Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 278

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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 278

Destruction rushed forth like a tidal wave.
The barrier, crafted from all my strength, trembled.
The light of the magic circle, brilliant as scattered fragments of radiance gathered from beneath the earth, grew dim and then surged back.
It wasn’t yet nightfall. Though the sun’s shadow had reached the horizon, the sky remained luminous. And yet, with each step he took, it was as if someone had severed the world itself and draped night across it.
Everyone gritted their teeth instead of screaming. In the center of it all, the man moved with leisurely ease, as though taking a stroll. It was Raymond’s body—I could tell at a glance. No. That isn’t Raymond.
I should have warned you plainly.
Narrow eyes gazed down at the golden light that stained the earth below.
Yes, this too existed. Absurdly so.
The remnants of Magic Beasts we had killed and erased rose slowly from the void. Soundlessly, shadows and fragments and stains pressed against one another, leaning, swelling, moving with an endlessly ominous cry.
Yes. I understand. Childish attacks like that won’t work. This is an almost-perfected godly form.
Chernobog spoke, seeming puzzled that I alone stood before him on two feet.
You don’t flee? Why?
……
Ah yes, you trust that pitiful Contract of yours. So be it—it will become inconvenient anyway. I won’t kill you. But don’t mistake that for thinking I cannot lay a hand on you, as I do my wretched subordinates.
Step by step.
No matter what preparations were made, his presence here rendered all of it unnecessary.
Behold, mortals. You insignificant things. Night has come, I have come…… He drew near, as if to declare it, and caressed my cheek.
His hand was cold enough to make my skin crawl. So turbid now that those eyes could no longer be called golden.
But I tell you, nothing more will avail.
I heard screaming.
The sound of someone dying. The sound of someone gripping their own throat. And a sensation, silent, as though the ground beneath me crumbled…
The man laughed mockingly before my face. No matter what you’ve prepared, nothing will help. Even if I drove a sword blazing with light into his chest, he only laughed as though teasing a child. The moment I thrust the blade into his chest——
This won’t work.
……
Yes, it doesn’t heal easily.
He could have dodged.
But as though watching an enemy’s final throes, Chernobog simply accepted the blade into his own chest without evasion.
The blade entered slowly, dully, splitting the chest—but not a drop of blood fell. I confirmed this and drew a slow breath. Then I checked the scrap of paper I had hidden in my sleeve.
“You know, Raymond.”
Hmm?
“You’re…really, truly an irresponsible person. It infuriates me.”
The original inhabitant of this body no longer remains, fool.
“When you were so certain I could kill you if I tried hard enough!”
What nonsense have you been spouting since…
A ripple.
Slowly from the ground, granules of luminous dust accumulated. The man’s mouth twisted. His body had grown very slightly heavier, perhaps?
I withdrew a ring from my breast. It was what the High Priest Illian had given me, with an infinitely complicated expression.
‘If you wish to protect the Princess and not destroy the world, then cooperate. At the time, I couldn’t fathom what he meant, and truthfully, even then I wasn’t certain.’
A black ring.
Alberich’s Ring, imbued with the power of darkness.
Six weapons bore the power of gods.
Gloriana’s Veil, imbued with the power of light.
Flambeau’s Wrath, imbued with the power of fire.
Oceanus’ Wave, imbued with the power of water.
Chloris’ Necklace, imbued with the power of wind.
Dagda’s Iron Staff, imbued with the power of earth.
And last, Alberich’s Ring, imbued with the power of darkness, unknown to the world.
A ring no one had ever found.
‘When he asked me to keep this, honestly, I couldn’t have predicted what it meant.’
As though presenting a marriage proposal, I carefully slipped the ring onto the man’s stiff finger. The moment I did, his massive body staggered.
What? No, that’s impossible. How can this—a human soul, such a pitiful human will, how can it push me back—it cannot…
‘It must have been one of the methods Raymond prepared.’
I am a god! How can the will of a human, meaner than a grain of sand, push me aside…! It’s impossible.
His face twisted in desperation, light flickering from it for an instant before flooding back. I understood instinctively. For the briefest moment, Raymond had seized control.
“…Raymond.”
“There’s no time, Titania.”
Raymond tried to grip my blade, still embedded in his chest, but when crackling electricity sparked in something like a rejection, he gave a bitter smile.
His chest, which a moment ago hadn’t bled a single drop, now convulsed as if in pain. Raymond’s face hardened briefly, then he steadied his breath and spoke.
“I cannot hold out long. So.”
The pallid man’s gaze met mine, speaking as though relieved. As though death arriving at his threshold was welcome.
“You must kill me before it’s too late.”
I knew what he would say, yet my chest ached. I fell silent.
……
“Fortunately, it seems you’ve found a way.”
Where had the madness gone from when he’d threatened and kidnapped me days ago? Each time I saw him laugh with relief at this situation, it was as though someone struck my head hard. I opened my mouth with difficulty. This wasn’t the moment for silence.
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry to have you do such a thing.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
……
The man opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it firmly. A tired smile hung like a shadow across his darkened face.
“…I hope you’ll live happily.”
……
“Go to the sea, go to the mountains, whatever. Do as you wish, go where you wish. Now, you won’t have to throw yourself away for the world or sacrifice yourself for others anymore.”
“…Once Chernobog is dead and the world knows peace?”
Raymond laughed. It was a smile clumsy as a child’s, desperately clumsy. Yet his eyes, fixed on me, were infinitely resolute.
……We all entertained the notion that Raymond’s consciousness might return at the final moment. We all did, because he was that relentless. Because honestly, it was difficult for all of us to slay Chernobog completely.
I clenched my teeth and opened a wound in my palm. Then I gripped Raymond’s hand tightly. With a soft crackle, blood seemed to press against his skin. But it lasted only a moment.
There was too little blood.
Startled, I grabbed Raymond’s hand as he tried to pull away, coating his fingertips generously with my blood, and withdrew a scrap of paper from my sleeve. Then I pressed his fingertips firmly against it somewhere on the paper, leaving a print. Raymond’s pupils trembled at the unexpected act.
“What is this?”
“Long ago, my blade joked to me that she is recognized as jointly owned.”
“…Pardon?”
“This blade has an infuriatingly complex sense of ownership. The First Emperor never wielded anything like it. And I’ve even heard rumors that it was originally something about a synthesis of divine and magical beasts.”
A method to kill a god.
The reason not a drop of blood fell from the blade that pierced Raymond’s chest was simple.
The human heart no longer existed—instead, a Mana Stone, packed full of Chernobog’s power, had taken its place.
If I could tear it from his chest, purify the Mana Stone, and destroy it, that would be enough. Purification and destruction were both difficult, but with the people and materials we’d gathered thus far, it might barely be possible.
The method itself was simple, but Raymond’s body and soul had already nearly merged with Chernobog. Shattering Chernobog’s core was tantamount to killing Raymond.
Yes, there was no getting around that.
‘…So if we collected all the Warp Tunnel Demon Core Stones installed in each major city…’
‘Right! Water, fire, earth, wind, light, darkness—any of them works. And at this scale… it should work even against a god.’
If we gathered the power of all elements, could we not accomplish anything? My hypothesis and Bibi’s were similar. So I could have confidence in my plan. Of course, those around me weren’t all convinced at first.
‘…I had saved the Duke before.’
‘But the Duke’s wounds from fighting Magic Beasts and his curse were old…’
‘At least we can use that method. We’ll need to conduct some tests.’
‘But sister, our opponent is a god, and you directly healed Father’s body then. If Raymond’s body is packed full of Demonic Energy, a rejection might occur.’
‘Then help me.’
‘…What if sister dies?’
‘Then so be it.’
A different kind of certainty settled over me.
Because I’m expendable.
Because this is better for the future.
Because this is more efficient.
I’m dispensable.
Until now, I had found such excuses countless times, such reasons for my own expendability.
This time, it wasn’t one of those reasons.
‘I simply cannot bear to watch this damned man throw himself away and disappear before my eyes.’

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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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