What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 771

Oh my god, how could this…

-Whoosh…

“Ah…”

In just a few seconds, the detached house had turned into a blackened skeleton, smoke billowing from its remains.

I couldn’t form a coherent sentence; I could only move my lips.

-Rumble…!

“Ugh, ick!”

I shuddered violently, hugging Leah and Yef tightly. Crumble…! The detached house, which had been standing just moments ago, collapsed, unable to withstand even the slightest breeze.

My heart, still racing, pounded like crazy, and I was as breathless as someone who had run several laps around the parade ground.

Now that I looked around, the dry grass and a few shrubs nearby were also blackened and hardened like graphite.

I stared at the scene for a long time before snapping out of it.

The thoughts in my head, which had stopped functioning due to fear, suddenly raced forward.

This is a real disaster!

“Master, Master! You mustn’t kill Werner! We must capture him alive for the trial…!”

“Are you saying that now?”

“Yes?”

I flinched, blankly following the man’s head as it slowly rose.

Gibriel Dioph, now standing fully upright, was looking down at me with bloodshot eyes.

“Look at yourself before you talk. Don’t you have a mirror in that fancy bag of yours?”

His gaze was piercing and cold. My shoulders instinctively shrank.

“Yes? Ah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t get much spiritual healing, and I suddenly couldn’t remember the breathing technique that Bishop Blaise taught me… I’m sorry. I must have been too surprised. I didn’t expect to meet him in a place like this…”

“Ha… Damn it.”

Dioph cut me off with a sigh, as if wanting everyone to hear.

Seeing him running his hand through his hair while muttering harsh words made my face flush for no reason.

The Master was definitely a friend, but he hadn’t known me before Werner Venetian killed me.

The way I had acted a moment ago must have seemed uncomfortable and bizarre to him.

And now, there were even young children to take care of.

Yef stretched out his chubby fingers.

“Mister. That maid noona [older sister/term of endearment] is…”

“Maid noona? Oh, right!”

My heart sank once again. I hurriedly craned my neck and looked beyond the bushes.

The ragged girl, who didn’t seem to be seriously injured, was lying a few steps away from us.

Upon closer observation, I could see she was breathing evenly. Oh my god, thank goodness.

The sensation of cold sweat running down my forehead felt strange.

“Mister, her eyes are purple. Pretty.”

“…Ah, thank you. Can you keep it a secret from others?”

“Okay. Are you okay now?”

“Yes. I’m okay…”

I had suggested the escape first, but now I had become a troublesome burden.

I put on my sliding magic stone glasses and held Yef and Leah tightly again.

A child who was only five years old was ten times more composed than me, making me reflect on myself.

Jeong Yeseo, no matter how difficult it is, you have to be strong. The world is depending on you, remember?

You can’t forget that.

“Ahem. I’m sorry for making such a loud noise. Since the Master used his power, I’ll take a look around. If the body, no, if he’s still alive, I can restrain him with a divine power…”

“It’s because of me, so you don’t have to apologize.”

“Yes?”

I felt like our conversation kept going off track.

I looked up at the man with a foolish expression.

Is this a characteristic of the Liester imperial family? This sometimes happens when I talk to Cedric too.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I couldn’t hold back for a moment, so it’s not your fault.”

“…”

“Get up slowly. You can’t put any strength in your legs right now.”

“…Yes.”

Wouldn’t I know my own body better than anyone else? I thought to myself, but as I tried to get up, I really couldn’t put any strength in my legs at all.

Not just my muscles, but even my bones wouldn’t move the way I wanted them to. Rather, my stomach churned every time I tried to walk.

I was inwardly horrified, but I moved forward calmly, creaking like a tent in a storm.

The Master checked that the ragged girl was completely unconscious before tying her hands and feet with rope. And then…

“Please, Leah. Just a little bit of strength.”

-Squeak!

Rumble…! Thick vines that had sprung up from the Sarchmentini garden diligently began to rummage through the remains of the detached house.

I was on edge, not knowing when Werner’s body might pop out, and Dioph, perhaps finding that pathetic, strode over.

He had been clicking his tongue every time he looked at me since earlier.

Leah quickly went down to the dirt floor and bit the magician’s calf.

-Squeak!

“I’ll search, so you keep watch.”

“…”

“It’ll be a headache if even one holy knight passes by.”

“…Yes. Thank you, Master.”

For the next few minutes, I greeted Arumhardt and Fondue outside the iron gate and watched for anyone passing by.

As I had confirmed, there were hardly any nobles left in this neighborhood.

Even though such a terrifying thunderbolt had struck a little while ago, there wasn’t a single patrolling vigilante in sight yet.

Perhaps this was Dioph’s most powerful skill.

The fact that his magic could always be disguised as a simple weather phenomenon.

“Hey, Juliet. Come here.”

“Ah, yes!”

“Don’t run. You can’t keep your balance right now. I clearly—”

“Ugh!”

Thud! I almost fell headfirst, but the Master caught me in an instant.

I gave an embarrassed smile and staggered back to my feet.

My body had been feeling sluggish since earlier, and for some reason, my back and heart were throbbing, making it difficult to focus.

It felt like I was about to come down with a terrible body ache. Of course, I couldn’t afford to be sick for a while.

“…That blue thing that’s broken. Isn’t that a carriage?”

“…”

Isn’t it obvious?

“…Yes. It seems so. A blue carriage… The one Werner used to drive around.”

-Creak

The carriage that Gukseo seemed to have owned since leaving the Erieho black market, leaving a shining trail even in the darkness… It was shattered in one corner of the ruins.

Even though everything else had been struck by lightning and burned black, the carriage retained its mysterious blue color.

When I discovered the three wheels scattered around like torn limbs, I felt chills all over my body.

I slowly moved my gaze along the scattered traces of the carriage, but I couldn’t see a human body or anything similar anywhere.

Just faint footprints pressing down on the ground…

“Huh?”

Footprints. Could it be? I gasped and turned to look at Dioph.

His gaze was sinking black like dead blood.

“He ran away alive. I have a dirty feeling that I didn’t hit him.”

“…”

I felt both relief and displeasure at the same time.

I was shocked at myself for not being able to kill someone myself, yet secretly hoping for someone else’s success.

But even more shocking was the fact that Werner had survived the lightning of an 8th-grade combat magician.

Besides, wasn’t that the Master’s ‘specialty’?

“How, how could an ordinary person survive such an attack…”

“Well. It seems like this damn carriage saved him.”

“…”

The man kicked one of the wheels and grumbled.

Then Yef, who had been quiet all along, opened his mouth.

“That mister caught me.”

“Huh?”

I was surprised and turned to look at the child.

His chubby cheeks were puffed up like a storybook filled with things that had happened.

“He didn’t have one arm, but he grabbed me with the other arm and wouldn’t let me go home. He shouted at that noona [older sister/term of endearment]… to get me something to eat. The noona tried to let me go, but he hit her… He said bad things…”

The boy’s voice, which had been surprisingly calm, finally began to waver with tears.

Children around this age sometimes experience emotions belatedly after an event, and it seemed like Yef was going through something similar.

I hugged the little one tightly enough to make him feel a little suffocated and comforted him. Shh.

“It’s okay, Yef. Did you get lost? And then that man caught you?”

“Yes. Violin… I was going home with my violin… when monster people appeared… I ran.”

The boy hugged my neck tightly and spoke haltingly.

I found something that had once been a musical instrument bag in the corner of the floor where ashes were scattered.

I thought about picking it up and taking it with me, but it didn’t seem like it would remain a good memory, so I left it there.

Instead, I looked at Dioph and whispered quickly.

“Shouldn’t we chase him? Since his limbs aren’t intact, we could easily follow him even now…”

-Neigh!

At that moment, Arum, outside the front gate of the mansion, neighed loudly.

The Master and I instinctively held our breaths. Not far away…

“…West! You guys circle around the north and meet here!”

“Yes, Captain!”

“Dismissed!”

“Yes!”

At the booming shout of a young man, several people gave a loud response.

I was startled and looked up at Dioph.

He quickly slung the ragged girl over his shoulder and grabbed my arm. Vigilantes!

“We’re enemy guerrillas, what kind of pursuit are you talking about? It’s more important to confirm the information that Sixth Cousin is bringing.”

“Yes, this is the capital after all.”

“If we move carelessly, things will get out of hand. We should hold back for now, in case other cavalry units have planned some kind of operation.”

“I completely agree.”

“You.”

Thud! The man, having passed through the iron gate, suddenly stopped me in front of the saddle.

He was making all sorts of faces, as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t bring himself to, and I had never seen such an expression before, so my eyes widened. Why?

“Master?”

“…Never mind. Get on quickly.”

What was that all of a sudden? But there was no time to ask, so I took Leah and hurriedly climbed onto the saddle.

I almost slipped several times because I couldn’t step on the stirrups properly, but I managed to escape the scene just in time.

And as time passed, we entered a narrow alley leading to Pantheon Square.

We had almost been caught by the vigilantes, but we had safely returned to base.

Even after experiencing all that.

-Clatter, clatter, clatter…

“…”

In reality, my heart was still beating erratically, and I felt like I wouldn’t be able to sleep properly tonight.

My back and chest were becoming increasingly sore and painful, making it difficult to even hold my upper body upright.

But I constantly repeated the ether circulation throughout my body and took deep breaths.

Because it would be troublesome if I fell ill. Because this wasn’t the time for that.

And above all…

“What is it?”

“Yes?”

I flinched, stopping myself from looking at my companion’s profile.

“If you have something to say, say it. It’s a waste to wear out that pretty face.”

“Ah…”

I was momentarily stunned by the unexpected reaction, but then I thought that maybe that was the Master’s way of being considerate, in his own obnoxious way.

For the first time ever.

“…Um. Could you keep what happened earlier a secret from Gain and the Crown Prince?”

“Why.”

He asked indifferently, looking straight ahead.

I patted Yef, who was dozing off, and almost pleaded.

“I’m not asking you to keep the encounter with Gukseo a secret. Just, only the part where I acted strangely there…”

“Acted strangely? You’re mistaken about something.”

The man scoffed coldly.

“Wasn’t that the place where you met the murderer who killed you? Isn’t a seizure, hyperventilation, and phantom pain a perfectly normal human reaction?”

“Master.”

“What’s the reason you have to be so strong?”

Finally, his red eyes looked straight at me.

It was a sharp gaze that seemed to pierce my soul. I couldn’t find the words to say for a moment.

“Because you don’t want to worry them? Because you’re the son of God? Why are you pushing yourself so hard? Anyone can see that it’s not normal.”

“…”

“Do you even know that it’s a damn foolish thing to do?”

“Yes, I do.”

As soon as I managed to answer, his handsome face contorted in the same way as before.

I gave a faint bitter smile and asked once again.

There was no need for everyone to repeat the wounds of that day.

“Please, Gibriel. Please don’t tell my friends.”