My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 90

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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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Cesare’s father wore a gentle face—the kind an father might show his child.
Cesare, by contrast, had gone ashen. His father lowered his gaze and spoke with care.
“Cesare. I’m sorry. I’ve been too hard on you. A Bloodline Manifestation can come a little late sometimes….”
At those words, Cesare groaned. A headache bloomed behind his eyes—the sensation of someone rifling through his mind.
“You were just a child. I shouldn’t have sent you away like that. Come home with me now.”
“…….”
“Come back. To your home.”
The man extended his hand, his face painted with guilt and tenderness.
Cesare flinched, then took a step forward. His green eyes had gone clouded.
He drew closer to the man, who smiled—as one might smile upon seeing a beloved child. Between his parted lips, countless teeth gleamed.
“Yes, my son. Come back to me…….”
—Thud!
In that instant, a hole burst through the man’s chest. Hot blood cascaded forth in torrents.
Cesare’s spear pierced the center of his breast. The man shrieked, reaching toward him desperately.
“Cesare, Cesare……!”
His fingers never reached. Impaled on the spear, he could not close the distance.
Cesare breathed in ragged gasps, his grip on the shaft tightening further.
He stared at the creature wearing his father’s face.
“You should have worn a different face if you wanted to tempt me.”
—Swoosh!
As he wrenched the spear sideways, the scent of rain cut through the air.
When his senses cleared, Cesare stood in the forest. The Kids Eater lay sprawled on the ground, broken.
—Bang!
A gunshot rang out. Cesare turned to see Bella behind him, a gun in her hands.
—Bang, bang!
The Kids Eater fell, blood pouring from multiple wounds. Her crimson eyes too had gone dull.
Bella clutched her head, her lower lip bitten hard enough to bleed.
Cesare placed a hand on her head. His large palm brushed the wet strands from her face.
The touch was rough, yet Bella made no protest. Cesare spoke quietly.
“……Let’s go. To Master.”
“……Okay.”
The two began running along the river once more. They did not ask what the other had seen. They simply ran toward their Master.
* * *
The Kids Eater hauled itself from the river, a child clutched in its grip.
The child, water-logged and unconscious, hung limp in its claws.
They preferred living prey—especially terrified children. The Kids Eater shook the boy roughly.
“Wake up, little one.”
The voice scraped like glass. The child retched water, eyes fluttering open with effort. Then came the scream.
“Ahhhhh! Mama!”
Now the Kids Eater laughed. Mama. The word children cried out most often in the moment before death.
Countless teeth gleamed within its maw. It opened wide to swallow the boy whole.
—Crack!
The creature’s head split clean in two. Dein withdrew his blade, breathing hard.
A light kindled in his mind—a warning. He’d meant to avoid killing if possible, but there had been no time.
“Are you hurt?”
Dein extended his hand to the boy. Water dripped from his fingertips. The child trembled but took his hand.
“I… thank you.”
“You don’t seem badly injured. Have you seen Anais? A blonde woman?”
“I saw her, but we got separated. And I lost consciousness…….”
The Kids Eater did not hunt adults indiscriminately—not unless a child was in tow, or they attacked one of their own kind.
Anais would be safe enough for now. Reuniting with his disciples came first.
“I’ll build a fire for you. Wait here a moment.”
The night was dark, and both of them were soaked. A steep cliff rose along the river, and there were no sheltering trees.
A fire would be necessary. Dein scoured the area for the driest grass he could find.
—Clink…….
The sharp sound of flint striking flint cut through the night. The spark would not catch.
—Clink…….
A spark erupted, then died. Dein struck the flint again.
—Clink.
The sound came, and the world lit up before his eyes.
Not from the fire. Blinding white filled everything. He could see nothing. Not the child either.
An illusion.
Dein set down the flint and drew his sword. He simply stared into the pristine white space.
Though he saw nothing, he felt the presence—a movement tinged with panic.
“Of course. It can’t recreate what isn’t there.”
Dein stepped forward toward the presence.
“How could it conjure parents who never existed? A homeland long lost?”
—Squelch!
His blade found flesh. Bone and sinew pierced. Hot blood spilled across the ground.
At the same instant, fire bloomed in his mind. Two flashes. Two deaths.
As the Kids Eater fell and the illusion shattered, Dein glimpsed the darkness beyond. The campfire flickered weakly.
—Shriiieeeek…….
Multiple voices twisted together—more Kids Eaters. Movement from upstream, movement from downstream.
The Illusion Ability was troublesome, but the creatures themselves were not strong. If he could locate them, he could kill them easily.
But Dein was bound by a Killing Restriction. He could not slay more than three in a single day.
Further combat was impossible. The river offered nothing to use as a raft. He looked at the trembling child.
‘Alone, I could escape easily enough.’
Even more so if he used the child as bait.
Dein seized the child’s hand and dragged him toward the Cliff.
A shallow hollow lay between the rocks. Dein shoved the boy into the crevice and whispered to him.
“Close your eyes. Cover your ears.”
Rough fingers pressed the child’s eyes shut.
“It will be over soon.”
He gripped his sword and turned back. All around in the darkness, countless eyes had begun to gleam.
That murderous gaze did not make him flinch.
There was one reason he did not flee. Not virtue. Not conscience.
His reason had always been the same: his disciples.
He believed they would come. They would come soon.
—Shriiieeeek!
Everything turned white. He stepped back as razor claws whisked past his face.
Invisible attacks came from all sides. He had never longed so fiercely to see the faces of parents he would never know.
‘If I could see the illusion, it would be easier to evade.’
But he could not see it. He could not sever limbs to disable them. Only instinct could guide his dodges.
—Screech!
A strike descended from above. His blade met it. Then sharp pain tore through his back.
“Ugh……!”
Wounds multiplied across Dein’s body. Red blood bloomed against the pristine white.
He could not kill more than three in a day. That was the pact. To break it meant paying with his life.
『Master, I hate it when you die again.』
He gritted his teeth and endured. Though the world remained invisible, the faces that rose before him were clear.
Arkel. Jenia. Hayden…….
And Cesare. Bella. They would come. They had to come. As he dodged attacks with his body soaked in blood.
—Crash!
Hot blood sprayed across his face. The world was still white, but a shout—a cry—pierced through.
“Master!”
His eyes opened to find Cesare. A spear severed, pierced, and tore through the Kids Eater.
He roared like a beast, whirling the weapon with fury burning crimson in his neck.
Only then did Dein collapse. Bella rushed to catch him, pulling him close.
“Master, are you all right?”
…….
“Master?”
Dein lay unconscious. Bella frantically poured a Recovery Potion over his wounds.
But there were too many. His whole body was torn and shredded; his white robes were now only red.
No matter how she called to him, Dein did not wake. Bella had seen this scene before.
In her past life, when her master died in her arms, it looked exactly like this.
“Master.”
The Kids Eaters should be dead. So why did an illusion still seem to cling to her vision?
Her head throbbed. Since moments ago, the headache and the illusions had dulled her thoughts.
Then footsteps sounded. Bella’s head jerked up. Anais stood there.
A healer who wouldn’t heal. I had to persuade her — with information, threats, bluffing, anything.
Bella looked at Anais. Her rose-quartz eyes trembled without end.
“Please save him.”
“…….”
“Please, save my master…….”
She shook like a frightened child. At the sight of her, Anais rushed over in panic. She placed her hand on Dein’s chest. Magical power began to ripple from her fingertips.
With each Incantation she spoke, radiant light enveloped Dein’s body. The wounds began closing rapidly.
Color returned to Dein’s face. Even as Bella continued trembling, a voice reached us.
“I’ll save him.”
When I lifted my head, Anais was looking at Bella. Her gaze was resolute.
“I won’t let you become orphans.”
* * *
The next day. The sky had cleared as if the rain had never fallen. The air drifting through the Village was peaceful.
Beyond the Inn window, my disciples and the villagers came into view.
“Thank you, thank you. Our child is alive because of you……!”
“Take better care of that kid! Our master nearly died because of him.”
I let out a quiet laugh at Cesare’s grumbling. Then Anais, who sat across from me, spoke.
“You’re in good spirits for someone who nearly died.”
“I’m used to it.”
She held my wrist. Warm magical power flowed from Anais, circulating through my body.
It was Healing Magic. It felt as though something inside me was being reconnected, reattached.
Only after examining my body for a long time did Anais release her hand.
“There. All done. I’ve done everything I can. You won’t suddenly collapse from this. For a while, anyway.”
I felt my body, now considerably lighter. So faith begets faith, after all. I glanced at Anais.
“Thank you. I didn’t think you would heal me.”
This morning, Anais had come to the Inn. She said she would tend to the abnormality in my body.
“But you said you wouldn’t heal. Why did you change your mind?”
“You seem like a parent to those children.”
I faced her. Then I recalled that Bella and Anais had the same color eyes.
“Your disciple begged me to save you…….”
My daughter’s portrait had been in black and white. What color were her eyes?
“When I imagined my daughter becoming an orphan, I had no choice but to heal you.”
I couldn’t quite believe that Bella had pleaded. She had always been so coldly composed.
“Actually, your wound yesterday wasn’t truly fatal. That girl was quite frightened. She hides it so well, though.”
“Yes. She must have been terrified.”
It seemed Bella had thought I was dying. But the situation wasn’t as dangerous as all that.
I had simply lost consciousness after seeing my children’s faces, my tension finally breaking. Had it been anyone else, Bella would have known this truth.
She lost her composure only because she had watched me die twice. She was a strong child, yet fragile. And I was the reason for that fragility.
A lifespan extended by even half a year was a mercy. I bowed deeply to Anais.
“Thank you for healing me.”
“Thank your disciples for me.”
Anais stood from her seat. When she opened the Inn room door, Cesare and Bella peeked in.
“Is Master all right?”
“Are you completely healed?”
“It’s not a full cure. I don’t know the root cause. But I’ve given you enough of a temporary remedy.”
My disciples’ expressions softened. Watching their faces go rigid, then relax, Anais laughed.
“Look after your master well. Then he’ll live another year.”
“……What are you saying?”
“Oh? Didn’t I mention it? He’s living on borrowed time. Originally half a year.”
My disciples’ eyes turned toward me. A look of fear I had never seen before.
……This is bad.

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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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