I Became the Hero While Paving a Flower Path for My Niece - Chapter 62

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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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Joker Paving a Flowery Path Became a Hero — Episode 062
Alex himself didn’t care when he was attacked, but what about Klaus Brodell, his family? Wouldn’t he want to talk first?
Besides, he had to account for Count Atin, who was still alive, and the defensive Magic Circles set up throughout the chamber.
By distance, Domeric Brodell was closer, but if Domeric Brodell’s attention was divided elsewhere, it seemed he could be saved.
Alex gestured to Dein, who stood nearby, pointing out Count Atin and the Knight.
The fastest ones here were Alex and Klaus Brodell, who could use Body Reinforcement, along with his Knight—
“If you coveted the Count’s seat, why didn’t you just say so! You fed poison to your own family for that alone?!”
A shocked Klaus Brodell was in the midst of conversation with his brother, who had forsaken blood ties, while Alex had to obscure Domeric Brodell’s line of sight with magic. The only one left was the Knight.
Dein, catching Alex’s intent, silenced his footsteps and gestured to the Knight. The Knight, quick to grasp the situation, nodded.
“That’s right! You, who’ve held the position of junior lord since childhood—it’s nothing more than that to you. But I’ve wanted to be Family Head for so long!”
Domeric Brodell spoke in a voice thick with rage.
“And you think you can just hand it to me as you please? What about the family members? What about the Knights? Does it make sense for a mage to be the Family Head of a Knight house?”
As long as Klaus Brodell lived, it would be difficult for Domeric Brodell to become the next Family Head.
There would always be talk: “Klaus Brodell would have done it this way.”
“For me to become a perfect Family Head of House Brodell, you have to die—no matter what anyone else thinks.”
If Klaus Brodell died, naturally the position of Family Head would fall to him, and others would serve him without any resistance.
Confronted with Domeric Brodell’s sincere murderous intent, Klaus Brodell found himself at a loss for words.
At that stupid expression, Domeric Brodell burst into loud laughter.
That instant.
“Fireball!”
Alex unleashed an attack spell. Two Fireballs struck precisely within the range where the defensive Magic Circle activated.
The Magic Circle flared with light, and an opaque Shield appeared.
Bang! Bang!
As the Shield and the Fireballs collided, an explosion erupted, trailing smoke.
“Ha ha!”
Watching his own defensive Magic Circle perfectly intercept Alex’s Fireballs, Domeric Brodell sneered at him.
“You talk and talk, yet your magical skill is pathetic!”
“Dig… Fireball!”
Alex murmured quietly before casting Fireball again. Another Fireball shot forth and collided with the Shield.
In that moment.
The Knight, reinforced with Body Reinforcement, rushed swiftly toward Count Atin and withdrew with him.
The weary face of Count Atin, who had been desperately waiting for rescue since Alex’s group arrived, finally showed relief.
Though Domeric Brodell could see it even through the smoke, he paid it no mind.
Even for a 3-Circle mage, the old man seemed as though he’d die soon. If anything, protecting him would only make their escape more difficult.
‘They won’t even have time to run.’
Domeric Brodell smiled with satisfaction at the quality sacrifices that had come of their own volition.
“Good. Enough pointless talk, as the clever 2-Circle mage over there said.”
The smoke began to clear.
The face of an exultant Domeric Brodell came into view.
“Now watch! The moment I become 4-Circle! And I’ll offer you as my first sacrifice!”
Kahahaha!
Domeric Brodell laughed like a madman, opening the book that lay to one side—the Dark Grimoire.
[I’m curious about Dark Magic in this world, but there’s no way I can take that, right?]
Of course not.
If he tried to smuggle it out, the Temple would come after him.
As Alex calmly surveyed his surroundings, checking the intact defensive Magic Circles and their ranges—
Klaus Brodell, realizing Domeric Brodell was about to do something ominous, drew his sword.
“Stop it, Domeric!”
He didn’t know what that book was or what this Magic Circle meant, but Klaus Brodell’s instincts screamed that he couldn’t let this stand.
As his lord lunged forward, the Knight rushed right after him.
“Ben! Cover!”
Dein did the same.
The instinct that had elevated him to Branch Chief was sounding an alarm. It felt as though death itself was chasing at their heels.
Of course, they might have thought differently had they seen Alex’s composed attitude, but before Alex could say anything, they all charged forward.
[Oh…]
And predictably, they were blocked by the Shield that still remained.
—!
As they brought their swords down on the Shield that appeared as the Magic Circle flared, cracks spiderwebbed across it.
It seemed they could break it given time, but naturally, Domeric Brodell did not wait.
“Great one dwelling in the Demon Realm. This humble being dares offer sacrifice unto you!”
Domeric Brodell, Dark Grimoire in hand, began the ritual. His eyes glittered with a madness born of hunger for the new realm of power that would soon be within reach.
“…!”
They all clenched their teeth and attacked to break through the Shield.
Clang—!
The Shield shattered at last, but Domeric Brodell finished the ritual first.
“Please, bestow upon me that great and mighty power!”
—!
Domeric Brodell’s frenzied voice boomed through the Underground Chamber.
They all tensed, gripping their weapons tighter as they waited to see what would happen next.
A silence fell—so profound that not even breathing could be heard.
It stretched on.
Very long indeed.
“…Huh?”
Dein, noticing that this silence was not right, spoke with confusion in his voice.
“Alex, isn’t this supposed to be loud?”
[Not at all! It’s supposed to be incredibly noisy!]
[In our world, demons always put on a show—releasing smoke and all that for effect. Does it happen here too?]
It’s similar enough, but I shouldn’t pretend to know too much detail.
It’s Dark Magic, after all.
“I’m not entirely sure, but when a Magic Circle activates, the Mana Stone Powder usually glows as it melts.”
At Alex’s words, everyone’s gaze shifted downward.
The Magic Circle, glistening with blood and Mana Stone Powder, showed no light whatsoever.
“Wh-what in the hells is happening?!”
Domeric Brodell’s panicked cry rang out.
Rustle—rustle—
He flipped through the Dark Grimoire frantically, but found nothing wrong with the ritual itself.
The only thing troubling him was that the incantation of the ritual didn’t seem to please the Demon Race that was meant to be summoned.
“Your miserable servant offers a sacrifice! Curse it all! Your pathetic slave brings forth an offering!”
[The titles just keep getting lower.]
[He’ll be calling himself an insect soon.]
“Blast it all! This worthless worm dares address you, mighty lord…!”
[Ha.]
Watching the scene become almost self-flagellating, Ibek chuckled softly, and his companions, who had been wound tight with tension, exchanged confused glances.
Rustle—rustle—
The Dark Grimoire’s pages turned roughly, as if being torn.
“What is this…?!”
Domeric Brodell’s eyes, which had blazed with ecstasy and madness moments before, now wavered, filling with dread.
Dein, rolling his eyes around, spotted Alex standing at ease.
“What did you do?”
Alex pointed downward in response.
At the same time, Domeric Brodell, who had been pouring cold sweat while searching for his mistake, finally lifted his gaze from the Dark Grimoire.
The Magic Circle carved into the floor, filled with blood and Mana Stone Powder.
One corner of that Magic Circle was gouged out so deeply that its form was unrecognizable.
“Could it be… Dig? You used magic? When?!”
Dein, along with everyone else, widened their eyes in shock.
[I cast it secretly earlier!]
“Any Magic Circle must be drawn perfectly to activate. If the Magic Circle is ruined like this, no amount of chanting will make it work.”
[Like how a letter gets returned if the address is wrong!]
“So that’s why you were so calm.”
“You should have told us!”
Ben laughed lightly, and Dein also laughed heartily as he clapped Alex on the shoulder.
The two Guild members, the Knight, and Count Atin, freed from the rope, all let out sighs of relief.
Domeric Brodell’s eyes darted between the ruined Magic Circle and Alex as he ground his teeth viciously.
“This… you damned bastard…!”
His carefully laid plan had been completely ruined by that insect of a second-Circle mercenary.
As a third-Circle mage, he couldn’t stand against them. Without repairing the Magic Circle, he couldn’t summon a Demon either.
Klaus Brodell looked at Domeric Brodell.
“Domeric, give up now. Surrender that suspicious thing to the Temple or the Mage Tower, and apologize to Grandfather and Maelin. And to all the people you’ve killed.”
Of course, he had to face justice for his crimes.
How many people had suffered at Domeric Brodell’s hands?
Klaus Brodell tried to anticipate the judgment his grandfather would deliver—a man with a strict sense of right and wrong.
Imprisonment and Mana Circle Closure might not even be enough.
Klaus Brodell’s expression darkened.
“Damn it! Damn it!”
But Domeric Brodell had no time to worry about such things.
The hand holding the book trembled uncontrollably.
‘If this book is revealed to be a Dark Grimoire…!’
He would surely be dragged away by the Sollenium Church.
And then a future far more terrible than death would be waiting for him.
[Looks like your brother’s got the same worries you do.]
Watching Domeric Brodell grow increasingly anxious, Alex found himself experiencing an odd sense of kinship with him.
“Blast it! Let’s hope that doesn’t happen!”
Domeric Brodell decided to resort to his final option.
He had originally intended it as material for a Magic Staff, but now that it had come to this, he had no choice but to use it himself.
The one who had taught him Dark Magic said it possessed tremendous power, so it should be useful.
[He’s got something. A scroll? A Magical Tool?]
[Doesn’t seem that strong, but let’s attack now!]
Alex agreed.
There was no reason to wait until Domeric Brodell attacked.
Alex caught Dein and Ben’s eyes before unleashing his magic.
“Fireball!”
In the same instant, Dein and Ben surged forward, and Klaus Brodell—who had been trying to convince his brother—along with the Knight, rushed after them.
The two weaker Guild members supported Count Atin while trying to secure an escape route.
Bang!
The Fireball Alex had sent flying collided with a Shield and erupted. Smoke billowed forth.
“Brace yourself…!”
Through the veil of gray smoke, Domeric Brodell could be seen pulling something from his breast.
It was a small glass vial.
[Dark Magic is sealed inside that vial.]
[…It looks like some kind of seal.]
[What’s inside?]
Alex furrowed his brow.
The distance was too great to see clearly what lay within.
“Mana Stone?”
[Using that won’t change the situation though.]
Soon he would learn what was inside the vial.
Pop—
Domeric Brodell pulled the cork stopper from the vial. The sealing magic came undone, and a new mana signature appeared in the senses he had been concentrating so carefully to maintain.
A dark greenish mana.
Clear and distinct.
[!! My bone!!]
“?!!”
It was Ibek’s Bone.
[He’s been carrying my bone this whole time?!]
[I couldn’t sense it at all?!]
[Alex! Attack!]
No need to tell me!
There was no time for shock.
Remembering how a lowly goblin had once become a goblin shaman, Alex gritted his teeth and unleashed his magic in a torrent.
“Fire Arrow! Fireball! Fire Arrow!”
?!?!
Faced with suddenly intensified assault magic pouring from Alex, the four who had drawn near to Domeric Brodell cried out in alarm and quickly dove aside.
Boom—!
The power was tremendous. Clothes and hair whipped about wildly in the scorching wind and the force of the explosions.
But even before that.
Domeric Brodell pulled out that pale white bone and shoved it into his mouth.

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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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