The Baby Who Regressed Refuses Childcare - Chapter 180

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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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“Damn it….”

As soon as he emerged from Crookiatus’ Nest, Theo collapsed onto the ground with a thud.

The words that Crookiatus had hammered into his mind flashed through his thoughts.

[You must kill Isabel Abner. It won’t be easy. Even though she’s still an unripened child, Isabel Abner is also a Michaeliann.]

The current Crookiatus was weak and incomplete.

The reason was the two seals he had endured.

The first seal was created by the Twelve Absolute Beings of the Divine Realm.

But before long, Crookiatus had broken through that seal.

By drawing all the magical power of the Underworld to himself.

However, he couldn’t succeed in his plan to become the god of the Human Realm.

It was because of the mage Lasandra who suddenly appeared.

[…She was a terrible human. A woman who knew spells that could destroy the order of the world.]

When Crookiatus absorbed the magical power of the Underworld and broke the seal.

All the mages and scholars in the Underworld lost their power.

This was because Crookiatus had stolen their magical power and completely destroyed even the magical vessels inherent in human bodies.

But Lasandra was different.

[Originally, humans whose vessels are destroyed can never contain magical power in their bodies again. That was exactly what I was aiming for. However, Lasandra knew how to regenerate destroyed vessels.]

Lasandra turned this method into a spell.

And carved it into her own body.

[A human whose body constantly springs forth clean, high-purity magical power!]

Lasandra thus succeeded in sealing Crookiatus.

She trapped all the magical power she had reclaimed from the evil dragon in her own body.

And then, she ended her life just like that.

[It took a very, very long time just for my body to regain its form.]

Crookiatus remained sealed for eons even after Lasandra’s death.

Fortunately, his body, which had been on the verge of extinction, was slowly regenerating.

[Though I’m now banished, I was once an Absolute Being. But Lasandra, despite being omnipotent, was ultimately human.]

Lasandra’s seal naturally disappeared a few hundred years after her death.

Freed, Crookiatus burned with hatred and vengeance.

But his target for revenge was already dead, and he was infinitely weak.

[At that time, I was barely maintaining just my shell. I could feel magical power regenerating inside my body, but it was very faint.]

He had to hide like a wild beast.

Even humans, whom he could once kill instantly with a single glance, were a great threat at that time.

[I thought for a long time. How could I, just how could I….]

Thus, the decision Crookiatus made was unexpected.

[I decided to make a contract with one curious human. In exchange for lending my power, I would receive compensation.]

Crookiatus contained his regenerated magical power in a single scale and gave it to the human.

And from that human, he received an army.

[It wasn’t a strong army, but it didn’t matter. It was sufficient to lay the foundation for the Magic Tower, where we are now.]

He settled on Debokio Island with the army.

Thus, a Magic Tower was built above ground.

And underground, a Dragon Nest was constructed to quickly aid Crookiatus’ recovery.

[The amusing thing is, by that time, there were almost no humans left who could handle magic.]

From when Crookiatus was sealed by Lasandra.

To when he was freed and built the Magic Tower took a full thousand years.

During that time, humans quickly adapted to a world where magic had disappeared.

All ancient magical knowledge vanished, and the once brilliant development of magical studies sank into history.

Moreover, for some reason, humans remembered Lasandra as a villain.

Though it was the evil dragon who first stole magical power from humans, it seemed this way because Lasandra was the one who possessed that power in the end.

[So I decided to start over very slowly, from the very basics.]

Another source of magical power, the earth.

Mysterious minerals that rarely emerged from that earth, magic stones.

The magical power contained in magic stones was minimal, but it could operate simple spells and magical tools.

When he revealed this to the world and began operating the Magic Tower, humans quickly flocked to it.

[It was perfect! What I needed was humans anyway.]

Crookiatus created several puppets with the help of magic stones and humans, commanding the Magic Tower without revealing himself.

While directing the Magic Tower through them, his main body regularly entered hibernation in the Nest to accumulate power.

Fifteen years later.

He headed somewhere with his army, now much larger than before, his scale-covered face hidden.

It was Operatum Gorge, where the Michaeliann Bloodline lived together.

[At first, it was simple revenge. I only thought of completely wiping out the lineage of Lasandra who made me like this.]

On the night the massacre occurred.

Crookiatus found another reason to smile.

The first was the sense of achievement from finally exterminating all of Lasandra’s descendants.

The second was,

[The speed at which my power returned began to accelerate! The power I thought I’d never regain!]

But things went wrong in an instant.

“Theo…?”

As the brief summer was ending, under the high blue sky.

Theo, who had returned, quietly looked at Isabel.

At Isabel’s feet lay a fallen herb basket scattered on the ground.

“Isabel.”

Isabel, who had been frozen, slowly turned her body around.

And asked in a voice that was barely audible.

“What is it?”

Theo silently lowered his gaze.

And only after a long while did he speak.

“I’m sorry.”

That was all he could say.

He had first come to the Abner household while hiding another purpose.

He had faced Sharon Abner as if nothing was wrong, and shamelessly grew close to Isabel.

However, all of this couldn’t even be considered bad compared to what he had done last.

Feeling emotions toward Isabel that he should never have felt.

And because of that, allowing Isabel to feel such emotions toward him as well.

“There’s something I haven’t been able to tell you all this time.”

“…”

“I came here today to tell you that.”

Theo had come to this palace last autumn.

And he had spent Abner’s winter together with Isabel.

Though it was a place where snow piled up to the thighs and the wind was sharp enough to cut one’s nose, Theo wasn’t cold.

Rather, he was so warm it was hot, to the point where he felt heated all day long.

Theo gazed at Isabel while feeling the pulse beating in his throat.

The snow melted, and the muddy ground dried up nicely.

He had left Isabel around the time new sprouts broke through the soil, but nothing had changed.

Now he had to make a decision.

“It seems I desire you far too much.”

Isabel’s eyes widened slightly.

Not that he liked her, not that he loved her.

But that he desired her.

At his own words that sounded foolish even to himself, Theo furrowed his brow.

But there was no taking back words already spoken.

“I’ve never once desired anything in my entire life. So I was inexperienced.”

“Theo. What on earth are you saying right now…!”

Isabel had a slightly angry expression.

Seeing her furrowed brow and stiff lips, he felt both fear and tension simultaneously.

Was this the right choice?

Was telling everything truthfully really the right thing to do?

Wouldn’t he end up losing Isabel because of this damned choice?

“Keep talking. I’m listening, aren’t I?”

Then Isabel spoke lowly as if reminding him of her presence.

Theo blinked a couple of times, feeling cold sweat forming on his forehead.

And finally steeled his heart once more.

As he took a short breath, small black scales appeared on his invisible nape.

After that, something unexpected unfolded before Isabel’s eyes.

[That was exactly the fact I had been overlooking! The power that Lasandra stole was being passed down through that bloodline!]

At that chilling scene, Isabel’s mouth slowly fell open.

[But then I saw another contradiction. I definitely killed every single Michaeliann without exception. So why wasn’t my power returning completely?]

Isabel slowly turned her gaze toward Theo.

Because she realized that it was Theo who was showing her this bizarre scene.

[But I finally realized. The fact that one young Michaeliann had hidden under the altar and escaped. Not only that, but it even bore a child. It disgustingly even gave it the name Isabel.]

Crookiatus burst into chilling laughter.

[Theo, my son. I think I finally understand your usefulness.]

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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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