How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family

Chapter 332

Chapter 332

"That is good."

Askanian patted the shoulder of the unconscious Pleroma. At that, Mecklenburg spoke with a rotten expression.

"Don't put your hand on him."

"Why?"

"It gets heavier."

Mecklenburg answered bluntly in an unadorned tone. Askanian nodded and lowered his hand. Mecklenburg was carrying the Pleroma Askanian had knocked out earlier on his back. After sending all the Pleroma priests to Unter den Linden, and knocking out a few more who came additionally, they were moving to a suitable place using Stealth Magic for a moment.

'...More than that, to think we would respond to the kidnapping of 200 Mages with the kidnapping of 200 Pleroma...'

Of course, Askanian probably didn't intend that, but consequently, it became an exact retaliation. It seemed clear Pleroma had prepared extensively for this crime, but was this something possible on the fly like this? It is as I heard. A Divine Power holder on the level of Nicolaus could do things beyond the ordinary level.

'Second, the Archdiocese is not underestimating the two of us,' he now understood what Askanian must have been thinking when he said this. Unlike Mecklenburg, who was very surprised to hear that 200 priests were attached, Askanian must have been happy. Since he could send all that number to Unter den Linden and reduce the military power of the Brandenburg Archdiocese.Askanian seemed to be quiet for a bit but asked immediately.

"About how many minutes has it been since we fell into this Hall of Peace?"

"It's probably been about 10 minutes now."

"Exactly."

At Askanian's urging, Mecklenburg gestured to his clutch with his eyes. Askanian took out a pocket watch from inside and showed it to Mecklenburg.

"9 minutes."

Askanian nodded silently. The composure on his face was slowly disappearing. No, he was returning to his usual emotionless face. Mecklenburg could easily guess what was making him like that. Mecklenburg smacked his lips and asked the question he couldn't ask earlier.

"You aren't revealing that you are Nicolaus. ...There must be a reason, so why did you send them to the surface? What if you get caught using Divine Power?"

"It was too much to cast wide-area magic twice, so I handled their minds together when casting Sleep Magic. A little residue of Divine Power would have melted into Senior's Magic Power."

"...Mm."

"Also, in the first place, they will remember the blood rushing to their legs more completely and consider that the reason they collapsed."

Ah, so that's why he asked me to use it. Mecklenburg slightly narrowed his brow, realizing he was constantly one step behind Nicolaus's thought process. At that moment, the Pleroma on his back started in surprise and woke up.

"Gasp...!"

Immediately, Askanian grabbed the nape of his neck firmly, flowed Divine Power in, and made a fuss.

"Have you awakened, Brother! Do you recognize me?!"

"...No? I don't know, what is this..."

"Were we not on our way to catch Askanian! Those guys detached the coordinates and threw us somewhere. Only we barely escaped. Do you see that we became like this because we were attacked?"

Askanian said, pointing to the part where blood had burst due to the air. The Pleroma frowned and pulled his head back.

"That, is a bit severe. More than that, I have no memory at all."

"Why is that.... That is truly unfortunate. Wouldn't it be because you were hit too hard on the head by Askanian?"

"......."

Huh?

Mecklenburg rolled his eyes and swallowed saliva without realizing it. Fortunately, the Pleroma didn't focus much on those words.

'...Asking if he wasn't hit too hard, does he have the mind to mix the truth even in a situation where it's hard enough to improvise...!'

To think Nicolaus was this kind of person. He was much... much different from what he expected. From the time he walked around wearing a mask, he should have thought of him as a crazy guy who can't distinguish between public and private matters, obsessed with masquerades or secret clubs. Perhaps because he dominated the spirit with overwhelming Divine Power and the ability to stir up trouble, it didn't even seem strange a month or two after Nicolaus's appearance. He wonders if the mass hallucination spoken of in mob psychology is something like this.

However, even so, Nicolaus in front of his eyes was not different from the image Mecklenburg had been drawing until now. As shown by his composure and proficiency, he was a cut above in terms of practical experience and as a commander. The image of the plausible new politician and orator that was previously imprinted was clearly still Nicolaus's, but now, a new recognition that he was a human who would stop at nothing for final victory was being imprinted in his mind.

Askanian held onto the priest, who was still disoriented, and said.

"Actually, I had something to ask Brother. We are currently on our way to the Bishop to report this matter. We are disconnected from everyone so communication isn't working, does yours work, Brother? Ah, before that, can you contact the Bishop?"

At Askanian's stream of questions, the priest grabbed his head and shook it vigorously.

"No, because I am not connected to the Bishop.... More than that, the connection is really cut. It seems Askanian really sent the Brothers to another place...!"

"That is unfortunate."

At the words that he wasn't connected to the Bishop, Askanian cursed with his eyes and started acting again. 'The Bishops have gone somewhere else. Where could they have gone?' It was Askanian's question, and it meant the Bishops must have gone to where Leonard Wittelsbach was. It was understandable that he would be angry since he couldn't reach the Bishop immediately. Besides, it seemed Askanian's maintenance of the Stealth Magic had almost reached its limit, so they had to move as soon as possible.

"Then let's move to where the Bishop is right now. Here."

The three held hands in a circle. By the time Mecklenburg resigned himself and gave up on objecting, the Pleroma seemed to realize something was strange and looked at the two alternately.

"Ah, are you telling me to warp? Why don't you do it..."

―Enter through the narrow gate.

"Kugh...!"

Askanian, who quickly hit the priest's forehead and cast magic, grabbed him by the collar.

"Your brain has been working well since earlier, but you have to lack some wit to live long. Right?"

At those cool words infused with force, Mecklenburg bit the inside of his lip and let his gaze wander again. It also sounded like he was talking to him, who had perceptively grasped the commonalities between the two Divine Power users. However, Askanian didn't give Mecklenburg even a little attention and only shouted while holding the priest's collar.

"Brother! Let's go to the basement of the building where the Bishop is right now. The Bishop is looking for us, saying he needs Space Magic support!"

He thought 'the building where the Bishop is' wouldn't be this building? He didn't know well, but this too must have been learned from experience. Mecklenburg remembered his words and looked at the priest.

"The Bishop is looking for me? T-That can't be.... Why me...."

"Oh."

Askanian raised one eyebrow and exclaimed briefly, then hardened his expression again. Meanwhile, Mecklenburg struck the staff on the hall where they stood to create a temporary portal on the floor. Just in case support came from the surface, he had to make it so that if they reached the hall on this floor, they could follow along to where we would move soon. Askanian was enthusiastic about raising his voice.

"Don't you know the situation right now? We failed while trying to bring Askanian and are chasing him! There is no time. Once we go to the basement, the Bishop will explain!"

"N-No..."

"Right now!"

Mecklenburg flinched his shoulders for a moment. Askanian's voice was the loudest he had ever heard. Until now, he had been driving people into a corner with a time attack so they couldn't think rationally, but to drive them with another—primal—method this time, a chuckle came out.

BOOM-! THUD-

It worked.

The problem was that the sound of falling after the warp was too loud. Some loads were scattered in the dark basement corridor, and it was clear they tripped over them. The priest fainted immediately after moving, perhaps because he was hit with Divine Power. Mecklenburg jumped up, snatched the hands of Askanian and that priest, and looked at both sides of the basement corridor. Rooms with unknown purposes, whether warehouses or something else, were lined up. Askanian also made a rarely flustered expression, perhaps due to the sound, and quickly examined both sides.

At that moment, Mecklenburg was certain. Askanian didn't come here for an all-out war. He knew it from the moment he ordered the basement. Moreover, unlike the place earlier where priests were mobilized, this was the Bishop's building, so Askanian must have tried to move more cautiously. Mecklenburg's gaze moved quickly to find a retreat.

[What is it.]

"...!"

Perhaps having noticed upstairs, the sound of people's footsteps could be heard. Mecklenburg cast Sound Insulation Magic and urgently turned the doorknob of the nearest room. Luckily, it opened. However, the relief was momentary.

'Ugh...!'

Perhaps it was a warehouse where artifacts were stored, Magic Power stabbed his lungs.

"To another place...!"

"No."

Askanian pushed Mecklenburg's back. He was biting his lip as if it was an unexpected situation for him too, but even so, he pushed Mecklenburg and the unconscious priest into the room.

"Why, why?!"

"If we enter an empty room, our Magic Power will be obvious. Moreover, since we are nervous and control isn't working properly, we would hide so well."

Askanian grabbed and dragged Mecklenburg past several display cases. The footsteps were heard getting closer.

RATTLE-!

Soon, someone roughly opened the door of the warehouse.

Mecklenburg breathed a sigh of relief and at the same time sharpened his senses.

Except for a single ray of light, it was complete darkness. The place they entered now was a small room attached to the very back of the warehouse, but it might be more accurate to call it a cabinet rather than a room. The light leaking through the small door shook violently. Three or four people were wandering around this place.

They are high-ranking clergymen of Pleroma. The Vitriol flowing from their bodies suffocated him. He thought he might be able to win somehow if he fought 1 on 1 on the surface, but anyway, this was Pleroma's base, and they were incomparable to the priests met earlier, and they were many. Judging by the Vitriol coming from their bodies, they are also in combat readiness.

'If we get caught...'

It is death. Nicolaus might be able to seize victory since he has Divine Power-of course, that was the most hopeful guess-but Mecklenburg, who is not Nicolaus, would certainly die. Sweat soaked on his back lowered his body temperature.

CREAK- THUD-

"......."

The light didn't shake anymore. Mecklenburg squeezed his eyes shut. Finally, they left. Only then did he realize that he had been clenching his jaw with all his strength.

Askanian stayed in an immobile posture for about 30 seconds more and then exhaled sharply. Then he arranged the unconscious Pleroma priest well to secure a little space and leaned against an artifact box. Mecklenburg realized only now that he was sitting on Askanian's foot. When Mecklenburg, whose eyes had adapted to the dark, frowned and signaled with his eyes, Askanian nodded with a displeased face. He tried changing positions, then unfastened his belt clutch and threw it to Mecklenburg.

"...I can't pull my leg because of this, so it won't work. Please hold this for a bit."

"Why me? More than that, do you mean we aren't going out right now?"

Askanian put a finger to his lips and sent a sign to shut up. Wondering what he was doing when he even cast Sound Insulation Magic, Mecklenburg was dumbfounded but accepted his clutch for now.

'...Going out now would be a suicidal act.'

It was fortunate he didn't have claustrophobia. Now the problem is time. Askanian's expression wasn't very good either. While he adjusted his seat as space became available, the sound of glass bottles rolling was heard from inside the clutch, so Mecklenburg took out the vial he received earlier.

"Come to think of it, this..."

No label was attached to the vial. He signaled to Askanian with his eyes wondering if he might know, but he also shrugged his shoulders. Then he smiled and asked.

"Shall we experiment what use this drug has?"

"On where? On you?"

He asked in shock, but fortunately, Mecklenburg's guess seemed far from the truth. Askanian spoke with a face asking if he was crazy.

"You must be insane. On the Pleroma."

"No. Isn't that priest the key that can take us outside? What will you do if this is a drug that makes someone brain-dead or something like that?"

"......."

Askanian was lost in deep thought and then slowly nodded. At that reaction, Mecklenburg rather got goosebumps. He threw out the worst possibility Pleroma could use on a high-risk hostage, but does this make sense? As if he knew Mecklenburg's thoughts, Askanian answered quietly.

"Even if not to that extent, it would be a perfect drug to leave the worst memory. Whether we know by testing or not, the result being the worst is the same, so there is no choice but to catch one person quickly."

[.......]

He wanted to ask what catching one person meant, but footsteps pacing in front of the door continued to be heard. Mecklenburg felt his heart pounding and curled his hand. Perhaps Askanian was nervous too, he felt his Magic Power leaking a bit more from his body. He naturally knew he was human too, but now that he felt a sense of distance from Nicolaus, that fact hit him anew.

'...Still, it shouldn't be like this.'

It's a situation where the only people to trust are each other. While thinking he should relieve Nicolaus's tension, Mecklenburg, also extremely nervous, spat out helpless words without realizing it.

"...You know? Like this, we might run out of oxygen and faint."

"It seems Senior is already lacking."

"......."

Mecklenburg took a deep breath feeling strength going into his fist.

'Why did I think I needed to relieve his tension? When he babbles so well.'

"Don't breathe deeply. Like Senior said, oxygen is precious."

"You...!"

Askanian quickly covered Mecklenburg's mouth with his hand. Just in time, voices were heard from outside.

[...Did you check over there?]

[...Come here. Here....]

Fortunately, the sound disappeared quickly. Mecklenburg shook his mouth annoyedly, pointed to the Pleroma crumpled in one corner, and said.

"If support is to come, they can sufficiently come. It's just a matter of interrogating the Pleroma sent to Unter den Linden and tracing back. Since I made it so they can cross over to this building if support comes, if they just reach the point where we were last in that building, they will move here quickly."

"That's hopeful. I guess that was also achieved with Senior's Space Magic skills."

Askanian answered with an uninspired face while praising. Mecklenburg knew what he was worried about. Right now, Mecklenburg himself was worried about the safety of the other two. Especially if they had already been injected with that mysterious vial?

'...Can't we send everyone here to Unter den Linden together.'

It was a nonsensical thought. If it were possible, Askanian would have done it already. Mecklenburg covered his face, realizing he could also have such fanciful thoughts. Askanian, whose leg was bumped, said briefly.

"Don't move."

"......."

The guy called a junior is acting picky saying there is no room.... Since his slight mysophobic tendency was suffering right now, he could confidently say that Mecklenburg himself was the one who wanted to blow away everything around him. Mecklenburg exercised patience, dry-washed his face, and lowered his voice.

"Can't we use this Pleroma to go down for a moment? I know we moved directly here because even 1 minute is precious, but rather bringing supplies and manpower from below might be a way to save time."

"Would you be able to come up again?"

Askanian continued speaking immediately without giving a chance to answer.

"As Senior said, it should be a matter of tracing back, but the outside is still quiet. Furthermore, even if this priest is skilled in Space Magic, he is merely a priest. And the ones we threw were also all priests. I won't go so far as to confirm saying this and that, but the risk to bear is huge."

Ah.

Mecklenburg pressed his eyes with his hand.

So, Askanian's words are this. 'Pleroma opened the retreat route but blocked the entry route. Then couldn't we take this Pleroma down and use him when re-entering? That would be good too, but there is a high probability that a high-ranking clergyman handled the important task of blocking the entry route instead of entrusting it to a mere priest, and while this priest could send colleagues to the surface through an open door, there is a possibility he doesn't have the skill to break through a closed door and come up. The probability of experiencing risk is proportional to this.'

It was such an obvious sound. Therefore, Mecklenburg was lost for words. Why couldn't he think of that immediately? Nicolaus's thinking is optimized for fighting, but Mecklenburg was not. Setting aside the time spent inside the command that hadn't even been fully formed yet, Mecklenburg had already worked as an Imperial Mage for about 3 years. As much as that, he prided himself on having had plenty of experiences others hadn't, and he thought he knew everything there was to know by now, honestly... he thought so. But he was wrong. In experiencing the combat of combats, Mecklenburg could not catch up to Askanian. Mecklenburg's 'actual combat' experienced so far must have been at a superficial level to Askanian.

"Why didn't I follow while moving them to Berlin? Thinking rationally, to prevent our allies from increasing further, wouldn't the Pleroma side have to maintain the escape route but lock the door for enemies to enter? They are as skilled in Space Magic as Senior, actually more so. One-way blocking is nothing to them. Didn't we already experience a similar situation during Pentalon? Since Senior dismantles Pleroma's Space Magic easily, would you be able to solve this one-way blocking quickly too?"

"......."

If sufficient time were given, he might be able to infer their magic formula and copy it one by one to find a solution, but he can't do that now when life and death are decided by the minute. Askanian reached out casually, took out the pocket watch, and muttered. His voice had become a bit cooler.

"What do you think of my brother?"

"Now?"

"It might be out of the blue, but it is a necessary answer for me right now."

It was unexpected, surprising words. It seems really unrelated. What is he trying to do right now? Of course, the fact they can't go out is the same, but isn't this not the time to be having this kind of conversation? What is he thinking? Mecklenburg felt the nape of his neck getting cool and answered.

"Well, he is a good friend."

"I knew you would come out like this. What would I expect. I will have to ask later."

Askanian whispered with his gaze turned elsewhere and then hit the door with his hand.

RATTLE-

"...?! What are you..."

"Prepare Sound Insulation Magic."

Saying that, Askanian put his finger to his mouth again. How long had passed? It felt like 1 minute had passed, but Askanian's left hand folded twice. The moment 10 seconds passed, the door on the corridor side far away opened. It was clear they heard the sound.

CREAK-

The sound of a clergyman's shoe heels hovered around the corridor door and then slowly approached the back of the warehouse, toward the back door where Mecklenburg and Askanian were. Askanian's face had become infinitely serious now, and Magic Power couldn't be felt either. The only person nervous enough for his thinking to stop right now was Mecklenburg.

'This crazy...'

Damn it, damn it, damn it! What did this crazy guy do?! Pleroma or whatever, dying from his heart stopping would come first!

CREAK- BAM-!!

"?!"

Simultaneously with the door opening, Askanian, who was kneeling on one knee, grabbed the uninvited guest's collar and slammed him onto the floor. A scream mixed with panic burst out from below.

―I can do all things through him who gives me strength.

"Aaaack!"

All sorts of thoughts rushed through Mecklenburg in that instant, but he soon realized what Askanian intended. His body reacted faster. Mecklenburg urgently cast Sound Insulation Magic toward the warehouse door on the corridor side. Askanian cast Stealth Magic, which he hadn't been using due to severe physical exhaustion until now, grabbed the Pleroma's collar, lifted him up, and said.

"...I was waiting for only one to remain, and I'm lucky. Didn't I tell you to travel in groups of three?"

"Ah! Ah! Argh!"

Magic Power and Divine Power crackled and sparked along his hand. The Pleroma couldn't even think of shaking off Askanian and just clutched his heart area and twisted his body. The sound of bones dislocating, or rather something like glass cracking to call it bone, was heard even outside. The blood drained from Mecklenburg's face as he grasped what was happening.

Askanian checked the color of the border decoration while holding his collar with a smileless face.

"Fortunately, you are a Monsignor. I met another Monsignor from Brandenburg before, so the feeling is new."

A priest status but practically an honorary position higher than that. Mecklenburg also knew that in Pleroma, it meant a clergyman at the pre-Bishop stage.

At that moment, Askanian lightly pressed his mouth with his left hand and swallowed something. The smell of blood spread. It was clear something went wrong while using Subjugation Magic and Stealth Magic simultaneously. Askanian snapped his fingers. The color of the border decoration of the priest robes Askanian and Mecklenburg were wearing changed to that of a Monsignor. He intends to impersonate a Monsignor now. Askanian stood him up and put his hand on his back. The Monsignor, who was half-dying, slowly braced himself against the wall with a dazed face.

"You will have to be quiet. Since Brother has new colleagues too, please welcome us calmly."

Askanian looked into the pocket watch once more and said into the Monsignor's ear.

"You must know where His Excellency the Bishop is, Brother."