Turning
chapter-119

"..."

Kishiar, who had been smiling with narrowed eyes at the sight, suddenly leapt from his horse and descended onto the ground. Even though he had dismounted, his figure was far taller than any ordinary man, his very presence exerting an overwhelming force.

"Is that all?"

He asked as he turned to look at the intruders. It was a brief question, yet the thug who received his gaze felt an immense pressure, as if being physically crushed. He struggled to attribute this pressure to mere emotions, raising his voice and shouting.

"Y-Yes. All of them died because of you! Remember this...!"

The thug's zealous cry was suddenly cut off. Among the many people gathered, very few understood what had happened in that brief moment. Even the Cavalry members were in the same predicament.

However, Yuder felt a surge of incredibly small, yet potent force tearing through the air. Launched like a shot from Kishiar's fingertips, it precisely struck only the intruders in the blink of an eye before vanishing as if it were an illusion.

Moments later, the intruders fell to the ground as if struck by an unseen force, silently collapsing. The only ones left standing were the hostages held by them. But even those hostages were trembling, dumbfounded, unaware of what had happened.

In the midst of confusion and a situation that could not be understood, silence froze over the streets. Amidst this eerie quiet, Kishiar spoke.

"Countless people visit the Pearl Tower each year, wishing to become mages. However, less than one in a thousand are chosen to train as mages. If one who failed to become a mage falls onto a dark path, is that the sin of the Pearl Tower?"

Everyone's gaze turned toward Kishiar.

"..."

"I created the Cavalry to protect innocent people from such individuals. The fact that my judgment of people was correct can be sufficiently understood just by looking at the acts these men have committed. There's no need for further words."

Kishiar's fiery gaze swept over all those overwhelmed by him, and beyond them toward the luxury lodgings in the distance, before returning.

"Imperial troops."

As he raised his hand and pointed at the Imperial troops who had retreated to a corner as if fleeing, a reply came from the men who still seemed shocked.

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"Arrest them immediately and imprison them. They are criminals who took advantage of the festival to disrupt the capital where the Emperor resides. Until I interrogate them personally, no one is to approach them."

"Understood!"

"The Cavalry will begin marching again, so quickly reorganize the ranks."

"Yes, sir!"

"And......"

As the Cavalry members began to reform their ranks and the Imperial Troops hastily ran over to arrest the fainted intruders, Yuder suddenly saw the hand of one of the intruders, being dragged on the ground, begin to turn a bright red and swell as if it were about to burst.

'That is...'

Realizing that he had seen this scene before, his body moved on its own.

"Everyone, let go and step back!"

"Ahhhh!"

The moment Yuder waved his hand, a tremendous gust of wind arose, sweeping away the troops and forming a protective barrier around the intruders. Shortly after, an appalling sound rang out as grotesquely swollen bodies exploded all at once.

Screams echoed from every direction, but nothing emerged from beyond the wall of wind. Yuder then manipulated the earth, swiftly burying all the debris beneath it, before exhaling and lifting his head.

"Ah."

The gazes of the Cavalry members, wide-eyed like startled rabbits, were one thing, but the gaze of Kishiar, staring straight at him from behind, was terribly piercing.

Yet before Yuder could say a word, Kishiar strode forward, lifting one hand high to draw all eyes back to him, and spoke.

"Now, observe. Should anyone dare to threaten the safety of our Empire, remember that they will be judged as you have just witnessed."

"Whoa... Wow!"

Only then did the previously frozen spectators start to regain their senses and start cheering. Amid thunderous applause, a massive cheer, as if the whole city was about to lift off, poured down over the heads of the Cavalry.

"His Grace the Duke has swiftly vanquished the intruders!"

"Long live His Grace the Duke of Peletta! Long live the Emperor!"

"Long live the Cavalry!"

Amid the shower of petals, Yuder averted his gaze as he felt Kishiar's chilly eyes turning towards him, while he wore a smile on his face.

"I thought I told you not to use your power recklessly."

"I had no choice because it was urgent."

During their march to Victory Square, the final destination of the procession, Yuder heard Kishiar's reprimand, spoken so quietly that no one else could hear.

"Just removing the troops would have been enough."

"Don't you know that would not have been enough to completely prevent the damage?"

It was a mood Kishiar had laboriously changed, stepping forward himself. The reason he showed his overwhelming power there was likely because he knew the Crown Prince was watching. It was certainly better than ruining his hard work.

He thought it was a valid excuse, but Kishiar's gaze on his cheek turned slightly sharper. Pretending not to notice, he ignored it until a sigh was heard a moment later.

"How's your hand?"

"It's fine."

"I don't trust you, show me later."

"..."

The atmosphere wasn't one that would believe him if he said it didn't hurt at all. Yuder casually replied okay, then turned to look at Kishiar's face.

"But what about you, Commander? What power did you use earlier? Didn't you send something flying?"

"You saw that?"

"More like... I felt it."

"You're sensitive as always."

The corners of Kishiar's mouth rose slowly into a smile at his murmur, whether it was praise or not.

"I flicked the air with my fingertips."

"Excuse me?"

"Like this."

He released the reins he had been holding and flicked his forefinger against his thumb, as if playing a children's game of flicking marbles.

"Nothing happened because I did it slowly for you to see, but if I add strength and do it quickly, I can do as I did earlier. It seems simple, but it's quite difficult. However, the results are overwhelming."

Yuder suspected that Kishiar might be lying. Yet, he could not sense any deceit from his handsome visage.

'Could he exert his strength in such a manner? But... He never showcased such an attack in his previous life.'

In his past life, Kishiar hardly used his power, resorting to hand-to-hand combat only when absolutely necessary. Hence, Yuder wondered if the recent attack he'd seen was perhaps a spell, borrowing the power of a magic tool. But if it was not magic, why hadn't Kishiar utilized that power in his previous life?

Noticing the questioning look on Yuder's face, Kishiar's eyes narrowed.

"Is something bothering you? You look unconvinced."

"…If it's a simple ability to enhance one's speed, shouldn't Shin and most of the squad members be able to use it as well?"

The question was hasty, but Kishiar did not question its sincerity.

"That's precisely the tricky part. It's not merely about using force, but manipulating aura a little... hmm, the specifics are a secret. Anyway, you need to slightly mix in another power."

Aura. Kishiar casually mentioned a capability only Knights and Swordmasters at their zenith could harness, before winking and turning his head.

'Aura… Is the difference between his past life and now because of that?'

In his previous life, Kishiar, who always wore gloves and seldom used power, and the current Kishiar, who did not hesitate to employ divine powers or aura and naturally exposed his bare hands.

If the Kishiar of the past life had been unable to utilize divine power or aura by force, it was natural that he couldn't execute attacks using those powers. Having pondered to this point, Yuder suddenly recalled the bitter expression Kishiar had in his dream.

'If only I had not shattered my vessel...'

What did the 'shattered vessel' that he spoke about mean?

Yuder began to believe more strongly that the dream he had was not a simple one, but might be closer to a memory that he had forgotten or had been made to forget for some reason. The recent incident intensified this thought.

Why he kept having such dreams, he did not know. He speculated that if he discovered the reason, he might also learn why he had returned eleven years back in time.

'I'm not particularly curious about how I managed to return.'

There was only one important thing.

He was certain that he could not let the same conclusion as before happen, no matter what.

—---

"I'm sorry. Everything that I had prepared… I failed to fulfill my role. My apologies."

After the Cavalry vanished amid cheers, Duke Diarca, who was bowing before the Crown Prince, looked completely different from before. The Crown Prince, however, was no different in this regard.

'How on earth?'

The same thought crossed both of their minds.

They had set several traps to ensure that Kishiar and the Cavalry wouldn't escape the blame easily. They believed that even if they slipped through one or two, they could never escape the last resort—the human bomb.

But Kishiar had brushed them all aside with an air of derision, disappeared amid thunderous cheers, as if treading on flowers. It was a spectacle they could scarcely believe, even as they witnessed it with their own eyes.