The Baby Who Regressed Refuses Childcare - Chapter 167

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you.”

At the mechanically repeated voice, Tian slowly raised one palm.

And with his other hand, he lowered the empty quiver.

The situation assessment proceeded quickly.

‘Is it because of the demon beast’s influence?’

Annellia was not in her right mind.

If she were in her right mind, she wouldn’t point a crossbow at him and say ‘I’ll kill you.’

That wasn’t all.

Her unfocused eyes and the black smoke wrapped around her arms were also ominous.

‘I couldn’t see what happened while dealing with the demon beast.’

Tian quickly surveyed the surroundings.

Not far away, one demon beast lay dead.

The blood from the corpse had flowed along the slope right up to Annellia’s vicinity.

Tian’s brow furrowed.

‘Demon beasts are commonly said to be products of black magic.’

And black magic is established as an evil force that corrupts something.

‘Does touching demon beast blood make one lose reason and become aggressive?’

But he was far too fine for that to be the case.

Just moments ago, he had shot one at close range and a few drops of blood had splattered on his face.

Tian stared at Annellia with wavering eyes.

Just as he was considering various possibilities in his head.

“…Annellia?”

Suddenly, Annellia began approaching Tian.

Her two legs moved as if dragging, not bending her knees at all.

Black smoke rising from her stiffly rigid body.

Seeing the bizarre movements, his mouth naturally closed.

The smoke rising from her small body was exactly the same as what came from the demon beasts they had killed so far.

“…Annellia, calm down.”

When he called her name, Annellia seemed to hesitate for a moment.

But soon she moved again.

Tian looked at the loaded crossbow and slowly lowered his body.

Unfortunately, there was no place around to dive and dodge.

They had deliberately come to an open area to deal with the demon beasts.

‘…Then is there only one method left?’

Even at this moment, Annellia continued approaching Tian.

Then at the very least, he had to remove that dangerous weapon from Annellia’s hands.

If he could quickly roll on the ground and close the distance?

He might be able to avoid the worst situation.

Of course, the chances of success were slim.

A crossbow is a weapon with high lethality at short range.

Completely avoiding the arrow would probably be impossible.

‘But if I take the hit while avoiding vital spots as much as possible.’

He might be able to compromise by only sacrificing an arm or shoulder.

Without even considering the option of using the dagger at his waist, Tian bent his knees.

It was when he prepared to leap like that.

“Kill…”

Annellia’s voice, which had been repeating the same words, became strange.

“…Kill, kill, kill.”

Focus returned to her eyes for a brief moment, then became hazy again.

Tian watched that sight intently with a slight frown.

“Kill, ki… no, I’ll kill… kill…”

No other demon beasts were visible yet, and thick clouds had reached beside the moon.

Tian confirmed that Annellia’s arms were gradually dropping.

So when the clouds covered the moon, he rolled to the right.

As he began running at full speed, the crossbow’s sight followed him.

But the speed was slow.

“Annellia!”

Tian deliberately called Annellia’s name loudly.

More and more focus was returning to her hazy eyes.

The distance between the two narrowed closely, and finally when he could knock the crossbow from her hands.

Before his arm could even reach, the crossbow fell from Annellia’s body on its own.

“Huff, huff…!”

Annellia, who had thrown the crossbow far away herself, stared at Tian with frightened eyes.

“Your Highness! Are you alright?!”

Then she hurriedly approached and checked Tian’s condition.

Both her eyes and voice had returned.

Tian, whose legs had lost strength, sat down on the spot.

He stared at the crossbow lying some distance away.

Black smoke was still rising around the crossbow.

“…It’s black magic.”

When he raised his head, he saw Annellia staring at the crossbow just like him.

Annellia was trembling slightly with a pale face.

“I, I almost really shot Your Highness just now. If it weren’t for Ulgen’s gift…”

“Ulgen’s gift?”

Annellia turned her head.

Then she pointed to a large bag some distance away.

“It’s white powder obtained from the Barkin Tribe. It’s used to purify black magic.”

Annellia hurriedly brought the bag.

When she opened the cap of the water bottle attached to the side, about half the remaining water sloshed.

“I brought it because something felt strange. I mixed some in water and drank it from time to time. But I never thought something like this would really happen…”

Tian’s gaze alternated between the water bottle and Annellia.

The action Annellia had taken moments ago came to mind.

The sight of her shaking off the crossbow by herself, without Tian’s help.

“…Ugh, even though I expected it, that creepy feeling was a first.”

Tian widened his eyes for a moment, then asked.

“What do you mean you expected it?”

Annellia hesitated, then opened her mouth.

“I was originally planning to talk about it after the hunt ended.”

“What kind of story?”

“I was worried Your Highness might become endangered if you knew.”

Tian gestured at the demon beast corpses scattered around.

“It’s dangerous now too.”

Annellia nodded as if agreeing.

“There’s a person named Theo at Abner Academy.”

“I know. That man who came to me wanting to sell artifacts, right? The Mage Tower Lord.”

“That’s right, I first heard about black magic from Theo then, and he said that although it’s a forbidden technique, it’s still possible to cast.”

“…I thought it was a lost sorcery.”

“It is, but it can be cast if there’s corrupted mana.”

Tian nodded, then stopped and closed his mouth.

“It sounds like you’ve tried it?”

Annellia let out a deep sigh.

“Yes, I did it. With Senianna’s hair. I had no choice if I wanted to confirm whether Ulgen’s gift was effective.”

Annellia glanced at Tian.

“Are you going to punish me?”

Tian stood there dumbfounded and unconsciously let out a hollow laugh.

“As if I would.”

The two smiled awkwardly and looked at each other again.

“Anyway, so I learned that dark mages still exist today, and from that perspective, the current situation is…”

A chilly wind swept between them.

“Someone seems to have cast dark magic on my crossbow. To make me kill Your Highness.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Releasing demon beasts into the forest was probably to create chaos, right? As evidence, we got separated from the guards Grandmother assigned to me.”

Annellia’s words were true.

Until the demon beasts appeared, Tian could also sense the presence of Abner knights lurking in the surroundings.

But when the demon beasts appeared, the forest became complete chaos.

Naturally, the knights disappeared too.

It seemed they had lost track of Annellia and Tian while being chased by demon beasts.

In this situation, most of them probably returned to the central outpost.

“While running away, I checked and saw that all the visual orbs installed throughout the forest had gone out. They seem to have been affected by the demon beasts… visual orbs are originally weak to magical wavelengths.”

“Not a single day of peace.”

Annellia patted Tian’s shoulder consolingly.

“So whose doing is all of this?”

Then Tian’s clear gaze turned toward Annellia.

“You predicted every situation. Someone like you couldn’t possibly not know who the mastermind is.”

Annellia rolled her eyes and pressed her lips tightly together.

It was an expression she usually made when troubled.

At her unconcealed reaction, Tian let out a short laugh.

“Is it really that person I’m thinking of?”

“…”

“The person who wants me dead. And who would also want you to be in trouble. The person who has the power to execute all of this.”

“…”

“There’s only one person anyway.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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