IWMHWD 123

Chapter 123: My First and Last
2024.03.02

Belucce turned around when he heard her scream, but the knight, unable to sense magic, only looked in the wrong direction.

“Watch out!”

Cordelia dashed forward and grabbed Belucce’s cloak, pulling him back. Belucce staggered a few steps, leaving a charred mark on the floor where he had stood.

“W-What…?”

There was no time to be startled. The magic moved as if alive, shattering the door. The only relief was that the source of that magic had now appeared right in front of them.

“You were inside?”

Maximilian pushed his face through the debris of the broken door. The sight was so terrifying that Cordelia’s spine turned cold.

“Then why aren’t you answering?”

With each step he took, black magic dripped onto the floor like water. Rather than controlling it, it seemed to overflow uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Cordelia felt puzzled. She had been told that Leonard had made it impossible for him to use magic anymore—so how?

“How is he even using magic?”

“How would you know? Only the devil’s eye can… oh. I see it.”

He smirked, as if having a brief realization, and staggered toward her. His movements, however, were very different from usual. Though he limped on one leg, his posture normally remained upright like a noble, but now he swayed as if drunk.

“But where is my brother? Brother! I’m here!”

And it wasn’t just that. He shouted loudly at the top of his lungs, moving recklessly as if drunk. Even though he saw Cordelia and the two knights in the room, he kept scanning around for only Leonard.

“He doesn’t seem sane,” muttered Belucce as he approached Cordelia. She silently agreed. Compared to when he first smashed through the door, Maximilian wasn’t particularly aggressive. He flailed his hands and focused only on finding his brother.

“But how could he have known that Master was here?”

“There’s a possibility that Marquess Embry leaked the information,” Cordelia suggested.

Belucce tightened his grip on his sword hilt in response. Leonard’s earlier words suddenly came to mind:

“Outwardly pretending to side with me, who knows what schemes he’s plotting with Maximilian?”

Unfortunately, it seemed the master had been right. Anton clearly hadn’t been able to give up on his daughter.

“Belucce and I will draw Maximilian’s attention. Meanwhile, you go to Master.”

“Where is Master?”

“He went to the East Wing,” Belucce replied. Cordelia hesitated briefly, then nodded. Belucce deliberately shouted and charged at Maximilian.

“I will cut your neck and offer it to Master!”

“Y-You bastard, illegitimate child of Ingrion… how dare you—”

Maximilian’s pronunciation was slurred, as if he had bitten his tongue. Belucce swung his sword at him. But despite all the tension, Maximilian fell with ease, bleeding.

“Argh! Aagh!”

“What the—this guy was just an idiot?”

Maximilian shivered on the floor like a wriggling insect. Belucce sneered and raised his sword again, aiming for Maximilian’s abdomen. Or at least, he tried to.

“Aaah!”

Just as the sword touched him, Maximilian let out a thunderous scream. At the same time, a surge of explosive magic erupted from his body. Not only Cordelia but also Belucce and Gasil could clearly see black energy rippling around him.

Belucce sensed something was wrong and stepped back, but it was already too late.

“Gah!”

A mass of black energy shot out from Maximilian’s body, striking Belucce with tremendous force and sending the adult man crashing to the wall. The black mass then wrapped around Maximilian, forming a membrane. He thrashed inside it like a snake hatching from an egg.

“I… my… bro…ther… haaah…”

Maximilian’s body began to contort. His back hunched, his neck twisted unnaturally, and his fingernails grew long, clearly no longer human. He seemed to be transforming from man into beast.

“What… what is that?”

Cordelia stepped back, startled. Unfortunately, Gasil didn’t answer her.

“Step back. The commotion will attract Master soon,” Gasil said firmly after taking a breath. Cordelia quietly stepped back as instructed.

Belucce, fortunately, was not seriously injured and kicked away the broken debris to stand upright.

“That’s better. Dying quietly would be boring. After all the trouble you’ve caused Master, ending like this would be dull, right? Gasil!”

Merely calling his name, Belucce and Gasil simultaneously lunged at Maximilian.

“Target his right side!” shouted Gasil. Belucce stabbed the sword into Maximilian’s right flank.

However, Maximilian’s strength, now fully non-human, was unimaginable. Their attacks were repeatedly blocked, and they struggled to dodge. Each swing of his limbs shattered the surroundings.

“Ugh… this wretched bug…”

Though no longer human, his pronunciation was remarkably clear. His previously staggering body now stood straight.

Bones cracked along his sides, and insect-like legs sprouted. Belucce openly laughed.

“Haha, clearly a bug. Six legs too, perfect!”

“I’ll crush your head, Ingrion,” Maximilian hissed.

“Try me,” Belucce replied without hesitation, while Gasil charged in silently.

Just as they neared, Maximilian lowered his body and moved with startling speed, truly like a crawling insect. Cordelia pressed her hand over her mouth to suppress a gag.

Fortunately, Gasil’s sword severed one of the newly sprouted legs, but Maximilian only frowned briefly and remarkably healed the wound.

“Monster… a monster!”

“Ah!”

Some of Embry’s soldiers ran in, but seeing Maximilian, they panicked and fled. After a few rounds of this, the castle’s master finally arrived.

“What on earth is happening? A beast?”

“Maximilian Atillayo,” Cordelia replied, approaching Anton. He furrowed his brows at Maximilian, who could no longer be called human.

“That…?”

“Yes. I don’t know how he ended up like this.”

Cordelia paused, staring at Anton for a long moment. Meanwhile, Embry’s knights tried to help Belucce and Gasil contain Maximilian.

“Is this the decision of the Marquess?”

“What do you mean?”

“Maximilian already knew that Master was here.”

“He knew? How?”

Anton looked at Cordelia with surprise. She met his gaze firmly, and he read the accusation in her eyes.

“You think I told him? No. I had already made arrangements with Marquess Atillay. As soon as he reached Hasimus, we were to hand over Maximilian’s new troops.”

“But you haven’t given me the antidote yet. Doesn’t that mean there’s still something to request from Master?”

“That is…”

“Cordelia!”

Despite deliberately keeping her distance, Maximilian had now advanced right in front of her. Not only Belucce and Gasil, but Embry’s knights also tried to stop him, but he moved like a snake, bypassing them to strike at Cordelia.

“Watch out!”

Anton shoved Cordelia out of the way, letting her stagger back. This prevented her from being hit by Maximilian’s limbs, but he immediately drew black magic and attacked again.

“Die! Die! Die!”

Everything happened so quickly that Cordelia couldn’t even raise her protective barrier. She braced for the incoming attack, but Maximilian was repelled instead. Simultaneously, the ring Leonard had given her lost its light and shattered.

“Haah… haah…”

Cordelia quickly raised a defensive shield, not missing the opportunity. Maximilian loomed over her. Up close, his pupils were elongated completely.

“Do you know why you can see magic? Because of the filthy blood running through your body.”

“W-What…”

“How dare someone like you covet Atillay? You are the child of a devil, a beast born with the blood of demons.”

Maximilian shouted words she couldn’t comprehend while flailing his arms. Cordelia barely managed to block them, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

“Ever since you came to Abrams, everything has gone wrong. If only you weren’t here, if only you had never come to Abrams!”

This time, his voice sounded thin and feminine. Then he recited words Helena had told Cordelia—words Maximilian could never have known. Cordelia was too shocked to speak.

But the shock didn’t end there. He immediately mocked her in a deep masculine voice.

“Vasquez? Haha. You’re Vasquez? Those eyes of yours are the very symbol of injustice!”

“No, no!”

Cordelia forcefully denied it. She couldn’t breathe without doing so. Her barrier wavered violently, as if fragile enough to shatter at a touch. Seizing the moment, Maximilian opened his mouth wide, revealing long fangs no human could possess.

As he lunged at Cordelia’s head, something struck him, causing a sudden scream.

“Kraaah!”

“Some nerve,”

“Master!”

The person they had been desperately waiting for finally arrived. Leonard knocked the transformed half-beast, half-human Maximilian off Cordelia and helped her to her feet.

“Are you alright?”