Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 587

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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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Chapter 586
Fire. The Night of the Raging Storm
Searing pain (灼熱痛). The maximum agony a human could endure, a catastrophic descent into the very depths of hell while still drawing breath.
Witnessing one’s own body consumed by flames with both eyes meant far more than mere physical torment—it inflicted tremendous psychological devastation as well.
“Aaaahhh! Damn it!”
“Berik! Calm yourself! Ugh!”
Berik slammed his blazing arm against the cave wall, shrieking in agony, but the intensifying inferno overwhelmed him, and he finally collapsed forward.
Heil faced the same torment. Despite knowing this was merely an illusion, cognition and sensation occupied entirely different realms. He conjured water through magic to extinguish the roaring flames.
Zzzzzing!
Whoooosh!
As the torrent erupted in brilliant light and crashed over both men, their thrashing ceased momentarily. The “hallucination” that Rutherford had conjured was nothing more than the sensation of one’s body burning.
It was neither an eternal flame nor an inextinguishable one. By their understanding, no fire could exist within flowing water.
“Haa, haa….”
“Damn it, shit, cough, hack. Spit!”
Heil braced himself on both arms, breathing heavily, while Berik hung his head in exhaustion, drool dripping from his lips.
Rutherford casually blocked the incoming water with an Idgal barrier, then let out a laugh.
“That’s… amusing, ugh….”
All his worries about what lay below the cliff and whether they could escape this predicament now seemed foolish. Look at those two flailing about, mesmerized by something they couldn’t even see.
Rutherford had altered their entire world with a single word, as if he were a god. Now, his own world would change.
“Berik, it’s an illusion. Cover your ears. If you don’t hear it, that’s all that matters.”
“Cover my ears? That bastard’s still going to babble whether I block them or not. Besides, I can’t—I need my hands for my sword. And—”
The moment Rutherford opened his mouth to speak, Berik crossed his arms in an X and drew his crimson greatsword. Without hesitation, he charged at Rutherford. His focus wavered slightly from the lingering effects of the searing pain, but his gaze remained true.
“Ian said so! The most certain way to eliminate heretical thoughts is to eliminate their source. Since that bastard’s mouth is the problem, cutting out his tongue is the fastest and best solution!”
“Berik, this time it’s a fire that won’t extin—”
“Shut up, I can’t hear you!”
Boom! Boom!
Whoooosh! Crash!
The deafening roar swallowed Rutherford’s words. Deep within the cavern beneath the cliff, neither of them seemed concerned about the danger of collapse.
Heil instinctively covered his head and cowered, while Rutherford stumbled backward in shock. As dust laden with dried leaves billowed up, Rutherford covered his mouth with his collar and opened his eyes wide.
But then—
“Peek-a-boo. Damn bastard.”
Boom!
Berik was there, close enough to touch noses. His fist shot forward in an instant, striking Rutherford’s face directly at the jaw.
“Berik!”
“I’m fine, so just be quiet. Or better yet, conjure that water again and drown this bastard’s face in it. If he’s underwater, he can scream all he wants for a thousand days and no one will hear. Then he’d die, right?”
“Of course. Rutherford is merely human.”
“Ah, human.”
Crack.
Berik grabbed Rutherford by the hair and stared into his face. Once the mage closest to godhood, now reduced to nothing more than an ordinary human.
And yet this wretch dared to lay hands on Ian, on himself, on Bariel? Berik lightly split the man’s lower lip with his fingertip.
“Miss, if you cut him off like this, Ian’s going to have words for you.”
There was much I needed to extract from Rutherford. The whereabouts of the Burgos royal bloodline that Damon couldn’t reveal, the conditions for his return—and more. Above all, since he was directly connected to the Underworld Deity, there was a mountain of information to uncover.
As Rutherford began to mumble something, Berik tore his own clothing and shoved it into the man’s mouth. There was no other way to silence him.
“The effect will fade, right? If he stays like this, how the hell am I supposed to have a conversation? Huh?”
“…Yes.”
“Right. No talking. Shut it.”
Berik stuffed the torn fabric into Rutherford’s mouth. Since the hallucinations were triggered by sound, this should neutralize them.
Rutherford stared at Berik with eyes where every blood vessel had burst, yet his gaze held laughter—a gaze that rippled like a gathering storm. Without realizing it, Berik found himself lost in those eyes.
Crack! Boom!
The sound of fracturing stone echoed. The recent explosion had clearly damaged the cliff. Heil looked around in alarm, but Berik rose slowly as if the world around him had ceased to exist.
“….”
Before Berik’s eyes now stood a dilapidated window. The frame had peeled away completely, and rainwater seeped through the gaps. Then came the flashes—lightning tore across the sky, and thunder shook the world as if it would crumble.
Crack!
“Ah.”
Berik immediately recognized which window he was seeing. It was a fragment of memory that could never be erased.
A small, dilapidated home where I once lived with my family.
And that particular day when the rain fell so heavily.
“This is….”
“Berik! What’s wrong?”
“Damn it. This is exactly like back then.”
When I had inhaled that white powder in Bratz and collapsed into hallucinations.
Berik turned back as if seeking help, but Heil and the cave had vanished entirely, replaced by the familiar interior of that small cottage. My heart began to pound violently.
“Berik. What’s the matter? Are you scared?”
My mother, tying her red hair back with a smile. I couldn’t see her face from behind, but the glimpse of her profile was deeply familiar.
“It’s raining so hard. Father is late.”
“He’s probably drinking. Don’t worry about it.”
“He said he wouldn’t drink today. He went to trade for meat.”
“Do you really believe that? After what he’s done?”
“Brother, is Father really not coming today?”
Without realizing it, I repeated the conversation I had shared with my family that day.
My sister’s voice, fidgeting with her hands and whispering happily; my older sister’s still-anxious face; the damp, unpleasant air rising around us; my mother’s gesture as she tidied her hair and leaned toward the window—all of it.
Everything unfolded vividly before my eyes.
Crash!
Shortly after, my father burst through the door, reeking of alcohol. My sisters quickly hid beneath the bed, and I slipped toward the back of the storage room.
“Oh, you’re home?”
“Where are the children?”
The moment he entered, my father’s eyes searching for the children were sharp and relentless. Today was an unlucky day. Either he’d lost at gambling or come up short on drinking money.
On days like this, he habitually ranted about selling the children, and last year, my younger brother was actually sold at the market. Mother had wept and scraped together what little we had to buy him back, but that had completely drained our already meager finances.
“Where are the children?!”
“Wait, wait—they went on an errand.”
“Are you joking right now? With weather like this?”
“Before the rain comes, I just need to go out and—”
“What time do you think it is!”
There’s no way around it. Today I’ll have to stay hidden and keep quiet. On any other day, I could slip outside unnoticed, but with this much rain pouring down, I have no choice.
Berik, hidden behind the warehouse, caught the eyes of my sisters beneath the bed through the crack in the door. Their anxious, trembling gazes gleamed even in the darkness.
Crack!
Boom! Bang!
The children squeezed their eyes shut. Mother’s questions about what happened to the meat, how they’d eaten nothing but barley porridge for days now, were cut short.
In despair as if the world were crumbling, my sisters held each other’s hands and kept their eyes tightly closed.
‘Damn it.’
Lightning flashed, and light streamed through the palm-sized window. A dull sickle hung upside down. It looked like a noose knot, or perhaps a hook to pull oneself up. Berik grabbed it as if entranced, gripping it with my small hands.
Dull as it was, wouldn’t it work if I stabbed the back of his neck? How much longer must I listen to Mother’s screams? If only that bastard weren’t here—just moments ago, the hut was peaceful.
Thump. Thump-thump.
Just as Berik was about to leave the warehouse—
A sound came from outside. Someone had come through the rain. Mother only let out pained moans, while Father hesitated for a moment before approaching the door.
“Who is it?”
“I left something behind at the gambling den and came back for it.”
“From there earlier?”
Creak.
At the mention of leaving something at the gambling den, Father opened the door with half-doubt, half-hope. His desire for even a slim chance moved him, though he had nothing to his name.
Whoosh.
“Kugh—!”
The moment the door opened, the man stabbed Father’s abdomen with his sword.
There were two of them. They were men Father owed money to at the gambling den, and having heard from the villagers that he had no means to repay, they’d come to collect by force. By their appearance, they looked like drifting thugs.
“Kyaaaah!”
“Shh. Tsk, and they call this a house.”
“How dare you promise to repay when you don’t have a damn thing? Did you think we’d give up and leave after a few days because we’re outsiders?”
“Let’s see, Countess. Is the wardrobe over there? We’d like something of value. Your husband owes us quite a debt.”
“Why, why are you doing this? We have nothing. Please, just spare us. I’m begging you.”
“Hmm. If you have nothing, that’s a problem.”
“I hear you have some children?”
“No! The children—please, please, no. I’ll do anything. And they’re not home right now. Really.”
Mother begged desperately, wringing her hands, but they drew their swords without mercy.
Slash!
“Mom!”
“No!”
My younger brother, hidden under the bed, rushed out, and my sister tried to follow.
Berik shouted that it wouldn’t work. Instead, I said I would go out, so my sister should stay hidden.
“Oh ho, look at this. The girl is still young?”
“We could sell her in Hawan for a good price.”
“Let go of my brother!”
“Heh, this boy’s got spirit. You’ll fetch a good price too. When you’re sold, you better keep that fire in your eyes and that voice. The wealthy who watch slave fights prefer kids with some grit.”
“Shut up!”
Shing!
“Damn!”
Berik charged forward, swinging a dull blade with ferocious force, and the men stumbled backward in alarm.
The boy was so consumed with rage that they couldn’t subdue him with bare hands. After the blade caught one man’s hand once, they drew their swords.
Thwack!
“Hey!”
“Damn it.”
And with that, they drove a blade into Berik’s side, and the boy collapsed forward without resistance.
“What if we kill him?”
“It just happened. Tsk.”
“Can’t be helped. Let’s at least save the others. They came from over there, didn’t they?”
“Ahhhhh!”
“Found them. They’re under the bed.”
“Sister! Sister!”
As his consciousness grew hazy, Berik heard his sisters’ screams. If only he were older, if only he had strength… he could have protected his mother, protected his sisters, protected himself…
“Damn it.”
Berik lay face-down, tears streaming down his cheeks as his body trembled. His limbs felt heavy and limp, his insides twisted. Everything spun. It all spun so much…
As he closed his eyes, someone whispered near his ear.
“Berik.”
Again.
“Berik.”
And this time, with a warm touch.
“Wake up. It’s me, Ian.”
At his words, Berik’s eyes snapped open, and he saw Ian looking down at him. Am I lying down? Why am I lying down? Ah, so it was Rutherford who stabbed my side. That bastard.
…Did he stab me with Idgal? There’s no mana at all. What is this? What’s happening? What about Heil? Did he escape?
“Ah.”
As Berik’s mouth opened to speak, Ian gently closed his eyelids with his hand. Just like when they first met in the training grounds of Bratz.
“Your eyes are wet. Rest a while longer and take your time getting up.”
Ian said this and turned his gaze away. At the end of that gaze stood Rutherford, completely broken and drenched in Berik’s blood.

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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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