Extra's Revenge: Reincarnated As A Slave-Chapter 77: Fall Of The Desgarron Family (Part 5)

Dreyfus Desgarron fell to his knees, his pride crumbling along with his strength.

The infection had ravaged his body to the point where even standing required more willpower than he could muster.

Around him, the bodies of his loyal staff lay scattered across the courtyard—some still breathing their final breaths, others already gone. The Sunlit Order formed a tightening circle, their silhouettes casting long shadows in the darkness.

"Wait," Dreyfus gasped, raising one trembling hand. "Wait. Let’s... let’s talk about this rationally."

Logan tilted his head, that same cold satisfaction playing across his features. "You still want to talk? How interesting."

"There’s no need for more bloodshed." Dreyfus’s voice cracked, desperation bleeding through despite his attempts to maintain dignity. "You’ve won. The manor is yours. Our defenses are broken. But surely we can come to some arrangement."

Serena stepped forward, her whip coiled at her side. "An arrangement? Like the arrangements your noble family made with us?"

"I can give you wealth," Dreyfus continued, ignoring her words. His eyes darted between Logan and the other leaders. "More than you could ever spend. Artifacts, territory, influence. I have connections throughout the kingdom. I can make you all nobles yourselves. Think about it—everything you’ve ever wanted, handed to you without further risk."

"Father..." Augustus whispered, shame coloring his voice even through his fear.

"Quiet, Augustus!" Dreyfus snapped. Then, more gently, "I’m trying to save us."

Julius laughed, the sound harsh and mocking.

"Listen to the great lord beg. Where was this generosity when we starved in your service? Where were these offers when we buried our children who died from overwork?"

"I’ll free every Cursed One in my territory," Dreyfus said quickly, his words tumbling over each other. "I’ll advocate for your cause in the Noble Council. I’ll use my influence to change the laws. Just spare my family. Spare my son. He’s done nothing to you. He’s barely come of age."

Logan crouched down, bringing himself eye-level with the fallen lord. For a moment, something flickered across his face—perhaps the ghost of the loyal servant he’d pretended to be for so long.

"Do you know what the saddest part is?" Logan said quietly. "You actually believe those words. You think you can buy your way out of this like you’ve bought your way out of everything else. You don’t even comprehend that some things can’t be purchased."

"Please," Dreyfus whispered. "I’m begging you."

"Yes," Logan replied. "You are. And I want you to understand something before you die—your begging means exactly as much as ours did when we pleaded for mercy, for food, for basic dignity. Which is to say, nothing at all."

He stood and stepped back.

"Kill him."

"NO!" Beatrice screamed, trying to crawl toward her husband despite her own weakened state.

Two Sunlit Order members grabbed Dreyfus by the arms, forcing him upright. The lord struggled weakly, but the infection had stolen any real strength he might have mustered.

"You’re making a mistake," Dreyfus said, his voice taking on a harder edge now that he realized begging was futile. "Kill me, and you’ll have every Noble House in the kingdom hunting you. There are protocols, consequences for murdering a—"

Julius’s fist crashed into Dreyfus’s face, cutting off his words. Blood sprayed from the lord’s mouth.

"Protocols," Julius spat. "Consequences. You nobles and your rules that only protect yourselves."

He struck again, and again, his rage finding outlet in physical violence. Dreyfus’s protests became wet gurgles. His threats dissolved into incoherent sounds.

"Enough," Serena said finally. "We didn’t come here to torture. Make it quick."

Logan raised his purple dagger. "As you wish."

The blade plunged into Dreyfus Desgarron’s heart with surgical precision. The lord’s eyes widened in final understanding, in terminal shock that this was truly happening.

His mouth worked soundlessly, perhaps trying to speak some last words, some final command or curse.

Then the light left his eyes.

The Head of House Desgarron fell, his blood pooling on the courtyard stones.

"DREYFUS!" Beatrice’s scream was primal, torn from the depths of her soul. "You monsters! You murdered him! You’ll pay for this! Do you hear me? YOU’LL ALL PAY!"

"Will we?" Serena approached the grieving woman, her expression hardened. "Your husband oversaw a system that murdered thousands through neglect and cruelty. He’s paid a fraction of what he owed."

"He was a good man!" Beatrice sobbed. "He provided for the kingdom! He maintained order! He—"

"He was a tyrant," Logan interrupted coldly. "And you were his willing accomplice. Don’t pretend innocence, Lady Beatrice. You attended those auctions. You selected which Cursed Ones would serve your household. You smiled while they bowed and scraped before you."

Beatrice tried to stand, to maintain some shred of dignity, but multiple hands grabbed her. She struggled as they began tearing at her expensive nightgown.

"What are you doing?!" Augustus cried out, trying to reach his mother, but two Order members held him back. "Stop! Leave her alone!"

"Your mother will die as she lived," Serena said, her voice like iron. "Adorned in nothing but her true nature."

They stripped Beatrice naked, ignoring her screams and pleas.

The fine silk fell away, leaving her exposed and vulnerable in the cold night air. She tried to cover herself, shame mixing with terror on her face.

"Please," she whimpered. "I’m a lady of noble birth. You can’t... this is inhuman..."

"Inhuman?" Julius bent down, picking up a stone from the courtyard. "Like the conditions you kept us in?"

He threw the stone.

It struck Beatrice’s shoulder, drawing blood. She cried out in pain.

"No!" Augustus struggled violently against his captors. "Mother! MOTHER!"

Another stone flew, then another. The Sunlit Order members, decades of oppression and rage finding outlet, picked up rocks and began hurling them at the naked, terrified woman.

Beatrice tried to curl into a ball, to protect herself, but the stones came from all directions.

They struck her face, her back, her limbs.

Blood began flowing from dozens of cuts and gashes.

"I’m sorry!" she screamed. "I’m sorry! Please, I’m sorry!"

But the stones didn’t stop.

Augustus was forced to watch, tears streaming down his face, as his mother was battered and broken. Each impact made her screams weaker. Her blood painted the courtyard stones. Her body became a mass of bruises and lacerations.

Finally, mercifully, she stopped moving.

Lady Beatrice Desgarron died in agony and humiliation, her blood mixing with her husband’s on the ground.

Augustus couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t think.

His entire world had collapsed in the span of minutes.

His father murdered. His mother brutalized and killed. The staff who had protected him all his life dead or dying.

Logan approached him slowly, the purple dagger still dripping with Dreyfus’s blood.

"And now," Logan said softly, "we come to you, Young Master Augustus."

"Please," Augustus whispered, his voice breaking. "Please, I’ll do anything. I’ll renounce my title. I’ll disappear. I’ll—"

"You’ll die," Logan stated simply. "The entire Desgarron line ends tonight."

Augustus closed his eyes, waiting for the blade to fall.

But something else happened instead.

A sudden, brilliant light erupted from Dreyfus’s body. The corpse of the Family Head began to glow with an intense golden radiance that forced everyone to shield their eyes.

"What is this?!" Serena shouted, backing away.

The light intensified, and Augustus felt something activate deep within the manor—no, not in the manor, but beneath it. Ancient mechanisms, contingencies that he’d never known existed, were triggering in response to his father’s death.

The ground shook violently.

From beneath the courtyard, something massive was rising. Stone tiles cracked and exploded upward as a platform emerged, carrying with it an enormous metallic construct. The automaton stood three times the height of a man, its body composed of enchanted metals that gleamed even in the darkness. Strange symbols covered its surface, pulsing with power.

But that wasn’t all.

A roar split the night—a sound so primal and terrible that several Sunlit Order members dropped their weapons in pure instinctual fear. From the shadows behind the mansion, a massive form emerged.

The Divine Beast was magnificent and terrifying in equal measure.

Its body resembled a lion’s, but covered in scales that shimmered with iridescent colors. Massive wings—each longer than a horse—extended from its shoulders. Its eyes burned with intelligent fire, and when it roared again, the very air seemed to vibrate with power.

"A Sovereign Guard!" Logan’s composure finally cracked, genuine fear entering his voice. "Impossible! Those are only reserved for Count families or Dukes!"

Then, an automaton’s eyes lit up with red light, fixing on the Sunlit Order members surrounding Augustus.

Its mechanical voice boomed across the courtyard.

"PRIMARY DIRECTIVE ACTIVATED. FAMILY HEAD DECEASED. HEIR PROTECTION PROTOCOL ENGAGED. ALL HOSTILES WILL BE ELIMINATED."

Three more automatons rose from hidden chambers, each as formidable as the first. They moved with surprising grace for their size, positioning themselves in a defensive formation around Augustus.

The Divine Beast—a Sovereign Guard, as Logan had identified it—padded forward until it stood directly over Augustus. Its massive head lowered, and when it spoke, its voice resonated with ancient power.

"Young Heir," it rumbled. "I am Valdris, bound by sacred oath to the Desgarron Household. Your father has fallen. I will ensure you do not follow."

Augustus stared up at the magnificent creature in shock. He’d never known such a being existed in his family’s service. How had his father kept this secret?

The automatons began moving, their heavy footsteps making the ground tremble. Each one carried weapons built into their frames—blades that extended from their arms, projectile launchers mounted on their shoulders, and shields of pure energy that flickered into existence.

The Sunlit Order, which had numbered around fifty after their losses, suddenly looked very small and very vulnerable.

"Fall back!" Serena commanded, her earlier confidence evaporating. "Regroup! We need to—"

One automaton launched a barrage of energy bolts that forced her to dive for cover. The projectiles exploded where she’d been standing, leaving smoking craters in the stone.

Julius tried to rally the troops. "We’ve come too far to fail now! Fight! FIGHT!"

But fighting a Divine Beast and four combat automatons was a different proposition than overwhelming weakened nobles and their household staff.

These were weapons of war, designed to protect the Noble bloodline at any cost.

Valdris roared again, and flames erupted from its mouth, creating a wall of fire that separated Augustus from the Sunlit Order. The heat was so intense that several attackers’ clothes began smoldering.

"Get the Young Heir to safety," the Divine Beast commanded the automatons. "I will hold them here."

One automaton scooped Augustus up in its massive metal arms with surprising gentleness. The young man, still in shock from watching his parents die, could only cling to the construct as it began moving toward the eastern wall.

"Don’t let him escape!" Logan shouted, throwing his purple dagger at the automaton.

The blade struck the metal body and shattered harmlessly against the enchanted armor.

Another automaton intercepted Logan, its energy blade swinging in a wide arc that forced the traitor to leap backward or be bisected. The mechanical warrior pressed the attack relentlessly, its programming focused entirely on eliminating threats to the heir.

The Sunlit Order found themselves in a desperate fight for survival. The automatons fought with perfect coordination, their attacks synchronized in ways human warriors could never achieve.

And Valdris—the Divine Beast moved with lethal grace, its claws tearing through Artifacts and flesh alike, its flames turning attackers to ash.

"We can’t fight this!" one of the Order members screamed, trying to flee.

An automaton’s shoulder cannon tracked the movement and fired. The fleeing member fell, dead before hitting the ground.

Serena met Logan’s eyes across the battlefield. They had won—the Desgarron parents were dead, the manor was compromised, most of the staff eliminated. But if Augustus escaped with these protectors, if he made it to safety and rallied the kingdom’s forces...

"This is our last stand," she said grimly. "We either finish this now, or everything we’ve sacrificed will be for nothing."

Logan nodded, understanding completely. He activated another hidden Artifact, this one covering his body in dark armor. Around him, the remaining Sunlit Order members prepared themselves for what they knew might be their final battle.

Fifty against four automatons and a Divine Beast.

The odds were horrific.

But they had come too far, lost too much, to turn back now.

"Since we are all in agreement... all of you can unseal your true abilities and use Ancient MajiK!"