The Son-In-Law of the Magician Is a Transcendent Sword Master - Chapter 15
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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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Chapter 15
“Because of you!”
As soon as Markel’s words ended, a red light flashed in the corner of my vision. Black magic. Specifically, it was the manifestation of blood magic.
Swish! A crimson spear blade rushed to pierce through my head in the blink of an eye. I tilted my head to the right to dodge the blood blade. I couldn’t avoid it perfectly. A thin line was drawn along my cheek. However, the fact that I dodged was what mattered.
“You, how, how…!”
Markel’s eyes were filled with bewilderment. It was because he couldn’t believe that a newcomer who had just entered magic could see through his surprise attack.
Certainly, black magic doesn’t follow the typical process of ‘recognition-construction-manifestation’, so there are no warning signs. It could be said to be magic specialized for actual combat to a terrible degree.
However, black magic has a distinctive foul smell.
I had fought black mages dozens of times, hundreds of times. It had only been a month since my regression. My senses hadn’t dulled enough to miss the warning signs of blood magic. Rather, the wound that had just grazed my cheek was sharpening my five senses even more.
“Damn it…!”
Markel twisted his lips and lowered his body. He drew a dagger from his chest, slashed his palm, and sprinkled blood drops into the air.
The blood drops that rose into the sky soon became blood spear blades. Crack crack crack! The blood spear blades rushed toward my neck.
Whoosh.
I grasped the rune character Kenaz and scattered it horizontally.
The instantly scattered flames made the blood spear blades hesitate. Immediately after, I lowered my stance and rushed toward Markel.
I had no sword. But I had my body. I kicked Markel’s shin directly.
“Urgh!”
Markel’s stance instantly crumbled. A vein bulged on Markel’s forehead as he realized he had allowed me a hit.
“You bastard…! How dare…!”
As Markel shook off my body, the crimson spear blades that had stopped in mid-air shot out again.
Clang!
However, those dozens of blades couldn’t even touch a hair on my head.
It was because they helplessly crumbled against an invisible barrier that had surrounded the area at some point.
“Markel.”
A cold yet solemn voice echoed through the room.
Steren von Benheim. The great mage approaching the 7th circle walked out with a dark expression.
“My brother, I was hoping on one hand… that it wasn’t true.”
“…Brother.”
“Even if it wasn’t that, I at least expected you to admit your wrongdoing and beg for your life. I thought you had the minimum awareness as a mage of Benheim.”
Whooom.
Two rune characters appeared in Steren’s palm.
They were rune characters that Renia used to use in my previous life.
“But it was neither.”
“…Kuk.”
“Where did you learn such vile sorcery?”
Rumble rumble rumble.
The room vibrated. When Steren raised his hand, the invisible barrier compressed tightly and pressed against Markel from all directions.
Steren’s magic was crude. No technique, no irregularities. It simply crushed with overwhelming mana density. It wasn’t at a level that could be countered with mere blood magic using blood as a medium.
“Kuheuuk.”
Markel drew out mana to construct and manifest rune magic. However, the difference in their levels was stark.
Although they were using the same rune characters, there was an overwhelming gap in the power contained within them. Markel’s stance crumbled.
Just as Steren’s rune magic was about to crush Markel’s body.
“…Kuhuk, heuuk…”
Markel rolled on the ground pathetically. It was because Steren had withdrawn his magic.
“Markel, this is your last chance. Tell the truth. Who taught you black magic? Who ordered you to kidnap Renia?”
“…Heuuk. At this point… are you trying to persuade me?”
Steren approached the exhausted Markel and lowered his stance.
“My brother, if you surrender now, you might be able to preserve your life. Although you’ll have your dantian destroyed and rot for life in the family’s dungeon, you can at least preserve your one life. Above all, I don’t want to kill you.”
“…Ha, haha. Brother, do you know this?”
Markel glared at Steren with a miserable expression. Then his gaze turned to me, who had been watching the situation.
“I truly hated you, brother. That disgusting appearance of acting superior alone, carrying all the family’s honor on your back.”
“…”
“You were always like that, brother. Trapped in the old title of family head, you couldn’t see real power. You probably won’t know until you die how futile this rotten order you’re trying to protect is.”
“Markel…”
“Actually, talking about last chances at this point is quite pathetic too. That disgusting pity of pretending to be merciful always drives me crazy.”
While Markel was passionately speaking.
‘This is…’
I caught the scent.
The warning sign of blood magic.
Behind Steren, blood drops were floating in the air.
“Lord! It’s dangerous!”
Before my shout even ended, Steren was already casting defensive magic.
However, Markel’s target wasn’t Steren.
It wasn’t me either.
Crack crack crack!
Drops of blood pierced through Markel’s body. Clear self-harm. While Stern hesitated in confusion, the fresh blood flowing from Markel’s body enveloped him.
Before Stern could make a move, Markel’s body turned into a crimson mist. The mist that was Markel disappeared through the magic tower’s window.
‘Blood Mist Transformation.’
This is why blood mages are so troublesome.
Just when you think you’ve almost captured them, they turn their bodies into crimson mist and escape.
“…He escaped.”
Stern let out a small breath and stood up. He gazed beyond the window through which Markel had escaped with a detached attitude.
“Are you alright, Reagan? You have a wound on your cheek.”
“It’s just a scratch.”
“Then that’s fortunate.”
Stern briefly examined the wound on my cheek, then let out a deep sigh.
“Unfortunately, we let him slip away.”
Markel had escaped.
Despite all this commotion, we ultimately failed to capture him.
However…
“Family Head, may I ask you one thing?”
“Speak.”
“Just now, didn’t you let him go on purpose?”
“…”
Stern looked at me. Deep curiosity dwelt in his violet eyes.
“…Why did you think that?”
“It’s hard to believe that an archmage of your caliber couldn’t catch a single black mage. So I can only deduce that you let him go intentionally.”
“…Reagan, your intuition is quite sharp.”
Stern admitted it cleanly.
“As you said, I deliberately didn’t capture Markel and let him go. What do you think the reason was?”
Stern asked with a deep smile.
“…Brotherly affection?”
“Yes. That’s how it would have looked. Markel probably thought so too.”
Stern chuckled softly.
“However, I’m someone who knows how to clearly distinguish between public and private matters.”
Stern raised his left hand.
Throughout the entire battle, Stern had fought with one hand behind his back. I thought it was the leisure typical of the strong, but apparently that wasn’t the case.
What appeared on Stern’s palm was a runic character.
“This is a runic character called Raido (ᚱ). It means vehicle, or one who guides. Before Markel escaped, I carved this runic character onto his body.”
“Don’t tell me… through that runic character…”
“Yes. I can find out where he escaped to, and furthermore, the identities of the black mages cooperating with him. Of course, it will require meticulous planning.”
Stern was a more ruthless person than I had thought.
To him, Markel was already prey. And Stern had left a mark on Markel.
“Now that we’ve driven out the rabbit, it’s time to dig up the rabbit hole.”
Stern intended to not only uncover Markel’s backers, but to capture those backers all at once.
While I was impressed by that ruthlessness, I also understood it. Only someone with this level of cold-bloodedness could serve as the head of a great magic family.
“This time I truly received help, Reagan. Without your tip, I never would have dreamed that my younger brother was a black mage.”
“I too only heard it from the mage who gave me the pendant.”
“Yes. For that reason as well, there are several things I must confirm with you.”
I could easily anticipate Stern’s next words.
“Did the mage who gave you the pendant point out anyone else besides my brother?”
Black mages are like cockroaches.
If you see one, there are inevitably other bugs connected to it nearby.
Now that the tip about Markel being a black mage had proven true, Stern intended to use me to root out the spies within the family.
In fact, there were several people hiding within Benheim who were in league with black mages. If we could weed them all out, we would certainly be able to secure an advantageous position in the war against the Archmage King.
“Yes. The mage who gave me the pendant told me the names of the family’s collaborators one by one.”
There was no reason not to cooperate.
While it might draw attention in the short term, it was a definite benefit in the long term.
Especially if I could gain the trust of an archmage positioned at the very pinnacle among the continent’s mages, it would become a decisive foundation for thwarting the Archmage King’s underground operations in the future.
Having made my decision, I spoke calmly.
“Among the black mages were branch family mages, magic tower researchers, and even among Benheim’s elders…”
“Wait.”
As soon as the word “elders” came out, Stern raised his hand.
The next moment, an intense torrent of mana swept around me. It was magic cast by Stern. Before I knew it, an invisible barrier made of mana surrounded the entire separate residence.
“Speak quietly. There are many watching eyes here.”
“I’ll be careful.”
Our conversation would no longer leak outside.
A complex spell formation composed of four or more runic characters.
If runes were words, then the spell formations they created were sentences. What I was seeing now was the pinnacle of Benheim’s unique magic system.
However, with my current abilities, I couldn’t even begin to fathom that level. It must be magic that only Stern, who had reached the realm of archmage, could use.
“Returning to the story, is it truly fact that there are collaborators among the family’s elders?”
“Absolutely certain. The unnamed mage even recited their names and the complete list in detail.”
“…I see. Understood.”
Stern nodded, not hiding his deep fatigue.
“Don’t reveal specifically who the collaborators are yet. Now is not the time. I plan to devise a separate strategy to catch them after we capture Markel.”
“You’re trying to catch both rabbits.”
“It’ll be dozens of rabbits.”
Agreeing with my words, Stern continued.
“I’ll devise a plan to root out the spies and strike them all at once soon. Come find me again when that time comes.”
Stern’s expression had turned cold.
He seemed quite shocked by the fact that even the Council of Elders, the core responsible for the family’s history and traditions, had been touched by the black mages’ influence.
“Ah, and.”
Before leaving the separate residence, Stern spoke.
“I should give you a reward for this matter. I’ll have my attendant send it up.”
“Thank you.”
“No need for thanks. It’s compensation you rightfully deserve.”
With those words, Stern departed suddenly.
“Well, he’ll handle things well on his own.”
In any case, the fact that Markel was a black mage had been revealed. As Renia said, Benheim would no longer be helplessly victimized by the Archmage King’s rampage.
Leaving Benheim’s complicated affairs to Stern.
The most urgent matter for me now was training.
The goal I had set to reach the 3rd tier within a month.
That deadline was approaching right before my eyes.
“…Shall I get started?”
Having created a mana core, surpassing the wall of the 3rd tier wasn’t difficult.
Just as I was about to return to the separate residence to practice magic.
“Lord Reagan, this is an item sent by the family head.”
Sheril came to find me. She held out a long box to me with a half-believing expression.
Without much expectation, I checked the contents and let out a hollow laugh.
“Father-in-law is quite generous.”
Inside the long box was a luxurious glass bottle, and within it, a golden transparent liquid swayed gently.
It didn’t take long to recognize what it was. What was contained in the glass bottle was an extremely pure mana essence, as if the primordial life force had been concentrated.
“Elixir.”
Among artificial elixirs, it belonged to the highest tier—an elixir whose very name commanded its price.
None other than an elixir was before my eyes.
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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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