Chapter 66

Rifregon (10)

The headless body collapsed to the ground.

It was a pitiful end for the ruler of Caldric.

After staring at the corpse for a moment, I threw the broken sword to the ground. The blade had shattered upon decapitating the tyrant.

"Hmm."

I felt a light sense of exhaustion spread through my body.

The immense power that had filled me just moments ago had vanished as if it had evaporated.

The ability of the blood magic I had taken from the tyrant disappeared with his death.

I hadn’t expected it, but it seemed that even if the original owner died, the stolen ability couldn’t be permanently absorbed.

"Well, of course... If it were possible, it would be a cheat."

If permanent theft were possible, the late Gascalid would have slaughtered all his kin to absorb their blood magic.

I turned my gaze to the side, letting my thoughts wander.

The blood mist that had been thick had now cleared, revealing the ruins of the arena. In a distant corner, I saw Ashel and Rif.

They were staring blankly in my direction.

The boy Ashel was carrying was still unconscious.

However, the dark red aura and the grotesque, protruding blood vessels that had covered his body were gone. His body had returned to a normal state.

"..."

Rif, who had been sitting on the ground, was still conscious despite the massive blood loss.

When I stared intently at the boy, her gaze shifted to her brother, and her eyes widened.

I spoke calmly.

"Your brother's blood fever seems to have been cured."

"..."

Rif, with a dazed look, got up from her spot.

But soon, her eyes lost focus, and she swayed, falling over. She had finally reached her limit.

Ashel quickly caught her with her bare hands.

Both siblings were breathing faintly, but they were still alive.

Since I had used up all my Scarlet, I had no potions left, so I needed to take them to Gulpiro quickly.

I said to Ashel,

"Let's go. We need to hurry with the treatment."

"Yes..."

Ashel's gaze returned to the other side of the arena, where the tyrant's body lay.

She seemed surprised that I had actually killed the tyrant, a feat she hadn’t expected.

But what could I do? I had to choose between killing the siblings or the tyrant.

I had chosen to kill the tyrant and save the siblings.

'Sigh...'

Reflecting on it, I had really gone all out.

But strangely, I felt relieved. There was no lingering regret, even from when I had interrupted the match.

I couldn’t quite understand why I felt this way, but it felt like the right choice.

Of course, the rational part of my mind was still calling me crazy and questioning how I would deal with the aftermath.

But I hadn’t acted without any thought for the future.

First, I needed to prioritize the siblings' treatment, so I decided to head to the potion shop and deal with the rest later.

"..."

Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps grew closer.

Armored knights. I immediately recognized them as knights from the ruler's castle.

They were likely from the Dark Soul Knights, the direct subordinates of the Sixth Ruler's castle.

There must have been over a hundred of them, judging by the number.

Given the chaos in the city center, it was natural that they were all here, looking bewildered as they entered the arena, stepping over the debris and corpses.

【Lv. 72】

When they spotted us, they were startled and stopped.

The knight at the front, who seemed to be the leader, cautiously spoke.

"Are you the Seventh Ruler?"

They must have rushed here upon learning that the Sixth Ruler and I were fighting.

I didn’t bother to answer.

Their gaze shifted behind me, and when they saw the tyrant's body on the ground, their eyes widened in shock.

I took a step toward them.

"Stand back."

Even after confirming the tyrant's death, the knights didn’t try to stop me.

They just stood there, half-dazed, hurriedly stepping aside to clear the path.

They couldn’t have mustered the courage to stop me, even if their ruler had been killed.

I walked through the path they had cleared, and Ashel followed, carrying the siblings in her arms.

The knights remained frozen in place, watching us until we disappeared from sight.

***

After leaving the Actifol, we immediately headed to the potion shop where Gulpiro was.

He was pacing nervously and smoking a cigarette in front of the shop. When he saw us, his face lit up.

"Seventh Ruler! You're safe."

"..."

I tilted my head in confusion.

He continued, his voice urgent.

"What's going on? I heard there was chaos at the Actifol, and people said you and the Sixth Ruler were fighting. What happened...?"

Ah, the news had already spread throughout the city.

He glanced at the siblings Ashel was carrying and asked,

"Did you clash with the Sixth Ruler to save them?"

I replied calmly,

"It's nothing serious. It's all taken care of."

"That's a relief, but... Did the Sixth Ruler willingly hand them over?"

"He had no choice. He's dead."

"..."

Gulpiro's eyes widened in shock.

"Dead? You killed the Sixth Ruler?"

"Let's go inside and treat them first."

"Ah, right. Come in quickly."

He hurriedly led the battered siblings inside.

He laid them on the beds in the back of the shop, examined their conditions, and then returned with a few potions.

"How are they?"

"Rif's life isn't in danger. The bleeding is severe, but it's just external injuries. The problem is the blood fever, which prevents the use of effective potions, but we'll manage..."

I told him,

"The blood fever is completely gone, so you can use a mana-infused potion."

"..."

Gulpiro looked at me with a puzzled expression. I nodded toward the boy.

After examining the boy again, Gulpiro's eyes slowly widened.

"What... How...?"

He seemed to realize that treatment was the priority and went outside to fetch more potions.

He gave the potion to the boy first, then treated his injuries, and finally, he treated Rif.

Ashel and I stood quietly in a corner of the room, watching.

When the treatment was complete, Gulpiro let out a sigh of relief and straightened up.

Rif's wounds had healed almost instantly, and her brother's pale complexion had regained some color. The potions, crafted by a great alchemist, were truly effective.

"Now, tell me. How did you cure the blood fever?"

I looked down at the siblings lying side by side and answered,

"Killing the Sixth Ruler cured it. It seems the blood fever only disappears when he dies."

The statement was technically the reverse, but the important part was the same.

Gulpiro sighed and stroked his chin.

After a while, Rif's eyelids fluttered, and she opened her eyes.

She looked around at us standing there.

Gulpiro spoke first,

"Are you awake?"

"..."

"Where are we?"

"At a potion shop."

After a moment of confusion, she noticed the boy lying next to her and urgently checked his condition.

"Don't worry. Both you and your brother are treated."

"No, no, the blood fever, the blood fever..."

"It's gone. The blood fever in your brother's body has completely disappeared. It seems it only cures when the Sixth Ruler dies."

Gulpiro's words made Rif gasp in shock. She looked at me, then back at her brother.

Tears began to stream down her face.

"Ugh, ugh..."

She gently caressed her brother's body, then pulled him into her arms.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you..."

She repeated the words over and over, sobbing uncontrollably.

***

Ashel and I called Barros from the inn, and we all had a meal together with Gulpiro.

Barros prepared a simple meal using the ingredients from the shop.

"Tsk, she'll make a hole in her face if she keeps staring like that."

Gulpiro clicked his tongue, looking at Rif, who was still sitting by the bed, staring intently at her brother.

He had brought her a bowl of soup, but she hadn’t touched it until it cooled.

I understood why.

She had spent years in the Actifol to save her brother and had finally achieved her goal.

"Is it going to be okay? You killed a ruler..."

Gulpiro asked me, his voice filled with concern.

"Since things have come to this, there's no other way. You don’t have to follow me to the Seventh Ruler's domain."

"No, that's not the issue. I have my own plans. I need to know what you're thinking to decide what to do."

I nodded silently.

I knew how the Grand Ruler would react to a ruler killing another ruler. I had a rough idea of what to do.

Gulpiro shook his head and said,

"Well, if you have a plan, I won’t back out now. I’ll go with you to the Seventh Ruler's domain."

"Right..."

I trailed off, lost in thought about the memory that had flashed through my mind in the arena.

A fleeting memory, now blurry and hard to recall.

The most vivid part was the last memory, where he was massacring everyone...

"You, you made a pact with a demon? Ah, you have rare talents, but it’s a shame to waste them in a trash can."

"How about making a pact with me? I’ll spare your life. In return, you will be the ruler of Caldric..."

"!"

My eyes widened.

The boy, who had been suppressed by the Grand Ruler, and the Grand Ruler making a proposal to him.

I turned my gaze to the siblings in the room and asked Gulpiro,

"By the way, what's the boy's name?"

Gulpiro tilted his head and answered,

"You don’t know? His name is Rigen."

"..."

I stared blankly at the boy lying on the bed.

Only then did I realize who he was in the fleeting memory.

'Rif, Rigen...'

Rifregon.

The vengeful spirit who had lost his bloodline to the tyrant and taken his sister's name, driven mad by the desire for revenge.