Chapter 105
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Acid's Acting Strange
“……You got here faster than expected, Matthias Mirmod.”
I let out a startled voice aloud for a moment.
‘There’s no way that shady, villainous silhouette is my dad……?’
The Pope was staring at Dad in obvious shock, as if it were only natural.
“What, what is it!”
Clutching my bewildered heart, I blinked rapidly.
Then the black silhouette revealed a sleek form and elegantly seized the Pope’s throat.
“What is it? It’s Dad.”
Dad smiled affectionately as he strangled the Pope.
The Pope writhed grotesquely with groans, but he couldn’t withstand Dad’s grip.
Seeing Dad smiling while clutching the Pope’s throat like some evil villain left me dumbfounded.
‘This… th-this is character collapse, right?’
The Dad who was always so mild-mannered, purely good, and kind-hearted… I never imagined he could make a face like that.
I froze in shock.
“Wh-where’s Delphia sis?”
“I tossed Delphia in a corner… No, I safely collected her and brought her home.”
“What, what! You said you tossed her in a corner!”
The mild-mannered Dad breaking through all sorts of obstacles to reach the temple basement was shocking enough, but… Dad’s condition was off.
‘……What, what’s with that look on Dad’s face?!’
The Pope gasped and flailed but ended up slammed into the floor.
Considering this was the temple and the Pope could attack Dad with holy power, this was incredibly strange.
Dad looked just like…
‘My dad seems like the world’s strongest being!’
On top of that, Dad’s expression right now was utterly sinister. It was that exact “villain face” I’d sometimes sensed when looking at him.
I widened my eyes hugely.
Come to think of it, it wasn’t just the expression.
A massive black sword surged with dark energy, and translucent skulls rolled around Dad’s feet. That was…
‘Dad, you look like a total necromancer right now!’
But there was no way Dad was a necromancer.
Even wicked black mages shunned necromancers. Necromancers handled the most malevolent spirits among evil ghosts. The Pope and Axel weren’t the issue right now.
The biggest shock to me was that my dad could smile so wickedly.
I stared at Dad with my eyes popped wide open.
Dad muttered lowly with a terrifyingly stern expression.
“Daughter, your face looks haggard. Dad will get revenge for you.”
He looked just like some nefarious archvillain.
I moistened my parched mouth and hurriedly scanned Dad’s surroundings.
“D-Dad? There’s something weird around you…….”
“No, Sien. It’s not weird.”
I asked back in a trembling voice.
Even amid that, the Pope was pinned to the floor like a bug.
Dad no longer even touched him.
He was rolling him around lazily on the floor and kicking him with his shoe.
“Huh? D-Dad……?”
“……Yes, Sien.”
‘No way!’
I pointed at Dad in horror. Even then, Dad wiped his forehead and muttered.
“Sien, I told you not to point at adults.”
Dad’s cheeks were flushed with blood. I gaped and kept pointing as I yelled.
“Is that something you say while killing someone?!”
“……Oops.”
Dad said lightly while stomping on the Pope.
“I haven’t killed him yet.”
His face was like he was being cute, but the chill in his eyes couldn’t be hidden.
I still gaped at Dad.
‘This is a dream! How can my dad make that face?!’
Forget the Pope or whatever—my mentality was half shattered. I stomped my feet and glared at Dad.
“This is a dream! Right?!”
I squeezed my eyes shut seriously, and Dad whispered in a gentle voice.
“Yeah, it’s Dad’s dream. When you wake from the dream, I’ll go back to being Sien’s good dad.”
Had I escaped reality after witnessing such an outrageous act?
For a moment, my mind went hazy with absurd thoughts.
‘Is it really a dream……?’
……No, no!
I glared at Dad with wide eyes.
“You liar! A dream wouldn’t hurt this much!”
Dad asked languidly while still stomping the Pope with his shoe.
“Why? Does your heart hurt?”
“B-because Dad’s not a pushover!”
Only then did Dad make a shocked face. The Pope, rag-like on the floor, even seemed poised for a counterattack amid the openings.
“……You thought Dad was a pushover?”
“Uh, uh……?”
‘Wait, did I just shatter Dad’s innocence…… No, that’s not it!’
“No! Dad’s not a pushover! Why make that hurt face? Dad!”
“Dad’s nice.”
It was an oddly bizarre line from the man who’d crushed the Pope—who’d been wriggling like a bug waiting for a counterattack chance—into unconsciousness.
He smiled kindly as he said it.
“Our baby.”
Dad wiped the bit of blood from his face and grinned eerily.
A man dying at his feet, yet not a speck of blood on his smile!
It was pure madness.
My front teeth chattered as I asked.
“……Wh-who’s a baby? You con artist Dad!”
At “con artist,” Dad made a face like he’d been stabbed in the gut.
Even though the Pope was the one actually stabbed.
Dad placed one hand piously on his chest and made a hurt expression.
“Dad’s hurt.”
I glared sharply at Dad and replied cynically.
“I’m more shocked!”
As we bickered nonstop, the Pope ground his teeth and muttered.
“Right now…… what are you…….”
Dad looked down at the Pope annoyedly and said.
“Our baby, close your eyes. I needed necromancer powers to deal with the Pope, so I just unleashed them for a bit.”
“Uh……?”
In an instant, the Pope was captured alive, and the limp Axel Mirmod started heaving.
At the same time, the flames enveloping Acid’s body died down. I barely held back tears of relief and clapped inwardly.
‘G-good, I survived. I can breathe now!’
But relief at Acid’s survival was short-lived.
‘Dad, what the heck are you doing?!’
As I gawked slack-jawed at Dad, a magic circle infused with holy power shimmered at my feet.
I realized this holy power magic circle was targeting me.
As my toes curled sharply, a blade of pure white holy power aimed precisely at my carotid artery.
“Foolish thing, making a last-ditch struggle.”
Dad sneered, curling his lip as he swung his sharp sword through the air. Black aura erupted from Dad’s blade, and the holy power trying to bind my feet crumbled pathetically.
‘What the hell is going on?!’
I dumbly alternated stares between my feet and the sword.
By then, the Pope was slammed bug-like to the floor, and I was in Dad’s arms.
As his sturdy embrace enveloped me, I could only gasp in bewilderment, unable to say a word.
Dad whispered in feigned gentleness.
“That’s why I told you to leave it to Dad.”
In the space turned into a bloodbath.
I blinked vacantly as I thought.
‘What the hell happened?!’
***
A few minutes later, Dad dragged the Pope by the collar across the floor, then fitted him with restraints to seal his holy power.
The whole process was so elegantly done that I could only gape.
Of course, Dad hadn’t subdued the Pope without effort.
Holy power was clearly the antithesis to Dad’s, as he’d vomited blood a few times during it.
That’s when I looked at Dad with deep worry.
“D-Dad?”
“It’s a side effect of the necromancer ability. I’ll be fine after coughing up some blood.”
That attitude treating vomiting blood like nothing!
It was straight out of an archvillain.
I stood by Dad with a blank look, then suddenly remembered Acid on the altar.
I’d forgotten amid Dad’s sudden villain act, but Acid was on the altar. The flames were all gone by now!
But before me, Axel—shoved in the corner—was near Acid.
The moment the Pope was subdued, Axel jerked like he’d snapped out of brainwashing. He’d obeyed the Pope’s orders meekly even amid the chaos, but now he’d suddenly regained vitality.
Axel Mirmod glanced at Acid and smirked. He acted smug, like he hadn’t been defeated.
‘Suspicious.’
Our eyes met, and Axel curled his lip mockingly.
“I told you, didn’t I? Your father’s an evil bastard. Like the world’s strongest. How’s it feel to have your pure heart crushed?”
“…….”
I bit my lip and chose my words.
Dad’s hand slowed instantly as he stomped the Pope and fitted the final restraint.
Dad rolled the Pope carelessly on the floor, then urgently said to me.
“Sien, don’t listen to that. Close your eyes. Dad will handle that guy.”
“What bullshit. Don’t close your eyes—look straight. You need to see how evil your old man is, right?”
As I stayed silent, Axel’s lip twisted oddly upward.
He seemed pleased at destroying the purity in my heart.
Even if his plan failed, shocking our father-daughter duo seemed enough for him.
His attitude—treating his own death like nothing—felt downright chilling.
I fixed my wavering gaze on Axel, then glanced at Dad.
Dad mouthed ‘S-sor-ry’ at me with pleading eyes.
Of course, one “sorry” couldn’t offset the betrayal toward Dad.
The ideal of the kind farmer dad I’d protected all this time had shattered, and betrayal made my teeth grind.
‘……I’m so confused.’
I gritted my teeth and stared at the grinning Axel.
‘But I’ll judge Dad later.’
Of course, genuine betrayal surged from my gut at Dad deceiving me. But that didn’t outweigh my desire to deal with these villains.
Clenching my fists with that thought, I yelled.
“So what if my dad’s a bad guy! Dad! That guy worse than you hit me!”
Dad’s first flustered, dumbstruck face since entering melted softly.
“Did he?”
“Yeah! I’ll close my eyes, so beat him!”
Honestly, my heart felt a bit off.
‘Dad’s been deceiving me all along? Pretending to be weak?’
……That kind of betrayal washed over me like a tide.
‘Why would Dad do that…….’
Such doubts swirled in my heart……
‘But Dad came safely to save me. Let’s just think about that now.’
In the end, the emotion of Dad coming unharmed to rescue me surged like waves, and I couldn’t hold it back.
I’d planned to keep my eyes closed until Dad dealt with Axel, but an ominous sound made me snap them open.
“……Eek.”
Was it okay for Dad’s true nature to be like this?
In front of Dad, Axel was nearly pulverized.
The Pope was already unconscious in the corner.
Seeing the dazed Pope and the nearly dead Axel, I thought uneasily.
‘Dad…… might be a bigger villain than I thought.’
Once I thought that, an inexplicable chill settled in my heart.
Villain Dad seemed to have incredibly sharp senses too.
He brought his razor-sharp fingers to his blood-smeared mouth, then stopped mid-motion the second I opened my eyes and awkwardly tossed Axel to the floor.
“This seems too cruel. He’s practically dead already, so I’ll leave him here, Sien.”
That’s even crueler, Dad!
But instead of telling Dad not to kill Axel, I said primly.
“Dad, free Acid.”
“Ah, right. Don’t want our daughter’s heart hurting. I’ll free Acid.”
Now he finally looked like his usual doting dad.
I watched Dad sigh in heartache at the scratches on my wrists.
“Dad, not me—Acid. I’m fine now. Help Acid first.”
Dad nodded reluctantly, still looking worried.
“Got it, Sien.”
Dad, who’d been staring at Axel like an inorganic object, finally turned away. I cautiously opened my mouth.
“The Pope…… said something weird about Acid, Dad.”
Dad eyed the altar narrowly, then the incense stick hanging at its edge.
From earlier, as the ritual progressed, Acid seemed to be losing consciousness bit by bit.
Thankfully he hadn’t collapsed, but from afar, his expression showed nothing anymore.
Dad climbed the altar and impassively touched Acid’s cheek, inspecting him before uttering a meaningless line.
“Dad’s too scared…….”
“Liar. Dad’s a villain.”
Dad flinched, shoulders slumping feigned-weakly. It was thorough acting, befitting someone who’d fooled me for 15 years.
If I hadn’t seen that terrifying side earlier, I’d have thought, ‘Poor Dad again!’
“No more pretending to be weak, Dad!”
Dad’s lips drooped downward. He looked just like a ‘dumb pushover.’
I gaped. Then Dad curled his lip villainously again, dragged Acid down from the altar, and muttered.
“It’s Dad’s habit. Pretended to be weak for over 15 years, so it stuck.”
“Yeah, got it. You don’t have to pretend anymore, Dad.”
Dad looked conflicted. When he saw my lips pout slightly, he fidgeted anxiously, furrowing his brow.
Where had the Dad who demolished Axel and boldly threatened the Pope gone? Now he looked like a tail-wagging puppy.
“You seem hurt too, Dad…… But you have to save Acid first, right? Got it.”
As an adult, he seemed a bit jealous of Acid, who was maybe half his age. It was kinda cute.
‘But first, I’ll properly judge Dad once we’re home!’
I clenched both fists, then froze.
Acid’s lips, fine just moments ago, had paled, and strange ancient runes were spreading across his cheek.
With empty, vacant eyes, I stepped closer to the bound Acid.
But even as I approached, Acid looked like he’d lost all reason and mind.
‘He’d always sparkle and call “Lady Sien” when I got close.’
Not now.
His eyes held no vitality whatsoever.
“D-Dad. Acid’s acting strange…….”
I thought pulling him off the altar would fix it, but what were those eerie ancient runes?
Unlike the dead-like Axel, the still-breathing Pope cackled from behind.
Half-restrained and unable to move, his face looked immensely pleased.