What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 394

#394

Alchemy (3)

“Who set the fire over there?”

The Crown Prince certainly didn’t.

The sight of the blue reeds engulfed in red flames was eerie.

The early wind screamed and rushed across the plains.

-Swish······!

-Whoosh!

Deserters wouldn’t have a reason to attract attention like that. Did someone make a mistake?

“You’ve picked the day to die!”

The man shouted in a rough voice.

Splash—! He jumped into the salt marsh in an instant, splashing through the water towards the other side in his armor.

We narrowed our eyes and stared into the dawn.

The surface of the water was so clear that it was hard to gauge the depth, but judging by the knight’s movements, it didn’t seem to be more than 2 meters deep.

Soon, he climbed onto the marsh and threw off his cumbersome robe and sword belt. Thud! Clang!

Whether he was furious or for some other reason, he didn’t call for reinforcements.

He seemed determined to face the unidentified flames alone.

All six subordinates were unconscious on the wooden boat.

“Damn it······.”

And for a moment, he seemed to hesitate.

Perhaps he just lost his footing and stumbled. We craned our necks in anticipation.

Under the dim sky, his neck was briefly visible.

Christel flinched. I was also surprised and widened my eyes.

“What······.”

His body, in many places, was literally ‘rotting’.

It was just that it had been hidden by the robe until now.

The moldy, black and white pitted skin gave me goosebumps.

“Ugh, damn it!”

The man seemed to be in pain for some reason. It didn’t seem to be because of the salt water. It was strange.

Gain’s water was holy water, but it wasn’t much different from ordinary water, and nothing bad happened just because it touched the body.

Unless she manipulated it separately.

This was the same even if the opponent was a paladin or a divine beast. But this guy······.

-Sizzle······

“Aaaagh!”

The sound of something burning from the man’s flesh.

He glared alternately at the reed field spewing flames and the swamp, then resolutely threw off his half-mask.

I felt Crown Prince Cedric’s upper arm stiffen as it touched mine.

“Crazy, what the hell······.”

Gain cursed in shock, and the Crown Prince frowned.

I couldn’t believe what I had just seen, and just blinked my eyes stupidly.

But no matter how many times I blinked, the paladin’s face remained the same.

It wasn’t a trick of the light or the bushes.

The skin under his mask was all rotten and festering.

Especially around the eyes, the condition was so severe that it was beyond description.

One eye still had a sharp look, but the other eye was half-exposed and covered with blisters and pus, giving it a grotesque feeling.

The black and blue colors, like bruises, were mixed together, giving it an overall purple hue.

The sight reflected under the reddish morning glow was like a scene from a horror movie.

Meanwhile, the place where Gain’s water touched was melting away, revealing the raw flesh like a burn.

It was horrific.

-Sizzzzzz······

“Aaaagh, damn it! How did I get afflicted with this secret technique!”

The man, writhing in resentment and rage, threw off his gloves and disappeared into the reeds.

The sight of him jumping into the mouth of the blazing fire was like a moth drawn to a flame, unable to foresee its doom.

Eventually, only six unconscious people and us remained in the swamp.

“What did I just see?”

“Heo······.”

I took a deep breath and washed my face with my dry hands. Gain also sat blankly for a while.

The Crown Prince, who was the first of us to regain composure, called me.

“Sereniteit.”

“Ah, right. Just a moment. I’m here.”

I was startled like someone waking up from a dream.

I rummaged through my bag and found a hook and rope.

As I was tying a figure-eight knot that I had learned in the military, Gain clicked her tongue, asking when I had packed all this.

She teased me, saying, ‘It’s a Doraemon pocket, a Doraemon [referring to a character with a magical pocket].’

When I smiled back, dissatisfaction settled in the orange eyes on my right.

I quickly opened my mouth, realizing my mistake.

“I’m talking about a pocket that has everything. There’s a cartoon called Doraemon in the world I live in, and the main character, Doraemon, is a cat-shaped robot from the future. So that friend’s pocket has an endless supply of things, and he can carry things bigger than his body······.”

“Like Bi-ryeom’s Ark?”

“Yes, like Dduk-sim’s artificial space. You understand right away.”

“I’m not an idiot.”

The Crown Prince retorted sullenly. I chuckled and handed him the completed hook.

Without using mana, he threw the hook onto the wooden boat in one swift motion!

Then, he pulled the boat with six adults on it towards us from his seat.

My mouth dropped open.

I couldn’t figure out where he got such tiger strength, even though he hadn’t eaten enough.

Sir Erbe said that muscles and divine power were half the same, and it didn’t seem wrong.

Wow, his arms are going to burst······.

-Clang, clang, clang!

“I’ll go first. Be careful, Marquis.”

“Yes.”

Gain, who exchanged glances with the Crown Prince one last time, jumped onto the wooden boat.

With a cautious face, she checked the condition of the soldiers.

She also examined each face under the mask, grinding her teeth.

After confirming that all six Kravat were completely unconscious, she waved her arms.

The Crown Prince and I immediately went down to the boat.

I almost fell into the water because I had no athletic sense, but I quickly sat down on the gunwale and somehow escaped the crisis.

We quickly dragged the unconscious people out and hid them in the reeds.

We stole three black robes and put them over our robes, and stole three masks, wiped them clean, and wore them with the outside facing our skin.

The greatsword of the earth-attribute paladin we saw earlier was rolling around on the bottom.

‘This will be a plausible disguise.’ When I quickly handed it to the Crown Prince, he looked quite dashing.

I prepared to leave with a proud face.

-Whoosh, whoosh······

“······.”

Meanwhile, the flames on the other side were gradually dying down.

It hadn’t rained, and the wind hadn’t subsided—

-Flicker, flicker······

“Aaaagh! Aaaagh!”

-Meow

I flinched. I quickly exchanged glances with my friends.

But somehow, it seemed like I was the only one surprised.

“Haaagh! It’s hot!”

‘Aaaagh!’ The man’s desperate cry couldn’t escape and was trapped in the reed field.

He was lost in the flames and couldn’t escape because of the wind.

It was the death throes of the knight who had gone through the bushes a little while ago.

Even in the midst of fear and confusion, I pondered the sound I had heard fleetingly.

If I wasn’t mistaken, just now, clearly—

-Miyaaaaaaak!

A sharp cat’s cry landed on the swamp with the sunrise.

I had a hunch, and that hunch caught ‘people’s attention.

I just gaped like a goldfish.

Christel and the Crown Prince silently waited for the opponent as if they had made a promise.

The hand holding the oar became damp with tension.

Rustle, rustle. The blue reeds by the water swayed for a long time······.

-Miyaa

“Oh my. Why did he come here?”

A feline divine beast the size of two handfuls appeared! I fidgeted and rowed the oar.

Gain helped me, so the boat went forward quickly.

He was sitting like a pampered house cat and licking his front paws.

By that time, the fire was completely extinguished, leaving no trace.

I quickly looked around and stretched out my hands. Gain groaned next to me.

“I think he came to repay the favor. What should I do? He’s a complete baby angel.”

“Butterfly, let’s go with the older brothers and sister. It’s too dangerous here.”

-Miya

“It’s okay. I’ll give you a lot of delicious aether later. And I’ll let you play in a safe place. With the divine beast brothers.”

-Nyaaao

“Uh-oh. You worked hard to punish the scary uncle.”

······Shouldn’t I be praising the killing?

I took some time to examine my own educational philosophy.

Meanwhile, he curled his tail and neatly covered his two front paws, staring at me as if he hadn’t heard anything.

The ears that he perked up towards me were very cute. Everything is good, but this is really not the time.

The fire was quite big, so the masked knight’s colleagues might have sensed the change.

If we wanted to salvage anything and return safely, we had to hurry.

But even if I knew the ten-foot salt water, I couldn’t know the one-foot cat’s heart.

“Name.”

The Crown Prince threw it out.

I turned to him with a bewildered face.

“Yes?”

“You have to call it by name to tame it, right?”

Uh······. Well, that’s true.

Come to think of it, the Crown Prince was also by my side when I gave Demi a name.

On the balcony of the spring ball.

But at that time, I opened the sanctuary and gave a revelation, so a definite imprint was possible.

“I can’t use aether right now, so I don’t know if it will be effective even if I give it a name.”

“But isn’t it better than giving up? Since the color is mottled and looks like mixed grains, how about Kidney Bean?”

“······.”

“······.”

“Spotty? Spotsoon. Spring potato······. French fry? French fry is cute. French Fry!”

Time was running out, and Gain was finally starting to get going. Only then did I feel a sense of crisis.

I started racking my brain like crazy.

I had a dizzying feeling that whatever name was decided here would be on the final list.

Since it’s fire attribute, should I take it from Hestia [Greek goddess of the hearth] and call it Hess? Or Tia?

It’s pretty, but it doesn’t feel right. Tia is also confusing with Rhea.

“Don’t you like French Fry? Then how about Kudzu?”

“······.”

Loki? No. If I suddenly go to Northern Europe, the unity will be lost.

The same goes for taking ‘Sally’ from Salamander.

I want him to get along well with the other kids, so let’s solve it in Greece.

“Hmm. It’s a bit of a braised chicken palette. Andong? Bongchu?”

Good heavens. Ye-seo Jeong, hurry! Squeeze out anything!

“If you don’t hurry, you’ll be punished.”

“I’m thinking. Just a moment!”

The Crown Prince snorted.

Even though it was a situation where every minute and every second was urgent, he seemed to be having fun alone.

When he looked up at the cat (not), the cat also looked down at him.

Soon, the little one started coughing. ‘Ket, ket, kit!’

-Keheung!

-Whoosh! Holhol······

The small fireball that he spat out rolled down the hill.

The Crown Prince deftly caught it so that it wouldn’t fall into the swamp, then crushed it with his fingertips and erased it cleanly.

The cat licked his ears and face again with a satisfied look.

The slanted morning sun was wrapping around the little one like a red blanket.

I blankly stared at the sight.

A hero who helped us. A child who drops precious fire.

‘Prometheus [Titan who gifted fire to humanity].’

“Ropi?”

The divine beast, who raised his head in a flash, cried bravely at me.

He seemed to like the temporary name.

Gain, who had been spitting out even ‘McColl’ [a type of barley drink], openly regretted it.

I smiled brightly and spread my arms. I know this is not the time to say this, but I’m so glad!

“Come here.”

-Aeoooong

Leap! The guy who jumped in one fell swoop avoided me exquisitely and hid under the Crown Prince’s robe.

He was so small that I couldn’t even see where he was sitting.

We giggled and started rowing diligently.

To go to the heart of the swamp and find out anything, we had to keep moving our arms without rest from now on.

-Squeak, squeak—

Of course, the precious Crown Prince didn’t work at all. Very naturally!

*

We went on silently for a while. It was an inevitable atmosphere.

-Chareuk, swish······

-Squeak, squeak—

-Chareureu, chaaaa······

Even though the sun was rising in the east, the swamp was getting darker and darker, and it was turning into a completely different world.

In some ways, it felt more unreal than the Mankrans village that Yuliter had created in the artificial space.

I could see the edge of the Statia Plain a while ago, but now it was as dark as night on all sides.

As it turned out, it wasn’t just the reeds that were dyed blue.

The vines flowing down from the crooked old trees, the roots wrapped around the shore. Moss covering the rocks.

Duckweed that I don’t know how it’s surviving······. Everything was blue.

Like that terrible legend. Just like being cursed by Baron Frankenstein [referencing the unnatural creation].

-Woo-woo-woo······

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

And above all, I couldn’t hear the noise of life.

I couldn’t even see a common autumn dragonfly, let alone the sound of insects.

I occasionally met snakes, mice, or ducks in the reed field, but there was really nothing here.

Not even a sparrow, not even an earthworm. I twisted my stiff shoulders and pouted my lips.

What the hell was there that they were so protective of?

“It’s like Sinbad’s Adventure [referencing a fantastical journey].”

Gain whispered.

I chuckled while holding my breath, and managed my expression at the stinging gaze pouring down from above.

I have to explain this too.

“Um, there’s a place called an amusement park where I used to live. An amusement park is a place where they have various rides and entertain guests······.”

“You already have a lake and a territory.”

“No, I don’t want to have it, but—”

-Clang!

At that time, I heard the sound of an iron gate opening in front of me.

Gain, who had a lemon-sucking expression next to me, became serious.

I hurriedly bit my lips, and the Crown Prince, who was looking down at me, also turned his gaze.

Huck, Ropi, who was hiding in his robe, was wagging his tail outside!

“Ropi, no. Take care of your tail. Tail.”

At the same time as I pushed in his tail, the boat passed through a black iron gate that crossed the swamp.

I looked around with my mouth open.

On the pale shore, there were beings like Dementors [from Harry Potter] or Nazgûl [from Lord of the Rings] standing with spears.

In short, they were wearing black robes, and their faces were dark, so their expressions were not revealed.

Gain and I swallowed hard.

“······.”

He was just sending a bow.

He didn’t stop us or conduct a thrilling search.

The robe that ‘blurred the presence’ was truly amazing.

Unless someone jumped up and screamed or committed an act of rebellion such as attacking the guard, we would continue to be safe.

Whoo······.

-Squeak, clang!

The door closed behind us. The swamp floor and the surface of the water vibrated faintly.

I tried not to look back and lowered my eyes.

And I was shocked.

“Eup.”

I hurriedly covered my mouth. I almost jumped up and screamed.

A shock that made my eyes spin hit my whole body and rang in my head.

My stomach was churning and I felt like I was going to throw up soon.

The strength slipped from my pale hand. No!

-Thud!

‘Splash······.’ Fortunately, that was all the small sound of water.

It was thanks to the hand covering my mouth reflexively popping out just before I dropped the oar.

I tried not to overdo it and slowly straightened my back.

A terrible thrill ran through my fingertips that touched the salt water.

“······.”

What was sleeping under the surface of the water was,

Numerous human corpses.