The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

A sudden transition into an unfamiliar space.

Lisa, barely managing to gather herself, couldn’t stop looking around at her changed surroundings.

The old room that was there just a moment ago had disappeared without a trace.

It wasn’t just the space that had changed.

“Ri- Rinze-sama?”

No human figure was in sight, only a strange form surrounded by black mist, emitting an ominous aura.

Its appearance was exceedingly bizarre, inducing a sense of repulsion and a chill.

Quickly turning her head, Lisa naturally ended up looking at the boy.

“……!”

His face wasn’t calm as it had been before.

From his slightly parted lips, showing his teeth, and his furrowed brow, it seemed he was quite taken aback.

It was a perfectly natural reaction.

It would be strange if someone wasn’t surprised by such an unfamiliar sight.

Maybe he was just as flustered as anyone would be in this situation, she thought, when suddenly,

“Ha!?”

He laughed.

They say that when people are too shocked, they lose their minds to the point of bursting into laughter, but it didn’t seem to be the case here.

While the exact meaning of his laughter couldn’t be precisely known, if she were to describe it as she saw it,

It seemed like he laughed because he found the situation absurd.

* * *

Humans can wield the power of gods in two main ways.

One is when a god directly bestows their power upon a human.

I’m exactly that case, having received the power of Aer through the Mist Stone,

The other is through the use of a god’s power that has been passed down through sacred relics or artifacts.

Come to think of it, that’s me as well.

It’s like I’ve almost entirely inherited a god’s power, like a child born of it, now in my possession.

“You must be surprised! It’s inevitable! This is an omnipotent power that you absolutely must obey!”

Ignoring the ambiguous groan that sounded like laughter or crying, I scrutinized the mist’s energy that she had emitted.

It felt all too familiar, almost comforting.

It’s as if this was just another pocket dimension created by that foolish god, so much so that I wouldn’t doubt it for a second.

I couldn’t create a space like this myself.

“However, if a human is worthy, they can fully wield it! Just like I am facing you now!”

For a moment, her figure blurred in the mist, then she looked at me with a triumphant smile.

She also flaunted the gold ring on her fourth finger of her left hand.

If I remember correctly, that’s an artifact.

Specifically, the .

It’s a kind of storage device that can condense a certain amount of mana to carry around like a pouch, and under certain conditions, it can contain other types of energies as well.

Given the situation, it seems that the ring contains the power of Aer…

“Ha!?”

Laughter escaped me involuntarily.

Could it be that the foolish god allowed his power to be stolen so carelessly?

It’s not like a thief stealing treasures stored away in a warehouse; this is more like taking it openly while the owner watches with wide eyes.

It’s funny enough that a common artifact could contain a god’s power, but the fact that she attempted this and succeeded is beyond words.

I can assure you, the clan leader probably doesn’t know about this.

If she did, she wouldn’t have just stood by.

Instead of me, she would have personally rushed over to destroy this artifact.

“Do you know why I left the organization and settled in Lambusta? To make money? That’s just a secondary reason. I’ve been hiding in this city, nurturing my own power, not that of a god!”

A personal sense of grievance began to emanate from her voice.

“Isn’t it foolish? After all, we humans were created by the hands of gods, so there’s absolutely no problem in using their power! Why should we endure a meaningless wait for the sake of a single successor?”

Certainly, she wasn’t just rambling without a point.

Indeed, in the 50 years before my appearance in Mist, many members of Mist spent their time meaninglessly.

It would be a lie to say none of them felt any dissatisfaction.

In the end, she was one of those types as well.

“Perhaps you too are a pitiable being, unknowing of the changing world, merely following passively. I don’t know why you’ve resumed activities now, but it doesn’t matter! Your organization will soon be annihilated by my hands…”

“Isn’t that dream a bit too grand?”

She continued, as if finding the idea laughable.

“To your chick-like eyes, it might seem so. But, I will start with you, making your organization and your clan leader fully realize! And then, once again, I will stand before Lord Aer and clearly state that I am the only one who can fully inherit his power!”

“…”

It felt strangely odd.

Did I somehow empathize with her words?

Disliking the decay of my own power, I left the organization, and I’ve been growing my own power and expanding my influence.

Regardless of the purpose, it meant that I had decided to carve out my own life, and honestly, it doesn’t seem like something I can criticize.

For some reason, I wanted to ask her this one question.

“What do you plan to do with that power?”

After killing me and destroying the organization, after gaining recognition from Aer, what exactly does she want to do?

Rinze responded with a smile full of joy as if she had been waiting for this question.

“I will do everything that I can!”

I immediately asked back.

“Everything you can?”

“Yes! Every power requires the right to possess it! But this holds true even after obtaining the power! To have power and ability and yet not use it, letting it sit idle? That would be a tremendous deception and waste! One must fully exert the given power! That is the very condition for having power!”

Though she spoke at length, when boiled down, it was a simple and obvious statement.

One must fully exert the power they possess.

It’s a common enough saying that one might frequently encounter in popular self-help books.

The important part is how one interprets it.

Huh.

Sometimes, people laugh without realizing it.

One of those times is when they have an epiphany.

That’s exactly where I am now.

I’m starting to understand why the clan leader sent me to this strange place.

“Nice words.”

It was an uncommon acknowledgment from me.

“But that doesn’t change anything. In the end, you will die by my hands right here.”

-Swish

As always, I slowly raised my Kaeram to aim at her.

The intent of assassins to kill their target before them.

Rinze, realizing this, scoffed disdainfully.

“Ha! I thought you might have learned something, but you’re still foolish. Well, it’s better than begging for your life. I’ll grant you a death that suits you!”

She extended her finger gently and then chanted a spell.

“Shadow Art 6th Form: Mist Space!”

* * *

Sssss
The mist, stretching out from her fingertips like beams of light, soon divided into several paths, enveloping Cyan from all sides.

Without offering any resistance, Cyan was completely engulfed, and soon, a space that sealed him was formed.

“Your physical abilities may be comparable to those of a high-ranking officer, but in the end, you’re inevitably clumsy when it comes to handling special techniques.”

The Mist’s sixth secret technique, Mist Space.

A skill that covers a certain area with black mist, completely isolating those within from the outside world.

It was not just about creating walls; it could control a certain amount of power and mana possessed by the target, inducing a tremendous sense of powerlessness.

The powerlessness of having strength but being unable to do anything with it.

And the misery that arises within it.

Rinze’s goal was to bestow such cruel emotions upon Cyan.

“Within that, slowly, savor it for a long time! And in the end, realize! That you were nothing from the beginning! That in the presence of an absolute being, you were less than worms crawling on the ground!”

As Rinze finished speaking and spread her arms wide, the energies contained within dispersed in all directions.

As those energies gradually covered Cyan’s body, her laughter grew louder.

[A ring containing Aer’s power… Isn’t it funny how humans can be so amusing?]

However, the joy did not last long.

Startled by an unfamiliar voice behind her, Rinze quickly turned her head.

“……!?”

Eyes as if soaked in blood, intense and seductive, were smiling warmly at her.

A mysterious woman who appeared suddenly in front of her without any hint of her approach.

Barely having time to doubt her eyes, Rinze soon realized that her body was as if petrified, unable to move.

[Wow, impressive, isn’t it? An ordinary human wouldn’t even think of moving.]

The voice, filled with sarcasm, sent a chill down Rinze’s spine.

It felt as if a demon with an innocent face was whispering in her ear.

Yet, the woman with black hair paid no mind, intently observing her ring.

[I was honestly surprised. For a human to create a subspace similar to Aer’s. I wonder what expression that foolish god would have if he knew?]

She felt it.

The sensation was very familiar to the energy of the subspace she had created,

Yet, a feeling so alien that it suppressed all familiarity dominated her emotions.

[This subspace is quite interesting. Could it be called a kind of paradise for oneself? It allows you to feel the sensation of being a god, capable of anything, as long as you’re within it. But…]

The woman with black hair gently reached out into the air and caressed it.

Then, the surrounding black mist, which had bloomed around, reacted all at once and swiftly gathered into one place.

[That’s what makes it so hard to protect. You never know when or where a being more transcendent than you might snatch it away.]

-Whoosh

The gathered mist swirled above the palm of her hand.

As if seeking its original owner.

Rinze shook her head in confusion.

“Why- why! Why are you here?”

[Oh? You know me?]

The woman smirked playfully.

The cursed sword, Kaeram.

A sacred relic and successor that inherited the power of Aer, the god of the black mist.

An entity that those who embody Mist and wield the power of the mist god could not be ignorant of.

Is this the feeling of disbelief yet having no choice but to believe?

However, she had to realize soon.

What it meant for the cursed sword, Kaeram, to be present here.

It implied that a being capable of wielding the divine relic was also present.

“Then, you are possibly…!”

Rinze’s gaze immediately shifted to Cyan, who was trapped within the Mist Space.

A beam of light, like hope, extended through the pitch-black mist.

What appeared as light was not strictly light.

It was merely the vicious aura of killing intent reflected on the sharp blade, giving off the appearance of light.

The tip of the sword was precisely aimed at Rinze’s neck.

“The Successor!”

(To be continued)