[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 21: The Three Men of the Gilmore Clan (2)
[TL/N: This is a Peak Chap- Part 1]
"What...?"
Hamel muttered in a foolish voice.
He inadvertently turned his gaze to the monster and met its eyes.
Through the melted skin, he could see cloudy pupils.
Blue pupils, the same color as his own.
“Ugh...!”
Hamel retched.
Thick saliva mixed with blood dripped from his lips.
"Gah... ack."
That was...
His father.
He had unknowingly cut and burned his own father.
As the sensation returned to his fingertips that had swung the sword, the nausea intensified.
After vomiting blood for a while, Hamel raised his trembling head.
"Is that all?"
David asked with a somewhat disappointed expression.
"...This wasn't what I expected."
David looked down at him indifferently, then turned away as if he had lost interest.
He walked towards the monster.
"I don't have any particular complaints about Father, but..."
Standing before the monster, he held out his staff and muttered,
"I'll have to ask you to deactivate this troublesome workshop."
"...!"
Hamel reached out his hand, realizing what David was about to do.
He strained his dry and cracked throat and forced out a sound.
"S-stop."
Hesitation.
David turned his head towards him.
And smiled brightly.
"No."
The next moment,
Crack!
A giant black shadow pillar plunged down onto the monster's head.
Its head was crushed beyond recognition, and its body, which had been twitching slightly, went limp.
"Ah..."
Hamel stared blankly, his mouth agape.
But then, a sharp cry escaped his lips.
"..."
He had thought it wouldn't matter if he died.
He hadn't seen his father in over six years.
He had never even received a single letter from him.
He was a man who had always been cold to him during his childhood.
But,
"...!"
Bloody foam formed between his clenched teeth.
He wanted to get up and strike David's neck right then and there.
But his body remained motionless.
No, it was actually growing colder.
Even the convulsions were becoming intermittent tremors.
It was he who was nearing the end.
"Good. The workshop is deactivated."
David didn't even spare him a glance.
With the lord's death, the artificial barrier that had filled the mansion was lifted.
Warm sunlight poured in through the windows.
The workshop's magic had been dispelled.
David, holding the key he had obtained from the lord, headed towards the bookshelf filled with books.
"Where was it? Ah, this should do it."
After a brief moment of contemplation, he removed the carpet in front of the bookshelf.
A red stain was visible underneath.
"That's right. It was here. If I had just finished things properly back then... Ah, this is it."
David muttered to himself, then found a book and pushed it into the bookshelf.
The bookshelf slid open with a rumbling sound, revealing a hidden space behind it.
'Stairs leading down to the basement...'
Watching this, Hamel suddenly felt like a puzzle piece had fallen into place.
'That's it.'
That was the reason why his father had turned the mansion into a cruel workshop.
Something he had desperately tried to protect, even turning himself into a monster, to prevent David from obtaining it.
That something was down there.
David had harmed their father from the beginning to get to what was at the bottom of those stairs.
But something went wrong with his plan, and when it became difficult to obtain what he wanted, he lured Hamel in and finally succeeded in reaching this point.
"...No."
It was his fault.
More than the burning pain in his gut.
More than the pain of being stabbed.
The guilt that it was his fault was driving him mad.
Hamel tried to crawl with his dying body, but the distance didn't close.
His heartbeat was slowing, and his eyelids felt heavy.
Just then,
A small prayer began to be heard from behind him.
***
After a brief moment of contemplation, he realized what it was.
'Yes, his eyes.'
The eyes.
The color was the same blue, but the pupils were slitted vertically like those of a reptile.
Staring at those eyes,
David involuntarily flinched and stepped back in an unknown chill.
That instinctive decision saved his life.
Crack!
A sword plunged into the spot where he had been standing just moments before.
He didn't even see the throwing motion.
Hamel's posture hadn't changed either.
Only the sword he had been holding was now embedded in the floor in front of David.
"What... That's impossible..."
To still be able to move at that speed.
Impossible.
David had a gut feeling that something was going wrong.
He hurriedly pulled out all the cards he had.
"Open, Graveyard."
With his incantation, the shadow behind David opened like a mouth and spat something out.
Spit!
What the shadow spat out were three corpses of knights.
"Shadow Manipulation. Marionette."
As David's fingertips extended shadow threads that connected to the knights' corpses, they began to move.
They drew their sword, and blue mana gathered on their blade. Three high-ranking knights.
With the addition of David's Marionette magic, their power was undeniable.
With this much force, he wouldn't have to worry even if a whole group of exorcist priests came charging in.
'And especially not against someone who's dying from poison...'
Thinking this far, David finally calmed down and caught his breath.
He wondered why he had been so flustered.
Hamel was still just staring at him, motionless.
Had he really lost his strength?
"You're pushing yourself too hard. I'll put you out of your misery."
As soon as he finished speaking, David's knights charged.
Reaching Hamel in the blink of an eye, the knights attacked from three directions.
And the next moment,
Whoosh!
The knights' swords cut through empty air.
"...?"
David couldn't understand what had happened and just blinked.
Hamel had suddenly disappeared.
As if he had used magic.
"Where...?"
David's eyes widened as he looked around.
Hamel, who had disappeared, was on the ceiling.
His fingers were embedded in the granite ceiling like tofu, holding him in place.
Crack!
Then, Hamel tore off a chunk of the granite ceiling and threw it down.
"...Am I dreaming?"
David couldn't believe what he was seeing. But he had no choice but to believe it.
Bang!
One of the knights, thrown by Hamel, was crushed like a bug and died.
The tingling pain from the severed connection assured David that this was not a dream.
He had to run.
That wasn't his brother.
It was 'something' in the form of his brother.
“Stop him!”
David quickly made a decision and turned around.
Following his order, two knights stood between him and Hamel.
And the next moment,
Crack!
One of the knights' heads twisted like a pretzel.
As the knight fell, he saw Hamel lightly waving his hand as if swatting a fly.
David's mind went blank, and he ran towards the window.
He was going to jump.
But before he could even reach the window,
Thud!
Something flew past him and crashed into the wall.
It was the head of the last knight David was controlling.
Five seconds.
It had taken only five seconds.
For his prized undead knights to be reduced to mere lumps of meat.
Step!
The thing that wore his brother's form slowly approached David from behind.
David's body stiffened.
He could hear the steady sound of breathing from behind him.
It was so peaceful, like the breathing of someone who had just woken up from sleep.
David turned his head with trembling hands, and piercing blue pupils came into view.
Those languidly open eyes seemed to be asking:
Is that all you've got?
"Oh, damn it..."
David finally realized.
He had been in its grasp all along.
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Max]