Chapter 242: Summon for the Head of the Family (2)

The southern region was the farthest from the capital where the royal palace stood. Among the southern families, Sefira was the farthest from the capital, and after that was the Bydent family.

After the summon was issued and the Path of Glory began, the Sefira family took the strategy of departing immediately. In that case, how did the head of the Bydent family respond? Very coincidentally, the head of the Bydent family, Volus, had been away from home. He was in the city of Alester, only half a day away from Glisa, the capital where the royal palace was. Because of this, Volus had absolutely no reason to be as urgent as Hissop was. He could reach the palace in a day, even if he walked slowly.

“

Huff, huff

...

sssp!

”

In a dark room during midday, Volus had been inhaling white powder through his nose.

“

Phew

...”

Volus sprawled across the sofa with a joyful expression. He trembled once, and then opened his eyes.

“The royal messenger must have reached Sefira too by now. How did they respond?”

While wearing a displeased face, Nether, the capable Solver sent from the Samael Empire, diligently answered, “All informants and spies planted in Sefira were captured. We cannot know anything for now.”

“I’m sure I told you to plant new ones.”

“You did, four days ago. We attempted it, but failed. There was simply no gap to slip through.”

“Too many words. You’re saying you failed.”

Nether’s already sour expression twisted even further.

This junkie bastard... Sefira is in its prime right now. No matter how capable my subordinates are, there’s no way they could break into a noble family’s home under full surveillance in just four days.

It even took at least half a year to infiltrate a spy into a heavily guarded noble family. This was something only Nether could do, and something nobody else could even dream of.

“We are thoroughly monitoring the outside of Sefira at the very least, so if they make a move, we will surely know.”

“You confidently said that an opportunity would come if we waited, but you’re making me take care of everything in the end.”

Volus clenched and opened his right fist repeatedly. He wore black leather gloves to hide the fact that he had lost a finger and the family's treasure, the Ring of Survival, to Keter.

“If this fails again, you know our family will take a heavy hit, right?”

Nether had heard that line at least a dozen times already and found it tiresome. Yet, he silently nodded as Volus was currently drugged and unpredictable.

“We have planted bombs at every route Lord Hissop might take.”

“You followed my order to place them where there would be heavy foot traffic, yes?”

“... Yes.”

They had placed bombs on crowded routes. The meaning of that was very obvious. Volus had known in advance that a summon for the head of each household would be issued. Furthermore, he had a definite goal to kill Hissop.

“Keter. With that personality of his, he’ll surely accompany Hissop.

Hehehe!

Let them explode together!

Heehee.

”

As he watched Volus laugh spookily, Nether quietly clicked his tongue.

A noble who would sacrifice his countrymen for personal revenge, what garbage.

Of course, Nether was the one who led the operation, but he felt no guilt or pangs of conscience.

I’m just doing the job I was paid to do. Still, I should take a long break once this is over.

He had taken millions of gold as an advance, so he couldn’t help but obey Volus. Yet at the same time, he had different thoughts in his mind.

Sefira is far trickier than I expected, and the Bydent family is incompetent. If this ends up being pointless work again...

Nether’s gaze was cold as he watched Volus wildly shake his head.

Volus intended to kill the Sefira family, who had begun the Path of Glory, without fail. In that process, Volus had severely overreached. He forcibly carried out things that even the Bydent family retainers begged him not to.

The bombs placed on busy streets were mild compared to the rest. He hired corrupted holy knights who were said to be even more vicious than dark mages, and even mobilized monster tamers. He even planned to attack not by ambushing them head-on, but by hiding in towns or cities to catch Sefira off guard. He showed not even the slightest hesitation about dragging innocent citizens into danger.

Why was Volus doing this? At first, there was justification. To bring Sefira to ruin so that the Bydent family could rise as a noble one. That was why Bydent, united as one, had tried to bring Sefira down. But now, anyone could see it was personal revenge to kill Hissop and Keter.

If Hissop and Keter died, it would certainly deal a massive blow to Sefira. However, that alone would never make Sefira not a noble family. Even if they succeeded, the economic and political damage was immense compared to the pangs of conscience and money spent.

If things go south, I’ll need an escape route ready.

Nether had no loyalty. If the Bydent family was destined to lose to Sefira, then Sefira’s wrath would come down upon him as well. At that point, saying he was just paid to do a job wouldn’t convince Keter.

Just then, a message came through the communicator on Nether’s wrist. It was a report from his subordinate who monitored Sefira.

“Lord, Sefira is on the move. It is said that six people, including Hissop, have set foot out.”

“Finally, something I wanted to hear. Six of them? Keter must be among them, right?”

“Yes. Keter, Daat, Decameron, Katherine, Halibo. These five left along with Lord Hissop.”

“I know the others, but... Halibo? Who is that?” Volus asked back with a frown.

The four people other than Halibo were so famous that not only Sefira but even outsiders knew of them. However, Volus bit his lower lip after hearing the name Halibo for the first time. He feared and envied that perhaps another new talent had appeared in Sefira.

“It was revealed that he is a member of the Order of the Star and the Lieutenant Commander of the border fortress of the Kingdom of Adeus,” Nether explained.

“Is he perhaps a Master?”

“No. He was one-star half a year ago. Even if he has grown since then, he would only be a two-star.”

“So he isn’t anyone special then?” Volus speculated.

“We investigated thoroughly, but he was just an ordinary knight. Presumably a porter.”

“No! That can’t be. He’s someone Keter brought along. There’s no way he’s ordinary.”

“Even if he is special, would it matter? He’ll be blown up anyway.”

“

Ohoho

, that’s certainly true.,” Volus cackled.

Volus had no patience. He had planted bombs even in the village located only thirty minutes from Sefira. It was a village they would have no choice but to pass after leaving Sefira, as there was no other route. The bombs buried and installed in the village had enough power to collapse an entire mine. Hundreds of villagers would be caught up and die, but Volus didn’t care.

“

Pfft

,

bahahahaha!

”

Even if he failed to kill Hissop’s group, he would be able to at least severely wound them. After all, no matter if someone was a Master, they couldn’t do anything against a surprise explosion.

Just then, Nether’s expression rapidly changed as he stared intently at his communicator. Surprise, suspicion, bewilderment, shock... Even the drugged Volus could sense Nether’s emotions.

“What? What is it?”

Nether only blinked without speaking.

Again, Volus angrily shouted, “I’m asking you what happened!”

“Apparently they are flying.”

When Volus stared as if asking what nonsense that was, Nether let out a deep sigh and added, “The entire group, including Keter, walked up to the sky.”

***

Keter had returned to the past and knew information about the future, but he didn’t know every detail. He knew the result that a civil war would break out in the Lillian Kingdom, but not the process leading to it. In other words, even Keter hadn’t known about the family summon or that the Path of Glory would have to be walked. However, even without knowledge of the future, such things were obvious to the sharp-witted Keter.

“This Path of Glory thing, it must have that kind of intention behind it, right?”

“Absolutely.”

Keter and Daat exchanged words, but the others couldn’t understand what they were saying, even when they were right beside them. Thus, Daat gave a one-line explanation to the group.

“It means we won’t just be walking. We’ll be attacked as well.”

“By Bydent, you mean?”

Sensitive to politics, Hissop mentioned Bydent, but Daat shook his head.

“We suspect that sabotage will come not only from Bydent, but also from the royal family.”

“The royal family that issued the summon would sabotage us? For what reason?”

Since explaining would have taken forever, Daat cut the conversation and glanced at Keter.

“Well, it definitely wouldn’t be because they favor us.”

Keter liked traps. He especially liked destroying and breaking through traps that the enemy had painstakingly prepared. But there was something he liked even more. It was to ignore the traps the enemy had prepared with such care.

Even if Keter said nothing, Daat could tell just from his expression what he was thinking.

“Everyone, get ready.”

Keter suddenly told them to prepare themselves. The first to react were Daat and Katherine. They simply did as told and began warming up. Hissop, who briefly hesitated, soon followed and warmed up as well. Lastly, Halibo cautiously did the same.

“Anyone afraid of heights?” Keter asked.

As everyone stayed silent, Halibo glanced around, then cautiously raised his hand. “It’s not very bad, but I am a little.”

“Good. Let’s overcome it today.”

“Pardon?”

“Six, from now on, we’re gonna make a foothold between you and me. Use the area beneath your feet as a reference.”

Keter didn’t ask for permission or consent. He simply created a distance of about five meters from Decameron and unleashed his mana.

Vwoooom!

Keter first drew out his mana into a base and sent it toward Decameron. Sensing his intent, Decameron also sent a mana base toward Keter. Both of their mana met at the center and fused together.

“Match your rhythm to mine. What are you all doing? Get on.”

Again, Katherine and Daat naturally stepped onto the mana foothold. Hissop was third, and Halibo climbed on last. The only one who understood what Keter was trying to do among them was Daat.

“Alright, from here on we’ll be going up into the sky. Just step on the footholds I create and follow me.”

“

Ah

, so that’s what we’re doing. Understood.”

“I see... I’m surprised that’s even possible.”

Katherine and Hissop understood Keter’s explanation, but Halibo simply blinked.

Daat placed a hand on Halibo’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry. You’ll understand once you do it because if you don’t, you’ll die.”

“P-pardon?”

“Alright, here we go!”

Keter bent his knees, and Decameron followed him exactly the same. Then, their bent knees powerfully extended. With a thunderous roar, Keter and Decameron jumped from the ground. The four who stood on the mana foothold between them also rose into the sky at the same time.

“

Ahhhhhh!

” Halibo screamed as he was instantly lifted dozens of meters into the air.

The foothold was so narrow that one foot could barely fit on it. Halibo pushed every last ounce of strength into his legs, desperately holding on.

“One more time!”

They were already dozens of meters in the air, yet Keter and Decameron jumped again. Not just once but three more times. Moreover, the first jump carried them dozens of meters, but the following jumps gained momentum and carried them hundreds of meters.

“

Huff, huff, h-huff!

”

Halibo breathed roughly. It wasn’t only because he was scared. The air was thin. They were so high up in the sky that they looked down on the clouds. Even Hissop, who served as the deputy head of the noble family, felt like his blood was curdling at the height.

“Keter, is there seriously nothing you can’t do?”

Hissop couldn’t tell where Keter’s limits lay. Reaching thousands of meters into the sky alone was absurd, yet even at such a height, he maintained the mana foothold.

“Dork, which direction is the capital from here?”

“One moment.” Daat pulled out a compass from his pocket and pointed not toward the plains, but toward the mountains. “Straight that way and we’ll reach it.”

“Good. Let’s go in a straight line.”

They wouldn’t travel by land, but through the sky. It sounded impossible, but for Keter, it was possible.

“A mana foothold is a foothold, not a mount, so it doesn’t violate the rules.”

“But Mr. Keter, even if we go straight, wouldn’t it still take at least a day or two?” Katherine asked.

Daat answered, “If we leap at a reasonable pace, we should arrive in three days.”

“Can you maintain mana footholds for three whole days? What about when you rest or sleep in between?”

Hissop and Halibo were curious as well. The idea of walking through the air was certainly new and interesting. However, if they considered bodily needs such as eating or sleeping, it seemed they would eventually need to descend to the ground.

This time, Keter replied, “There are times in life when you have to do something even if it’s hard, and right now is one of those times.”

Even Katherine blinked in confusion.

Keter took a running stance as he continued, “For reference, this foothold is fixed between me and Six. Meaning, you all have to follow along. You can’t fall behind.”

“

Huh?

”

“Excuse me?”

“Keter, what do you mean by that? Don’t tell me I also have to run...”

Hissop had thought Keter would take them there in comfort. But when he heard that he needed to run himself, cold sweat broke out.

“Don’t worry, Big Brother. We’re in the sky, so who’s going to see? You’ll keep your dignity as an acting family head and train your stamina! Isn’t that great?”

“If I misstep, I’ll die instantly.”

“Have you ever fallen from a few thousand meters in the air? Give it a try. It’s pretty fun.”

Hissop silently stared back.

“Ready, go!” Keter shouted energetically, and suddenly began to run.

As he warned, the foothold moved with him, so if they simply stood still, they would fall straight to the ground. Daat, who had experienced something similar before, followed skillfully. Though tense, Katherine and Hissop had prepared themselves mentally and were able to keep up without much trouble. All of them did well, except for one person.

“

Ahhhh!

Mother! Father!” Halibo screamed, but his feet moved diligently as he focused on matching Keter’s stride.

***

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the village where the bombs were planted...

“It was said they departed, but why aren’t they coming?”

Nether’s subordinates waited endlessly for Sefira’s group to arrive. Volus and Nether had set all kinds of traps along every route Sefira might take by land. They had even hired hundreds of assassins, but it all became useless from the moment Keter chose to travel through the sky.

At this rate, Sefira would reach the royal palace safely without any interference. However, the Bydent family wasn’t the only one who didn’t wish for that to happen.

In a garden lined excessively with glass sculptures, a middle-aged man prostrated himself before another man seated in a chair with wheels.

“Your Highness, it seems Sefira is traveling through the sky.”

“

Huh

, isn’t that a violation of the rules?”

“No. They are moving by running on footholds made with mana.”

“So it’s not a mount, and they’re using mana, not magic?”

“Yes, so it seems we cannot restrict them by law.”

“

Ahaha

, Sefira are certainly an amusing bunch.” The crown prince laughed faintly, then tapped the ground a few times with his staff, and continued, “I originally had no plans to interfere, but if that’s how they’re going about things, I suppose I have no choice. Sir Nocturne?”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

“Change the rules around midnight tomorrow. The Path of Glory must strictly be traveled on land.”

Thus, that became the moment Sefira caught the eye of the crown prince, the one who desired the transformation of the kingdom.