Chapter 185
Chapter 185
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 185
Chapter Title: Family Trip (3)
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Though they had concealed their black mana to the utmost, they could not evade Demian's senses.
The two people wandering the streets were undoubtedly black mages.
"Vermin like bugs have shown up again."
Demian felt a deep weariness. He was finally out on a trip with his family after so long—why did those things have to appear now, of all times?
He wanted to ignore them. He was enjoying a rare moment of happiness, after all.
But he couldn't. Those weren't just any black mages.
"Two high-ranking black mages?"
They fell far short of grand black mages, but high-ranking black mages were no laughing matter.
One alone could easily turn an entire city into hell.
He couldn't just let such dangerous beings roam free. One misstep, and disaster might befall his family.
"Victor."
"Yes, young master."
Demian called to Victor, who was nearby. Victor had come along on this trip to attend to the family.
"I need to step away for a bit. If Father or Mother asks after me, tell them I said I was going to look around the city. Got it?"
"Where are you off to this time... Understood."
After passing the message to Victor, Demian leaped down from the rooftop.
He landed lightly on the ground, then moved to pursue the two.
* * *
The Gax and Nax brothers entered an alley.
There wasn't a soul in sight. Only trash and stray cats caught the eye.
"This should do."
The older brother, Gax, pulled a fist-sized lump of graphite from his bosom. The younger brother, Nax, did the same.
The two began drawing magic circles on the building's outer wall with the graphite.
Large, intricate magic circles formed in an instant. This was no amateur work.
"Brother, be careful. This magic circle is extremely unstable—if you slip even a little, it won't activate."
"Brother, don't worry. I practiced until I nearly dropped dead last night."
The work didn't take long. In just a few minutes, more than ten magic circles adorned the building's wall.
"Perfect. Not a flaw in sight."
Gax gazed at the magic circles with a satisfied expression.
"Lord Sucule really is a genius. How did he come up with a black magic like this?"
"Once this magic circle activates, all the humans nearby burn up, right?"
"Not just burn—they smolder to death over an hour. All while keeping them alive."
Setting a person's body ablaze is easy.
But slowing that process to the maximum is exceedingly difficult.
And not for just a few minutes, but a full hour of slow burning?
It was black magic of such exquisite precision that the two couldn't even imagine it.
"It's impressive, but... why make a black magic like this? Wouldn't it be cooler to blow them up all at once like last time?"
"He wants to watch while having a meal. But if they die too quickly, it kills the mood. They need to stay alive for at least an hour, until the meal's done."
As he spoke, Gax stared at the magic circle with a dazed expression.
"To create such brilliant black magic overnight, and with such a beautiful face... He's truly captivating."
"Brother, can you stop saying that? What if Lord Wingstone overhears and beats you again?"
"Then I'll take the beating. She only beats us half to death—she won't actually kill us."
Nax could only grimace at Gax's words.
"And little brother, what's the first principle of we Hedonists? To act on our whims. I'm never giving up on Lord Sucule."
Nax let out a deep sigh at his brother's absurd wish.
"And who are we? We're just Lord Sucule's assistants now, but we used to be big shots called the Flame Evil Brothers."
Originally, the two had been a duo of black mages feared under the name Flame Evil Brothers.
They made their living exploding buildings or burning people to death on commission.
Then one day, Sucule suddenly appeared and kidnapped them outright, saying their skills were useful enough to make them his assistants.
They had become assistants against their will, but they had no real complaints.
They could learn black magic from the grand black mage Sucule, and the funding and materials were plentiful.
"I've never failed to get what I want. So I'm not giving up on Lord Sucule either."
"Fine, just let's get moving. We have to head to the next spot."
The younger brother started walking as he spoke. Gax followed, grumbling resentfully.
"What if you go ahead like that?"
"You'd just keep spouting nonsense if I stayed put."
The two pulled their robes over their heads again as they walked the alley. To hide their faces.
"For a famous festival, there sure are a lot of skilled ones around."
"They said tourists flock in from abroad. Even some high-class ones."
"High-class showing up just to gawk at a festival. Pathetic doesn't begin to cover it."
"Want to know what's even more pathetic? Not a single one of them sensed us."
The two snickered as they chatted.
It wasn't for nothing that they had earned infamy as the Flame Evil Brothers.
They had the black magic prowess and experience to make it possible.
Hiding their black mana to slip past knights' notice was child's play.
"That's right. Hedonists, was it."
At that moment, an unfamiliar voice came from behind.
The brothers whipped around. They spread their hands, ready to unleash black magic at any second.
A young man stood in the middle of the alley.
Dark brown hair, slightly taller than average. Even hidden by his clothes, his well-honed physique was evident.
The moment they saw the young man, the two couldn't help but feel puzzled.
He stood exactly where they had passed moments ago.
No one had been there then. He had appeared out of nowhere.
"Who are you?"
"Don't tell me you're tailing us?"
The brothers demanded in wary tones.
"Hedonists. Never seen you, but I've heard of you. A criminal organization active around this time."
But the man ignored their questions.
"Even someone like me, with no connection, had heard of you. Your infamy must be impressive. I hear the Holy Order hunted you with everything they had."
At the man's words, the brothers exchanged glances. A strange pride surfaced on their faces.
"You know your stuff. That's right. We're the Hedonists."
"Doesn't seem like you tracked us knowing who we are. What the hell are you?"
The man ignored their words again.
"I figured you were dangerous, but I didn't expect you'd be planning city-scale terrorism."
He merely regarded them with a crooked expression.
"That's why I hate your kind. You pop up out of nowhere and ruin my happiness and peace. No, not just ruin—you shatter it completely."
Killing intent radiated from the young man.
The sharp aura made the two flinch. Even they, who had committed all manner of atrocities as the Flame Evil Brothers, had never felt such killing intent.
"But at least it's a relief. You showed up before my eyes quickly enough."
The young man closed the distance. The Flame Evil Brothers gathered their black mana and warned.
"Don't come any closer."
But the young man didn't stop even at the warning. In the end, the brothers unleashed black magic at him.
The two brothers were black mages of the School of Ruin.
Among schools, the School of Ruin wielded the most destructive black magic.
The brothers completed their incantations in a breath and unleashed the spell.
[Nightmare of the Embers]
A black magic that set the target's entire body ablaze, reducing them to ash in an instant.
Among the black magics they knew, this was especially quick to cast and hard to dodge.
Yet nothing happened.
The young man's body didn't burn. No—not even a spark appeared.
"Slow."
The young man said, resting his longsword on his shoulder. The two could only panic again.
When did he even draw his sword?
"Huh?"
Only then did the brothers notice.
Their wrists had been severed.
The hands they needed to cast black magic lay on the ground.
"Ah... Aah..."
"Aah..."
The belated agony slowly parted the brothers' lips. Screams welled up from their throats.
Just before they escaped, the young man seized both their mouths with his hands.
It felt as if not hands, but iron tongs clamped their jaws. Flesh crushed, bones ground to powder.
"Ugh... Uuugh!"
"Uuuugh!"
The screams couldn't leak out, swirling trapped inside their mouths.
"Uuuugh! Ugh!"
"Uuuuugh!"
Unable to endure the pain, bloodshot veins burst in the brothers' eyes.
They thrashed to escape the man's grip. But the true pain was only beginning.
Mana flowed from the young man's hands gripping their mouths.
It felt like sharp needles, roots burrowing through their entire bodies. Tears streamed from the brothers' eyes amid the horrific agony.
When the young man released his hands, the brothers' bodies thudded to the ground.
Freed, yet the brothers couldn't flee.
Their bodies wouldn't move, as if paralyzed. They couldn't even circulate their black mana.
"Now, I'm going to ask you two some questions."
The young man rolled up his sleeves.
For some reason, even bare-handed without a weapon, he exuded a dreadful menace.
"If you don't want to answer, just stay quiet. That is, if you can."
In the deserted alley, where no one entered,
Muffled screams endlessly poured out.