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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter 186: Family Vacation (4)
***
“A-ahhhh, there are… a total of five of us.”
Damien used the Cotton-Lined Forbidden Needle to twist a few joints and tore some muscles, and the Grim brothers quickly began to answer Damien’s questions.
“Tell me the total strength of your group.”
“Uh, one is a High-level dark mage like my brother… the other two are Master Class and Grand Dark Mage.”
“What are their names?”
“The Grand Dark Mage is named Sucré. The Master Class is Winston…”
Damien compared the answers he had heard from the two brothers to his own memories.
Both belonged to Hedoniac, a notorious criminal organization even in his previous lives.
There were two main reasons why Hedoniac was able to gain such notoriety.
First of all, they had no proper motive for their crimes.
Unlike other criminal organizations, they didn’t commit crimes for money, power, or even to gather dark magic materials.
So, the Church couldn’t predict Hedoniac’s movements at all.
The second reason was the strength of the two persons who were the backbone of Hedoniac.
A Master Class and a Grand Dark Mage.
Two transcendents that ordinary people would be lucky to see once in their lifetime were among them.
Because of this overwhelming force, the Church had no choice but to miss Hedoniac every time.
“Where are the other three? Are they in the city too?”
“That’s…”
They seemed to hesitate. Damien immediately dug his five fingers into their shoulder.
The injected mana flowed through the two brothers’ veins. In that instant, the muscles in their shoulders began to squirm as if they were alive.
The muscles constricted their bones and nerves. Their eyes were bloodshot.
“P-please stop…!”
“T-this much is… Agh!”
Damien immediately covered the mouths of the two brothers. It was impossible for the brothers to even scream, as they waited for the pain to subside.
After a while, Damien took his hands off. The two brothers gasped for breath.
“Where are the other three?”
“They’re not… in the city yet… They’re coming now…”
The brothers answered Damien’s questions obediently. They now seemed to have completely lost their will to resist.
“They’re coming now? Why?”
“Sucré… Lady Sucré and Mr. Winston… want to ruin everything… when the festival is going on… So they’re coming… a little late…”
“Then why did you come to the city first?”
“We… preparatory work… to follow Lady Sucré’s orders…”
Preparatory work probably meant drawing magic circles all over the city.
Send the two men first to draw magic circles all over the city.
The rest will arrive while people are enjoying the Starlight Festival and activate the magic circles.
“Why go through all this trouble?”
“It’s Lady Sucré’s taste… she enjoys… crushing the moment… when people are happiest…”
“Disgusting bitch.”
Thanks to his previous life experience, Damien knew how flithy dark mages were.
But there weren’t many dark mages who would commit genocide purely for their own pleasure.
‘A Master Class and a Grand Dark Mage…’
It couldn’t be a worse combination.
Even an average knight and mage would see a significant increase in power when paired together.
This is because the knight takes the vanguard, allowing the mage to cast spells without worry.
‘And it’s clear that neither of them are ordinary in terms of skill.’
Damien had never seen Sucré and Winston in person.
But from the information he had gathered in the past, it was clear that the two were formidable powerhouses.
After all, Hedoniac had wiped out several Church pursuit teams.
As a result, the Church had suffered greatly before finally eradicating Hedoniac.
‘Even Pandemonium had made recruitment offers several times.’
The Death Knights had mentioned this a few times after he became a Death Knight.
They said that Pandemonium had heard of Hedoniac’s notoriety and had tried to recruit them several times, but were always rejected.
The reason was fascinating. They wanted to use their power only for themselves.
‘They’re a tough opponent for me to face alone.’
A Grand Dark Mage alone would be formidable, but with a Master Class included as well.
No matter how skilled Damien was, he couldn’t fight a Master Class at this point in time.
‘Damn, I didn’t expect to encounter a Master Class so soon.’
That’s why he was trying to ascend to Master Class as quickly as possible.
He never knew when, where, or what kind of enemy he might encounter.
‘Should I evacuate my family?’
Logically, that’s what he should do. The moment those two arrived in the city, hell would break loose.
‘But I still have time. Those two aren’t scheduled to arrive until after the festival is over.’
He still had time to prepare.
So instead of evacuating his family, Damien was contemplating how to stop Hedoniac.
There was a reason Damien was so stubborn about this.
‘It’s a rare family trip.’
Everyone in the family was looking forward to this trip.
Was it because the Starlight Festival was famous? Because the Duke had made all the arrangements?
Those were factors, but the biggest reason was Damien himself.
This was the first family trip that Damien went with his family after getting himself back on track.
So everyone was looking forward to it and genuinely happy.
‘……Decades. It’s been decades.’
For Damien, it meant even more.
In his previous life, Damien had killed his family with his own hands. Since then, he had spent over a decade living in regret.
And so, he regressed. He was reunited with his family, whom he could never see again.
He made amends for his mistakes, apologized to his family, and went on a trip together.
That’s why he didn’t want to be interrupted. He wanted to finish this trip safely.
‘I’ll kill them before they get to the city.’
In that moment, Damien made up his mind.
‘They’re a tough force, but there’s always a way.’
If Damien couldn’t take them on alone, he could always ask for help from outside.
After all, wasn’t there supposed to be a group in this world that would first come forth whenever there were dark mages?
‘If it comes to that, I’ll have to step in.’
Damien still had one last resort.
He didn’t use it if he could help it because it made him feel even dirtier than when he used dark magic.
‘Alright, let’s get moving.’
After gathering his thoughts, Damien looked back at the two brothers.
The two brothers were looking at Damien with faces full of fear.
“P-please spare our lives… we’ve answered all your questions.”
Instead of answering, Damien loosened his bracelet slightly. Dark mana oozed out of the bracelet.
“Wh-what…?”
“Th-that’s…”
The brothers’ eyes widened. They were about to shout in disbelief.
“D-Dark…”
Damien activated his darj magic. Flames shot up from the two men’s bodies.
Before they could even scream, their bodies turned to ash.
Damien used another dark magic spell to cleanly erase the traces left by the two men.
“I can’t let any dark mage live.”
Finally, Damien erased the magic circle drawn in the alleyway and disappeared.
***
“Damien! What are you doing so late?”
When he returned to the rooftop, his family was enjoying their meal.
The table where his family was gathered was filled with freshly prepared food. People who looked like hotel staff were attending to them.
“Why are you suddenly sightseeing in the city?”
“I went out to check if there were any dangerous guys.”
Damien said as he sat down next to his father. His father burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha, what danger? Do you know how safe this city is? They say they’re even more careful about security during the festival.”
Damien couldn’t help but smile bitterly at his father’s words.
His father was right. That was the natural way of thinking in this world.
Who would think that a Master Class and a Grand Dark Mage would burn down a city just for fun?
There were too many crazy people in this world with great power.
“You must be hungry. Hurry up and eat. The chef is very good.”
At his father’s praise, one of the staff bowed slightly. He seemed to be the chef who made the food.
“Brother, try this. It’s a dish where they wrap the suckling pig in cabbage and roast it.”
“Damien, try this too. It’s a drink made from fruits imported from abroad.”
His family competed to offer Damien food. Damien said okay and put all the food in his mouth.
After the meal, Sandler said to the family.
“According to the mages’ predictions, the Starlight Fairies will fly in two days from now. They say it will last for about three days.”
The Starlight Fairies would fly into the sky every night and look for their mates.
So the flight of the Starlight Fairies didn’t end in a day. It continued for several days.
“Duke has said that he will offer all the events in the city for free until then so that you don’t get bored. We would appreciate it if you would enjoy the plays and concerts that are scheduled.”
At Sandler’s words, his older sister Louise was especially pleased. She loved plays and concerts.
“Victor. I have something for you to do.”
While his family was enjoying Sandler’s explanation, Damien called out to Victor.
“Why are you doing that?”
“There’s something you need to do.”
Damien took something out and handed it to Victor.
It was none other than the sliver pendant given by the holy empress. Victor looked at the pendant with a surprised expression.
“Why are you giving me this precious thing?”
“Go to the Church branch in the city right now and deliver my message.”
Victor couldn’t help but feel tense at Damien’s serious face.
“Tell them that Hedoniac is aiming for the city, so send a Master Class right away.”
***
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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