Bloodline is Everything - Chapter 165

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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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【Bloodline is a Thug Chapter 165】

165. The Procedure (3)

At that very moment, Alexander Aaron faced off against White.
Another mage appeared before Joo Ha-yeon and Secretary Kim.
“Her name is Red.”
True to her name, she was a woman clad in a crimson cloak.
The aura emanating from Red sent tension rippling across both their faces. She was on an entirely different level from the attackers who had come before.
“Are you also a mage of Aeon?”
“Yes… that’s right. I was specially prepared for a day like this…”
Red trailed off mid-sentence, scratching her head.
“Right, I didn’t come here to chat about trivial things. I’m here to… well, kill you and take that woman with me.”
Red pointed her fingers at Secretary Kim and Joo Ha-yeon respectively. At that gesture, Joo Ha-yeon’s face hardened.
“…Could it be that Odin came here as well?”
“No comment.”
Red replied with a yawn.
“I’ve been curious for a while now. They say you were the only mage to show aptitude for spatial magic… ah, there I go gossiping again.”
Secretary Kim observed Red with a cautious gaze. Then he spoke to Joo Ha-yeon.
“I’ll handle this. You go ahead and protect Kwon Han-ul.”
“Ah… that’s problematic.”
The drowsiness vanished from Red’s face.
“If I do that, I’d have to kill you and then chase after that woman. Why don’t we both fight together instead?”
Secretary Kim laughed as if absurd, loosening his tie and tossing it to the ground as he spoke.
“Aeon’s fool doesn’t know how to read the situation.”
“That’s what I should be saying.”
Red tilted her head to the left. With a sharp crack, her head bent at a perfect right angle.
Immediately after, Red’s body was engulfed in flames. No—her body itself transformed into a raging inferno.
The fireball that was Red’s body began to expand, completely blocking the corridor.
—Magic was a realm far more mysterious and sublime than mere skills could ever be…
Suddenly, Secretary Kim swung his hand.
A sharp ring of aura sliced through Red’s body.
But the severed halves immediately fused back together.
—…attacking while I’m speaking is against the rules, you know.
“You’re perfectly fine?”
Secretary Kim’s face showed genuine surprise.
—My body is flame itself right now. And fire, once extinguished, only needs kindling to be reborn.
“I see. So this is what it means to fight a mage.”
Secretary Kim spread both arms wide. Ten rings coiled around his forearms.
Joo Ha-yeon prepared her magic and readied herself for combat.
“I’ll help as well.”
“Didn’t I tell you? Go assist Kwon Han-ul.”
“But….”
“You’ve been away from the field for far too long, it seems. Have you forgotten who I am?”
At those words, Joo Ha-yeon’s eyes widened as if struck by lightning.
“…No, I remember.”
Kim Junho.
As Kwon Mi’s aide and the second-in-command of the Black Sharp Squad, this man was a force to be reckoned with.
“Go on ahead. I’ll follow right after.”
“…Understood.”
Joo Ha-yeon turned and sprinted away. Red quickly reached out her hand.
-I can’t stop it!
A hand as enormous as a giant descended toward Joo Ha-yeon. In that instant, Secretary Kim swung one arm.
The ten rings tore through Red’s arm. Red gasped in surprise and withdrew her hand.
“Aeon’s mage.”
As Secretary Kim raised his arm high, the rings returned to their original positions.
“Your opponent is me. Don’t waste your attention on unnecessary things.”
Red’s arm regenerated. She clenched and unclenched her fist, growling.
-…I’ll turn you to charcoal.

* * *

“White, Red, Blue, Green, Gold, Black….”
Azet Hermes gazed at the hospital while listing off the colors in succession.
“I only granted the color designation to the most exceptional battle mages cultivated within Aeon.”
Aeon’s history was vast.
Ever since Gates first emerged, the organization had maintained its power continuously until now.
“After my defeat at the hands of Heukcheon, I devoted myself entirely to nurturing battle mages.”
Using the knowledge and strength accumulated over such a long period, I had built up my forces.
“What was it called? The Black Sharp Squad? They’re the perfect test subjects to gauge the capabilities of the Colors I’ve created.”
Azet Hermes burst into a booming laugh.
The Young Man looked at Azet Hermes with a distinctly displeased expression.
“Colors… the name is really lame, though.”
“Silence! You’ll stay right there and simply observe the Colors in action.”
Azet Hermes manifested magic. Multiple mirrors materialized in the empty air.
Each mirror reflected a different scene—the battlefield where the Colors were fighting.
“Wow… that magic never gets old no matter how many times I see it.”
The Young Man peered into one of the mirrors with eager anticipation.
“Isn’t that the Flame Demon?”
What the Young Man was looking at was Red engaged in combat.
The Flame Demon’s magic, which transformed the body itself into a mass of flames for battle, was renowned as a magic that could never be extinguished.
“Remarkably difficult magic, yet he’s handling it with such skill.”
The Young Man shifted his gaze to the mirror beside him.
A woman wielding a colossal axe stood opposed to tens of thousands of White clones.
“Isn’t that the Clone Magic no one has mastered in a hundred years?”
Magic that created perfect clones identical to the original without any loss of mana or stamina.
All those tens of thousands here possessed identical strength. In other words, as the clones multiplied, so did the total combat power.
“They’re all quite formidable.”
Every member of the Colors had mastered rare magic to its absolute limit. There was good reason for Azet Hermes’s bold proclamations.
“This might actually be worth looking forward to?”
The Young Man watched the mirrors with high expectations. Then, the woman wielding the axe moved.
In that instant, all tens of thousands of White clones vanished without a trace.
“…Huh?”

* * *

Just twice.
That was how many times Alexander Aaron had swung the axe.
Once to sever all of White’s clones in a single stroke.
Twice to cleave off both legs of the original body.
“Ugh! Ahhhhh!”
White screamed and collapsed to the ground. Blood poured relentlessly from the severed stumps where his legs had been.
“How—how is this possible! All my clones… Gack!”
Alexander Aaron, who had closed the distance in an instant, seized White by the head and slammed it against the floor.
“All that talk about bowing to the greatness of magic. Is this really all you’ve got?”
“L-let go of me!”
Snap.
White snapped his fingers. Another White appeared—this one also missing both legs.
“Aaaahhhhh!”
The legless White shrieked in agony. Alexander Aaron stared at the sight with an expression of utter disbelief.
“Are you seriously messing with me right now?”
Alexander Aaron smashed White’s head against the ground repeatedly. White wailed in pain with each impact.
Snap, snap, snap.
Desperately trying to escape the situation, he activated his magic. But once again, only a crippled clone appeared—unable to fight without its legs.
Watching White writhe on the ground, Alexander Aaron clicked her tongue in disgust.
“I’ve never seen such an idiot.”

* * *

-No matter what I do, you can’t kill me…!
Secretary Kim hurled the ring. Red’s body tore apart and vanished.
But it was only temporary. Flames erupted in the empty space again, and Red reappeared.
-I’ve said it countless times, but it’s pointless….
Secretary Kim threw the ring again. This time too, Red’s body disappeared and reappeared.
-S-stop! Give me time to attack too….
As if there was no need to listen, Secretary Kim hurled the ring at Red once more. Red vanished and reappeared again.
-Listen to what I’m saying….
-N-now stop….
-M-my mana is depleting too fast….
-If my mana runs out….
-If I can’t regenerate, I’ll die….
How many times had he thrown it?
Red’s body no longer appeared.
Instead, a cloak and scraps of clothing remained where she had been, like shed skin.
Secretary Kim picked up the garment. He examined it carefully from all angles before speaking.
“Could she have dissipated because she didn’t have enough mana to maintain the spell?”

* * *

“….”
“….”
An awkward silence hung between Azet Hermes and the Young Man.
“I’m not sure if I’m seeing this right.”
The Young Man pointed at the mirror and spoke.
“Those Colors or whatever—they all seem to be dead?”
“…I’m aware, so shut it.”
Azet Hermes grabbed his head with both hands.
“H-how did Colors fall so easily… What was all my effort for….”
The Young Man looked at Azet Hermes with a sympathetic expression.
In truth, it wasn’t anything surprising. Mages were never specialized in combat.
Ignorant fools claimed magic surpassed skills, but that was nonsense. Magic was complex and time-consuming. In contrast, skills were simple, fast, and powerful.
It wasn’t as though there were no mages with exceptional combat prowess.
The Young Man himself, for instance. Or perhaps….
“Joo Ha-yeon.”
The Young Man’s gaze turned to the mirror. There, a young woman was running through the corridor.
“No matter how many times I see her, she’s desirable.”
The Young Man licked his lips with his tongue. Sticky saliva coated his mouth.
“The operation seems completely botched.”
The Young Man spoke toward Azet Hermes.
“What do you suggest? Should I flex my muscles a bit?”
Azet Hermes turned to regard the young man in silence.
“…Of course, it won’t be free.”
“Obviously. We’re not family anymore, are we?”
“What do you want?”
“Joo Ha-yeon. And when I obtain the vessel, grant me the authority to resume my research. Finally, reflect my intentions as much as possible in the vessel’s research.”
For Azet Hermes, none of these conditions were palatable.
“Besides, there’s no other way, is there? You’ve provoked Heukcheon. If you back down now, Aeon ends that very day.”
Heukcheon is relentless and merciless.
They would leave not a single mage—not a soul from Aeon—alive in this world.
“…Fine. I accept your terms.”
At Azet Hermes’s words, the young man let out a laugh.
“As a delegate of Pandemonium, I shall certainly fulfill this commission.”

* * *

The first thing Azet Hermes did upon becoming the original mage was to establish his own faction.
Using magic to elevate his reputation as a hunter, he accumulated wealth and connections, then began collecting grimoires discovered in dungeons. Ordinary hunters couldn’t decipher them, but Azet Hermes, having absorbed demonic knowledge, could interpret them.
-Magic allows one to master only a single discipline suited to one’s aptitude.
Azet Hermes possessed both demonic knowledge and authority, enabling him to wield multiple abilities.
Yet mastering multiple magics proved impossible—a limitation of the human species.
Upon learning this truth, Azet Hermes began seeking out children with magical aptitude like himself and cultivating them.
After gathering them, he established an organization.
-Aeon. Let us call it Aeon.
Thus Aeon was born.
As its foundations solidified, Aeon’s influence expanded exponentially.
More mages emerged, scattering across the globe to identify children with magical potential. They too became mages…
A hundred years passed in this manner.
Though vast time had elapsed, Azet Hermes remained vigorous. Since acquiring demonic power, he had transcended the limits of mortality.
-Now is the time to commence the plan.
Azet Hermes began abducting children worldwide using Aeon’s mages—for experimentation.
The act was profoundly inhumane, and some mages objected. But they were few.
This too was Azet Hermes’s design. He had conditioned Aeon’s mages to kill even blood relatives for the sake of research.
Those who objected were all eliminated. Thus he gathered roughly a hundred children from across the world.
-You shall have the honor of being the first.
Azet Hermes inserted the sphere of light he had obtained from the demon into the girl.
-What is this?
-A most magnificent thing. Tell me, how does it feel?
-Um… I still… don’t quite… understand…
Hmm… I still don’t… really know…
The girl’s body crumpled to the ground. That small frame no longer drew breath.
Yet Azet Hermes was hardly surprised. He merely observed the girl with cold, analytical eyes.
-As expected, this vessel responds only to the soul.
It wasn’t that human souls were inherently special.
Demons too had to expend their souls when wielding this vessel.
However, demons possessed souls of such immense magnitude compared to humans that they faced no risk of death.
Humans, by contrast, had souls so fragile that merely implanting the vessel could prove fatal.
-How can I command the vessel without killing the subject….
Azet Hermes pondered for a moment, then changed his mind.
-What am I thinking. Wasn’t that precisely why I procured test subjects.
Azet Hermes ordered his subordinates to bring another child.
-You shall have the honor of becoming specimen number two.
Azet Hermes sacrificed countless test subjects, gradually deepening his understanding of the vessel.
Initially, mere insertion proved fatal, but eventually he learned to implant the vessel while preserving the subject’s life.
Next came experimentation on how to harness the subject’s soul to activate the vessel.
Many more test subjects perished in this phase. Yet Azet Hermes never ceased his trials.
Time stretched on.
20XX.
On a day when white snow fell from the heavens.
-You shall be the next test subject.
The vessel was implanted into a dark-haired Oriental girl.

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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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