Chapter 31- Regulus's End
6x Minutes After the War Council Ended, Near the Great Waterway on the Edge of the First District
Viewed from the air, a super-long, wide road appeared in the First District of the Water Gate City, stretching from the control tower to the Great Waterway. This road, wide enough for 10 Dragon Carriages to drive abreast, was pitted and uneven up close. The end of this great road was the battlefield of the two strongest combatants.
"What if you just waited for death obediently!?" Regulus said, lifting and throwing a building towards Reinhild. Reinhild's one slash pulverized the majority of the structure, then she used the Dragon Sword to bat away the remaining bricks that had been solidified.
"Why should I wait for death? Where is that mentality from a few dozen minutes ago, when you thought you could easily end the fight by going all out? I'm laughing, you talk as if you could truly defeat me."
"You bastard!"
Provoked once again, Regulus's expression became even more twisted. He roared and charged at Reinhild.
"How foolish. Do you truly believe that your close-combat skills, which couldn't even beat a common ruffian, can contend with mine?"
Reinhild used the Dragon Sword to parry Regulus's demonic hand, then swung the Dragon Sword back and forth mercilessly, smashing it against Regulus's face. While the physical damage was zero, it dealt a critical blow to the arrogant Regulus's spirit.
"You bastard! And this annoying sword. It's utterly ridiculous that you can't draw it. Speaking of which, the inability to draw it just means you aren't worthy of the thing."
"It seems you've forgotten. The Dragon Sword judges for itself whether an opponent is worthy of its drawn blade. I regret to say it, but you clearly lack that qualification, especially since a fight can be won even if it isn't drawn."
Reinhild retreated a few more steps, dodging Regulus's counterattack, and continued to provoke him verbally.
Regulus, who viewed himself as supreme, wore an increasingly vicious expression. He once again entangled himself with Reinhild.
"Tell me…! Don't you think this is despicable!? I've been fighting with my bare hands! How can you, as a matter of course, attack me with a weapon! Doesn't your conscience hurt doing something like this? What happened to the important parts of you as a human being? Don't you question yourself for this? Don't you feel the hesitation or confusion that you should be feeling?"
Reinhild was stunned for a moment, not by Regulus's words, but by the beautiful singing of Liliana that suddenly began echoing around them.
Has the fight lasted this long? Liliana-san starting to sing doesn't mean the city's situation is critical, does it? What should I do, should I end the battle?
No, I've already promised Subaru that we will walk towards a perfect ending together. I can't give up halfway.
"I'm telling you! There's a limit to how much you can look down on me!"
Although Regulus's combat skills were equivalent to an amateur's, the speed he gained through his Authority surpassed most martial artists. The instantaneous acceleration at this moment astonished even Reinhild.
—Drat.
Regulus kicked Reinhild's abdomen. Almost instantly, Reinhild's entire body contorted into a horizontal V-shape and she flew towards the ruins on the left.
—The signal flare hasn't appeared in the sky yet. Subaru is still safe. Concentrate!
"Ah, yes, that's how it is, it could only ever be this way. Think about the gap between you and me; isn't this the only possible conclusion? This way, I can finally resolve things without having to think too much. Ahh, it's truly something to cheer about."
Regulus looked at the heavily injured Reinhild, who was sprawled in the ruins, and revealed an expression of certain victory.
Perhaps wanting to get revenge for the annoyance of being constantly provoked, he deliberately chose to walk over slowly, leaving footprints in the ground with each step.
"Alright, you should now reveal where that adulterous woman is. If you do, I'll let you die easily. I have no interest in torturing my enemies before killing them. Tell me, I am merciful."
"If you were... merciful... you wouldn't... secretly use... your wives... to maintain your Authority..."
"What! Oh, I see. You already know... Well, it's nothing but a useless struggle anyway."
Upon hearing Reinhild's fragmented words, Regulus was momentarily agitated, but seeing Reinhild in a pool of blood, he relaxed again.
"Pft~~"
Perhaps feeling embarrassed by his momentary fear, or perhaps due to his apprehension towards Reinhild's rapidly recovering wounds, he delivered another strike to the wound.
"It's true that my Authority is connected to my wives. But, unfortunately. You won't be able to reach my wives."
Looking at Reinhild, whose blood was splattering, Regulus curled his lips up in a great mood.
"I'll tell you something special. It's simple. I entrust my important heart to them, but it's not hidden secretly. I haven't kept it a secret; they just haven't noticed themselves."
Regulus spoke in a casual, matter-of-fact tone.
"Of course, among so many wives, I don't know who holds my heart either. The rights of all wives are equal; they are given equal love and bear fair responsibility. Isn't that the minimum condition for a husband with multiple wives? I literally love my wives so much that I gave my heart to them."
Regulus finally looked up at the sky, opened his arms, and laughed.
"And I don't need them to sustain my invincibility. Managing a husband's property is a wife's responsibility. However, I am a man who desires nothing. I don't possess the trivial wealth that you people desperately covet with bloodshot eyes. So, what I entrust to my wives is my very existence. — Isn't this the ultimate love between husband and wife?"
Regulus stated with utter certainty that his heinous actions were natural and correct, but the very next second,
"Huh? Hey, what did you do? You deliberately lured me over little by little! So this is what you wanted to pull off! Is this something a human being would do!? To so selfishly and arbitrarily snatch away something others cherish! Just... just how utterly cold-hearted must someone be to do something so outrageous!?"
Regulus's expression drastically changed as he stamped his foot, looking at the distant control tower, but this time, the entire city did not tilt because of his action.
"Are you satisfied? Are you satisfied with this!? To take the lives of my innocent wives just to kill me, and to be happy about it... you're not— cough!"
Regulus's body was kicked away by Reinhild.
"Are you saying you were pretending just now?"
The building was overturned, and Regulus, emerging from the dust, looked at Reinhild's clean abdomen, his expression becoming even more distorted.
"No, I wasn't. Although I did use the Divine Protection to alter my appearance, I was indeed on the verge of death just now. Even if I actively asked the spirits in the air to heal my injuries, it would take 1–2 minutes. Your sense of superiority saved me a lot of trouble."
"Is that so? You couldn't possibly have believed you had the victory in the bag, could you? Your arrogance is laughably immense, your shamelessness is unbelievable, and your vileness is beyond redemption."
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