The Baby Bear of the Black Fox Mansion - Chapter 62

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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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Episode 62
Roooaaaar—!
The demon beast shrieked and rose onto its hind legs.
“The belly!”
At the same moment, something glimmered on its belly.
More precisely, it wasn’t the kind of shimmer that appeared on beloved people — it was an odd, dark-tinted sparkle that made something feel wrong.
‘Now comes Purification…….’
But…….
‘How do I purify it?!’
Ahhh!
Miel’s eyes rolled wildly.
‘What do I do? How?’
Miel, who had been stamping her feet, backed away for now.
“Purification…….”
How did purification even work…….
Miel’s voice wavered.
“Run, Miss! Please!”
Nibel Holbard shouted. His own abilities didn’t seem up to the task.
This demon beast was in a different league from those he’d faced before. At minimum, mid-to-high tier.
‘Why on earth is it suddenly appearing here…….’
In the first place, Nibel Holbard was not particularly skilled in combat.
Moreover, his strength had been halved in last night’s attack, and this morning’s sudden assault had left most of his people unable to move.
So the best he could do now was buy time and hope the two people inside the village would exit quickly.
Miel swallowed.
Crash—!
“Ugh—!”
As Nibel Holbard cried out, the increasingly frenzied demon beast rammed him with its head.
“Seems you haven’t learned how to purify yet.”
That was the moment.
A voice came from behind.
“……!”
Sinister and ominous, a low voice that made her hair and fur stand on end.
As if a black mass itself were speaking…….
Miel, who had reflexively started to turn around, froze as an enormous hand settled on her shoulder.
“Hush. Don’t turn around.”
“……Hic.”
“Good. You’re well-behaved. Purification is simple. You need only touch, and wish for it to be purified.”
“Touch, and, purify…?”
Miel stammered.
The voice so close behind her was cool and dark and very low, yet carried no malice.
Which is to say, beneath the terror, it felt almost gentle.
“Yes. The Jewels the Bernier possess are forms of the heart. They manifest in the shape you desire. If you wish to protect something, you’ll be able to.”
“…….”
“Touch and discern. Even monsters have hearts.”
Miel gave a tentative nod.
“Who, are, you…?”
He did not answer.
There may have been a faint laugh.
She felt the man receding behind her. Her fur, which had stood on end, was gradually settling down.
The dark chill was withdrawing.
“If you don’t leave now, you’ll all die.”
That would be an unpleasant development, true enough.
He murmured softly, then vanished.
Miel blinked.
“If you don’t leave now, you’ll all die.”
Miel went rigid.
“What’s dying?”
“……Huh? Yes?”
“Mom and Dad said Miel would go somewhere, and I don’t know what that is.”
“……Oh. Um. It means going very, very far away so you can’t see them anymore. Your body stays here, but the soul inside your body goes on a very long journey.”
And so Miel came to understand what it meant to die when she saw that a butterfly no longer moved.
“Not like this.”
Miel, eyes hardened with resolve, charged toward the Demon Beast that loomed perhaps a hundred times larger than herself.
All she had to do was touch that glimmering thing on its belly, or so she’d been told.
“Miss! What the—!”
Nibel Holbard, noticing Miel a beat too late, gasped in alarm and abandoned his sword, lunging toward the child.
At the same moment.
Squelch—!
“……!”
Razor-sharp claws tore through Nibel Holbard’s abdomen.
“Ah… run……?”
“Escape…….”
Nibel Holbard spoke in a voice barely holding together.
Thud, thud-thud, thud.
Screeeech—!
The Demon Beast loomed inches from Miel’s face, baring its fangs with a growl.
I hate this, I’m so scared…….
“Ah, ah… ahhhhh!!”
It was the moment Miel broke into a child’s wail.
Crack, crack.
Clang—!
The rift in the Stone on Miel’s forehead spread wider and wider until, at last, the Stone shattered.
In the next instant.
Flash—!
A pure white light blazed forth.
The brilliant light that poured from Miel swept outward, engulfing the surroundings and the entire Village.
When the light faded, the Demon Beast was gone.
* * *
Flash—!
Light cascades down. Wave after wave of brilliance crashes across the Village in an instant.
“What the—!”
Zeros Nordic’s eyebrows shot up as he held his ground against the Demon Beast.
He had squeezed his eyes shut against the torrent of light; now, slowly, he opened them.
“……!”
Zeros Nordic’s eyes widened in shock.
Creeeeak—!
The beast’s bulbous head, dented and warped from their battle, twisted at a grotesque angle and was melting away.
And that was hardly all.
Everywhere the light passed, the Toxic Miasma began to dissolve like morning mist.
Zeros Nordic stood motionless, watching the spectacle unfold.
“…What.”
What on earth?
A hollow laugh escaped him.
Half of what he had painstakingly cleared over more than half a day was being completely purified in the time it took to blink twice.
“……Impossible.”
Such potent Toxic Miasma, and somehow it was being dispelled all at once—how?
Thump.
After the light swept through, something fell where the Demon Beast had been.
“……A hand?”
It was a withered, mummified hand.
“What in the blazes is this.”
“…What? Is it over? Zeros?”
Pola Bernier, who had been using Barrier Magic to suppress and contain the beast’s movements, approached with a bewildered expression.
“…But didn’t we agree to capture it alive? I went through all that trouble with you, and now you’re suddenly using Purification like that? What were you thinking?”
“I didn’t do it.”
Zeros Nordic didn’t possess that level of capability to begin with.
Well, technically he could manage it if he tried.
But he’d collapse the moment after and be unable to move for about a week.
“Anyway, it’s finished, right?”
Pola Bernier let out a sigh and asked the question.
“For now.”
No toxic miasma, no demonic energy—nothing at all.
The entire village felt completely purified. It was so clean and pure that there was nowhere to lay a hand on it.
Even if the half-moon bears came back and settled here today, they could live without trouble.
“Let’s head back.”
“Not even a short rest?”
“Our child is waiting.”
Pola froze.
Pola Bernier’s brow furrowed.
It wasn’t a topic he’d raised during the work, not wanting to risk hurting feelings, but now seemed the moment to bring it up.
“I’ve been meaning to ask—why is your nephew *your* child? He belongs to our house.”
“He left home.”
Zeros Nordic answered flatly, scratching inside his ear.
There were many things he wanted to ask, but first he wanted to hold the child in his arms.
‘I’m worried.’
He couldn’t help but wonder whether the boy had managed not to cry, whether he’d been all right alone.
Well, the kid was always spirited enough, but Zeros Nordic knew there was softness beneath that shell.
“So what exactly do you mean by ‘left home’? Junior?”
“Ask Gareth Bernier.”
“Tch. This gives me a headache.”
Pola Bernier swept his hair back with visible irritation.
“Anyway, there’s something I wanted to ask you. Is there anyone in the Bernier line who can see ghosts?”
“……What kind of nonsense is that, Junior?”
“No one? Really? Not your ancestors, or their ancestors, or their ancestors?”
Pola Bernier’s face twisted at Zeros Nordic’s strange question.
Wondering if he was joking, Pola had started to glare at him with annoyance when he hesitated.
Because for all the lightness in his tone, his expression was far more serious than expected.
“I don’t know. I’ve never even heard of such a thing.”
“……I see.”
Zeros Nordic nodded without breaking stride.
“So the Bernier house has no Spiritual Ability?”
“The Spiritual Ability would be in your family, wouldn’t it?”
“……I suppose.”
Though I’m the one who’s closer to it, really.
Zeros Nordic, muttering softly to himself, ran a rough hand through his hair.
Finding answers was proving difficult on many fronts.
“Then do you know anything about the Shadow Realm or Rifts?”
“The Shadow Realm? Rifts? I’m not sure.”
Pola Bernier’s expression crumpled slightly. He had no idea what the man was talking about.
Staring blankly at him, wondering if he’d taken leave of his senses, Zeros Nordic simply rubbed his chin.
“……Hmm.”
Zeros Nordic exhaled a long sigh, scratched his head, and emerged from the village.
“Why is everyone so—”
The people standing watch outside were too quiet.
Pola Bernier and Zeros Nordic looked ahead.
The first thing that caught their eyes was a tent torn to pieces.
And a rusty-smelling red liquid soaking the ground.
Knights collapsed in scattered heaps across the earth.
“Damn it all.”
Zeros Nordic, rarely swearing, cursed and stomped the ground.
“……!”
Pola Bernier’s eyes went wide.
While Zeros Nordic rushed forward, Pola ran toward them and grabbed hold of one knight who seemed to have fallen.
‘His back is intact.’
Which meant he’d been attacked from the front.
He swallowed hard and flipped the man over roughly. He couldn’t even imagine how grotesque it might be.
“……What?”
Pola Bernier stiffened.
He stared down at the soldier.

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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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