Report
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Max]
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Chapter 20: The Three Men of the Gilmore Clan (1)
Hamel turned around, the dagger still in his hand.
"I'll go downstairs."
[With this, it is possible.]
He could easily guess the meaning of that sentence.
The only means and device to kill the immortal monster.
This was the key to solving this workshop.
He did have questions.
Who left this dagger? Why was this the only thing that could kill the monster?
But there was no time to ponder.
If he delayed any longer, both Daniel and David would die.
Bang!
Just as he was about to leave the room, a loud noise echoed.
Hamel quickly opened the study door.
There he saw the monster, having destroyed all the dolls and climbed the stairs, and...
"Mari...onette. M-move."
David was there, struggling to hold back the monster while casting spells on himself.
He must have been badly injured in the meantime.
Covered in blood, David looked like he could barely stand.
If Hamel had been even a minute late, David would have been mincemeat.
Just as the monster was about to strike David with its fist,
Clang!
The sword Hamel had thrown collided with the monster's fist in mid-air.
The monster's fist, slightly pushed back, missed its target.
Meanwhile, David retreated, wiping his blood-soaked hair, and smiled at Hamel.
"Oh, you finally made it."
Hamel nodded, feeling a mix of emotions.
He was grateful for David's sacrifice, enduring until the brink of death for him.
Hamel walked past David and stood before the monster.
"I'll take over from here."
"Do you have a way?"
"Yes."
Hamel adjusted his grip on the dagger, twirling it in his hand.
"That's..."
David's eyes widened as if recognizing it.
Perhaps convinced,
"Alright, I'll leave it to you."
David nodded and stepped back.
Ugh…!
Hamel looked up at the monster.
A monster with flesh patched together like rags.
It looked unimpressive on the outside, but its immortality made it no less dangerous than Riteil.
But Hamel wasn't afraid.
Just as the monster possessed the power of immortality according to the rules of the workshop,
Hamel now possessed the power to kill it, also according to the rules of the workshop.
***
As the monster swung its fist, Hamel dodged the attack smoothly and closed in.
A long wound opened up along the arc drawn by the dagger.
At the same time, a voice came from behind Hamel.
"Oh Lord of War and Sacred Flame, burn down your enemy!"
"Shadow Manipulation. Piercing Thorns."
Spells poured out, accompanying the head priest and David's incantations.
Crackle!
Their spells tore and widened the monster's wounds.
The next moment,
Thud!
The monster fell to its knees.
As expected, the dagger was effective against it.
Its body was covered in wounds and burns.
The wounds from the dagger were burning with azure flames.
Since the immortality effect was nullified where it was injured, various spells, including the Azure Flame, engulfed its body.
Having easily defeated the monster, Hamel stood before its fallen form.
It no longer moved.
"...It's over."
The head priest muttered with a relieved expression.
As he said, they had overcome the most dangerous hurdle.
The others also rejoiced at their immediate victory.
"Brother, I'm sorry, but could you take a bottle out of my bag?"
David asked Hamel, leaning against the wall as if he couldn't move a finger.
Hamel nodded briefly and took out a glass bottle containing something.
A red liquid sloshed inside.
"...What is it?"
"Wine."
"..."
When Hamel looked at David without a word, he chuckled and added,
"It's not just any wine. It has the effect of restoring stamina and healing wounds. It's better than most high-grade potions."
"...You should have said so."
Hamel finally handed the bottle to David.
He could have healed him with the Azure Flame, but if it was possible to heal with a potion, it would save time and energy.
Indeed, David's wounds began to heal as he drank the wine.
"It's quite effective."
"It tastes good too. Actually, that's the bigger advantage. Hamel, have a drink too. You too, Father."
David smiled and took out glasses from his bag.
However, no one stepped forward to accept them.
No matter how effective it was, it was still alcohol. They couldn't just drink it before the workshop was cleared.
"No, really? I'm just offering a celebratory drink..."
When David made a disappointed expression, the head priest and Hamel hesitated and exchanged glances.
Then, as if planned, they chuckled and each accepted a glass.
A sip should help them recover their strength.
At that moment,
"I don't drink alcohol."
Ono refused without hesitation.
"..."
The atmosphere became awkward for a moment.
"Ahem, then I'll have some instead..."
Just as Antonio subtly reached out his hand,
"No, you can't. You're not of age yet."
The head priest firmly pulled his hand back.
Antonio sulked and stepped back.
Hamel, clinking glasses with the priest and taking a sip of the wine, thought to himself,
Now all that remained was to find the owner of this workshop and finish this.
'There's still time to save Daniel.'
It hadn't taken them even five minutes to defeat the monster.
They should recover and immediately search for the workshop's owner.
Just as he was thinking that,
"...Cough."
"...?"
Suddenly, the head priest coughed up red blood.
Silence fell among the group as they witnessed this.
Then,
Thud!
A sound that shouldn't be heard rang out right beside them.
He turned his head and saw Ono, a black spear embedded in his stomach.
"What the hell..."
Ono cursed under his breath, vomited blood, and collapsed face-first onto the floor.
What was happening?
He couldn't understand, but one thing was clear.
"...What is the meaning of this?"
Hamel raised his sword and pointed it at David.
It was David who had attacked Ono.
"I merely thought it was the opportune moment, brother."
David replied calmly, twirling his staff.
That was enough to answer.
Their opponent was a mage.
He couldn't give him time to chant.
Hamel erased the fact that the opponent was his brother from his mind.
Just as he was about to swing his sword, recalling how to deal with a mage based on his training and experience,
Thud!
The world spun, and the floor rushed up to meet his face.
After a moment, Hamel realized he had collapsed.
"...?"
Hamel tried to steady himself by pushing his sword into the floor, but it was no use.
The world was spinning.
Something surged up his throat and spilled out of his mouth.
The coppery taste of blood.
It felt like his insides were being torn to shreds.
"...What have you done?"
"What have I done? You wound me. I gave you such an expensive gift."
David chuckled and shook the half-empty glass bottle.
A bit of dark red liquid sloshed inside.
"Wasn't that... wine?"
Hamel frowned, and David burst into laughter. Then, stifling his laughter, he said,
"Wine? ...This is dragon's blood."
‘Dragon's blood’
Hamel finally realized what he had been tricked with.
A legendary creature that no longer existed in the present day.
A powerful being that devoured demons and was once worshipped as a god by humans.
The blood of a dragon, a being so alien, was said to be extremely poisonous to humans.
David, seemingly finished with his laughter, caught his breath and said,
"The moment you drank this, you and the priest were as good as dead."
"...You..."
Hamel glared at him and muttered, and David sneered.
"I'm not a fool. Of course, I wouldn't drink something that would harm me."
Cough, cough!
The head priest continued to cough up blood.
His skin was pale from the blood loss. It seemed he wouldn't last long.
"Why?"
Hamel asked a pointless question he wouldn't normally ask.
That's how enraged he was.
"Why...? Well..."
David muttered softly and approached the monster.
He poked and prodded the monster's body with his staff, seemingly searching for something.
"Perhaps I was born this way. I've never fit in with the rules of this world and its people."
After a while, David let out a small exclamation and pulled something out from the monster's flesh.
It was a small key.
With the familiar aconitum flower emblem engraved on it.
"That's the key Father always carried..."
"That's right. That key."
David nodded, then tilted his head in confusion.
"But it's strange. I can't find the ring no matter how hard I look. It doesn't seem to be here either."
Hamel realized what ring David was looking for.
The signet ring.
The ring that was like a symbol of the family, which Gail had delivered to him.
Hamel immediately understood and hid his expression, but it was too late.
"...Oh my. Hamel."
David shook his head and said,
"It was you. Father ultimately handed the ring over to you in the end."
David sneered and approached Hamel.
"Come to think of it, Father always looked after you. He acted cold and stern on the outside, but he always lingered near you. Was it because of your mother?"
Then, he easily spotted the ring around Hamel's neck and roughly snatched it.
The chain snapped, scratching Hamel's neck.
David stared at the ring for a moment, then scoffed.
"Why did he go through such lengths to hide and deliver this piece of trash?"
Then he threw the ring on the floor.
With a look of contempt, as if he had touched something truly disgusting.
Hamel felt a sense of dissonance at David's words.
'Hide...?’
Something flashed through Hamel's mind.
Shadow Manipulation: Marionette.
Gai., driven to madness and suicide, and the swapped letter.
'...So that's how it was.'
It finally made sense.
Hamel nodded and muttered weakly,
"It was you, brother. You were the one who lured me here."
"Indeed. You're quick to catch on. Father didn't call for you. It was quite the opposite, actually."
David sneered and continued,
"I needed your power. I thought they wouldn't allow me in, but they would let you in. It didn't go exactly as planned, but in the end, it was a great help, brother."
It was all David's scheme.
Hamel bit his lip, reflecting on his own foolishness.
Come to think of it, there were plenty of suspicious things about his brother.
However, Hamel had trusted the brother in his memories. That was the beginning of all these problems.
"Where... cough, where is Father?"
Hamel asked, coughing up blood, and David laughed as if dumbfounded.
"What are you talking about? He's been here all along."
"...?"
Hamel frowned, not understanding what he meant.
Just then, a small groan could be heard.
The monster, which had been motionless and dying.
It looked at them and opened its mouth.
Ugh…!
The dying monster muttered weakly.
David's lips twisted into a grotesque smile.
"See? He's calling for you even now. 'My son'."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Max]
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