Chapter 41
Chapter 41
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 041
Chapter Title: Defeated Forces
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The next day. At a certain villa in the 7th Administrative District.
"Killed it with magic?"
"Yes. That's what he claimed, at least."
"Heh."
Councilor Koster let out a hollow chuckle at the report from his grandson, Aaron Koster.
Before long, he spoke up.
"Lies."
"......"
Councilor Koster had tasked someone with digging into the Mafia Butcher during the brief window after the meteor streaked across the sky.
From the data uncovered, the man was undoubtedly skilled, with exceptional magical talent.
"But that's not enough to take down a great bloodline, even if it might work on a common vampire."
Aaron looked up at those words.
"Then Grandfather, you really believe that prisoner is the last successor of the Venator..."
"At the very least, that's how I see it."
"...!"
Aaron then asked, as if unable to comprehend.
"If that's true, then why on earth would he hide it?"
Councilor Koster chuckled at the question.
"Isn't it obvious? He can't trust anyone."
"He can't trust anyone?"
"Exactly."
He lifted his coffee cup with a flick of his hand.
"Don't you know why the great bloodlines were so desperate to turn the successors into their own kind?"
The Venator's Blood Sword Style was a technique lethal to the survival of the great bloodlines.
"Simply possessing the Blood Sword Style makes you a target for the bloodlines."
Aaron's eyes widened in realization.
"Then could it be..."
"Yes. Back when the Shield of Dawn flourished, there was no need to hide. But not now."
Until he cultivated enough power to stand against the purebloods, revealing his mastery of Blood Sword arts would bring nothing but trouble.
"He must have received direct instruction from a direct descendant of the Venator, hidden away somewhere. In the mundane world, no one—not even the Shield of Dawn—can be trusted."
"Ha, but then how does he plan to rebuild the Shield?"
"We wait."
Vampires were humanity's natural predators, quiet for now but destined to bare their ambitions eventually. They had to be punished, but the time wasn't ripe.
"We wait until the boy grows his strength and steps into the world on his own."
He had no idea why the boy was in a punishment unit like that.
But if there was meaning in it, the least they could do was let him see it through.
"And in the meantime, we work behind the scenes to support him however we can."
"...!"
Councilor Koster muttered to himself.
"Hmm, the 141 Security Stabilization Unit, eh."
He hadn't paid much attention until now.
"Come to think of it, Councilor Rockton has been very proactive about the project lately."
He let out a small groan at his grandson's words.
"Councilor Rockton..."
It seemed a meeting was in order.
Meanwhile.
The broker-exclusive network was abuzz over last night's red meteor.
The brokers groaned at the name they hadn't heard in ages—and one they never wanted to hear again.
Then, someone cautiously chimed in.
After a pause, he continued.
Someone else piled on.
Someone drove the point home.
And that prediction was spot on.
"A great bloodline? Great bloodline! Is that what the Godfather meant by his ace card—calling in those filthy monsters?!"
Mazaroni, the pot-bellied boss, slammed the table repeatedly in excitement.
All the summit bosses were present.
Everyone except one: the Godfather.
"Even so, dragging vampires into human affairs!"
"Calm down, Mazaroni!"
"Do I look like I can calm down?!"
He bellowed, face flushed red.
"The Bruno Family was excommunicated and stripped of most businesses just for dealing with those Moonlit Path terrorists. And now? What is the Godfather himself doing?!"
Bam! Mazaroni slammed the table again and scanned the bosses.
"Even back-alley scum have a code!"
"Mazaroni, please calm down!"
"I understand Mr. Mazaroni's feelings, but..."
Edmunds, the bespectacled one, looked up.
"The real issue is they crossed that line, deployed such a monster... and still failed to kill the Mafia Butcher."
"......"
"......"
The summit fell silent at his words.
Had they succeeded, the Godfather could have quashed dissent by pointing to the results.
But they failed despite everything.
His legitimacy was gone.
"Now... we must acknowledge what we must."
Mazaroni stared at them.
"We lost this war. Because of the Godfather's rash, foolish judgment!"
"Mazaroni!!!"
Pro-Godfather bosses shouted in fury.
"Am I wrong?!"
Spencer, one of them, laughed incredulously.
"Ha! Not because you've been shaking your ass for the cops from the start?"
"Spencer, what did you just say?"
"Who do you think you're fooling? You were the first to pull forces when the Varone Family was attacked, you bastard!"
"How dare you spout such nonsense...! The defensive line was shattered in seconds by the Butcher. I was just preserving strength. Framing me like this won't turn our loss into a win!"
"You pig bastard, enough is—!"
"Enough!"
Sordi's shout, from the eldest, silenced them.
"...I think today's meeting ends here."
"Ha!"
Mazaroni shot up, slamming his chair back, and addressed the bosses.
"Anyway, I'm done feeding my men into a lost war. Think carefully, other families!"
He grabbed his jacket and added.
"What's the wiser choice for your family's future!"
Bam! Mazaroni stormed out.
Then Edmunds stood.
"The Edmunds Family will withdraw here as well. Truly regrettable how things turned out."
Following Mazaroni, one by one, family bosses rose and left.
Soon, only a few pro-Godfather holdouts remained. Sordi sighed bitterly.
'If only the bloodline had killed the Butcher...'
The summit would have solidified unprecedentedly.
But failure only accelerated the fracture.
No, it was practically disbanded now.
He muttered.
"The summit... is over."
Thanks to one man: the Butcher.
No one contradicted him.
The day of the Godfather capture operation arrived.
With permission to take the greatsword, I entered the room with it, and Walter—who was already in tactical gear—gave me a dumbfounded look.
"What's with that greatsword...?"
"...? The vampire had it."
"Crazy, kid! Why bring such a cursed thing?!"
"They inspected it. No issues."
"Even so, man!"
"It's fine. Really."
I read the description of the greatsword in my hand.
It seemed this greatsword was essential for the Holy Flame skill.
'This could be annoying.'
It meant carrying this thing everywhere after learning [Montena's Holy Flame].
But as if answering my concern, a new message appeared.
'Oh.'
That changed everything.
'Yeah, even if it looks cool, lugging this around all the time is a hassle.'
Way too cumbersome.
As I tossed the sword into a corner, the blade seemed to quiver sadly for a moment.
[...?]
The spirit, returning the moment the barrier lifted, curiously prowled near the sword.
'Now that I think about it, it's time to decide on my next skill.'
Killing the great bloodline and dying once via Fleetwood's magic artifact had unlocked new Lightning Magic.
I pulled up the now-familiar skill tree.
Including the newly unlocked spell after [Lightning Stake], I had two Lightning Magic options.
One was [Shock Trap].
In short, a trap spell to bind enemies on trigger.
'Originally, I wasn't too keen on it.'
But after acquiring [Lightning Stake] and [Thunder Bolt], my mind changed.
'Fighting that viscount made it clear.'
Charge-up skills exploded with power when overcharged, but that was the problem—only when overcharged.
Without charging or with short charge time, their power dropped sharply.
Tough enemies rarely gave me time to charge.
'Two ways to fix that...'
Learn skills to lock down enemies for charge time.
'Or instant-cast spells strong enough without charging.'
I eyed the new skill unlocked after [Lightning Stake].
'Ignores defense traits, so it has some utility.'
But not the powerful attack spell I wanted.
More debuff like [Shock Trap]. Required grabbing the enemy, less versatile overall.
After mulling it over, I decided.
'Go with Shock Trap first.'
And observe the other for now.
Selecting the skill triggered a chime.
'Oh.'
I grinned at the long-awaited ranged AoE skill.
I had close-range AoE, but nothing for range until now.
'Overcharged [Thunder Bolt] does have AoE...'
But charging time was the issue.
An instant ranged AoE was essential.
'Definitely consider this next.'
"Hey, kid."
"Yeah?"
Walter, fully geared, asked me.
"Be straight with me. How'd you take down a great bloodline?"
"...? Told you. Hit it with magic and it died."
"Kid! Sure, magic kills anyone! But..."
"You get it. That's why it died—even the vampire."
"No, even so... Does that make sense...?"
He narrowed his eyes and stroked his chin.
"Or does it?"
"Uncle, vampires have flesh and bones too. Lightning fries 'em same as anything."
"Hmm..."
Scratching his head, Walter asked.
"Whatever. That rumor true too?"
"Huh?"
Where did this guy pick up gossip? He hadn't even been to the infirmary.
"What rumor?"
"Heard earlier. That ice queen inspector bawling in front of the cops."
"......"
I was at a loss for words.
She hadn't recovered from the chopper trauma, and yeah, she'd cried hard that day—panic attack or whatever.
I averted my gaze slightly.
"...Dunno. Rumors are just rumors, right?"
"Yeah?"
'Gotta cover for her...'
If it spread more, embarrassment might make her switch handlers.
I needed her sponsorship.
'But deliveries non-contact from now on.'
Vampire incident proved it: nothing good came from meeting a beauty alone.
Then.
Weeeoooooweeeeooo—!!
The alarm blared. Walter and I exchanged glances.
As if on cue, a chime rang with a new message.
Carnera Family Defense Battle
Faction 'Mafia Summit's' survival-on-the-line battle, 'Carnera Family Defense Battle,' has begun.
In other words, mafia defeat meant total end for them.
Probably because their leader, the Godfather, was the target.
Walter steeled himself.
"...It's here."
With the mafias cornered, expect desperate resistance beyond anything before.
High difficulty ahead.
"Let's go, Uncle."
"Yeah, damn it. We'll survive this too."
As we grabbed gear to head out.
I blinked at the sudden messages.
"...???"