I Became the Hero While Paving a Flower Path for My Niece - Chapter 64

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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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The Brave One Who Became a Hero by Paving the Way with Flowers — Episode 64
As if sensing Alex’s thoughts, Ibek continued quickly.
“Remember when the goblin shaman cast Weakening Magic on you last time?”
Alex was just recalling that moment.
The others had struggled, but Alex had been unaffected.
“My soul is inside your body, so you’re not subject to the effects of my mana.”
“It’s like a mage who can’t be harmed by their own spells!”
Well, there were things like Demonic Possession and Mana Runaway if you went deep enough, but that wasn’t what mattered now.
“Since it’s my mana, the magic doesn’t work on you!”
“So?”
Alex swung his sword while listening intently to Ibek’s explanation.
“The skeletons can get back up because my younger brother keeps supplying them with Mana Threads.”
“And those Mana Threads come from my bones—my mana.”
“And my mana doesn’t affect you, remember?”
Ibek, who had unintentionally made the skeletons stronger, explained eagerly.
“If you sever that Mana Thread in the middle, the skeleton might stop moving altogether!”
“It’s similar to Dispel Magic, you could say.”
“First, use Mana Detection. This one requires more concentration.”
Alex called out sharply.
“Dein! Klaus! Cover me for a moment, please!”
“Got it!”
“Understood!”
The others, thinking Alex had found a solution, quickly formed a defensive formation around him.
“All right. I’ll say it again—concentration is key here.”
“It’s harder to detect than ordinary mana.”
“Like how even if we shared the same sense of taste, I’d be more sensitive to flavors than you—this will be easy for me but difficult for you.”
“You have to catch it delicately. Alex.”
Shhh—
Alex drew in a breath and held it, concentrating.
“Look at the skeleton nearest to you.”
A few steps ahead, there was a skeleton that Klaus Brodell was holding back with his sword.
“Somewhere in that skeleton’s bones, there should be a Mana Thread connected to my younger brother.”
“It might be in the skull, the spine, or the leg bones.”
“Concentrate! It feels like a very thin thread.”
Alex held his breath and focused completely.
With Mana Detection, he felt all sorts of mana around him. He zeroed in on only the skeleton in front of him.
‘The Mana Thread, the Mana Thread…’
In that instant, Alex’s pale green eyes flashed like lightning.
He felt it!
The teal-colored Mana Thread connecting the skeleton and Domenick Brodell, thin as a strand of silk!
“…I said it would be difficult…”
Only Ibek, who had warned that it would be hard, felt deflated as Alex found it in an instant.
“Well, it’s good if you pick it up fast!”
“You need to sever that Mana Thread, Alex.”
“How do I cut it?”
The urgency in his mind spilled the question from his lips.
“Think of it as cutting the Mana Thread.”
“But with your body, not your sword.”
“Since Weakening Magic didn’t work, it must be because my soul is in your body.”
“Then it will definitely cut!”
“Probably!”
“Probably” sounded uncertain.
But it was worth trying.
Alex moved toward the nearest skeleton.
Klaus Brodell stepped aside and watched him. The rest of the party, fighting off the skeletons, kept their eyes on Alex.
Had Alex found a way?
Standing before the skeleton, Alex focused on it alone, just as before, ignoring everything around him.
‘I see it.’
The Mana Thread.
Without drawing his sword, Alex swung his left hand downward and severed the teal-colored thread he discovered at the skeleton’s shoulder bone.
An ordinary person attempting such a thing would have left the Mana Thread completely unaffected.
But within Alex’s body dwelt Ibek, the original master of the Mana Thread.
And by extension, Alex himself—now a “living Life Vessel”—was also recognized as its master.
Though corrupted and currently being wielded by another, Ibek’s Mana Thread still obeyed its true master’s command with absolute obedience.
A soft sound—inaudible, yet somehow heard.
It was as though a noise had escaped without making a sound.
Through Mana Detection, Alex felt the pale green Mana Thread snap and vanish.
The very tip of Alex’s left hand seemed to shimmer for just an instant.
When the Mana Thread severed, it produced a momentary flash—something like a spark.
The party thought Alex had done something, but as the Skeleton Warrior continued to move, their hope curdled into disappointment.
[It’s alright.]
[Right now it’s only moving on stored Mana, like a battery.]
[Once the Mana Thread is gone, it won’t get back up after we knock it down!]
Without relaxing his guard, Alex swung his sword and struck the Skeleton Warrior.
The bones, hardened by Ibek’s Mana, still shattered under a full-force blow—the arm bone cracked clean through.
With a hollow crash—
—the Skeleton Warrior crumbled, leaving a small heap of bones before them.
Alex and his companions fended off the other skeletons while keeping their eyes fixed on that pile of remains.
The other bones clattered and struggled to rise, but that heap lay absolutely still.
Even after waiting several seconds, nothing stirred.
[It worked!]
Alex’s hands clenched into fists.
[I actually pulled it off in one try!]
[Truly worthy of being the Brave One’s uncle!]
“Did it actually work?!”
“What? It worked?”
“Yes! We did it!”
Alex and his companions alike brightened at the sight of the Skeleton Warrior that would not rise again.
Dein, who had unconsciously raised his voice, quickly lowered it. If Domenick Brodell heard them, he might employ a different spell.
“How did you manage that, Alex?”
“Only I can do this. Let’s start by eliminating the Skeleton Warrior toward the back.”
Everyone nodded in agreement with Alex’s words.
Toward the back lay a single Skeleton Warrior, collapsed.
Powerful as they were, neither Dein nor Ben could yet perform Body Enhancement—this was the best they could manage.
Both Dein and Ben bore many wounds, and exhaustion hung heavy upon them.
“You’ve done well.”
“Haha! You’re too kind. We should have brought down a few more, really.”
“No, even this much is extraordinary.”
Though merely five in number, the nature of the Skeleton Warriors—continuously rising again—made it no different from battling dozens of foes.
Alex decided to first sever the Mana Thread binding the bones of the fallen Skeleton Warrior.
[Focus.]
The second concentration came faster.
The Mana Thread sensed through Mana Detection came through far more vividly now.
Alex raised his left hand and severed the pale green Mana Thread.
A soft sound—
—and the bones, which had been chattering in readiness for immediate reassembly, fell silent and still.
They had reverted to ordinary bone.
“Oh! It really isn’t moving?”
The faces of the wounded Dein and Ben, whose blood still flowed, grew bright.
“So should we try taking down the others now?”
“Let’s do it.”
Dein, Ben, and Alex raised their swords and began their assault on the Skeleton Warriors.
Snap—snap—snap—snap—
Alex advanced on four Skeleton Warriors in succession, severing their Mana Threads.
Then—
Dein and Ben seized the openings to shatter the Skeleton Warriors’ bones.
A sharp crack—
Not one to idle, Alex himself swung his right hand’s blade and felled a Skeleton Warrior.
The Skeleton Warriors collapsed in a cascade of crumbling bone—
Dein and Ben held their swords ready in tension, then exhaled in relief as the Skeleton Warriors remained motionless, refusing to rise again.
“I thought I was going to die fighting here.”
“Couldn’t agree more.”
“Sorry!”
Alex chuckled softly at Ibek’s hurried apology and turned to face forward. Plenty of Skeleton Warriors remained.
Dein and Ben followed with light steps.
“Is it done, Branch Chief?”
“Yes. It won’t get back up now.”
“Wahoo!”
The two guild members cheered, and the faces of Klaus Brodell, the knight, and Atin brightened as well.
“I’ll handle them right away.”
“Please do.”
Alex immediately plunged into the mass of Skeleton Warriors. It was dangerous, but severing the Mana Threads was easier this way.
[I’ll cut as many Mana Threads as I can so it’s easier for the others to take them down!]
Alex moved his left hand as much as possible, severing the Mana Threads connecting the Skeletons.
Ching!
Meanwhile, he directly dealt with the Skeletons close to him,
“Fireball!”
and occasionally intercepted incoming enemy spells.
[This is way too hectic.]
Tell me about it.
Besides, the Mana Threads on the upper body were easy to sever with his left hand, but the ones on the legs and below required bending over, which was cumbersome and dangerous.
As Alex relentlessly monitored the situation and swung his sword, a sudden thought struck him—he lifted his left foot and stepped on a Mana Thread.
Pop.
The Mana Thread snapped.
[Oh! My feet work too!]
[Well, of course they would. It’s all the same body.]
Alex delighted in the discovery and began more aggressively severing the Mana Threads connecting the Skeletons and striking down those that approached.
Sever and strike. Sever and strike.
[This is just like one of those rhythm games where you swing a sword!]
[Right! Left! Down! Down!]
His companions noticed Alex’s movements.
“Whoa…!”
The Skeleton Warriors around Alex collapsed in an instant, as though they’d encountered a natural predator.
It looked almost miraculous.
Moreover, whether it was an illusion or reality, the area around Alex seemed to shimmer and sparkle.
(It was the spark that appeared when severing Mana Threads, but none of them knew that.)
“…!”
To the eyes of Atin, a third-Circle mage who wielded Mana, Klaus Brodell who used Aura, and the knight, that light shone far more brilliantly.
It was a spectacle impossible to look away from.
Yet they couldn’t afford to stand entranced.
“What—what is this?!”
Domenick Brodell had noticed the dramatic decrease in Skeleton Warriors.
“Skeleton Rise!”
Thinking the spell had simply been dispelled, Domenick Brodell chanted the incantation again.
But the bones scattered across the ground no longer moved.
[Now they’re off-limits. Can’t use them.]
That was because the owner of the Mana Threads had blocked him.
“Skeleton Rise! Skeleton Rise!”
Domenick Brodell, growing desperate, chanted the spell again and again, but the magic refused to activate.
Instead,
Pop! Crack!
Only more Skeleton Warriors fell at the hands of Alex and his companions.
“Again—it’s you again!!!”
Among them, Alex’s brilliant movements caught Domenick Brodell’s eye. He too could see the glimmering Mana sparks.
“Why?! How is this possible?!”
His hatred for Alex burned—this man with whom he had no prior grudge, yet who thwarted his every move.
“Because you laid hands on Dark Magic.”
[Because you consumed my bones!]
Dark Magic.
Domenick Brodell’s eyes widened at the word.
“Wh—how did you…?!”
Unlike the others wondering what Black Magic even was, Alex’s expression and eyes belonged to someone who knew—truly knew.
On the Continent, almost no one outside the upper echelons of the Sung Kingdom understood Black Magic.
“A mere sellsword mage couldn’t possibly know about Black Magic…! Unless… surely you’re not… from the Sung Kingdom…!”
Domenick Brodell’s voice trembled as he pointed at Alex.
“Of course! So that’s why you kept interfering! When did you find out? Was it when I was in the Royal Capital?! You’ve been watching me since then!”
[Huh?]
[What’s he talking about?]
Had he lost his mind?
Alex let Domenick Brodell’s trembling words wash over him. Even back in the Future, there were madmen who spouted nonsense like this when death drew near.
“He doesn’t seem to be in his right mind.”
“Agreed.”
Dein and the others wore bewildered expressions.
‘…Sung Kingdom?’
Yet that single word lodged itself in Alex’s mind.
“Damn it! Damn it! I won’t be dragged away like this!”
The one who had given him the Black Magic Grimoire had said so.
That death was preferable to being taken to the Sung Kingdom.
Domenick Brodell’s mind flooded with visions of himself being tortured, writhing in agony.
“Aaaaahhh! Die! All of you die!!”
Raised as a precious nobleman’s son, Domenick Brodell had never known such terror and dread. Faced with the hellscape now at his doorstep, his sanity shattered.
[He’s running wild!]
Sickly green Mana Threads erupted violently across Domenick Brodell’s entire body.
The black tumor that had consumed only the left side of his face swelled larger, spreading across his entire visage and half his upper torso.
Spells poured forth in torrents.
The surviving Skeleton Mage attacked as well.
“Shield! Fireball!”
“Shield!”
Alex and Atin deployed Shield to block the onslaught. Alex even launched a counterattack.
Boom! Crash!
Massive explosions thundered through the Underground Space.
“Alex! The whole place is going to collapse!”
Thump-thump-thump—
Earth rained from the ceiling as Dein cried out.
“Shield!”
Alex quickly blocked Domenick Brodell’s barrage of attacks aimed at the walls and ceiling.
Klaus Brodell clenched his teeth at the dire situation.
“…Let’s go!”
“Yes!”
Klaus Brodell and a knight capable of using Body Enhancement surged forward.
Their target was Domenick Brodell.
…his own brother.
Klaus Brodell’s face darkened, but his resolve did not waver. He gripped his blade tightly.
This was his family’s doing.
He had to bear the responsibility for cleaning up after it.
Boom—! Crash—!
As the deafening roar receded through the Underground Space, Domenick Brodell’s childhood flickered before him.
The baby with the cute smile, the boy who wanted to play alongside his older brother, the youth who came running when magic succeeded, sharing meals together… his little brother.
Klaus Brodell swallowed his surging emotions and looked at the Domenick Brodell before him.
A man whose upper body was nearly consumed by the black tumor.
A man who had killed countless people.
There was no mercy to be spared—for the safety of others, there was no choice but to kill him.
‘…Let us atone together, Domenick.’
This day, this moment of killing family would scar him like a ghastly brand for the rest of his life. Yet this was the burden Klaus Brodell had to bear as his brother.
Klaus Brodell clenched his teeth and extended his blade toward his brother—a sword he had never imagined would turn on family.
Klaus Brodell’s sword pierced through Domenick Brodell’s chest.
“Guh…! Klaus… you bastard…!”
Domenick Brodell spat blood, his gaze toward Klaus Brodell heavy with resentment, and Klaus Brodell’s face grew darker still.
“…I’m sorry.”
As his brother’s light faded, Klaus Brodell’s expression turned desolate as he moved to withdraw his blade.
And so he did not see Domenick Brodell watching him with gleaming eyes.
“They’re all dead…!”
When Domenick Brodell’s bloodshot gaze darted past Klaus Brodell, toward something behind him.
Slash—!
A sharp blade pierced through Domenick Brodell’s throat.
“…Gah! Ack!!”
The light drained entirely from Domenick Brodell’s eyes. Behind Klaus Brodell, the Skeleton Mage that had been casting magic collapsed.
!
Klaus Brodell turned to stare at the blade’s wielder, his eyes wide with shock.
A man with deep golden hair and eyes of pale green.
It was Alex.

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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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