"..."
Silence.
An oppressive silence that had reached its absolute limit spread throughout the Cordelion residence.
As they watched Riezel defeat Hardt with a single strike and kill Sorren with that very same strike, everyone present, except for Lizbeth and Euryale, lost the expressions they had worn only moments before.
Even Yuri, Marilyn, Ain, Ian, and the others who had stormed into the Cordelion residence and were battling the magic dolls and black-eyed knights were left stunned, motionless by the sudden killing blow.
"Hardt!"
Looking at Hardt's fallen body, Sergius could not stop himself from shouting.
"How is that... possible...?"
Serena could hardly believe her own eyes.
One strike.
Just one strike had instantly defeated two Sword Saint-level experts.
'He really is this strong?'
Serena's heart filled with shock.
*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!*
Just as everyone was trapped in indescribable disbelief and astonishment, a round of applause suddenly broke the silence.
"Amazing! Truly amazing!"
A black-robed figure, who had remained uninvolved in the battle from beginning to end and had merely watched from the sidelines with cold eyes, began clapping.
"So this is the Lightning Sword Saint, and this is what they mean by 'a flash of lightning means defeat'?"
"Guess you really can't trust rumors."
"I didn't see any lightning, but I definitely saw flames. No wonder... no wonder you managed to beat Ice Maiden."
While applauding, the black-robed figure spoke in a tone that sounded somewhere between admiration and praise.
Riezel raised his eyes and looked at him.
"Who the hell are you?"
Riezel asked calmly, his voice steady without the slightest hint of emotion.
"Giga. It isn't my real name, but you've probably heard it before, haven't you?"
At Riezel's question, the black-robed figure, Giga, answered without hesitation and smiled meaningfully, causing Riezel to raise an eyebrow slightly.
"Are you one of the leaders of that mysterious organization?"
Yuri, who had heard Riezel mention him before, immediately spoke in a serious tone after arriving at the scene.
"One of the leaders? Nope, you've got the wrong idea." Giga shook his head with a laugh. "We've only got one leader, and that's Heavenly Hunt. As for the rest of us? Well, you could say we're all just his subordinates, me included. We still gotta follow his orders."
"Who exactly are you people?" Yuri asked with a stern look. "What's your goal?"
"Oh my, getting straight to the point, huh?" Giga scratched his head with a grin. "Unfortunately, I can't just casually tell you who we really are or why we exist. So, sorry, beautiful lady. I'm afraid I can't answer that."
Giga's frivolous attitude immediately irritated Yuri.
"You think staying silent will protect you?"
Yuri gestured toward Marilyn, and Marilyn immediately understood.
Bringing Ain, Ian, and the other Frenzel family's knights with her, Marilyn prepared to surround Giga.
Yet Giga remained as carefree and smiling as ever.
"You'd better not waste your effort, young lady," Giga said, shaking his head as he tried to warn her. "Even if you capture me, it won't do you any good. If you don't believe me, you can ask your sweetheart over there."
Hearing his words, Yuri instinctively looked toward Riezel.
Under normal circumstances, that reaction would undoubtedly have earned her endless teasing. Her response was, after all, practically an indirect admission of Giga's words and had unintentionally revealed her feelings.
Unfortunately, the situation was entirely inappropriate, so no one present noticed it.
Riezel, who met Yuri's gaze, simply shook his head.
"Yeah, that guy's just a puppet, not the real body."
With Transparent World, Riezel had already discovered that fact.
"A puppet?"
Yuri's expression changed.
"Well, the official term is a mage puppet. You could say it's kinda the same technology lineage as magic dolls."
Giga spread his arms as though presenting a masterpiece.
"One of the old man's proud creations. As long as you activate it with a special method, you can transfer your consciousness into it. It's basically like having a second body."
"The only downside is that it can't replenish magical energy. Once the magical energy stored in its magic crystal runs out, the puppet stops working and might even become unusable."
"Still, before the magic crystal is drained, this puppet body is pretty useful. It can usually bring out about seventy to eighty percent of the real body's strength."
"And more importantly, even if the puppet body gets destroyed, I won't die. I can even self-destruct this body and make my enemies pay a hefty price."
"So? Pretty awesome, right?"
Giga's one-sided explanation perfectly demonstrated what it meant to act without fear. He openly showed off information about himself without the slightest concern, as though he did not care in the least if it leaked.
Needless to say, such a frivolous attitude naturally made others feel as though they were being looked down upon, and as expected, murderous intent appeared in Yuri's eyes the very next second.
Only Riezel watched Giga's performance coldly.
"I'm not giving a damn what your goal is."
"Since you've decided to come after me and the people around me, you'd better be ready."
"One day, I'm gonna make you pay for it."
"A bloody price."
Riezel's indifferent declaration caused Giga's eyes to flicker.
"Uwaa, that's terrifying..."
Giga could only force a half-smile.
"But aren't you kinda underestimating us?"
"Yeah, you're strong. Crazy strong. Even on our side, probably only the leader and the old man can really go toe-to-toe with you. But that's just the tip of the iceberg."
"Riezel Brynhart, you've got no idea what kind of existence you're standing against."
Giga sneered over and over.
"When our revolution succeeds, the world above ground will go back to the way it was always meant to be."
"When that day comes, you'll finally understand what you're really trying to stand against."
Leaving those words behind, Giga vanished in a flash, his figure disappearing as he sped toward the outside of the residence without the slightest hesitation.
"STOP!"
Yuri was startled by Giga's sudden escape and instinctively moved to send people after him before he could get away.
However, Riezel reacted even faster.
*Whoosh!*
In an instant, his figure vanished and reappeared directly along Giga's escape route as though he had teleported.
"Maximize Magic - Reality Slash."
A cold chant rang out.
*Swish!*
An invisible slash capable of cutting through space was unleashed, slicing through the air and, accompanied by distortions in space itself, shot toward Giga.
"!!!"
Giga's expression changed, and his body came to an abrupt halt, as though he were a puppet being yanked by invisible strings.
In the next second, he shot upward with a sudden burst of speed.
"Triplet Maximize Magic - Reality Slash."
A transparent gleam flashed through Riezel's eyes as three space-cutting slashes were immediately launched into the sky as though he had predicted the future.
Giga had nowhere to evade and was forced directly into the path of all three attacks.
*Pu-chi!**Pu-chi!**Pu-chi!*
In the next instant, the black-robed Giga was struck three times by the invisible blades of space, causing his body to split evenly into four pieces.
Immediately afterward, Riezel activated the strongest single-target fire-element magic among Tier Magic.
"Vermilion Nova."
*WHOOSH!*
Crimson flames immediately erupted into the sky and engulfed Giga's severed body, reducing it to ashes.
"Riezel Brynhart!"
Before Giga was completely burned away, his calm voice emerged from within the crimson flames.
"We'll meet again."
"When that time comes, I'm definitely gonna ask for your guidance and see what you've got that made Ice Maiden speak so highly of you."
"Remember this. I'm the holy envoy of the Holy Temple, codename—Giga."
"Don't forget, Riezel Brynhart..."
With those final words, the puppet housing Giga's consciousness was completely consumed by the crimson flames, leaving not even a speck of ash behind.
Riezel quietly watched the scene.
"Holy Temple... so that's the name of that damn organization?"
Riezel murmured softly, as though committing the name to memory.
"Holy beast..."
"Holy power..."
"Holy relic..."
"Holy envoy..."
"You guys are seriously obsessed with the word 'holy.'"
"I'll remember..."
After quietly uttering those final words, Riezel turned around without another glance and calmly made his way back to the Cordelion residence.
===
Today was undoubtedly a day that would shake the Kingdom of Jinas.
A sudden conflict that swept across the entire royal capital, involving countless nobles and even affecting ordinary citizens, shattered the peace and stability that Jinas had enjoyed for so long.
On this day, countless people learned of the death of Jinas's current king, Hendrick Jinas.
On this day, the revelation that the third prince, Sorren Jinas, had murdered his own father and usurped the throne shocked the entire kingdom.
Thanks to the third prince, not only did the royal capital descend into chaos, but nobles died or were injured in great numbers, causing immeasurable losses and countless tragedies.
Meanwhile, the nobles of the Duke Faction, who supported Sergius Cordelion and believed him to be the most suitable heir to the throne, suffered especially devastating losses. In just a single day, an untold number of them lost their lives.
Thankfully, the turmoil finally came to an end after the Frenzel family and the Cordelion family joined forces, while Florent hurried back to assist both families in suppressing the unrest.
Yet there was no doubt that the incident had brought earthquake-like consequences to the entirety of Jinas.
The deaths of numerous nobles...
The death of the king...
The casualties suffered by both the Royal Faction and the Duke Faction...
All of it sent a clear message.
Jinas was about to enter the weakest and most chaotic period in its history.
After this upheaval, not only would every major power within the royal capital undergo a massive reshuffling, but the noble circles themselves would also experience tremendous changes in status and authority.
Combined with the vacancy of the throne, it was no exaggeration to say that once the news spread, even the neighboring nations surrounding Jinas would begin making their moves.
Reiburg, in particular, which had long coveted Jinas's territory, had reportedly begun showing signs of mobilizing a large army toward the border, according to reports from the Mavros family.
From this day onward, the national situation in Jinas became increasingly unstable and turbulent.
===
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