130 – Antagonist (1)
“Stupid junior.”
“… ….”
“You idiot, junior. “You’re so stupid.”
It would have seemed like it would be over by this point, but it really was a baptism of continuous selling.
I guess I was upset a lot.
‘But if you think about it, it’s not my fault, is it?’
Of course, that didn’t mean that such thoughts didn’t rear their heads. In fact, it was clear and obvious that I had not done anything.
If I were to say something was wrong, it would be Howard, the former emperor, or at least the real Dante.
Is it true that you wanted to make things right? Shouldn’t I be praised in return?
I wish I could have said that in peace.
‘What can I do? I have to deal with it.’
Now that I’m experiencing a bit of identity confusion between Dante and the real me, I think it’s a burden I have to carry.
But in the end, the misunderstanding was resolved and it was okay.
“Senior.”
“Why… ….”
“Could you please let me go soon?”
“No…” ….”
Actually, Eve, who was so attached to me, was more of a problem than that right now.
Even though it was only one night, it looks like he didn’t go through much of a hard time.
When I managed to get out of the lap pillow, he hugged me tightly from behind, and the moment I let go of the tension, he let out a slightly excited sound as if he was going to bite the back of my neck.
For some people, such bold close contact may be a reward…….
‘Honestly, it’s a bit scary, sir?’
First of all, it was not for me, the person involved.
Ah, quite a spine-tingling sensation.
Eve was usually the type of person who would bite me gently, gently and kindly as she could to show her consideration for me, but now it felt like she had lost that self-control.
For me, I have no idea why I’m doing this kind of skinship to my cousin.
It’s not that I don’t like it, but I should say that there are some aspects of it that are slightly unfair. What on earth did the emperor say to him?
Really, it made me curious.
I’m sure he wasn’t just spouting nonsense like at the banquet, saying he came to kill me or something.
“…… Still, I have to go back soon. Seniors.”
But I couldn’t just spend time lost in such thoughts forever, so I gently held Eve’s hand with an awkward smile.
And then I tried to carefully push it out.
“… ….”
Unfortunately, we were not pushed out.
I hate my needlessly weak muscles.
“Senior… ….”
Anyway, putting everything else aside, isn’t the time right now the time? The situation is almost approaching midnight.
It was starting to get cold, so it was really right to go back now.
Thinking like that, I opened my mouth to try to persuade Eve again.
“…… “Senior, no.”
“Yes?”
Isn’t Eve, who had been quiet for a while, suddenly speaking like that? I blinked blankly and reflexively asked back.
Soon Eve pursed her lips.
He still has his head buried near the nape of my neck.
“…… Not your senior. Well, why. “You know.”
“Yes.”
“That. “That’s it.”
“…… Yes.”
I nodded briefly and heavily, but accepted what she said. Yes, ‘that’. So what is ‘that’?
What is it hinting at, what is it hoping for?
From what you’re saying, I can only guess a little bit…….
‘Oh, no way.’
No matter what, I thought that wasn’t the case. Could it be that Eve is spinning her words around like this because she wants to hear what her older sister says?
“…… “Please call me sister.”
“… ….”
But this was real.
I blinked.
I don’t know what to say in response, it’s a short moment, but the reason I’m worried like this is not something else.
If you really want to change your title without any reason, I won’t do this either.
As a person with only two older brothers, my younger brother suddenly appeared, so it wasn’t hard to understand if he wanted to hear his sister’s voice.
But, that’s true.
‘What can I say, the nuance of what he’s saying right now is a bit…….’
I don’t want to say this, but I do. Is it simply my imagination that the tone feels so strangely touching?
Or-.
“Quickly.”
“Uh, um.”
My thoughts could not go any further.
Eve called to me, and at the same time lightly exposed her fangs and gently rubbed the area near her neck. It tickled a lot.
“…… “Sister, shall we go out now?”
So in the end, I decided to surrender.
The title is algebraic, but it wasn’t actually a difficult task.
From noble mtl dot com
With just that small change, Eve shook her head without saying anything.
…… Well, isn’t a good thing a good thing?
I soon realized that it would be easier not to think too deeply.
As I said, I now approached the entrance of the lab to really get out of the stone pagoda.
Although the lightning struck me and made a mess while I was unconscious, there seems to be no problem with the stairs.
With that thought in mind, I opened the door.
“… ….”
I soon made eye contact with a young man standing just beyond that door.
Gloomily dark ultramarine blue eyes look at me.
‘…… Uh.’
A truly unexpected encounter.
That’s why I was embarrassed for a long time.
So to speak, the man looked at me, and then at Eve. And even as I looked more intently at the lab further back.
I couldn’t react properly…….
“…… Duke Blake?”
Similarly, the appearance of the man seemed to be embarrassing, and it was only then that I came to my proper thoughts when I heard Eve’s voice react a beat late.
Duke Blake.
I knew the name.
The man with that name doesn’t know either.
To be more precise, it was a person in Dante’s memory, but whatever the process, it is a name that has now become familiar to me.
It belonged to the man who assisted Howard most closely.
‘But, he must have been quite an old man, right?’
Nevertheless, the reason why I cannot easily shake off my embarrassment is that the Duke Blake I know and the man in front of me are completely different.
‘…… No. Aside from all that, why are you here at this stone pagoda in the middle of the night?’
Once again, I was very surprised by the man’s appearance, but that was no reason not to recognize the seriousness of the situation.
The man who assisted Howard, an unidentified man with the same name.
Such a person appeared at Howard’s Stone Pagoda quite unexpectedly.
And that too, at the moment when I opened the locked door of the stone pagoda.
First, I tried to step back, relying on my intuition. He grabbed Eve’s wrist and pulled her back.
And in the end, it was an infinitely correct decision.
Suddenly!!
“…… !”
I got cut.
What?
The floor where I was standing just before was hit by a shapeless blade.
“What… ….”
I couldn’t help but sigh.
It was too late to realize it. A lot of that too.
What if you didn’t take a step in advance? So, if I had just stood there for even one second longer…….
Gulp-
I got cut. I’m sure I got cut.
I swallowed nervously.
Sreung!
Still, the response itself was quick. At least I couldn’t have been dazed for much longer.
I grabbed the flugel, and around that time, Eve also took out her sword.
And then he hit the floor before me and reached under the man’s chin. Her sword pierced the air.
Toong…… !
“!”
But even so, the sword did not reach.
The rapier stained with silver aura bounces away.
If nothing else, it was because I could not tear apart the pitch-black curtain covering the man’s body.
Eve’s expression became more serious.
“…… Taylor Blake. What on earth is going on? “Why are you, the duke of the empire, using ‘black mana’ now?”
The voice was quite calm, but the expression it contained was confusion and disbelief at the same time.
Actually, it was worth it.
That pitch-black barrier that is immediately covering the man’s body, to be exact, the energy forming that barrier is -.
Because it was a heresy and a warlock that was taboo not only in the Empire but also across the continent.
Black Mana.
The unique shape, resembling a shimmering fog, is so clear that the excuse that it is just a resemblance does not work.
The man in front of me was a warlock.
…… A warlock who is probably at a pretty great level.
As it happens, I already knew about such a being.
I sighed inwardly.
And carefully recall the name of that being.
‘Duke Blake… ….’
That was already confirmed once through Eve’s assertion, but the ‘Duke Blake’ I’m talking about is probably different in many ways from the person Eve knows.
As expected, the duke I know is probably from the previous generation.
My head was definitely complicated right now. Coupled with the sudden situation, there is a gap in the perception of Duke Blake.
It was a situation where I couldn’t help but be agitated, but-.
Contradictoryly, I now know the correct answer.
No, I realized it naturally.
The Duke Blake I know.
And now the man in front of me.
‘So, you said you had a son?’
The two beings will be the same person.
It’s just a feeling, but it’s probably true.
“Anti-soul art.”
“… ….”
“You touched a taboo, duke.”
I said, and at that moment the Duke laughed.
It’s a laugh that’s so heartless that it makes you lose your breath.
The look in his eyes that looks at me is very relaxed.
To put it bluntly, my identity was discovered by the princess of the empire, but somehow I don’t seem to feel any sense of disappointment.
I looked at Duke Blake, preparing to raise the thunderbolt, and soon he was shaking his head from side to side, leaving him speechless.
“I miss the days when you were a little kid who would tremble whenever you made eye contact with me, Dante.”
Of course, the words he uttered like that were not lines I really liked.
Well, in a way, it’s natural.
“I never thought the day would come when you would speak so confidently. Should I call this overwhelming?”
The ‘clucking’ sound of laughter was very annoying.
The content of the words was even more unpleasant.
Although he has the appearance of a young man, his speech has become old.
First of all, the substance itself must be an old person.
“If you hadn’t acted so unexpectedly, I wouldn’t have had to run away and hide in my son’s body.”
Anyway, the Duke’s words continued.
It’s like admitting a taboo you committed without even asking.
And by that time, Eve also seemed to have realized the full story of the situation, and a considerable amount of astonishment appeared on her dark expression.
“…… No way, you.”
Eve muttered in a low voice, as if talking to herself, and only then did the Duke’s gaze return to Eve.
An eerie smile appeared on his lips.
“Princess, nice to meet you. It’s not the first time I’ve greeted you in this body, but you probably didn’t know that by now, right? “The fact that I, who was known to have ended my own life, is alive and well in Taylor’s body.”
“…… Isn’t he your son? “How could you do something like that to your own child!”
“Well, there are fathers who put their children in research facilities and use them as test subjects. “It can’t be considered unusual.”
Despite Eve’s anger, the duke just calmly accepted it.
And his gaze touches me once again.
“…… Yes, Dante. How have you been living well? I didn’t even know you were alive. “If I hadn’t stopped by the banquet hall the day before, I probably would have lived my whole life without knowing.”
The duke laughed awkwardly again, and a black energy arose.
The energy rising behind his back soon began to flash brightly like an aura.
“I feel a little sad. Still, am I not your godfather? “If he was alive, he should have let me know right away that he was alive.”
It is ominous and has a different texture from the devil’s instrument.
In fact, it was natural.
As far as I know, the warlock who has achieved the highest level on the modern continent was the old monster in front of me.
Eve and I raised our guard, and at that moment, the Duke took his steps forward.
“You still don’t know, Dante.”
Shortly.
“The value of the abilities you have, the abilities that Howard and I have created. “The possibility of absolute power that cannot be valued.”
Concisely.
“…… So, so irresponsibly, they could have destroyed our paradise. Isn’t that right?”
Just, ‘Boom!’
“It’s not like a young guy like you can take whatever he wants, that’s… ….”
Pick the bottom.
“So.”
Chaaa!
“I will return all the blessings given to you, even if it is belated.”
“…… !”
And immediately after that, Howard’s laboratory, which was filled with only the soft moonlight streaming in through the window, was suddenly covered in pitch black.
It wasn’t something I just said.
The view was blocked as if a black tent had been put over it.
I can’t see in front of me and I can’t hear any sound.
Even though I didn’t know the details, I knew of course that it was some kind of black magic, so I immediately summoned thunderbolt through the arm holding the flugel.
For a moment, a pure white lightning flashes in a space without a single light.
‘I saw it.’
And in that brief moment of regained vision, I confirmed Duke Blake’s location.
So there is no hesitation.
I immediately gather thunderbolts and swing them in the direction where the guy is standing. So that the spiral thunderbolt compressed along the blade can be released.
…… I had no doubt that it would happen.
It was a mistake.
Fighting!
“Wow!”
The light flashes more intensely in an instant. Thunder cleared the darkness in front of my eyes and restored my vision, but there was an even bigger shock.
A stimulus that hits directly on the inside of the body, something we are familiar with but don’t want to get used to.
Fire pain.
‘Uh, why… ….’
In a somewhat dizzying vision, I had to let out a silent scream with my heart held in half.
Something is wrong.
It was an intuition.
I looked at the flugel almost instinctively, and realized it too late.
“…… Flügel, you.”
The blade is hot. The temperature felt abnormally high, as if I was suffering from a fever.
[…] … Ugh.]
“… ….”
I had forgotten about it now, but the pain was burning my whole body. If you listen carefully, you can hear a very small Flügel’s voice.
A groan full of pain.
…… Now that I think about it, it was a strangely quiet day for a guy who normally talked to me all the time.
No, it doesn’t have to be today.
So, from the time I left the academy and was slowly heading into the system.
For some reason, Flügel’s sleeping time became longer.
What if, in fact, it wasn’t just because I was so tired from the time I spent in Yeongsan?
If something goes wrong.
…… For example.
If the seeds of evil have begun to flourish again.
“Oh, was that a magic sword?”
“…… !”
My thoughts could not continue until the end.
Needless to say, it is an external intervention.
Hearing the sudden voice, I gritted my teeth and held the lightning bolt in my other hand.
I took the burden directly on my body, without going through the Flügel.
Qurrr!
At some point, I pushed away Duke Blake who came up behind me and roughly squeezed my chest again.
The pain never stops.
The period of time I received Flügel’s help was so long that I didn’t notice it. As expected, this was not a pain that could be easily endured.
With his expression naturally crumpled, crushed moans continued to escape his lips.
Meanwhile, metallic sounds were heard one after another from the other side of the darkness.
The sound of something sharp hitting continuously.
From that, I could tell that Eve was also fighting.
The duke is here, but was there another enemy? If not, a concept like a summoned beast?
‘…… Let’s calm down for now.’
It was an unknown problem, and even if I thought about it further, it was meaningless.
I bit my lip tightly and concentrated on the sensation.
The sixth sense is activated to the extreme as the thunderbolt is briefly raised.
I feel like I am quickly capturing all the movement around me.
“… ….”
And at this moment, Duke Blake was looking directly at me from about ten steps away.
The Duke smiles.
As if a favorite idea had occurred to him.
I tear the corner of my mouth in a really bad mood.
“Yes, it looks like you found your own way. It’s a choice to rely on the power of the weapon, so it’s actually not a bad thing. “Even if your body is beyond the category of a criminal, it has its limits.”
But, the Duke added, extending his finger and pointing at Flügel.
And continues speaking.
“Something seems wrong, that sword. There is a curse that cannot be easily seen. Was it of the devil? How did I come across something like that, tsk tsk… ….”
I was silent. I didn’t have the energy to respond, and I was focusing all my mental energy on catching my breath and adjusting my energy.
Of course, the Duke did nothing to consider my situation.
“I don’t like it. “A lot of resources have been invested in your body, and as long as you can utilize all of them properly, it would be okay to throw away such clumsy weapons right now.”
He slowly lost his smile and walked back with a cold expression on his face.
It’s coming toward me. With black mana wrapped around his body.
“As expected, you are completely unfit to have that power, Dante. From now on, I will make you aware of that fact.”
There is no power to respond. I had no energy and no way to do anything.
So all I had to do was swing the thunderbolt.
I couldn’t say it was a proper response due to the unorganized power, but it was just an attempt to block what was trying to get to me.
“First of all.”
I didn’t even know that it was a foolish choice.
“Let’s start by getting that insignificant sword out of sight.”
Because what the duke was targeting at this moment was not me.
The black mana hand headed towards Flügel.
“…… !”
I realized the duke’s intention later, but it was already too late.
Black mana reached Flügel.
Quaaa!
I couldn’t react, and mana covered the blade.
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“PL…… !”
And right after.
[Ugh, uh, ah…… ! Wow!]
Before I could even utter an urgent voice, the pathetic screams of the Flügel filled with pain rang out.
*****
Every playable character has an antagonist assigned to them in the story.
Regardless of the main story, even if it is related, it appears as long as it does not interrupt the larger flow, and always pushes the characters into trials.
I realized it almost through instinct.
Duke Blake was Dante’s antagonist.