Trash of the Count's Family Vol 2. Chapter 513: I Descend! (4)

Dawn.

SPLASH, SHAAAA—

The small fishing boat reached a remote island where no one lived.

An island that was mostly rocky terrain and utterly desolate.

A rock stood at the island’s center.

“.......”

Seventh General Hinari set foot on the island, covered from head to toe in a long robe.

STEP, STEP.

Her closest aide and guards accompanied her on either side and behind.

Guh, cough.

One memory suddenly surfaced in Seventh General Hinari’s mind.

Hinari—Hinari—!

Her father, the great general, calling her.

Even as the second Emperor was pulling out his soul, the great general had looked at her and said,

Th-this is wrong—Hinari, this person is dangerous! You must not join hands with someone like this...! Avoid her! Run away!

The corner of her mouth, hidden beneath the robe, twisted upward.

“To the very end......”

To the very end, her father truly was a tiresome man.

Do I still look powerless and young in your eyes?

How ridiculous.

Hinari arrived at the cave entrance. Several soldiers hiding in the shadows inside the cave lowered their heads and stepped aside.

Her youngest brother Asiprang’s hands and feet.

“You’ve worked hard.”

The Seventh General lowered her hood slightly, revealing her face, and gave them a gentle smile before heading down into the cave.

“Sister.”

Asiprang had come out to meet her there.

“Yes. It has been a long time.”

She warmly received her younger brother’s greeting, but soon painted worry and joy across her face.

“You have no idea how shocked I was when I received your message. I couldn’t sleep at all. I wanted to come as soon as possible.”

Yes. There was not a single lie in those words.

Fear that every plan might go awry.

Because of that, the Seventh General had not been able to sleep.

And anger had risen as well.

Useless for his entire life, that brat......!

Anger toward her foolish, tactless younger brother Asiprang.

And one more thing—

“Asiprang, is this the person?”

A red-haired man standing beside Asiprang.

“Yes. Sister Ferry—no, the general brought this healer.”

“Greetings, General. I am an unremarkable physician from the mainland.”

The Seventh General spoke with a gentle face to the red-haired man, who greeted her modestly.

“It would be troubling if you called yourself unremarkable, would it not?”

“Ah.”

“The person with the skill to heal the great general, my father, must be exceptional.”

“Mm.”

Toward the man who looked flustered, as if he had made a verbal mistake, the Seventh General continued in a voice that was gentle but edged with a sharp blade.

“And what is your name? Shouldn’t you at least introduce yourself properly?”

“Ah. My name is Cale Henituse, General. It seems trying to be humble was not a good choice.”

The physician was younger than she had expected. Cale Henituse.

The Seventh General stared at him quietly, then nodded.

“Yes. It would be troublesome if your skill proved insufficient.”

She displayed all the gravity she could.

“You must save Father.”

“Ah.”

At the sigh that came from somewhere, Hinari turned her head.

Seeing that her younger brother seemed excessively tense, unlike usual, and that his expression had gone stiff, she reached toward his shoulder.

“Asiprang, this sister is here now, so there is no need to worry too—”

“!”

Both of them froze for an instant.

Because Asiprang had taken a step back and avoided Hinari’s hand as it moved toward his shoulder.

What is this?

Doubt surged for a moment.

It was then.

“General. Lord Asiprang.”

A very faintly awkward silence hung in the air.

As though he absolutely could not let that silence remain, the young physician called Hinari in a soft tone.

“?”

When she temporarily stopped thinking about her younger brother and turned her head—

The physician’s dark brown eyes were staring straight at her.

“I may be a physician of unremarkable skill. But there is one thing you need not worry about.”

Seventh General Hinari suddenly felt that this physician was somewhat different from ordinary physicians.

Because unlike the physicians who had been cowed after seeing the great general’s condition, he was extremely confident and certain.

No way—

Could this person truly save the great general?

Anxiety welled up again.

No.

That would not happen.

“When it comes to souls, I know them very well. The great general will definitely awaken.”

Her anxiety surged at the sight of the physician even mentioning souls, but the Seventh General forced that emotion down.

<I have received it.>

Because she had confirmed the reply from the second Emperor.

She would take some kind of measure.

She said she needed my cooperation.

To be precise, the cooperation of Hinari, who would become the king who ruled the Oceanic Alliance.

And the second Emperor definitely said it.

Yesterday, she had been flustered because the news was so sudden.

But when the second Emperor separated the great general’s soul from his body—

Hinari had certainly been there, and she remembered what the second Emperor had said.

The great general’s soul is inside my body. Unless I lose it or intend otherwise, there is no way his soul will return to his body.

...That woman had smiled as she swallowed Father’s soul into her mouth.

And she had said that with a smile.

The voice of Father’s soul, being eaten by her, had cried out.

Hinari, you must not join hands with someone like this! Run away!

Even words like that—

When the soul was being eaten—

Uaaaaaagh—!

Became a beastlike howl.

No emotion appeared on Hinari’s face as she recalled that moment.

But it lasted only an instant.

Grin.

Because the physician looked at her and smiled confidently.

“There will be no chance of my plan going wrong.”

And he said those words.

“Yes. I will trust your plan.”

Of course, Seventh General Hinari intended to move before that plan could be put into action.

I believe the second Emperor’s words, but—

There was nothing in the world one could completely trust.

Therefore,

I’ll kill this man, just in case.

If there was even the slightest sign that Father was improving, she would kill this physician immediately.

Killing General Ferry as well and taking her authority would not be a bad option either.

And then, she would seize Island 1.

On the day of the great council, I will open the magic defensive formation with my own hands.

Then she only had to kill the other generals, who would come to the great council hall accompanied by the minimum number of guards.

Then the sea will be mine......!

Not Father’s.

Mine!

Hinari, the sea belongs to no one. I am merely mediating so that the sea does not fall into chaos and follows its rules.

Her detestable father, who said such absurd things even while holding all authority in his hands.

The power you refused to let go.

Hinari. You are still lacking.

I will have that power.

The Seventh General opened her mouth.

“I want to see Father quickly.”

“Yes, Sister.”

Bzzzz—

The magic circle emitted light.

“Sister, are you going with these three?”

“Yes. Only we came.”

That was a lie.

Soon, another ship carrying her other closest staff officer and outstanding warriors would arrive at this island.

After they left, those people would kill the guards at the cave entrance, activate this teleportation circle, and secretly enter Island 1.

Because I know how to operate the teleportation circle.

Other islanders might not know, but as a blood relative of the great general and a person of Island 1, she knew how to operate this island and its secret passage.

“Then we will move immediately.”

Hinari stepped onto the circle after Asiprang.

Her eyes met her younger brother’s as he stared at her right beside her.

“What is it?”

“Sister.”

“Yes.”

At that moment, the teleportation began with a bright light.

Before the light wrapped around her entire body, Hinari heard her younger brother’s low words.

“I respected you.”

The moment she heard that, Hinari closed her eyes.

When she opened them, they would arrive in the familiar underground space.

At the underground waterway beneath the residence, where the secret teleportation circle was installed.

She opened her eyes and shouted at the same time.

“Kill them!”

The moment her youngest brother had said, “I respected you.”

The moment she realized that respect referred not to the present, but to the past.

Hinari understood what the sense of wrongness she had felt while looking at her brother had been.

He knows.

Her youngest brother, whom she had thought foolish, had realized Hinari’s truth.

The moment she understood that, Hinari immediately shouted to her subordinates and moved.

Her hand reached to the side at once.

Naturally, the person beside her was her younger brother Asiprang.

Her hand was headed toward his neck.

A hostage.

Or, if necessary—

I’ll kill him.

Having killed her father, there was no reason she could not touch her younger brother too.

A judgment and swift movement made in less than a few seconds, between closing and opening her eyes.

A power beyond imagination.

That was what people called generals of the Seventh General’s rank or higher in the Oceanic Alliance.

Among them, the great general was strong to a degree that no one dared reach.

That was why an ambush was necessary.

Schemes and ambushes had been needed to bring down her father.

Either that, or she had to be far stronger than Father, like the second Emperor.

But someone like Asiprang—!

She could kill a brat like this in one strike.

Hinari saw the despair and sense of betrayal settle in her younger brother’s eyes as he looked at her in shock, but she ignored it and aimed for his neck.

“!”

But in that instant, a chilling sensation swept over her entire body.

It felt as if her breath was being strangled.

Her body seemed about to freeze solid.

She hurriedly stopped the hand she had been extending toward Asiprang and immediately rolled to the side.

CRAAAAAASH!

It was water.

She saw a spear made of water brush past her.

That spear had aimed exactly for the place where her arm had been.

If she had not rolled sideways, that water spear probably would have pierced her arm.

“!”

She barely exhaled the breath still caught in her throat and raised her head. She saw the physician looking at her.

Cale Henituse.

Water swirled around both arms of the man who had seemed frail and weak.

And along with it, he gave off a suffocating aura.

“.......”

But that suffocating aura all vanished like a haze.

If not for that aura, there would have been no reason for Hinari to flinch and slow down.

And because that aura vanished, Hinari took in her surroundings in that brief instant.

“S-Sister. How could you do that to me—”

First, her younger brother Asiprang, his voice trembling and his face foolish. Useless people were to be excluded.

“Urgh!”

Her three subordinates. One of them was crossing swords with General Ferry.

He was clearly at a disadvantage.

“Mm.”

“.......”

Meanwhile, one was groaning with a sword against his neck.

A black-haired swordsman. Someone she had never seen before.

He was pressing Hinari’s subordinate with his sword while stepping on the last one, who had fainted.

Damn it!

All of her subordinates had become useless.

Failure appeared on Seventh General Hinari’s face.

“Looks like they really are strong starting from the Seventh General.”

Cale calmly spoke to Seventh General Hinari, who had evaded him much more easily than when he had dealt with General Ferry or Pirate Shark, even though he had used the dominating aura to about the same degree as before.

“Who are you?”

Hinari asked again.

As always, even though Cale had clearly introduced himself, he kindly answered the enemy who asked the same patterned question again.

“I told you. I’m Cale He—”

But his words could not continue.

BANG!

Seventh General Hinari.

She did not miss the opening while Cale answered.

Her body, which had been preparing while she looked around, exploded with the power she had stored.

One foot struck the floor hard.

BANG!

And her remaining foot also struck the floor with force.

ROOOOOSH!

As the scant water in the waterway surged upward as if rebelling against that force—

I have to run!

Seventh General Hinari hurriedly turned her back on Cale and began to flee.

The dark waterway.

Among the paths stretching out to the north, south, east, and west, she ran toward the northern path where she stood, the one farthest from Cale.

They may know the underground waterway, but I know it well too!

She understood this place better than Asiprang did.

Because once, when she was young, she had managed the underground waterway in order to help her father.

I have to get as far away as possible while the enemies are off guard, then hide!

If she was caught like this, everything was over.

The moment Seventh General Hinari saw Cale, she realized it.

To be exact, seeing his companions with him made her certain.

I can’t win!

She did not know whether she was stronger than Cale.

But at the very least, the enemy was not beneath her.

His companions looked fairly strong as well.

Then she was outnumbered.

BANG! BANG!

Every time she took a step, the floor of the waterway trembled.

Like the great general, Seventh General Hinari was a fistfighter.

She condensed aura into both feet and stepped even faster, even if only by a single pace.

“Mm. This pattern is new.”

Cale scratched his head as he watched her.

However, he had not moved even one step.

“Of all places—”

The underground waterway stretched out to the north, south, east, and west around the teleportation circle.

“Young Master.”

To the east stood Ron the attendant.

Meooow!

Meow!

“Human, are you okay?”

To the west stood the average ten-year-olds.

“What a shame.”

“.......”

To the south stood the Whale Tribe’s Archie and Witira.

And to the north—

“Oh. She’s running pretty far.”

As Cale admired Hinari, who had quickly grown distant—

“Heh. His Heavenly Demonship said he was going for a walk. It seems he went quite far north.”

Ron spoke while standing beside Cale.

And at that moment—

BANG!

Seventh General Hinari, who had once again crossed a distance of more than ten steps at once with a foot filled with aura, heard a certain sound.

Splash, splash.

The sound of footsteps approaching through the shallow water flowing in the underground waterway.

Splash. Splash.

In the darkness, the Heavenly Demon was walking toward her, dressed in a black robe, with the hand holding his fan clasped behind his back.

“Mm. So you fight by wrapping aura around your body?”

The Heavenly Demon showed a little interest.

“You are similar to martial artists.”

But that interest only went that far.

“......!”

A chill surged up Seventh General Hinari’s back.

The man who had suddenly appeared before her looked quite strong, but an incomparably immense aura was pushing toward her.

“Heh. He must want to fight once.”

The Heavenly Demon showed interest toward that aura.

“.......”

Hinari slowly turned her head back.

Splash. Splash.

Cale was walking into the northern passage.

“Even if you run, you’re still inside the trap.”

The moment Cale’s words ended—

ROOOOOSH—

The water in the northern passage of the underground waterway began to surge upward.

A violent rise one would never think possible from shallow water.

“!”

Hinari could not say anything as she saw the walls of water spreading out behind the Heavenly Demon and behind Cale.

She had literally been trapped.

Thud.

Seventh General Hinari’s hands lost strength and hung limply downward.

“I like that you’re quick to assess the situation.”

Cale smiled at her with a satisfied expression.

Bzzzz.

At that moment, the divine relic in Cale’s pocket vibrated.

<As planned, did you catch the Seventh General?>

<Then next, I’m descending today now, right?>

<I really need a place to hide, heeng.>