My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 52

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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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Jeremiah whispered to Mia, cradling her gently. You will become a great mage, she said. You will be happy.
Those who believe deeply are either desperate or pure. The children in this tower, unfortunately, were both.
Jeremiah’s breath caught.
“……It doesn’t seem like Father sent you. So why did you come looking for me?”
“Tell me why you altered Balanus’s Prophecy.”
Dein’s footsteps drew closer. Jeremiah flinched backward, her bare feet touching the cold stone floor.
“You will speak the truth and correct the Prophecy regarding Balanus. That is my condition.”
“…….”
“I would rather not leak information about you to the Brayu Family.”
A family of noble Bloodline would never allow a fugitive to escape. Even in ruin, their pride remained unbroken.
There were only two methods a family could choose to prevent noble blood from flowing out into the world.
Imprison her for life, or kill her.
She moved silently, stepping sideways onto a Magic Circle. Her bare foot touched the engraved surface, and the formulae carved in reverse began to glow blue.
“If you want to report me, go ahead.”
—Rumble……!
As the Magic Circle activated, the tower began to shake violently. Jeremiah stared directly at Dein as though she could see everything.
“I cannot correct the Prophecy about Balanus. Not even if I die.”
As the tower trembled, the sound of children screaming echoed through it. Panicked voices, the patter of fleeing feet.
Even in the chaos, Dein watched the Prophecy-teller calmly. He understood why Jeremiah had triggered the tremor.
The tower shook but did not crumble. This magic had only one purpose.
To drive the children out of the tower.
Dein drew his sword. Immediately after, she stepped on another formula.
—Crack-slash!
In an instant, a Wind Blade struck him directly. As he dodged the attack by the narrowest margin, Jeremiah stepped on yet another formula.
Each time she stepped on the floor as if dancing, attacks poured down relentlessly. There was no gap to close the distance.
Arrows of Mana grazed Dein’s cheek as he passed. Yet his gaze never left Jeremiah.
‘She’s using the formulae as a substitute for casting.’
Jeremiah stepped on the formulae as if she could see, as though she knew their positions from having carved them long ago.
‘Did she know an attacker would come?’
Countless offensive spells lay engraved in the floor. The careful preparation was evident. It was as if she had foreseen that a fight would happen in this place.
In this chamber, no one held the advantage that Jeremiah did. He needed to move the battle outside.
But Dein charged toward Jeremiah instead. If the entire tower could shake like this, it would not be safe to leave.
A Wind Blade grazed him. As he forced his way closer, Jeremiah gathered Mana to protect herself.
But Dein’s target was not Jeremiah.
—Crack-slash!
Slashes were carved across the magic formulae. Dein’s sword, infused with Mana, left deep scars in the stone floor.
As the rock was gouged away, part of the Wind Blade dispersed. Jeremiah’s face went pale.
‘If I could, I would bring down the floor itself.’
That was beyond his reach for now. The stone floor was thicker than he had anticipated. But even this was sufficient.
The sound of scratching stone filled Jeremiah’s ears. The spells scattered like mist, and even the Barrier faded.
“If you simply meet my demands, I have no intention of harming you.”
Dein’s voice came through. Jeremiah clenched her teeth. She was about to step on another formula when—
—Boom!
A deafening crash erupted outside. The children’s screams, and Jenia’s voice shouting from beyond.
“What are you? How are you withstanding my attacks?”
“Brock! Hold tight to Jenia!”
The sealed door shattered, and through the dust, a figure appeared. Standing there was Mia.
At that same moment, a Barrier materialized between Jeremiah and Dein. Mia cried out in a sharp voice.
“Step away from the Prophecy-teller!”
Mia held a book in her hands—a Grimoire inscribed with magical formulae.
Dein froze for a moment. This was the child who could not use Magic. He was certain of it.
Yet the Mana he felt from her now was not that of an ordinary mage. Jeremiah seemed just as startled.
“Mia, where did you even get these spells……?”
As Mia tore a page from the Grimoire, Mana Spheres coalesced above her. She spoke with absolute conviction.
“The Prophecy-teller said I would become the greatest mage of all!”
As the Mana Spheres poured down on Dein, Jeremiah stepped on another formula.
Wind Blades and spears of Mana came in waves. Dein hastily sheltered himself behind a pillar.
But with attacks coming from two directions, he could not remain hidden. Beyond the collapsed wall, he glimpsed Jenia clashing with Brock.
Even bound by Jenia’s Tentacles, he held his ground. Jenia, who fought the bulking Cesare without wavering.
It was as if she were watching the world’s greatest mage and the kingdom’s finest knight all at once. Dein let out a hollow laugh.
‘The Brayu bloodline is formidable indeed. To think she’d use Magic because of a Prophecy.’
Jeremiah’s Prophecy had been false. Yet as Mia believed in her with such intensity, the Prophecy became real.
Seeing Mia’s suddenly haggard face, it seemed a temporary state. But it was threatening enough.
Combat erupted on the stairs as well. Brock, bound by Jenia’s Tentacles, held his ground and cried out.
“The Prophetess will win! I know she will!”
Each time he shouted, Jeremiah’s vital force grew a fraction stronger. It was devastatingly pure faith.
Jenia’s Tentacles trembled slightly. Just as Brock braced himself with straining veins, Jenia’s voice reached him.
“You’re wrong.”
Her voice carried no anger, no despair—only unwavering conviction. Jenia looked directly at him.
“There is no one in this world who can defeat our Master.”
At Jenia’s voice, which held no doubt, no wavering, Brock fell silent.
His disciple believed in her master.
Then the master had no choice but to make that belief real.
Dein burst from beyond the pillar. Sharp Magic grazed him, blood beading on his arm.
The more Brock and Mia grew certain of victory, the stronger they became.
If belief becomes strength, then belief must be shaken.
Crack!
His sword, channeling Mana, tore a long gash across the wall. Even as the Wind Blade shredded his back, he did not hesitate—he swung again.
The solid wall crumbled, and light began pouring in from outside.
Shattering the floor itself was impossible, but a relatively thin wall was entirely within reach.
The wall split open, and the tower began to shake. It was a different scale from the earlier tremor.
Mia and Brock’s expressions began to change. Before their eyes, that sturdy tower was shaking.
Facing Dein, who sought to topple this fortress, they felt only one thing.
Fear in the presence of strength.
Before such overwhelming power, the children’s faith wavered. In that instant, Brock’s body went limp.
Crash!
Jenia bore down on Brock without hesitation. Seeing this, Mia’s face went deathly pale. Jenia smiled bitterly.
“Looks like we’re losing, doesn’t it?”
“N-no……!”
Faith builds slowly, like a tower. A crack of fear is instantaneous.
Toward the hesitating Mia, Dein’s blade flew. The Grimoire shattered into fragments in an instant.
Though the blade had not touched her, Mia sank to the ground. Her face twisted in terror.
“Mia, Br——!”
Jeremiah started to cry out the children’s names, but stopped. Something cold pressed against her neck.
“I would prefer they not see such an unsightly end before your eyes.”
At the same moment, both Brock and Mia lost consciousness. The Backlash came from forcing their strength beyond its limits.
Even with a blade at her throat, Jeremiah had endured. But at the sound of the children falling, she bowed her head.
“……I understand. I’ll do anything—just please, don’t harm the children.”
She withdrew her vital force completely. Over her previously misty expression, thick dread now settled like fog.
Dein knelt on one knee and met her gaze.
“Why did you give a false Prophecy?”
“It was…….”
Jeremiah gripped her own sleeve tightly. After a long silence, she finally spoke.
“I was threatened. They said if I didn’t give a false Prophecy about Balanus, they would kill the children…….”
The image of her insisting she would die rather than retract her Prophecy, her collapsing alongside the children—it overlapped in his mind.
Dein’s voice softened slightly.
“Who are they?”
“I can’t tell you. My life is already forfeit now, and if I reveal their identity too…….”
“I will protect you and the children.”
At those words, Jeremiah’s hand flinched. Dein continued quietly.
“If you provide information about them and give us a true Prophecy in return, please tell us then. If you do so, I will ensure your protection.”
She was only half of what she could be, but she was genuine. There was no more reliable ally to be found. After a moment, the Prophetess spoke.
“……For a long time, I’ve seen a future where people in black clothes come searching for us. I thought they were enemies.”
Her voice was resolute, as if she had known this outcome all along.
“The Night Watch will be on your side.”
Dein marveled inwardly. He had been planning to request aid from the Night Watch—and she had read that.
Having made her decision, Jeremiah settled herself calmly and began to speak.
“One day, someone came to the tower. People who smelled of blood and incense…….”
She steadied her breath and continued.
“They manipulated prophecies about Demon Beasts artificially, and spread false prophecies about Balanus.”
“Do you have any further information about them?”
“I couldn’t see their faces. They only said that they themselves…….”
Jeremiah’s lips pressed together briefly, then parted.
“The Guardians, they called themselves. Guardians who protect the world.”

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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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