Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Mongrel's Insurrection (5)
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[Ancestor 'Dragon that Scatters Karmic Flames' narrows its eyes.]
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Dragon that Scatters Karmic Flames' narrows its eyes.] 'It's here...'
As expected, Rahart reacted.
Drawn by the aura of a fellow dragonkin.
"Grk... So, what the hell is it? What message from your master?!"
Astro, who had been pinching his nose with a tense face at my arrival, shouted urgently.
Was he affected by the Male Pheromone?
But it seemed too severely cowed to attribute just to the Male Pheromone trait.
He was a direct descendant of Cedric, after all.
Not Rahart's pureblood, but a being with power rivaling it.
It was unnatural for him to be so intimidated by the Male Pheromone trait alone.
'...Is he sensing Rahart's presence too?'
The dragonkin overlord Rahart.
As Cedric's descendant, who betrayed him and received brutal retribution, it made sense if Astro was terrified upon sensing Rahart's aura.
"Answer me! I asked what message it is!"
"......"
Astro's anxious shout.
But instead of replying, I slowly scanned the room.
"G-Gladiator, sir..."
"......"
And there I spotted Anna on the bed, looking disheveled as she gazed at me.
Anyone could see it was a situation right on the verge of assault.
Confirming that, I felt my blood boil in an instant.
'That kid...'
Whoosh—!!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Dragon that Scatters Karmic Flames' gazes at you.] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Dragon that Scatters Karmic Flames' sends you a gift.] '——Damn it!!'
As rage surged in that instant, Rahart slipped me a gift in the gap.
Just like in the labyrinth.
My heightened emotions had synced me more deeply with Rahart.
'Calm down...! If I let myself go now, it'll be a disaster...!'
I had anticipated Rahart would manifest if I confronted Astro.
This was like training.
When Rahart arbitrarily bestowed powers and tried to seize control of my body.
——Resisting that was the training.
I closed my eyes and took deep breaths.
Composing myself, I focused on the dragonkin aura settling deep in my chest.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [You have refused the gift from Ancestor 'Dragon that Scatters Karmic Flames'!] The result was success.
'Sorry, but I'm not handing everything over to you this time.'
I didn't need the overwhelming power from the labyrinth exploration this time.
I wanted only one thing.
Soul of the Tyrant.
That was my sole goal.
"Gr, grrrk...! What...! You bastard...!! You've been rude from the start!! Do you know who you're unleashing that killing intent on!!"
"......"
While I was resisting Rahart's barrage of gifts.
Astro, watching me, yelled while breaking into cold sweat.
He looked like a frightened mouse baring its teeth at a cat.
I just silently glared at him.
And quietly opened my mouth.
"Aren't you ashamed?"
"W-What?"
Astro responded, looking flustered by my words.
Then, realizing what I said, he flushed red and shouted.
"Insolent cur—!! A mongrel slave dares...!! Who do you think you're talking to!!"
Perhaps because I refused Rahart's gift and his aura quieted down.
Astro revealed his fury, veins bulging on his forehead.
He seemed pissed about being cowed moments ago, wounding his pride.
"I'll kill you right now and decorate the mansion garden with your head—!!"
Ziiiiiing!!
Soon, a chilling energy gathered in Astro's right hand.
Sinister purple-black mana.
I didn't know the spell, but as a direct descendant of Cedric, it was surely lethal enough to kill a mongrel like me instantly.
But.
I felt no fear at the sight of that magic.
'To receive the ancestor's power..., the vessel for it must be prepared..., just like syncing...'
I calmly closed my eyes and slowly drew out the suppressed rage in my heart.
The condition to become Rahart's vessel ——was fury.
Then, just as I could control by rejecting his power through emotion, I could control his power appropriately by managing my emotions.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Dragon that Scatters Karmic Flames' sends you a gift.] I wanted only one thing.
The power to discipline that fake pureblood young master.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Acquired Trait 'Soul of the Tyrant'!] That alone would suffice.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 'What... the hell is that guy...!'
Astro stared at the mongrel before him with trembling eyes.
What stood before him was merely a mongrel slave.
A pathetic existence he could crush like an ant with his pureblood power.
'Yet why am I... afraid of such a lowly mongrel...!'
But the pureblood himself was trembling in fear before that pathetic mongrel.
Astro couldn't comprehend the situation.
Thus, he couldn't rashly attack and instead barked like a frightened dog.
"Ha! If you kneel and apologize now, I'll mercifully forgive you—! Last chance! Mongrel!! Show respect before a great being—!!"
Whoosh!
Astro thrust the ominous, rippling mana in his right hand toward the mongrel slave as a threat.
Any normal mongrel slave would cower and prostrate by now, begging.
"......"
But the mongrel slave didn't.
He just stared at Astro with that arrogant expression.
'Huh? His eyes... were they always red...?'
As Astro felt puzzled by the mongrel's suddenly changed eye color.
"Kneel."
The mongrel spoke.
'His voice...'
For some reason, the air seemed to tremble at the mongrel's voice, like an illusion.
"You kneel."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Target 'Astro' reacts to Trait 'Soul of the Tyrant'.] "Hrk?!"
Thud!
As soon as the mongrel spoke, Astro's vision shook, and before he knew it, he was on his knees on the floor.
"W-What?! Why am I...?!"
Astro looked down at his legs, which had moved on their own, with an incomprehensible expression.
Just now, he had reacted to the mongrel's words.
An inexplicable coercive force in the bastard's voice had made his body move.
'What the hell...'
Astro slowly raised his gaze from his legs and cautiously looked at the mongrel.
Dormant terror began to surge.
Coincidence?
No, not coincidence.
A pureblood kneeling before a mongrel could never happen by chance.
'Why am I obeying that bastard's words?!'
Astro was consumed by fear.
To the trembling Astro, the mongrel slave spoke in a cold voice.
"Don't move from there."
"D-Don't make me laugh...!! I'll kill you!!"
"And forget everything that happens from now on."
"What...?"
"After this is over, release the kidnapped kids. And leave this city, never to return."
"What the hell does that...!!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Target 'Astro' reacts to Trait 'Soul of the Tyrant'!] Shhhh...
The moment the mongrel finished speaking, Astro felt something suppressed in his chest.
'What is this... It's like a lock on my soul...'
As Astro puzzled over the foreign sensation in his chest.
Swish.
"Eh, wha...?!"
"Have you ever been properly hit before?"
"Wait...!! You, you bastard...!! Grk! Do you know who I...!!"
The mongrel grabbed Astro by the collar and hoisted him up.
Whoosh!
Bam!!
"Kuhak...!!"
And drove his fist straight into Astro's gut.
"K, hrk..."
It was a gladiator's punch.
Even as a pureblood dragonkin, the pain radiating from his organs was excruciating.
And then Astro realized.
What the bastard intended to do from now on.
"W-W-Wait..., just wait a moment...!"
"Listen!! What do you want?! I'll grant it, so stop——!!"
"Shut up."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Target 'Astro' reacts to Trait 'Soul of the Tyrant'.] "Mmph...!! M-Mmph?! Mmmph!!!"
With his single word, Astro's mouth clamped shut on its own.
No matter how hard he strained to open it, he couldn't.
As if he'd forgotten how to speak.
"Mmmph!!"
"You've probably been bossing around anyone weaker than you like this until now, huh?"
"Mmmph!!"
"Today, I'll break that habit."
Astro, clutching his mouth with both hands and shaking violently.
The mongrel slave took a step toward him.
To Astro looking up trembling in fear, the mongrel slave grinned and tossed one last line.
"Historically, this has been the best medicine for breaking bad habits."
And raised his callus-hardened fist.
"Hup, hmmmph..."
Astro, unable to move or speak, could only watch him with a face drained pale.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' beams at you!] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'The Creating Mortal' gives you a thumbs up!] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'First King of the Beastkin' looks at you proudly!] "Uh, gr, ugh..."
As Astro became a bloody mess, messages from the ancestors popped up all at once, delighted.
They all seemed refreshed seeing him pummeled.
But the job wasn't done, so I grabbed Astro by the hair and lifted his head.
Staring straight at his battered face, I said.
"Now, release the kidnapped kids."
"Kuh, huer, cough..."
Astro spat blood at my words and replied laboriously.
"Y-Yes..., u-understood..."
Then, like a newborn foal, he crawled arduously somewhere.
Flutter.
Astro pulled a sheet of paper from the desk.
He rubbed the ring on his left index finger against his blood-soaked lips.
And pressed it onto the paper like a seal.
Thus, a certificate with a special pattern drawn in Astro's blood was complete.
"This..., here..."
Astro handed me the paper with effort.
"Show this to your men, and they'll release the kids?"
"Yes.... Cough."
"Good."
I smiled satisfactorily at Astro's certificate.
I could feel the 'Soul of the Tyrant' granted by Rahart starting to fade.
As expected, Rahart didn't give power easily.
This power would soon vanish.
I'd used it just right to break even.
'No backlash from lack of qualification, it seems.'
It looked like it stayed just within my limit for wielding power.
The power from Rahart I'd used today was probably my current maximum I could handle without issue.
"Well, that's settled for now. Time to go? Anna."
"Ah, y-yes!"
I tossed Astro casually into a room corner and extended my hand to Anna on the bed.
Anna, who had been dazedly watching us, snapped to at my words and took my hand.
Thus, we safely exited Astro's room.
"Gladiator sir, you're amazing...! A mongrel beating up a pureblood noble like that...! I've never even heard of such a thing...!"
"Well, it's not exactly common."
"You're really, really amazing! This is bard-song worthy!"
"Heh."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' puffs up with pride!] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'First King of the Beastkin' wags its tail happily!] On the way back from Astro's room, striding confidently.
Anna's continued praise had me—and the ancestors—all puffing up our chests.
Then Anna cautiously asked.
"But... are you okay...?"
"Hm? With what?"
"It was amazing, but... you beat up a pureblood noble pretty badly..."
"......"
"Won't it be dangerous...? O-Of course, it didn't seem like you did it without thinking..."
"Mm..., well, it's fine."
"Really...?"
"Yeah."
No issue there.
As she said, I didn't just lash out on impulse.
What I trusted was solely Rahart's trait.
'Soul of the Tyrant.'
A cheat trait with absolute dominance over fellow dragonkin, under specific conditions.
'I told him to forget this incident, so he won't come charging for revenge.'
Some instinctive grudge might linger.
But no repercussions.
"Anyway, everything's resolved. Let's head back worry-free."
I flashed a bright smile at the worried Anna to reassure her.
And at my words, the anxious Anna broke into a wide smile and nodded.
"Yes!"
Afterward, I used Astro's certificate to rescue the slum kids who were held.
And returned straight to the slums.
"Gladiator sir! Oh my god...! You really did it!"
"A-Anna...!!"
"No way...! Gladiator sir brought the kids back?!"
"Thank you so much...!"
Upon arriving at the slums, familiar residents, along with waiting Tiriel, welcomed us.
Thus, the kidnapping incident was perfectly resolved.
And.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Star Prophet' is delighted by your good deed!] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Quest completed!] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Star Prophet' sends you a gift!] The goal I'd most desired was achieved.
Bathed in the slums' cheers, I focused on the floating messages.
'Astril, surely you... can give me the power to avert my death, right?'
With a tense face, I checked the gift's contents.
And soon, the details of the newly acquired trait appeared before my eyes.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Acquired Trait 'Auto Healing'!]