Reborn With A Technology System In A Fantasy World

In just over thirty minutes of flight, Adrian arrived at the Borin mansion. He had no intention of announcing himself through the main gates.

So he decelerated sharply high above the estate, landing directly into the main courtyard, just before the large double doors.

The guards and staff stationed outside were all startled by his sudden, silent arrival.

A few of them instinctively began to say chants, but they were quickly stopped by their fellows.

Most of them recognized the blue-and-black armor from his last visit. They could only watch him in silence as he pushed open the heavy doors and strode inside.

The mansion was in a state of quiet shambles. The usual order was gone, replaced by a subtle air of neglect.

Most of its workers had been disorganized and conflicted ever since news of Lord Cedric's grave condition had reached them. Coupled with the volatile state of the Kingdom, it did not make for the most conducive atmosphere.

Adrian ignored the disarray and walked with a steady, unhurried pace through the familiar grand foyer and into the main hall, where everyone waited for him.

The large room was filled with several dozen people, all seated in arranged chairs. Representatives from the major Duke households, a smattering of lesser nobles, and even a delegation from the Adventurers Association were present. These groups formed the core of the Kingdom's power structure.

Adrian's gaze swept over the room once before lingering on three seats near the front. It was none other than Fabian, Diana, and Mirenia, representing House Borin.

The moment his gaze made eye contact with Fabian, he could see his elder brother pale and a tremor ran through his body. He looked nothing like his usual confident self; instead, he looked utterly terrified. Adrian could even hear his heart rate quicken from across the room.

That same fear was evident in Mirenia's eyes, although it was more restrained, as if she was consciously trying to hide it from everyone.

Meanwhile, Diana bore no single trace of fear. Her expression was only filled with raw contempt. The moment she spotted Adrian's arrival, that contempt boiled over into pure fury, and she made her move, leaping to her feet.

"You!" she screamed as she pointed a trembling finger at him. "You're the reason Father is like this!'

"Ve—"

She began casting a spell, promoting Fabian and Mirenia, who sat next to her to make an attempt to rein her in, their faces paling further in terror.

They knew she had no idea of the reality of the being she was confronting. But they were a second too late.

In the next instant, just before Diana could conclude her chant, she suddenly fell from the chair she had been standing beside and tumbled to the ground. Adrian's aura had fallen upon her.

He didn't show any mercy, allowing her to crumble under the immense pressure. Her situation was so bad that she wanted to gasp for air, to scream, but it just wasn't possible.

Her lungs refused to inflate, and her bones felt as if they were grinding into dust. He could hear Mirenia cry out his name, a desperate plea for him to spare her, but Adrian ignored the pleas.

It was only after allowing his sister to feel the crushing force of his aura for ten whole second that he let it go. The pressure vanished as quickly as it had arrived, allowing her to cough violently while gasping for air on the cold marble floor.

Adrian ignored the pathetic state she was in, and so did everyone else. They were all simply terrified of being the next victim.

He walked up to the front of the room to meet the gazes of everyone present. "Ahem," he began clearly. "That wasn't the best of first impressions, I admit."

Everyone remained deathly silent after he spoke, their earlier defiance completely gone, replaced by a nervous evident fear. Some of them recognized him, and they knew his age, but that didn't matter in the slightest. The armor he wore was intimidating enough on its own and his recent display made them cautious.

Master Von, meanwhile, looked at Dean Melissa and smiled wryly. Just some minutes ago, these very same people were complaining loudly, saying how they couldn't be expected to comply based on flimsy lies.

But now, Adrian's mere presence was enough to command their absolute silence. What Von didn't know was that Adrian was directing a fraction of his oppressive aura on every single person in the room, a subtle, crushing weight that kept them docile. It was something he and Melissa, as his allies, had not yet felt.

Adrian continued talking, his voice calm and measured. "You requested a power show to validate their claims, am I right?"

He released a bit more of his pressure across the room, and he could see a few hesitant, jerky nods from the crowd.

Adrian sighed in regret. "It's unfortunate that I can't show you any of King Theron's body parts, since they were... thoroughly obliterated." He paused for effect. "But, I did bring you these."

In the next instant, two objects materialized from his [Inventory] and rolled across the floor with a wet, thudding sound, coming to a stop just before the front row of chairs.

They were the heads of Duke Miralith and Duke Thalren, their faces frozen in expressions of shock and horror.

A collective gasp and a few stifled screams filled the hall. The nobles flinched back in their seats and their faces turned green.

"I don't believe I have anything left to prove," Adrian stated coldly. "I will be making some decrees now."

He let his gaze sweep across every single person in the room, his aura pressing down on them like the weight of a mountain.

"If you have anything against them, or against me," he said finally, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper, "you will join them on the floor."

He left them with that final thought, their faces frozen in expressions of terror.