What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 437

Devil’s Claw, Wreck of the Abyss (1)

“Entry confirmed.”

I flinched and quickly turned around at the unfamiliar, strange voice.

It sounded like a mechanical voice, as if coming from a speaker.

But that couldn’t be. This wasn’t 21st-century Earth, but the Toegye Continent of the 17th century.

Instinctively, I stuck close to Ms. Gain and the Crown Prince.

Lophy, who had come before us, sat regally in a Bast [Egyptian cat goddess] statue-like pose.

Soon, the tightness of the belt loosened.

Francois’s red mana was slowly receding.

The surroundings were very dark, with a strange metallic sheen.

At the top of the entrance we passed through, a steel plate read, ‘Exit 3 – The Unforgiven Drink.’

“Entry confirmed?”

The person who had stopped us asked again.

“Five humans. One low-grade demonic beast.”

Sir Johann replied in a very cold tone. He lied that Lophy was a tamed demonic beast.

Then, he took out a gold piece from his pocket and tossed it with a flick.

Clack! A gloved hand quickly snatched it.

I carefully scanned the person the Cardinal had addressed.

Two people stood guarding both sides of the entrance we had passed through, like underground sentinels.

They were gatekeepers of the black market, holding jagged spears. But their attire was very peculiar.

Both had decorations I had never seen anywhere on the continent.

They slowly looked us over.

-Woo Woong

-Clank, clank…

Above the mask, which was quilted with dark, yellowish metal, clockwork-like devices spun and meshed together.

It looked somewhat like a gas mask.

The eye sockets gleamed with bulging glass beads like frog eyes—or perhaps they were magic stones—and around the mouth were three thick lids like tuna cans.

Since it completely covered their faces, it was no wonder their voices sounded like Stormtroopers [referencing Star Wars].

The clothes they wore were jacket-shaped, patched together from dark-colored leather.

All sorts of belts and metal pieces hung from it, and some test tubes containing unidentified drugs were also stuck there.

A subtle green energy emanated from their entire bodies.

It felt unpleasant just looking at them.

“…Confirmed. No abnormalities.”

Eventually, the person who received the gold piece declared.

I rolled my eyes diligently, with my hood pulled up.

The magic stone glasses stringed with rose feldspar swayed.

I had also worn Yuliter’s relic on my head.

“You’ve caught the last train today.”

“Have a precious time with your life.”

“We will.”

A short conversation took place between the gatekeepers and Sir Johann.

Then, the two aimed their spears at the dark entrance, and

-Zhiiiing!

-Paaaah…!

Poured out a nasty, algae-like power from the tips of their spears.

Crack! Crack, crack! At the same time, the same noise echoed from the distant east, west, south, and north.

Then, the entrance, which had been swirling like a black sea, instantly solidified into a wave shape.

With the market closing for the day, all entrances were locked.

Only then did I realize the identity of the queasy energy. That’s…

-Aeong

“Yes, it’s black magic.”

I quickly lowered my posture and opened my arms to the little one on the floor.

I didn’t think he would want to be held, but I couldn’t let him walk carelessly on land where such power flowed.

Lophy was a very small divine beast and a child who had not recovered for long.

Then, the cat twitched his nose at me and snuggled into my arms as if saying, ‘Here you go!’

Aigo! I am deeply grateful, milord!

“Have there been any unusual rumors lately?”

Following that, Sir Johann asked as he passed by.

Around that time, Duke Jibril Diop also approached us and stood.

The green, rotten mana seemed quite unpleasant.

Ms. Gain constantly looked around and gaped, and Prince Cedric stared intently at the gatekeepers.

Anyone would think he wanted to dissect black magicians.

…Surely not, right?

“Well. What are you looking for?”

“A man with a magical prosthetic limb.”

“Are there only one or two black magicians with prosthetic limbs in the black market?”

“He has tattoos on his face.”

“Are there only one or two black magicians with drawings on their faces?”

Flick! Another gold piece flicked from the Cardinal’s fingertips.

Clack! This time, a different gatekeeper caught it.

The gas mask pair silently looked at each other, then shrugged their shoulders at the same time.

Somewhere, a faint chugging sound echoed constantly.

There couldn’t be a train in the Toegye world, so what was it?

“His hair is light purple.”

“The market is turned upside down and in an uproar. I hear he’s a very noble person, right?”

“Is it true that the surface world is in an uproar too?”

The gatekeepers quickly opened their mouths, and my eyes widened as if they would pop out.

You know about the Royal Preceptor. That person really came here!

“Let’s just say that’s the case. I don’t think he’s acting nobly. Has he already left the market?”

“I don’t think so. Rumors spread quickly among our gatekeepers.”

“Of course, if he changed his appearance and left, there’s nothing we can do.”

“Anyway, it’s rumored that high-ranking black magicians are dancing to woo him to get into his good graces. They say it’s a path to success.”

“What was the last time and location he was seen?”

Sir Johann’s voice was icy.

His tone and eyes were different than usual, which made me feel strangely eerie.

Tense, the four of us stuck together in a clump.

Duke Diop gave a look as if he was seeing all sorts of strange people.

“The day before yesterday? The Grand Plaza.”

“Right below ‘Devil’s Claw’.”

The gatekeepers raised their spears and pointed to the distant bottom of the hill.

The day before yesterday! We turned our heads in the direction they were pointing.

Soon, our jaws dropped.

“Good heavens…”

The vast and wide underground black market was unfolding before our eyes.

It was an area capable of accommodating at least tens of thousands of people.

Only then did I understand why our protagonist had been so anxious all along.

However, it was hard to believe. It was too difficult to digest what I had witnessed with my eyes.

Sir Johann was right.

-Clang, clang, clackadang, clackadang…

This was, in fact, a huge underground city. Everyone in the group was in shock for a moment.

The pointy roofs were all gray or reddish-brown with rust.

On the other hand, the mossy brick exterior walls had a sticky green color.

Here, roughly painted and nailed signs were hung in various shapes.

Thin streetlights like toothpicks stood here and there, emitting a dim light, and black pipes crawled like snakes between the walls and roofs of the buildings.

As a result, all the buildings were intertwined like spiderwebs.

The narrow alleys stretched out like ant nests, reaching every corner.

In addition, the vast majority of visitors were wearing dark robes.

Occasionally, people who chose bright red clothes seemed to be members of the doomsday group, ‘The Holy City of Twilight.’

In a place like this, it would be difficult to find even close friends or family.

I felt overwhelmed just by looking at it.

The sound of magical tool parts meshing together could be heard from all directions. Clackadang, clackadang…

-Nyaak

At that moment, Lophy in my arms tapped my forearm with his tail.

I hurriedly shifted my gaze to the ‘sky’ of the black market.

The huge airship I had glimpsed earlier came into view. For a moment, I was breathless.

“Heo…”

-Dududududu―!

The loud cry of the magical engine vibrated through the underground, tickling the dirt walls.

Corrupted green mana constantly flowed from the house-sized rotating blades.

Occasionally, a hot and humid wind blew.

I blinked rapidly and tried hard to turn my head.

“So that’s…”

“It’s for air purification. But that’s not its only purpose.”

Prince Cedric whispered quietly. I looked up at him busily.

In short, when thousands of chimneys rising in the black market spewed smoke, the airship circling the ceiling absorbed it and purified it into clean air.

Since this was a deep underground, black magic would definitely be the most desperate field there as well.

But I—at least as a humanities major and a priest—would never be able to know what principle it worked on, even if I died and came back to life.

The shock and wonder didn’t end there.

“Heineken, look at the center of the plaza. I think that’s ‘Devil’s Claw’.”

“Heok.”

Ms. Gain stretched out her beautiful hand and whispered.

I was appalled by the magnificent creature that came into view.

In the center of the black market was a large plaza in the shape of an inverted star, and in the center of it was a huge tree root embedded.

No—it wasn’t just ’embedded’.

The dark brown plant, which stretched straight up like a pillar, spread all over the ceiling, essentially firmly supporting the existence of the black market.

It supported the foundation and the sky, preventing anything from collapsing.

How is that possible?

“No way…”

No, how can this space itself actually exist? It’s just a completely different world.

Completely opposite to the image of the Holy Kingdom…

“I heard that ‘Devil’s Claw’ has been clawing at this place for nearly a thousand years.”

Sir Johann explained in a low voice.

The roots, which were so dry that they didn’t contain a single drop of moisture, were visible.

It was thicker than the World Tree in the ‘Temple of the Boundary’, but the Devil’s Claw gave an overall old and frail impression.

Lophy in my arms fluttered his ears.

I scratched his chin lightly and listened to the Cardinal’s story.

“The only contribution humans have made to this place is building the buildings and launching that airship. There is a legend that the space itself was created by that ancient tree.”

-Goll Goll…

“…”

“…”

We glanced at the distant tree and then looked back at each other.

Wooo Woong―! A strange mechanical sound that created a sense of alienation pierced our ears from afar.

Everyone’s robes fluttered silently.

“…Shall we go then? To the Grand Plaza.”

Ms. Gain was the first to open her mouth, and

“Yes. Let’s start there.”

I nodded, and

“Don’t stray from the group.”

The prince warned everyone sharply. Hmm…

Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t get more than ten steps away from Sir Johann because of our waistbands.

*

The next morning.

The special room of the tavern ‘The Unforgiven Drink’.

-Clatter, clatter, clatter…

“Extra! Extra! Statia Plains captured! Extra, extra!”

“Heok!”

A tremendous shout was heard from outside the window.

Ganael, who was preparing everyone’s breakfast, ran to the window with a look of delight.

‘Clatter!’ A honey rye bread staggered on the plate.

Even the divine beasts perked up their tails and followed behind with a flurry.

Golden eyes began to grope busily beyond the glass.

A girl was hanging on to the back of a cart loaded with cheese, smoked herring, and the like.

The child’s arms were full of bundles of yellow paper.

She seemed to have gotten a ride on that tea car to deliver the extra [extra edition newspaper].

“Extra! Extra! Statia Plains captured!”

“What does that mean! Huh?”

The tavern owner hurriedly ran out of the building and asked.

Ganael on the upper floor carefully opened the window to hear the sound properly.

Demi, Leah, and Perry laid their ears down side by side, following the boy.

“Hello, Unforgiven Grandpa! I heard that the Statia Plains have been captured. The Imperial Army will soon push into Yeriho!”

“Wh-what… What did you say!”

‘Rustle!’ The excited old man snatched the paper in the child’s hand.

The girl shrugged her shoulders with a face that was not at all surprised.

Even the driver who had loaded the cargo had a blank look.

Ganael swallowed hard and focused all his attention on the conversation that followed.

“It rained so much the other day, right? Because of that, there was a big landslide at the front. The damage to the Holy Kingdom’s army and civilians is so great that Princess Royal Highness has decided to give up the plains and retreat. She said it would be difficult to save the people otherwise. Really!”

“Damn it… Then what’s going to happen to us now? Huh?!”

“What’s going to happen? They say that if you surrender to Liester, they’ll accept everyone, and they’ll be especially good to civilians. My family has already agreed.”

The child answered firmly, then picked up the papers the old man had dropped.

Then, she began to spread the extra around the Yeriho stores that were still open.

‘Extra! Extra! The Imperial Army’s advance into Yeriho is imminent!’ In the meantime, the girl’s phrase had become even more provocative.

The tavern owner constantly lamented, rubbing his bulging belly.

“Ah, damn it. I’ll have to change the name of the store. Instead of ‘The Unforgiven Drink’, something like ‘The Surrenderer’!”

‘Rustle!’ The paper was ruthlessly crumpled in the hairy hand.

Ganael let out a sigh of relief and straightened his back. I’m sorry for the old man, but it’s really a relief…!

“That’s good.”

“Eek!”

I was so surprised! My ankle twisted because of my fiancé, who had approached without a sound.

Ganael closed his eyes tightly, feeling his body falling backwards.

Please don’t let me get seriously hurt, I have to protect everyone now…!

-Thump!

“Ah!”

It wasn’t ‘Crash’!

When I opened my eyes again, the most beautiful gray eyes in the world were flickering right in front of the boy’s nose.

Ganael moved his lips like a fool.

A sharp nose, a coolly rising corner of the mouth, handsome dark green eyebrows.

Rosy cheeks and a white forehead…

Ugh!

“Too close!”

The boy hurriedly escaped Elizabeth’s arms.

The divine beasts whined and booed, then flocked together again.

The vice-captain tilted his head with a confused expression.

“Too close? Why? We’re engaged.”

“B-but, that’s not okay. Mute is still…”

“Still what? I probably know more than you do.”

His face turned into a burning tomato at those words.

“T-that’s not it! Anyway, not now!”

“Okay. Then how about just holding hands?”

“Hands, hands are…”

Hesitation flashed across his innocent face. But that was also for a moment.

Ganael declared again with a determined expression.

“His Majesty will be here soon, Mute. Before that, we have to open Princess Marguerite’s mouth!”

Then he walked to the table with vigor.

The sub-count stared at the round back of the boy’s head, and finally burst out laughing.