How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 332

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magic Family (332)

 

“Good.”

 

Ascanien patted the shoulder of the unconscious Pleroma. At that, Mecklenburg spoke with a sour expression.

 

“Don’t touch him.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because he gets heavier.”

 

Mecklenburg answered curtly in an unadorned tone. Ascanien nodded and lowered his hand. Mecklenburg was carrying the Pleroma that Ascanien had knocked unconscious earlier. After sending all the Pleroma priests to Unter den Linden, they had knocked down several more who came as reinforcements, then used concealment magic to move to an appropriate location.

 

‘…More than that, to think we’d respond to the kidnapping of 200 magic scholars by kidnapping 200 Pleroma members ourselves…’

 

Of course, Ascanien probably didn’t intend this, but the result was that they had retaliated in exactly the same way. Clearly Pleroma had prepared thoroughly and committed this crime with great determination, but was this really something that could be done so impromptu? It was as he’d heard. A divine power holder of Nicolaus’s level could do things that exceeded normal standards.

 

‘Second, the archdiocese is not underestimating us two.’ Now he understood what Ascanien was thinking when he said this. Unlike Mecklenburg who was shocked to hear that 200 priests were involved, Ascanien would have been pleased. He could send all those numbers to Unter den Linden and weaken the Brandenburg Archdiocese’s forces.

 

After being quiet for a moment, Ascanien immediately asked.

 

“How many minutes have passed since we arrived at this Hall of Peace?”

 

“About 10 minutes now.”

 

“Precisely.”

 

At Ascanien’s urging, Mecklenburg gestured to his clutch. Ascanien took out a pocket watch from inside and showed it to Mecklenburg.

 

“9 minutes.”

 

Ascanien nodded silently. Gradually, the composure on his face was disappearing. No, he was returning to his usual emotionless expression. Mecklenburg could easily guess what was making him like that. Mecklenburg hesitated, then asked the question he couldn’t ask earlier.

 

“You’re not revealing that you’re Nicolaus. …There must be a reason, but what were you planning to do if they found out you used divine power when you sent them to the surface?”

 

“It was too much to cast wide-area magic twice separately, so when I cast the sleep spell I also processed their minds. Any remaining divine power would have dissolved into Senior’s mana.”

 

“…Mm.”

 

“And besides, they’ll remember the blood pooling in their legs more clearly anyway and think that’s what made them collapse.”

 

Ah, so that’s why he asked me to use it. Mecklenburg realized he was constantly one step behind Nicolaus’s thought process and slightly furrowed his brow. Just then, the Pleroma on his back suddenly woke up in surprise.

 

“Huh…!”

 

Immediately, Ascanien firmly grabbed his neck and sent divine power through while making a fuss.

 

“You’re awake, brother! Do you recognize me?!”

 

“…No? I don’t know, what is this…”

 

“Weren’t we on our way to capture Ascanien! Those bastards tore off the coordinates and threw us somewhere. We barely escaped. Can you see we were attacked and ended up like this?”

 

Ascanien pointed to the parts where blood had burst due to the air pressure. The Pleroma squinted and pulled his head back.

 

“That, that’s pretty bad. But I don’t have any memory at all.”

 

“Why would that be… That’s really unfortunate. Maybe you got hit too hard in the head by Ascanien?”

 

“…”

 

Huh?

 

Mecklenburg unconsciously rolled his eyes and swallowed. Fortunately, the Pleroma didn’t focus much on those words.

 

‘…Saying maybe he got hit too hard, does he have the presence of mind to mix in facts even in a situation where improvising is difficult…!’

 

So this was the kind of person Nicolaus was. He was much more… much more different than expected. From when he went around wearing masks, he should have thought of him as a madman obsessed with masquerade balls or secret clubs who couldn’t distinguish between public and private matters. Maybe because he overwhelmed with his overwhelming divine power and ability to cause incidents, after a month or two from Nicolaus’s appearance, it didn’t seem strange anymore. This might be what mass psychology calls collective hallucination.

 

But even so, the Nicolaus before his eyes wasn’t different from the image Mecklenburg had been drawing. As his composure and experience showed, in terms of practical experience and as a commander, he was a step above. The existing ingrained image of a plausible emerging politician and orator was certainly still Nicolaus’s, but now a new perception was being engraved in his mind that he was a human who would stop at nothing for final victory.

 

Ascanien still held the flustered priest and said.

 

“Actually, I had something to ask you, brother. Right now we’re trying to go to the Bishop to report this matter. We’ve lost connection with everyone and can’t communicate, but can you? Ah, before that, can you contact the Bishop?”

 

At Ascanien’s stream of questions, the priest held his head and shook it vigorously.

 

“No, I’m not connected to the Bishop… But the connection really is cut off. Ascanien really must have sent the brothers somewhere else…!”

 

“That’s unfortunate.”

 

When told he wasn’t connected to the Bishop, Ascanien cursed with his eyes then started acting again. ‘The bishops are somewhere else. Where could they have gone?’ was Ascanien’s question, meaning the bishops would have gone where Leonard Wittelsbach was. It was understandable he’d be angry since he couldn’t reach the Bishop directly. Moreover, Ascanien’s concealment magic seemed to be reaching its limit, so they had to move as quickly as possible.

 

“Then let’s immediately move to where the Bishop is. Come.”

 

The three joined hands in a circle. Just as Mecklenburg was about to give up and stop objecting, the Pleroma seemed to realize something was strange and looked back and forth between the two.

 

“Ah, you want me to warp? Why aren’t you doing it yourselves…”

 

—Enter through the narrow entrance.

 

“Kuk…!”

 

Ascanien quickly struck the priest’s forehead to cast magic and grabbed his collar.

 

“You’ve been sharp since earlier, but being a bit oblivious helps you live longer. Right?”

 

At those chilling words filled with force, Mecklenburg bit the inside of his lips and let his gaze wander again. It sounded like words directed at himself for cleverly figuring out the common trait of the two divine power users. However, Ascanien paid no attention to Mecklenburg and just shouted while grabbing the priest’s collar.

 

“Brother! Let’s go immediately to the basement of the building where the Bishop is. The Bishop needs spatial magic support and is looking for us!”

 

Did he think ‘the building where the Bishop is’ wouldn’t be this building? He didn’t know for sure, but this too must be something learned from experience. Mecklenburg memorized his words and looked at the priest.

 

“The Bishop is looking for me? That, that can’t be… Why me…”

 

“Oh.”

 

Ascanien raised one eyebrow with a short exclamation and hardened his expression again. Meanwhile, Mecklenburg struck his staff on the floor of the hall they were standing in to create a simple portal. Just in case support came from the surface, if they reached this floor’s hall, they needed to be able to follow to where they were about to move. Ascanien was enthusiastic about raising his voice.

 

“Don’t you know the current situation? We failed to bring Ascanien and are chasing that bastard! There’s no time. Once we get to the basement, the Bishop will explain everything!”

 

“No, no…”

 

“Right now!”

 

Mecklenburg flinched momentarily. Ascanien’s voice was the loudest he’d heard so far. Until now he had been pressuring with time attacks to prevent rational thinking, but this time he was pressuring in another—primal—way, which made him laugh bitterly.

 

Kwang—! Kuung—

 

It worked.

 

The problem was that the sound of falling after the warp was too loud. There was some luggage scattered in the dark basement corridor and they had clearly tripped over it. The priest immediately fainted after moving, probably hit by divine power. Mecklenburg quickly got up, grabbed Ascanien and the priest’s hands, and looked at both sides of the underground corridor. Rooms of unknown purpose, whether storage or something else, were lined up in a row. Ascanien also looked flustered, rare for him, probably due to the noise, and quickly examined both sides.

 

At that moment, Mecklenburg was certain. Ascanien hadn’t come here for a frontal battle. He’d known since he specified the basement. Moreover, unlike the previous place where he had mobilized priests, this was the Bishop’s building, so Ascanien would have wanted to move even more cautiously. Mecklenburg’s gaze quickly moved to find an escape route.

 

[What’s that.]

 

“…!”

 

The sound of people’s footsteps could be heard from upstairs, having noticed from above. Mecklenburg cast a sound-dampening spell and urgently turned the handle of the nearest room’s door. Luckily, it opened. But the relief was brief.

 

‘Ugh…!’

 

Whether it was a storage room for artifacts, mana stabbed sharply at his lungs.

 

“Somewhere else…!”

 

“No.”

 

Ascanien pushed Mecklenburg’s back. He too seemed to be in an unexpected situation as he was biting his lips, but still pushed Mecklenburg and the unconscious priest into the room.

 

“Why, why?!”

 

“If we enter an empty room, our mana will be obvious. Moreover, when we’re tense and can’t control properly, we’ll hide really well.”

 

Ascanien dragged Mecklenburg past several display cases. The sound of footsteps was getting closer.

 

Clank—!

 

Soon, someone roughly opened the storage room door.

 

Mecklenburg sighed in relief while sharpening his senses.

 

Except for a single ray of light, it was complete darkness. The place they had entered was a small room attached to the very back of the storage room, though ‘closet’ might be a more accurate description. The light seeping through the small door was shaking violently. Three or four people were moving around this place.

 

They were high-ranking Pleroma clergy. The Vitriol flowing from their bodies was suffocating. He thought he might be able to win somehow in a 1:1 fight on the surface, but anyway, this was Pleroma’s base, they were incomparable to the priests they’d met earlier, and they were many. Judging by the Vitriol emanating from their bodies, they too were in battle readiness.

 

‘If we’re discovered…’

 

Death. Nicolaus might be able to gain the upper hand with his divine power—though that was the most optimistic assumption—but Mecklenburg, who wasn’t Nicolaus, would certainly die. The sweat on his back lowered his body temperature.

 

Creak— Thud—

 

“…”

 

The light no longer shook. Mecklenburg squeezed his eyes shut. They were finally gone. Only then did he realize his jaw had been tensed with strength.

 

Ascanien remained motionless for about 30 more seconds before exhaling sharply. Then he properly arranged the unconscious Pleroma priest to secure some space and leaned against an artifact box. Mecklenburg only now realized he had been stepping on Ascanien’s foot. When Mecklenburg, now dark-adapted, frowned and gestured with his eyes, Ascanien nodded with a displeased face. He changed positions and unfastened his belt clutch, throwing it to Mecklenburg.

 

“…Because of this thing, my legs won’t pull properly. Please hold this for me.”

 

“Why me? And are you saying we’re not leaving now?”

 

Ascanien put his finger to his lips, signaling to shut up. Even though they had cast sound-dampening magic, what was he trying to do? Mecklenburg was dumbfounded but accepted his clutch for now.

 

‘…Going out now would be suicide though.’

 

It was fortunate he didn’t have claustrophobia. Now the problem was time. Ascanien’s expression wasn’t very good either. As they repositioned themselves with the extra space, the sound of glass bottles rolling around in the clutch could be heard, so Mecklenburg took out the vial he’d received earlier.

 

“Come to think of it, this…”

 

The vial had no label attached. Thinking Ascanien might know, he gestured to him, but he just shrugged. Then he smiled and asked.

 

“Shall we experiment to see what this medicine is for?”

 

“On whom? On you?”

 

He asked in shock, but fortunately Mecklenberg’s guess seemed far from the truth. Ascanien spoke with a ‘are you crazy’ expression.

 

“You’re insane. On the Pleroma.”

 

“No. Isn’t that priest the key who can take us outside? What if this is some drug that puts someone in a brain-dead state or something like that?”

 

“…”

 

Ascanien was lost in deep thought before slowly nodding. That reaction actually gave Mecklenburg chills. He’d thrown out the worst possibility that the Pleroma side could use on high-risk hostages, but could this really make sense? As if knowing Mecklenburg’s thoughts, Ascanien quietly answered.

 

“Even if it’s not that extreme, it would be perfect for leaving the worst memories. Whether we test it and find out or not, the result being the worst is the same, so we have no choice but to quickly catch someone.”

 

[….]

 

I wanted to ask what he meant by catching one person, but I could hear footsteps continuously pacing in front of the door. Mecklenburg felt his heart pounding as he clenched his fists. Ascanien seemed tense too, as I could feel more of his mana leaking from his body. I had always known he was human, of course, but having felt the distance between myself and Nicolaus, that fact suddenly hit me with fresh clarity.

 

‘…Still, this won’t do.’

 

We only had each other to rely on in this situation. While Mecklenburg thought he should help ease Nicolaus’s tension, he was also extremely nervous himself and unconsciously blurted out something thoughtless.

 

“…What I mean is, at this rate we might run out of oxygen and faint.”

 

“Senior seems to be running short already.”

 

“….”

 

Mecklenburg felt strength enter his fists as he took a deep breath.

 

‘Why did I think I needed to ease his tension? He’s chattering away just fine.’

 

“Don’t breathe so deeply. As Senior said, oxygen is precious.”

 

“You…!”

 

Ascanien quickly covered Mecklenburg’s mouth with his hand. Just then, voices could be heard from outside.

 

[…Did you check over there?]

 

[…Come look. Here there’s….]

 

Fortunately, the sounds quickly faded. Mecklenburg irritably brushed off his mouth and pointed to the crumpled Pleroma in one corner.

 

“Reinforcements could easily come. They just need to interrogate the Pleroma we sent to Unter den Linden and trace back from there. I’ve set it up so reinforcements can transfer to this building, so once they reach the last point where we were in that building, they’ll quickly move here.”

 

“That’s optimistic. I suppose that’s also something you accomplished with your spatial magic skills, Senior.”

 

Ascanien answered with a compliment but an unimpressed expression. Mecklenburg knew what he was worried about. Mecklenburg himself was immediately concerned about the safety of the other two. Especially if they had already been injected with that mysterious vial?

 

‘…Couldn’t we send everyone here to Unter den Linden together?’

 

It was an absurd thought. If it were possible, Ascanien would have done it already. Mecklenburg realized he could have such fanciful thoughts and buried his face in his hands. Ascanien, who had bumped his leg, said briefly.

 

“Please don’t move.”

 

“….”

 

This junior was being fussy about not having enough space…. Since his slight germaphobic tendencies were suffering right now, he could confidently say that he himself was the one who wanted to blow away everything around them. Mecklenburg exercised patience, dry-washing his face as he lowered his voice.

 

“Couldn’t we use this Pleroma to briefly go downstairs? I know you moved directly here because even one minute is precious, but bringing supplies and personnel from below might actually save time.”

 

“Would you be able to come back up?”

 

Ascanien continued speaking without giving him time to answer.

 

“As Senior said, we could trace back in reverse, but it’s still quiet outside. Moreover, even if this priest is skilled in spatial magic, he’s just a priest. And all the ones we threw down were priests too. I won’t make any definitive statements about this or that, but the risks we’d have to handle are significant.”

 

Ah.

 

Mecklenburg pressed his eyes with his hands.

 

So what Ascanien was saying was this: ‘Pleroma left an exit route open but blocked the entry route. Then couldn’t we take this Pleroma down and use him to re-enter? That would be fine, but instead of entrusting the important task of blocking entry routes to a mere priest, there’s a high probability that a high-ranking cleric handled it, and while this priest could send his colleagues down to the surface through an open door, there’s a possibility he lacks the skill to break through a closed door and come back up. The probability of experiencing risk is proportional to this.’

 

It was such an obvious point. That’s why Mecklenburg was left speechless. Why hadn’t he immediately thought of that? While Nicolaus’s thinking was optimized for combat, Mecklenburg’s was not. Setting aside the time spent in headquarters where units hadn’t even been properly formed yet, Mecklenburg had already worked as a Royal Mage for about three years. He took pride in having countless experiences others hadn’t had, and he thought that by now he knew everything there was to know, honestly speaking… that’s what he thought. But he was wrong. When it came to experiencing real combat situations, Mecklenburg couldn’t match Ascanien. The ‘real combat’ Mecklenburg had experienced so far would have been superficial level work for Ascanien.

 

“Why do you think I didn’t follow when moving them to Berlin? Common sense dictates that to prevent more of our allies from appearing, Pleroma’s side should maintain escape routes while locking doors that enemies could enter through, shouldn’t they? They are as skilled in spatial magic as Senior, actually even more so than Senior. One-way blocking is nothing to them. Didn’t we experience a similar situation during Penthalon? Since Senior can easily dispel Pleroma’s spatial magic, could you quickly unravel this one-way blocking as well?”

 

“….”

 

If given sufficient time, he might be able to deduce their magic formulas and find countermeasures by trying them one by one, but he couldn’t do that now when life and death were decided by the minute. Ascanien arbitrarily reached out and pulled out a pocket watch, then muttered. His voice had become somewhat colder.

 

“What do you think of Hyung?”

 

“Right now?”

 

“It might seem out of the blue, but I need this answer right now.”

 

It was an unexpected, surprising statement. It really seemed unrelated. What was he trying to do with this now? Of course, being unable to leave was the same, but wasn’t this not the time for such conversations? What was he thinking? Mecklenburg felt the back of his neck grow cold as he answered.

 

“Well, he’s a good friend.”

 

“I knew you’d respond like that. What should I expect? I’ll have to ask later.”

 

Ascanien whispered while turning his gaze elsewhere, then knocked on the door with his hand.

 

Clunk―

 

“…?! What are you doing…!”

 

“Prepare sound-blocking magic.”

 

Saying that, Ascanien put his finger to his lips again. How much time had passed? It felt like at least a minute, but Ascanien’s left hand folded twice. The moment 10 seconds passed, a door far down the hallway opened. They had definitely heard the sound.

 

Creak―

 

The sound of a cleric’s shoe heels echoed near the hallway door, then slowly moved toward the back of the warehouse, toward the back door where Mecklenburg and Ascanien were. Ascanien’s face had become utterly serious, and no mana could be felt from him. Mecklenburg was the only one tense enough for his thoughts to stop.

 

‘This crazy….’

 

Damn, damn, damn! What the hell did this madman do?! Forget Pleroma or whatever, dying from a stopped heart would come first!

 

Creak― BANG―!!

 

“?!”

 

The moment the door opened, Ascanien, who had been kneeling on one knee, grabbed the intruder by the collar and slammed him to the floor. A panicked scream erupted from below.

 

―I can do all things through him who gives me strength.

 

“Aaaaah!”

 

In that instant, all sorts of thoughts rushed through Mecklenburg’s mind, but he quickly realized what Ascanien intended. His body reacted faster. Mecklenburg hurriedly cast sound-blocking magic toward the warehouse door facing the hallway. Ascanien finally cast the concealment magic he hadn’t been using due to high stamina consumption, grabbed the Pleroma by the collar and lifted him up.

 

“…I was waiting for just one to remain, and we’re lucky. So why didn’t they tell you to move in groups of three?”

 

“Ah! Ah! Ahhh!”

 

Mana and divine power crackled and sparked through his hands. The Pleroma couldn’t even think of shaking off Ascanien and just clutched his heart while writhing his body. The sound of bones shifting, or rather something like glass cracking, could be heard outside. Mecklenburg’s face went pale as he grasped what was happening. Ascanien grabbed his collar with an expressionless face and checked the color of his trim decoration.

 

“Fortunately you’re a Monsignor. I met another Monsignor from Brandenburg before, and this brings back memories.”

 

A priest by status but practically holding a higher honorary position. Mecklenburg knew that in Pleroma it meant a cleric one step below Bishop. Then Ascanien lightly pressed his mouth with his left hand and swallowed something. The smell of blood spread. Something had definitely gone wrong while overlapping subjugation magic and concealment magic. Ascanien flicked his fingers. The trim decoration colors on the priest robes worn by Ascanien and Mecklenburg changed to those of a Monsignor. Now he planned to impersonate a Monsignor. Ascanien lifted him up and placed a hand on his back. The half-dying Monsignor slowly touched the wall with a dazed expression.

 

“You’ll need to be quiet. Brother has new colleagues too, so greet them calmly.”

 

Ascanien looked at his pocket watch once more and spoke into the Monsignor’s ear.

 

“You know where His Excellency the Bishop is, don’t you, Brother.”

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