Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Became a Time-Limited (Not) Genius
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Jevella saw it.
Shakhar, who had returned far stronger than in her memories... And Enoch, overwhelming that Shakhar with such ease.
He took punches that could shatter city walls without a care, and with each swing of his fist, Shakhar's body crumbled bit by bit.
Shakhar, revived with aura so intense it shocked even Jevella, who knew House Zahav well. Yet Enoch's flames burned even fiercer, feeding on Shakhar's blaze like kindling.
She had no idea what happened in the dungeon, but Shakhar dominated the surroundings with ominous black flames.
Those cold flames that scorched the world vanished without a trace before the solar heat erupting from Enoch.
In the end, Shakhar—who should have absolute resistance to flames as a true Zahav—burned to death without leaving even a mark in Enoch's inferno.
Finally, Enoch raised a second sun in the sky and declared that he alone was the Zahav.
Jevella saw it all.
Probably everyone around Zahav Castle saw it too.
It was a battle on such a massive scale that no one could have missed it.
Even the territory folk inside the inner walls, shielded from the details, couldn't have ignored the second sun in the sky... or the resounding declaration echoing across the entire territory.
"Ah."
A surging emotion squeezed her heart like a vise. Jevella didn't know what to call it.
Zahav—the name that had turned her childhood into hell.
Shakhar was practically its symbol.
Brutal, sacrificing others for his own desires... possessing strength no one could resist.
He protected people from the dungeon, but it was less the duty of a noble or human decency and more like a shepherd tending livestock.
That was why Jevella had decided to wipe out House Zahav in her generation.
They grew more beastly with time, yet their power never waned.
If they couldn't even serve as a necessary evil... it was better for them to vanish.
But Jevella had failed.
She thought she'd killed every Zahav, but the most dangerous of her brothers, Shakhar, returned even stronger.
The dungeon overflow she figured they could handle by allying with neighboring territories had come perilously early, its cycle unnaturally short.
And the one who fixed Jevella's failures was Enoch.
Sudden dungeon overflow. He'd just returned to the family, barely grasping how terrifying it was, yet he charged out, cutting down orcs at the front lines—and later even dueled the Orc Warlord.
And now? In just a few months, Enoch had grown explosively strong, becoming Shakhar's perfect superior and incinerating him.
He truly cleared her past and covered for her mistakes.
Jevella didn't know what to call the emotion rising toward Enoch.
Because... she'd never felt anything like it in her entire life.
Never received it, never given it.
The feeling she had for Yuria was the closest... but somehow different.
But one thing was certain.
"Enoch."
Every time she said his name, her chest warmed.
A faint warmth, like sharing a bit of Enoch's heat, yet more vivid than anything—the moment Jevella unknowingly smiled.
"Guh."
Enoch spat blood from all seven orifices and collapsed.
"...Huh?"
Jevella's body went rigid.
Even as she watched retainers rush desperately to Enoch, she couldn't move.
As someone no expert in combat, Jevella couldn't guess why he'd fallen.
Enoch, accustomed to his third rampage, had grown numb to the pain and could control it slightly, so it hadn't shown on the surface at all.
To Jevella's eyes, it looked like the Enoch who'd wielded immense power moments ago had suddenly dropped dead.
...Just like someone poisoned.
"Ah."
Only then did Jevella remember. What she'd done to Enoch.
Enoch had fixed her mistakes and severed her past nightmares.
But Jevella had fed him poison.
A poison no Zahav could escape, leading straight to death.
The second seizure had struck, so what came next was obvious.
His condition would surpass peak, and his Bloodline Ability would grow to an abnormal level.
But that wasn't cause for joy—it was a harbinger.
The blood flowing in Enoch's body... a Bloodline Ability mighty enough to rival the progenitor's... would soon turn on him.
His regeneration would backfire, gnawing at his body; his superhuman muscles would melt away, leaving him unable to move a finger.
And finally, trapped in a withered shell, he'd meet his end.
Just like Jevella's father, Cain Zahav.
"No, no...!"
Jevella staggered toward the fallen Enoch.
Yes, she'd known. The antidote research was already underway.
But it was progressing too slowly.
She'd thought Enoch, born with a far sturdier body than other Zahavs, could hold out longer.
Half right.
His awakened pure Bloodline Ability had let him endure this long, but precisely because of that, once the poison fully took effect, death would come swiftly.
Unable to sense mana like the other retainers and check his state directly, but Jevella was the sharpest mind in the family.
Her head quickly produced a new calculation.
One year.
Enoch's Bloodline Ability would evolve to wondrous heights over the next year—but so would his lifespan end.
"Enoch..."
She called his name again.
The warmth that had tickled her tongue moments ago was gone.
Only the chill of regret pierced her heart like a dagger.
While Jevella paid the price(?) for her hasty judgment...
Yuria, a short distance away, had seen the same scene.
After Enoch collapsed and things settled, she lay demurely on her dorm bed, staring at the ceiling as she muttered.
"Whoa, damn. Bro's so fucking hot."
...Yes, Yuria knew nothing of complicated matters.
She was just thrilled that Enoch was a blazing, strong stud beyond her wildest dreams.
"Heh heh..."
What especially hooked Yuria was how he'd treated the "Lord" Shakhar mentioned.
Shakhar had lorded over weaker foes like a thug, yet submitted before a true powerhouse.
He'd even tried to flee from Enoch at the last moment—case closed.
But Enoch? Fought as hard as he could, and if still short? Tough luck.
He'd dismissed it like that, vowing to charge ahead anyway.
For Yuria, born with thick Zahav blood but no awakened Bloodline Ability, it struck right at her tastes.
Her instincts screamed for her to get closer—bonus.
Unlike Jevella, wracked with self-reproach and despair, Yuria—blissfully thoughtless—giggled for a while before glancing around.
The dungeon practicum was a semester-long affair.
She was still in the academy dorms for cadets, not her room in the inner castle.
And her roommate, Meykin, was still tied up with mage tower business and hadn't returned.
Meaning, she was alone in the room right now.
"Ahem."
She cleared her throat needlessly, checked her surroundings, then rolled over and slipped a hand under the covers.
It was summer.
"Gah!"
I woke with a strangled scream.
My joints throbbed at every segment, and a dull ache lingered in my muscles.
But inside, my body had returned to normal.
"Works like a charm."
I tapped the now-empty fang necklace—solid and sharp, nothing more—and sat up.
As my view rose, I finally noticed Karen curled up asleep on the floor nearby.
She must've watched over me in my room all night. No idea how many days had passed, though.
I slipped out of bed as quietly as possible and squatted right beside her. Then gently took her cheek...
And yanked mercilessly.
Streeeeetch!
"Eeeek!"
Karen woke with a bizarre yelp. Still half-asleep, she flailed wildly for a bit.
Once she came to, cheeks still pinched by me, she awkwardly lifted her head and her eyes sparkled.
"You're awake, Patriarch...!"
"Yeah. Looks like you slept well, Karen."
"We saw you collapse a few days ago, didn't we? The expert had to be right there."
"Nah, that was all Ignatus..."
"Exactly. So I just contacted Grand Duke Ignatus."
"...Bad vibes."
"He sighed like it was absurd and got a bit mad, but otherwise, no issues."
"That's the problem. Embarrassing as hell."
I'd barely saved him, and he comes home just to overdo it and collapse again? I'd sigh in disbelief too.
"So? How long was I out?"
"Not long. A bit over a day."
Sure enough, peering at the window, the sky was dyed red with sunset.
It'd been lunchtime when I fought Shakhar... so this was the next evening.
Realizing that, hunger hit.
"Let's grab some food first. Starved a full day—gotta fill up."
"Understood."
Karen bustled about, getting ready to accompany me.
As she neatly folded the blanket and tucked it away, she paused like something occurred to her.
"Ah."
"What?"
"Um. Patriarch?"
"Spit it out—why so hesitant? Just ask."
Even after I shrugged, she held back. But once I changed and was ready to leave, she finally broached.
"There's a rumor going around about you lately..."
"Rumor? What, people trash-talking me?"
"As if! Who'd dare badmouth the Patriarch? Everyone's praising yesterday's show—some territory folk even held prayer vigils for your recovery."
"Prayer vigils are a bit much..."
"Want me to tell them no more?"
"Nah, it's fine."
Normally it'd give me a headache.
But unlike before, when I'd trashed my rep to get exiled, I'd decided to live as Zahav now.
So it was fine. Good, even—proof the people backed me.
I shrugged once more.
"C'mon, let's go. Time to show everyone I'm fine."
"Yes. They'll all be thrilled."
I headed to the dining hall with Karen, who smiled faintly.
.
.
.
.
.
In the center of the dining hall sat Jevella, haggard and mechanically stuffing bread while poring over thick books nonstop. And Yuria, equally exhausted, staring blankly into her soup.
The instant our eyes met.
Jevella looked ready to cry, while Yuria—inexplicably—smacked her lips.
Oddly, they spoke almost in unison.
"Enoch, my little brother. If you only had a year left, what would you want to do most?"
"Bro. How many wanks a day is normal, you think?"
"...?"
What the hell kinda question difference is that?