My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 101

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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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—Clang-clang-clang!
Kalan’s blade slipped inward. As Dein parried it, his brow furrowed. The clash of steel rang out like a scream.
The shock that traveled through the blade made his hand go numb. Under normal circumstances, Dein would have lost his grip entirely.
‘I can hold on because of the Red Mana. And Kalan is holding back his power.’
If they hadn’t been in the guild building, things would have been different.
Kalan was the head of this place. He could tolerate some damage, but he couldn’t bring the building down.
‘I can go all out, but he cannot.’
—Clang!
Dein flicked his blade outward to absorb the force, sliding back half a step as his boot sole scraped the floor.
His arm ached and felt ready to snap. Yet he pushed off the ground and charged in again.
—Clang!
The distance between them remained half a step. No matter how many times they traded blows, it never changed.
Red Mana scattered like sparks in every direction. Dein was not being pushed back. He simply wielded his blade with stubborn determination.
Despite his advantage, Kalan gritted his teeth. He was a 7-Rank Swordsman.
Defeat meant death. A draw was disgrace. Even an ordinary victory was a blemish.
There was only one outcome permitted for Kalan, master of the Black Obsidian Guild.
A Great Victory.
—Boom!
His mana-infused blade came crashing down on Dein. The impact traveled up through his wrist and hammered into his shoulder. It felt as though a landslide had struck him bodily.
Kalan drew on his power. To go all out against a novice seemed absurd.
Yet defeat would be a greater humiliation.
One step back, then another. Dein retreated. Kalan’s blade pushed forward until it was inches from his throat.
Right shoulder, left flank, then the neck. Dein had no time to read the pattern—he could only drag his blade to meet each strike.
—Clang, clang!
Dein’s sword nearly flew from his hand. His gloves had worn through. Beyond the torn leather, his palm showed bare skin. Blood seeped from it.
Yet Kalan, too, was bleeding. A thin cut ran across his cheek. A thread of blood trickled down his jaw.
Dein smiled.
“Everyone is watching.”
It was true. The guild members looked up at the two of them. All bore expressions of shock.
“A mere Silver Rank Domus…”
“Holding out this long against the guildmaster?”
A 7-Rank Swordsman had used his mana against a novice. He had taken wounds.
Yet Kalan showed no sign of agitation. His breathing remained perfectly steady.
By contrast, Dein’s shoulders were heaving. The Red Mana he’d been releasing began to waver and fade. His blade grew gradually duller.
Kalan did not miss this shift. He lowered his stance, drawing his sword back for one final strike.
—Whoosh!
Something sharp like a whip came flying from above. Pink tentacles writhed grotesquely.
Jenia stood on the upper terrace. Her blue eyes looked down on Kalan.
“I came here because I didn’t want to cause damage to Balanus…”
Corrosive liquid dripped from the tentacles.
“But the guildmaster is the one hurting Balanus?”
She leaped down without hesitation. Dozens of tentacles aimed at Kalan. Whenever the corrosive acid splashed on the walls or carpet, a burning smell filled the air.
The emotion radiating from Jenia was unmistakable.
Murderous intent.
It mattered not that there were witnesses, that she was attacking the guildmaster of the Quercos Guild she herself belonged to, or that killing him would mean catastrophe.
None of these concerns existed in Jenia’s mind.
The tentacles drove forward with a silent shriek. Kalan raised his sword swiftly.
—Slash!
A tentacle was severed an inch before Kalan’s neck. The severed mass fell to the carpet and trembled.
Jenia did not stop, even knowing the cost of closing the distance. The remaining tentacles thrashed wildly.
Yet her opponent was still a 7-Rank Swordsman.
—Boom!
Lines appeared across the tentacles. In the space of a breath—a single exhale—all of them were severed.
Pain burned through her entire body. Her vision blurred. Through it all, she saw Dein.
He threw himself in front of her, bloodied and broken, and stood between her and Kalan.
Her body would not move. Her mind filled with something hot and viscous and tangled.
“Master.”
There were no tentacles left now. The limit had come long ago. It hurt. It felt as though all her limbs had been severed.
So what? Her master was bleeding.
―A deafening roar!
Explosive mana erupted outward. Kalan froze mid-strike.
Jenia’s head burned as if her skull might split open. The pain. The heat.
The kind of shock that carved marks into the very bones of the soul.
―Crack-crack-crack!
New tentacles sprouted from the severed stump. But these were different. Barbs jutted from them. A single lodging would tear away chunks of flesh.
The tentacles coiled around Kalan’s blade like serpents. This time they didn’t sever cleanly.
They held fast until the very moment before being cut through. At that sight, Kalan let out a hollow laugh.
“You should’ve kept that part of yourself.”
Rather than twist his blade to sever the coiled tentacle, Kalan drove forward with it still wrapped around his sword.
―Boom!
Kalan’s blade and Jenia collided head-on. Windstorms howled in all directions. Pulverized stone and dust rendered the surroundings into a murky haze.
When the dust settled, Kalan’s right arm hung limp. His sleeve and skin had been eaten away by caustic fluid.
Yet Kalan showed no sign of pain, no flicker of shock.
Jenia lay drenched in blood. All her tentacles had been severed. She couldn’t move a single finger.
Total annihilation. Or rather—one person remained standing.
Dein walked forward, coughing blood, consciousness hanging by a thread. He positioned himself in front of Jenia.
“Congratulations, son of Dein.”
The flat courtesy fell from Kalan’s lips as his blade pointed toward the ground.
“You’ve accomplished your goal quite thoroughly.”
Kalan had won, but at cost. The Quercos Guild lay in ruins. Every guild member had witnessed it all.
The goal was achieved. Yet Dein did not yield.
“How much longer will you persist in this foolishness? Balanus’s disciples have all fallen.”
“You really don’t care about your disciples at all, do you?”
Dein’s blood-caked face glared at him.
“Balanus has five disciples.”
―Snap!
In that instant, Kalan felt a sharp, searing pain. Blood streamed from where his boot had been pierced.
A tentacle. One of the severed barbed tentacles had burrowed into his flesh. Kalan’s eyes shot upward.
Fourth-floor railing. A dark-haired man stood there. Gai smiled down at Kalan.
As if conducting a puppet show, he wiggled his fingers, and the severed tentacles danced.
―Crack-crack-crack!
The moment Kalan hesitated, Dein descended upon him like a beast.
If he raised his blade to counterattack, his legs were bound. If he lowered his sword to cut the tentacles, Dein burrowed deeper.
Each move Kalan made, Dein answered, and Gai filled the gaps between them.
Kalan was being driven back. One step. Two steps. Three steps.
His back struck the wall.
―Clang!
A blade buried itself in the stone. Inches from Kalan’s ear. A few strands of black hair drifted to the floor, freshly severed.
Dein, having driven his sword deep into the wall, gasped for breath. Drops of blood hung from his wrist bones and fell.
Kalan still gripped his blade. One swing would end it. Yet his hand would not move.
Silence pressed in from all sides. The guild members didn’t dare interfere.
A pair of golden eyes burning with madness fixed upon Kalan. The reek of blood rose from his ragged breathing.
Between them, a quiet voice sounded.
“Damn… that hurts. Bella. Wake up. What’s happened to the kid’s face?”
Cesare groaned as he hauled himself upright. He shook the battered Bella awake.
“We’re in real trouble if her face is all you can see, you know.”
“Ugh, keep your ugly face out of my sight.”
Cesare and Bella struggled to their feet. Even hearing their voices, Dein did not move.
He only listened to his disciples’ sounds. Only after confirming Arkel’s safety and watching Gai help Jenia up did he finally lower his blade.
Dein looked at Kalan with that same unwavering gaze.
“This is our defeat.”
His voice was calm. There was no doubt—Balanus had lost. Everything lay in ruins.
Yet not a trace of defeat colored his words.
“Send the Damage Compensation Bill to Balanus Domus. If you file a report with the Management Bureau, we will accept the penalty without complaint.”
Dein turned away. He grabbed hold of Jenia, who could barely stand, and helped her up.
“We’re heading home?”
Jenia glanced around at her companions. Only after taking in the sight of their numerous injuries did she finally nod.
“Everyone returns to Balanus Domus.”
In silence, all made ready to depart. The guild members holding Arkel exchanged glances.
Kalan’s quiet voice reached them.
“……Let them go.”
The guild members lowered their spears from Arkel.
The members of Balanus Domus supported one another as they staggered forward, bloodied beyond recognition. All they had gained was Jenia alone.
“Gai, you bastard. Why’d you drag it out like that? I thought you were finished.”
“A trump card is supposed to work that way, I’m told.”
Both of them seem sound enough, judging by all that chatter.
Balanus Domus departed. Kalan watched their receding forms, standing alone amid the ruins.
19. Bloodline
“Master. Can’t we stop the ointment? It’s itching.”
“No. Just seven more tentacles and you’ll be done. Bear with it.”
Only Jenia and I sat in the living room. For once, the usually bustling household was quiet.
A week had passed since we attacked the Quercos Guild. Apart from Jenia and myself, there were no serious injuries.
As a result, only the two of us were convalescing at home. Half-severed tentacles writhed as they healed.
“I want to go to the Dungeon with the others too. I’m 4-Rank now. I’m the strongest.”
“Don’t even dream of it. Your tentacles haven’t fully regrown yet.”
I scooped up a generous amount of ointment and spread it across the tip of a tentacle. Jenia trembled at the ticklish sensation.
“Still, I’m glad requests are coming in again. We’ve become famous.”
“The Black Obsidian Guild lost face, naturally enough.”
We were drawing attention in both positive and negative ways.
Skilled fighters who had dealt a serious blow to the Black Obsidian Guild.
At the same time, madmen who attack in broad daylight.
And people tend to like madmen, especially if you can hire someone strong at Silver Rank prices.
One tentacle rifled through an envelope on the table. Several requests had accumulated.
“I want to get better soon so I can take on more work. I need to pay back Kalan’s damages too.”
One of the letters was a Damage Compensation Bill. It had come from Kalan.
Roughly one hundred million, I’d guess. I recalled Arkel and Bella complaining it was petty.
We were the ones who attacked, so there was no grounds for complaint. It wasn’t an amount we couldn’t pay either. We had about a billion in liquid assets anyway.
Separate from that, Kalan didn’t sit well with me. Even if they regenerate, severing a child’s tentacles so completely seemed excessive.
I slathered ointment generously on Jenia’s tentacles. She skimmed through the letters as she asked.
“Which one should we take?”
“The one from the Management Bureau first…….”
―Knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door. We hadn’t been expecting visitors today.
When I opened it, a young man stood there holding a large fruit basket. He spoke in a cheerful tone.
“Delivery! You ordered oranges, right?”
The fruit must have arrived. I paid and accepted the basket. Jenia tilted her head beside me.
“You ordered oranges? This many?”
“Jeremiah sent them.”
I’d asked her to let me know if she saw any premonitions about us. Since we couldn’t make direct contact, I used this method instead.
The Knight Watch had disguised the delivery, so it should provide adequate cover. I began peeling the oranges one by one.
Inside one of them lay something different: a single Black Stone, and a brief letter. I unfolded it, hands trembling.
The moment I read the opening line of the letter, I couldn’t smell the oranges anymore. Only a single sentence existed in my vision.
「I saw the future. All of Balanus’s disciples are dead.」

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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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