Chapter 348
Chapter 348
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 348
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble Family
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When I opened my eyes, I was gripping the blade of a sword. Ainsidel held his sword horizontally to block me. Two streams of blue mana exploded wildly between us. I caught sight of the corner of his mouth twisting upward. A sensation I'd felt once before, in a time that had already vanished, took over my entire body. Tears from the pressure on my throat blurred my vision reflexively, but the blood flowing from Ainsidel's hand—where he was blocking the sword's tip with his bare palm—was crystal clear. No, I could feel it. The mana mixed in with it swirled inside my body. Just a little more, just a bit longer, and it would be complete. Complete from what, complete in what way? Thoughts swirled through my head. I could see my own mana surging wildly, pushing Ainsidel back. A master who had long surpassed the rank of bishop was straining with all his might right in front of me, just to hold me off. Even that hollow face of his, peering at me with interest, couldn't erase the fact that he was being pushed back. It meant the mana of this powerful mage was almost mine.
'...No.'
Even as I repeated it to myself that it couldn't happen, I thought of the blood behind his skin. I didn't want to be ruled by blood. I saw Mecklenburg's dazed expression. His wand was pointed at Ainsidel, but his eyes were fixed on me. It pricked at my heart.
'No...'
No matter how much it was a time that would vanish the moment I opened my eyes, I didn't want to show this side of myself to someone who knew me. A chilling voice rang out.
"You're thrashing about, trying every trick to avoid drinking blood."
Boom—!
Ainsidel's mana exploded along the sword right in front of my face, making my mind reel. The attack he'd sent as a signal to focus only fueled my body further. The screech of his boot heels sliding back cut sharply through the sounds of impact.
"Normally, drinking this much blood wouldn't make you this strong. So, about that point..."
The mana coursing through my body moved so frantically fast that time itself seemed to slow. My eyes turned to Mecklenburg standing behind him. We all knew what was about to come out of his mouth. Even if my hazy mind tried to interfere with my thoughts.
"As a fellow Pleroma, what do you think?"
The words stabbed at my heart again. Decades, hundreds, thousands of obsessions I'd spent my life trying to escape surged up under my jaw. The breaking point was right in front of me. I gripped my throat.
"I don't know who gave you the right to call me a Pleroma."
"No, you are a Pleroma. People like you, who grow stronger from drinking blood, are called Pleroma among Pleromas in the world."
One more step. I looked down at the cliff's edge and cried out.
"I don't care what others think of me."
Ainsidel tilted his head.
"Do you know what kind of face you're making right now?"
"......"
"It's the same expression I used to have. Someone saw it and said I didn't even look human. Why? What should a human be like? They made me feel this thirst, so is it wrong to become that? Wasn't anything goes what they wanted?"
That's what I thought. He let the words drift into the air as he scrutinized the grain of my irises. His pushing mana, the sound of his boot heels grinding, the sweet promise of the outcome that sound foretold... the raw mana pulsing through my body kept whiting out my vision. The pleasure I'd felt once before loomed again, and at the same time, my senses began to drift away from me once more.
'Stop.'
[Now I think I get it.... Was I wrong to think you seemed accustomed to killing? Why won't you kill me and drink my blood, wearing that face?]
'Stop!'
My senses turned entirely white, as if drowned in mana. Something snapped again, and it didn't reach my perception.
[Why won't you accept your innate strength, and what makes you endure....]
Crack—
My throat burned. The shattered sword blade fell from my hand.
—Thus says the Lord of Hosts.
A voice that sounded like it wasn't mine followed, and pure white light blanketed the world. I slowly turned, surveying the now-empty surroundings, and gazed at the mage flung far away. I saw it, but it wasn't me seeing. I spoke, but the words weren't mine. I walked, but the steps weren't mine. The tip of my staff moved, dragging the blood of the monsignors.
—On that day I will erase the names of the idols from the land, so that they will be remembered no more, and I will remove both the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.
"......"
—Thus says the Lord of Hosts: Sword, awake! Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
Panting breaths grew gradually closer.
—In all the land, declares the Lord, two-thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one-third shall be left alive. I will put that third into the fire; I will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say....
"Now I understand."
A thin whisper, close to a breath, reached me.
"We've never seen it from the inside."
—Thus says the Lord of Hosts....
"I met you from the outside."
—I will restore to this place shepherds who will tend the flock, even in the desolate lands and ruined cities where neither people nor beasts remain.
"What's the reason? Is this what you call conviction? If it's conviction, is it different from what I'm pursuing now?"
I slammed my staff into the mage's heart. Divine power took root in his soil, suppressing his mana—it transmitted straight through. He didn't even let out a mechanical groan. None of us were in our right minds. That must have been it. Nothing could be understood, comprehended, or reacted to. The empty words he strained to utter passed straight through my head.
"Ask me the same question you asked earlier. What makes you hold onto conviction? We've both been through similar pasts—why are our outcomes different?"
"......"
"Where do you think it went wrong?"
I said nothing to him, only looked down as he spoke words I couldn't comprehend. He gazed at the ceiling beyond me and said.
"So, I pondered for a long time whether your declaration to destroy this church was a reckless lie to escape the situation, or if it was sincere. I've got my answer now."
"......"
"As long as you don't want to kill me right this instant."
"......"
"Would one proposal be acceptable?"
* * *
I opened my eyes amid plants basking in morning sunlight. I felt the trap plants covering my clothes. Lacking the strength to brush them off, I stayed seated in the tub with my eyes closed. The sound of someone from the bathroom rushing out reached me. A while later, calm footsteps unmistakably belonging to royalty approached, followed by a familiar voice from above.
"So you've come here."
"......"
I nodded with my eyes still closed. A model student should sleep like one. Of course, I knew those words no longer worked. By this place's time, I'd spent about six hours in that world, so it was plenty of time for Leo to wake up. After hearing Ainsidel's proposal, I'd stayed there two more days.
"Lift your head."
"You're used to giving orders."
I said that and looked at Leo. His face was as pale as I'd expected, so I held back further words and stared straight at him as requested. Leo watched me silently for a long while, cast a soundproofing spell, and asked.
"Do you want to drink blood?"
"......"
What?
Dumbfounded, I gaped at him for a moment. Then a surge of self-loathing made me bury my face in the plants, and Leo continued calmly.
"That's what your expression said."
"You should get certified in face-reading. Don't put it into words if you want me to vanish."
If my hands were free, I'd have buried my face in them. Even the fresh plant scent filling my lungs brought self-loathing when I thought of its source. Leo didn't laugh at my humorless joke. Instead, he asked seriously.
"You went there of your own will."
"Yeah."
Leo asked no more. Instead, he opened his mouth after a long pause.
"I get why you went. Looks like you went through more than I expected."
It had been six hours for you, but a week for me. Still, I wouldn't ignore the shock he'd felt in those six hours—no telling when he woke, though high chance it was recent—and even if short, I wouldn't pretend it away. Looking into his eyes, I apologized.
"Sorry. Next time, I'll leave a note."
"No option to not go, huh."
"Well... yeah. More than that, you're not saying much, as expected."
Truth be told, what did it matter to him if I left or not? Him not saying much was normal, but I knew it was hard for him now. We'd faced too many dangers already, so it couldn't be helped.
"I know you took the risk for our safety. What good would blaming you do? In the end, your choices are for our protection."
Leo's face was calm. It was the right thing to say, but had he always been like this? I eyed him sidelong for a while, then nodded.
"Thanks."
"No big deal. But I'm worried, it's true... To keep you from making choices like this, the only way is for you to come from the imperial family."
Leo muttered as if questioning himself. Wasn't that telling me to withdraw from Eschet? And yes, I'd caused worry, but it wasn't so reckless as to be called "choices like this." The absurdity finally eased my tension into laughter. Smiling, I shot back.
"What are you talking about? Unless you're bringing me the Anhalt dukedom, don't say it."
"......"
Leo, having nothing to say on that, smiled and turned his head. I paid no more attention to this reckless high schooler and looked out the window. For now, no major uproar was a relief. If they'd issued a search order across all of Bavaria, it would've spiraled out of control.
"How'd you get out? We blocked warping in this room while you were gone."
"Who knows.... More importantly, what? You can block incoming warps, but you have to allow outgoing ones."
Leo just smiled without answering.
'Look at this guy.'
Knowing it wouldn't work, I dropped further demands and got to the point.
"Time to go. I've got useful intel for Munich-Freising entry. Need to organize it."
"Ah, right. What do you need?"
What else? Restore everything. I nodded at the plant vines crossing the tub. Even seeing that, Leo smiled and said what he wanted to.
"Notebook and pen should do."
"Why does it come out like that? Those are obvious."
Leo casually flicked his finger, pulling a chair over and setting it on the plant-covered floor. He brought a notebook, sat, and uncapped his fountain pen.
"Dictate. I'll write."
"......"
A bad feeling swept over me.
* * *
Being isolated for two days in a bedroom turned botanical garden, with only a one-way receiver communication artifact, was a novel experience. I could hear my friends chattering with Leo, but I couldn't respond to them.
'Feels like listening to the radio.'
Thinking that, I killed time until strategy completion via warp mailbox comms with headquarters. Only at the final training session could I finally see my friends after two days without even a glimpse.
Yes. I hadn't trained until now. Part of me thought Leo needed his head examined, but since he wasn't one to make risky calls lightly, it meant he trusted my skills 200%. Or he rated my intel-gathering risk higher than training deployment.
Arriving at the training ground, Heike spotted me and hurried over with quick steps, asking quietly.
"Lucas. Weren't you sick? Where were you?"
"......"
Where? Should I say? Resigned, I chuckled and answered.
"Don't know, even to me...."
"Why?"
"Yeah. Why?"
A massive look of confusion crossed Heike's face. Watching his rich array of blank expressions—nonsensical, but it made sense to me now that we were friends—I patted his back.
"Lucas!"
Elias clung to me like a sloth. It had been ages since he'd done this, so I was glad for a moment until he narrowed his eyes like he'd spotted something.
"Plant smell. This...."
"Yeah, yeah~ sure is."
I quickly shook off Elias, patted his back like I'd done to Heike, and approached Narke. Narke, knowing Leo's stubbornness without me saying, gave a sympathetic "you've had it rough" look right away... but that made it even harder to speak. I let out a hollow laugh and asked.
"How's it going?"
Catching what I meant instantly, Narke composed himself and replied.
"Kept watch. No variables caught so far. But...."
Narke whispered briefly in my ear. Just then, the 91st and 98th Batches entered, and the mimesis prep tone began echoing across the training ground. Time to start the final training.
Even joining late was no issue. I'd helped plan the strategy and reviewed it all. Training went smoothly; only deployment remained.
Six hours after training ended, I received the comm in front of the Bavaria Isar River Dam where the 101st Batch had assembled.
[18:10, bishop left his office. Enter coordinates Corniviano 780:736:485, clear to y850 preemptively. Destroy entry route completely one minute after start.]
I looked at my friends. Their gazes met mine, then shifted to each other. The evening sky had darkened.
[101st Batch, commencing entry as of now.]