What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 535

Sub-Male Lead’s Strike – Episode 535

#535

After-Party Play (1)

Huh-uh!

-Kugugugugung!

“Uwaaah······!”

A sound closer to a scream than admiration burst out.

I barely managed to pry open my tightly shut eyelids.

The entire continent trembled in fear, and even the stars were horrified by what had just happened, hiding themselves beyond the veil of night.

Dduk-shim sparkled his eyes and flapped his wings, so I hurriedly grabbed him and put him in my arms (‘Pee!’).

We witnessed the anomaly of the heavens and earth becoming as bright as day in the middle of the night.

-Saaaah―!

“Good heavens, is the Divine Nation going to fall! Is Venetian going to collapse! Heueong······!”

“Princess Francisca, calm down!”

It was the ripple effect of a Sword Master, nothing less.

The frightened young lady screamed with a pale face, and I buried the child’s back deep into the scales of the Four Dragons.

For now, it seemed better not to see anything at all.

The girl’s locket necklace fluttered as if it would break.

The intense aftershock turned our hair and robes inside out.

Tess finally lost strength in her forearm and dropped her bow.

Only the scales of the divine object, tied like a rope, firmly supported us. Whee-woo-oong!

-Saaaah······

After a while.

-Cheeeeek······!

Huh! A melting sound made my head snap up.

Following that, a black snake appeared before my eyes―

“Uwaaah!”

“······Grab on and come up.”

Ah, damn it! That’s not a snake, it’s the Hye Geom [a legendary sword]!

I clutched my pounding chest and glared at the Crown Prince for a moment.

He looked down on me with eyes that said, ‘So what if you’re a coward.’

After confirming that Tess and Francisca were both safe, I grumbled inwardly and grabbed the scabbard, struggling to climb up.

Standing on the crown of the Four Dragons, the crescent moon was faintly illuminating the now darkened surroundings of the Guild Hall.

Finally, the whole world came into view. A cool, salty wind blew from somewhere.

“Oh my god······.”

-Wheeeee······

My jaw dropped open.

His Highness Stanislaus, blocking the Four Dragons, still stood firm.

However, the body of the griffin, as large as a mountain, was precisely quartered in front of him.

Over there, the griffin’s left wing lay cleanly cut off, and its right wing was visible in the distance.

The body of the ‘Tyrant War Dragon,’ which constituted the griffin, was rolling around in the spot facing the Guild Hall head-on.

And closest to the Four Dragons······.

-Kkeureureureuk······

“Ugh.”

The griffin’s eagle head, finally destroyed, was lying there.

I knew it was big, but seeing it like this, the size was truly enormous.

In the meantime, some of its nerves were still alive, its eyeballs slowly rolling around, and its bloody beak emitted a terrible groan.

Dduk-shim was eager to see it, but I stubbornly stopped him.

This was not good for education. Absolutely not!

-Cheeeeek!

“······Ugh, seriously, thank you, Main God.”

After muttering that, I hurriedly covered my mouth and nose with my sleeve.

It was because highly toxic fluid was pouring out of the dead griffin’s corpse.

I wondered where the burning smell and sour odor had been coming from, but the griffin’s deep resentment was leaving scars on the northern land until the very end.

Wherever the viscous, dark purple liquid touched, the rocks melted and the soil cried out in pain.

Black smoke was visible to the naked eye.

Tess, who had grasped the situation from behind, tore her robe and covered her and Francisca’s faces.

‘Kkirururuk······!’ The flock of demonic beasts circling the night sky had already been reduced by more than half.

Most of them seemed to have run away somewhere.

Grandfather closed his eyes for a moment to offer a prayer, then sheathed his greatsword. Clang!

The sound snapped me back to my senses.

“Where’s Francois? Where’s Sir Johan?”

I leaned forward urgently and looked around.

I heard Cedrick clicking his tongue.

Baby Tete poked his nose out from his arms.

“Your glasses fell off.”

“This isn’t about my glasses right now. Tete, hello?”

-Awoong!

“Have you forgotten that Taesa is a Cardinal?”

I can’t hear you.

Of course, the friend who made the glasses and the friend who went to save him were much more precious than the glasses.

The glasses have a string, but the two of them were completely defenseless.

To make matters worse, because the Guild Hall building was so badly destroyed, most of the torches and braziers that had been lighting the area were extinguished.

The corpses of Baron Atsuma’s subordinates and lower-level demonic beasts were scattered haphazardly.

I relied only on the moonlight and the radiance of the Four Dragons to busily look around.

Where did they go? I’m sure they disappeared using instant movement earlier······.

-······Kkieeee!

Perhaps my worries were excessive, I heard a call like a hallucination from afar.

I quickly shook my head and focused on finding my friends again.

I was anxious and nervous, and my throat was parched. Seeing this, the Crown Prince called me in a blunt tone.

“Gungju.”

“Please don’t talk to me for a moment.”

“Serenite.”

“Hyung is concentrating.”

“Three o’clock.”

“Three o’clock? I just checked―”

Pressing down on my pounding heart, I whipped my head around as he said.

I thought there was nothing more to be surprised about, but this time I almost spat my eyeballs out.

-Kkieeeeee!

“Demiya―!”

My subconscious burst out the shout first.

At the name I shouted, which I couldn’t even believe myself, my cheekbones rose sharply and my lips widened.

Exactly at three o’clock, the downhill leading to the southern part of the Divine Nation.

Three shadows were running and jumping out of the dark path as if draped with a curtain.

Francois and Sir Johan were tightly wrapped in their green vines.

Shamefully, tears welled up in my eyes.

“Gyoo-ya, Gyoo-ya! Please let Hyung down! I’m begging you!”

-Keureureureung

When I grabbed the horns and pleaded like a dying person, the Four Dragons slowly lowered his head, fluttering his silky beard.

The Crown Prince was holding onto my hood like a leash, like an owner with an elevator.

He seemed worried that I would jump off without knowing the difference between heaven and earth and break my legs.

Finally, the moment the ‘Heart of the Four Dragons,’ the wish-fulfilling orb, touched the dirt floor―

-Thud!

“Oh dear! Heineken-nim!”

“I’m okay!”

Tess shouted worriedly, but I waved my hand with a smile and dashed out.

I didn’t care about my dirt-covered knees or aching ankles.

As the little ones got closer, my nose tingled and my throat choked up.

These lovely and beloved treasures were right in front of me.

I knelt down and spread my arms wide.

Like when I found Eunseo, who had gone missing in Seoul Grand Park, after two hours.

“Leia! Perry!”

-Kkieeing!

-Kkia, kkia!

Thump, thump thump! Familiar and warm bellies filled my arms.

It felt like warmth was being transmitted directly to my heart.

The feel of soft fur, tails as plump as foxtails.

Adorable ears and front paws that fit perfectly in one hand were touching.

The little tongues of the red pandas busily licked my cheeks and chin. It tickled and made me so happy that I kept laughing.

I supported the bottoms of the children climbing on my shoulders in order.

Seeing spring flowers blooming from the vines wrapped around their napes and wrists, my heart ached for no reason.

Dduk-shim also finally jumped out of my arms and hugged the red pandas.

-Ppibbippoooh!

Did they come all the way from Yeriho [a mythical land] to see us? Could it be that only these kids came?

-Kkieeung, kkieeing!

“Demi, just a moment. If you go up there, I can’t see in front of me.”

-Kkihu, kkiha!

“Leia, you’re going to get blood rushing to your head if you do that. That’s right.”

-Kkiwoo, kkiwoong!

“Perry, don’t wrap your body with leaves. It’ll squeeze your waist. Perry-ya!”

I barely managed to handle the frantically clinging little ones and looked up at my two friends who had come up to my chin.

Francois, supported by Sir Johan, was beaming at me.

The plant that had been assisting his walk loosened its strength and flowed down.

“Did you see, my dear Gungju [Princess]? My secret technique!”

“Francois! What on earth did you do?”

Your forehead is glistening with cold sweat again!

“Hehehe. I simply applied my special skill slightly. To be precise, I intended to move not only my own body but also the ‘space’ I was standing in. It’s an adventure that most magicians wouldn’t even imagine, but I’m not just any magician, am I? Including the griffin’s beak, of course, and even every last bit of air I exhaled―”

“In short, you mean you used an enormous amount of magic power, right?”

There was a silence of about 2 seconds.

“······That’s a sharp point. But wasn’t it effective? I contributed to catching a mythical-grade demonic beast!”

‘I must boast to the young master as well. It’s an achievement that will go down in the family’s history!’ He was delighted with his sparkling pink eyes.

I was about to nag him some more, but I received Leia’s kiss instead.

I know the joy of a non-combatant making a contribution in a fight, but, um.

Sir Johan is looking down at the Marquis with scary eyes right now······.

“Heineken Niiiiiiiiim!”

It was then.

“Heineken-nim! I almost died for real today, it hurt so much!”

This time, from the direction of the spruce forest, the voice of my favorite protagonist rang out loudly.

The content I heard was serious, but a broad smile hung on the corners of my mouth as I turned around.

That’s because I know very well that he wouldn’t say that if his condition was really serious.

“Christel!”

As I shouted loudly and got up from my seat, a person holding Gain like a princess came into view.

I was momentarily horrified and took a step back. So was Francois.

Even Djibril Diop, who was walking with them over there, had a similar expression to ours.

“······Philip, the guardian of chastity, good heavens.”

“I’m not seeing things right now, am I? Huh?”

This is crazy, why is Admiral Emma Corleone here?

I’m incredibly relieved and incredibly anxious at the same time!

“······It seems His Majesty’s support force was the Admiral. Since the North has a coast, we can leave the cleanup to them.”

Sir Johan, who had been quiet all along, said calmly.

I was so surprised that I couldn’t think that way, but when I thought about it carefully, there was no way Corleone, the naval admiral, could have come all the way here alone.

There must be support forces waiting somewhere, and Riester’s ships might be entering the North Sea.

Besides, they must have come up from the South······.

Wait a minute.

“Did you guys come with the Admiral too, by any chance?”

-Kkureut!

“Did you come riding on that person’s mount?”

-Kkitteung!

When I asked, Demi snorted in a particularly arrogant tone.

What is it? Is it a reaction like, ‘Know that you are honored to have ridden the Divine Beast?’

I couldn’t stop asking questions at all.

“Did you tell the garrison people before you came out?”

-Kkieueung

“Okay. It’s a relief that you came with a guardian, but what about the Spirit? Is she still recovering her energy in Yeriho? No, I should help my friends recover their energy first.”

-Paaaaaaat······!

I hurriedly opened the ‘Vitality’ healing circle and had Gain and Francois, who were slowly approaching, sit down.

That’s because I need to pour basic strength into their bodies so that they can endure it, so that the next treatment can proceed smoothly.

Seeing the ‘Diehard’ team, soaked and pale in the cold weather, made me feel bad.

Diop exchanged glances with me once and then collapsed to the ground.

He didn’t care at all that his red-gold hair was stained with mud.

Even the skilled combat magician, Gongja, was so exhausted that he collapsed like this······.

What on earth happened?

“Breathe long and deep. I can give you enough vitality, so just focus on calming your body down right now.”

-Talpadak!

“Aeuuu. I’m going to live because Gungju-nim [a respectful title for a princess] is here······. I endured while only thinking about that. Aigo, my babies! Come to Nuna [term used by younger females to address older sisters or female friends]!”

Gain, who was lying down looking up at my face, quickly called the Divine Beasts.

The excited treasures began to jump around on their favorite Nuna’s belly.

I propped up her head with a Gaga bag and raised my gaze.

A long shadow fell into my view.

“······.”

A large scar remained on his cheek, and his shirt smelled of tobacco.

His unique eerie smile and gruff voice were still the same.

“······It’s been a while, ‘Bachelor’.”