Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 216

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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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Now that I’ve discovered the Pope and the Heretical Sect’s leader are the same person, and learned that Celin is currently in private audience with them at the Heretic Headquarters, all that’s left is to act.
『It won’t matter even if you discover the location of our headquarters! The security there is impenetrable—if anyone who isn’t authorized tries to enter, the entrance seals itself immediately!』
Well, I appreciate the information, truly. But I never intended to enter through the front entrance anyway, and gaining access seemed remarkably simple. And for good reason.
“One, two, three, four.”
Four sets of Heretical Sect robes and masks, and then me, Sage, the puppy, and Aster—four of us total. The numbers work out perfectly.
『Gasp!』
『We are comrades who’ve revealed our secrets to these outsiders. Let us descend into hell together.』
『Shut up, you traitor!』
You two have grown quite close in the meantime, haven’t you? Yes, friends should get along well with each other.
“There.”
I struck the heads of my captives with hail until they lost consciousness, then quickly shouted.
“I’m taking the clothes from the one still alive!”
“Ow! How cruel, Grandmother!”
Ha, one must know how to be cunning when necessary. That’s your problem. Being kind and being a pushover are two different things. You have to adapt your approach depending on the situation. Though on this matter, I can rest easy while Rosalite is by my side.
We changed into the Heretical Sect robes as a precaution and returned to our starting point. The Fourth Prince has done his job well—guiding us here and providing the clue we needed to resolve this matter.
I left him a note telling him to be careful and wait for Rosalite to join him before taking further action, then made my way back up the Ancient Waterway.
When I emerged from the Ancient Waterway, Peter had released the horses into the pasture, piled his own feed to one side, and was contentedly taking an afternoon nap.
This fellow certainly knew how to enjoy a well-deserved vacation while we were away.

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“Is it this way? You’re absolutely certain it’s this way?”
“I’m telling you, yes! I can smell Celin all over this place!”
These bastards really know how to hide. I rode Aster up the mountain path, but no matter how deep we ventured into the forest, no proper structure came into view. I occasionally encountered people in matching robes and asked for directions, but they attacked without warning, insisting that someone who didn’t even know the entrance couldn’t possibly be a member of their faith. All that effort wasted.
If I could just find the entrance, I could blow the entire mountainside to pieces.
“There’s a cave over there!”
Damn, your night vision is incredible!
Our family dog only tracked by scent, so her eyes weren’t much help, but Aster pinpointed the entrance to the Heretical Sect’s hideout with perfect accuracy even in the darkness and gestured toward it.
Now I understand why Rosalite attached her to us. This one’s incredibly capable.
“Everyone fall back. One massive blast will disable magic for at least ten minutes—protect me above all else during that time.”
“Grandmother! Surely you’re not planning to reveal that fact to the dog?!”
“What else can we do in this situation!”
Infiltrating and finding Celin would take forever. This way is much faster. More importantly, shut those mouths! I can’t use magic if my resolve wavers!
“God is dead!”
“Hey, you old fool! Give them time to cover their ears before you chant!”
“We have slain the divine. The being born from the void perished without resistance!”
I knew it—I knew that dog would laugh like her life depended on it! But Aster, you didn’t even cover your ears like Sage did, and your expression hasn’t changed one bit! Thank you, you magnificent creature!
“The primordial flames shall burn eternal! Ignis Destroyer!”
“Ahahaha! Aha! Ahahaha! Has the old woman lost her mind!”
Dog, you better watch yourself—once your mana recovers, you’re dead!
I finished chanting the incantation and designated the direction. Truth be told, when Celin reset my magic earlier, the spell she’d cast on me was also lifted, and my synesthesia returned. But honestly, the device Sage created was so convenient that I didn’t want to give it up.
The monocle told me the predicted range of the magic’s effect and exact coordinates without me having to estimate by eye—why would I bother with the extra effort?
I entrusted all the range calculations to the coordinate measuring device Sage had made and released my mana. A massive, sun-like sphere descended upon the mountain. This magic, which could be called an artificial sun, illuminated the surroundings brilliantly and moved downward from the peak, melting everything in its path.
“You little brats, stop gawking! Close your eyes! Go blind!”
The core temperature of that sphere was approximately ten thousand degrees Celsius. This magic would persist for about three minutes, and during that time, it would incinerate everything. Most humans wouldn’t even comprehend what happened to them before they perished. As far as I know, only one creature could survive this hellfire.
『Kwaaaaah! Aaaagh!』
The fact that screams still echoed meant they were over there. I waited for the magic’s power to subside, then decided to rely on Aster, who could run faster than words for five hundred meters.
At the center of where the mountain once stood, where the screams never ceased, a transparent glass-like substance had hardened, creating a bizarre landscape. It wasn’t cold, yet it felt as though surrounded by glaciers.
Within that mystical sight, people still burned. They barely maintained human form, and they continued to deploy defensive magic to protect someone.
As their skin melted in the unquenchable flames, bones and muscles exposed, bodily fluids evaporating, they didn’t die—they became tools for casting magic. All of it was thanks to the Pope’s divine power.
“Stop this. I’ve protected your body, so at least let yourself die in peace.”
“Didn’t we agree to be inviolable to each other?”
“That was when you lived obediently.”
“I seem to be living quite obediently even now.”
How is that obedient?!
Instigating the Imperial Palace to conquer the continent, establishing the Heretical Sect and playing pope, receiving ancient summoning techniques wholesale and wielding physical force—how is that obedient? With the largest religion in the world under her command and the power of an ancient being in her grasp, world conquest would be child’s play as a hobby!
As I shouted in frustration, the small figure with wrinkled features and blue hair laughed pleasantly and replied.
“You already knew I was greedy, didn’t you, Serena?”
“Is this really something that can be summed up as mere greed?! You shameless little brat!”
“Yet you won’t kill me, will you? I haven’t actually done anything yet.”
That’s… well, that’s true. This is merely my speculation, and the Pope hasn’t actually done anything yet. Perhaps if given time, she might reflect and soften her heart…
I cannot hastily take a life. Above all, that child is a talent capable of saving even one more person for humanity.
“Hey, you old woman! What are you getting persuaded about again!”
“Maria! Maria! Maria! You came to see me?!”
This Sage! You should learn to respect your elders! Why are you suddenly hitting my back! And Celin, that girl doesn’t even see me, the one who raised her! Why do you only look for the dog! Honestly, what a cursed brat with no manners!
“Celin! This is your last chance!”
Regardless, this isn’t the time for that. The Pope girl was a problem too, but my only objective was to resolve the Celin situation.
If she would just repent now and release the spell she cast on Rosalite, withdraw from the Rocksburg family, and return to the True Magic Tower with me. If she would just make that one promise, I would forgive Celin, seek forgiveness myself, and as atonement to the Rocksburg people, I planned not to leave the True Magic Tower with Celin.
It’s still manageable. It can still be undone. I pleaded with Celin earnestly. Release the spell you cast on Rosalite. Please don’t create more victims, and don’t commit any more sins.
“Then I have a condition, Grandmother!”
“What!”
“Release my mana restraint!”
What is this stubborn child saying. I begged her not to spout nonsense, but Celin’s obstinacy was extraordinary.
With the Pope girl right beside her, I even tried persuading her that if I just closed my eyes and cast one magic reset, you’d suffer minimally and we could end this. But Celin spouted incomprehensible words.
“The renegotiation was done through IP bypass, so a simple magic reset here won’t work! I’m telling you, we need to call Tick-Tock and completely sever the connection with her homeland mana?!”
“What are you talking about!”
“Would you even understand if Grandmother explained it?!”
Hey! Be a little kind to an old woman!
Learning new things is hard when you’re old, you know? Still, I’ll do my best to learn. If you explain step by step, Celin, even if my learning is slow, I’ll try to understand somehow. Even if you’re frustrated, if you just bear with me a little. I’ll try my best to accept it as your mother and grandmother.
“There’s a Dark Mage on the Rocksburg side too, so let’s consult with that cotton candy kid. You’re too dangerous, so I can’t release your restraint!”
“Consult? You always decide things on your own!”
“….”
“When have you ever listened to me and changed your decision?! Have you ever seriously considered my opinion?!”
That’s… I have nothing to say about that. But isn’t that precisely why I’m trying to make up for it now? If I can just resolve the spell on Rosalite, I will listen to Celin much more. Since Celin hated my interference and manipulation of the world’s civilization, I will stop that too.
If we just return to the True Magic Tower together, all we would have left is time. Using that time, Celin and I could surely find a compromise.
“I’ll let you do as you please after this, so just listen to me this once!”
“There you go again! How many times have I heard that ‘just this once’ before?!”
This time I really mean it, you fool!
I spoke with sincerity, but it didn’t reach Celin. I had no choice but to resort to the last measure. There was only one way left that could satisfy both Celin and me. After cursing so much, she must feel relieved, this brat.
I clenched my lips and composed myself. If I hesitated, I might weaken. Like before, if I saw Celin suffering, I might unknowingly want to save her.
“Aster! Drop the Pope girl!”
I cannot involve innocent people in this. This spell had a narrow range, but once it was in my hands, there was no way to escape it.
“Little Sage, leave the rest to me. Whether you burn down the Magic Tower or fry it, do as you please.”
“Grandmother? Wait, what are you doing?”
“Little dog. No, Maria. You’ve received a good name. I’ve been sorry to you all this time. Tell your daughter I’m sorry too.”
“What, Grandmother, don’t come! Even if I die, that spell won’t be released! You know this too! It’s not something that gets released just because the caster dies?!”
I know that too. Even when the colleague who created the barrier on our Homeland Island died, that barrier remained. And I know well that magic is not eternal, that once it crumbles, it’s the end. That’s why we worked so hard to maintain the form of the island.
Even if Celin dies, the spell on Rosalite will remain as is. But that was all. If Rosalite dies, then at last that child can rest eternally, and just one new sacrifice will be summoned.
That’s the end of it. If it ends with the sacrifice of just one person, I will choose that path. I’m sorry to the individual Rosalite, but there would be no greater misfortune than that. I will prioritize humanity’s collective will. I have lived that way all along.
“Wherever my breath reaches, everything withers.”
“That’s blackmail, isn’t it? You’re just trying to scare me?”
Celin stepped backward. That child had always fled from me. Even when she was newborn, she struggled to escape my embrace. For a baby, she was remarkably strong. I was grateful she was healthy. She hadn’t been born with any afflictions.
“The fragrance vanished. The colors faded. Everything froze motionless.”
“Save me, save me, Grandmother. I’m serious—just unlock these restraints and I’ll do whatever you ask. I’ll follow you, Grandmother!”
Even my breath crystallized into shards of ice and fell away. This spell didn’t require me to finish chanting it. I had never even completed the incantation before. My lips froze before I could speak the final words. Yet once a spell begins, it will not cease until my mana is utterly depleted.
The moment I grasped Celin’s hand as she tried to flee, it froze instantly and shattered with a sharp crack. I couldn’t hold her hand. Desperate for one last touch, I pulled her into my arms with that singular yearning.
She was so cold. My child couldn’t even shed tears. I wished she would cry. Her rigid, frozen body could only manage to lift her head.
I should have fought with her properly. I should have shown my emotions. I should have let her win without knowing. I should have stopped being stubborn. I wanted to hear her call me Mother just once. Why did she call me Grandmother until the very end? She was my child. She was my last daughter.
My vision blurred white. In the sky above me, the stars were setting.

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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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