Noble Lady Reformation Guide - Chapter 130: The Subjugation of Beltus (4)

The entrance to the Beltus mansion, surrounded by a massive wrought-iron wall that followed the line of the hill, was imposing just to look at.

But the smoke and magic rising from within made it hard to distinguish anything.

Dereck pulled the reins and charged into the Beltus mansion, where not even a gatekeeper remained.

He passed through the large entrance on the southeastern end and crossed the southern garden.

Rodelia’s soldiers followed him, and all of them clicked their tongues at the sight — monsters filled the surroundings.

“Sir Dereck, it’s fine that we entered, but from here on we must move in an organized formation!”

Countess Rodelia, drawing her sacred sword, shouted from his side.

“The servants inside the mansion are all of low rank! We must save them while we locate Grand Duke Beltus!”

“He’s most likely in the office of the main building! However—”

Just as Dereck, crossing the vast garden, shouted—

A huge halo of light began to rise above the Beltus mansion.

The giant of fire, completely subdued and causing fires without serving any further purpose, vanished.

And now, a massive magic circle began to unfold in the sky, centered around the eastern tower.

The eastern tower — the place where all magical research facilities were concentrated.

The remnants of the protective magic that had been active began isolating the main building, preparing to bombard the enemies inside.

It was a defensive circle created by high-ranking transformation mages after years of research.

The one who held the authority to activate it was Robenalt, the eldest son of Duke Beltus, who had prepared it perfectly from the eastern tower.

The magic circle, which both protected the main building and unleashed high-level bombardment spells, became nearly impenetrable once activated.

“We have to neutralize the magic circle in the eastern tower and also deal with the mercenary group in the western barracks.”

“The mansion is full of monsters, so the defensive forces won’t be able to respond in an organized way! We must take advantage of the chaos inside the mansion!”

Countess Rodelia swung her sacred sword. With a red flash, the nearby monsters were cut down one after another.

As a noble, she understood magic well, but she preferred to charge straight into the battlefield and wield the sword with her own hands.

Light radiated from her white armor as trolls and goblins turned into corpses formed an army to block her path.

She had already slain thousands of such creatures on Rodentz Island.

The soldiers following her were also veterans who had fought alongside her on countless battlefields.

Claang!

Their coordinated movements were flawless.

Dereck also followed on horseback, firing magic arrows. While clearing the way, he shouted toward the countess.

“Don’t exhaust all your strength! There are still many enemies left!”

“With so many traces of necromantic magic here, it’s impossible to hold back! Let’s head for the eastern tower and the western barracks first!”

“There will be… those who help us.”

“What?”

Dereck tightened the reins once more and spoke with a more serious expression.

Dereck’s allies were not limited to Countess Rodelia.

Although she didn’t know it yet, she was already one of the most protected people in the entire southwest of the continent.

*

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

The outer wall of the isolation chamber was destroyed. No — more than destroyed, it had vanished without a trace.

Through the massive hole in the wall, the entire Beltus mansion grounds could be seen turned into chaos.

Wherever one looked, there were monsters.

The soldiers from the barracks had begun to come out to eliminate the creatures inside, but it would take a long time to clear them completely.

A great fire had broken out in the southern garden, but there was no one to contain it.

At least the eldest son, Robenalt, seemed to remain calm in the eastern tower — the magic was constructing the protective circle.

Once completed, the immediate threat could be contained.

“What a sight.”

The monster that had subdued and extinguished the giant of fire, which seemed capable of burning the entire world, walked lightly toward Grand Duke Beltus, looking down on him.

Grand Duke Beltus, exhausted, was kneeling on one knee, gritting his teeth while supporting himself with his staff.

Just as Fina was about to say something, Grand Duke Beltus waved his hand, summoning four-star summoning magic.

Earth spirits, clad in rough armor, raised their swords — but they all froze in place the moment they faced Fina.

Whoosh!

From the bony skull of Happy, the Arch Lich that Fina had carefully raised, a bluish magical power began to pour out.

Blue flames burned within its empty sockets.

Three-star combat magic, Paralysis.

The fact that a summoned creature could use magic like this was absurd.

Fina smiled seductively, raised her pale hand to brush against her cheek, then quickly swept her bangs aside.

Beneath her flawless white forehead, her eyes gleamed with ferocity.

Not her usual sharp gaze—but eyes wide open. And the magic contained within them burst forth.

That alone was enough to make Grand Duke Beltus’s entire body bristle.

Necromantic magic—the most purely refined—is the power closest to death.

Magic beyond four stars, five stars.

The purity of the power flowing from Fina surpassed even that which she had used to summon the Arch Lich.

Five-star magic brushing the level of six stars.

No—it had already gone beyond.

It was a power worthy of preparation for six-star magic.

The dream of any mage before dying—to witness six-star magic.

“T-this…”

Kalimford’s six-star magic made meteors fall.

Melverot’s froze entire mountain ranges.

Six-star magics redrew maps, unleashed cataclysms, and could set the world ablaze.

Then what is six-star necromantic magic?

Covering the world with vengeful spirits, piling corpses like mountains, reducing mansions to ashes with crimson flames—all of that is possible.

But the six-star magic that Fina was about to use was different.

It wasn’t grand or flashy.

It was the culmination of someone who had devoted their entire life to a single study, repeated to the extreme.

Simple. Precise. Terrible.

Just by Fina closing her eyes, time itself seemed to stop.

The result of that power was not burning mountains or shifting continents.

It was something far colder.

Death.

The only thing a necromancer studies all their life is that.

Thus, the pinnacle of necromancy—six-star magic—is—

“Instant Death.”

She only had to close her eyes once, and all lives within her perception fell into her hand.

She merely had to squeeze.

She guided them to eternal rest with a single breath.

No one could resist it except one of her own level.

Snap. Whoosh!

All the creatures summoned by Grand Duke Beltus collapsed and vanished the instant Fina closed her eyes.

The spirits shattered into fragments.

The monsters fell, blood pouring from their seven orifices.

In less than a second, the entire chamber was drenched in red.

The only survivor was Grand Duke Beltus.

Fina hadn’t killed him. Not yet.

She had a purpose.

“……”

Grand Duke Beltus even forgot to breathe.

On his knees, leaning on his staff, he had already lost the will to resist.

And as he stared at Fina smiling, drenched in blood, only one thought came to his mind—a way out.

He couldn’t defeat her by force. He needed another way.

So he spoke, his eyes wide open.

“If you need corpses… I can provide them.”

“Oh?”

Even in such a situation, he kept thinking.

Though his pupils trembled, he searched for a way to persuade her.

“You said you hide your identity and study death, right? In… in the Beltus family there are plenty of lives to spare… If you use me… you can research all you want without revealing yourself…”

“Really?”

“I can also provide corpses of high-ranking mages… among my vassals there are some… and they don’t suspect me… If you want bodies with noble blood, I have my children… and the collateral family… there are many…”

“Sounds convenient not to kill you, just hearing that. Hehe.”

Fina walked gracefully forward and placed her hands on the Grand Duke’s bloodied shoulders, whispering into his ear.

“But tell me… do you really think you’re a variable I can control?”

The duke’s eyes widened even more.

The nails digging into his shoulders felt like a predator’s fangs.

“Hehe. Even the great lord of Beltus fears death. If you climbed by stepping on others… never forget you can be stepped on too.”

“…”

“If you want to live… I’ll let you live. But not for free.”

“W-what… what do you want…?”

“Of course I want something. And it won’t go badly for you… The trash of Rodentz would die to receive my baptism. They’ll die of envy over you.”

As she spoke, the hand gripping him began to emit dark red magic.

Even though she’d said she wouldn’t kill him, Fina’s magic always carried a dense aura of death.

The duke, gritting his teeth and looking up at Fina, resembled a defeated demon.

Because demons grant wishes—but never in the way one wants.

From above, the chaos of the Beltus territory was visible.

The unknown necromantic magic covered everything, corpses and monsters endlessly rising.

And amid that chaos, the girl looked down at the bloodstained duke.

Soon, the mark Fina carved between the wounds made by her nails began to glow.

If you intend to trample someone, you must accept that you can be trampled too.

The one Beltus tried to trample was the beloved disciple of a six-star necromancer.

It was said there wasn’t a single six-star mage who was “normal.”

Even if the young Trisha had asked, Dereck had every reason not to want her involved.

“From today on, you’re a necromancer.”

Fina’s method of “raising” disciples was one no other master could even imagine.

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