Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 661

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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 660. Divine Palm
I drew a light breath, like a warrior praying to God before stepping into a raging inferno. Then I turned my head and met the eyes of my doppelganger, who was smiling brightly.
Despite bearing the same appearance as me, that smile looked so carefree and happy. How could he smile like that, knowing what we face and what horrors await us?
“Mage.”
“…Ugh.”
“Mage bereft of your soul.”
My voice calling out to my opponent was heavy with sorrow.
“If you can hear my words, regain your senses. It seems something has happened to the Puppeteer who threaded strings through you—this is an opportunity that may never come again. If you see an opening, please—”
As I spoke, I traced the magic of Karoc.
Enormous wings of flame erupted from my shoulders, and then a woman wreathed in fire rose majestically. The Lady of Karoc. My follower.
“Please, find your way out of this.”
“Krraaaagh!”
Despite my plea, the Forbidden Mages only shrieked with inhuman cries.
Zzzzng! Zzng!
「Writhing」.
Thanks to the Forbidden power, they summoned magic without any magic circle. Soon, tentacles burst forth, tearing through their bodies. Each tendril bore the shape of a monster.
Sharp snouts and massive fangs, bloodshot eyes hunting for prey… It looked as though the monsters that had consumed the Mages were now bursting through their flesh.
“…!”
It was far from over. Tentacles sprouted from tentacles, and from those, more tentacles bloomed endlessly, swelling their mass.
The Lady of Karoc standing behind me lowered her stance as if ready to pounce at any moment, but she did not move. I had not given the command.
Meanwhile, I searched my memory as I witnessed the grotesque phenomenon before me.
‘If this is Writhing magic… is it the one I know of?’
Then—
“Ian! No! You mustn’t attack!”
Nakina cried out upon seeing the Lady of Karoc’s attacking stance.
“I’ve seen this magic in ancient grimoires! Its regenerative power is immense—if you sever it, it multiplies thousandfold in an instant! The only right course is to eliminate it in one strike, along with the Mage! And there are two of them! If we’re careless, this becomes truly, truly dangerous!”
‘As I thought.’
My suspicion was correct. The creature, knowing its own weakness, had wrapped the Mage from head to toe in tentacles, rendering them invisible.
“Moreover, if you sever the tentacles, deadly poison erupts! Be careful!”
Nakina warned with concern. If she still had magic power, she could help even a little. But now she was merely a human stripped of divine strength.
Shhhhwack!
Then something changed. The Forbidden Mages severed each other’s tentacles. The chunks that fell became massive lumps of flesh themselves, multiplying instantly and swelling their forms to enormous size.
“Ian! That bastard—! Damn it! He’s insane!”
I nodded lightly. I see. If I don’t attack, they’ll sever themselves to multiply—that’s their strategy.
Tentacles scattered like clouds, their eyes bulging wide. Then, as if daring me to try anything, they spewed venom at me.
Shhhhwack!
But instead of counterattacking, I raised a barrier and began tracing a magic circle.
“Ian! A barrier won’t work!”
Nakina gasped in alarm, jumping to her feet. There were far too many tentacles, and worse, they were born of Forbidden magic. The depth of their magical power was extraordinary—even my barrier was in danger.
And indeed—
As Nakina cried out, the protective barrier melted helplessly under the virulent poison. The Lady of Karoc intervened at the critical moment, shielding me as she erected a wall of flames.
Ssssshhhhh!
The toxic miasma evaporated as if being annihilated.
The tentacles that had been creeping closer halted at a fixed distance. Then it formed an enormous sphere large enough to swallow not only me but the entire surrounding area.
Zzzziiing. Zing.
A moment of extreme tension.
But I was not impatient. Between the sky obscured by countless tentacles, I discovered the sun faintly glimmering through.
‘Just a little more, just a little more….’
I had been manipulating the magic circle with one eye closed the entire time, and finally—
“…it’s done.”
The center of the concentric circles aligned with the sun.
Then the golden rim of the magic circle gleamed brilliantly. Watching this sight, Nakina realized something and looked around.
‘Could it be… the doppelganger too?’
The doppelganger standing at a distance had already completed an identical magic circle to mine. When he smiled at Nakina, she turned pale and began frantically striking Kyu’s flank.
“…b-back.”
-Kyuu?
“Fall back, you beast! Unless you want to die!”
Zzzziiing! Zing!
The magic circle grew massive, as if it would cover the sky. The incantations that composed it moved independently one by one, forming the shape of a colossal hand. This was none other than—
「Divine Palm」.
The hand of God.
A golden colossal palm descended upon the Forbidden Mage. And simultaneously, a slightly more translucent palm rose from the earth—this one belonging to my doppelganger.
Kuguguguong-! Kuong!
Between the two palms, a tremendous force whirled violently. The Forbidden Mage and the tentacles enveloping him writhed to escape, but they could not overcome the touch of divinity.
Kiiiiik!
Chwiik! Chwiiiik!
I perspired heavily, concentrating to keep the shape of the hands from wavering.
At first glance, the two hands were clasped together as tenderly as if cradling a butterfly. But what actually churned within was tentacles laden with poison. As the toxic miasma seeped through the gaps between my fingers, my doppelganger and I simultaneously clenched our palms—crack!—and collided them together.
Kwaaaaaaang!
Two Divine Palms colliding in accordance with our gestures. A violent gale swept across all directions.
Nakina, who had embraced the dragon’s neck, and Berik, who had been standing upon the corpses of soldiers, both hastily lowered their stance to avoid being swept away by the shockwave. And moments later, both of them froze rigid as they witnessed the source of the collision.
Flash—!
Leaving only brilliant light as if the world itself were being erased, the two palms drenched in poison gradually faded and completely vanished.
I gasped for breath and staggered. Using multiple high-tier spells in succession, layered upon one another—my vision spun dizzily. Barely managing to steady myself, I finally released my grip and fell helplessly downward.
“Ian!”
“Master Ian!”
Two people rushed to catch me, but the closest was my doppelganger.
He caught me gently in his embrace, stroked my head tenderly, then carefully laid me on the ground and vanished. Nakina and Berik quickly rushed over to examine me.
Chwoooaak!
“M-Master Ian, are you alright?”
“Why, why is he like this? He’s breathing, right? Ian!”
“…Stop making noise, Berik. My head hurts.”
“Damn, he didn’t lose consciousness. Crazy bastard, really. Just a headache? Then that’s a relief. Nakina, what are you doing? Pour some mana into Ian!”
“I got hit by Idgal, you idiot.”
“You got yourself hit and you’re calling me an idiot?”
“…Berik, please. My head is ringing.”
“Ah, got it. I’ll shut up.”
I had no strength left in my entire body. It felt as though all the mana that had been temporarily amplified was consumed in an instant.
Against two Forbidden Mages without major trauma—was this acceptable? As I let out a groan, Nakina tilted her head in confusion and pulled open my collar.
“…!”
My right arm was rigid and stiff. The skin had turned black like necrosis. It seemed I had been exposed to poison while drawing the magic circle.
Nakina quickly tore her own clothes and bound my shoulder. It was a simple measure to prevent the poison from spreading through my body. But it was only a temporary measure—I needed to get to a safe place and receive treatment as soon as possible.
“…Berik, what about the situation over there?”
“The Ruswena Soldiers? They all ran to the capital. I saw the Puppeteer too, so it looks like she went with them, but I couldn’t see clearly. Did you see anything?”
“Yeah. It looked like she was melting.”
“Huh? What was? Her body?”
Nakina nodded as she finished the emergency treatment. Unlike Berik, whose vision had been limited from dealing with the soldiers, Nakina had witnessed everything.
“Yeah. From the second time, something felt off, and by the third time, she just burst and melted away.”
“Ugh, that’s disgusting. Really.”
Suddenly, my left hand, lying limp, grabbed Nakina’s arm.
“I, Ian?”
“…A third one?”
“Pardon?”
Nakina hesitated at my question. I had been fighting two Forbidden Mages and hadn’t realized a third had appeared. Since I had only accounted for two, I had only created one Doppelganger.
Boom!
Then, not far away, the ground trembled. It was the commotion of the Magic Department fighting the third Forbidden Mage.
I jolted up in shock, and something surged up from within.
“Ian!”
“Ian!”
Hot blood spilled from my mouth. I covered my lips with my hand, but the blood poured endlessly. The sudden movement had caused the poison to spread rapidly through my body.
I looked down at my blood-stained palm, my expression indescribable. The Divine Palm that had shone with golden light and overturned the world was nowhere to be found—only a small hand drenched in blood remained.
* * *
Heil felt helplessness for the first time. Even when I summoned my greatest magic, even when the Mages continued to pour their mana into me, I couldn’t inflict even a small wound on the Forbidden Mage standing motionless.
Crash!
“Captain!”
Unable to withstand the opponent’s mana, I was sent flying back and knelt on one knee, catching my breath.
This is maddening. Just how deep does Forbidden Magic run that it feels like such an insurmountable wall? And Ian, who faced such beings….
‘…Awe-inspiring.’
I felt keenly that even this was a humble expression.
As I wiped away the sweat, the Mages spread out widely with the Forbidden Mage at the center. And immediately, they gathered their strength and manifested the Binding Magic.
Boom! Crash!
Magic that could restrict the opponent’s movements and even bind them. With multiple mages casting together, colossal pillars of light—unlike anything I’d witnessed before—cascaded down from all directions.
Crash!
“Grraahhh!”
Yet the Forbidden Mage shattered the pillars of light with a single punch. Not magic itself, merely a fist infused with mana.
The mages shrieked as they fled from the falling debris, and in that instant, a tremendous roar erupted from behind, shaking the earth itself.
Boom boom boom! Boom!
Ian’s magic. Golden palms rising upward and downward. Advanced spells cascading in succession—Doppelganger, Pursuit Chain, Lady of Karoc, and now extending to Divine Expansion.
The mages were so startled they fixed their gaze in that direction, and the Forbidden Mage seized this opening without hesitation.
Zing! Zing!
“E-everyone—!”
“Focus! It’s coming!”
The Forbidden Mage summoned sharp flames and attacked the mages.
Protective barriers materialized instantly, but proved useless. They shattered in moments, and the flames carved through several mages’ shoulders, cheeks, and waists.
“No!”
And the assault continued relentlessly.
Before the Forbidden Mage’s power, all were helpless. Could any battle be more meaningless than this, against an opponent nothing could touch?
“Ahhhhh!”
“Watch out! Please!”
“Another one coming from the front!”
“Cough, damn it, ugh…”
“Are you alright? The wounded, fall back!”
Heil bit his lower lip watching his helpless colleagues suffer. Even Ian himself had to layer four advanced spells to face the Forbidden Mage. So how could he, how could the mages here, possibly defeat this Author without sacrifice?
“Captain Heil?”
Ian was already handling two opponents and fulfilling his role, yet he—supposedly the captain beneath him—
“Captain! Just a moment!”
“No, don’t!”
Heil pressed his hand to the ground and drew a Forbidden Magic Circle. The startled mages tried to approach, but Heil’s golden eyes flashed as he refused.
“Everyone, keep going!”
“Captain! Absolutely not!”
“If we don’t stop this, we all die.”
Our death means Bariel’s decline, which negates both Ian’s past and future. Would I bury the pride of Gaia we’ve protected all this time here?
No. Never.
“Heil—!”
Zing! Zing!
The Forbidden Magic Circle materializing from Heil’s fingertips. That circle, which inspired terror merely by recognition, now manifested vividly before his eyes. Heil exhaled briefly, then carved a cross into his palm with his blade.
Slash!
Now I only needed to mix blood into the magic circle.
Heil gazed at his colleagues and murmured softly.
“I’m sorry. And thank you.”
Now, I will forge your futures entirely with my own hands, Heil vowed, the moment he was about to mingle his blood with the magic circle.
Crack!
Someone seized his hand. A small but iron-firm hand, drenched in blood. Like the golden divine palm that had shaken heaven and earth, two crimson hands locked together in mid-air.
“…Heil. The abyss is a world you need not witness.”
It was Ian. Standing firm with his teeth clenched tight. Sweat dripped down along his jaw.
Heil instinctively turned his head to observe the Forbidden Mage, and immediately realized he had been trapped by Idgal. It was only temporary, but the strike had bound his feet in an instant.
Ian commanded.
“We will retreat shortly. Everyone, gather your senses and rise.”

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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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