The Unfilial Heir Who Tries to Kill Me Tempts Me - Chapter 71

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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 71.

I had seen the dungeons beneath both the Imperial Castle and Archduke’s Castle, but I could say without hesitation that the basement of the temple was far more sinister than either of those two prisons combined.
Without a single window, it was pitch dark, and a foul stench hung thick in the air. From somewhere, the sound of wind echoed like an animal’s cry.
This place is genuinely unsettling.
I wouldn’t have made it two steps without the Mana Orb.
“If you told me this was a demon’s den rather than a temple basement, I’d believe you.”
Galkkamaragi’s tone had grown sharper. But this time, even I had to agree.
“Exactly. Shouldn’t a temple basement at least be kept clean, on a basic humanitarian level?”
Even if it was a prison cell.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
The sound of water falling rang out in a way that made my skin crawl. I shivered without thinking, and Kaius let out a soft chuckle.
“You use Black Magic, and yet something like this frightens you?”
“Just because I can use Black Magic doesn’t mean I’m fearless. Besides, this has nothing to do with magic at all.”
“I see.”
Kaius murmured something between a scoff and acknowledgment, then reached for my hand and pressed it against his robe, walking ahead of me.
That bastard’s becoming carefree like a Knight after all.
I didn’t protest. I simply pressed close behind him, hunching my shoulders as we moved forward.
After passing through a long corridor, the detention cells finally came into view. Without hesitation, both Kaius and I stopped in our tracks.
“Grrrrgh, uhhhhhhh….”
My ears registered the sound before my eyes could process it. A cry that was neither human nor beast echoed nearby. Behind bars stretching wide on both sides were countless figures trapped in cells.
Or rather—things that had once been people.
Their skin had turned black, their joints twisted at grotesque angles, the whites of their eyes flooded with crimson as they drooled blood-tinged saliva. They were Mutants.
“…The temple has been hiding something quite remarkable down here.”
“I doubt it was intentional.”
They had no choice but to hide it.
All around us, Black Mana Resonance thrummed and pulsed. The source emanated from around the Mutants’ hearts. Hundreds of Black Mana Crystals were embedded deep within their bodies.
But how?
How could Galkkamaragi have possibly implanted Black Mana Crystals into so many people’s bodies?
That was when it happened.
“RRRRAAAGHHH!”
A Mutant nearby suddenly lunged toward us, clawing through the bars with frenzied motions. At that signal, every Mutant in the detention cells erupted in ear-splitting shrieks and hurled themselves against the bars, desperate to attack.
Kaius wrapped himself protectively around me and stepped back.
“Now I understand why they couldn’t simply be released.”
“There’d be no guarantee they would die even if dumped in the Border Territory.”
“Indeed.”
But soon, they would be abandoned nonetheless.
It was impossible to dispose of dozens of people trapped in here without a trace. They would need to sacrifice the entire temple building and burn everything down wholesale.
In practical terms, all Alhabah Temple could do was dump them in the most barren reaches of the Border Territory and hope they never returned.
In the original story, these abandoned Mutants had attacked civilian settlements, killing dozens of people.
I pulled out the Recording Stone and filmed the interior of the detention cells. Then I handed it over to Kaius.
As I stepped forward, he gave me a disapproving look.
“Are these really worth keeping alive?”
“Isn’t it better than releasing them all to the border or detonating Alhabah Temple?”
They would all be transferred to the Magic Tower’s basement. For now, Elion was keeping them secure, and once the Mutation Regeneration Medicine sample was complete, they would serve as test subjects.
“Please step back.”
I used Black Magic to draw a Magic Circle on the ceiling. Then, using the coordinates Elion had given me, I began transferring them.
The eerie shrieks that had filled the basement detention cells fell silent.
“Ugh, dizzy.”
Wow, this isn’t something to take lightly.
Teleporting this many Mutants at once was far more taxing than I’d expected.
Why does using Black Magic feel so draining? Has my body not adapted to it yet?
As I swayed with dry heaves, Kaius caught me effortlessly in his arms.
“Want me to hold you?”
“I’ll pass.”
I leaned against him for a moment, catching my breath, then turned away and made my way back up from the basement.
But the moment we reached the surface, we found ourselves facing a crisis.
“Who’s there?”
“Ugh.”
We’d been spotted.
A priest who’d been patrolling with a lantern from far off caught sight of us and came rushing over in a panic.
“Intruders! There are intruders!”
The priest’s voice rang through the corridor. Almost at once, the confused thunder of Knights’ footsteps echoed toward us.
No wonder things had been going so smoothly.
“Can we get out of here?”
“I just used such large-scale Magic that it’ll take about five minutes for Teleportation Magic to work on both of us. The aftereffects of the Black Mana are more severe than I expected.”
“Then we’ll smash through the wall and leave.”
“Are you insane?!”
This man was going to solve everything by brute force again.
“We’re in the middle of the Temple. It’ll take forever to reach outside by breaking walls. Besides, there could be people on the other side.”
“Does it matter?”
“It matters.”
“This won’t work, that won’t work—then what do you suggest?”
“Just wait a moment. If you’ll only wait, the Teleportation Magic will—”
Before I could finish speaking, Kaius draped his Robe over my shoulders and pulled the hood down to my chin.
“Your Grace?”
“Hiding your identity will be easier this way. I’ll draw their attention while you slip away.”
“Pardon?”
“Do I need to say it twice?”
“What about you, Your Grace?”
“I promise—I’ll keep bloodshed to a minimum.”
That promise only made me more uneasy.
But before I could answer, Kaius spun me around and shoved me forward. Then he took off running in the opposite direction with heavy, deliberate footfalls.
“That way!”
“Block the intruder!”
Dozens of Knights rushed toward where Kaius had disappeared.
I was suddenly alone.
Fine. Whatever.
I squeezed my eyes shut and was about to round the corner and escape.
“Got you, intruder!”
“Ugh.”
What? He’d been hiding there the whole time?
A Holy Knight’s hand seized me by the scruff from behind, and I desperately clutched at the hood. With no Magic active, even a single strand of hair showing would’ve been catastrophic.
“Show your face at once—ack.”
A short gasp, sudden and sharp, and the hand gripping my nape went slack.
What?
What was that?
What just happened?
I instinctively started to turn around, but someone grabbed me from behind and pulled me close. A large hand clamped down over the hood, cutting off my vision entirely.
“Kaius—”
“Shh.”
It wasn’t Kaius’s voice.
The moment I registered something was wrong, a faint vertigo seized me, and then night air suddenly brushed my cheek. The scent of grass drifted near.
I realized in that instant that I’d slipped out of the Temple corridor.
“I told you you’d get hurt.”
A gentle yet strange voice spoke from close by.
It was unfamiliar, yet somehow known.
I could dimly guess who the voice belonged to.
…Bill?
“Even when I offer kindness, you refuse to listen….”
An exhalation that might have been a sigh or a laugh spilled out. A shallow breath settled at the nape of my neck, and goosebumps rose. My other senses had sharpened twofold, perhaps because my sight was blocked.
“This kindness is my final gift to you.”
……
“Until we meet again, Sister.”
The hand over my eyes released its grip, and the distinct warmth behind me vanished.
I yanked off the hood and spun around, only to find the quiet Temple Garden bathed in darkness before me.
A soft whistle faded into the night.
A desolate wind swept through.

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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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