Chapter 959: Moving Forward (4)

‘You stupid old fart…!’

Knight Leveaux clutched at his mask. The cold sensation felt through his fingertips did wonders to calm his excited mind just a little.

‘It would’ve been better for you to dig your own grave!’

It didn't matter what the Master did to turn the tide in his favor since the outcome wouldn't have changed, anyway! After all, the Master got impeached not because he had made a fatal mistake this time. No, it was the result of everyone's dissatisfaction accumulating steadily over the years.

Of course Knight Leveaux knew the Master hadn't done anything egregiously wrong. However, that wasn't a good enough excuse. Also, falling behind and not adapting to the changing eras was a crime in itself.

The Round Table could no longer afford to be an organization led by a man who mindlessly stuck to the old ways of doing things and had no desire to modernize. The era was changing too quickly for that. And the Round Table needed to move at a different rhythm now.

So, Knight Leveaux made thorough preparations.

Even if the Master had delivered the verdict of wiping out South Korea off the map, his fate wouldn't have changed by much. However, his insane demands not only sealed the deal but also handily managed to completely eradicate the last vestiges of guilt wiggling inside Leveaux's heart in an instant.

‘It must be age-related dementia, then.’

Support the Koreans to keep things between China and Japan in balance? No one in their right mind would have cooked up such a hair-brained idea.

The Knights who had been reluctant to join Leveaux's side came around rather quickly after sitting through the Master's insane demands.

Even if they did not evaluate the Master's actions and decisions up to this point in a negative light, this meeting had convinced them that he no longer suited the position.

This process wasn’t exactly what Leveaux had envisioned, but the outcome was still favorable, so he didn’t care.

‘And now, we’ve gone past the point of no return!’

In a few days, the process of selecting the new Master would begin. And Leveaux would take over that position with almost no opposition. The only thorn in his side, Wiggins, was already no longer a part of the picture. And the one who had been keeping Leveaux docile until now, the Master, had been given the boot.

In other words, the Round Table had become the proverbial ownerless mountain. And the only thing remaining to do for Leveaux was to claim this mountain as his own!

Leveaux’s lips twitched into a crooked grin all on their own. It felt like he was finally getting his long-overdue reward for all his hard work. And the reward would be the absolute best he could’ve hoped for.

Knight Leveaux finally reached the end of the corridor, then pointed at the massive steel door with his chin. “Open it.”

“Yes, sir!”

Creeeeeaaaak!

The guards on duty opened the massive doors left and right, creating an irritating metallic noise. Leveaux frowned slightly while stepping through the open doorway.

Unlike the fairly modern corridor he had been walking on just now, the style of the passageway behind the steel doors was as resolutely old-school as it could get. The walls of large bricks led toward a spiral staircase going downward.

...Down into the literal darkness below!

Without occasional torches lighting the way, even a martial artist like Knight Leveaux might have trouble navigating his way in this pitch-black darkness.

Leveaux unhesitantly strode on this creepy passageway.

‘Hah. What a poor taste this is.’

Even the rights of prisoners were upheld in this day and age. However, the Round Table's underground prison, built according to ancient standards, forbade any invasion of modern ideals of human rights into its dark, dank hallways.

Once Leveaux reached the bottom of the stairwell, he was immediately assaulted by the stench of mold. While covering his nose, he continued to walk ahead toward his destination. Which was right at the end of the corridor stretching seemingly endlessly to his left and right.

The deepest part of the prison housed the most secure cell found in this place. One old man was sitting silently inside this cell. An old man, whose mask symbolizing his affiliation with the Round Table had been confiscated…!

He was the former Master of the Round Table. He raised his head full of white hair and stared at Knight Leveaux through the bars.

Leveaux smirked. “So, how does it feel to get locked up in a cell you have created?”

The Master noticed the naked sarcasm in the Frenchman's voice and smirked right back. “I have to say, it's a little too cozy for my liking. I'm in the middle of regretting not paying enough attention to the design of this place.”

“Well, if you wish, I can help you with that, Master. We will have to somehow source enough excrement to dump on the floor first, but that is not going to be easy, so… It seems I have to be the adult here and hold myself back.”

The Master’s curious gaze locked on Knight Leveaux. “You’re still calling me Master?”

“You have been impeached from your role, yes, but a new Master has not been selected yet, you see? So, I thought I'd be more respectful and keep referring to you as the Master. For now.”

“How odd it is for you to pretend that you follow the rules, Leveaux. Even though you have zero regard for such things.”

Knight Leveaux got even closer to the cell’s steel bars. The closer he got to the cell, the stronger the sensation of his throat tightening became. That was because special magic formations preventing prisoners from potentially fleeing had been installed in this prison.

No matter how good the Master was, he’d never be able to escape from this place!

Leveaux smirked. “I have no issue following all the rules and processes. I don't see a reason not to. By doing so, I'll become the next Master, so why shouldn't I…”

“...It sounds like you envy my situation, then? To think you’d want to follow in my footsteps.”

“You don’t have to worry about me as I shall never end up like you. You know what I’ll do? I’m going to destroy the old ways of doing things. I have no desire to keep the Round Table as is when it has become too outdated and ponderous in the modern era!”

The Master flatly retorted, “It won’t be the Round Table anymore, then.”

“No, you're wrong again. It will still be the Round Table. Do you know why? Because that old wooden table does not represent the Round Table. Knights represent this organization, former Master. Once the Knights agree with my viewpoints, what I say will become the Round Table's will!”

The Master chuckled hollowly. “So, what will you do after that? After transforming the Round Table to whatever monstrosity you think suits you the best?”

Knight Leveaux stopped holding back his sneer. “Hah! Can’t you guess already?”

“...No, I can't. It's impossible for me to figure out what you are thinking of, Leveaux.”

“I shall get rid of all the sickening pretenses you’ve filled the Round Table with.”

“…?”

Knight Leveaux chewed his words out, his expression grim. “The one with power exercising that power should be blindingly obvious, yet you designated it as a sin. Just like your mother nation pretending to be morally upstanding these days despite committing all those atrocities throughout history!”

“Huh. That sounds like a riot, doesn’t it?”

“You don’t need to worry about a thing, former Master. I won’t stoop so low as to mock you while incarcerating you here. I’m sure the worst punishment for you is to watch the Round Table transform riiiight before your eyes while you can’t do anything to stop it. And I’ll gladly grant you that punishment!”

“I see, I see. Good. Good, I say. However…” The Master coldly glared at Knight Leveaux. “What will doing all that leave you with?”

“…” Knight Leveaux clamped his mouth shut and scowled.

The Master continued to mutter coldly. “I never said the Round Table is always right. Allow me to be honest, as even I’ve been thinking about the apparent contradiction of the Round Table. Even so, I’ll still have my honor, my glory, from serving the Round Table loyally. However, what about you? What will you be left with?”

“My glory!” Knight Leveaux suddenly slammed his fist against the cell’s steel bars.

BANG!

A loud, ear-piercing noise rocked the surroundings.

“You! You are the one who trampled on my honor and glory! Yes, you! None of this would have happened if it weren’t for you!”

“…”

Knight Leveaux fiercely gripped the steel bars. “You think you're the only one who have dedicated their everything to the Round Table?! I did, too! I sacrificed everything of mine for this place! Yet, how did you treat me in the end?! Why did it have to be Wiggins!? Why him, not me! Did you honestly think that naive fool was a better alternative than me?! Answer me! Do you still believe your idiotic judgment is right?!”

The Master’s expression grew even more withdrawn and colder as he glared at Knight Leveaux. As it turned out, this man was also… A human being.

Humans could never be fully liberated from their emotions. Then again, even such emotional outbursts were a part of being human. The Master had failed to deal with them, so ending up in this situation shouldn't come as a surprise to him. No, he should have seen it coming miles away.

“I…” The Master quietly muttered, “...Yes, you could be right. My judgment could have been wrong.”

“…”

“However, even if someone makes a wrong judgment call, humans are still capable of correcting it before it’s too late. But you want to wipe the slate completely clean just because someone was wrong? Is that how you do things, Leveaux?”

“Corrections, former Master. It won’t be how I do things anymore. Soon, it will be how the Round Table does things.”

“…”

“Watch closely, former Master. Watch as I dismantle everything you hold dear. Everything you wished to protect, everything you wished to build! And everything you wanted to possess, I… I shall dismantle them all! Yes! And you will soon have no choice but to enjoy the new order I have created!”

“Aren’t you overestimating the position of the Master a little too much?” The Master tutted quietly. “Even if you become the next Master, your grand ambition cannot be fulfilled.”

“I told you already, didn’t I? That this is not merely my will… But the Round Table’s!”

The Master’s eyes quaked subtly just then.

“Former Master… You might be smart, but you were such a fool. Too bad, here is the naked truth. As the Master, your capabilities have been outstanding. But as a head of an organization? You were too stupid. While you were paying so much attention toward Wiggins, I was recruiting all the Knights you've abandoned, you see?

“Don't forget that this is the rule you've created. No matter how capable Wiggins was, he was only one of many Knights. And every Knight, regardless of how incompetent you think they are… still exercises equal authority in the Round Table!”

Knight Leveaux beamed brightly.

“And their rights to this authority will come back to haunt you. The system you've created has led to your downfall, former Master!”

The Master sighed under his breath. “It sounds like you’re misunderstanding something here, Leveaux. I never created this system. It was already complete by the time I became the Master.”

“Does it matter? Guarding such a broken system until now makes you just as guilty. And it’s time you pay the price!”

Knight Leveaux’s sneering voice echoed coldly within the dark cell.

“I'll ensure you get good meals down here, former Master. It won't do for your health to decline, after all! Do your best to hang on for as long as you can. So you can watch the new world I create for as long as possible! Oh, right… Since you've lost your ability to use mana, no one knows for sure how long you will live, now do we? How unfortunate.”

Knight Leveaux coolly turned around and began walking away from the cell. However, that was when…

“Wait, Leveaux,” the Master stopped Knight Leveaux with his flat voice.

“...Do we still have things left to discuss?” Leveaux glanced back.

“I’m thinking about it.”

“You will have plenty of time to think to your heart’s content. Two days remain until the new Master selection process, after all. So, think as much as you want. Until your brain fries out, I don’t care. Afterward, I shall personally come here to sentence you.”

“Who cares about what happens to this old fart?” The Master tutted. “No, what matters is something else.”

“…?” Knight Leveaux turned around and faced the Master, his brow cocked.

“Look here, Leveaux,” the Master calmly called out, but Knight Leveaux didn’t respond. However, the Master didn’t wait and continued to speak. “To me, all of you are like my children.”

“Saying that now won’t…”

“I’m not asking for some petty sympathy here, so listen till the end, Leveaux.”

The Master's voice contained vague but distinct energy. The kind of energy that even one and only Knight Leveaux had no choice but to shut up and pay attention to!

With a hint of regret filling his expression, the Master slowly spoke to Leveaux. “Children are supposed to be like this, aren't they? They challenge their parents. And reject the path their parents had walked on. To a parent, their kids can test their patience to the point of nearly choking the life out of them. However, even if that's all true, a parent still can't abandon their kids.”

The Master groaned deeply. He knew what he was about to do was foolish. Indescribably foolish, indeed. However, he also knew this was something that must be done.

“So, you better prepare, Leveaux.”

“...Against what?”

“Wiggins will come.”

“…!” Knight Leveaux’s cheeks twitched just then.

“After thinking about it… I realized Wiggins had foreseen this eventuality. And he will surely come here to reorganize the Round Table. He will kill you, then take over the Master’s position. That is why… You better make appropriate preparations.”

Knight Leveaux's gaze, filled with complicated emotions, landed on the Master.