Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 133

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 133
But my hands had already gone numb from the magical backlash, so I felt no pain.
“….”
Still, it helped sharpen my senses. I bit down hard on my lips and forced myself forward. I can’t. I’m not strong enough. I was already broken just saving Nia alone—how could I possibly lead all these people to safety?
“I can’t do this….”
Tears threatened to spill over. Why did fate keep throwing such cruel situations at me? Why! Behind me, urgent voices continued to ring out.
“What about Dinse? What about Aila? What happened to all the others who went with us?”
“Nia, do you know what happened to Lizbeth?”
“Our master? Did you see our master? He would never do this to us!”
“Everyone, be quiet. You’re scaring Nia!”
The desperate voices fell silent all at once.
“Nia, stop crying and tell us. What happened to the others, and what occurred down below?”
“Sob, mister….”
The sorrow I’d been holding back came flooding out, and I heard Nia weeping uncontrollably. I limped forward, one step after another.
“I thought we were done for, that this was truly the end….”
“Yes. But?”
“That lady saved us….”
No. Why did you have to say that!
“Nia!”
I gasped and spun around, only to find myself the focus of dozens of eyes peering through the iron bars.
“….”
I’m finished. I began backing away slowly.
“That young lady…?”
A man named Harry muttered blankly, staring at me.
“A moment ago, a small wolf cub the size of a palm passed by, and now a woman I’ve never seen before….”
So Raulus had passed through here too. It seemed he’d come this way when our eyes hadn’t met.
“…I’m here, Nia.”
I finally opened my mouth. I didn’t step forward toward them. I remained in place, barely moving my lips.
“I told you before. Going with me is more dangerous.”
Logically and rationally, it was impossible for me to save all these people. I no longer had the divine power to shatter magical barriers, and even if I somehow managed to free everyone, there was no way to lead such a large group to the surface without drawing attention.
“Wait here. Even if I can’t come back, someone will surely come for you.”
“Who will come?”
Harry called out loudly. He gripped the bars and leaned forward, looking directly at me.
“This is the Secret Base of Dark Mages that no one knows about. Even during the Kelkita Purification Ceremony days ago, this place remained undiscovered.”
“….”
“So who will come? Who, and how would they know?”
Well, once Raulus reaches the surface, either Diego or Auredhian will come. I pressed my lips together. My mind began working. Everything depended on how I answered now—whether I could leave this place with peace of mind or in torment. I could simply turn and flee right now. But….
My heart wasn’t cold enough to turn away from people waiting for death in this manner. Harry twisted his face in anguish and asked again.
“Who will come to save us!”
“Ra….”
The words tumbled out before my thoughts could even settle.
“R-Raulus God!”
“Pardon?”
Dozens of pairs of eyes widened in unison. I rolled my gaze about, fumbling for words.
“I’ll go back to the Surface and ask Raulus God for help. Raulus God would not abandon you all….”
Clink. At that very moment, the earring hanging beneath my earlobe jingled on its own—in this sealed, windless space.
“….”
Silence fell. I opened my mouth in bewilderment, then closed it again. Had I done well…? Somehow, I felt like a charlatan cult leader. And then Harry’s murmur that followed made me jump.
“Saint…?”
“Eh?”
But I quickly reconsidered and nodded eagerly.
“Ah, yes!”
I had no holiness whatsoever, so I wasn’t truly a saint, but well, I was Raulus God’s summoner, so it was close enough…!
“Ooooooh!”
Everyone in the Prison erupted in cheers all at once.
“Then that silver wolf that passed through here earlier…!”
“A messenger of Raulus God!”
“Saint, please save us!”
This really was turning into a cult situation! Abruptly, a woman beyond the iron bars nearby reached toward me, and before I could react, both my hands were seized.
“Ah…!”
“Saint!”
I gasped at the pain that felt like my eyes would burst from their sockets. But the woman gripping my hands seemed not to notice my contorted expression.
“Please save this place. This wicked place, and our master…. And us…!”
“….”
I’d suddenly taken on a grand mission. But it wasn’t impossible. All I had to do was go back up and tell Auredhian everything. If he knew the location of this place, rescuing these people wouldn’t be difficult. The woman muttered frantically.
“I don’t… want to die….”
“I understand.”
I barely managed to continue speaking, gasping through the agony of my wrists, which felt like they were being torn apart.
“Who wants to die? Everyone just wants to cling to life desperately.”
The pain grew steadily worse. Eventually, my eyes filled with involuntary tears.
“Please… could you let go? If I wait any longer, Raulus God might leave….”
I lacked the strength to shake off the hands gripping mine so fiercely. Tears fell in drops.
“I’ll tell His Majesty too. He’s not the kind to overlook further sacrifice, so it won’t take long… ugh….”
It seemed some magic had been cast on the reserve test subjects as well. Otherwise, there was no way contact alone could cause such pain.
“Let’s go, sister.”
And it was Nia who freed me from the agony. Her small hands grasped the woman’s hands that held me and pried them away.
“N-Nia….”
“There’s still time left. They won’t drag you down right away. It’s only been two days since I came down… so….”
The child was crying too. The whole area was awash in tears. I absolutely could not die like this. If I died now, there were far too many faces I’d be unable to face, so I couldn’t die even more.
“…I’ll come back.”
I bit down repeatedly until my numb lips finally drew blood. The metallic taste spread across my mouth. I forced myself to turn back around. My steps faltered as I ran down the long, massive Corridor, dodging countless arms stretching through the iron bars.
“If I can just get out… I swear I won’t let anything slide…!”
Spouting nonsensical words mixed with tears, I escaped the third space that Soleia Elad had guided me through.
* * *
“…”
Eyes tinged with a deeper crimson than usual swept across the wide-open Balcony. Just before the boundary where the Balcony connected to the Room, a faint trace of Yerenika’s divine essence lingered.
Auredhian Belgot lowered his posture and brushed the spot with his hand. The divine essence was faint. Moreover, even that faint aura was severed cleanly at the Balcony railing. There were no signs of resistance. There was no trace that Yerenika, who knew how to draw out her divine essence to some degree, had attempted anything.
“Pretty, Uncle…”
Auredhian Belgot glanced back. Brizni, her face streaked with tears, came running toward him.
“Sob… A-Aunt…”
Because he was lowering his posture, his eyes met the child’s. Auredhian Belgot silently gripped Brizni’s shoulders.
“Huh… W-what…?”
His divine essence flowed into the child through her small shoulders. Brizni blinked.
“This… Aunt did this earlier…”
“…”
I didn’t need to hear the story to understand. The time between when Yerenika encountered Soleia Elad and was dragged away must have been incredibly brief.
“In that span…”
It couldn’t be the worst outcome. It shouldn’t be. She must have reacted calmly. She had to. The divine essence flowing into Brizni suddenly burst forth violently.
“Ah.”
Auredhian Belgot startled and withdrew his hand from the child. Brizni’s eyes were filled with fear. He bit his lip hard and rose to his feet. A frightened woman’s voice came from behind the curtain.
“Who are you?”
“…”
“Yerenika… where is Yeni…? Ah.”
“…”
The curtain fluttered, and silver hair gleaming in the moonlight was suddenly revealed. Tezebia turned pale at that vivid silver and crimson eyes, covering her mouth.
“Good heavens.”
Silver and deep crimson. Though he was the first man she had ever seen, it was harder not to guess his identity. The colors her sister had always spoken of longingly, as if they were a habit. A combination so rare that it wasn’t common even throughout all of Laigar. Tezebia murmured as if in pain.
“The Master of the Empire…”
Auredhian Belgot paid no attention to her shock. He simply pushed the child, who was looking up at him with trembling tears, toward Tezebia.
“…It would be better for you to go to your Mother, Brizni.”
“U-Uncle…!”
Auredhian Belgot turned his back on them without emotion.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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