How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 168

The outskirts of the Capital were, as I expected, lawless.

Ghouls killed people, and the dead became ghouls, killing again. It was a horrifying sight I could scarcely believe.

Even the people’s reactions were remarkably ineffective.

The guards couldn’t bring themselves to finish off their zombified families and neighbors, dithering and hesitating, while the citizens couldn’t let go of their transformed loved ones, only to be caught off guard and meet a grim end.

“Get out of the way!”

Spotting a ghoul about to attack a woman, I quickly stepped forward and sliced its neck.

The chilling sensation ran through my hand as the ghoul’s severed head rolled across the main street.

However, instead of relief at being saved, the woman screamed at the severed head.

“Honey! Honey!”

“You shouldn’t be standing here! You need to evacuate!”

“You killed my husband! My husband!”

“This is driving me crazy.”

Pushing away the distraught woman, I forcibly hoisted her onto my back.

Then, I dashed through the streets, looking around.

Panic, panic, panic, panic….

Everything around me was in a state of chaos. Even soldiers who had received military training were starting to flee from the endless surge of ghouls.

As the soldiers retreated, the vulnerable elderly and children were left in danger.

Some brave men resisted with weapons, but their courage was not enough to stop the advancing ghouls.

To make matters worse, a fire broke out nearby, likely caused by someone who had been cooking and met a terrible fate, sending black smoke billowing into the sky.

It was as if every bad omen had gathered in one place. I clicked my tongue in dismay when I spotted a knight in armor dealing with ghouls amidst the chaos and shouted.

“Hey!”

The man, hearing my call, looked at me with anxious eyes.

“Who are you?”

“I am Cain Lindayer.”

“Cain? Baron Cain?”

Recognizing me, the knight swallowed hard and adjusted his sword.

“L-Lord Baron. It’s an honor to meet you…”

“Save the greetings. What’s your affiliation?”

“I am Warren, serving Baron Hayes of the South.”

“Good. Knight Warren, what brings you here?”

“I was relieving guard duty and came to the outskirts to meet an acquaintance when….”

Nodding, I handed the woman on my back to Warren and grabbed his shoulder.

“Good, I have a favor to ask. Ride to the royal palace and tell them.”

“T-Tell them what?”

“That help is needed.”

“Help… But who should I tell?”

“Tell Duke Bashrun that there seem to be black mages in the outskirts. He’ll understand.”

Warren’s eyes widened at the mention of Duke Bashrun. The name of the great mage held immense power, as if he were the only one who could reverse the situation. Warren nodded firmly.

“I will do so without fail.”

“I’m counting on you.”

I watched Warren ride away, then turned to face the approaching ghouls, cutting them down as I surveyed the area.

How long did I search? Suddenly, I spotted a clock tower rising high in the distance and asked Aphen.

‘Is that it?’

[Yes. Except for the Capital’s center, that clock tower is the tallest structure around.]

‘I see.’

Nodding, I dashed towards the clock tower. I didn’t hesitate to swing my sword at the firmly locked door in the distance.

Clang!

The steel lock shattered, and the door swung open.

I burst through the door and began to ascend the spiral staircase in one go.

Even though the clock tower was a dozen stories high, it took me less than a minute to reach the top. I channeled mana to climb half a floor at a time, so it was no surprise.

Smashing through the final locked door at the top, what came into view was….

‘Horrifying.’

It was the Capital in flames.

A fire, started from an unknown source, threatened to engulf the city. People screamed and scattered, pursued by ghouls emitting grotesque shrieks.

The outskirts were finished.

That was my conclusion. The Capital’s center might be handling things perfectly by now, but the outskirts were completely doomed.

‘This is beyond what I can handle alone.’

It was nearly impossible to protect this place with my own strength. It would be best to give up cleanly and find the source to eliminate it.

Having made my decision, I pulled a pouch from my pocket. It contained top-grade mana stones that I always carried, unsure when I might need them.

[Are you going to eat it?]

“Yes.”

As expected, Aphen was drooling at the sight of the mana stones.

[This isn’t free, is it?]

“Of course not.”

[Good! What do you want?]

“Find the energy.”

[Energy?]

Aphen’s mana sensitivity was beyond imagination. It was Aphen who recognized Ilia’s talent for unconsciously breathing in mana.

If I entrusted the search to him, I might find a clue.

Of course, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. There were more than a few people in Capital who could manipulate mana.

But the characteristics of the ones I was looking for were clear: they used black magic. If I could get even a small clue, it would be worth trying.

[That’s difficult. The range is too broad, you know? It’ll take a lot of mana, and even if I sense something, it’ll only be for a few seconds.]

“That’s enough.”

[Well, if you say it’s enough… alright. But at that level, one mana stone won’t be enough! Give me more!]

“How many?”

[I’ll need about four or five.]

“If you’re lying, I’ll throw you into the furnace.”

[Hehe, if you don’t trust me, don’t do it.]

“……”

To use five top-grade mana stones for just a few seconds… Thinking about the outrageous cost, I emptied the pouch.

I placed the five marble-sized mana stones on the ground.

“Here we go.”

[Hurry! Hurry!]

Listening to Aphen’s urging, I grabbed my sword in reverse grip and began to stab it into the center of the mana stones.

Crack!

Blue energy flowed out from the shattered mana stones one by one, and the purified mana was absorbed by Aphen.

[Uhehe… delicious…]

“Shut up and use your magic.”

[Alright, alright. Okay, here we go? Pyo-rong, pyo-rong, pyo-ro-rong!]

Then, with Aphen’s bizarre incantation, light burst from the amber jewel embedded in the guard.

[Detect! Detect!]

The Detect magic, which detects what the caster intends, spread from the top of the clock tower.

Some people in the city briefly glanced at this place, bathed in the golden light.

Watching them dismiss it as a hallucination and continue to flee, I waited anxiously.

“How is it?”

[Ummm…]

“If you fail, you’re going to the furnace, you little bastard.”

That moment, when a few seconds felt like hours.

[Northeast, 1.5km away.]

“What’s there?”

[If nothing’s changed in hundreds of years, it’s a cathedral!]

“A cathedral….”

There’s usually a cemetery near a cathedral.

Nodding, I asked again.

“Anywhere else?”

[I only sense it there.]

“Are the others scattered everywhere? Anyway, if I catch that one, I can find the rest. So, how much mana is left?”

[Juuuust a little?]

“Enough to use Fly magic, right?”

[For a few seconds!]

As soon as Aphen finished speaking, I threw myself off the top of the clock tower.

[Uwooo…]

The feeling of falling from a dozen stories high without any safety equipment…

Just before crashing to the ground, feeling a ticklish weightlessness in my lower abdomen, golden light burst from Aphen once more.

Thud!

For a moment, time seemed to stop as my right shoulder, which was holding onto Aphen, creaked.

‘If this is the price for saving a few minutes, it’s cheap.’

I reset my right shoulder with my left hand and kicked off the ground.

1. 5km. It was closer than I thought. If I channeled mana to the maximum, I could get there quickly.

I took a deep breath and lowered my stance.

I felt as if my mana heart was burning hot, and an unprecedented power surged into my legs.

Then, it was a sprint. Kicking off the ground with explosive power, I began to run at a speed that was hard to believe for a human.

How fast was I? 40km/h? 50km/h? If I went to the Olympics at this speed, winning 10 gold medals in track and field wouldn’t be a dream.

As I enjoyed the speed, watching the surrounding scenery flash by, I saw a cathedral towering on a distant hill.

That must be the cathedral Aphen was talking about.

I stopped running. As I slowed down, beads of sweat naturally formed on my forehead and trickled down my cheeks.

‘Let’s rest for ten seconds.’

Catching my breath, I surveyed the area around the cathedral.

The cathedral, enveloped in a dark atmosphere without even a ghoul in sight, was silent. Even with my senses heightened to the maximum, I couldn’t feel any presence.

It was a quiet cathedral, far from the celebratory atmosphere of the Founding Day festival, so it wasn’t strange to think that way.

‘…It’s too quiet.’

But it was too quiet.

There should at least be the sound of crickets, but the place was utterly silent.

I should go inside.

Nodding slightly, I gripped my sword and slowly began to walk towards the cathedral’s main entrance.

Soon, I arrived at the front door and slowly opened it, stepping inside.

The interior was dark. But thanks to my night vision, it wasn’t difficult to look around.

The atmosphere was no different. Except for a few flickering candles in the windows, it was as silent as outside.

Except for one thing: the altar in the very center of the cathedral.

“……”

Someone was sitting on the altar.

I couldn’t make out their face because they were wearing a black hooded cloak.

But they couldn’t have come to the cathedral to pray in this situation. Nor were they dressed for it.

They were definitely the one I was looking for.

“Are you the one?”

At my question, the figure sitting on the altar raised their head. Their features were still obscured by the hood.

However, the corners of their mouth were clearly visible.

They were smiling.

“Cain Lindayer.”

What? They recognized me more easily than I thought?

Well, those deeply involved with me would easily know my appearance.

“You know me?”

“The champion of the tournament, the ender of the Bashrun civil war, the proud lord of the Sky Fortress… How could I not recognize such a hero?”

The figure finished speaking in a mocking tone and slowly rose from the altar.

That’s when I felt something was wrong.

I had come here looking for traces of black magic. But I didn’t feel any of the unique energy of a mage from them.

[Cain.]

At the same time, I heard Aphen’s voice in my head. It was a serious voice, devoid of its usual playfulness.

‘What.’

[Be careful. It’s that guy.]

I was about to ask Aphen who “that guy” was when a memory suddenly flashed through my mind from a year ago, when I was heading to Capital with Fleta for the Founding Day festival.

We were attacked, and the expert knight who was the leader of the escort was beheaded in one strike.

And the man who had cut off that head was….

“Your aura has changed noticeably. A year ago, you looked like you’d break if I touched you.”

The figure who had risen slowly lowered their hood, revealing long black hair.