belograim.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“You’re fine, but your eyes are out of focus.”

Gilberton punched himself in the face at Bellograim’s remark.

Thud! With a refreshing sound, his vision returned, and Bellograim’s shocked face came into focus. He was fixed.

“It’s resolved.”

“You’ll make a good knight.”

“I’m already a knight.”

Bellograim chuckled at Gilberton’s response.

“There’s something I’m curious about.”

“Yes.”

Gilberton took a deep breath and nodded. Bellograim spun his staff with a whoosh.

Bellograim’s aura was faint, hazy like fog, but it was a mature, refined power.

The demon that appeared from behind was drawn to the staff like a moth to flame, revealing its weakness.

Bellograim’s staff smashed the demon’s jaw, leaving it in pieces.

What skill. Gilberton genuinely admired it.

“What’s with the knight thing? Why do you do that?”

Bellograim asked, spinning his staff. Bellograim’s condition wasn’t good, but it wasn’t due to injuries from battle.

“Knight Gilberton! Are you speaking?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“My father told me. Words have power.”

“Power?”

“Yes, since I was little and wanted to become a knight, I kept shouting ‘Knight- Gilberton!’ out of habit.”

“I see.”

“Explosive Crater-!!”

At that moment, Gwen’s voice was heard. The space, which had been dark with thick ash, instantly brightened.

Gwen, with bloodshot eyes, could be seen beyond. A ball of fire flew from her hand.

KWAANG!

An even louder sound than before rang out. Gwen’s face was covered in desperate tears and sweat.

Damian was in that direction. Damian was rolling around among the demons, one of his arms bent unnaturally and dangling. His expression was smiling.

Gilberton spat hard into his palm and gripped his sword tightly.

“Knight-!”

He shouted with all his might, and Orca rose again. Its body, heavy as if soaked in water, moved once more.

A knight was an honor, and a heavy responsibility.

“Gilberton!”

Orca rose even higher. Gilberton’s muscles screamed with a ‘thud’.

He stomped on the ground as is. Gilberton’s new form slipped.

A blue line was drawn on the demon that was aiming for Damian.

The demon’s back split open, and hot blood splattered. Gilberton turned his waist without even blinking. The sword drew a line again.

The demon let out a long scream. Damian, who was underneath it, stabbed it with his sword. A loud scream erupted.

Another demon stabbed Damian with its sword. Gilberton gritted his teeth and grabbed Damian by the collar, pulling him.

Thud-, the muscles screamed as if they were misaligned.

The demon’s sword cut a long gash across Gilberton’s shoulder. Gilberton’s hand loosened. Gilberton fell headfirst.

Thud!

The demon shook. Damian’s sword pierced the demon’s neck, but without Orca, the scar was weak.

Damian’s emotionless eyes stared at Gilberton.

‘Unlucky brat-.’

Gilberton muttered a soft curse and took a step forward. The demon’s attack hit Gilberton square in the chest.

Gilberton gritted his teeth and endured, stabbing the demon in the head with his sword.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Only then did the breath he had been holding burst out. The pain that had been suppressed by his excited spirit came all at once.

As he tried to control his breathing, Damian stared at him intently.

“How do you do that?”

“That?”

Damian’s finger was pointing at Gilberton’s Orca.

“Orca?”

“Yes. It looks cool.”

Orca was the ideal of all who wielded swords, and the symbol of a knight.

He was taken aback that Orca simply looked cool.

“Well, Orca is-“

Gilberton, who had been trying to explain, stopped talking. It was hard to explain when he actually tried to put it into words.

It wasn’t that I wanted to say something as cliché as ‘Aura is faith-‘.

“Aura is faith.”

“Is it faith?”

Before I knew it, Bellograme had nodded beside me.

Demian, who had heard the explanation, furrowed his brow. It was an expression that showed he didn’t understand.

Gilberton let out a snort and clicked his tongue. That kind of vague explanation wasn’t much help to him.

“So, aura is-“

As I opened my mouth, my gaze naturally fell on Gilberton.

Gilberton raised the corners of his mouth and explained.

“It’s like scooping up crap with your hands. You’re holding crap in your hands.”

Gilberton even kindly demonstrated the hand shape, making Gwyn flinch. Demian followed Gilberton’s example, clenching and unclenching his hand.

“Of course, it’s not something you can do right away just because I told you.”

Aura wasn’t something that could be reached by everyone.

Gilberton adjusted his grip on his sword and said so.

At that moment, Demian’s sword wavered slightly.

‘Uh… Could it be?!’

Gilberton hastily focused his eyes. There was nothing on Demian’s sword.

‘It can’t be.’

It seemed I had missed.

“Ah, wait. Where did the youngest go? Did that idiot go off somewhere and get lost?”

Gilberton looked for Noah. He had disappeared somewhere earlier and wasn’t in sight.

“He went with the captain!”

“What?! The youngest is in danger-.”

Gilberton clicked his tongue and readjusted his grip on his sword.

“Where are you going?”

In response to Bellograme’s question, Gilberton pointed straight ahead.

Beyond the thick smoke, lightning flashed. Then, a massive shadow appeared through the smoke.

··············!!

It was a gigantic size that only appeared in legends.

This wasn’t the Demon Realm, but the North-.

“If we’re late, the captain will scold us.”

“Are you saying we’re going to fight that thing now?”

“Yes.”

Gilberton punched his sagging right shoulder to straighten it.

He could still move, and he had a sword in his hand.

For Gilberton, a knight, that was enough.

“Youth is good.”

Bellograme clicked his tongue and stood beside me.

At that moment, one massive tentacle dropped towards Gilberton.

Its size was so enormous that my fingertips hurt just thinking about it.

It was a tentacle that could crush a castle with a single touch.

In contrast, what Gilberton held in his hand was a single sword.

“That’s enough.”

He didn’t think weakly.

From the start, Gilberton didn’t have many thoughts.

Gilberton was simply knight-like.

“Knight-! Gilberton!”

He gripped his sword tightly.

The aura flared up intensely.

“Bend!”

And then, when he swung his sword towards the massive tentacle-.

“Get out of the way.”

A low, menacing command echoed from behind.

A voice like a beast hiding deep in the cave-.

Gilberton unconsciously stepped aside.

A massive, monstrous creature-. In the cold north, where the air was biting, it wore no upper garment, and its living muscles, which seemed to squirm like a dream, were covered in thick scars.

What it held in its hand was just a crude and enormous axe.

“·······Your Highness?”

Gilberton bowed his head.

The High Lord twirled the enormous axe around.

There was no aura.

No, it was more fitting to say it was unnecessary.

That massive, crude axe was a executioner’s sword for monsters.

The High Lord raised the axe high.

The scar-covered muscles twitched and made a strange sound.

It was a joyful cry.

As the massive tentacle fell-.

The High Lord was rejoicing with his entire body.

The High Lord swung the ax widely.

Thud.

It was a simple action, but the result was not simple.

Ku-uu-ung!

The severed tentacle lost its strength and collapsed.

The ground shook violently with a heavy sound.

The High Lord lightly swung the ax a few more times.

The tentacle was cut to a suitable size.

“······A suitable size?”

The High Lord picked it up and put it directly into his mouth.

Oomph-.

A brutal sound accompanied the High Lord’s intense satisfaction.

“Not bad.”

In the Grand Duke’s smile as he said those words, Galahad somehow saw a glimpse of himself.

“I present to you the ruler of the North.”

Velogrime bowed deeply.

Gilbertan quietly regarded the Grand Duke before belatedly inclining his head.

****

‘The First Magician huh-.’

Galahad stared at the magic circle engraved on his forearm.

Since he had hastily etched it, the blood had yet to dry.

The magic circle, supposedly left behind by the First Magician, was certainly different from other magic circles.

The way the magic circle was layered was rather crude yet peculiar.

It was different from the methods used nowadays.

The most peculiar aspect of it was-.

‘It compresses mana into the heart.’

Mana was originally located around the heart. That was also why the seed of pain was located next to the heart.

However, the heart was not used to circulate mana.

Mana was originally an intangible thing.

The heart could not possibly affect it.

However, this magic circle, which they called a stigma, made it possible.

It was just like-.

‘The seed of pain.’

Galahad felt a keen interest.

It was a method very similar to the seed of pain.

This magic circle used the heart in a similar way to the seed of pain.

The difference was that the seed of pain automatically extracted mana from the blood of the Demon race and only supplied mana, whereas this magic circle-.

‘Uses the blood of the caster.’

It was a method similar to the seed of pain. It seemed to imitate the abilities of the high-ranking Demons that were the source of the seed of pain.

It was merely an imitation.

‘It compresses mana using the vitality contained in the caster’s blood.’

If mana was a virtual engine, this magic circle was like pouring vitality into it as oil.

To compress mana even faster-.

‘Ah, so it was vitality.’

Galahad realized that what the seed of pain had been sucking from the blood of the Demons was vitality.

Brrr-, the seed of pain quivered slightly. It seemed he was right.

Using vitality in magic-. It was rather unfamiliar to Galahad.

It must have been because it was an old type of magic.

“You engraved this magic circle just now?”

A shocked voice broke Galahad’s train of thought.

When he looked up, the executive was staring at Galahad with an astonished face.

Galahad could not understand his question.

“Is it taking too long to inscribe the magic circle?”

It was just a matter of looking and tracing it. It was a bit painful, but the pain was momentary.

And this time, the magic circle was so fascinating that I didn’t even feel the pain.

“Don’t lie! This magic circle is composed of eight layers! You can’t just glance at it and imitate it! How much did that traitor teach you?”

The officer spat out the words, his voice rising. Galahad slightly clicked his tongue.

“Ah, to be precise, I didn’t exactly copy it. Since it’s an old magic circle, there were some unnecessary parts. And there were some awkward parts too. So, I made some adjustments.”

Galahad kindly showed his wrist, where a magic circle similar to the other one was inscribed. However, upon closer inspection, there were many differences.

It was certainly an attractive magic circle, but it was an outdated one. Since it had a pain core, there was no need to use his heart, so Galahad had modified the magic circle to his taste.

“·······Adjusted? Shut up!”

The officer shouted again, his words not making sense. Galahad clicked his tongue and turned his gaze away.

The dark, scattered ash around them was undoubtedly magic ash. It was impressive that they could recreate magic ash, which wasn’t even from the demon realm.

“Just one question. How did you manage to unfold the magic ash?”

“It’s not magic ash, it’s a sacred domain.”

“Right, a sacred domain, then.”

The officer smiled at Galahad’s question, his lips curling up awkwardly.

“Will I tell you?”

The officer raised his staff, and the magic circle on his wrist emitted a brilliant light. The light connected to the staff.

The staff, infused with magic stones, supplied mana, and the magic circle on the wrist used the user’s blood to compress it.

The user, the officer, only had to set the magic goal and provide blood.

At first glance, it seemed simple, but could he really be called a magician?

“That guy could do it too, like Gilbert.”

Galahad felt intense disgust.

“Cast it!!”

The officers with staffs glared at them, casting something that didn’t even resemble magic.

“Hmm-“

The pain core pulsed wildly. The officer was about to burst out, his excitement overflowing.

At that moment, the magic circle on Galahad’s wrist emitted a blazing light.

Galahad hadn’t copied the magic circle left by the first magician. Galahad had a pain core that could replace his heart.

Instead of using the user’s blood, Galahad planned to use the life force extracted from the demon’s blood to compress the mana.

“It’s compressing the mana stored in the pain core into life force once more.”

Perhaps the first magician never thought of this method.

The pain core resonated with the magic circle, vibrating strongly. It seemed to be saying, “I’ll take it all.”

“If I catch that, something even more delicious will come out.”

Galahad whispered to the massive presence behind the officers.

“I need to see something even bigger.”

Only then did the pain core nod. The officer threatened, slightly biting his heart, as if saying, “I won’t let you get away with lies.”

“I don’t tell lies.”

The pain core resonated, and the magic circle’s color grew brighter. The mana fluctuated rapidly.

Ash-gray flames fell.

“Abominable.”

With a flick of his finger, Galahad expressed his intense annoyance.

****

‘That imbecile-‘

Deblian gritted his teeth at the sight of the figure concealed within the sphere of flames.

The proof of selection was etched on his forearm, yet he stood alone.

Just then, a light breeze blew past them.

‘…What the-‘

The torrential sphere of flames abruptly lost its power.

Losing its form, it dissipated, leaving behind only flickering embers.

There was only one reason for mana to lose its potency so suddenly.

When faced with a denser concentration of mana.

‘…Denser mana than mine?’

Deblian wielded a staff embedded with a high-grade magic stone and bore the proof of selection left by the First Sorcerer. He had even opened the sanctuary.

Even with all that, could this man’s mana truly surpass his own?

It was an absurd hypothesis.

Just then.

Something came flying out from within the flames. Its form was indiscernible, accompanied only by a faint sound.

Thud. The sound of something collapsing-.

A mage fell backward, a gaping hole in his throat.

Thud again-.

Another mage collapsed. A hole in his throat-. Precisely the same location.

Crimson blood poured out like a dire warning.

“Activate the defensive barrier!”

Deblian hurriedly chanted the defensive spell.

A translucent barrier instantly rose before the mages. Several mages gathered together, layering multiple barriers on top of one another. The fear of death rendered words unnecessary.

At that moment-.

Another mage collapsed.

The multi-layered defensive barrier had been effortlessly pierced.

As if it were a sheet of paper-.

Thud-.

Another one fell. There was no scream, only the sound of stifled breaths.

What in the world was this-.

Deblian struggled to comprehend the situation unfolding before him.

Then, the flames parted, and he emerged.

His expression was still relaxed, his hair neatly combed-.

He looked exactly the same as when he had entered the banquet hall.

He flicked his finger.

Thud-.

The last remaining mage fell backward.

Devil Ian collapsed on the spot with his legs giving out from under him.

Hot blood drenched Devil Ian.

The man approached at a leisurely pace, neither fast nor slow.

The man, who had arrived right before him, looked down at Devil Ian.

Devil Ian, who made eye contact with the man, let out a scream filled with terror.

“Ho…. Are you a demon?”

“Hmm, sorry about that, but I’m human.”

The man’s voice was calm.

It was clean, which didn’t match the rich smell of blood.

“Ah, thank you for the present.”

A present?

The man pointed at his own forearm.

The proof of the pact on his forearm was emitting a bright light.

Brighter than the one Devil Ian had carved.

“I never gave you….”

Devil Ian’s voice could not finish.

****

“Thank you, I’ll put it to good use.”

Galahad expressed his gratitude again and turned his head.

A giant tentacle was moving and diligently destroying the castle.

White light existed valiantly beneath it, although it was precarious.

Adrianna was fighting that giant monster all by herself.

Even though that was amazing enough.

‘It’s still not enough.’

Galahad frowned.

This was Adrianna, who would have to face the Demon King later on.

It was somewhat lacking for her to struggle against a bastard who had been forcibly promoted from an upper-rank to a top-rank.

‘She needs to grow.’

There was no better environment for growth than actual combat.

Just then-

···············!!

The monster roared as if it were in pain.

That giant monster was feeling pain.

The tentacle, which was writhing in pain, violently moved and pushed away the ash.

His vision cleared in an instant.

Far away-.

There was a savage who was tearing apart the tentacles like an octopus. A giant tentacle protruded from the bearded corner of his mouth, wriggling as if begging to be spared.

The archangel, covered in red blood, pointed a finger at Galahad.

A thud-.

It felt like a murderous sound could be heard from here.

‘Hmm, this could be dangerous.’

Jae quickly looked around his surroundings again.

Galahad scratched his smooth neck for no reason.

“Milady!”

Galahad hurriedly headed towards Adrianna.

She had never had parents to begin with.

The Grand Duke was like a parent as well.