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Ian’s face was colored with terror.

He couldn’t believe his eyes.

It was truly overwhelming strength.

It was way beyond his expectations.

How could a mere student from the Academy wipe out his entire hunting unit?

‘How on earth… He has the power to defeat even a Sword Master…’

A force capable of defeating a Sword Master.

In reality, Ian and his unit were a force that could easily hunt down even a Sword Master.

This was because a Sword Master specialized in ground combat would have their power halved in underwater battles, and Ian himself not only was at the entry level of a Sword Master but also specialized in underwater combat. Plus, he was wearing an artifact known as the ‘Descendant of the Sea God.’

But that wasn’t all.

Ian commanded a veteran elite sea hunting unit that specialized in underwater combat.

Not to mention the bishop of the Salvation Church, using some sinister unknown power, had joined the fray.

He was indeed fully prepared.

‘But then… why…’

Yet the outcome was the annihilation of his guard.

On the other hand, Edgar Fix suffered nothing more than a bit of damage to his suit.

It was a level of damage that was embarrassing to even mention.

He had suffered a total defeat.

‘I can’t read his attack patterns…’

Ian began to analyze slowly.

He wanted to understand why he faced such a humiliating defeat.

As a result, he realized that the problem was the completely unpredictable fighting style.

A strange technique that covered the area in black water, mobility that was hard to catch up with even with underwater techniques.

The unexpected lethality of an unknown weapon too.

Everything exceeded his expectations.

Thus, before he could even prepare, all his guards were taken down.

“I admit it. You’re not someone I can deal with. I tried to swallow a bomb I can’t handle.”

Having grasped the situation, Ian readily acknowledged Edgar’s strength.

Then, he pulled out his aura blade and spoke to Edgar.

“From now on, I will put my life on the line. Come at me.”

Ian proclaimed this and got into position.

He adopted the ‘You come at me’ tactic, intending to only respond to incoming attacks.

After all, Edgar’s mobility couldn’t be matched even with underwater techniques, and Edgar’s long-range attacks could be healed by the ‘Armor of the Sea God,’ so he thought Edgar would come close to finish him off.

So, Ian gathered mana into his aura blade, hoping Edgar would come to him.

He vowed to finish it with a single strike and addressed the bishop beside him.

“Bishop, cover me when he approaches. Whether it’s a mental spell or a curse, if you restrict his movements, I’ll behead him in an instant.”

“…”

As Ian said this, he glanced at the bishop.

However, the hoodie-clad figure simply remained silent.

Eventually, Ian spoke again.

“Answer me! When he approaches…?”

But suddenly he widened his eyes and trailed off.

Indeed, the bishop’s face was not visible under the hood.

It had the shape of a person but felt as if no one was there.

That strange appearance sent chills down his spine.

“…Bishop?”

Even after calling him again, the bishop remained silent.

Finally, Ian grit his teeth and yanked the hooded robe off.

The tattered robe tore apart, revealing its contents.

It was a human skull.

“…Kuh kuh kuh…”

A hollow laugh escaped from Ian’s lips.

The firstborn heir to the Clendor Empire had been cut off.

While Ian wore a bitter smile, Edgar had completed ‘Mana Motion.’

He absorbed the vast mana from the sea and refilled the consumed mana with a laser cutter.

【Do you wish to live?】

Unexpectedly, Edgar posed a question.

Do you want to live? Ian scowled and replied.

“…What do you mean?”

【I mean it literally. Do you want to live? If you comply with my conditions, I might consider sparing your life.】

Edgar placed conditions on Ian’s life.

In response, Ian lowered the aura blade.

Taking a deep breath, he assessed the situation.

After pondering, Ian spoke.

“What are the conditions?”

【Renounce the throne. Promise to serve only Clendor without holding power with any faction.】

“…”

However, the condition Edgar suggested was to abandon the throne.

Ian scoffed lightly, shaking his shoulders.

He raised the aura blade again, glaring at Edgar.

“Serve Clendor? I am Clendor itself. Ian Belarian von Clendor. I was born to be the Emperor.”

Edgar looked at him with a wry smile in response to Ian’s words.

It was clear that such strong self-identity made it impossible for him to bring Ian along.

A man who prioritized only his own desires over the country.

‘I was hoping to use him to root out the Demon Church within Clendor.’

Edgar felt regret hidden in his heart.

If only he didn’t have that insistence on becoming the Emperor, he could have been a valuable piece.

At a relatively young age, Ian had reached the entry level of a Sword Master and had the strengths of underwater combat.

【Becoming only Emperor is not your only fate. Even without that throne, you can be honorable enough.】

So, Edgar attempted to persuade Ian once again.

Now that the bishop had sent out an avatar instead of his main body.

To root out the Demon Church spreading within Clendor, they needed someone who could resist it.

No one else was more suited for that role than Ian.

“…You talk too much. I have two remaining paths. Either die without becoming Emperor, or kill you and become Emperor.”

But Ian seemed already determined.

Edgar nodded at that.

Given Ian’s resolute attitude, it would only be a waste of time to say more.

-Wheeeeee…

Thus, Edgar gathered his power.

Mana began to accumulate, amounting to one-third within the largest mana stone in his chest.

He decided to end it swiftly without hitting and blocking.

[Charging… 100%!]

Finally, a sufficient amount of mana was gathered.

An immense amount transformed into a deadly atomic structure and burst into bright light.

Then, the dazzlingly bright light erupted forth.

-Kwaaaang!

“Keuhk!”

A massive beam shot directly at Ian.

Edgar’s new signature move, ‘Unibeam,’ turned Ian’s body into tatters.

Although the legendary artifact, the ‘Armor of the Sea God,’ was not destroyed, the shock that hadn’t been absorbed hit Ian, crushing his bones and rupturing his muscles, twisting and mashing all his internal organs.

-Glorl… Glududdack…

However, the Sea God’s Armor was a legendary artifact.

This bizarrely powerful artifact began to heal Ian’s body.

Every bit of mana absorbed from the sea transformed into healing properties, regenerating Ian.

-Shhhhhhh!

Knowing this, Edgar swiftly approached the shock-stricken Ian and took out a plasma blade.

Then, to slow down Ian’s recovery, he severed one of his arms—

-Thud.

And stripped off all the seams of the armor.

He then pulled out a ‘Release Spell Scroll’ from his inventory, separating Ian from the Armor of the Sea God.

As a result—

“Keuhh───!”

Ian began to spew blood, writhing in pain.

This was because his arm and the insides of his body were interrupted mid-recovery.

【…Ultimately, it’s your choice. Farewell.】

Though he had offered a choice, Ian Clendor met his end unable to let go of his desire for the throne.

Edgar looked down at Ian, who was slowly dying and sinking into the depths of the sea.

According to the original scenario, he should have seized the throne and smacked down Crown Prince Leon backed by the Demon Church.

Having watched the timeline where he became Emperor made his death feel somewhat bitter.

‘…No, I shouldn’t dwell on the past.’

But then Edgar shook his head.

Isn’t there a new adversary in this world line?

Bianca Clendor.

The one who had never attained the throne once, and had suffered unjust deaths at the hands of subordinates bribed by Prince Ian.

Perhaps entrusting the purging of the Demon Church to her would be better than leaving it to the power-obsessed Ian.

While Ian fought against the Demon Church for his own lust for power, Bianca would stand against it to protect her people.

‘Above all…’

Bianca was favorable towards the Empire.

Unlike Ian, who had always been a headache for the Empire in the previous timeline, she would know how to bend herself for the greater good.

She valued protecting her citizens over the dignity of the Empire.

-Fwaaat!

So Edgar no longer held any attachments to Ian.

Activating the underwater jet engine, he swiftly approached the warship.

Now it was time to handle what needed to be handled and entrust Clendor to Bianca.

***

“Already not at the level of mere students.”

In a conference room in the Dreadnought.

Academy students, who had just returned from subduing sea monsters, were commenting on Edgar’s image reflected in the video transmission magic circle.

However, rather than amazement, smiles of disbelief spread across their faces, because Edgar’s martial prowess was far beyond common sense.

Who would have thought he would annihilate Clendor’s sea monster hunters at a 1:20 ratio when they had struggled to face them 1:1?

“….”

Yet, some still burned with competitive spirit in response to Edgar.

That was particularly true for the nobles’ offspring and Charlotte.

First, Isabella wouldn’t allow her pride to permit it.

Though she liked Edgar, she was the one who had reached the peak with her ‘Force of Negation’ cheat ability.

Having grown stronger by tapping into such a cheat, she didn’t want to so easily concede the title of ‘Strongest Student’ to Edgar.

‘I need to… I need to get stronger…’

Conversely, Charlotte simply wished to be someone deserving to stand beside Edgar.

She figured that she needed to have the abilities to be his partner, which fueled her ambition.

‘You keep climbing higher. I’ll catch up soon.’

And Lucas regarded Edgar as both a friend and rival.

Though it was merely his own perception, it served as Lucas’s own little dream.

To compete equally with someone he wished to be and respected.

‘I’ll definitely show you once I’ve perfected my swordsmanship.’

Of course, Enya felt the same drive for improvement.

She no longer felt the same anxiety as before.

Now that she had started looking for answers closer to the truth, she firmly believed the day would come when she could stand before Edgar, having mastered her sword techniques.

For now, she only needed to focus on her own sword.

There was no need to be anxious watching Edgar move ahead.

Everyone has their own pace of growth.

“Your Highness the Princess. It seems it’s time to tear ourselves apart.”

Meanwhile, Edgar was requesting Bianca to return to her homeland.

Having learned that the bishop of the Demon Church sent out an avatar instead of his main body, he couldn’t allow Clendor to remain defenseless.

“Today, your Highness’s political rival is no more. Return to Clendor and absorb Ian’s forces.”

Edgar advised Bianca to unify Clendor’s political factions and guided her on how to do so in detail.

How to differentiate the Demon Church.

How to deal with betrayers.

What methods would be best for purging and integrating.

He offered Bianca valuable advice that would be beneficial for her.

“You are now the only descendant of the Sea God. Prove it yourself.”

With those words, Edgar donned Bianca with the Armor of the Sea God.

He then handed her a spear that he had crafted overnight.

Bianca’s face turned scarlet.

“…Thank you. I will definitely… save Clendor.”

Bianca said this and hugged Edgar.

Edgar, slightly bewildered by the sudden embrace, soon patted her back.

He vaguely felt that she was relying on him.

“I wish you good fortune.”

With that, Bianca concluded her words and returned to Clendor.

With a minimal fleet to return to her homeland.

“Don’t worry. I will honor your Highness’s wishes and escort you to the Sea Wall.”

However, this did not mean that the Empire’s fleet and Clendor’s fleet were completely split.

Bianca was simply returning to unify the politically chaotic Clendor and root out the Demon Church, while the majority of Clendor’s fleet continued to support the Empire.

With the destabilizing factor of Ian eliminated, their relationship became stronger.

After Bianca returned to her homeland.

The exploration fleet of the Empire and Clendor continued across the vast ocean.

They faced attacks from various sea monsters and endured the fierce waves of the Magentani Strait, but nothing could stop them.

After two weeks of withstanding Grade 7 sea monsters, storms accompanied by thunder, and towering waves that threatened to swallow their ship, they finally arrived.

-The ocean was calm like a lake.

No, it was a lake in the middle of the sea itself.

At long last, they had arrived at the ‘Sea Wall’, the world’s three grand magical regions that no one had ever passed through.

 

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