Chapter 103: Spoiler (1)
“A worm? I am superior to you.”
Decalane’s personality answered dryly.
“Abandoned like garbage, you don’t even know your place.”
I laughed with disdain and checked the inside pocket of my suit. I couldn’t bring the cane because it was too large, but there was a part of the Snowflake Obsidian that I could [Understand] to some extent.
“I’ll help too.”
Yeriel moved closer, but I pushed her back with Psychokinesis.
“You go out.”
“Why? I’m still fine.”
Yeriel wore a confident expression. However, her complexion had already changed. It was a precursor to dark energy poisoning.
“I’ve enough mana to do at least one spe-“
“Be quiet.”
“…”
“Don’t disturb me and get out.”
Yeriel shut her mouth. Angry and upset, her dissatisfaction was plain on her face, but I couldn’t help it. Yeriel shouldn’t be in this situation.
Whoosh–!
Then Decalane sent out his tentacles. Dark red energy swirled around their edges, staining the very air as they moved.
‘Thank you.’
I would convert the guy’s magic into my mana. The mana purified by my blood rose by one level, and the rapid amplification was a torrent that even I could not easily handle. I felt my head aching as if it might explode as I activated the Snowflake Obsidian.
A chunk of metal the size of a ping-pong ball that spread out like a net. The thin and narrow lines intersected each other to form a grid. At a glance, it appeared to be precarious from the protection that was only 1mm thick. However, Decalane’s tentacles froze and burned away the moment they touched the net.
This contradictory phenomenon was caused by the mysterious metal named Snowflake Obsidian.
──────────!
He continued to swing his tentacles, emitting thick dark energy. The concentration of the energy alone was already lethal. If it were an ordinary human, they would melt as if doused with hydrochloric acid the moment they were physically hit. However, I took all of it with ease while calculating the consumption value of the Snowflake Obsidian, which was still only a prototype.
The mana consumption was more than ten times that of ordinary steel. When the operation of Psychokinesis was added as a complication, it was amplified by close to five times more. Therefore, the total mana consumption was, at a minimum, ten times, to a maximum of fifty times that of wood steel.
The current Snowflake Obsidian was too unwieldy to use unless I was in a space full of dark energy. It was still an unfinished special move.
“You’re dealing with weird stuff.”
Decalane’s attacks stopped. He seemed to have realized that he could not pierce the Snowflake Obsidian. No, it was because doing so would be too costly. As I watched him, I suddenly became curious.
“…Were you made by Decalane?”
It was pure curiosity. His fuel was dark energy. No, he was too radical to be produced by a demon-hating wizard of Yukline.
“I am the learning intelligence of Master Decalane. I was born to replace you.”
That was how he responded.
─At that moment. A red parabola soared from behind, drawing my attention. It came from Yeriel.
“Ha!”
She manifested her magic into the destructive ‘Fire Line’ spell, advanced magic that harmonized the element of fire and the concept of space. It was a fairly difficult technique, condensing superheated flames into a thin line and detonating them around the target in an unavoidable burst. The Fire Line reached his face, and a moment later, flames exploded around his head.
“…I can help too.”
Cough—! Cough—!
Despite her rough coughing, she was making an expression like, ‘I did well, huh?,’ but I felt furious.
“What do you think? I-“
“Didn’t you hear me tell you to leave?”
Yeriel’s expression hardened. Gulping, her jaw clenched tight. She took a deep breath before pounding her chest.
“…Gosh. I was leaving anyway!”
Yeriel shouted and turned away.
“Don’t even think about calling me for help!”
She walked with that, opened a door with her last remaining mana, and disappeared with the key.
Swooooosh–!
I belatedly turned back to my foe. Decalane was burning inside the magic fire. After all, Fire Line was a notably lethal type of destructive magic. Yeriel had been working hard on her magic so far, all while keeping it a secret from me.
“…Not bad.”
I polished the Snowflake Obsidian into a different shape. With a sharp metallic sound, the net broke apart into several smaller fragments. The particles flooded the air toward Decalane, piercing Yeriel’s flames to cut apart Decalane. Burning, freezing, cutting, Decalane was being torn apart.
“…”
Still, Decalane did not scream. He stretched out his tentacles in all directions in a rage. For him, there was no pain. I whispered to him softly.
“You have no feeling. So, you are a failure.”
“No… I am the learning intelligence of Master Decalane…”
He repeated the same thing over and over.
“I was born to replace you…”
Dark energy flowed out from him. His body was decomposing, so now the fuel inside him was leaking out.
“I…”
Simply put, he was dying.
“De… ca… lane… Master’s…”
His hoarse voice suddenly cut off as his body was shattered into ash.
“Garbage, it’s fitting.”
I slowly walked toward where he had been standing. Something solid remained among the ashes, a bizarre object beating like a heart. I examined it with Vision.
───「Artificial Nucleus」───
◆ Information
: An artificially created nucleus.
: An organic compound that consists of dark energy.
: An unfinished product.
─────────
“「Artificial Nucleus」?”
I frowned, checking the structure of the artificial nucleus with [Understanding]. Of course, the living things were integrated into it. It was a core made of dark energy.
“Decalane…”
Staring at the artificial nucleus, I muttered his name. Why did he create these things? What was his reason for using dark energy despite being a Yukline wizard? No matter how I thought about it, the only ones who could do this were…
“…The Altar.”
Could it be that the Yukline family had something to do with the Altar? Or was this a result of Decalane’s dogma?
“I don’t know yet.”
I lifted the artificial nucleus with Psychokinesis. Although disgusting and dirty in appearance, it was well worth studying.
* * *
Meanwhile, Yeriel, who left first, grumbled to herself while waiting for Deculein.
“It’s ridiculous.”
A word of praise is enough? She already knew it all, so if you were more honest… it would be weirder indeed. It felt right that Deculein was still like Deculein. They said that if you suddenly changed, it meant you were going to die soon.
“Cough, cough. Oh, my throat hurts.”
Yeriel leaned against the wall for a moment and checked her body. Her mana was almost empty, and she had some minor symptoms of dark energy poisoning.
“Wait a minute.”
She rubbed the back of her neck and frowned. The Yukline bloodline used dark energy since time immemorial, or so the vassals had always said.
“Why am I…?”
She was coughing because of the dark energy, and she felt increasingly dizzy.
“Is it because I’m tired?”
Yeriel tilted her head and took out the Key of Yukline. Now it was time to save her vassals. Well, she left the door open, so Deculein would figure it out eventually and come out on his own.
“…No way will he be defeated.”
Yeriel felt a momentary flash of worry but soon recalled Deculein’s face staring at her as if he intended to kill her.
“Indeed. I want to see if you’ll lose.”
He was so confident that he rebuked her, saying, ‘Didn’t you hear me tell you to leave?’ Of course, he would win and return. It would be a family shame; she wouldn’t even hold a funeral if he lost.
“Let’s see…”
Yeriel walked down the hallways inside the diary, glancing at Deculein’s memories. The frame containing his memories had no titles. Fitting Deculein, they were all unmarked.
“Where are the vassals…?”
Then, suddenly.
“Huh?”
Yeriel found the memory of a certain day. Among Deculein’s memories, it was relatively recent.
“Oh~, this day…”
Yeriel still remembered what happened that day. She smiled sadly and walked over. As soon as she set her eyes on the frame of that memory, she heard her clear tone.
─You… treat me like a piece of trash.
A cold voice filled with the intent to kill, crossing the cold and dark night air. The space shown was the Yukline mansion. She was visiting Deculein, who had just spent 200 million Elnes at an auction. Back then, Yeriel had been carrying a knife and a gun. She was that furious.
—Do you think that I’m someone who exists to clean up your messes?”
She was angered to the point of tears, but Deculein remained calm. He stared at her as if watching a barking dog.
─Do you think I will live like this for the rest of my life? I dropped out of college because of you! Fuck, I’ve never even been on a date!
Although that made her even angrier… then, Deculein finally spoke.
—I will give you the seat of the head of the house.
─…Liar, you’re lying!
“Pfft.”
Yeriel laughed, but the memory continued.
-No, that doesn’t make sense. Why? Why all of a sudden?
─From now on, I plan to focus on my research in the magic tower. There will be no time for my work as the head of the household, and you must have already mastered, to some degree, the work of a lord.
At the time, she didn’t know it was going to turn out like this. Yeriel watched what followed with excitement.
─Then… when will the succession ceremony be held…?
-You should know better than anyone at the right time.
-In three years. Exception day.
His attitude suddenly shifted. She was disconcerted at the time, but now she felt embarrassed. It was such a transparent reaction.
“Ugh. Ugh…”
The present Yeriel shook, but the Yeriel of that day continued without noticing.
─If this is a lie, then even I don’t know what I’ll do… it’s all or nothing. You know? Everyone in our territory already considers me the lord.
—Believe it. It’s not a lie.
─…Humph!
Shortly after they finished conversing, Yeriel hid her dagger and gun in her bag.
“Wow. I even brought a gun.”
It was a small shotgun, as she had grabbed whatever weapon she could in her blind rage.
“Why did I do that?”
In any case, she managed to endure her anger like that and was about to leave.
—Yeriel.
Deculein caught her. Yeriel, watching that moment from outside, flinched.
─…You must be hungry after coming all the way here, so eat something before you leave.
“Oh, I can’t watch it.”
It was too cringy to witness. She would go crazy.
-Forget it! Forget it! Don’t say weird things all of a sudden! What are you saying after I said I have to go quickly…
Why did Deculein say that back then? Yeriel, shaking her head, tried to get away from this memory. However, Deculein’s memories didn’t end there.
─… Hmm.
In the empty mansion, after Yeriel left, Deculein let out a short breath before sitting down with a glass of wine. At that moment.
Wheeeeing…
A mysteriously roaring wind. At the same time, a quiet, unfamiliar voice arrived.
─That’s interesting.
“…?!”
It was a memory she didn’t know of. Yeriel watched with her eyes now wide open.
─…I just arrived.
A charming voice that whispered sweetly, red hair blowing in the wind. The woman who suddenly appeared sat on the window sill, waving her legs in the air…
─And this happened.
…The leader of the Red Garnet Adventure Team that Yeriel was looking for — Ganesha.
―Huhu.
She smiled at Deculein, but he responded with a frown.
—You are an uninvited guest, Ganesha.
─Oh~, I’m sorry. I’m sorry…
Yeriel listened blankly to their conversation. Her heart was pounding, and her mouth went dry. Her temples were burning hot, and cold sweat dripped down her back.
─You’re handing over the position of the head? Are you trying to change?
Deculein entrusted Ganesha with a certain request related to Yeriel. The clue to what that was may be in this memory.
─…I just thought she would do better than me.
Deculein’s heart was honest. It was not a lie when he said he would give up his position as head of the family.
―Huhu. Really? Still… you know.
The corners of Ganesha’s lips twisted. It was a very unpleasant expression to see.
“That bitch…”
Yeriel couldn’t help the curse from leaving her. How dare she eavesdrop on their important conversation? Yeriel was glaring at Ganesha but in the next moment.
-She’s not your real sister.
“?”
She tilted her head. She couldn’t understand what she had just heard, so her expression was frozen in an awkward half-frown. However, there was no such thing as a rewind function in this frame.
Ganesha continued slowly.
─That kid doesn’t even have a drop of Yukline’s blood mixed in her, right…?