How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 438

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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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I can’t leave. I couldn’t bring myself to say that. So, let’s find a way. I was looking at his face but not really looking. Because I could understand the expression on his face, he wasn’t in front of me. I grabbed the shoulder of a friend who was infinitely far away and once again urged him to get his agreement.

“Let’s think about it, Elias.”

Crash—!

The environment wasn’t helping us. As I knocked away the Vitriol flying toward his back and lost my balance, Elias lifted me up again. He kept his mouth shut, looked straight ahead, and continued running. I also brought down several layers of barriers in front of the group of rampagers chasing behind him. I could hear the sound of glass barriers breaking. Even the sound of cutting through the wind couldn’t block it.

Countless hypotheses moved in my head. First, assuming as I reasoned earlier that this crime was neither Pleroma’s doing nor my target’s doing, the most likely culprit I can think of is the French Imperial Family’s cult. They are a group that has developed academically enough to convert the occult magic of Ecla Literer, the aristocratic occult organization that Maria Osterreicheste had entered as a guest, into real magical formulas after Ion Forso, so they have sufficient technology. Crucially, think about how the French cult group stole Osterreicheste’s jewels and then Pleroma kidnapped 200 magical scholars from across the country. Pleroma’s leadership is aware of the French cult group’s existence and is keeping them in check. These are enemies with enough influence to be called the French version of Pleroma without shame.

I don’t know exactly what technologies the French cult has. Even though quite a long time has passed since magic appeared in the world, magic remains in the realm of the unknown, and in a situation where the Empire’s magical studies haven’t surpassed the cults’ magical studies, how could we know what and how?

So first, let’s think with just existing common sense.

‘If someone inserted spatial magic like new oiled paper between maps and under objects.’

There’s no reason the space wouldn’t break under such a great shock. If, like during the Corbiniano operation, the mage using a specific unique ability is itself the power source of the space, so it can’t be solved by simply shocking the space, then there should be a host for the unique ability here. Yes, could there be a host somewhere? Maybe they copied a similar unique ability and put it in Maria’s Peruer? Could that artifact be in this space? The possibility of there being one more person with the same unique ability seems very low, but let’s keep that in mind and think about other cases too. In the case of pure spatial magic that doesn’t use people or artifacts?

If someone inserted spatial magic, it doesn’t make sense that only this structure moved. It’s obvious that there would be no benefit gained from doing this, and the reason is as follows. If new spatial magic was only laid on the building, the environment outside the building should have remained the same. Other people should have stayed as they were. There’s no one on the streets. In this world, there are only the two of us and dozens of rampagers, plus hundreds of corpses trapped in the building that could go on a rampage at any time.

Maybe they laid a new coordinate system over all of Giessing, or the prison? Originally, I warped several times in Giessing. We could all warp to the prison. It was just the original German Empire coordinate system.

It would be much more rational to think, as Elias said, that the space tore due to the shock and the people in this building fell underneath. The problem is, we were standing on the original, so where exactly is this “underneath”?

I was in a perfect maze. Contact through subjugation doesn’t reach. I also don’t know the principle by which the space was separated. I can’t know. Since I don’t know the principle, I can’t find a way out. While unable to get out, the two of us alone have to face dozens of people with Vitriol stronger than ordinary magic power.

‘…We handled a 3rd-grade rampager with seven people.’

We barely managed to handle it even then, but now we had to face dozens of any grade. In this situation, perhaps hoping for life might be the more reckless thing to do. No matter how I calculated, our odds of winning weren’t high.

“Elias.”

Crash—!

The sound of barriers breaking. The wind seems to strengthen the blue fragments. May I dare make such a comparison? It must be us who are slowing down. I felt my body jolting along with the running and said dryly.

“Elias, we need to find a place to hide.”

The rampagers’ speed was too fast, so at this rate we’d inevitably be caught eventually. It would have been better if I could run. Why hasn’t the sensation in my legs returned yet? Only indescribable frustration and impatience remain. An empty question was heard.

“Where to.”

We were crossing a plain with only one paved road.

The occasional residential houses were wooden buildings that would be torn apart if even one rampager pushed them. The cold night wind lowered our body temperature. Between the rampagers’ roars and the terrifying sound of Vitriol tearing through the air, a quiet voice was heard.

“The Munich scenery viewed from high places is beautiful.”

“….”

“No other city they could offer would compare.”

That must be because the only good memories of your childhood were obtained here. Suddenly, I remembered the day when we talked about climbing the Catholic church observatory in Munich together. The day I exhausted myself trying to dissuade Elias, and we rolled around the plaza.

Elias asked with a grin while breathing hard.

“Shall we go up the bell tower?”

Sightseeing Munich in this situation? I should have laughed and asked that to lighten the mood, but no laughter came. I knew why he was suggesting we go to the bell tower.

“Let’s keep that as a last resort, Elias.”

“….”

We shouldn’t choose a place with no retreat route. You know that best, don’t you? It was a useless question.

Anyway, he wouldn’t go to the tower until he’d tried his best. Absolutely not. However, while his legs were passing the crossroads where the bell tower would be and heading straight to Giessing train station, his head was already at the bell tower. Thorough reason and calculation had sent him to the top of the bell tower. Because he was rational, because he had the habit of always keeping the worst possibilities in mind, he was more pessimistic than anyone. Ironically, this was someone who spoke of dream-like optimism.

“You’re right. Yes.”

Elias answered with a smiling face looking straight ahead. I looked up at his profile and furrowed my brow. He continued running even as he passed Giessing train station. Then, looking at a stone building that appeared like a dot in the distance, he muttered.

“This place looks good.”

It was hard to see clearly as we had to rely on dim magic lamps, but it looked like a gymnasium.

I turned my head and put my arm around Elias’s back. With my left hand, I spun the wand between my fingers and stretched it out long. Placing the staff horizontally on my shoulder, I gripped its shaft with both hands and aimed at the people chasing us. No, a bit higher than that. A bit more, higher. When the end of the staff’s ornament seemed to overlap with the end of the road we had passed, I stopped adjusting. In the darkness, pure white light began to flow crackling along my hands and the shaft. When it began to gather at the end of the ornament, I exerted my maximum power and shouted.

—By the brilliance of the Lord’s flashing spear, the sun and moon stood still in their places!

Crash—!!

“Ugh….”

Elias made an indescribable sound and inhaled. My eardrums were also being torn apart. Divine power bundled like a sphere of fire flew far away with a roar. When it touched the ground, another roar shook the road. Elias staggered as if he would roll once due to the vibration, then clenched his mouth and straightened his body to run. Pure white light spread radially from the impact point across the ground, illuminating the world. The rampagers turned their bodies toward where the divine power had exploded.

This was the moment. I immediately put up barriers close in front of us to prevent my body’s magic power from spreading through the wind. The divine power at the crash site was shooting up to the sky like a waterspout, bursting divine power in all directions by itself.

“All of them?”

“Almost.”

We’d shaken off almost all of them. I don’t know how long we can keep them shaken off.

We entered the gymnasium by breaking open the main gate. Elias leaned me against the lobby staircase handrail, then went back out and manifested something like a long sword with his blue magic power before charging at the two figures running toward the gymnasium.

“Wait! Elias!”

I tried to step forward but nearly hit my head on the floor and barely managed to grab the staircase handrail with magic power.

“…Hah.”

Cold sweat broke out. I couldn’t move under my own power. Even using the staff as a cane, I wasn’t trained for it. My advantage of having good motor skills couldn’t help in this situation.

‘I’d be lucky if I could walk properly, in this state….’

I can’t participate in close combat.

I have to keep as much distance from them as possible. From now on too. Fortunately, there was distance between us now, wasn’t there? I bit my lips and recited an incantation inwardly while aiming the staff.

‘But the Lord knows all the ways I go.’

Crack—

The glass door cracked even though divine power hadn’t been released yet. Suddenly, the door turned pure white and then poured down. White light surged from the staff’s end with an explosive sound.

Crash—! Bang bang bang! Crash—!

“Aaaaah! Cough…!”

Divine power poured toward the rampager that Elias was pushing back with his sword. The divine power crushed his limbs. Following the rampager’s scream, Elias’s magic sword pierced through his heart. Stab, crash, and screams. It was always hard to hear. The human melted down as they became Vitriol. Elias pushed down the other rampager charging at him with magic power, then gripped his sword with both hands and struck downward.

Another scream was heard. I looked at them while habitually feeling the illusion and fantasy that I should call medical staff. There were no medical staff here. And since they had been rampaging for a long time, their bodies didn’t remain. They had just become mud.

Two down out of dozens. Fortunately, without much difficulty so far. No, it was only two, so I can’t tell yet whether this is fortunate or not.

Elias, who had been looking down, wiped the Vitriol on his cheek’s body barrier with the back of his hand and turned around. He approached me with a bright smile.

“Aren’t you thinking of me as too weak~?”

“Haha….”

“I’m doing well, right?”

“Yeah, though I’d do better.”

“What if someone who really does better says that!”

“You know? Train hard when we get back.”

Elias shook his head vigorously and giggled. Then he returned to his usual face and said.

“You’re having a hard time too, so you don’t need to help. Those people are at most 6th grade… hmm, at this level they’re 7th grade. It’s okay.”

He was still judging my condition as only bad. With my legs in this state, I couldn’t deny it either. Not now. I smiled by lifting the corners of my mouth. Elias also grinned following me, then lifted me up again and went to the top floor. He looked around and found a science classroom with an iron door and went inside. Then he sat me on an experiment table by the window where the adjacent building was visible, and he also sat at the desk in front to catch his breath.

“Whew….”

“….”

“It’s quiet. It’s been quiet for a while.”

Elias observed my face with a faint smile, then took out an elixir from his clutch and put it in my hand.

“Drink it, Luca.”

“I have mine.”

“Then drink that at least. Want to wipe your face?”

Before I could answer, Elias picked up a lab coat from the laboratory, soaked it in water, and threw it to me. This was the first time using a lab coat as a towel…. I laughed bitterly while wiping off the blood and handed the elixir back to Elias. Elias opened it and poured it into my mouth as if he wanted me to drink it quickly, then took an identical elixir from my clutch. Since he was raising his eyebrows with a face asking if that was enough now, I nodded.

“Now, let me take a look.”

Elias lit an alcohol lamp instead of a candle and brought it close to my face. I felt anxious since the person holding the lamp was Elias, but stayed still. If Elias was in his right mind, he wouldn’t burn me with it.

He lifted my hair and made a groaning sound, saying “Hmm.”

“This school should have an infirmary too, right? I should bring some medicine at least. Need to stop the bleeding.”

“Do you know how to use bandages?”

“Of course! Still, it’s not bleeding much. The blood must have been flowing little by little for a long time.”

The fact that it keeps flowing without stopping seems like a red flag, but I didn’t bother saying it out loud. Regardless of theory, I wasn’t collapsing or lying down as if I’d soon need a coffin, and I was sitting here having a conversation with him, so there should be a little more time. I smiled and shrugged at Elias. Elias gestured that he’d be back quickly and rushed out. I wanted to tell him not to go since something might happen, but if I said that, he’d be the type to carry me up and down the stairs again, so I couldn’t say that.

About 5 minutes later, Elias came running into the science classroom out of breath. Fortunately, it seemed he found the infirmary without incident. He was holding bandages and cotton in his hands. His clutch looked like it would burst, probably because he put medicine in it too. He whistled while disinfecting my head with clumsy skill, then put gauze on and wound bandages around my forehead. While doing so, he muttered.

“Our school has a laboratory too.”

“It did.”

“My pleasure was boiling sugar in the laboratory, but it’s a shame.”

“….”

I felt sorry to the chemistry teacher on his behalf—though well, if he ate something wrong and died it would be Elias’s loss, but anyway—and sighed. Then Elias grinned.

“Why! Hahaha. I was going to eat it with you too next semester.”

“Have you tried putting sodium bicarbonate in boiled sugar?”

“Why would I put that in?”

“Never mind.”

What am I saying in Germany? Still….

I was lost in thought for a moment, then muttered.

“I’ll do it if we get out.”

“You’re going to make it?! You’ll get in huge trouble, and you’re a complete model student, so what…”

“If you know you’ll get in trouble, what did you do to deserve eating… And I don’t think I was particularly model. I just had high test scores.”

“That’s true.”

“…”

Strange. I said I wasn’t model because I kept missing school with sick leave, but what did this guy see to think that way? Hearing this from someone who acted more like a delinquent than anyone else at school makes me feel a bit…

Anyway, I smiled. Even knowing we couldn’t return to school unless we eliminated Pleroma, we acted as if we could.

“Elias.”

“Yeah?”

But now I had to say it. It was time to return to reality. Since he hadn’t brought up the topic first, even though I didn’t want to tell him the reality, even though someone as rational as him would already know there was theoretically no way to escape this place.

“There might be no way to get out of here.”

“…”

“I told you before that there are people like Pleroma behind the French Imperial Family. This incident seems to be their doing. They know that Lucas Ascanien and Narke Farnese are related to the holy relic. More precisely, they know that we’re aware of the fact that ‘the organization controlling the French royal family helped steal Peruer.'”

Elias waited for me silently. I looked into his eyes and continued.

“By now, articles about three people going missing – you, me, and Elias – along with other Arcane Mages would have been published. If Leo goes missing too, it would be a huge benefit to them. That way, the key figures who could investigate the holy relic theft would disappear.”

There are other reasons I’m speculating about, but not now. I slowly turned my head to look at the science lab floor and said.

“I don’t know if they’re planning to take us somewhere or not. But until the situation settles, and as I think about it…”

“…”

“Right now, they have no incentive to get us out. Or it’s possible that even they don’t know how to get us out.”

Elias sat there expressionless. He wasn’t angry, despairing, or disappointed. He just looked out the window as if nothing mattered. After a while, he asked quietly.

“Where is this place, then?”

“I don’t know.”

“What are you theorizing?”

“As you said, it might be the original.”

“…”

“I think it might be a world of pure magic.”

At those words, Elias narrowed his eyes.

The Astral Plane. So I thought about how it would be to enter an extra chapter to meet Maria Osterreicheste. But I couldn’t go there for a long time leaving Elias behind. This was a situation where fate could change in 10 minutes, in 1 minute. I tried to see if I could go to another era, but perhaps because Maria wasn’t there, no change occurred to me. Vitriol was truly affecting us too. If this really was a world of pure magic, it was also puzzling why there were no people. In the end, we were completely in a maze for now.

Elias slowly turned his head and lowered his eyes.

“Right, we should finish our strategy meeting.”

We came into the building for that purpose, so we should. I nodded and said.

“First, we can’t keep running and hiding from them forever. It’ll be physically exhausting.”

“…Right. Ah, by any chance, isn’t there someone hiding in this world like with Corbiniano? We have to kill them for this world to close.”

“Right. That’s possible too. There are some strange points, but it’s worth considering.”

Then Elias stroked his chin, lost in thought. Then suddenly, he whipped his head around. He hurriedly drank an elixir and shot up from his seat.

“They’re here.”

“…”

Elias gripped the desk and leaped like flying to the window on the opposite side. The rampagers were gathering on the gymnasium’s athletic field. They had amazingly sensed our magic and chased us. Elias, pale as I was, stood by the window and said quietly.

“So, what should we do? Should we not provoke them?”

“…”

I knew what his words meant. Should we flee like this, or should we engage in fortress warfare for a moment before fleeing? The end would be fleeing anyway. The gymnasium wasn’t a good environment for fortress warfare. Still…

“If we run, they’ll find out anyway. They can hear the sounds we make.”

“Right. Now that’s my friend.”

Elias, with moonlight behind him, grinned wickedly. He flicked his left hand. A blue mass of magic formed in his hand, beginning to take the shape of a large bow. An arrow with a sharply honed point appeared. The sound of crackling magic was chilling. He whispered quietly.

“Let’s reduce their numbers by at least one before we go.”

Elias turned and broke the window, then drew the bowstring. The string glinted and shone in the moonlight.

[The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice. He sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning, and routed them.]

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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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