What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 642

#642

Descent (2)

Jibril Aliénor Diop hated his middle name.

“Damn it. You there! Immediately inform His and Her Highnesses. All combat mages, follow me!”

“Understood, Prince!”

“Everyone, to the front lines! Deploy defensive magic formations and protect Lord Diop’s rear!”

“Yes!”

“All military personnel and laborers, retreat! I repeat! Military personnel, attendants, and servants, fall back to the safe zone!”

“Good heavens! An angel! It’s a winged angel!”

“How could this happen on a day like today—!”

“Shut up and run! Who knows if it’s an angel or a demon!”

“Prince! What exactly should we tell His Majesty?”

The thing was, ‘Aliénor’ was the revered name of an empress who had once held the political circles of the Liester Empire in her grasp long ago.

He still didn’t know what his mother, Duchess Diop, was thinking when she gave him such a grand name.

Perhaps she, too, seriously considered changing his name as she watched her son grow up.

The social scene, where he could act as he pleased, might be another matter—though, of course, it didn’t matter because it was Jibril—he had no intention of getting involved in politics at all, and he had no plans to emulate or take inspiration from Empress Aliénor’s outstanding achievements.

He knew that there was a time when the current Emperor had high hopes for him, but that was also a thing of the past.

In short, Jibril didn’t care about the trappings of honor or title, as long as he could moderately satisfy his primal desires.

More honestly, he sincerely hoped that such things would not be placed on his shoulders.

His ideal life was one where he occasionally did what his superiors ordered, regularly collected his pension, and watched his younger sibling lead the family well.

But this damn war was ruining all his plans.

When exactly did it start? Right after the war started?

-Wheeeee······!

-Zhiiiing!

No, even then, his life seemed like a controllable chariot.

Jibril gritted his teeth, deploying a massive offensive magic formation.

“Lord Diop!”

“What kind of question is that? Tell them exactly what you see! Winged objects are falling from the sky, and as of now, identification is impossible!”

“Understood!”

“It would be faster to find the nearby brigade commander. Don’t get lost!”

“Leave it to me!”

A couple of young knights quickly moved their feet and disappeared.

Those who were scooping snow and repairing fences on the outskirts of the main camp were also caught up in the chaos and rushed to evacuate.

Meanwhile, purple and gold decorations attached to white flags fluttered busily everywhere.

Thousands of pieces of paper were tied together, wishing for the safe return of the Crown Prince and his party.

Jibril cursed as he looked up at the approaching ‘angel.’ He was thinking of finding someone to spend the night with after a long time, but things had gone terribly wrong.

The main base and front line of the Liester Empire’s army, this place right under the ‘Puppeteer’s Path to Heaven,’ was crowded with most of the empire’s great nobles and commanders.

It only took the Emperor three weeks to personally lead a large army to push the front lines this far.

It took nearly two more weeks to settle here and build a proper military camp.

The rear garrison was dotted like drops of blood on the continental map, supporting the front lines, protecting refugees from the Divine Kingdom, accommodating a large number of criminals, and transporting military supplies day and night with non-combat mages.

He heard that work to expand the war portals had already begun in several bases.

However, all acts of combat between the two countries had been suspended since last week.

Several messengers had passed between the two military camps.

-Kugugugung······!

February 22nd.

Because today was the Great Descent Festival of the Main God, the continent’s largest holiday.

During the period commemorating the god’s first footprint, any violence between all things was strictly prohibited.

Now that he saw it, it seemed like the Divine Kingdom bastards had even thrown away their faith!

-Ssaaaaa, Papapapat······!

“Goddamn it, it’s not just one.”

And it’s not falling!

Jibril’s cloak fluttered rapidly in the gust of wind blowing from afar.

The falling angel suddenly flapped its wings and soared rapidly.

The lower-ranking mages guarding their superior all turned pale.

They couldn’t believe that he had survived after being directly hit by such a powerful electric shock.

“Good heavens! How could such a thing happen!”

“It’s definitely a paladin, Prince! Looks like a cardinal class!”

“Prince, that guy is leading a group! According to the telescope, there seem to be at least four of them!”

“You guys stand by. I’ll do the sniping.”

“But······!”

“I said step back. Do you not know what time it is?”

‘Uuung, Uuung, Jijijiing—!’ The Prince layered several complex enhancement magic formations over the 8th-grade target magic.

The overlapping formations, like flower petals, widened and narrowed greatly, like the pupils of a beast aiming for a fawn.

As Jibril gathered all the mana in his body, his eyes emitted a bright red light.

He intended to end it all here with just one explosion, just one strike.

There was no point in exchanging attacks multiple times.

Now was the official and sacred truce period, as His Majesty had said, so the justification had to be solely for defense.

The more people involved, the more difficult it would be to control the situation.

More than anything, he didn’t want to write a report. Here it comes.

-Swaaaaa······!

“······Here we go.”

The moment the angel’s form became clear, the man swung his staff without hesitation.

With his swift movements, one side of the sky flashed like the eye of a demon.

It was a perfectly aimed shot, perfectly calculating the target’s speed and direction. ‘Jjeojjeojeok!’

[I told you not to attack! Stop—!]

At that moment, a tearing divine message echoed from the sky.

Jibril flinched and raised his head. He shuddered at the voice he knew so well.

It was pitifully hoarse, but he couldn’t not know it.

“······No way.”

-Paaaaaa!

Before his perception could spread like lightning, a huge golden sanctuary unfolded beneath his feet.

The staff fell helplessly from Jibril’s hand.

The combat mages who were instantly taken prisoner cried out in horror.

“Lord Diop! I can’t move!”

“No way, is that guy a priest, not a paladin?!”

“Everyone, calm down! Someone go to the military camp and bring the Archbishop!”

“We need reinforcements!”

-Kwagaagwang—!

The ensuing thunder buried all their booming shouts, and the man stood frozen like a rock.

He was naturally indifferent, but this time he couldn’t help but block the chaos that was flooding his eyes.

The wings that had dodged the lightning quickly stirred through the dark clouds, protecting and leading those clinging to the vines.

Jibril’s dazed gaze finally became enlightened.

The one who had uprooted his compass, which had not wavered even when the war broke out, was right there······.

“Stay calm! We’ll attack from here! Activate target magic and fire arrows!”

“Do as we trained! Finish it in one blow! Ready!”

“Maximize the defensive formation!”

“If we don’t stop them here, the military camp is in danger!”

‘Cheok, cheokcheok! Cheokcheokcheok!’ Just then, mages shouting at the top of their lungs came into view from a distance.

Jibril took a hurried breath in the center of the golden swarm.

Normally, those who moved with perfect precision deserved to receive the imperial medal.

But not now!

“Hey! Stop right n―”

“Aim!”

“Hwaaaap!”

“Fire!”

The last command somehow sounded like syrup, stretching out.

All the movements of his subordinates were slowly overlaid as if cursed.

The Prince hurriedly rolled his eyes and looked up at the sky.

The angel with white wings spread out, waving his staff with all his might, his torn clothes fluttering.

The mage finally realized that all the people clinging to him were unconscious.

However, it was already too late to fix anything.

A hot sweat ran down his throat.

His body was frozen, his weapon rolled on the snowy dirt floor, and the mages, filled with a sense of mission to save the military camp, began to unleash their mana—

-Jijijiing!

Right then,

-Kwakwakwakwa······!

[Stop it! Stop attacking us! Please!]

“Everyone, get out of the way!”

“Uoooooo!”

“Kk!”

With a flash like a full moon falling, a scream-like cry shook the heavens and the earth.

Jibril instinctively bent over and covered his eyes to avoid losing his sight.

In an instant, the voices of his subordinates faded away.

He didn’t know what happened, whether the mages eventually fired a barrage of arrows, or whether he landed properly······. He couldn’t know anything.

Finally, in the fading rays of light, what the Prince saw with narrowed eyes was—

-Ssaaaaaaaaa······!

“Good Lord······.”

Another sanctuary that had completely confined even his subordinates who had been thrown far away.

He felt the blood draining from his face.

This was clearly a double activation.

*

“Heok, Jung-ye!”

Jung Hyun-seo 벌떡 벌떡 일어났다.

Instantly, his body, unable to maintain its balance, collapsed towards the armrest.

-Thud, crash!

“Ah! Ugh······.”

Eventually, the chair fell over completely, and the cushion and the slipped-off slippers scattered on the floor.

The man took off his glasses for a moment and pressed his forehead.

After lying face down on the heated floor for a while, his mind seemed to slowly return.

The eyes that had been endlessly heating up also seemed to calm down a bit.

The elbow that had been hit wrong throbbed, but this was nothing.

Hyun-seo quickly threw off his headphones and looked up at the desktop.

Yes, maybe it was because of these headphones that he had that VR game-like experience.

-Uuuuuung······

“Damn it.”

The golden energy was still flowing from the monitor.

He closed his eyes for a moment, washed his face roughly, and put his glasses back on.

“What time is it······.”

He then fumbled for his smartphone, which was rolled up with him, checked the time, and let out a deep sigh of relief.

Just in case, he checked the date as well, but it was still safe.

He raised his stiff back, bent his neck back, and stretched several times.

Suddenly, a phrase from the last message he had left came to mind.

‘I’m not worried about you, so don’t worry about your brother.’

“There’s no way. There’s no way······.”

Hyun-seo slowly muttered to himself like a sigh and got up from his seat.

He had so many thoughts that his head felt like it was about to explode, but in times like this, he had to start with simple tasks.

He stood on his own two feet, picked up the fallen chair, tidied up the cushion and mouse, and put his slippers back on.

After slapping his cold cheeks once with both hands, he stared blankly at the empty mug.

There was only one thing he needed right now.

“Espresso. Doppio [double shot of espresso].”

To stay up all night, and to see his younger sibling return safely.

And to do the work that that guy had entrusted to him······. Right now, he desperately needed strong coffee.

He stared at the monitor with sharp eyes.

“······I’ll see you later. For sure.”

Leaving behind the still-moving cursor, he left the room calmly this time without staggering.

*

Twinge.

“······Ah.”

What kind of dream was it?

“Ummm······.”

I don’t know. I don’t remember. My eyes, which had been slightly opened, closed again.

I stretched my stiff legs out long and then curled up again in the blanket.

The pillow hugged in my arms was big and fluffy, perfect for burying my face in.

The soft blanket smelled as good as if it had just been washed, and the air in the bedroom was quite warm.

Nearby, the fireplace sang a song that ticked at a pleasant rhythm.

The heater was already on in the room. Is it winter? It’s winter.

“Ah, cold······.”

Cold. That’s what I was trying to mutter, but my voice didn’t come out properly.

Only then did I realize that my throat was completely gone.

It was scratchy and prickly, and it seemed like I had a bad cold.

But so what, what am I supposed to do?

Since my thoughts weren’t connecting properly, the conclusions I was reaching were also a mess.

I’m thirsty. My back is cold. Everywhere else is warm, but only my back is cold. I need to ask Ganael for warm water and······.

I should ask him to bring that. What’s it called?

“That thing. When it’s cold······.”

“What. A heat-generating magic stone?”

“Uh······.”

“Again. Tell me.”

Again? Again? I frowned slightly.

But the man who spoke to me didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving me alone.

“Lord Palace Master, if there’s anything you need, tell me now. It’s easier to get it all at once.”

He spoke in a testy voice. No, who’s the one whose sleep is being disturbed right now······.

Who is this person doing this? It’s not Ganael. My kid doesn’t treat me like this.

Do you know me?

“Ga······.”

“What? Are you having a nightmare? I can’t hear you well.”

“Lord, wouldn’t it be better to leave the seat?”

“Ga······.”

“He said he’s having a nightmare. Shouldn’t we just wake him up? He looks uncomfortable.”

“Gaaa······.”

Just go······. I moaned, burying my face in the pillow.

I didn’t even remember what I was saying because I was half-asleep.

But it was clear that my intentions were not properly conveyed in the end.

There was a rustling sound nearby, and then someone yanked the blanket that had been covering me up to my head—!

“Ugh, it’s cold!”

-Flutter flutter!

The moment I finally appealed loudly, my body floated up and I felt something hit something hard on my wings. Paeoook!

“Cough!”

-Thud thud bang!

The man floating in the air was thrown straight into the wall! I was so surprised that my mouth dropped open.

I caused a major accident as soon as I opened my eyes!

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to do that on purpose, I’m really sorry. Cough. My wings, contrary to my intentions······.”

Wait a minute, ‘wings’?

“Huh······?”

I looked behind me with a dazed look.

I could see pure white wings folding their feathers like living things.

Of course, there was no sense of reality at all.

I was just confused as to whether I was still dreaming. What is this again······.

“······Four, five. Six?”

Six? Six wings?

Ah, there are a total of three pairs of wings extending on both sides, so two times three is six?

“······Uh-oh?”