SPELLCRAFT: Reincarnation Of A Magic Scholar

The legacy of the past crumbled before his very eyes, but it was too late for Beruel to repent.

He and what were left of his followers were exiled from his own Kingdom. It felt like a dream, but... Beruel knew it was all real.

Pain. Confusion. Regret. Fury. Fear. Anxiety. Rage.

Multiple emotions swirled in his heart when the dust settled and he found himself with barely anything left.

However, the one emotion he never felt even once was hate.

Despite all Jane did, all that he lost, all that went down between the two of them... Beruel's heart never changed towards her

He didn't want to admit it initially, but he had known all along...

"... I still love her."

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One after the other, within the span of years, his Fairy Subordinates rapidly began to reduce.

Without the effects of their Mana Rich environment, they couldn't maintain their youthful state.

Thus, they either decided to return to the Fairy Kingdom—now dubbed the Sanctuary—or to die slowly with the leader they believed in.

Beruel, who had no direction, could not stop anyone from doing what they wished. He had lost that power and authority years past. All he wanted to do... was to get back at Jane, one way or the other.

Despite everything, he still hadn't given up his ideology.

He still believed men were superior. He still believed his ancestors were right.

"Give a woman some power, and she ruins everything!"

Hadn't that been the case with Jane Ursula? Wasn't that the reason his Kingdom fell into ruins?

"I'll start my own Fairy Kingdom and show them just how different and superior it is to Jane's!"

Beruel knew just how intelligent his adversary was. He also understood the population of his forces, compared to the bulk of the Fairy Sanctuary.

Still, he chose not to care!

"I will do it! Our ancestors' legacy lives within me. I am the rightful king!"

It took a while of searching, but Beruel finally found a region that was bustling with energy. It started out as a seemingly random cave, but it ended up leading to an ancient ruin.

The energy he, as well as the rest of his subordinates felt, wasn't Mana. It was something far greater. Since Fairies were naturally inclined towards Mana, the power felt even more appealing.

Beruel in his curiousity and excitement, decided to venture further to seek out the source.

And his subordinates gladly followed!

After so many years of sojourning as a nomadic group, they had finally found a place to call home.

The ruins needed a lot of work before it could be justified as a Kingdom built by the Fairy King himself, but Beruel had no doubt in his ability—especially if he could find the source of power he felt.

They all raced towards the energy source—innocently driven by their goal to create a better world; an utopia without the bane that caused the other one to crumble.

Unfortunately...

... This innocent dream died in that cave.

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"How many survived?"

Beruel's body was badly scathed, and blood dripped from his ear and other parts of his body.

Unlike him, who had been lucky to get away with such mild injuries, Fairy corpses littered the ground.

Needless to say, he only survived because of his immense speed—and perhaps luck as well.

"I-I am the only one, King Beruel."

Beruel should have already known that, given the fact that only he and the young Fairy in front of him were still standing while they saw their comrades laying still on the floor.

Blood oozed from their corpses, and some had burn marks that were so bad, it looked like they would turn to ash at any moment.

The several traps in the ruins had surprised everyone, and they had been pretty much doomed to fail since they had rushed in without thinking.

"Do you hate me?"

The Fairy King could not believe he was asking this of his subject. Subjects lived for the King. They could never hate him! They were always loyal to him—even till the bitter end.

But Beruel had seen his subjects turn on him. In the coup, a majority of the denizens of his Kingdom abandoned him as King. Even among the ones who initially stood by his side, many eventually abandoned the cause and tried to cling to survival rather than loyalty.

It was unbelievable how quickly the tables turned.

And now, with the death of everyone except he and a single subordinate, Beruel could not help but ask the question.

However, even to his surprise, the subordinate knelt and bowed his head.

"No, Fairy King. I do not despise you. Everything you've done this far has been to provide your people with a sanctuary. You have tirelessly labored for us. After following and protecting you all this time... how could I despise you?"

Beruel's eyes widened at that very moment. He couldn't believe it—or rather, he had never heard such a genuine response before.

It was so different from the answers that he had previously received that Beruel thought it was breathtaking.

Usually, people would say;

"I can never hate you, you're the Fairy King!"

"The Fairy King is always loved by all!"

"Did someone say that? My King, do not believe their words..."

Yet, this subordinate was different.

"... Besides, my King... you won your prize, didn't you? The source of that strange energy."

That's right, Beruel had forgotten. Locked in his shaking palm was a card—an Arcana—known as [The Chariot].

The ruin had been a Dungeon, and he'd had no idea until it was too late.

His subordinate had survived due to sheer luck, and also because he was the least competent among the others. He hadn't been fast enough to trigger any of the traps before the others did.

"Haha... you're right." Beruel found himself whispering.

But what good was his prize without his subjects?

"H-uh...??"

As he thought of it, the idea seemed to make more sense and take a more definite form.

'B-but father said the subjects exist because of the King..."

The sight around him and the feelings in Beruel's heart, however, seemed to turn that iron-clad mindset to null.

It simply didn't ring true any longer.