The Baby Who Regressed Refuses Childcare - Chapter 192

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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’m getting a bit scared right now, my disciple… Is this really right?”

Corrupted mana and regular mana fundamentally reject each other.

But what would happen if you forcibly tried to put them together?

Owen and I already knew the answer.

It was because of the various experiments we had consistently conducted since starting our dark magic research.

“Master. You remember the magic stone experiment we did with Senianna’s hair, right?”

“Of course I remember! That’s exactly why I’m worried about you right now!”

Forcibly pushing dark magic extracted from Senianna’s hair into a regular magic stone.

The result was always the same.

The magic stone with corrupted mana forcibly pushed into it was always destroyed.

Not just completely broken, but turned into fine powder.

Not only that, but magical tools and magic formulas were the same.

The moment two different types of mana flowed through the circuits, whatever it was became disabled.

And with a tremendous explosion too.

“Are you made of steel or something? Are you absolutely sure nothing hurts?”

That was exactly what Owen was worried about.

According to theory, I shouldn’t be fine while harboring two types of mana simultaneously.

I wasn’t even a hard magic stone or a magical tool made of steel.

I was a person with the body of a ten-year-old child.

Naturally, Owen couldn’t find an answer to this phenomenon.

But I was different.

I had my own conviction.

‘Part of my body is Michaeliann, and another part is Crookiatus.’

It wasn’t too strange that I could endure containing two types of mana simultaneously.

And one more thing.

“Master. I don’t know how this will sound… but when I stay still, I can feel it.”

“Feel what?”

“I can feel something constantly colliding near my heart. Like flames of different colors rippling inside a single glass bottle.”

This strange feeling became clearer the more I concentrated.

Later, it seemed like I could actually see two forces playing tug-of-war right before my eyes.

Then I naturally understood.

‘The two forces are maintaining a delicate balance inside me.’

Neither adding nor subtracting even a little from each other.

Swaying with the most minute differences.

Then what would happen if this balance was broken?

I was curious, but I couldn’t experiment with my own body.

I was scared, but more than that, I simply didn’t have time.

Theo was preparing for self-destruction, and Isabel was trapped in the Magic Tower as Crookiatus’s hostage.

Moreover, now that Philomena had taken the blame for everything, Empress Karin was also a big problem.

‘Karin must have Crookiatus’s scale.’

However, for some reason she had used up all the mana contained in the scale, and as a result had no choice but to sacrifice Philomena, who had been her closest aide.

But no one knew when or how Karin would refill that scale.

I was particularly curious about the ‘contract’ that Crookiatus had made with the Hunt Lineage.

What if it wasn’t a one-time thing?

Empress Karin would restart dark magic with Crookiatus’s power at any time.

Then things would become twice, no, several times more complicated.

I realized this while preparing for the Blessing Festival hunt.

That Empress Karin was becoming increasingly bold.

‘Right now the target is the Emperor, but next it could be anyone. Tian, or me, or maybe all of Abner or the Dowager Empress…’

So absolutely.

I had to do something before Empress Karin finished preparing for her comeback.

And, lastly.

What Lasandra had said bothered me.

[Don’t think too complicated.]

Lasandra was quite arrogant, but she wasn’t someone who said useless things.

[When you go back, do what you want to do first!]

[What you need to do first. Think about the emotions you’re feeling now.]

But her last words were somehow strange.

‘Focus on emotions? When is there a moment that requires excluding emotions more than the situation I’m in now.’

Being emotional doesn’t change the situation.

If anything, it might cloud judgment and ruin things.

Then the answer came quickly.

‘…Those weren’t just casual words. They weren’t words thrown out as comfort or encouragement.’

Lasandra was extremely clever, and now she was someone dwelling in the realm of gods.

If such a person earnestly urged me in those precious final moments.

‘She has a picture she’s drawn.’

For that, I needed to make intuitive decisions without hesitation.

‘Then let’s do this. Just act as things come to mind, as suspicions arise.’

That was the plan I had made.

Gritty sand crunched in my mouth.

“Explosion… So if the balance between dark magic and mana breaks, an explosion occurs.”

Theo’s eyes wavered.

“Crookiatus tried to make me attack. To break the tense balance in my vessel.”

An ordinary person wouldn’t understand what I was talking about at all.

But Theo seemed to understand everything I was saying.

“Master, Owen worried that I might get hurt if the balance broke, but…”

I somehow felt that wouldn’t be the case.

If Owen’s worry was right, I should have been hurt the moment the vessel in my body opened.

But I was fine.

What was more surprising was that my body was automatically making minute adjustments to the amounts of mana and dark magic.

As a result, it even achieved a tense internal balance on its own.

“Something, I felt like I could somehow deflect Crookiatus’s attack…”

When I said that much, my heart pounded.

After saying it out loud, I realized how incredibly reckless everything was.

“So I just, Lady Isabel is captured too… I’m afraid Lady Isabel might die, so.”

As I rambled incoherently, I tasted salt between my lips.

Without realizing it, tears were flowing down my cheeks.

“Is Lady Isabel… okay?”

Moisture gradually welled up in Theo’s eyes too.

He nodded slightly instead of answering.

“…It’s okay. They just fainted for a moment.”

“Sob, ugh, what about Grandmother? What about Uncle Wendel?”

“Both of them are fine too. They’ll need treatment, but.”

I pressed my lips tightly together.

After wiping my cheeks, I stared at Theo.

“Theo, we need to finish off Crookiatus now. Since I can operate magic power without magic stones now, if I attack with the formula I memorized….”

“No. We need to get out of here right now.”

But Theo, who answered firmly, suddenly lifted me up without warning.

“What….”

I widened my eyes but then closed my mouth.

Over Theo’s shoulder.

Something strange was visible.

Dirt and stones piled up from the collapsed wall.

Something long and black was rapidly spreading across that gently curved area.

What had been one at first split into two, then into three, then four.

What was spreading like a spider web, no, like a fine net, was unmistakably blood vessels.

Thump- Thump-

Then a sound that hadn’t been audible until just moments ago began to be heard.

“…Theo. Wh-what is this?”

I asked, but instead of answering, Theo walked quickly.

In the opposite direction from where Crookiatus had fallen.

I looked around the surroundings where the smoke was completely settling with terrified eyes.

It wasn’t just the debris from the walls piled on the floor.

On the cracked ceiling too, and on the walls that hadn’t collapsed and maintained their form.

Even on the floor we were currently stepping on.

“…That guy is an evil dragon. He may have lost his power, but he’s still a god.”

I barely managed to draw in a breath.

Behind me, Crookiatus, who had been dying with half his body melted away, had already disappeared.

Instead, something massive that had taken his place was beating rhythmically.

It was grotesque, but it was definitely a heart.

“Soon the entire Magic Tower will become the Nest of the Evil Dragon.”

Theo opened an interdimensional space in the air with a light gesture.

Then a familiar face appeared from within the interdimensional space.

“Brother! Please come over quickly! What happened to you? This is nest transformation, right? No, why is it so fast?”

Rico, and the unnamed mages behind him.

Several of them jumped down toward us and supported the fallen Wendel and Grandmother.

Thump- Thump- Thump-

The sound of the heart grew stronger from behind.

Theo jumped into the interdimensional space without hesitation.

Then the mages carrying Grandmother and Wendel followed behind us.

When the door closed, Rico reported.

“I’ve roughly evacuated everyone for now. But the paths leading to the upper floors are rapidly being blocked….”

Theo answered calmly while holding Lady Isabel and me.

“You calculated it before. Go there.”

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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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