The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 158

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

Chapter 158
“Leviathan!”
Blood erupted from Second’s mouth with a wet splatter.
As the Mage King poured his mana forth in a frenzy, his body could no longer withstand the torrent.
A sinister surge of mana rose skyward. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
Something tore from the ground, followed by a deafening boom and a piercing shriek that split the ears.
Kuuuuung!
With the sound of power exploding, withered leaves spiraled upward in a violent vortex.
Mother curled her body around me, shielding me from the chaos.
The grip in my two fists, which I had been clenching desperately, finally went slack.
The mana that had pricked my skin vanished without a trace.
* * *
Kuuuuung!
At the tremendous sound, Kalid’s head snapped up. His body moved of its own accord.
“Kalid!”
Licht, leading the Imperial Palace Knights to guard the perimeter, moved to block him.
“Move.”
“Calm yourself! There are still demonic beasts—where do you think you’re going right now!”
I had lost contact with Rubian.
I had been frantically running through the Academy when I saw demonic beasts erupting from the ground.
It was coming from the direction of the Library.
Children who had been treasure hunting scattered in panic, and Kalid, pushing through the chaos, encountered Licht and the Imperial Palace Knights.
“Move!”
Just as I was about to unfasten the bracelet I had been gripping anxiously.
Kraaaaaah!
A demonic beast appeared above my head, slashing its claws downward.
“Kyaaaah!”
Children taking shelter nearby screamed.
“Your Highness, take cover!”
The Knights moved to shield him, but it seemed it would be too late.
In that moment, the pale violet barrier stone hanging from Kalid’s sword sheath floated upward.
“It’s not as powerful as a magical artifact, but since it’s an activated magic stone, it should help like a shield in an emergency!”
‘…Damn it…’
Kalid gritted his teeth.
With the feeling of coughing up blood, I was about to tear off the barrier stone ornament and throw it toward the terrified children nearby.
A heavy greatsword suddenly flew from somewhere.
Thwang. The greatsword severed one of the demonic beast’s arms and embedded itself in the ground. The creature rolled across the floor with a piercing shriek.
“Kaaaaaal!”
“Grandfather…”
“You there, what are you doing in this dangerous place! And the Crown Prince too?”
Ballock came rushing in haphazardly, his fury directed squarely at the Knights.
“You blockheaded idiots! Are your brains made of lead? Should I cut them out for you? Get the children to safety this instant!”
The air split with a sharp crack, and the Knights flinched backward.
“Y-yes, sir!”
“Kalid, come here!”
At the sound of Grandfather’s rough voice calling him, Kalid hesitated and shook his head.
“Rubian is over there, and I just heard a loud noise. I should really go check on—”
I tried to move the Squirrel, but the demonic beast’s presence made even that futile.
In truth, it wasn’t the demonic beast’s mana that troubled me most—it was this oppressive, nauseating mana that overwhelmed my entire being.
I had never met the Mage King directly, but I could sense it instinctively. This was the mana of the Mage King himself, or a Mage wielding power comparable to his.
‘Could it be that Rubian…?’
An unwelcome thought crept in.
‘Did she seal the circuit to hide my existence? And prevent me from forcing it open?’
Kalid clenched his teeth hard.
“Move aside—”
“You stubborn brat, get your head on straight!”
Thud.
A thick hand came down hard on my head.
“Leviathan went to Rubian! I’m here, and there are plenty of capable Knights besides—what’s the problem?”
“But—”
“Enough! You’re just a kid—go curl up in a corner and cry your eyes out! And besides—”
Screech.
At that moment, the demonic beast rolling across the floor spread its wings and took flight. Behind Ballock, the creature’s gaping maw opened wide. Kalid quickly gripped his sword and shouted urgently.
“Grandfather!”
“I’ve got—”
A deep resonance. Grandfather’s great sword cleaved through the air, and the demonic beast’s body flipped backward.
A moment too late, crimson blood rained down like a downpour.
“I told you to call me Grandfather!”
The blood-soaked old man roared with a chilling expression.
“You insolent little brat!”
…
He truly resembled a demonic beast.
* * *
“Kuh—ack!”
A fountain of blood erupted from the Mage King’s mouth.
“Father!”
The Mage King’s ‘children’ rushed toward him.
“My mana…”
His lips split grotesquely. In an instant, his face had withered like a desiccated tree, drained of all vitality.
“My mana…”
The Mage King lifted his trembling hands.
He had poured far too much mana into Second’s body.
Yet because of that, the flesh should have been formidable. But against Leviathan’s blade, it fell in a single stroke.
Second died pathetically, pierced through the stigma. His power crumbled even more pathetically than that.
“Leviathan…!”
Mana laid bare on the ground.
It was a catastrophic loss—fatal enough to damage the Core itself.
“Aaaahhhhh!”
“This is dangerous, Your Majesty! Please, recover your strength at once…!”
Eyes with burst blood vessels darted frantically around the surroundings.
Somehow, they were now in the Royal Palace.
“The magic circle… where is my magic circle…!”
“The Babylon forces launched a surprise attack on the ruins. We were forced to use a portal and fled to the Kingdom.”
“Babylon forces… a surprise attack?”
“It appears the Emperor of Babylon moved in secret. For now, please focus on recovery. We will gradually infiltrate the ruins and restore it piece by piece!”
How much time would that actually take?
“Ah, ah… damn it all…!”
He had obtained nothing.
Instead, everything had been stolen from him!
The man collapsed, spewing blood profusely.
First, who had been attending to the Mage King, straightened his posture and issued commands to those around him.
“Attend to Father and summon the elders.”
“Yes.”
“Activate all the Kingdom’s barriers… seal the entrances. Prepare for invasion.”
With the Mage King unable to regain consciousness, this was the best course of action.
They decided to enter a retreat of indefinite duration. Or perhaps to wait for an opportunity to strike back someday.
“What should we do about Second and Seventh?”
“Father has become like this. Second is surely dead. As for Seventh…”
First turned around with an expressionless face.
Attendants dragged the limp body of the Mage King into a deep, cavernous inner chamber like a black abyss.
“For now, there is no other way. Father’s recovery comes first.”
The door to Arcadia closed with a heavy thud.
* * *
“Hmm.”
The Emperor surveyed the half-destroyed Academy at length.
“Can we leave it as is…?”
“Pardon? Leave what?”
“Emperor…?”
“Yes…?”
“Haha. I was only joking.”
“…This is the moment to say you were joking.”
“Alas.”
Deep wrinkles etched themselves across the Emperor’s brow.
Odeli Principal and the other professors rushed about in all directions, while the Knights were equally frantic with cleanup efforts.
Magical beasts rampaged through the Academy, and fires erupted in scattered locations.
It was an unprecedented catastrophe.
Despite the objections of those around him, he hurried to this place.
“Is Licht safe?”
“Yes, do not worry. He is coming this way as we speak.”
The Emperor exhaled a short sigh and turned his gaze. From far away near the Library, I could see that familiar black hair.
“Wherever that father and daughter go, chaos follows….”
Leviathan, carrying Rubian in his arms as he walked.
Upon spotting him, Zebert Grandfather and the other Knights swarmed forward like clouds.
“So now we need to assess the situation….”
Where to begin, and how to investigate.
It was a headache.
“Father Emperor!”
Then the Crown Prince came running.
The Emperor quickly lowered himself to examine Licht.
“Licht, are you hurt?”
“No. I am fine. Rather than that.”
Licht spoke without hesitation.
“It was the Mage Kingdom.”
“…What?”
“The Mage King manipulated his puppets to attack the Academy.”
He held out something charred black.
The remnants of the explosive magical artifact that Second had detonated and the remains of the magical beast sealing stone.
Licht, who had instinctively realized the suspicious figure was a mage, quickly sent Knights to search for these traces.
If it was a magical artifact made by the Mage Kingdom, there would surely be evidence left behind.
And fortunately, there was a fragment bearing the emblem of Arcadia.
“Ha, what is this….”
“Arcadia attacked Babylon, Father Emperor.”
The Emperor clearly saw the unusual light that flickered across the still-youthful Crown Prince’s transparent eyes.
It was a cunning and clever statement.
A sentence that organized the complex situation in one breath.
“The Mage Kingdom… attacked our Empire?”
“The Kingdom broke the alliance? Why on earth!”
His voice was quite clear, so those around him who heard it grew agitated. The words spread like waves in an instant.
‘Did they know I sent military forces to the Delcan Ruins?’
That I was keeping the Mage Kingdom in check?
‘How terrifyingly swift the growth….’
The Emperor straightened his posture, then closed and opened his eyes slowly. Licht’s unwavering gaze remained fixed upon him.
Whether late or early, perhaps this outcome was inevitable all along.
“Very well. Then there is no reason to hesitate further.”
With a sharp flourish of his cloak, he turned with chilling resolve.
“Send proclamations to all Allied Kingdoms.”
“Your Majesty?”
“The Mage Kingdom has been secretly conducting dark magic research across the Continent. Our scouts discovered this, and in their resentment, they attacked Babylon. Have you written this down?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Yes.”
The Emperor suddenly recalled the silver-haired head cradled in the Zebert Duke’s arms.
‘Come to think of it, the Princess has entangled herself with a mage once more.’
But such thoughts were merely tangential, so he refrained from voicing them. Rather than that….
“Ah, words have become fate, Duke.”
The Princess’s departure ceremony from the Camp.
It had indeed become a momentous day that would be recorded in history.
For better or worse.
“Hear me.”
At the Emperor’s grave command, the Crown Prince and the Knights around him prostrated themselves low.
“From this moment forth, I declare the Mage Kingdom an enemy of our Empire.”
“…!”
“The objective is singular: the head of the Mage King.”
The moment the direction of the blade was determined.

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