Chapter 96 : Chapter 96

Chapter 96 - I Have Three Mouths (For Real)

The Ten Elders of Millesdusk arrived.

The method of their arrival was Elder Graham’s sorcery, ‘Dark Wheel’.

That wondrous movement technique brought the ten great figures to the Automated Skeleton Wall.

With just their appearance and gait, the Yin energy of Eclipse seemed to thicken.

And that wasn't all.

The faces under their hoods all suited the description of seasoned veterans of a hundred battles.

Their brilliant gazes held the sharpness of those who had crossed the line between life and death dozens, hundreds of times.

The Youngest Son, facing those ten individuals.

The youngest of the family gave a respectful nod.

“Welcome.”

Though his birth as a direct blood relative set his status apart from theirs, the years they had accumulated were also different.

The elders returned the nod, which held a meaning of respect.

Graham stepped forward as their representative.

“This is the second time we are meeting since the Grand Temple. To be invited like this to the Eclipse we had only heard of. I would like to offer my thanks first.”

─Thank you, Young Master.

All ten elders bowed their heads in a nod.

The Youngest Son also nodded once more.

Now for the next part.

“The reason I have gathered all the elders today is that I want both those who opposed and those who supported the occupation of this place to look only at the results, regardless.”

The elders each nodded slightly.

Among them, Kian was particularly silent and unresponsive.

I continued.

“Within this domain, you may go anywhere and see anywhere, and questions are also permitted.”

Seuk─

One of the elders raised his hand halfway.

“A question. May I ask now?”

He was an elder who looked not just young but boyish among the old men.

Upon reaching the extremities of Beast Sorcery, one could adjust their apparent physical age like that.

The same principle as the family sorcery ‘Reconstruction’.

“Permission granted.”

As the Youngest Son nodded.

“It’s nothing other than.”

The boyish elder glanced around from the castle wall to the surroundings.

“I feel like a fish caught in a trap right now. It seems that things like crystals of Yin energy are positioned all around.”

He was right.

“It seems you’ve detected my guards. You don’t need to mind them.”

“…Guards, you say.”

The boyish elder gestured to the area with slightly narrowed eyes.

Knights or warriors for guarding were hiding in the vicinity.

Yes. That was certainly possible.

However.

‘Their level is far too high.’

I felt a military power that seemed to belong not to a direct blood relative but to someone serving in the family’s combat institutions.

Of course, the majority of that power came from the demons forged from Eclipse's Yin energy.

I knew of their existence and their identity.

But one among them was real and was an existence that could never be ignored.

‘What is it…. What is its identity.’

One person, watching from a distance.

That one person did not flinch, yet looked over everything here.

And so stealthily that I wouldn’t have even noticed if I hadn’t raised my magic to enhance my senses.

“It seems.”

As the boyish elder’s expression remained stiff, the Youngest Son spoke lightly.

“It seems you hold our Captain of the Royal Guard in high regard.”

“…So he was the Captain of the Royal Guard. I did not know the Young Master had such a figure under his command.”

Kukung─

The fine hairs on my skin stood on end.

The chilling cold of a blade felt like it had swept across my skin.

Goosebumps rose, but the blood relative before me just kept smiling.

“The Captain of the Royal Guard is very playful. You don’t need to mind him.”

As he spoke, he glanced slightly behind him.

The Gatekeeper in front of the Dark Moon Grand Castle.

He was throwing a fit, perhaps offended at being treated as a subordinate.

Clap─

I changed the mood with a light clap of my hands.

“You all have observed this place more than I have. So the places you want to see will also be different. Feel free to look around.”

Though they were spry old men, when placed before a toy like this, they all turned into boys.

Most of the elders’ eyes shone as they scattered in all directions.

Some went to Hexa, some to the top of the wall, and some went near the Scripture of the Dark Wheel’s temple.

And someone else walked the streets with his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky.

As they each spent their time in their own way.

The Youngest Son returned to the Dark Moon Grand Castle.

There, Butler Amon was on standby.

“The surveillance.”

“It’s going well. No matter how strong a sorcerer they are, the moment they set foot in Eclipse, they can’t escape my eyes, you know?”

“Good.”

I had blocked any room for the elders to do anything foolish.

Especially Kian.

If left alone, I didn't know what he would do, so surveillance was essential.

After the Butler, I went to the new member who had recently been made to join the Coup d'état Club (?).

Reggie had already arrived and the two seemed to have talked a lot.

The Administrative Grand Officer’s eyes, at a glance, seemed full of complicated thoughts.

Those eyes moved up to look at the Youngest Son.

“…We meet again, Young Master. Though I never thought we would meet like this.”

“I knew.”

“What I heard. Is it all true…?”

Reggie had told Charles everything.

The Youngest Son’s ‘Fabricated Hero Plan’.

He had told the story as it was, without adding or subtracting anything.

“Yes. One of the family’s elders has coiled himself in your kingdom to cover up his past mistakes with a demonic realm transformation plan.”

“Hah, hahat…. Our kingdom, into a demonic realm….”

For an ordinary person who was not a sorcerer, no matter how smart, it was difficult to grasp.

But what about this?

I took out what I had fed to the Chairman of the Physicians’ Council.

It was something hard for a native of the Julsin Kingdom’s capital to not know.

“A star leaf…? But this is….”

“It has ugly thorns sticking out. It was gathered from the forest given to Elder Kian. It’s proof that the demonic realm transformation is in progress.”

“A-already. I didn’t even know such a heinous act was right under our noses.”

Reggie put a hand on his shoulder.

“Administrative Grand Officer. It is not your fault. And even if it is your fault, we can fix this and change it.”

Also.

“The Young Master here is willing to help with all his might.”

“That prince is absolutely right.”

For that, the Third Prince had to go to his own domain.

To the Julsin Kingdom’s frontmost boundary line.

“Go to your hometown. You ghost of the battlefield.”

“…A ghost of the battlefield, you say. Your words are harsh.”

Reggie grumbled and moved.

There, there was a job that only he could do.

“W-wait a moment, please.”

Administrative Grand Officer Charles asked him and the Youngest Son as they grew distant.

“If…. If the wicked plot you speak of is truly underway, Young Master. What will happen to the people until the prince appears as a hero?”

That was the dilemma.

And a piece of homework.

It was a problem that Reggie, as someone who cherished every member of the nation, also carried with a heavy heart.

There was no solution.

That’s how it would have been originally.

“There is an investor. Her abilities are outstanding in that area, and she also has a desire for success. You can trust her.”

“H-how can one person protect the capital?”

“That one person leads one of the ten great mercenary companies and is from a collateral branch of our family.”

“D-don’t tell me, is it Mercenary Captain Anthia?”

The correct answer came out immediately.

When I nodded, he opened his mouth again.

It was the face of a man who had been betrayed by the world many times today.

“Rest. Lubosch will prepare a meal, so make sure to eat.”

Only when one's stomach is full does one's heart become content and one's mind open.

Such an upright official was hard to find.

Reggie, who would lead the Julsin Kingdom in the future, needed such a person by his side.

I opened the outer wall and descended.

I went to the lowest level of the Dark Moon Grand Castle and took off the clothes the Head Maid had made me wear in front of the elders.

Stiff and uncomfortable.

It was just formal attire.

“Now I can finally live.”

Leaving such things on the floor, I struck a suitable pose.

One of the things the Land General Manager had emphasized when deciding on the blood relative's residence in the past.

“The compatibility of the land’s nature and the sorcerer.”

Here in Eclipse, due to the amount of violent Yin energy, it was a good match for any sorcerer.

So, for the Youngest Son, who copied skills with his heart and naturally dabbled in various sorceries.

“You can’t find a better land than this.”

If there was, it would be the Mind Demon inside the Pantheon.

But I couldn't go to my father’s land and perform a Goryeojang.

My father was too strong to be placed on a jige.

So I had to catch up without rest.

The demon's blessing, Ma'eon (Demonic Word), which I learned quite a long time ago.

Recently, I had focused on being able to use this in actual combat.

“The undead enhancement blessing. The effect is certainly powerful, but it’s somehow slow.”

I created a Skeleton Soldier.

I created a skull, and the bones created with it as a focus rotated like a whirlwind.

Soon, when the whole body was formed.

Dalgeurak─!

A Skeleton Soldier that we know makes a cool appearance… but.

“The enemies I have to face from now on will be difficult even with ten thousand of these Skeleton Soldiers.”

It was a cruel thing to say to the Skeleton Soldier in front of me, but that was the reality.

It didn't have ears anyway, so it wouldn't be able to hear.

Now that I had a test subject, I used ‘Ma'eon’.

It was like a command.

“The Red Bones that form the body will become hard.”

A type of blessing where a superior being bestows a power that a subordinate being could not have had with their own strength.

Wooooong─

In my blood demonized state, I imbued my voice itself with magic, just as Amon had taught me.

The magic in the blood demon state had a slightly peculiar nature.

Even in its heat, the cold of the undead that Yin energy possessed was hidden.

It wasn't there before, but as I got used to the blood demon, my magic also became similar to a demon's.

“Since there’s a real demon around, I think I’m unconsciously imitating it.”

Putting that aside for now.

I examined the Skeleton Soldier.

─ 「Enhanced Red-blooded Skeleton Soldier」 ─

[Description]

: A Skeleton Soldier created by a vampire noble with Bone Sorcery. To a vampire noble, blood is magic, and magic is blood. Since the two are the same word, blood naturally seeped into the marrow.

[Difficulty]

: Lowest Grade

[Classification]

: Bone Sorcery

[Heart]

: No heart or blood has been injected yet.

[Enhancement]

: Durability increased by 1 stage

: Defense increased by 1 stage

──────────────

A significant result appeared in the status window as well.

Increased durability and increased defense.

“It seems it can now withstand up to a near-death state, whereas it would have shattered after one hit before.”

But it was clear that it was still lacking.

Moreover

[Time until next use: 00:04:51]

There was also a 5-minute cooldown.

“Since it’s a sound, it would be great if I could cast it on multiple undead, but that doesn’t activate instantly.”

Furthermore, it required preparation time.

“Should I just eliminate that time with the effect of a sacrifice?”

Then in the end, wouldn't the result be zero with a plus-minus?

My worries grew.

A blessing was best when it created an absolute plus and had no minus.

“Ah. Why do I only have one mouth.”

[What kind of bullshit is this now?]

“Just. I was complaining about my lot in life.”

I let out a faint sigh and reviewed the situation.

“Five minutes per Ma'eon. The duration is also similar. So one is not very meaningful. Casting it on multiple targets is meaningless because it doesn't activate during battle.”

What was the answer?

What was the answer to this situation?

I stood in place, contemplating with a single Skeleton Soldier in front of me.

In the quiet lowest level.

“Ah.”

A single word echoed.

It was a word of realization.

Furthermore, I realized once again that the realization was within the lament.

“If the problem is having one mouth, can’t I just make two or three mouths?”

[…?]

The listener gave a natural reaction.

[You’ve really lost your mind. Come out. I should take that healthy body before it gets any worse.]

The reaction from my left forearm was a bit extreme, but it was sincere.

“The answer is here.”

I held up the Scripture of the Dark Wheel.

It was in the Path of the Beast within.

Tteudeudeuk─

A pair of marrows spread out from behind my back.

Beast . Seamless Recovery. Prolonged Life. False Creation.

「Six Paths Path of the Beast 」

Human Transmutation

I imagine its structure, solidify it with my will, and manifest it with sorcery.

Both cheeks opened into mouths.

“How about it.”

“Now.”

“I have three mouths.”

[…….]

Enad was silent for a long time before finally spitting out a single word.

[Disgusting bastard.]

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