What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 648

Sub Male Lead’s Hiatus – Episode 648 (648/920)

#648

Religious Distancing (5)

Just a moment.

“······Ice?”

That was a bit strange.

Christel Ramboillet, or rather, ‘Ham Gain,’ was someone who carried the scent of fish and the sea all year round.

Around her, one could always imagine the sound of high waves, the creaking of a massive sailing ship, the fluttering of white sails, and the cries of sea swallows.

Cedric Liester was not one to indulge in unnecessary daydreams, but Gain’s unique, uninhibited atmosphere always evoked such images.

Yet, the sensation now scratching at his vessel’s surface was clearly······.

-Whooooosh······

“······.”

It was frigid ice, devoid of any life force.

The eyes of the boy on the roof narrowed sharply.

There was no reason to check on her condition.

The two had likely faced Ether depletion around the same time, and according to David, the Princess had stubbornly released the Crown Ether.

And the Crown was a force that couldn’t be completely blocked, even by closing off the Ether.

Its aftereffects lingered around the priest for days like a powerful echo.

In short, the three knights were in a similar situation.

If she couldn’t awaken, that was her limit.

Seidi decided to focus on his original goal.

The boy’s gaze, cutting through the warehouse, turned towards the heart of the military camp.

Following the energy carried on the wind, he would surely find······.

-Boom!

A small explosion erupted from the ice-scented warehouse.

The child’s gaze snapped back towards it.

The knights on overnight watch had already disappeared beyond the alleyway.

It seemed François D’Heim had given them strict orders.

Seidi stared at the problematic warehouse for a long time. However, there was no particular movement.

He suddenly looked down at his palm.

The thoughts that had finally breached the dam surged in like a tidal wave.

-Thump! Thump!

“······.”

The sound of someone knocking on the warehouse wall faded into the distance.

In truth, he roughly knew what was happening to him.

Of course, it wasn’t certain, and he had never encountered any related theories.

At first, he didn’t know at all, and the realization began to spread like blue paint only recently.

His vessel still had cracks, so it wasn’t easy to notice the changes.

However, he had encountered clues several times.

The first moment the anomaly appeared was also quite vivid in his memory.

‘-Kwakwakwakwa―!’

‘Hyaaak!’

‘-Paaaaa······!’

It was a close call. The northernmost part of the Holy Empire, the head of the crescent moon.

A cardinal of the Holy Empire named Lynn Isenia had attacked Gain, and the young Archbishop couldn’t overcome the difference in power for a moment.

It was because an overwhelmingly strong and fierce water bomb had poured down on her.

At that moment, Cedric sensed Gain’s danger.

He instinctively recognized the danger that was invisible and intangible. It was truly a bizarre experience.

So he warned her. By calling out her name.

‘······Christel Ramboillet.’

‘Ugh, shit!’

The effect was immediate.

‘I’m not going to die! Aaaargh! My eardrums are rotting!’

He remembered shaking his head several times because the screaming was so loud in his ears.

It was only for a brief moment, but it wasn’t a sensation that could be dismissed as a hallucination.

In the end, Gain joined forces with Djibril Diop to kill a cardinal from the enemy country and return.

The fact that Isenia’s stigmata had activated was proof of death.

Even after that, the conviction continued to grow.

‘There’s a rainbow, Young Master!’

‘It’s right in front of you, and you don’t even know how to catch it. Dummy.’

Beyond the nagging of a certain fairy he had only heard in distant dreams as a child······.

‘Dumb―ass. Pig―gy.’

‘I’m really not going to care starting tomorrow.’

‘I’m going to sleep early with Princess under a warm blanket and drink honey milk, eeee.’

······Gain’s grumbling was clearly audible.

It happened on the roof of Barbara Shuu’s single-story house.

That day, not only her voice but also her emotions, such as annoyance, disappointment, and pity, flowed in as crude lumps.

Each one was poorly shaped, but their existence was so certain that he couldn’t ignore them.

Cedric sensed a certain mutation.

‘-Slap!’

‘Hey! Stop crying and look at your sister! You little rascal!’

“······.”

Not long after, deep within the Ark, the Crown Prince had to slowly admit it.

That he and Gain were unintentionally······.

‘You’re not just going to cry here, are you! You can go out and cry again. You can cry whenever you want! So move now!’

‘······.’

That they were forming some kind of bond. And he guessed that it started perhaps―

‘Get a grip! You crazy bastard!’

That day.

‘You’re going to die like this! Who are you dying for here!’

‘Live! Just! Live and get revenge or whatever!’

‘-Swoooosh!’

‘Hyaaaaa!’

“······.”

It was the night in the desert when he lost Serenite and went berserk.

The memories of that time were fragmented like they had been slashed with scissors, and some sections were burned as black as charcoal, making it impossible to restore them.

However, the most important moment was deeply etched in his mind and couldn’t be erased.

His anger, which seemed to spew out dead blood, the Ether that collapsed the temple and burned the heavens and earth.

The tip of the Hyegeom [sacred sword], wrapped in the hottest flames on earth, rising as if to pierce the sun―

‘-Thwack!’

‘Keuheuk! Hiss, Keuk······.’

The sensation of it piercing her side was something he would never forget until he died.

At the same time, his sacred stone necklace let out a painful scream with deep cracks.

It was the result of the Water Paladin breaking the priest’s relic to save him from the hellfire.

The only remaining golden Ether burst out like a fountain, drenching both the man’s frenzied heart and Gain’s heart.

Blood-red flames, covered in golden light, wrapped around the blade and seeped into her thin side.

At the end of the barren and desolate desert, an endless wave was drowning and suffocating the man like a lie.

‘-Kwaaaang―!’

Because if he didn’t do that, there was no way to save him from the self-consuming flames.

-Whoooooosh······

“······.”

A chilling winter wind brushed past the boy’s cheek.

Seidi, clenching his fist, decided not to deny it anymore.

That water had leaked into his vessel, and that water was settling in, blocking his cracks.

And that the process of becoming younger was no longer accompanied by pain. And······.

-Kooong!

Perhaps Gain’s vessel also had a spark of his fire.

For a while, the boy silently stared at the empty air.

Then, as if having made a decision, he leaped onto the roof of the adjacent warehouse.

‘Thud!’

“Keuheok! Keok! Keheoeok!”

-Crackle! Crackle!

“Good heavens, Lady Christel! No!”

The Holy Knight’s bed, devoid of any blankets, rattled, and large cracks appeared in her frozen body.

The ice shell, half a palm thick, covering Christel’s body began to melt helplessly.

Her tightly closed eyelids had not opened even once. Elizabeth hurriedly searched for the bucket placed nearby.

It contained melted snow, so it wasn’t very clean, but it was the easiest water to obtain at the moment.

Without hesitation, she poured the entire contents of the bucket onto her friend. ‘Swish!’

“Keuheok······! Cough, cough!”

“Lady, you must endure. You must suppress the rampaging energy, you can do it!”

Beads of cold sweat formed on the Deputy Commander’s forehead.

Her face showed no signs of sleep.

The pink hair, frozen before her eyes, was excessively pale, making it impossible to rest even for a moment.

“Khaak, aaaa······!”

“No! Let the ice contain the water. The Blessing of the Azure Sea will help!”

“Aaaargh! Keok, Keuheok!”

“Lady Christel! The Blessing will protect you. Trust and entrust your vessel!”

She raised her voice as much as possible, as if her words weren’t reaching her.

Even Elizabeth herself, who was shouting, didn’t know if this was the right method, but the priests of Liester had said so.

That the divine artifact, ‘Blessing of the Azure Sea,’ was enveloping Christel’s vessel like armor.

The Blessing granted her soul the power of sacred water, infused Ether into her heart, and was the knight herself, protecting her existence.

‘You have endured for too long with a vessel depleted of Ether, and your mind and body are extremely tense. The signs of rampage are clear, but the Blessing seems to be barely holding it back.’

‘Is such a thing possible? That is······.’

‘We have no theory for it, Deputy Commander.’

‘······.’

‘Our Empire is a country with no history of Holy Knights. We can only look at the state of the vessel and the flow of Ether, read old books, and desperately gather information from surrendered Holy Empire priests······.’

‘······.’

‘And so, we can only help. We are sorry.’

The elderly priest said so and bowed.

So Elizabeth had no choice but to stay by her friend’s side.

At least Cardinal Johann Haynes was an adult and experienced, and she believed that he would never harm Uncle François even in a state of lost reason.

But not Lady Christel.

She needed me, as she couldn’t meet her partner, let alone her mother right now…

“Keuk, eugh······!”

-Thud! Rattle, rattle!

“It will be alright. I am here, so it will be alright. Even if you rampage, I will stop you with my sword. Shhh······.”

She needed me. The swordswoman steeled her mind and bit her lip.

Her Majesty had mentioned ‘the will of the Holy Knight’ and ‘the comfort of the priest,’ but she would surely change her mind if she saw the current situation.

Everything before her eyes was excessively precarious.

The icicles that had bounced off were stuck like throwing stars all over the warehouse’s inner walls, and the bed had moved far from its original position.

-Crackle, crackle······

“Ha······.”

And finally, her pale blue cheeks began to be covered in ice again.

Elizabeth leaned on her right fist and offered a prayer of gratitude. But that was only for a moment.

In her left hand, she held a sleek Main Gauche [a type of parrying dagger].

“You are freezing again, Lady. You are doing well! Let the Azure Sea calm the waves. Then······.”

-Wham!

Flinch! Suddenly, the warehouse door swung open.

The Deputy Commander, who was about to reflexively throw her sword, was shocked to confirm the identity of the uninvited guest.

Good heavens!

“Cedric! You······!”

“Move.”

The little Imperial Family brat, barely reaching Elizabeth’s waist, was entering, dragging a black robe.

The swordswoman desperately shook her head.

Now, even her head felt like it was freezing solid. Is he really crazy!

“What are you doing coming here yourself! Get out immediately. What you’re doing is dangerous for you and Lady Christel!”

“No.”

“What do you mean no? Did you hit your head because it hurt too much?”

“Fire.”

“······Fire?”

The gray eyes blinked, unable to grasp the context. Wait, now that I think about it, he······.

“What about fire?”

His face is so shiny? Why is he in such good condition?

“There must be a flame hidden somewhere in Ramboillet’s vessel, and if we awaken it, we can calm the waves.”

The boy, who had taken off his hood, said clearly, his orange eyes shining.

Elizabeth momentarily forgot her mission and stared blankly at her childhood friend’s face.

······Huh?

“What are you talking about?”

At that moment. The Emperor’s camp.

A large brazier and candles placed throughout created an atmosphere that didn’t seem like a battlefield at first glance.

The banners were deep red, and the carpet on the floor was also wide and luxurious.

Frederick Liester was sitting at a large desk, going through documents.

Half of them were about state affairs, but the other half were about the current war.

Of course, every single one of them required her approval.

Material transport, distribution, dispatch of troops and status of volunteer soldiers, various weapon repair and development reports, documents from the relief center, reports from the garrison, support details from the feudal lords······.

“Eve.”

“Uh.”

The Cardinal, sitting on the bed and brushing her hair, called out to the Emperor.

Instead of moving her gaze, she merely tilted her chin.

“It seems someone from the Vatican will be coming soon.”

“Why? Have you received any contact?”

“No. But it’s obvious, isn’t it?”

“······.”

Suddenly. The fingers turning the paper stopped in mid-air.

The red eyes immediately reached her partner.

“······Our Yeseo, I mean. She might be on the list of papal candidates.”

“······.”