Chapter 157 : Chapter 157

Chapter 157 - Curse Preparation Complete

26 hours before the election.

The clone son sat in the empty room he had received at Edwin's residence, filling the curse mediums.

He crammed the high-grade curse that Hinek had held, piece by piece, as time allowed.

It was a task that took half a day for each, but Dracul had reduced the time significantly.

“About 9 left now.”

If things went well, he could fill 10 before facing the First Son.

“It's smaller than I thought, so it's not easy to handle.”

The medium, crafted in the shape of a ring for everyday wear, was difficult to hold for a long time.

If it slipped out of his hand, he would have to infuse the curse from the beginning.

“It would be much easier to just fight the Magic Dragon or the First Son like the main body.”

The only fortunate thing was that the posture for infusing the curse didn't matter.

The clone son lay on the long sofa all day, charging the medium.

Knock knock─

“Come in.”

“Youngest Son-nim.”

Edwin entered the room.

The first thing his eyes saw were the parts of Magitech weapons scattered messily on the floor and table.

These, brought at the Youngest Son's request, were all disassembled beyond recognition of their original form.

There were shields, longswords, and guns, but they looked as if several limbs were missing.

“What is it? As you can see, I'm busy.”

It was a rather embarrassing line for someone lying on a sofa, but he was indeed busy.

Edwin knew that too, so he got straight to the point.

“A Messenger Ghoul has arrived for the councilors. The Chairman-nim will be coming to the citadel in 10 hours.”

“That's faster than expected.”

“Since it's the first election an associate councilor is running in, it seems he's coming early to control the chaos.”

“Right. That man doesn't know that he himself is the center of the greatest chaos right now.”

The First Son was targeting the Chairman.

Because a conquest only ends when the king is brought to his knees or beheaded.

That's how you make the king's crown fall to the ground, shatter it, and finally melt it down.

The crown of Dusk Citadel was a staff.

“Has the Chairman used the staff recently?”

“Not to my knowledge. Basically, the staff is not used unless there is a threat of a level that requires the Chairman to step in.”

Even if he was the king of street sorcerers, a king was a king.

The ‘Old Wood Staff’, his royal scepter and crown, was the symbol of the citadel and the Chairman.

It had great power, but it was still at the level of street sorcerers.

It wasn't weak, but he had to live with the staff and pass it down to Edwin.

Only then would legitimacy be maintained.

“I'll hold off the First Son, so you keep the Chairman and the staff safe. That staff is especially essential for the main body's next plan.”

“I-I understand.”

“And have the support troops I called for arrived?”

“They are also scheduled to arrive in D-District within an hour or two. As you said, Youngest Son-nim, they will be of great help.”

The clone son nodded while still fiddling with the ring.

“They were once Dusk Citadel's strongest military group. The main body said so, so they should be helpful.”

“Yes. More importantly…. did you sleep at all last night?”

His bloodshot eyes looked at the curse rings piled on the table.

The curse charged in the medium was so potent that it seemed as if a heat haze was rising around it.

That was the answer. To make that many curse bombs in a few days, time was gold.

“You must sleep even a little to perform at your usual level in battle.”

“You and I have different body compositions. I'm not human in the first place, so it doesn't matter if I don't sleep.”

Although he knew it in his head, Edwin stood there for a while as if worried, then just bowed his head.

“I will send someone to your room when we head to Pandemonium Hall to greet the Chairman-nim.”

“Alright.”

Clunk─

Edwin left.

Creak─

No sooner had he left than the window frame opened.

An intruder who had entered faster than the thought that it should have been locked.

The Blood Stream Sorcery, which had developed beyond recognition through the main body's continuous learning, floated above his head.

It seemed that the vampire teacher he had met out of the blue had been a great help.

As one of those helps, the chains of blood were about to form a whirlwind.

“Dante!”

A woman who brought to mind a string of words like hearty, cheerful, and lively landed on the sofa.

“It's been too long! Have you been well?”

Her squatting posture on the backrest, which wasn't even a seat, showed great balance.

“…Cailin.”

“Yep! It's been a while since we've worked together!”

The daughter of Remus, the captain of the Werewolf Hunter class. Cailin and the Black Wolf Brigade had arrived as support troops.

But they were supposed to have arrived in a couple of hours.

That question was contained in his bloodshot eyes, and Cailin shrewdly guessed it.

“I just ran a bit faster by myself! I've been hearing one piece of news after another about how busy and in danger you've been lately, Dante, so I was really worried.”

Is that so? To the main body, danger was a daily occurrence, so I couldn't really feel it.

But this one thing I could feel through the main body's memory.

“…You. You've grown a lot.”

“Right, right! Dad and my uncles all say the same thing.”

Cailin had grown unrecognizably compared to when I first saw her, when I saw her later, and when I saw her now.

Her height, yes, but should I call it her presence or her spirit?

Before, she was a girl who seemed to fit next to a large wolf, but now she was full of energy even on her own.

“You're fighting your big brother? Are you going to kill him?”

“No. Neither the First Son nor I will be able to kill each other. For that, the balance of power needs to be right, and we need time.”

“We just need to buy that time for you, right?”

Like a warrior race, she was exceptionally quick-witted in these matters.

“Thank you for your help.”

I said what the main body wanted to say.

Cailin giggled and twirled a strand of her hair that reached her waist.

“It's a request from the Red Wolf, of course.”

She slid down from her perch on the backrest and lay on top of the Youngest Son who was lying on the sofa.

“…What is this.”

“It reminds me of the old days! We used to sleep like this often in the Forest Witch's forest, didn't we?”

“You were in your wolf form back then. Someone might misunderstand if they hear this.”

“The wolf form is me, and the me now is me too! Don't be shy.”

A warm ball of fur covered me from my feet to my chest.

My body, which had grown cold from pouring out curses, felt like it was melting away in an instant.

The main body, who should be in the Ash Mountains by now, would need this kind of body heat.

“And I also learned something that would amaze you, Dante.”

“What is it?”

“My father said I have the talent of a Werewolf Shaman.”

***

Associate Councilor Edwin of D-District moved towards Pandemonium Hall.

The other councilors did the same. To greet the Chairman of Dusk Citadel, everyone gathered in one place.

Although it only had one administrative district, D-District was solid for that very reason.

Next to the carriage carrying the associate councilor were not only escort troops armed with Magitech weapons but also mercenaries in black armor.

No one knew they were the Black Wolf Brigade, but they were predators.

The pressure that a beast of prey unconsciously exudes naturally became Edwin's strength.

The Youngest Son, the clone son who had made it so, was still fiddling with his curses opposite Edwin.

Even so, he checked the situation from time to time.

“Have the enemy forces gathered in P-District?”

“Yes. Currently, only those who can be put forward as a facade are in Pandemonium Hall, and all the combat forces are in P-District.”

“The plan worked well.”

It was fortunate, but there were also some concerns.

“But, Youngest Son-nim. If the Chairman-nim is also one of the First Son-nim's targets, wouldn't he kidnap or ambush the Chairman-nim on his way here?”

“That would be the most certain method.”

It certainly was, and the clone son acknowledged it.

But that was in a general case, when both sides were equal.

“To a hawk like the First Son, it doesn't matter if the Chairman is on land or in a pond. He can just fly in and snatch him up.”

“……”

Edwin swallowed dryly.

He was well aware of the bloody storm the First Son had brought to the East in the past, but being the target of it was a completely different matter.

Edwin's body trembled with a different dimension of tension than that of greeting the Chairman.

In contrast, the clone son was still working.

His face was so calm that it seemed like someone else's business.

“…Aren't you nervous? Even if you're a clone, dying is still dying.”

“I don't feel the emotion of being nervous. But I know what it is. Because I feel what the main body feels.”

“Aah….”

“So I also know how to overcome it.”

“Wh-what is it?”

Swaaaaaah─

The ring momentarily scattered a chilling cold.

At that moment, the curse that had been charged was no longer dissipated and was completely imprinted in the ring.

The clone son uncrossed his legs and looked at the ring.

“Prepare. Prepare so hard you won't be nervous.”

“……”

“Don't look at me. It's not my thought.”

He put the completed curse ring into the spatial artifact.

By then, the scenery outside the carriage had also changed.

“It seems the other councilors have arrived first.”

“Yes. It seems so.”

“Take out the Black Wolf Brigade and position them around Pandemonium Hall, and use your private soldiers to greet the Chairman.”

“Understood. Where will you be, Youngest Son-nim?”

The clone son pressed down on the aide's feathered hat.

“I have to wait for the commotion. In the meantime, I'll sleep, just as you said.”

“My private room is on the 7th floor. It has my name on it, so it should be easy to find.”

He nodded and quietly slipped out of the carriage.

Since he was dressed as a councilor's aide, no one stopped him or even glanced at him.

He moved through the garden of Pandemonium Hall like flowing water, avoiding the guards' eyes, and arrived at Edwin's private room.

However, there was someone who had arrived first in the room.

“Nice room.”

“…How did you get here before me?”

Cailin pointed behind her with her thumb.

The wide-open window answered for her.

That Remus. His educational policy had turned his daughter into a divine thief instead of a proud warrior of the forest.

The clone son shook his head and pushed the furniture in the room to the corner.

Tens of thousands of threads shimmered, lifting and lowering the objects.

“What? Weren't you sleeping?”

“I was thinking of warming up a bit. My bones have stiffened after only touching curses lately.”

“I'll help you!”

Although Remus the Hunter had raised her as a divine thief, she was a pure-blooded werewolf.

Just as the Youngest Son was a direct descendant of the Queen, she was about the equivalent of a duke's daughter among vampires.

“If you would, I won't refuse.”

As it happened, Cailin had suffered a lot from curses, so her resistance was high.

In addition, she had the high regenerative ability of a werewolf.

“It's okay to be a little rough, right?”

“Of course, Youngest Son-nim.”

The corner of Cailin's mouth lifted.

The clone son also twisted one corner of his mouth up.

For a moment, he floated a Blood Stream Sorcery magic circle in both hands.

Freeze─

“…What's wrong?”

“……”

The clone son's body stiffened noticeably.

He had just said his body had stiffened, but it was definitely not like this.

He dispersed the power he had gathered and stared intently at one spot.

It was an outer wall with no windows, yet he looked as if there was something there.

“…This isn't good.”

“Why, why? What is it?”

“……”

The clone son shut his mouth and bit his lip.

He couldn't tell her.

How could he tell her that the main body had just been hit by the Magic Dragon's Flame Thunder Breath and had fallen to the midway point?

It seemed he hadn't died, but he was obviously struggling.

The clone son was lost in thought for a moment, but then he shook his head.

‘I have to do what I can.’

He recalled the thought the main body frequently had and created a blood stream magic circle.

“It's nothing. Don't worry about it.”

“Is everything okay…?”

“It's fine.”

That guy, the main body, would be fine.

He stood up in the snowfield, wanting to live more than anyone else, and trying to use all his strength.

I didn't know what it meant, but he had called himself a veteran.

He had reassured the clone to not worry about him and to protect that place.

So I had to trust the main body and do what I could.

Tip: Tap/click the left or right side of the screen to go to previous/next chapter.