Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 185

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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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If I do this, I become garbage—someone who tried to poison Mother with the same toxin I used on Ram Bart, the one that trades intelligence for a comatose state. I need to hold on a bit longer.
“Ha, this is going to hurt like death itself.”
“Don’t ask me to remove the mana restraint. I’m not falling for that twice.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to, kid.”
Hmm… Celin calls Papa “kid” too. These people’s sense of age is really strange.
“When you reset magic, you get back all the years you’ve accumulated! Would you want that?!”
Ah… so that’s what she meant by pain.
Celin uses magic to lock her body in its prime. Because of the mana restraint, she can’t use new magic, but she could abandon the magic she’s maintained so far. Actually, the fact that she’s been maintaining magic this whole time is impressive. I tested that mana restraint myself out of curiosity, and using magic was incredibly difficult.
In terms of principle, it’s probably like that scythe Jack has. The one that scatters aura. I could probably force magic to activate through sheer effort, but ultimately there’s not enough mana accumulated to trigger it. Aura users standing before that scythe made from Peter’s horns must have felt the same way.
Anyway, Serena’s threat of self-destruction worked perfectly, so the negotiations that followed went smoothly, and we decided to move locations.
The place where everything began. Where the corrupted Excalibur is embedded. Where Leon’s Annex Building once stood.
Now, with construction workers coming and going, the ceiling blown open and the terrain sunken into some chaotic form, we decided to watch what they called the reset of black magic.
“Um… wasn’t this originally a basement? You’re going to reset magic in such a hectic place?”
“Yes.”
“No, but when I reset my magic, I’ll instantly shrivel up into an old hag. Can’t you at least tell those workers to leave?”
“Why are you being so delicate about it?”
“Because I’m actually a delicate woman?”
Well… I’ll take that.
I called Will Brown and had him send the workers away, leaving only those who had been here before. Except for Serena, Sage, myself, and Peter, there’s no one around. No one to care about her shriveling into an old hag or whatever.
“So I’m really doing this?”
“Do it.”
“Really doing it?!”
“Do it already!”
When I lost my temper and smacked the woman’s thigh, Celin let out a whimpering sound and shed a few tears.
“You wretched child, why are you hitting her head of all places?”
“Serena, you stay quiet. You’re the one who passed down your flaws to your descendants, and look at the mess you’re in now!”
“Well… that’s true, but…”
“My life is ruined, Mother’s life is ruined, and if you’re not going to take responsibility, then stay out of it!”
“Your words are… a bit harsh, aren’t they…”
I won’t sympathize with your tears. I need to undo the regression. I just want to rest now. I’ll do anything to live a normal life.
As if agreeing with me, Peter chirped, and Serena, apparently fed up, pouted and turned away.
“Am I really, really, really doing this?!”
“That’s what I’ve been telling you to do this whole time!”
When I smacked her head once more, the woman grumbled that she’d tell Maria about this later, then started humming Tick-Tock. Ram said she’s never seen her contractor since signing the contract, but this woman can meet hers just by calling. What exactly is black magic? It seems like she gains some power in a trance state. Her contractor seems to both exist and not exist. And the mana used in black magic—since it comes through that contract—often has a heterogeneous quality to it.
“….”
Wait? I just remembered something that feels incredibly unsettling.
Wait a second? I just remembered something, or almost remembered something—something that felt really off.
“Guh, ugh! Ahhh!”
But I had no time to dwell on my thoughts. A startling sight captured my attention. Celin was aging rapidly before my eyes. Wrinkles etched themselves across her face, and her body transformed with alarming speed.
Was she… shrinking? Her spine curved, her bones grew thin, and the extreme aging that no ordinary human could endure left her gasping for breath.
At the same time, the darkened sword that resembled Excalibur—what she had called her contract—began to fade. It was disappearing. Not much remained. A hollow feeling washed over me. It was over. It was truly over now.
“Sage, little one! Just release the mana restraint for a moment! She’s really going to die at this rate!”
“Didn’t you say you’d kill her with your own hands, you old woman!”
“Oh my! That’s just a figure of speech!”
Just as tears were about to spill from the joy of finally being able to die, a sudden quarrel erupted.
Celin, collapsed on the ground, was gasping for breath, and her bones were breaking under gravity alone with sickening cracks. It seemed Serena’s heart had softened.
Since the regression magic appeared to have fully dissipated, she was insisting with a tearful expression that we release the restraint and just fix her age temporarily. Sage looked at me anxiously.
“That’s not possible.”
“You brat! The person looks like she’s about to die! Just let her breathe a little, what’s so difficult about that!”
“It is difficult. I value myself most.”
I squeezed Sage’s hand tightly and told him that if Papa gave in to Serena’s whining now, he’d never see me again. The man sighed heavily, trying not to look at Serena. As Celin, reduced to nothing but skin and bones, coughed up blood without even opening her eyes, the chain clattered to the ground.
“That’s it! It’s done now, isn’t it?! Little one! Hurry and release that!”
Was it really over? The sword had certainly disappeared. Still feeling dazed, I found myself agreeing to release the restraint with the condition that it would only be temporary, as Serena clung to me in tears.
“See, little one! That wretched girl is fine now!”
Well, not exactly fine.
Feeling oddly disconnected from reality, I went to where the sword had been and fingered the chain. The sword had disappeared, but… the chain remained. Was it embedded in the ground? How was it connected? It wouldn’t move.
“Celin! Celin, come to your senses! Open your eyes!”
Goodness, even her descendants were remarkably stingy. As Serena cried out in alarm, I turned toward her to find Celin had returned to her two-toned coloring, but her entire body was covered in bruises and swelling. The trauma from the rapid aging didn’t disappear even after returning to her youthful state.
“This will take ages just to recover from.”
“Should I call Macaon?”
“No! I won’t owe you any more favors!”
Papa placed the restraint back on Celin’s wrist, and Serena quickly hoisted the woman onto her back and shouted at me.
Macaon could heal full-body fractures in no time, but it seemed Papa had taken a real dislike to him after what happened earlier.
“Sorry, Doctor. When this old woman gets like this, she won’t listen to reason. I’ll just see her off and come back.”
Wait, “see her off” meant taking her all the way to the True Magic Tower, didn’t it? When I asked if Papa was going to leave the Magic Research Lab empty, he said there was no choice and asked me to prepare transportation.
Well… Serena would certainly get lost on the way, so Papa had no choice but to step in. Papa really was caught in the middle between Serena and me, dealing with all these complications.
Strictly speaking, Sage belonged to the Magic Tower, and his connection with Serena ran deeper, so he could have sided with her. But he was even considering my feelings… I wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or bitter about it.
“Understood. I’ll prepare a carriage.”
“I’m sorry. Let’s examine your condition in detail when you return.”
Sure, do as you wish.
Serena was eager to leave this place quickly, and I needed time to collect my thoughts, so I hastily prepared the carriage.
After arranging the carriage and assigning attendants, I even found a Doctor to accompany them for immediate medical attention. Only then did Serena seem to calm down somewhat, and she apologized to me hesitantly.
I wanted to be alone as soon as possible, so I simply told her it was fine and sent the carriage off.
I wanted to maintain composure. I wanted it to appear that way. After seeing off the Magic Tower people, I dismissed Will, Jack, and Leon who had been waiting, telling them I’d explain the details later. Then I returned to my office and methodically finished the remaining work.

◇ ◆ ◇

“Then, I’ll be heading back now.”
“Yes. Good work.”
I saw Glen off with his characteristically cold demeanor, then dismissed the rest of the staff. Finally, I was alone. I’d made such an effort to send everyone home on time, yet the sun was already setting.
I sipped my coffee while watching the sunset through the window. Since I’d used overtime as an excuse, Violet had prepared a fresh pot before leaving.
Mmm… the aroma of coffee. Largol had conquered an entire nation just for this brew. Indeed, once an empire completes continental conquest, everything becomes different. Their civilization is remarkably primitive.
“….”
It was time to begin. I systematically checked the maid’s rest room and the guard’s rest room to confirm no one remained, then began tearing down the curtains. I started rolling them into a rope-like form.
“….”
In truth, I’d harbored this intention since Celin reset the magic and the corrupted Excalibur disappeared.
I had to verify it.
Verify what? Whether the magic had been properly undone, of course.
“Hngh!”
I twisted the curtain rope again and tied it neatly, creating a space large enough for a head to pass through. Then I threaded it between the curtain rods and secured it firmly.
I tested it by pulling the rope, then by hanging my full weight on it. Once I confirmed it was solidly fixed, I climbed onto the chair.
“….”
My heart was pounding. No matter how many times I do this, I never get used to it. Though this particular method is new, which makes the tension even worse.
There was only one way to verify if the regression had been completed perfectly. I had to die and see. If it ended in death, then it ended. Otherwise, I’d have to capture Celin again and make another attempt.
The reason I never fully revealed why I was able to land a blow on Celin was precisely this. If I failed this time, I’d need to use the same method to capture her again.
Number Zero had said this was my last chance with the counselor connection, which left me uneasy… Ah, now that I think about it, there was something else bothering me. What was it again?
Troubled until the very end, I placed my neck in the loop before me. That’s when it happened.
“Young Lady, Young Lady! Something terrible has happened!”
Jack Brown, who should have clocked out, burst into the office in a panic.
“…?”
“….”
Jack stared at me for a long moment, tilted his head in confusion, then furrowed his brow. And he said something utterly disrespectful.
“Hey! You crazy Young Lady!”
Is that how you speak to your master?

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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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