Chapter 234
Chapter 234
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 234
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble House
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We drew our wands simultaneously.
Kwaaaang—! Crash—!
“…?!”
“Gah!”
The spatial magic on the left, set up at multiple angles, shattered under the surge of mana. No sooner had the roadside come into view than pitch-black smoke billowed in. Students frantically shielded their faces with their arms amid the sound of shattering glass.
There would have been no need for that. We had already blocked the path ahead of the four high school division students leading the way. The moment I swung my wand to deflect the mana debris, a brown translucent barrier appeared out of nowhere on the left—installed unconsciously by someone. At the same time, a heavy impact echoed from outside.
Kwaang—! Thud!
“Clear the barrier!”
“…?!”
I hadn’t expected a quick response. I stomped my foot and shattered the barrier outward. Amid the fragments of broken barrier mana, an attack presumed to be vitriol suddenly filled my vision.
Heike and I flicked our wrists, reflecting the attack right back. Worried that we might not block the indiscriminately fired black clumps, startled gasps came from behind us.
If you’re wondering why not just put up a barrier...
Breaking it could cause secondary damage, so it’s better to deflect directly when possible. The absolute worst is reflexively throwing up an unplanned one like before.
That said, you can’t avoid using them entirely, so when you must, secure a safe distance and chant the formal incantation to lay it down solidly.
Thud— Kwaang—
Even as I swept my wand one last time and took a step back, the impacts continued. Heike, who had been swinging her wand beside me, glanced my way and stepped forward.
I spun my wand between my fingers, transforming it into a staff, then fixed my gaze ahead.
‘First, analyze the situation.’
This wasn’t a tough one. The darkened air meant someone was rampaging. Though out of sight for now, the victim must have sensed mana in the air, absorbed it, and attacked us to get more.
No rampage alert had come through the artifact, so we were the first witnesses. We had to assess their threat level.
‘Air contamination level... worst I’ve seen yet. But the attacks aren’t precise. Wasn’t hard to block.’
Unable to launch precise strikes and lacking power suggested a low-threat rampager. Unlike high-threat ones who retain consciousness, low-threat rampagers lose theirs, making their attacks sloppy by comparison.
So why was the air contamination this severe? It was so dense you couldn’t make out objects. Staying here long would rampage us too.
How?
How could a low-threat rampager produce this much power?
The answer wasn’t hard to find.
“Heike. It’s not just one.”
“......”
Heike bit the inside of her lip.
There were at least two victims here.
I drew mana from my core. Roaring flames surged, the sound of them pushing back the air booming loudly. Mana flowed down my arms, dyeing the staff red from top to bottom as it shot toward the sky.
I swung the staff in a circle to lay down mana, and the students behind us panicked and retreated. As the darkness lifted under the mana’s glow, giving the illusion of flames all around, I gripped the staff with both hands and slammed it into the ground. Then I opened my mouth.
Kwaaaang—!!
[Do not fear. For I am with you.]
* * *
Antoine Gramont was in a panic.
He knew it himself, but there was nothing he could do about it.
‘...Th...’
This is what’s happening now...
Gramont struggled to steady his trembling vision.
The sudden attack and the shattered spatial magic had turned the world pitch black.
No doubt about it—this was a rampage situation. A rampager, one he’d only heard about in stories, was nearby. Out of the thirty Brandenburg rampage incidents, bad luck had dumped one right on them. He should have been thinking of fleeing or fighting back, but his mind had gone blank long ago.
Kwaaaang—!!
[Do not fear. For I am with you.]
Staring at the flames climbing the black eagle ornament on the staff, Antoine Gramont squeezed his eyes shut and covered his face the moment the explosion hit. Fierce winds scattered in all directions as mana blazing like the sun slammed into his face and eyes.
This was the mana of Pleroma Ascanien, whose power he’d longed to witness at least once. Far from mere rumor, it carried an overwhelming divine pressure. He’d never imagined mana like this.
And besides...
‘Never thought I’d see that man’s mana like this.’
Not like this, he hadn’t wanted to. Who’d want to face death as a tourist in a foreign land!
Unable to breathe due to the vitriol laced with Ascanien’s mana, Gramont pinched his nose to block it and forced his eyes open.
The black fog presumed to be vitriol had cleared somewhat, securing his vision. A red dome curved like an arc, enveloping their position and stretching out roundly in the distance.
Far more stable than the barrier he’d unconsciously thrown up earlier. At this distance, even if it broke, they wouldn’t get hurt easily.
Only now did Gramont look at the two wizards standing before him.
“......”
Both, especially Ascanien, were calm unlike them. He’d heard they’d been on alert duty for days, and their faces showed they’d handled situations like this dozens of times.
Thud—... Kwaang—....
Impacts from the rampager hitting the barrier echoed from afar. Ascanien, steadily feeding mana into his ground-fixed staff, glanced back. Seeing Gramont’s pale face, he gave a strange smile.
“Why so scared?”
“...!”
“Hahaha!”
Ascanien let out an annoyingly bright laugh and nodded to Ainsidel with a smile. Ainsidel nodded back.
As Ainsidel stepped in front of Ascanien and peered beyond the barrier, Ascanien fully turned to face them.
Heat rose to Gramont’s face from the infuriating provocation. His jaw trembled, more from the urge to defend himself than anything.
Ascanien watched him with a leisurely smile, as if this were fine entertainment. Just as Gramont was about to demand why he was staring, Ascanien pointed behind him.
“Go.”
“...Pardon?”
“Just keep running straight back. Left or right doesn’t matter—don’t veer off onto other paths, stick to a straight line.”
A few classmates turned back with frantic expressions. Gramont craned his neck stiffly to look. A narrow alley ran between houses, leading to a park beyond.
Ascanien pulled a tourist warp coordinate booklet from his clutch and placed it in Gramont’s frozen hand.
“If you hit a dead-end building or woods, don’t change direction or hide—just warp straight to Berlin. Police station, fire department, anywhere—they’ll help.”
He reached out a hand, then raised his eyebrows as if realizing anew how flustered they were. Tipping his hat brim slightly, he said,
“We’ll be off.”
He left the stunned Gramont behind and led Ainsidel forward.
Gramont didn’t move. Nor did the other three.
* * *
“Heike.”
I led Heike right up to the barrier’s edge.
I looked around, but no warp coordinates were in sight. I tapped the artifact and rattled off my report.
“This is Eschet Lucas Ascanien. Location unknown, near Brandenburg Tees Hotel—multiple rampagers, estimated two.”
[Beep—]
When multiple victims are suspected, we lump them as “multiple,” but specify the estimate.
Now they’d send enough support for about three hospital transfers, generously.
Of course, without coordinates, it’d take a bit.
I lightly stroked the staff upward. The barrier mana returned to the staff, then shifted behind my position to form a new one. Not for us to use, but to defend the civilian escape route from vitriol.
Kwaang—!
I batted away the black attack heading my way with the staff and extended a hand to Heike.
“Heike.”
She lightly slapped my hand away and readjusted her wand grip.
We’d trained together plenty, but this was our first time on the field as partners. Since Eschet formed, my field partners had only been Ulrike and Cherlingen.
‘Hope we mesh well.’
Especially not knowing where the victims were.
I gripped the staff and began chanting.
[There was life within, and this life was the light of men.]
I slammed the staff into the ground. Red mana surged outward at ferocious speed. The vitriol filling the air black turned red, then vanished with my mana.
Heike’s eyes widened as she stared into the distance.
“...Divine power...?”
“No way. Why’d you think that?”
Kwaaaang—!
I brushed it off and blocked the attack.
“First time I’ve seen it clear this far out.”
I nodded and scanned the direction the attacks came from.
With visibility restored, their attacks were pointless now. If anything, it benefited me. Subduing them was just around the corner.
‘Ah, Leo would’ve made this easy.’
I eyed a humanoid figure slamming against a top-floor window railing.
Good thing it hadn’t reached the roof. Victims reported before alerts went in had a slim survival chance if hospitalized. Possible thanks to tech advances since Pleroma’s new drug.
“Lucas. I’ll draw its attention.”
Heike said that and dashed toward the building.
Sensing I was the core threat on some unconscious level, it turned attacks my way the moment I bolted for the building side.
Kwagwang— Kwaang—!
‘Whew.’
Attacks from the victim rained behind me. A split-second slower, and I’d be dead.
At least this victim wasn’t semi-solidifying vitriol for use like Strauçi or Ainsidel. Otherwise, my legs would’ve been grabbed ages ago.
Entering the back door, stairs appeared on the right.
‘Five-story building.’
Climbing stairs to the fifth would take time.
No choice, though.
I channeled mana into my limbs, grabbed the railing, and leaped up. Sounds of Heike clashing with the victim grew nearer.
I signaled via artifact.
‘Fifth floor.’
The moment I reached the target, my eyes met the victim’s in the middle of the hallway.
Simultaneously, a roar shook the building as mana slammed the outer wall—Heike responding to my signal. The instant the victim’s gaze reflexively turned to the window, I swung my wand.
Kwaang—
Someone tumbled from the mana shove.
Easy from here.
I wrapped my body in a physical barrier and charged the fallen victim. It roughly grabbed my coat collar. Vitriol splashed my face and eyes, and that grotesque scream from Baden-Baden pierced my ears again. Routine, but hard to get used to.
I pinned its thigh, pressed one hand to its neck, and brought my wand to its heart.
[Aaaaagh! Uwaaaagh!]
[Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial among you... The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.]
Crackle— Crackle—
The vitriol core around the humanoid’s heart shattered.
The victim, shrieking and thrashing wildly, stared wide-eyed at nothing, then slumped its neck to the floor. I touched the vitriol flowing from its body, felt it weakening, and closed its eyes.
‘One down.’
Heike must’ve gone for the other. Explosions continued from the next building.
Medical teams and support wizards were already outside, all in gas masks against vitriol exposure.
I picked up the unconscious victim and carried it out. Spotting me, an imperial wizard I’d seen before rushed over.
“Excellency Ascanien!”
“Yes. Please transport.”
“To the rampager hospital, now!”
He gestured to his subordinates, who took the victim from my arms.
Heike signaled she was done too, and several wizards ran to the adjacent building.
With that side wrapped up, time for cleanup.
[Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look upon the earth beneath.]
I switched the wand from my waist back to staff, swept the thick vitriol-laden air once, and slammed it down.
Kwaaaaang—!!
The explosion drew eyes from around. I finished the chant, purging the remaining vitriol from the area.
[For the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment... but my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.]
The air cleared completely; lingering vitriol sank to the ground and vanished. Other wizards tested the air and began removing their gas masks.
Heike’s voice came from right behind, no clue when she’d arrived.
“...Looks just like divine power again.”
“Yeah? Thanks.”
I acknowledged simply and sank into thought.
One thing to note here.
‘...Convenient timing.’
Something off.
This spot was just 500 meters from the guest quarters’ barrier.
Suspicious points aside for now—what were the odds of a rampage breaking out right under the VIP lodgings? And two at once.
Why at the exact moment we passed by?
Implies a rampage source nearby. All coincidence?
So thinking, I approached the building where it happened.
‘Could this be...’
“Lucas. Come here a sec.”
As I pondered further, Heike sidled up and nudged me.
“Heike. Need a moment to think.”
“No time.”
Her complexion wasn’t great. She scanned around warily, head turning.
“......”
When does he ever get like this? I followed silently as he led.
Heike brought me to the first floor of the commercial building I’d been heading to and stopped.
He pointed at the floor. An incongruous white matchstick head lay in a hallway corner.
‘White phosphorus match.’
It appeared again.
I picked it up and checked behind.
“...This one’s S.”
T, A, S.
Three so far.
No obvious meaning unless it’s initials.
Heike spoke in a half-soulless rapid-fire.
“Ast could mean branch. What’s this saying? The rampage here was off from the start. In your view, Lucas, this...”
“Heike.”
I stood and placed a finger to my lips, signaling silence. Heike shut his mouth with a gasp.
Staring at the floor, I murmured low.
“Something’s weird.”
“......”
“Listen close.”
Heike stared blankly at the floor. After a long pause, he spoke.
“...Rats?”
Right. Faint rat squeaks layered thickly. Size unclear, but countless numbers.
I exchanged glances with Heike and headed down.
Heike stood beside me, wand drawn.
I silently opened the door to the basement.
“...!”
Heike grimaced and stepped back. The squeaks merged into a rampager-like roar. Dozens of boxes littered the space.
I entered, lifted the cloth over one.
‘As expected.’
A stench assaulted my nose. Polluted rats crammed a cage without room to step, vitriol-like ooze leaking below.
What did this mean?
“My guess right?”
Heike blurted out of nowhere.
I shrugged.
“Probably.”
Terror weapons.
Meant to release on the streets. High chance near Pentaron.
What then?
I scanned around.
One open cage. Empty inside.
Heike’s expressionless face paled.
“Heike. Mind relaying a message upstairs?”
Heike started up silently, then nudged me again.
He picked up something from a corner and showed me.
Another white phosphorus match.
I checked the back.
A, E, E, G, L, L, N, S. And... matches with mysterious holes drilled in a row on the wood—nine marked ones total.
“......”
Heike stared down stone-faced, then looked at me.
The matches that never reached us were here.