Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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The wave that had been ‘caught’ in my hand turned into a sharp spear, piercing the monsters' bodies.
It was a power so strong that even I was momentarily surprised.
If I was this strong, I shuddered to think how much power the other Alrozes possessed.
Using the power properly, I could tell.
If the head of the Water family had a power far greater than this, they wouldn't be a person, but a disaster.
Moreover, if Pero were to appear for Krua's brother, Pentas Alroze, who was destined to become the next head of the family as in the original story…
"……?"
Wait, did Pero even appear for Pentas Alroze?
After Krua Alroze died, Pentas was the only direct descendant of the Alloze family, so he could have Pero—
Wait.
Then, what happens if Krua Alroze is alive when the Alloze blood chooses the head of the family?
Unlike the Krua of the original story, with my current abilities, there's no reason why I shouldn't be chosen as the next head of the family, right?
The moment I widened my eyes at that thought.
—Kuaaaah!
Instinctively, I unleashed water at the rushing monster.
Sharp water, like thorns, sprouted from the ground and pierced the monster's body.
—Thwack!
—Kuaaaaaah!
The monsters' screams covered the shore.
The Argenta people were surprised and turned to look at me.
"Water?"
"This is……."
In a place full of Argentas who wield fire, my ability was bound to stand out.
"……To have such an ability even though she's not the head of the family?"
"Just how powerful is Duke Alroze that she has such power?"
They were in shock.
And in an instant, the tide of the battle on the beach turned.
—Whoosh!
At that moment, a massive wave containing clear power surged towards the beach.
Even though it was obscured by the wave, I could almost see what was beyond it.
Perhaps it was because I had already seen ‘water-manipulating monsters’ in the original story, or perhaps it was because the monsters were on the water, but I could clearly see the monster's location.
There was no need to leave a clearly visible enemy alone.
—Fwoosh!
As I clenched my fist tightly, the water, which had been threateningly surging with magical power, scattered back into the surrounding sea.
—Kieeeek!
The monster, startled, let out a scream as it was revealed.
The monster, holding a crude staff as if to reveal itself as a mage, flailed its short legs in the air.
Below it was a giant water harpoon that I had created.
"……!"
But the harpoon didn't pierce the monster's body.
Perhaps because the monster was manipulating water, it was desperately blocking the harpoon.
Then I just need to give it more power—that's what I thought at that moment.
"Krua."
Dielo's low voice echoed beside me.
"Dielo?"
And when I turned to look at Dielo.
—Whoosh!
Fire ignited in the air.
In an instant, the fire took the shape of a giant spear and was grasped in Dielo's hand.
Of course, the Argenta's fire, which he controlled, didn't harm a single strand of his hair.
"!"
In that state, Dielo, pulling his arm back greatly, threw the spear.
—Shoook!
The spear, making a sharp sound as if sucking in the surrounding air, struck the monster's head.
—Kwa-kwang!
It was such a powerful force that the water around it instantly evaporated, covering the area in a thick fog.
"……!"
I widened my eyes.
On the water, burning a completely soaked monster without leaving a trace.
Is this the power of the unawakened head of the family?
I knew Dielo's power was strong, but I didn't know it was to this extent.
"The monster manipulating water is dead! Clean up the battlefield!"
"Waaaaah!"
Redius Argenta, seizing the opportunity, bowed to us and rushed out with the knights.
Among the knights rushing out, Dielo and I made eye contact.
"How……?"
He must be asking how I came.
All he had requested was a small number of personnel to expedite the aftermath, and his message hadn't mentioned that the battlefield was dangerous at all.
But I couldn't say that I knew about the crisis.
I smiled brightly.
Perhaps it was because I was by the water, but an even more confident smile bloomed.
"Because I was worried. I can't have my accomplice getting hurt."
I winked and pointed to the sea.
"Above all, this is the sea. I thought I could be of help."
……And because I thought you wouldn't be able to fight properly with your personality.
No matter how strong your power is, whether you can take a life with it is another matter.
I thought he fought in the original story, but the man I actually saw seemed far from fighting.
He didn't seem like someone who would fearlessly use his abilities on a battlefield filled with death.
"……Thank you, Krua."
He gave a faint smile. It was the smile I always saw.
But I felt a strange sense of incongruity in that smile.
The way he threw the fire spear earlier was far from the Dielo Argenta I had known until now.
His eyes, which sparkled with a light blue color like the shallow seawater, clearly held murderous intent.
I definitely saw it for a moment.
And the fire spear he threw clearly pierced the opponent's neck.
He accurately and relentlessly plunged the spear into a position that would cause instant death.
"I'm glad I could be of help."
I smiled at him.
As I thought.
Dielo Argenta, as the head of the Argenta family who wields swords and flames, might be……
Different from the gentle man who gives a soft smile in bed.
* * *
The battlefield was quickly cleared.
It was a great reduction in damage just that Redius didn't go berserk.
Moreover, most of the Argenta knights who were guarding the site also survived.
It would have been impossible if Krua's support had been even a little late.
‘Didn't they say the Alloze family's illegitimate daughter doesn't have much Water Manipulation Ability?’
‘Watch your mouth, she's the mistress now.’
‘Anyway.’
The knights on the battlefield were surprised by her Water Manipulation Ability.
At this rate, the fact that she has a powerful Water Manipulation Ability, contrary to rumors, may spread to other families.
—Heeheeing……!
"……."
Dielo looked at Krua Alroze, who was asleep in his arms.
As soon as the battlefield cleanup was over, she rapidly lost strength and couldn't even support her body properly.
‘Here, get on.’
It was Dielo himself who suggested that she get on his horse.
"……."
On the swaying horse, Krua was leaning on him, trapped in his arms.
A strange fragrance was messing with his head, and it was the sea…… the smell of water that he hated so much.
Because she was an Alloze.
It felt like that silent scent, like being pressed down after the rain, was still there.
But he thought that the fragrance was especially bearable today.
No, it felt as sweet as the nectar that quenched his thirst.
Even though he naturally hated rain as an Argenta who wields fire.
"Rick."
At his words, Rick, who had somehow made his way through the crowd, bowed his head.
"Yes."
As the head of Argenta's intelligence department, Rick knew Dielo's true nature well, so he wasn't surprised by his momentarily cold appearance.
"Make sure Krua's abilities don't leak out of this battlefield."
On this battlefield, it meant to deal with the spies from other families that had been left alone to maintain a sloppy image.
Along with that, he would tell the other Argenta knights to be careful about what they said.
"Understood."
Rick turned his horse around with a light face.
Rick, the head of Argenta's intelligence department and ‘executioner,’ would carry out his orders without fail.
"Krua Alroze……."
……No, Krua.
After finishing the cleanup, Dielo repeated her name.
According to the doctor on the battlefield, she was close to falling asleep due to sudden fatigue, and she didn't respond even when her name was called.
That meant her consciousness was deeply asleep.
‘Dielo!’
The sparkling blue light that had parted the sea of death suddenly came to mind.
The magical field unfolded in Krua's hands had bound the sea of death.
There were no dead in the place where her hand touched.
Today, he didn't have to take Argenta's sacrifices lightly.
He didn't have to try so hard to make death seem trivial.
"Are you going to go all the way to the mansion like this?"
At that moment, Redius Argenta approached and asked. Dielo nodded briefly.
He was the master that Krua had saved.
"That was really amazing earlier."
He didn't spare praise for Krua's abilities.
Water, which meant death to the Argenta.
The sight of her reigning over that water was enough to inspire admiration.
Moreover, she used the maximum of her abilities.
It was like throwing herself into the battlefield without thinking about the aftermath.
……For the Argenta.
Thanks to that, he didn't have to swallow his tears today.
Dielo let out a short breath.
‘……There is no one to protect you anymore, Dielo. You must be independent. You must not trust anyone. Suspect even me.’
It was what he had heard as a child. What Redius Argenta had told him.
That day was the day Dielo's parents died.
He cried for the last time that day.
That day, when he realized that corpses would continue to pile up and ashes would fly under his feet, his childhood ended.
From then on, he had to desperately follow his uncle's words.
‘Don't give your heart to each and every person.’
After all, those who were weaker than him, the head of the family, were destined to die before him on the battlefield.
If he reacted to each and every one of those deaths, he wouldn't be able to live.
That's why he tried to become cold. So that he wouldn't be shaken by anyone's death.
So that he wouldn't give special affection to anyone.
"……."
—But, what if it's someone who isn't weaker than me?
What if it's someone who isn't even afraid of that sea of death?
‘Dielo!’
Was it the souls of the dead Argentas that had risen up in a hazy mist? The sea had always looked blurry to his eyes.
But Krua's figure, shouting like that in the middle of it, looked more brilliant than anything else.
Her purplish-blue hair, sparkling with water, and her purplish eyes, gazing confidently and steadily forward.
He was fascinated by her shining in the middle of the sea of death.
She was so fascinating and brilliantly shining that,
He couldn't…… take his eyes off her.
