Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight-Chapter 356: SS 4

[Translator - Pot ]

[Proofreader - Kawaii ]

Side Story Chapter 4: Theo's Escapade (2)

And so I was dragged to a small warehouse on the outskirts of the city.

Of course, I went along obediently. How could a kid like me possibly beat two adults?

Especially when both of them were dark mages.

"My honey bee! I never expected to find such excellent material right after entering the city! I'm so happy!"

"My Rose, seeing you so happy makes my heart overflow with joy too."

The two of them hugged each other tightly and spun around in circles in the center of the warehouse.

Watching them, they both looked ridiculous.

My mom and dad are pretty excessive with their affection too, but these two are even worse.

Anyway, this has become quite troublesome.

To think I'd get caught by dark mages right after arriving in the city.

Well, it's not exactly surprising.

Despite my uncle's and the Empire's efforts to capture many dark mages, there are still plenty left.

Plus, my uncle once told me that dark mages have become even more secretive to avoid him, so you never know when or where you might encounter them.

My uncle doesn't overprotect me for nothing.

You ask why I went out on my own when I knew this?

Um...

Hmm...

Let me deal with this situation first before I answer that.

I need to handle urgent matters first, don't I?

"If we sacrifice this child, that person will bestow blessings upon us!"

"Just imagining it is ecstatic! Let's paint this world red with blood together!"

Just like dark mages, everything they say is creepy.

Of course, if I called my uncle, everything would be resolved right now, but...

If I did that, my uncle would scold me terribly...

My uncle always shows me his gentle side, but he absolutely never forgives dangerous behavior.

And it wouldn't just be me getting scolded.

Dominico would get reprimanded too.

Isn't there a way to resolve this without calling my uncle?

While I was deep in thought, suddenly the two of them started looking serious.

"But honey bee, will we be able to safely sacrifice that child?"

"R-right. We've never done it before."

"What if the ritual fails? What if he dies before we can sacrifice him!"

"D-don't think such ominous thoughts. We can do this."

The two of them held hands tightly and trembled.

Watching from the side, it's rather absurd. What kind of dark mages are this incompetent?

Are they even real dark mages? Maybe they're just pretending to be dark mages.

Seeing such incompetence, I started to feel courage welling up.

Maybe I could persuade these two to let me go?

Then I wouldn't have to call my uncle, and I could enjoy the festival!

"Excuse me."

As soon as I made my decision, I called out to them.

They stopped trembling and looked at me.

"Sacrifice, what is it? Are you uncomfortable somewhere?"

"Then tell us quickly. We'll accommodate you as much as possible until we sacrifice you."

They've already decided to call me ‘sacrifice,’ I see.

I was a bit angry, but I held it in and asked them.

"My name is Theodore. What should I call you two? Should I call you Rose and Honey Bee?"

My mom taught me this.

To become friendly with others, you should exchange names first.

At my question, both of them snorted simultaneously.

"Look at this cheeky brat. Rose and Honey Bee are pet names only we can call each other."

"Watch your tongue, kid. Our pet names aren't light enough for just anyone to use."

Saying this, they rubbed noses with each other.

Ugh.

It's disgusting, but I held it in.

After all, I need to get friendly with these two.

"Then could you tell me your names?"

"Look at this impudent brat. Only my darling can know my real name!"

"How dare you try to interfere between us. Do you think I'd tolerate such horrible behavior?"

Wow, this really isn't easy.

The urge to just call my uncle grew stronger, but I held it in.

I really wanted to see the festival.

"But if you really want to call me something, I'll allow you to call me Rose."

"Since my darling allowed it, I should too. I'm Honey Bee."

"Understood. Ms. Rose, Ms. Honey Bee. How about letting me go instead of doing this?"

"Why should we?"

The two of them tilted their heads in the same direction and asked.

I decided to try appealing to their emotions first, like I did with my family members.

"Look at my age. Isn't it too pitiful to die at such a young age?"

"Everyone dies eventually."

"There's just a difference in timing."

They spoke in cold tones.

I didn't give up and spoke again.

"Think about the feelings of the family I'd leave behind after I die. How heartbroken they'd be."

"They're not my family."

"Why should we care about your family?"

I thought they were incompetent dark mages, but their mental state is already corrupted.

Well, if they had normal thinking, they wouldn't have thought to take a child like me as a sacrifice.

"Stop the useless talk and quietly wait your turn."

"If you stay quiet, we'll make it as painless as possible."

It seems like nothing I say will get through to them.

Then there's only one method left.

I put on a very serious expression and said to them.

"If you don't let me go, a very scary person will come."

"A s-scary person?"

"W-we're not afraid of anyone who comes."

Contrary to their words, the two hugged each other and trembled.

No, if you're dark mages, why are you so scared? Are you really fake?

Anyway, I put on an even more serious expression and said.

"Damien Haksen will come."

As soon as I spoke, heavy silence fell.

"Damien Haksen? You don't mean the Damien Haksen I know?"

"That's right."

"The Savior of the Continent? The Greatest of All Time?"

"You know him well."

"The Mad Butcher? The Nightmare of Dark Mages? The Great Demon Slayer?"

"Uh... I'm hearing those titles for the first time."

"Why would that person come to save you?"

"Because I'm Damien Haksen's nephew."

Silence fell again. This time it was a bit longer than before.

Soon, the two started laughing, clutching their bellies.

"Pff, pfft! He says he's Damien Haksen's nephew!"

"Damien... Damien Haksen's nephew got caught by us? Kehehehe!"

Even so, is there any need to mock me so openly?

My face is burning up. But if I show it here, I'll be even more embarrassed.

I suppressed my embarrassment and said to them.

"It's true. Look inside my coat. You'll find a ring with the Haksen family crest."

As if to verify my words, he approached and put his hand into my inner pocket.

He pulled out the ring, and the two of them examined it for a while.

"This is supposed to be the Haksen family crest? Honey Bee, can you tell?"

"Well... I'm not sure."

Oh no, they don't know our family's emblem.

No matter how incompetent they are, how can they not know the Haksen family crest? This has never happened in my life.

I never expected my secret weapon to be blocked for such an absurd reason.

"Sacrifice, don't you have more convincing evidence than this?"

"If you really are Damien Haksen's nephew, you'd have more solid proof."

"Damien Haksen freely travels between dimensions and can cut through the sky with a single sword."

"He treats dragon legions like pets and commands tens of thousands of elves like slaves, right?"

"If you're the blood relative of such a person, you must have some amazing ability. Show us."

What nonsense are they talking about? My uncle is amazing, not me.

Well, if they could make proper deductions, they wouldn't be doing dark magic.

"If I had such abilities, I wouldn't have been caught like this."

"Hmm."

"If you really can't believe it, take that ring and ask other people. They'll all recognize it."

"Hmm."

The longer my explanation went on, the deeper their suspicious looks became.

No, this is really unfair. I've never lied, yet I'm being treated like a liar.

"My Honey Bee? I think this child is lying to us."

"My Rose. We shouldn't have listened seriously. There's no way Damien Haksen's nephew would be wandering around a place like this."

"No, it's really true..."

I was so frustrated that I protested in a resentful voice without realizing it.

Then suddenly, the woman pointed her index finger straight at me.

"Wait! Be quiet!"

"My Rose! Did you receive a revelation?"

Rose nodded her head rapidly up and down and pulled something from her chest.

Uh... what is that?

Something the size of my fist... a gem?

It looks like a gem, but it's strange somehow. It looks more like flesh than a mineral.

Most suspicious of all, it's emitting some kind of blackish smoke.

"Ahh... ahhh..."

Rose lifted the black mass high with an ecstatic expression.

I don't know what she's doing, but I can tell it's not normal.

Black veins started to stand out on her skin not covered by clothes.

"I... I understand... I understand... I'll accept... I'll accept it... I'll follow... I'll follow those words exactly..."

Rose kept muttering incomprehensible words, then put the black mass back into her inner pocket.

Then she looked at Honey Bee and said this.

"My Honey Bee, that person praised us. He said we found the perfect sacrifice!"

"My Rose! Is that really true? I knew that person would be pleased too!"

The two of them jumped up and down while holding hands.

It gives me goosebumps. I wish they'd do their lovey-dovey stuff where I can't see it.

"But to properly use this child, we need other sacrifices!"

"M-more sacrifices? C-can we do it well? Won't it be too difficult?"

"No need to worry! We just need to kill them! Then that person will absorb their souls!"

"Is that really true? I'm confident in killing! What a relief, Rose!"

Somehow their conversation is taking an ominous turn.

But I'm not particularly worried.

In a city this large, skilled knights should be on standby at all times.

Amateur dark mages who haven't even made sacrifices before couldn't possibly beat the knights of a major city.

...That's what I thought.

"Honey Bee, are you ready?"

"Of course, Rose. Let's start right away."

Suddenly Rose split the black mass into two pieces and handed half to Honey Bee.

And then they both swallowed the masses whole!

"Ah... ahh!"

"Urgh... uhhh!"

The two started suffering in agony, embracing each other's shoulders.

No, to swallow something so suspicious. Did they not receive proper home education as children?

Well, if they had proper parents, they wouldn't have become dark mages.

"Uh, uhhh..."

"Urgh, ahhh..."

Black smoke began pouring out of their agonized bodies.

"Dark magic?"

Since my uncle had shown me a few times, I could quickly identify what the black smoke was.

But something's strange. The amount of dark magic power the two are emitting keeps increasing.

In the blink of an eye, the area around them was filled with dark magic power.

And it wasn't enough, so it started pushing against the warehouse's outer walls.

Huh, wait? This is a bit strange.

Weren't these two wandering dark mages?

Then how do they have such enormous dark magic power?

"Kyaaaah!"

"Graaah!"

Then the two finally couldn't endure the pain and screamed.

The dark magic power responded and surged.

At the same time, the building's outer walls exploded and were destroyed.

In the blink of an eye, the warehouse flew away and everything became bright.

At the same time, I could hear the screams of people outside.

"Kyaaaah!"

"Th-the warehouse exploded!"

"D-dark magic! It's dark mages!"

Unlike the commotion outside, the two looked very peaceful.

"Phew, now I can breathe a bit."

"My Rose, you endured well."

They even encouraged each other with very refreshed expressions.

"Um, excuse me... what did you just consume?"

I asked in a trembling voice. I wasn't asking out of curiosity, but out of fear.

"You were curious about that? We temporarily contained that great person in our bodies."

"Th-that great person?"

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you. Someone very remarkable who was once called a Great Demon. We contained that person's thought-form in our bodies."

"Thanks to that, we can handle such enormous power."

Huh?

Huh?

Great Demon? A Great Demon's thought-form?

"U-Uncle!"

I instinctively called my uncle's name.

"This is terrible! H-hurry! Please come quickly!"

I desperately called for my uncle. Seeing me like this, the two just laughed.

"Uncle? That Damien Haksen?"

"Our sacrifice is calling for Damien Haksen? I'm trembling with fear."

"Sacrifice, we told you that lie won't work on us..."

Swoosh.

With a sound like cutting through water, the air split open.

"Huh?"

"What?"

The two looked at the black line with confused faces.

Soon, as my uncle appeared by tearing through the air, both their mouths gaped wide open. freewebnoveℓ.com

"What?"

My uncle was equally surprised.

He looked back and forth between me and the two of them.

"These fucking bastards..."

Soon he glared with a face radiating cold fury.

"What were you trying to do to my nephew?"

It was just a short sentence, but both their faces turned completely pale.

Those two must feel it instinctively too. What kind of being is standing before them.

Still, it's fortunate for them.

Since my uncle hasn't lost his reason, their chances of survival have increased even a little bit...

"Stop!"

"Move and we'll kill this brat!"

Suddenly the two pressed blades to my throat and shouted.

Huh? They shouldn't do this.

If they do this...

"Grrr..."

...my uncle will lose his reason.

[Translator - Pot ]

[Proofreader - Kawaii ]