Chapter 235: Berlic’s End

Just as Berlic was about to cross the western gates, a figure suddenly appeared before him.

Before he could react, Elias drove his boot into Berlic’s chest.

The impact sent the City Lord stumbling backward, his feet scraping across the cobblestones as he struggled to regain his balance. He barely managed to stop himself from falling when he looked up and saw Elias standing calmly in front of him, the black cape fluttering behind his shoulders.

Berlic’s eyes widened.

"You—! Why are you already here?!"

Elias tilted his head.

Berlic’s face twisted with fury as he pointed at him. "You shameless bastard! You said you would count to ten before coming after me!"

Elias shook his head with a faint sigh.

"I did count to ten. You still had not left the city, so I have no choice but to behead you if I want to uphold my words."

Berlic’s expression drained of color.

For a moment, he could only stare at Elias, unable to believe the man had followed through so quickly. Then the commotion drew the attention of nearby residents and city guards. People emerged from shops and alleyways, while the guards hurried toward them, gradually forming a crowd around the two men.

"What is happening?"

"Is that the City Lord?"

"Who is that man standing before him?"

The crowd grew restless as more people gathered. Some recognized Elias, while others barely knew him as the young noble from the Crimson Ducal Clan.

Elias glanced around before turning his attention back to Berlic.

Then he activated Storyteller’s Captivating Tongue.

His voice carried through the gathering with unusual clarity, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

"You must have seen how quickly Berlic moved through the streets," Elias began. "That is a speed only possible for a Lord-ranked swordsman."

The crowd quieted as they listened.

"Yet despite possessing such strength, he allowed the spatial rift to continue expanding. He watched as innocent knights lost their lives, causing tremendous pain to the parents, wives, children, and friends waiting for them."

Elias paused, letting his words settle over the crowd.

"And why did he allow it to happen? Because he was so blinded by his hatred for me that he cared more about killing me than protecting the people he was supposed to govern."

The crowd fell silent.

Then murmurs began spreading between them.

"Is that true?"

"The City Lord is a Lord-ranked swordsman?"

"Then why has he not done anything about the rift?"

"My brother was one of the knights who died..."

Berlic’s expression darkened as he realized what Elias was doing.

Berlic gritted his teeth.

"What about you?!" he shouted. "You are a Lord as well! Why did you not step forward to save the innocent?!"

He had hoped to weaken Elias’s position by drawing attention to his own failure to act. For a moment, it seemed to work. The crowd began murmuring again, and several people turned toward Elias with uncertain expressions.

"He is a Lord too?"

"Why did he not help us?"

Elias smiled faintly.

"You are right. I should have done so, but..."

He turned toward the crowd, allowing his expression to become serious.

"Unfortunately, I have only just become a Lord. If you believe I am lying to save myself, I do have witnesses who can confirm it."

The crowd looked at one another in surprise.

Before Berlic could respond, a voice cut through the chatter.

"Lord Elias is telling the truth."

Everyone turned toward the speaker.

Olide stood among the gathered people, his hands resting casually at his sides. He stepped forward, meeting the crowd’s gaze without hesitation.

"The moment Lord Elias reached the rank of Lord, he decided to stop the City Lord who had been lying to everyone to keep himself safe," Olide declared.

Berlic stared at him.

"This is nonsense!" he shouted. "How is it possible for a newly advanced Lord to possess such strength?"

Olide shrugged.

"He simply does."

Berlic’s mouth opened, but no words came out.

The crowd remained divided. Some supported Elias, believing his words and recognizing the strength he had displayed. Others still stood behind Berlic, unwilling to accept that the City Lord they had trusted might have deliberately allowed their suffering to continue.

Elias observed their reactions for a moment before moving his hand toward Lastbane’s hilt.

The sword slid from its sheath with a clear metallic sound.

Berlic’s expression changed.

"Do you really intend to fight me here?" he asked, his voice faltering as a chill crept down his spine.

Elias ignored him.

Instead, he reached for the red cloth wrapped around Lastbane’s dragon-head pommel and began unwrapping it. The fabric fell away, revealing the pale-bone carving beneath.

Berlic’s eyes widened.

"H-How?!"

The crowd looked between the sword and Elias, confused by the sudden change in the City Lord’s expression.

Elias smirked and raised Lastbane slightly.

"This is one of the seven mythical Crucible Swords," he announced. "Lastbane."

The words struck the crowd like thunder.

"A Crucible Sword?!"

"It is one of the Seven?"

"A Crucible Sword chose Lord Elias?"

The murmurs quickly swelled into a roar of astonishment. People stared at Lastbane as though they were looking at a legendary relic brought to life before their eyes.

Elias muttered, "Silence."

The sound was not loud, yet the crowd immediately fell silent under the influence of his captivating voice.

He turned the sword toward Berlic.

"With my authority as one of the chosen and a Lord, I declare Berlic Draveon a corrupt City Lord who used his power for his own benefit, even when doing so brought greater suffering upon the city he was meant to protect."

Berlic’s face twisted.

Elias’s voice remained firm.

"His punishment is execution."

The crowd froze.

The Seven Crucible Swords were not merely good. Each carried the authority of a regional lord, allowing its chosen wielder to act as City Lord if the current ruler died or was proven corrupt.

Berlic understood that authority better than anyone.

Yet he could scarcely accept what stood before him.

Elias, the bastard he had waited years trying to destroy, had been chosen by one of the Seven Crucible Swords.

"It cannot be..." Berlic mumbled.

His knees trembled as he stared at Lastbane.

Elias stepped closer.

Berlic tried to retreat, but the pressure of Elias’s solidified Aura held him in place. Before he could gather his thoughts or raise his sword, Elias drove his fist into his abdomen.

The blow landed with brutal force.

Berlic’s body folded around Elias’s fist, and blood spilled from his mouth as he vomited onto the cobblestones. His legs gave way, dropping him to his knees before the gathered crowd.

A few people recoiled, while others stared in stunned silence.

Berlic struggled to lift his head.

"Y-You..."

Elias raised Lastbane.

The sword flashed through the air in a single, clean arc.

Berlic’s head separated from his body and fell onto the stones. His blood spread across the ground as his lifeless form collapsed before the western gates.

For a moment, no one moved.

The crowd stood frozen, unable to process what had just happened. The City Lord who had ruled Kilmir had been executed in front of them, and the man responsible was standing over his body with a mythical sword in his hand.

Elias lowered Lastbane.

As the tension left his shoulders, he felt something strange.

It was as though a heavy burden he had carried for a long time had finally been removed. The pressure that had weighed upon him since entering Kilmir seemed to fade, leaving him with an unexpected sense of relief.

He exhaled quietly.

Then a voice rose from the crowd.

"Lord Elias...!"

Elias turned toward the speaker.

The man bowed deeply before shouting, "You should become our new City Lord!"

Another voice quickly followed.

"Yes! Lord Elias should lead us!"

"He defeated the corrupt City Lord!"

"He is one of the chosen!"

The calls spread through the gathering, growing louder as more people joined in.

"Lord Elias!"

"Our new City Lord!"

He stared at them in utter confusion.

The residents continued, their voices growing louder as they called for him to take Berlic’s place.

’There is no way in hell I am doing something like that.’

He had come to expose and execute Berlic. He had never intended to become City Lord himself.

’I have to deny them right now.’

He drew a breath and prepared to speak.

But before a single word could escape his lips, something utterly strange and disastrous occurred.

The sky suddenly darkened.

Thick gray clouds spread overhead, swallowing the light and dimming the streets beneath them. The residents looked upward, their cheers fading into confused cries as the clouds gathered with unnatural speed.

Then the buildings began to change.

Stone walls twisted and cracked, their surfaces weathering as though centuries had passed in a single instant. Roofs collapsed, windows shattered, and the structures surrounding the street transformed into the ruins of some forgotten era. The cobblestones beneath their feet fractured.

The crowd screamed as the city around them became unrecognizable.

Elias’s eyes widened, and an orange screen appeared before him.

[Ding!]

[The host has entered a hidden dungeon!]

[Hidden Dungeon]

[Name: Ruins of Ithaca]

[Grade: II]