How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 445

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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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6 hours ago, Gising.

Ulrike jerked her head up at the thunderous roar. Blue streaks shot up into the black sky. The glass-like wall made of magical power that reached to the heavens cracked, then crumbled to pieces in the blink of an eye.

[A Class 1 contamination has occurred at Gising Stadelheim Prison. At Gising Stadelheim Prison….]

At the alarm echoing throughout downtown Munich, lights came on in the distant downtown buildings. Ulrike hurriedly turned her head toward where Stadelheim Prison would be.

“Julia. That…!”

“Let’s go. We have to go right now.”

Julia, who had been waiting with her, gestured and ran toward the prison.

‘Could this be… the work of that antagonist Lucas mentioned.’

Did they notice we were lying in ambush here and cause this incident? But if the antagonist had appeared in this area, Leo and his subordinates would have contacted us, right?

[101, stay close to the Arcane Mage beside you at all times and move to the prison once preliminary control is finished. Hohenzollern-Ascanien will handle escaped victims from inside, Zöhringen-Kleestadt from outside.]

Leo’s guidance was heard. Divine light burst in the distance. Both sight and hearing were in complete chaos, making her heart pound. Ulrike ran looking only ahead and whispered.

“Thank goodness Ernst is there.”

“Hmm, indeed.”

She understood why Julia’s reaction wasn’t very dramatic. No matter how strong an Arcane Mage might be, this would be their first large-scale rampage scene, and it seemed difficult for him alone to purify this vast space and the pouring Vitriol.

Police gradually arrived around them. Julia gathered bright yellow magical power into sphere shapes and sent them all flying somewhere. He said.

“We need to catch people escaping outside, Luise. I’ll detect the rampagers from long range and bind them temporarily. Let’s release them one by one and subdue them in the meantime.”

“Alright.”

It was already beginning. Julia, who had changed his wand to a staff, struck the ground with the staff and pulled upward as if tugging on a connected line from below. Spheres came flying. The wind behind her brushed her nape for a moment, so Ulrike changed her wand to a sword and turned around. Vitriol split into several pieces was flying from a rampager running toward them from a distance. When Julia turned around, it was after Ulrike’s sword had cut down all the Vitriol branches. Confident in her agility alone, Ulrike lowered her body and charged straight at the Vitriol flying toward her again. Another black mud mass rushed at her from behind. Ulrike spun around to deflect the attack and planted her feet on the ground. Before her eyes was a mud-mass human.

Crack—

The sword bit into the Vitriol. Green light bursting through the mud drew lines.

[Beloved ones. When you face the fire of trials that test you, do not think it strange.]

The person collapsed. Ulrike swung her sword toward another person again.

‘So this can happen too.’

Ulrike drew her sword to her chest and wiped the sweat from her chin. Sounds of continuous explosions came from inside the prison barrier. If you properly made one or two people rampage, it was natural for the rampage to spread like wildfire in such a closed environment. Hundreds of screams and whistle sounds, instructions constantly transmitted to her ears, the sky that became bright like lightning then dark again. Strange sounds about covenant messengers and Haike’s soul… all of it tangled in her head. Of all days, this had to happen on the day they came looking for the person who took Haike’s soul? Everything became unclear. Above all, the fact that those dozens, hundreds of people running out screaming were all rampaging made all the hair on her body stand on end. Drawing her sword and leaping, Ulrike said quietly to Julia.

“Is the apocalypse finally coming like this?”

[That’s too grim an assessment.]

“There hasn’t been a day in April that wasn’t grim.”

[….]

After saying it, the silence felt only heavy. Ulrike furrowed her brow with a frown, lowered her body to avoid a rampager’s fist, and swung her sword again. While doing so, she opened her mouth.

“…I mean, even aside from Haike’s matter, from the day we were selected for 101 until now, we’ve been in a quasi-wartime state….”

[I know. Our team wasn’t created because of the problems of the times.]

“….”

Her friend understood everything but still played along. Ulrike knew that fact too.

Born in the wrong era—she hadn’t expected such words to come from Julia Zehringen’s mouth. Though there was no basis for it, somehow he seemed like a friend who wouldn’t say such things. Were they really born in the wrong era? Thinking about it, their people had two major wars and recently there was also the Battle of Alsace-Lorraine. When learning about it in history class, she hadn’t thought much of it. She thought it was other people’s business, but maybe it really was their business….

[Or maybe it’s humanity’s problem. What do you think?]

“I don’t know.”

Deep thoughts might suit friends who were unexpectedly quiet like Lucas or Elias, but they didn’t suit Ulrike herself. That’s what she thought. Waiting for new board game releases, worrying about whether she could maintain first place if she only studied a few days before exams, wondering how it would be to let her friends try the wine she drank at home during vacation—she had lived thinking only such thoughts until now.

Though logical thinking wasn’t really her nature, she clearly knew the feeling.

She was just being consumed. Whether it was the problem of the times or humanity’s problem, Ulrike thought that humans had perhaps fallen to a state no different from consumables in all these matters. At least the privileged adults seemed to think so. Death was this close, yet after work ended, it was nothing more than numbers. Franco-Prussian War casualties: 185,000. Statistics didn’t seem to reflect that 185,000 worlds ended that day. Their school taught them to rejoice in the fact that Prussian casualties were only 45,000 while Austrian casualties were as many as 140,000. So they were busy erasing that layer of ideology, and until standing here today, even if they pitied the 180,000 lives written in those statistics, they had never thought about what exactly that meant. But now she knew. Ulrike beheaded a rampager and whispered.

“Right now, these people, and I, feel exactly like one of the soldiers who died in wars before.”

It feels like we’ll become that soon. Would we be any different from the teenagers and young adults born in past eras?

[Of all times?]

Julia replied with a laugh.

Though she hadn’t felt like laughing until now, Ulrike laughed lightly along because her friend burst into laughter. For a moment, her arm was grabbed by a rampager. Ulrike, who had wrapped herself in magical power so green magic would naturally emanate around her body, raised her arm and spun around to kick him. The occasional purification from the Arcane Mage made the fighting somewhat easier. Ulrike glanced at her watch.

‘About 15 minutes have passed.’

Just then, she heard words along with impact sounds from Julia.

[I’d like to ask what you plan to do after we catch the antagonist this time.]

With Stadelheim Prison having exploded, she wondered if they could really find the antagonist, but she didn’t bother saying it.

The antagonist was said to be Haike’s relative. Since he carried Haike’s soul in his body and was also hiding his nature, the only way to return Haike’s soul was through a contract with that relative. Since it didn’t seem likely that the relative would fully fulfill the contract, they agreed to buy time through the contract and safely find a solution themselves. In that process, her friends seemed a bit cautious, perhaps thinking Ulrike would object, but Ulrike’s own thoughts were different. She agreed with her friends.

“I’ll do as we agreed. That’s my opinion too.”

[No.]

No? Ulrike raised an eyebrow.

[Before that. Once we find the antagonist, our plan will be over. There’s a gap between finding the antagonist and returning Haike’s soul. What will you do?]

“Ah.”

That. So that’s what it was about.

Ulrike immediately understood what her friend was saying. Her friend was helping her change the subject of her thoughts. Ulrike answered while moving the fallen rampager to the police and doctor.

“I’ve never thought about that. We’ll probably be assigned some guard duty somewhere again.”

[That sounds likely. But, Luise. How about not thinking too far ahead.]

“….”

[Even if you die tomorrow, just do what you want to do while living today. Of course, you should also do your best not to die tomorrow, but isn’t that life?]

Ulrike tilted her head and smiled at those words. Honestly speaking, it didn’t resonate with her. I want to be with my friends and seniors tomorrow and the day after. Is that greed? But, if she had to answer.

“You know.”

[….]

Sounds of air being torn and explosions came one after another. Ulrike spoke in a clear voice.

“The magnolias haven’t fallen yet.”

[The magnolias in Berlin are falling, but the rest have probably bloomed by now.]

“Ah, right. I didn’t even notice time passing.”

Ulrike wiped her sword. A light green radiance swirled around the thick blade.

“Let’s go get the magnolias that are in full bloom right now.”

And I should ask Narke and Leo to preserve them. When she said that, laughter was heard from beyond the artifact. Julia slowly stopped laughing and answered in a calm voice.

[That sounds good.]

“Then from dawn today, I’m going to see magnolias with the kids. And let’s go hide Easter eggs. Since we’re mages good at warping, let’s hide them all over the country.”

[Big scale.]

“And also, after hiding the eggs, how about we all go to my house? I want to help Lucas and Leo become closer friends.”

[Hmm, Luise. Getting a chance to visit your mansion would be nice, but those two already seem close enough, so you don’t need to help.]

“I don’t think so.”

[Didn’t those kids tell you they’re already close? It really seems like there’s no need to worry….]

“…Really? Lucas and Leo keep saying that too….”

Huh?

As she spoke, doubt arose and Ulrike raised the corners of her mouth and narrowed her eyes. No, really? With even Julia saying this, Ulrike began to suspect her own perception. They didn’t seem very close on the surface, but maybe they’re so close that it looks that way? Does Leo have a somewhat cold side toward people he’s close to?!

‘Nah….’

She felt like she’d need to see with her own eyes that the two were close to understand. Right now they’re just boringly saying things like ‘you go report’ to each other, so how are they close?

However, thinking of her friends, the despair she felt earlier gradually faded away. For some reason, she felt like laughing.

“Thank you.”

Ulrike smiled and wiped away the Vitriol stuck to the mask on her face.

“Thinking about what I want to do gives me… a little strength.”

Actually, it wasn’t just a little. As she thought following her friend’s help, an inexplicable anticipation gradually welled up. Having vague-seeming hope was an advantage Ulrike thought she had, and only now did she realize she had been frustrated while losing that. She was inwardly indescribably happy to have regained herself that she had forgotten since this month began.

Julia was too busy with combat to answer. That was fine though. Ulrike drew her sword again.

Rumble—

[Hm?]

Julia’s displeased voice was heard. Then, Ulrike doubted her own eyes. In the distance, between the opened barrier gates, a building was collapsing.

CRASH—!!

“…!”

Ulrike raised her arm toward where the sound came from to block the front. White dust flew right to her nose. The collapsed building was one of the blocks where prisoners lived, and surely there…. Her mouth fell open as she realized what had just happened.

[…No.]

‘Again…!’

BANG!

Ulrike kicked off the ground. Her thigh muscles pulled taut. Both arms were grabbed by another mage. Ulrike yanked her arms away. The mage shaken off by her was pushed flying far away.

[Elias! Leonard!]

Julia shouted in a loud voice she’d never heard before.

[Lucas…!]

It wasn’t long ago that I lost Haike. I didn’t lose her, that’s what I think, but Haike still hasn’t been able to return. Now the same thing was about to happen again. No, that’s wrong. Haike’s soul is well preserved somewhere in this world, but this time it wouldn’t be like that. This would truly be death.

Perhaps I had given them too much affection. But whatever the case, they were people destined to spend over a hundred years together in the future. Once we uproot Pleroma, we could live together, we had endless opportunities to become closer, to learn about each other’s different sides, but dying in an accident like this before that could happen was unacceptable.

The building had completely collapsed without anything remaining. I approached the massive debris within the barrier, but there were no people. Strangely, there were no rampagers either.

“….”

Everyone had been under the building. No, were they inside the building? There was an eerily complete absence of any human presence. Then what on earth….

“Ugh….”

Ulrike’s head snapped up at that sound. Leo and a Bavarian mage were lying far away, bleeding, apparently struck by debris. Julia was beside them. Fortunately, Leo was here. Whether he was alive or not was unknown. Then where were the other two, where was Count Nicolaus? Where were the other arcane mages? Rescue workers rushed toward them. Ulrike reached out toward the debris.

“Be careful, you need to come out!”

Ulrike shook off the mage who was trying to stop her. Two, three, four, more and more people clung to her. While she persisted and groped through the debris, at some point they all disappeared. Ulrike felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Luise.”

There was no emotion in Julia’s voice. I knew he had deliberately erased everything. It was admirable how he could do such a thing. Ulrike frantically sent her magical power flowing into the debris. There was no colliding magical power. It wasn’t a mistake—there really was none. No one was inside this. Then….

“His Highness the Prince is still breathing!”

“We’ll transport him immediately.”

They might be alive somewhere else. The hand gripping her shoulder tightened.

“Luise.”

“I can’t feel any magical power. They all moved somewhere else.”

“…That can’t be. There’s nothing under here.”

“Right, there should be nothing. But in reality, there was something.”

Ulrike’s eyes widened as she jumped up from her spot and turned around.

“They definitely went there. They’re not here!”

“….”

Looking directly at Julia’s face, Ulrike slowly opened her mouth. The expressionless look he was wearing was no longer expressionless. At least that’s how it seemed to Ulrike. Ulrike shook her head and stepped back. Only then did about twenty mages wave their wands around the debris and report to the others. There were no human bodies here, they couldn’t find traces of warping either, and they would try clearing the debris for now. Such words followed. Shortly after, they simultaneously chanted the same spell and aimed their wands at a single stone.

‘…No. They definitely warped somewhere.’

They know that much too. The problem is that the magical power from the warp can’t be detected. We need to trace the warp route, but if they all failed to find it, we need to look for another method.

What would my friends have thought in a situation like this? Thinking that way, what I needed to do seemed clear. I had to find out who had caused a rampage incident of this scale. Ulrike asked a high-ranking royal mage who was nearby.

“I heard there were negotiations with Pleroma. Is the prisoner exchange channel still connected?”

“Excuse me? Where did you hear such… I cannot tell you.”

“This might be related to the current incident. I won’t tell anyone, so please just let me know!”

He made contact somewhere with a troubled expression, then soon his expression relaxed somewhat. Perhaps he received permission. After listening to more of the response, he immediately told Ulrike.

“Yes. That’s what they say.”

It was a hurdle from the start. This disaster was caused by rampage drugs, but it didn’t seem to be Pleroma’s doing.

Still, set Pleroma aside. It wasn’t their doing. According to Lucas’s statement, the culprit was walking a tightrope between two heretical groups and wanted to gain another faction’s support.

‘Is this the relic thief’s doing?’

But if they committed such a large-scale crime, it would be difficult to gain support from at least one side. If they did this siding with the French heretics, their position would worsen unless they escaped Pleroma’s investigation network, and there seemed no need to take such a risk. The idea that they did this siding with Pleroma was wrong since there seemed no reason for Pleroma to cause major trouble over something other than Mikhail Ismailov, and since the prisoner exchange channel wasn’t closed, Pleroma still had the will to communicate. I knew the evidence was weak. I also knew I was relying on intuition. But this was enough.

“It’s the French heretics.”

Julia looked at Ulrike silently. Ulrike gripped her friend’s shoulder and spoke rapidly.

“Those people roughly caught on to the situation! They were afraid the relic thief’s identity would be exposed, so they made the people here go on a rampage to stop us. Whether the building collapsed due to Vitriol and everyone moved elsewhere was intentional or not, I don’t know…!”

“….”

“They couldn’t have gone abroad. If they went abroad, they definitely would have gone through some other world as an intermediary. We need to find that intermediate space.”

Julia remained silent. He seemed to be continuously thinking about something, or perhaps unable to think of anything at all. The answer seemed to be the former. Julia said quietly.

“You’re suited for fieldwork.”

That might be true. I’ve always thought so.

But if I had been in that earlier state, fieldwork or whatever, I would still be standing there in a daze, listening to the alarm sounds still covering my ears. For someone standing on despair, letting go of hope is possible with just a slight exhaustion, isn’t it? I knew that the motivation my friend had instilled in me, even with trivial words, was what made me move now. So Ulrike deliberately put strength into her weakening legs. She opened her eyes properly and looked at her friend.

“We can’t stay like this.”

“….”

“I won’t lose them twice. Never again.”

After a long while, the corners of Julia’s mouth turned up. Ulrike gripped his shoulder and said once more.

“We all need to come out alive and go get the magnolia. Right?”

“You’re good at motivation.”

“Right? That’s my strong point. Remember it well.”

In front of such an absurd situation, does laughter come instead, or is it because I believe we can somehow find them? Ulrike smiled and stared intently at Julia. Julia looked up at the sky and spoke with his usual composed expression.

“I know. I’ve been watching since we were young, how could I not know.”

“Haha….”

“So, the method is….”

Julia turned his head and spoke while looking at where the debris was.

“We have no choice but to tackle it head-on.”

* * *

“Huff….”

“….”

Ulrike leaned her forehead against her staff and gasped for breath. Then once again, she struck the cleared debris floor with her staff without any plan. It had been four hours now. With permission from the Kingdom of Bavaria, other mages were also at this location, and while they took turns at scheduled times, basically they were the type who thought there was nothing more to come out from just randomly hitting the ground since they had already investigated everything that could be investigated at this site. While they provided physical help, they weren’t mentally helpful. They might actually be right.

Against Ulrike’s aggressive magical power, Julia reinforced his physical barrier and slowly swept the air with his wand. No matter what they did, there were no anomalies at this location. There seemed to be no other spaces. Both Ulrike and Julia could only think that.

Ulrike wiped the sweat flowing down her cheek and looked into the distance. Her vision was getting dizzy now. The moment she slowly opened and closed her eyes.

“….”

Far away, the air in front of the prison’s south gate and the surrounding restaurants shimmered faintly. Ulrike squinted slightly and muttered.

“Wind….”

“No.”

Julia stared intently at only that spot and said clearly. As her friend’s words ended, Ulrike immediately ran before the other mages could stop her. Julia quickly infused magical power into his legs and chased after her.

Ulrike ran to the back of the restaurant. The shimmer was only momentary; now it was nowhere to be seen. Julia, who had caught up to Ulrike, grabbed her and said.

“Luise. I haven’t finished talking, so wait. I know what you want, but….”

“No, if it’s dangerous, I’d actually be grateful. It means we finally found the key.”

Ulrike spun around and spoke quickly to Julia who had chased after her.

“My guess is that the prisoners went on a rampage first, not the guards. And simultaneously throughout the building. If the French Antagonists came and went here to make several people go on a rampage, they definitely would have secretly laid connecting passages.”

“….”

Crash―

Bang―!! Crash―

“What we saw earlier might be that passage. The others entered through there. That’s why the magical power shook and created wind!”

Ulrike continued striking the ground with her staff. Moving one step at a time in all directions—north, south, east, west. Julia, who had been closing his eyes and looking at the sky, followed her and tried to create cracks in the magical power in the same way. Other mages followed them, but both ignored them all. The Bavarian mages watched them from a distance and clicked their tongues. The investigation was already being conducted alternately between the laboratory and the field with the help of magical science, yet two mages trying to do something directly in this situation would naturally look strange. Still, it had to be done. Ulrike continued trying to create cracks. Julia, who had been watching her, slowly caught his breath and pulled Ulrike outside the south gate.

“From here, toward the outside.”

Ulrike understood what Julia was saying.

Indeed, she needed a friend who knew how to use their head. Right, if there really was a passage, they would have prepared the passage starting from outside the prison. The two continued trying to create cracks in the magical power of the air and ground.

“I’ve been thinking.”

Julia opened his mouth. He wiped away his sweat and continued.

“If we figure out the route, that itself would become grounds to attack the opponent.”

“….”

Ulrike’s eyes widened before she pursed her lips. That was right. Julia smiled faintly and continued.

“Knowing the entry route itself is a threat to them. Whether it’s the relic thief or the French.”

“…That’s good.”

The very fact that we discovered the ‘route’ could make the contract favorable for us. That’s what he meant. If Elias, Lucas, and Count Nicolaus were alive, it would be helpful. After that, no one spoke. Until they actually found the entry route, nothing could be determined.

How much time had passed?

Crash―!!

When she struck the ground in front of a large oak tree, magical power instantly spread to the top of the tree and made a loud noise.

‘There’s something above the tree….’

Suddenly her vision went black. Then, before she could panic, it quickly returned. Ulrike, who had collapsed in place, jumped up.

“…Wait, what was that just now…!”

For some reason, the mages came running in surprise. Then, as if people had become invisible, they passed right by Ulrike and Julia.

“….”

Ulrike quickly looked up. Her eyes met Julia’s.

I could instinctively tell this was a half-passage, half-space magic, but still, this was definitely….

“…Success.”

Ulrike pulled up the corners of her mouth with a pale face.

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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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