Chapter 122 : Chapter 122

Chapter 122 - The Second New Drug Presentation

The kidnapper pushed me into a dark room, as kidnappers often do.

But the room was not unfamiliar.

Even in the body of the Youngest Son, I had come here often, a place the entire family feared.

Even more so if one was caught after causing harm to the family.

However, instead of a flustered excuse, the Youngest Son prioritized procedure.

“I greet the Family Head-nim.”

[…….]

As I paid my respects without a single drop of sweat, it was the other side that was at a loss for words.

Did he not know the gravity of the situation?

But the family's Youngest Son was mature.

I knew what I had done and the repercussions my actions had spread.

The bloodshot eyes, shining confidently without losing their light even in the shadows, proved it.

[…I trusted you.]

The father had seen his child's potential, and that potential had blossomed on its own, untouched by anyone's hand.

[I did not want to stifle your creativity, so I gave you a confirmation letter with my seal, without hearing any explanation or setting any restrictions.]

“I am still grateful for that.”

[But I did not expect you to repay that trust in this way.]

His voice was dry.

It was a monotone, suggesting it wasn't out of inner rage.

However, I could tell his mind was not at peace by something else.

[Epic Title 「Usurper of Death」 is activated.]

[Warning]

[A probability of death exists ahead.]

The Usurper of Death exuded a black mist the moment I set foot in the room.

It was the murderous intent that the master of the room and the master of the family revealed without hiding it.

[Seeing you now, Youngest, you seem to know very well. That the Blue Volcano was Millesdusk's countermeasure for the fire attribute.]

“Yes. I knew.”

[Now, the descendants will also come to know. That due to a direct blood relative named Dante Black Millesdusk, another great enemy called the fire attribute has emerged.]

However, the truth would not end there.

“The descendants will not stop there; they will learn one more thing. That when they think of the power to be gained from this, the fire attribute was no big deal.”

I took out a bottle from my bosom and held it up.

Its color was different from before.

[…It seems there has been some progress.]

“This is a 1st process state Dark Elixir. It is an item whose purity has been increased by heating it with the fire of the Blue Flame Spirit.”

[The fire of the Blue Flame Spirit, you say.]

“As you may have heard through reports. The talent I inherited through the power of my mother, the Vampire Queen, did not simply end with undeath.”

I spread my other hand.

A blue flame ignited in the empty air, with my palm as its stage.

Poof—

With a sound like a balloon popping, a Blue Flame Spirit clone, its head bigger than its body, made a magnificent(?) entrance.

“It is a Blue Flame Spirit.”

[…….]

Since it was a hard-to-believe fact, I emphasized it once more.

This thing, which couldn't keep its balance and toppled over on my palm, was indeed a Blue Flame Spirit.

It really was.

The Youngest Son spoke without a single change in expression, to the point of seeming shameless.

“The form you see is a clone, but the main body in the Blue Volcano is sufficient to create the Dark Elixir that will be mass-produced in the future.”

[A spirit…. Your talent has reached that far, but it seems you still cannot do as you please.]

The Family Head's voice paused for a moment.

It was a silence that seemed lost in thought.

Into that thought, the Youngest Son inserted another.

“The 1st Dark Elixir can be consumed by the family's sorcerers with just a single process.”

I emphasized the word "1st".

Those words naturally made him anticipate what was next.

[Are you trying to emphasize that the end is still far away.]

“That is correct.”

[Those are words that not even I can hear lightly.]

There was no other meaning to it.

[The Blue Volcano was blown away with just the 1st. What do you plan to devour next. I must hear it now.]

The Youngest Son smiled faintly.

Unfortunately, from now on, there was no need to consume the family's assets.

And I had no desire to do so either.

This was a family I would have to carry on my back later; breaking it down further would only be my loss.

The Youngest Son placed the 1st Dark Elixir and the initial Dark Elixir down respectively.

“I offer these to the Family Head-nim as evidence.”

[Evidence of what.]

“Evidence for my belief. That the Blue Volcano is perfectly suited to be used as a cauldron to brew the Elixir.”

[For this to be used as evidence, you must first prove that it can be evidence.]

The Youngest Son nodded.

It was exactly what I had hoped for.

And it must be a moment that one person, who was so close I could feel their gaze, also desired.

“Since there seems to be one person showing great interest. How about we try giving it to that person.”

The Family Head remained silent for a moment, then called for someone.

[…Ransis.]

“Family Head-nim.”

The messenger, who had crossed the spirit dimension at a single call, bowed her head deeply today.

It was to hide her cheeks, which were ever so slightly flushed.

The Youngest Son stood next to her and spoke.

“This is an item that even the Family Head-nim's messenger cannot hide her curiosity for. I believe its marketability has been proven.”

The Family Head's gaze turned to the messenger.

[Ransis. Is that so.]

“To be honest…. Among recent events, this interests me the most.”

[Do as you wish.]

“I won't refuse.”

The milky-white hand that had wrapped around my neck to kidnap me now grabbed the potion bottle.

The 1st Elixir, unsealed without hesitation, went straight down her throat without even a sniff.

Watching from the side, that was a wise choice.

The moment you smelled it, you would be hesitant to drink it, so it was right to skip the smell.

The 1st Elixir went straight down her esophagus and was absorbed into her body.

The effect appeared quickly.

“Haaaah….”

The breath she exhaled was cold.

Her breath fogged, and her body temperature plummeted in real-time.

But there were no further side effects.

Of course, even this level of side effect was just right to kill anyone who wasn't a skilled sorcerer.

“Hoo-eup.”

However, the Family Head's messenger got a hold of herself with a single breath and began the experiment.

It proceeded quickly for five minutes.

Without any intention of observing the Dark Elixir's effects for long, she quickly melted away the cold.

Only then would the demonstration have meaning.

Furthermore, the demonstration did not end with a simple spectacle.

“It's amazing. Spirit Sorcery, instead of using a spatial rift, directly summons a spirit connected to one's soul, and that time has been shortened immensely.”

That wasn't the only advantage.

“The speed of summoning spirits has become so fast that even Spirit Sorcery novices will be able to get a feel for multi-summoning quickly.”

The messenger honestly conveyed her thoughts before the Family Head.

She also adjusted her magic power, lowering her level as if she were a typical Spirit Sorcerer.

If the standard was the Family Head's messenger, it couldn't be called a standard.

She herself acted as a weakling and spoke of the possibilities that weaklings would feel.

Of course, the abilities she lowered were not a level that could be ignored.

“Even outside of Spirit Sorcery, sorcerers of other systems are also expected to experience rapid growth by briefly experiencing their next stage.”

Pssssssss—

Steam rose from the messenger's revealed skin.

It meant the effect of the Dark Elixir had worn off.

Ransis licked her lips and looked at the empty bottle.

“It's true that I used it at high output, but even if I were to conserve it, the effect would likely last for about an hour at most.”

“The messenger's words are correct.”

The user spoke, and the creator affirmed.

The user put down the bottle and left a critique.

“But because it is short, it is addictive. When the effect ended just now, even I felt a sense of regret and a desire to drink more.”

Sorcerers of lower realms would likely covet it to the point of scraping the bottom of the bottle.

The proof was complete.

The Family Head's Bone beckoned.

[You may leave. Ransis.]

“Yes.”

The messenger, who had bowed her head and turned away, looked at her student.

Her twitching lips said something.

─You did well.

After a short compliment, Teacher-nim disappeared once again.

In the room where only father and son were left.

After a silence filled with thoughts, the Family Head opened his mouth.

[I hate to admit it, but I have fallen for your trick once again.]

“It is nothing but an honor.”

[…….]

The words did not continue.

I couldn't even see right in front of me, but for some reason, I felt as if the Family Head was smiling.

So I smiled back.

As they say, you can't spit on a smiling face, and I still had something to say.

“If we are to expand the business and make Dark Elixir a new pillar of our family, the current system will clearly have its limits.”

Therefore, I had to request it from the Family Head.

“I ask that you please establish a new family institution.”

[I will review it.]

The response came faster than expected and was rather positive.

Was the Family Head also thinking about that?

“Thank you. Family Head-nim.”

The family's Youngest Son bowed his head. The Family Head saw right through his inner thoughts.

[You don't go so far as to ask me to make the Forest Witch the General Manager. Is that not what you wish for.]

Who says I don't wish for it.

But I did not say I wished for it.

“Because that is not within my authority.”

[Making a recommendation is within your authority as the person in charge of the family business. You wouldn't be unaware of that.]

I knew, but I shook my head.

“If I were to rashly recommend her and it were to actually happen, Elder Lorelin would be connected to me not because of the family business, but because of my own greed.”

That was not a good look.

With everyone's attention and gazes focused on me, how I appeared to others was an important issue.

“As Elder Lorelin is a new elder, there are many who are wary of her, and my second-oldest brother is no exception.”

And there was one last reason.

“Even if I do not recommend her, the Forest Witch will become the General Manager. So there is no need for me alone to rush and make a fuss.”

[How cunning. A good posture.]

It was a somewhat contradictory statement, but the Family Head was pleased.

And because he himself possessed a cunning that was by no means lacking, he figured out even what the Youngest Son hadn't said.

[Furthermore, Exploding Bone, to classify it, is of the fire attribute.]

“……”

[Aside from the first one, the other blood relatives have not yet ingested the Blue Flame Spirit's panacea. And it is unlikely they ever will.]

Naturally, the weakness against Exploding Bone was erased.

The Youngest Son just shrugged.

“Luckily.”

[K-hut. Luck, you say.]

Father and son smiled at each other once more.

However, in the Family Head's eyes, it seemed the Youngest Son did not have time to be smiling like this.

[You should be getting back quickly. You seem quite relaxed.]

By now, the outside world would be trying to break down the door, aiming for a time when the master of the house had suffered a great misfortune.

But the master of the house, knowing this, did not hurry back home.

Instead, he stayed put and smiled leisurely.

“If I go back too early, I won't be able to catch them in the act, will I.”

The Youngest Son leisurely awaited the opponent's next move.

***

Swamp of the Beckoning Hand.

If one were to step in carelessly, hands would emerge from beneath the shallow water to greet them.

Let's be friends.

Let's be close, they would say, grabbing one's ankle and pulling them in.

But to their master, these overly kind hands were maids and servants.

To prevent even her feet from getting carelessly wet, the pale, bloodless hands served as a support in time with her steps.

However, from today, these hands would not just be supports.

“Whisper.”

The Second Daughter's voice spread through the air.

Her voice, colder and more chilling than the hands her younger sister was stepping on, was a summons.

“You called.”

A man in a uniform that seemed to possess no color but gray slowly descended.

He was a ghost, so he flew through the air, and being a ghost, he was monochrome.

His only retainer was a butler who had become a spirit himself out of loyalty and subjugated himself.

When they were girls, he dried their wet hair, and when the girls became ladies, he brought them the heads of their enemies.

Ghost Butler Whisper bowed his waist.

“Are you planning to strike the Fifth Son-nim.”

“Yes.”

The Second Daughter answered curtly.

However, the deliberation that went into that answer was not short.

The Second and Third Daughters, always together, had only talked about the Youngest Son.

That was from the moment they had returned from Eclipse.

Ghost Butler Whisper smiled.

“I am personally disappointed that the Fifth Son-nim overdid it. It has been a very long time since the Young Ladies have shown such interest in another person.”

“…He's just an enemy to be defeated.”

“Even so, both the Second Daughter-nim and the Third Daughter-nim would sometimes smile. They said it was like they had gained a brother who was like a younger brother.”

The Second Daughter, carried on her sister's back, turned only her head, not her body, to look at him.

“Prepare the Gluttonous Ghouls first. We will clear away the disruptive yin energy of Eclipse.”

“Yes. What shall we do with those in the domain.”

“Let them live if they surrender, and kill them and turn them into spirits if they resist.”

“As the Young Lady wishes.”

The ghost butler disappeared once again.

The younger brother, who had seemed like a brother, had also disappeared on his own.

He had rushed forward, looking only ahead, and had overdone it and fallen.

In this cold world, I wondered if I could find another back to lean on.

I guess it was just a foolish hope.

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