The Grey Dukedom actively purchased children.
Of course, most were used as sacrifices, but some were recognized for their abilities and were admitted into the Blood Cult.
Lloyd and the children in the same carriage were good examples of this.
In fact, strictly speaking, they were also intended to be used differently in the Grey Duchess’s plans…
“Hector. That b*stard Lloyd is right here.”
The Grey Duchess’s mind changed.
She decided to keep the children alive.
It was entirely because of Lloyd.
Out of curiosity about Lloyd and as a way to harness his abilities, it seemed necessary to have children around him to stimulate him.
Therefore, the children owed their lives to Lloyd.
However, Hector and his group could not have known about this fact.
In front of a servant’s quarters.
Hector, holding a dagger, asked the child next to him.
“Are you keeping watch properly?”
“Yes. There’s no one around. If anyone approaches, we’ll make noise.”
“Good job.”
“Are you going to beat Lloyd up properly this time?”
“Beat him up?”
Crack.
Hector cracked his neck and grinned.
“I’m going to half-kill him.”
What a detestable b*stard.
That’s what Lloyd was to Hector.
From the moment they first met in the carriage. Despite not being physically large, his eyes were as empty as a machine’s.
Even when provoked, Lloyd’s eyes looked at Hector as if he were a bug.
Who does he think he is!
From that moment, Lloyd was a thorn in Hector’s side.
It got worse after Lloyd started receiving various privileges.
Not only Hector but all the other children envied and resented Lloyd.
Even during all the training, Lloyd performed without showing any signs of struggle.
That was thanks to Lloyd’s overwhelming talent and skills, but the others couldn’t accept it.
— While we worked, that b*stard played.
— The Duchess’s strategist? I could do that too.
— He’s just a wh*re selling his body.
The discontent towards Lloyd.
Hector used that to control the children.
The day to put an end to that anger was approaching.
— Creak.
The door opened.
Lloyd was seen injecting himself with something.
Hector immediately threw the dagger.
— Whizz!
A red line appeared on Lloyd’s cheek.
There couldn’t be a more perfect display of dominance.
‘Can’t kill him.’
Instead, he’d beat him to the brink of death. Just enough not to be noticed.
No matter whose favor he received, he planned to set an example.
‘Because I’ll become an executive of the Blood Cult.’
Hector had already decided to climb to the top of the Blood Cult.
Grin.
Hector raised the corners of his mouth and asked.
“Are you doing drugs or something?”
“… Hector.”
Still speaking in an emotionless voice.
Despite the dagger grazing him, he showed no fear.
‘Detestable b*stard.’
He needed to fix that insolence.
Hector’s sole thought was to correct Lloyd’s attitude. He missed one crucial detail: Lloyd’s eyes were clearer than ever.
“… What are you doing here?”
“I have a few questions. Like your relationship with the Duchess. And how you manage to satisfy her with your small thing. I’d like some tips.”
Snicker.
Hearing the laughter around him, Hector raised his momentum. He intended to break Lloyd down with words before resorting to fists.
There are more of us. That guy will probably try to run away anyway.
“Just attack me.”
“… What?”
“Stop flapping your tongue and just come at me. I’m getting tired of indulging you.”
Hector flinched.
The passive Lloyd was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he was provoking him. Where did this confidence come from? Did he have something hidden?
For some reason, it was chilling.
‘No. Don’t be scared.’
Hector shook his head.
It had to be a bluff.
He raised both hands.
And started clapping.
Clap, clap, clap.
Slowly.
Clapping, he began to speak.
“Very impressive guts. Did you think we’d get scared and back off because of your tough act?”
Ha ha ha!
The group following Hector laughed together. Lloyd quietly opened his mouth.
4o
“Don’t clap.”
“Why? Are you embarrassed?”
Clap, clap, clap.
Hector’s clapping grew more intense.
Lloyd’s eyebrows twitched.
Finally, his composure was breaking.
The children, noticing this, began to join Hector in clapping.
The sound of clapping and laughter spread.
“Stop it.”
“Sto~wp e~t.”
“Aahahahahah!”
Clap, clap, clap!
The moment the vulgar applause and laughter went too far.
Lloyd’s eyes glowed red.
Hector blinked.
‘Did I see that right?’
But he couldn’t think any further.
His eyes, half-open, froze in place.
What is this?
Hector opened his mouth like a fool.
“Ah…?”
Soon, his mouth also froze.
Only then did he realize.
Everything around Lloyd had stopped.
Lloyd spoke calmly.
“I told you to stop.”
Naturally, the clapping also ceased.
◆
Clapping.
That damn clapping.
Lloyd gritted his teeth.
“No, it just doesn’t make sense.”
He had told them to stop.
Everything else was fine, but he had asked for just one thing.
“Why are you insisting on doing that?”
Lloyd asked sincerely.
Of course, there was no answer.
Because time had stopped.
And it was Lloyd himself who had stopped time.
“Ah.”
Lloyd also knew.
He was in a very strange state.
It felt like some part of his brain had shattered.
Probably the part responsible for morals, common sense, and consideration.
His mind felt at ease.
He felt light as if he could fly.
It was a sense of euphoria he had never felt since his reincarnation.
“Not bad.”
Grin.
Lloyd raised the corners of his mouth.
Maybe he was slightly insane.
But he definitely hadn’t been consumed by Ortega.
In fact, Ortega was now as quiet as a mouse.
Why had he become like this?
Everything was fine until Hector’s group entered.
The [Tranquilizer] had calmed him down.
The problem was what came next.
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!
Hector and the children clapped.
Those b*stards.
Lloyd gritted his teeth.
Seeing this, the children clapped even louder.
It was a poor choice.
“No, no.”
Let’s correct that.
It was a poor choice for ‘them’.
For ‘Lloyd’, it was a good choice.
Thanks to it, he awakened like this.
Lloyd looked around.
Everything in the room had stopped.
“Ah.”
Beautiful.
Not only people, but even the blanket fluttering in the wind, and a single speck of dust were frozen in mid-air.
Too mystical to be mere magic.
Lloyd knew what he had done.
— You little brat, how dare you use my technique…!
Ortega had said that.
Perhaps unconsciously, he had stolen Ortega’s technique.
[Time Stop]
Looking back, it wasn’t that difficult.
— How dare you! I won’t let you get away with this!
Ortega howled in his mind.
Lloyd laughed and murmured.
“Shut up.”
Lloyd simultaneously brought his fingers to his temple.
“If my brain explodes, you’ll die too.”
Instantly, the voice fell silent.
“Ah, yes. When the control is mine, so is the body.”
Lloyd grinned.
After silencing Ortega, he finally seemed to understand the state he had entered.
[Rampage]
The followers of the Blood Cult do not hesitate to perform s*icide attacks.
Before they self-destruct, they unleash superhuman strength.
This phenomenon is called “Rampage”.
At the same time his mind was calmed by the [Tranquilizer].
Ortega’s whispers and the sound of clapping had drilled into his brain.
The situation was perfect, with the Blood Cult’s symbol fully formed.
Thus, he faced [Rampage].
Lloyd’s extraordinarily sharp talent, the experience of his second life as Lee Han, and the unique “Rampage” of the Blood Cult combined.
His current abilities were several times greater than usual.
But there was one problem.
A follower who enters the [Rampage] state dies.
Consumed by madness, they sweep through their surroundings until they cause a mana explosion and die.
“Hmm.”
Lloyd casually examined his mana circuits.
A strange gray energy was seeping from the symbol.
It was eerie and indistinct. So subtle that he wouldn’t have noticed it if he hadn’t entered the rampage state.
Was it heading for the mana circle?
— Crackle
Lloyd effortlessly suppressed the energy.
There would be no death after the rampage.
“Ah.”
Good.
Not a bad sensation.
It felt euphoric, like floating on clouds.
This room was entirely Lloyd’s domain.
Time had frozen perfectly.
Lloyd flicked the dust that was suspended in front of him.
Tap.
The dust particles floated through the beams of light and landed on Hector’s hair.
“I’ll deal with that guy later.”
Step, Step.
Lloyd moved toward the nearest child.
The kid, oblivious to what was happening, was frozen in the clapping position.
“Why do something I specifically told you not to do…?”
Lloyd grabbed the kid’s fingers.
For a boy, his fingers were quite thick.
Well-formed muscles felt quite substantial.
“Hmm.”
Holding a man’s hand wasn’t a pleasant sensation. But the thought of punishing someone was satisfying.
Lloyd carefully wrapped his hand around the boy’s fingers.
How should he be punished?
“Hmm.”
Clearly, he didn’t understand when he used kind words.
“I think it would be best to make sure he can’t clap again.”
Lloyd smiled sweetly and applied pressure to his hand.
The boy’s fingers resisted with considerable elasticity.
The stretching tendons.
“Oh.”
Human tendons are more flexible than he thought.
Even as his fingers bent backward, there was substantial resistance.
If he was going to prevent Ortega from awakening anyway, he just had to avoid seeing blood, right?
— Creak
The boy’s finger muscles made a creepy sound as they reached their limit.
Like a rubber band stretched to its breaking point.
“Pathetic.”
Lloyd laughed.
— Crack, crack, crack!
The sound of bones breaking.
The fingers bent backward grotesquely.
Barely hanging from his palm, the fingers looked quite gruesome, frozen in time.
“You won’t be clapping anymore.”
Lloyd smiled contentedly.
Next was Hector.
Had he sensed Lloyd’s magic with his considerable skills?
Eyes wide open, staring.
Lloyd didn’t like those eyes.
