"Figures, I knew it would come to this."

Muttering to himself, Mason put strength into his handcuffed arms.

"Hmph!"

Muscles bulged on his thick arms as the tendons tightened,

Crack—!

And he ripped the handcuffs apart in an instant.

Grinning, Mason tossed the twisted iron cuffs to the ground.

"I knew you wouldn’t easily return to Fernandez’s side, Sir. After all, you’ve already betrayed him once."

Lucas furrowed his brow.

"You’re saying I betrayed Fernandez?"

"Didn’t you?"

Mason pointed at Lucas with his thick fingers.

"Sir, you initially sided with Lord Fernandez, betrayed Lord Ash, and then...you betrayed Fernandez to go back to Ash."

"..."

"Your life is riddled with betrayals."

Mason spat out again, seeing Lucas unable to refute.

"That’s the nature of the McGregor lineage."

"The nature of the McGregor lineage, you say?"

"Your ancestors also, a hundred years ago, revealed their treacherous fangs against the Imperial Family and were beheaded. Isn’t that correct?"

It was true. The McGregor family, once renowned for producing the empire’s top swordsmen, had been on a path to ruin since.

Unable to achieve much of anything, they got entangled in the power struggles of other nobles and were worn down in pointless conflicts until they reached this point.

"...Yes, you’re exactly right, Mason. The McGregor bloodline is filled with the uncontrollable nature of a rabid dog."

As Lucas laughed sardonically, Mason reciprocated with a smile, pointing at himself.

"And I, who was taken in by the McGregor family, also learned that nature."

"...So you’re saying, you also betrayed?"

"Exactly, Sir."

Mason shrugged his broad shoulders.

"Who do you think encouraged the former head of the McGregor family, who knew nothing but the sword, to venture into unfamiliar business?"

"...!"

"Who do you think arranged for Lord Fernandez to lend money when the head’s business became risky?"

Mason raised his hand and pointed at himself.

"Who do you think ‘eliminated’ the head when he was unable to repay his debts and attempted to betray Fernandez by joining another family?"

Lucas clenched his teeth.

In fact, he had vaguely suspected, but he had not expected Mason to admit it so openly.

"Mason, you...!"

"Whoa, don’t be so quick to judge, Sir. I’ve lived honestly, both as a swordsman and as a person."

Mason chuckled.

"I just switched allegiances to whoever offered stronger power, more money."

"..."

"It’s the nature of a dog to lie belly-up and obey a stronger entity, isn’t it?"

Lucas’s grip on his sword tightened.

Indeed. Knights were essentially a group of people making a living off of killing, no matter how much they dressed it up.

The McGregors, too, were nothing but a mad pack of hunting dogs.

They were dogs.

Controlled by higher powers, their only role was to bite and tear upon command...like dogs.

"...Mason. You said you knew I wouldn’t return to Fernandez’s side."

Lucas spat out the words, tinged with killing intent.

"Then why? Why did you try to persuade me again?"

"What do you think?"

While freeing his subordinates from their cuffs, Mason answered.

"Don’t you really know? Why would we deliberately reveal ourselves? We could’ve just operated from the shadows."

"..."

"One of the main reasons was to divert attention to us."

As the special forces members were freed, they loosened up and faced Lucas.

"The plan was to pretend we were the only spies who had infiltrated, then launch a diversionary operation to seize the real objective."

Inside his helmet, Lucas’ eyes widened in shock.

"Impossible...!"

"Sir, the current number of Aegis Special Forces deployed here at Crossroad is..."

Mason revealed his teeth in a grin.

"Twenty in total."

"...!"

"Excluding us, where do you think the others might be?"

Lucas swiftly looked toward the side where Silver Winter’s Merchant Guild was located.As Ash had suspected, were they targeting Lark’s wife and children?

"No, no, sir. That’s not it. Think carefully."

Mason prattled on with a tone that was both playful and somehow delighted.

"What is it that Lord Fernandez really wants? What is our mission? I told you, didn’t I?"

"...?!"

Only then did Lucas hastily turn his head toward the direction of the Lord’s mansion.

"Could it be, my Lord...?!"

Ash.

The currently injured Ash is in danger...!

As Lucas tried to rush toward the mansion, Mason and the special forces blocked his way.

"You can’t, sir."

Thud. Thud.

Mason chuckled as he unclenched his massive fists.

"Do you think we’d let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when you, who guards the heir to the empire 24/7, are separate from him?"

"Move, Mason."

Whoosh-!

The sword in Lucas’ hand, Karma Eater, blazed with energy. Lucas spat out menacingly.

"Move now, and I’ll make your death slightly less painful."

"Hahaha. What to do?"

Mason playfully patted his own belly.

"Your shallow swordsmanship can’t penetrate my thick skin."

"Don’t act tough, Mason...!"

Thump-!

Lucas charged forward.

"Move out of my way-!"

The force was so tremendous that the snow piled on the ground was blown away, scattering backward.

In a blink, Lucas’ longsword slashed horizontally, aiming directly at Mason.

The falling snow was cut apart by the blade, a strike so sharp it seemed to slice through everything.

However.

"Nice try!"

"...!"

As if anticipating it, Mason skillfully rolled back, narrowly avoiding the blade.

The agility was almost unbelievable considering his hefty build.

Just then, a guard from the central prison rushed over.

It was one of the guards Lucas had knocked out earlier. Lucas had thought this guard was searching for escaped prisoners, but that was not the case.

The guard threw a large sword toward Mason, who caught it effortlessly.

He also handed out other weapons to the special forces.

Another infiltrator from Aegis Special Forces, disguised as a prison guard.

From the beginning, Mason had ensured a way to escape from the prison.

"Ha ha ha! This is getting my blood pumping."

Wielding the massive sword as if it were a toy, Mason spun it around and let out a ferocious laugh, much like a wild bear.

"Imagine being able to kill you, whom I once considered like a son, with my own hands!"

Lucas didn’t answer but charged in again. Along with a dazzling burst of light, the furious sword energy of Karma Eater aimed straight for Mason’s neck.

And then,

Clang-!

Mason swung his large sword to counter, parrying the strike head-on.

A heavy burst of light also enveloped Mason’s sword. Lucas gritted his teeth.

It was the swordsmanship of the McGregor family.

True to his role as the family’s swordmaster, Mason was exceedingly skilled at imbuing his sword with magic power.

"Although I’ve switched lords all my life and have been lavish with false loyalties."

Mason roared, pushing back the engaged swords.

"My skills are far from false, Sir!"

Zap!

In a moment, Lucas, overpowered, staggered back.

"Tsk!"

After adjusting his posture in mid-air and scattering stardust as he landed, Lucas looked ahead.

All around him, members of the special forces held their weapons at the ready, swords pointed at him.

Whoosh-!

Sword light, stardust, and blood sprayed in every direction.

***

Crossroad Lord’s Mansion.magic

Knock, knock, knock.

Upon hearing the knock, Aider rushed to open the door. When he peeked outside, he saw merchants with melancholy smiles standing there."Good afternoon. We are merchants from the east, and we would like to initiate a new trade agreement with the Lord."

"Ah, the Lord is unwell and currently resting."

Aider glanced around inside the mansion before returning his gaze forward.

"I apologize, but could you please return another time?"

Click.

Before he could finish his sentence, a crossbow was aimed at Aider’s forehead.

Aider blinked in surprise at the weapon before smirking.

"...Interesting. This is a first for me."

Thwack!

An arrow fired from the crossbow lodged itself into Aider’s forehead. His body rolled down the corridor of the mansion.

Bang-!

The merchants—who were actually special forces in disguise—kicked down the door and stormed in, quickly aiming their crossbows in every direction.

"Start the search! Find Prince Ash."

"Comb the first floor thoroughly!"

The heroes had all gone to fend off the defensive battle, and the few remaining guards were dispatched to protect Lark’s wife and children.

There were hardly any troops left to guard the Lord’s mansion. There were no means to resist external invasion.

"Find the prince!"

"Bring all the servants and maids here!"

The special forces rounded up the mansion’s few servants and herded them into the reception room.

A crossbow was aimed at the servants as a special forces commander asked, "What should we do now?"

"No need for unnecessary killings."

The servants’ faces brightened at these words. However, their faces paled at the commander’s next words.

"But they’ve seen our faces. We’ll have to kill them all, just to be safe."

"Understood."

Click! Click!

The crossbows were set to fire. The servants raised their hands and screamed for mercy.

But the special forces didn’t even blink as they pulled their crossbow triggers—

Thud! Thud, thud, thud!

Rushing in, Aider caught the shower of arrows with his body.

"Ouch!"

Looking like a human porcupine, Aider spat out blood. The bewildered special forces took a step back.

"What the—Who is this guy?"

"Didn’t we kill him at the door?"

"I shot him square in the forehead. How is he..."

What happened next was even more shocking.

Despite the pain, Aider began pulling out each arrow from his body. As he did, his punctured flesh healed, and his torn skin closed up.

Aider grinned, blood still on his lips.

"Ever heard of the Curse of Immortality?"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Thud! Thud, thud, thud!

The special forces fired another round.

Lying on the floor like a porcupine once more, Aider groaned and stood up again.

"Look, I can’t die, okay? And I respawn here in real-time, but it still hurts, you know..."

The special forces’ commander clicked his tongue.

"I’ve heard of it. He’s one of those Immortal beings from the legends."

"What should we do? We can’t kill him. Should we set fire to the mansion?"

"If we do, they’ll sense something is wrong and reinforcements will return from the defensive battle. We need a cleaner solution."

Just then.

"We’ve found the prince! He’s in a bedroom on the third floor!"

"...No more time to waste."

The commander nodded towards the outside.

"Leave him and withdraw quickly. Let’s go."

"What about this monster?"

"I heard he can’t use any abilities other than immortality. Just restrain him. He won’t be able to do anything."

Thud-thud-thud!

The special forces members unleashed another volley of crossbow bolts at Aider before rushing out of the building.

"Ugh, this is troublesome..."

Pinned to the wall like a ragdoll, Aider weakly muttered.

"If I were in my prime, I would have easily stopped them. But after switching to the Director role, I lost all my powers in this world..."

The special forces members were seen hastily exiting the mansion through the window.

Ash was wrapped in a blanket and being carried away. Even in this situation, Ash was soundly asleep, his face flushed with excitement.

"...I’m sorry, my representative. Because I’m such a useless fool."

With bloodied lips, Aider gave a bitter smile.

"Once again, the hardship falls on you..."

--TL Notes--

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