Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 465

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 465
Fire. With Me, Into the Abyss
Blood dripped steadily between my fingers.
The agony of my entrails being ground to pulp. I poured out something scalding endlessly, yet it showed no signs of stopping. The white marble floor was now stained crimson, stripped of its pristine beauty, and I felt as though I had burned away every last breath within me.
The Mages, unable to comprehend the situation, cried out in unison the moment I collapsed forward.
“I-Ian! Blood! There’s blood!”
“No! Ian! This can’t be!”
Yet their cries never reached me. A ringing in my ears was violently tearing through my mind.
I barely managed to gasp for breath as my hands pressed against the floor. A magic both grand and sublime, absolute in its nature, seemed to strangle my throat under the guise of a contract. The entire world was telling me that I was merely human, that there were no exceptions to a promise once inscribed, that I was bound.
“Ha… ha…”
Why had I, a bastard, willingly forged a contract of magic with Rutherford? Why had I surrendered my lifeline to him?
As I clawed at the slick floor and attempted to rise, Rutherford’s voice reached me.
“Ian.”
He had merely spoken my name, yet the effect was tremendous—befitting one superior in a contract. I was completely overwhelmed by a pain as though my heart was being torn asunder.
Rutherford and his Mages, who had withdrawn to the rear, relaxed their guard upon confirming my complete collapse. With each step they took, my blood splashed beneath their feet.
“Ha… h… ha…”
“You may suffer as though death itself were near, but I won’t let you die. Rest assured. Regardless of who you are, that body of yours is far too necessary to me.”
Rutherford suddenly recalled the contract he had forged with me, and his brow twitched slightly. Though unintended, the fact that the contract had been bound through flesh rather than soul could not have been more fortunate.
Just as he had possessed another’s body, could I not also be possessed by someone else? Perhaps I had known it all along, somewhere deep within. The body changes only in death, but the soul—the soul can change at any moment.
Rutherford brushed the wrinkles from his clothes and drew closer to me.
“Stand back!”
“You dare show disrespect to Lord Rutherford!”
Zing! Zing!
Crash!
The Imperial Mages rushed forward, but only briefly. Without me, they could not create an overwhelming difference in power. Their best effort was merely to hold their ground against Rutherford’s Mages in a tense standoff.
“Lower the barrier! We must request reinforcements!”
“Raise the barrier! Block all support!”
Rutherford pressed his blood-soaked foot firmly against the boy’s head. It was both a check of my condition and a venting of frustration at being cornered. The shock on the Imperial Mages’ faces was merely a bonus.
Crunch.
“How dare he! Is he insane!?”
“Get your foot off, you bastard! Unless you want to die!”
“Ian! Ian!”
Zing! Boom!
The clash of the Mages intensified once more. The magical power of those who sought to save and those who stood in opposition created fierce winds that enveloped both Rutherford and me.
Rutherford gazed down at my collapsed profile with an expressionless face. No matter how many times he looked, my eyes were far from ordinary. The golden light had faded, yet my green eyes still gleamed with an inexplicable brilliance.
“I know what you’re wondering about.”
It seems the possession hasn’t been long at all.
Perhaps only just the beginning.
“Why you live on in another’s body despite being dead, why you don’t truly perish—that’s what drove you to corner me, isn’t it?”
The question wasn’t entirely accurate, but it struck close enough. I focused on twitching the fingertips of my powerless hands. The impact inflicted upon my body was considerable, yet I could endure it. As long as breath remained, I could persist.
A soft whoosh.
Rutherford leaned down and whispered near my ear.
“Congratulations on receiving the Curse of the Abyss.”
“…?”
“A curse where you cannot die even if you wish to, forced to continue living. A curse where through hundreds and thousands of rebirths, you inevitably forget who you originally were. A curse where you endlessly feel the terror of death, until human emotion itself grows numb. At first, there is only confusion. But as eons pass, you will become filled with loathing, as if your very existence is meant only for death.”
I realized Rutherford was speaking of himself. He was Bandor—not one cursed by forbidden magic, but one who walked into the Abyss of his own volition while alive. The price he paid was endless death.
Then what of me? Emperor Ian Verosion, that is.
‘I was not the one who cast forbidden magic—it was Naum. I have never descended into the Abyss.’
My fingertips trembled ever so slightly. No. My possession of the illegitimate Ian’s body was not a curse.
“I was consumed by the rift on the orders of the Grand Empire Bariel. But you—what caused your fate?”
Rutherford seized my hair and pulled. As my head lifted, blood traced along my jawline. In Rutherford’s blue eyes swirled an emotion I could not name. Anger? No, pain? That either. It was—
“…despair.”
“What?”
“After being consumed by the rift, you despaired.”
“I won’t deny it. But not anymore. Now I can finally end everything. Thanks to you—to Ian, sitting right there.”
I lowered my gaze and gathered my thoughts.
From what I could see, Bandor had entered the rift and encountered the Abyss. That’s why he spoke of the “Curse of the Abyss.”
That curse meant the soul weathered away without death. And only now, after all this time, had he grasped the chance to escape Rutherford’s body, and through that escape, the illegitimate Ian existed.
“…I have never descended into the Abyss.”
And the barely concealed hostility toward Bariel. From interfering in the civil war onward, his every move had been a threat to the Empire. Whether it was necessary to escape the curse, or deeds committed by a weathered soul seeking solace, I could not know.
“What?”
“I said I have never descended into the Abyss. You were cursed, but I obtained an opportunity.”
Rutherford’s brow furrowed deeply. His expression showed he could not comprehend my words.
“Let me ask one final question. If you answer, I will tell you everything I can discern.”
“If not a curse, then what?”
“What became of the Mages who descended into the Abyss?”
Our questions locked together simultaneously.
A moment of silence. Both questions were desperately needed by each of us, yet the weight each carried was different. For Rutherford, rebirth was a curse and the past; for me, rebirth was an opportunity and connected to the future. Rutherford—he who possessed the lesser—had no choice but to answer first.
“…Not greatly different.”
“From what?”
“Just as I experienced endless death here, those who fell into the Abyss endlessly experience the deaths they once suffered. Trapped within the shackles of bound time, they relive that final, wretched moment again and again, eternally.”
My eyes widened. Trapped in bound time, unable to escape, dying endlessly?
Then Naum? In that Underground Prison, is he eternally burning in that moment when he told me to flee? Forever guarding the side of Ian Verosion, dying, dying, and again….
A sharp pain.
I bit the inside of my cheek against the sob rising in my throat. If Naum still possessed his sense of self, he must surely resent me. He may be regretting the terrible price he pays for the faintly fading name Ian Verosion.
“Now it is your turn to answer.”
Rutherford sensed my turmoil and gently shook my head. His hand urged me to regain composure and provide the answer he sought.
Faded green eyes. I slowly turned my gaze to look at Rutherford.
‘Naum is in the Abyss, and with the illegitimate Ian’s body, I cannot properly oppose Rutherford. In the world he desires, Bariel will surely lose its light.’
Then, as I found my answer, my green eyes suddenly came alive. Was it an illusion? Rutherford looked into them with doubt, but he could tell it was no mere reflection of light. It was the sharp gleam of something solid within, shining through with an unwavering resolve.
Rutherford sensed something amiss and moved to release his grip on my hair, but I seized his wrist firmly.
“That’s right. Now it’s my turn to answer.”
A sickening crunch.
“Why I awakened in Ian’s body despite being no curse. Truth be told, I didn’t know either. Not until I met you.”
“This—”
He spat blood and collapsed, yet it seemed meaningless. From some inexplicable wellspring of strength, I gripped Rutherford’s wrist with iron resolve.
“Rutherford! The portal has opened! The coordinates are uncertain, but we can escape the Imperial Palace! I suggest setting it northward and fleeing Bariel first!”
“The ones who went to the Secondary Palace haven’t returned yet.”
“Give the order! We could move Ian first if needed. We can thin out the Mages here as well.”
“If we just open the Exhibition Hall, King Damon doesn’t truly need much, does he? It would be wise to retreat before reinforcements arrive from outside.”
A sharp metallic screech! A tremendous crash!
Rutherford’s Mages holding the portal within the Exhibition Hall reported simultaneously—the evacuation entrance had opened. I couldn’t say precisely where it led, but anywhere was safer than remaining in the heart of the Imperial Palace.
“Everyone, gather the items. We’ll wait a moment for the Secondary Palace personnel.”
“Yes! You there! Help organize them!”
With the exit secured, everyone exhaled in relief. The Mages inside the Exhibition Hall rolled up their sleeves with noticeably eased expressions.
A sharp hum! A resonant ring!
The Imperial Mages found themselves surrounded from both sides in an instant. Though their magical barriers had long since shattered, Rutherford’s Mages inherited that power and maintained the barriers continuously.
To deceive the outside world while achieving isolation. If additional reinforcements poured in, they wouldn’t be able to easily transport the remaining jewels from the Exhibition Hall.
“Make sure to take the seals—those ones especially. They’re imperial treasures; we cannot leave them behind.”
At the instruction of Rutherford’s Mage, the Imperial Mages leaped into the air as one. There were limits to audacity. This wasn’t some back-alley jewel shop—it was the Exhibition Hall of the Imperial Palace of the great empire Bariel. To invade this place wasn’t enough; now they’d lay hands on the treasures?
As the Mages clenched their teeth and prepared to attack, Rutherford’s Mages simultaneously leaped upward as well.
A piercing hum! A violent explosion!
The shadows of the Mages stretched and elongated. Several had their abdomens and sides pierced through, while others tumbled with injuries to their limbs.
I recognized that all these shadows belonged to the Imperial Mages. The ribbons tied in their hair gave them away.
“Ugh!”
“Ngh…”
Familiar groans reached my ears, but I deliberately averted my gaze. I was already at my limit. If I witnessed my colleagues’ wounds and deaths, I might not endure any longer.
A sharp hum. A resonant ring.
I closed my eyes calmly and extracted every ounce of my magical power. This was the last. Truly the last…
“Beginning again, are we?”
Rutherford hesitated momentarily, but that was all. His subordinates stood firm beside him, and I was no longer a threat. He need only squeeze my heart again, drain my blood endlessly, and kill my soul.
Besides, I merely continued pouring out magical power with no particular change to show for it. Rutherford gestured to his Mages to clean up the surroundings.
“A futile struggle.”
“…I couldn’t give you the answer.”
“That’s right. Why don’t we go back and—”
The moment he was about to suggest we return and listen.
Rutherford witnessed it. The ‘black moon’ rising beyond the window. Growing larger as if summoned by its master and descending into this world.
I smiled faintly and nodded.
“Listen carefully. With me, from the abyss.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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