How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 221

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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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How to Replace Father
Chapter 221
The Irregulars drew their weapons with practiced speed.
The atmosphere felt wrong. Profoundly wrong.
Thick beads of sweat rolled down the temples of the Unit Members, everyone except the Elite.
‘They’re wound tight.’
They could sense the GM’s killing intent, but they weren’t strong enough to stand against it.
Worse still, footage from the Family Tournament finals showed the GM’s prowess transcending human limits.
The Unit Members’ eyes held a different light than in any other battle.
Watching their expressions, Yuise cursed silently under her breath.
Fear-born tension locks the body rigid.
That’s exactly what was happening to the Unit Members now.
I spoke up.
“We need to get the Sealing Stone away from me. Now.”
If the Unit Members remained this paralyzed by terror and I couldn’t use the Negation Domain, we’d be slaughtered.
Antonio crouched low, his body tensing.
His eyes fixed on the door panel embedding the Sealing Stone, burning with resolve.
That was when the GM laughed.
“You think you can face me with just them—all of you scrambling in desperation, including the Clan Leader? Your judgment has failed you, Yustea.”
He began walking toward me.
The Unit Members stepped forward to block his path.
“We—we’ve never had an easy fight!”
The first to rush forward was a Unit Member from Antonio’s Unit.
The oldest among them, but possessed of a fierce competitive spirit.
I shouted.
“No—!”
The moment he entered the GM’s effective range, his body twisted grotesquely.
‘I’ve acquired a new trait!’
I frantically sent an emergency signal through the Communication Stone.
But there was no response.
Whatever the GM had done, communications were dead.
As the first Unit Member collapsed, the others began attacking the GM.
But it was hopeless.
Like the first, their bodies contorted, or the GM drove his fist into their abdomens like a blade—they became soaked in blood and crumpled within seconds.
“Yuise, Antonio! The Sealing Stone—hurry!”
I screamed as if my voice alone could pierce the heavens.
As long as the Sealing Stone remained, we couldn’t heal.
All I could do was watch my comrades die!
Antonio clicked his tongue sharply and charged at the GM.
While Antonio engaged him, strings of script burst from Yuise’s fingertips, targeting the door panel with the embedded Sealing Stone.
But then—
Crack!
With a dull explosion, Yuise’s script shattered, and fine cracks began spreading across Antonio’s body like a spider’s web.
…!
I screamed “Stop!” and lunged forward.
Or I tried to.
If Miliano hadn’t grabbed me around the waist.
“You mustn’t!”
“Let go. Please…!”
Even as I struggled, the Unit Members kept falling like paper.
‘At this rate, everyone will die.’
Miliano—the only one I could rely on—had his Language Magic sealed by the Sealing Stone.
No matter how hard Yuise and Antonio fought, it made no difference.
The GM’s hair didn’t even fall out of place.
I thrashed against Miliano’s grip and shouted.
“I’ll go. I swear I’ll go, just stop!”
The hands and legs of Unit Members still outside the GM’s range trembled uncontrollably.
Even those who had crossed the line of death were feeling its terror.
Yet not a single one retreated.
With help from the fallen Unit Members, a female member of Miliano’s Unit barely managed to approach from behind the GM.
She clung to his back, wrapping her arms around him, a cord clenched between her teeth.
The fuse of a small bomb.
She was prepared to die taking him with her.
“Everyone back!”
The Unit Members scrambled toward the walls.
Miliano also pulled me back toward safety.
The female member of Miliano’s Unit yanked the bomb’s fuse.
Boom!
Explosives scattered with the thunderous blast.
The survivors shielded themselves with their arms, barely keeping their eyes open.
As the smoke cleared, what appeared was not a fallen GM.
The GM stood perfectly upright, his foot planted on the limp body of Miliano’s Unit Member.
“Insects, multiplying endlessly. Don’t you agree, Yustea?”
Rage made my entire body quiver like aspen leaves.
Whether the fluid streaming from my eyes was tears or blood, I couldn’t tell—only that it burned.
And still the Unit Members fell.
Even Antonio became a tattered rag, sprawled across the floor.
Yuise seemed to have lost consciousness.
She had made countless attempts to clear away the door panel with the Sealing Stone, but finally closed her eyes and collapsed.
The GM walked past Antonio toward me.
Antonio clung to his leg.
That radiant one, who had shone like the sun itself.
Antonio, who never lost his smile, now hung from the GM’s leg like a rope, his face contorted in agony.
Suffering in a way that broke something inside.
Crack—!
The GM kicked Antonio away.
Again and again. And again….
Teeth scattered, his face became unrecognizable with blood, yet Antonio refused to release his leg.
“Please… I’ll go…!”
A sound tore from my throat that I didn’t recognize as my own voice—a scream.
Like a wounded beast crying out.
All strength drained from me. I sank to the floor.
‘If I hadn’t gone to retrieve Miliano myself.’
If I had anticipated the GM might be here.
If I had been more careful.
Helplessness constricted my lungs.
I had never collapsed this thoroughly in any moment before.
I hung my head, gasping for breath.
I couldn’t breathe.
Then.
“‘You’ cannot move your body.”
I lifted my head.
I saw his back.
Miliano’s rigid form, standing between me and the GM.
My eyes flew wide as the GM came into focus before me.
The GM’s gaze shifted barely, now toward the doorway.
Yuise, whom I thought had fallen, lifted the corners of her mouth.
The two Sealing Stones embedded in the door were already shattered, and Yuise—holding the last one—smiled.
“Your turn now, you bastard.”
Crunch.
The Sealing Stone in Yuise’s hand turned to dust.
Miliano’s voice rang out once more.
“Your lungs cease to function. You cannot breathe. Your body convulses. Your heart stops—!”
The GM’s form lurched violently.
Miliano charged forward immediately.
But the GM was far from finished.
He wasn’t fully caught by the Language Magic—he still managed to move, though barely.
But his body was undeniably slower than before.
‘During the Family Tournament finals, the GM created an Air Wall to block Miliano’s Language Magic.’
But now it worked.
He was resisting, but unmistakably—
Miliano’s fist drove into his face.
As the GM staggered, I grabbed the dropped sword and slashed across his lateral abdomen.
Blood dripped steadily.
In that moment, I spread the Negation Domain.
Whoooom—
With the vibration, a golden light descended over the fallen Unit Members like a veil.
The hideously twisted skin of the female member who had detonated returned to normal, and whimpers began leaking from her lips.
“Young… lady…”
Some regained consciousness.
“Bring those in the GM’s range back here, now!”
At my shout, the Unit Members moved instantly.
The GM adapted as well.
Miliano’s arm twisted.
The sword dropped from his hand.
…!
Startled, I half-rose to my feet.
That was when Yuise, whom the Unit Members had dragged back to my side, grabbed me.
“You’re… alright.”
“But…!”
“He doesn’t… know Miliano… has more than… Language Magic.”
Though healed, the severe exhaustion caused a metallic rasp to escape Yuise’s lips.
I narrowed my brow as if asking what she meant.
Antonio, regaining consciousness and cradled by his fellow Unit Members, let out a hollow laugh.
“Miliano comes from the Fighting Pit.”
“What…?”
“Street fighting is his specialty.”
Crack—!
Miliano’s fist drove into the GM’s face.
Crack, crack, crunch—!
And it kept coming.
It was a proper alley brawl.
Watching the GM’s face contort in pain, Miliano smiled.
It was a savage smile I’d never seen before.
“Wow…”
An involuntary murmur escaped me.
Antonio’s Unit, with relatively better stamina than the other units, swung their fists wildly and cheered Miliano on.
As if watching a proper Fighting Pit bout.
That’s how much momentum Miliano had seized.
‘Ah, I see.’
The GM had also created an Air Wall during the Family Tournament finals to block Miliano’s Language Magic.
It had looked like he was shutting it down with ease.
But thinking back, he had to.
“The GM’s true form is a Mental Entity. Mental attacks like Miliano’s Language Magic work on him better than physical ones. Which means…!”
At my cry, the eyes of Miliano’s Unit Members shone with new understanding.
Antonio’s Unit specialized in physical combat.
Abel’s Unit were weapon mages.
Yuise’s Unit provided ranged support through inscription magic.
Each unit had its distinct character.
So what was Miliano’s Unit’s specialty?
Miliano’s Unit was composed of special ability users.
Among them were mental attack specialists.
Miliano’s Unit Members surrounded the GM.
A female member—someone who specialized in crafting unique weapons and wielded them like extensions of herself—drew small beads from her pocket and hurled them.
The beads shattered, releasing a strange vapor and fragrance that filled the air.
She donned a gas mask with practiced speed and murmured.
“Your body will feel at ease…”
And then, truly, my body began to relax and my mind grew hazy.
Yuise quickly covered my nose and mouth with her hand.
“Don’t breathe it in. It’s Hypnotic Incense.”
“Even if you tell me not to…”
I mumbled groggily.
The other Unit Members quickly covered their own noses and mouths.
But Antonio was already too far gone—
“Ugh…”
—he mumbled and went limp.
Yuise looked at Antonio like he was a cockroach.
“Stupid expression.”
“…”
I felt bad for Antonio. I’d almost agreed with her.
One of Miliano’s Unit Members pulled down his hood.
An Evil Eye was revealed on his forehead.
The one Miliano had brought from the Experiment Site.
His Evil Eye could petrify anyone whose gaze met his own.
Combined with Miliano’s Language Magic, the GM was completely immobilized by the Evil Eye’s power.
Crack—!
The GM flew backward from Miliano’s punch.
A Unit Member from Miliano’s team handed him a sword.
“Let’s finish this.”
With the blade in hand, he approached the GM.
[You will come to regret this day.]
A chilling voice echoed through the room.
And then—
“What—what is this?!”
“Huh?”
The Unit Members gasped.
Because the GM was melting.
He had become a completely black puddle.
The GM had vanished.
“He ran. Slippery bastard.”
But I couldn’t move.
“Young Lady?”
“Yustea.”
The Unit Members and Yuise called to me, but I stared blankly into empty space.
More precisely, at the system window floating before my eyes.
Trait Collection is available.
Do you wish to collect?
The same window I’d seen when I defeated the GM in the Family Tournament finals.
‘Collect.’
The moment that thought crossed my mind, my body flashed with light.
Management Panel upgrade.
You can now view the Status Windows of others.
‘Status Window?’
I was startled.
I could actually read Status Windows?
‘That’s incredible.’
This would make choosing who to grant Patterns to much easier in the future.
I quickly turned and randomly selected someone.
The Unit Member with the Evil Eye from Miliano’s Unit.
[Kai (Irregular—Miliano’s Unit)]
Constellation: None
Physical Attack: B-
Special Attack: A
Defense: B
Intelligence: B—
.
.
[Current Thoughts]
Young Lady is so pretty. Adorable….
‘Wow, the mana drain is enormous. It’s not as detailed as my own Status Window.’
It seemed I couldn’t use it freely.
But Current Thoughts?
I tilted my head in confusion.
Kai, the Unit Member with the Evil Eye, spoke in his trademark deadpan voice.
“What is it.”
Kai had always been extraordinarily stoic.
He hardly fit in with the other Unit Members.
‘But he thinks I’m cute?’
Something seemed off.
In that moment, the Current Thoughts updated.
.
.
[Current Thoughts]
She tilted her head. This is driving me insane.
“…?”
“Why?”
Kai continued speaking flatly.
‘If his Current Thoughts updated when I tilted my head, it might be real-time. Let me try something else.’
I looked at Miliano.
[Miliano (Tender-Hearted Language Master)]
Constellation: Master of Hounds
Physical Attack: S
Special Attack: S
Defense: A+
Intelligence: A
‘The stats are incredible.’
Kai was impressive, but these were top-tier.
Still, I said nothing.
“Young Lady…?”
I simply smiled back at his gentle grin.
.
.
[Current Thoughts]
I will protect you with this very life.
“Don’t stake your life on it.”
“Pardon?”
“Just don’t.”
Miliano’s expression turned puzzled.
Though he smiled immediately after.

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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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