Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 475

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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 475
Fire. The Second Abyss
A terrible imbalance.
Rutherford found himself frowning involuntarily at this strange sense of revulsion washing over him.
For over centuries, nearly a thousand years, I had parasitized and existed within countless borrowed bodies. Even when my soul weathered away and the name Bandor faded into obscurity, this sensation I felt in the abyss remained etched into my mind, impossible to erase.
When everything else disappears, leaving only this abhorrent sensation—what could one possibly call such an existence? Rutherford surrendered to the despair, terror, and helplessness of feeling as though the abyss itself was him, and wept for a long time.
For a long time. A very long time.
“Rutherford, are you alright?”
“Th-this is a rift?”
“Good heavens, what exactly is this abyss…?”
“Don’t wander off recklessly! You must not separate from Rutherford! Everyone, straighten up and gather close!”
“Some corpses have fallen through with us!”
“Let them drift away. Only the living shall follow Rutherford. The dead will fulfill their duty beyond death. This way, quickly!”
“Damn it, where did all the treasures go?”
“Wh-what? What is that? Something is approaching!”
“Fall back! Retreat!”
Rutherford slowly opened his eyes from his reverie. The abyss sea. That damned Ian marked the coordinates well, even with his dying body.
Rutherford turned to see his subordinate being dragged away by an illusion.
“Aaaahhh!”
To those who had stepped back, it appeared as a faint shadow, but to him, it unfolded as vivid hell before his eyes.
Seeing the figure writhe in agony and beg to be killed, the subordinates panicked and retreated from Rutherford, clinging to one another.
“Wh-what is that?”
“The personal hell that exists within each person. The abyss sea is where all such hells gather and sink.”
“Th-then how…?”
“Leave it be. At worst, they’ll go mad, but they won’t die. More importantly, how many mages do we have left?”
“Including myself, perhaps five.”
“How much magical power can we muster?”
“We expended considerable power at the Imperial Palace. We’re nearly depleted.”
“Hmm.”
Rutherford brushed back his hair in contemplation.
The place where they now stood was the abyss beneath the rift. Since they hadn’t fallen through forbidden magic, escaping wasn’t inherently impossible. Just as Bandor had done in the past.
‘But if we do that, problems will arise.’
Namely, I might lose this body.
When Bandor escaped the rift, he entered a stranger’s body and became trapped in an eternal cycle of death. There was no guarantee the same wouldn’t happen again.
After countless reincarnations, the gears of fate that had only clashed with one another finally meshed perfectly. If I lost this moment, this body—if I died again and awakened in another timeline—I might truly be unable to endure it.
“Rutherford, how did you manage it back then?”
“Yes, please tell us. How do we escape from here?”
The mages surrounded Rutherford, clinging to him desperately. Their eyes shone with blind faith.
It was no lie. The abyss beneath the rift truly existed, and their master, Rutherford, was the one who had returned alive from this place. Could there be anything more magnificent?
Their initial fear of the unknown faded quickly. The mages gazed around the abyss with curious eyes, as though it might be connected to their very essence. Even as they did so, they remained pressed close together, unwilling to separate.
“…Back then?”
Rutherford recalled that faded day at his subordinates’ question. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment. Suddenly, a god’s voice had brushed through my mind.
‘Your weeping has reached me.’
It was a voice like a single ray of light, but instead of rejoicing, Bandor had only poured out harsh reproaches. Whether I was truly one close to the god, and if so, how could he leave me like this—bitter complaints about his callousness.
“Rutherford?”
“Ah.”
When Rutherford said nothing, the Mages urged him forward, grasping at his collar—an action they would never normally take, but the oppressive weight of this new environment was simply too overwhelming.
Rutherford tilted his head to the side and explained.
“The Abyss is a place where space and time are intertwined. There is no up or down, left or right as we normally conceive them. If you wander long enough, you can eventually reach a fissure, but—”
“A fissure, you say?”
“The gap between Gaia’s earth and the Abyss—where demons are born.”
Escaping the Abyss wasn’t the end. I had to survive within the fissure itself, what could be called the genesis of demons.
The Mages’ faces darkened as they realized the path ahead was far longer than they’d thought.
“Be careful not to be caught by illusions. Especially you Mages. If problems arise, help each other escape. Death in this place means death of the body itself.”
“What—what do you mean?”
“You lose your magical power. Like me.”
Upon hearing this, the Mages hurriedly checked on their colleague who had been caught by the illusion. Fortunately, he wasn’t a Mage. Though I couldn’t tell what had happened to him, he remained unconscious with foam at his mouth.
“Then our priority should be safely moving from the Abyss to the fissure. Is there a path, perhaps? Or can we only drift aimlessly?”
Please say it’s not the latter.
Reading this silent wish, Rutherford sighed softly. That was how it was then, but not now. And I won’t let it be that way. Should the god grant these fools the same opportunity as me, the unity gathered under the name ‘Rutherford’ would shatter.
“No, we can leave right now.”
“Really!”
“The portal Ian opened. Returning to Gaia is impossible, but we can ascend one level from the Abyss to the fissure.”
So, who wants to try opening it? Rutherford urged the Mages forward with a leisurely gaze.
The flustered Mages exchanged glances nervously, raising their hands to show their remaining magical power. It was a gesture to indicate how little energy each of them had left.
“I have nothing left at all.”
“Same here. I used it all fighting the Imperial Mages earlier. It’ll take at least two days to recover.”
“Two days? Does the concept of a day exist here?”
“Isn’t it somewhat bright now? There’s light all around us.”
“Wait, so none of you have any left?”
“Opening a portal from the Imperial Palace was already pushing it. And even if we could, that’s not the real problem. Once we ascend above the Abyss into the fissure, we’d have to face demons.”
“Right. Without sufficient magical power, we’d be annihilated. We don’t even know what kinds are out there.”
“Rutherford, perhaps we should wait until we’ve gathered some strength, then ascend to the fissure?”
The Mages seemed to have reached a consensus and fell silent, awaiting Rutherford’s permission.
Their leader wore a peculiar expression—neither affirming nor denying, but ambiguous.
“Stay submerged in the sea too long and you’ll surely encounter invisible dangers. It’s better to escape quickly before that happens. Unless you want to become like ‘that.'”
What Rutherford pointed to was the ‘husk’ of one caught by illusion. Limp and unconscious, eternally drifting around, it resembled the corpse of a drowned man.
Then what should we do? As the Mages fell silent, seeking an answer, Rutherford snapped his fingertips.
Ssshhh.
From that point, golden lava bubbled up and flowed, its cooled droplets forming the shape of Idgal. Rutherford laughed, saying he couldn’t fathom what I feared.
“I possess no mana, yet I have this. What exactly are you all so afraid of?”
“However, without recovery, we cannot even attempt it.”
“Use forbidden magic. Which of us will make the sacrifice?”
“…!”
Rutherford stared at Idgal sinking toward the abyss and muttered to himself.
“With one sacrifice, we can all ascend above the fissure. This place is a kind of alternate world we can reach anytime. If we wait here for a moment, I will return to save you. That we came here. That I came twice. All of this proves it is possible.”
Excluding Rutherford, who was not a Mage, a volunteer was needed among those remaining.
But they could not step forward easily. All those who had sacrificed their limbs for Rutherford at the Imperial Palace were dead, and this place was strange and dangerous.
All that could be seen were bodies drifting with their consciousness stolen away—to remain here alone? It was not easy.
“Is there no one?”
His voice carried clear disappointment. Rutherford remained silent, only rolling his eyes to survey his surroundings. A world where silence crashed down heavily.
“…It is not my will. It is the will of God.”
Rutherford was one who communed with God and harmonized the world. As proof, God had bestowed upon the world the substance called Idgal, making the Mages obey, and had granted Rutherford a portion of the power over life and death, which only God commanded.
King Damon had been such a one, and Rutherford until now had been such a one, and henceforth they would be such ones. Living on, and living on again, continuing life endlessly.
“I will. I will do it.”
One of the Mages who had been deliberating raised his hand and volunteered. Faint sighs of relief leaked from those around him, and Rutherford patted the Mage’s shoulder with the hand holding Idgal.
“It is forbidden magic, but since this place is the abyss, its destination, there should be no problem, yes? I… I truly believe you will return. Rutherford. Truly….”
Rutherford merely smiled as if to say believe.
In truth, I did not know how to bring out one left behind by forbidden magic. Much less could I know what would become of one who used forbidden magic in the abyss.
But what mattered to me now was not such trivial things, was it? The flow of time differed considerably between the abyss and the outside, so my entire plan was to hurry back and continue the great work.
“Trust only me. I will engrave your sacrifice deeply within myself.”
“…Yes. I accept it as an honor, as an honor.”
The Mage drew a dagger from his waist and cut his own arm. As blood dripped down, golden light erupted. The Mages retreated backward, and soon something dark began to surge and bubble around him.
Zzzziiing! Zing!
Whoooosh!
“Aaaahhhhh!”
“Damn it!”
It was not the neat black crescent that Ian had shown. It was like a black mark distorted and warped by water.
The Mages looked back at Rutherford, wondering if it would be alright, and he stepped forward of his own accord. If we could just overcome this, we could ascend to the fissure without such hardship as before. If only that happened, we could escape without a single death—no problem.
Whoosh.
At that moment, a strange current felt from somewhere. Even Rutherford, who possessed no mana, sensed it, so it was natural that the Mages noticed.
The Mages simultaneously looked toward one place and furrowed their brows.
From far away—
“Rutherford!”
Something massive was rushing toward them.
If one could see light passing by with one’s eyes, would it be like this? The Mages traced the mana rushing quickly between them with only their eyes, turning their heads.
Boooooom—!
Crack! Crackle crackle!
An attack condensed with tremendous oppressive force came crashing down.
The portal summoned by forbidden magic cracked, and soon shattered completely into fragments. Black shards scattered about, and Rutherford searched for the source with startled eyes.
‘Ian?’
Whoooosh!
Ian was approaching at tremendous speed.
Rutherford bared his teeth and let out a fierce roar.
“Ian—!”
No more interference would be tolerated. Your pathetic flesh—what the God spoke of—there was nothing I could do about it now. Even if I had to kill you and tear you to shreds to bring back the pieces, this could not continue.
Rutherford activated the contract magic, attempting to seize his heart.
Shhhhwoosh!
But as if the contract magic meant nothing, Ian closed the distance in an instant.
Rutherford’s hair briefly obscured his vision, and when it cleared, a figure with platinum hair and blue eyes was pressing his face close with a savage gaze.
“…How dare you speak that name so carelessly.”
“You—”
Zing! Zing!
In an instant, the blue eyes flooded with golden light.
Rutherford realized that this appearance was the soul within Ian. Had the contract magic been severed? If so, then the body had died while bound by the illusion? But how? How could he maintain his power even in death?
Crack.
Ziiiiing!
Ian seized Rutherford by the hair and unleashed his power without restraint. He would become a cold corpse drifting through the abyssal sea. His limbs would scatter and wander eternally.
Ian smiled faintly without realizing it, observing his own reflection in Rutherford’s eyes.
“Rutherford, you were curious about who I am.”
The image reflected in his eyes became even more vivid.
The Emperor of Bariel, Ian Verosion.

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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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