The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 55

Slicing through the air with a vicious sound, another warlock’s head was severed by the blade, spraying blood like a fountain.

That made three now.

Aden turned his gaze to the remaining warlock beside him, who quivered in terror.

Aden’s sword glinted ominously.

He thrust it forward.

‘I must block it!’

“anwlro qkstk!”

In a panic, the warlock conjured a defensive spell to create a barrier against Aden’s sword.

Aden, as he thrust, concentrated his aura at the tip of Baalzebul.

The Sword Aura, burning like flames, swirled rapidly towards the sword’s tip.

‘Mercenary King Swordsmanship, One-Flash Thrust.’

Aden unleashed a powerful thrust towards the warlock’s barrier.

Crash, Shatter!

The barrier shattered into pieces, and Baalzebul pierced the warlock’s heart.

“Ugh…!”

With a face twisted in shock, the warlock fell to the ground, his heart impaled.

—

—

Ten seconds.

That was all it took for Aden to eliminate four warlocks.

With only one left, Aden’s eyes turned towards the last remaining warlock.

“D-Damn it!”

The warlock cursed loudly.

“RhrR hrtnadjfk! ajflzkfkr qhdlffk!”

Swish.

The warlock’s body dissolved into thin air, vanishing from sight.

He couldn’t be seen anywhere.

The warlock smirked, having used an invisibility spell.

He possessed an artifact that concealed his presence, making him undetectable.

‘I’ll kill him!’

He drew a dagger from his bosom and lunged at Aden’s neck.

“Hm.”

Aden, rolling his eyes briefly, closed them.

Then…

Thud.

He extended his hand sharply to the right, grasping at empty air.

“Gah!”

The invisible warlock’s neck was caught in Aden’s grip and he reappeared.

Aden’s grasp broke the invisibility spell.

Aden twisted the warlock’s wrist, causing him to drop the dagger.

Crack.

“Aaagh!”

Aden lifted the warlock by the neck, who despite his pain and a shattered wrist, was still curious about how Aden had detected him.

Aden sneered.

“You think hiding your body is enough when the air still trembles?”

Even if one’s presence was concealed, it did not erase their existence.

The air and the mana within it.

Aden possessed exceptional mana sensitivity.

Thus, he could feel the warlock’s approach as if he could see it.

Gasping for breath, the warlock asked, “Who… What are you?”

He had crushed them all effortlessly, doing things beyond common sense.

What was this monster?

Aden shrugged at the question.

“Well…”

He tightened his grip.

Many had asked him this in the past.

Aden had only one answer for such questions.

“I’m no hero.”

People called him a hero, but Aden knew better.

He was merely a mercenary.

Crunch.

The warlock’s neck twisted grotesquely, and his body went limp.

With this, he had killed all five.

Thud.

One priest fell, followed by others, losing consciousness as the mind control broke.

The remaining warlocks were flustered as their mind control spell shattered due to the loss of their casters.

Aden’s cold gaze swept over the remaining warlocks.

Those touched by his gaze instinctively felt fear and stepped back.

They were nothing but prey before a predator.

The Vice-High Priest was no exception.

“H-How…!”

In an instant, five warlocks had been dealt with.

And not by their leader or monks, but by one so-called useless noble.

A nobleman known for his weakness.

But that was a misconception.

The back of his neck tingled.

‘Am I afraid?’

The Vice-High Priest felt himself trembling with fear.

‘Of such a brat?’

He denied the emotion and roared in anger.

“You insignificant… outsider! I won’t accept it! I won’t accept it! Attack him now! Kill him!”

He ordered his subordinates to attack Aden.

But already demoralized, they hesitated.

Seeing this, the Vice-High Priest gritted his teeth.

“Useless! If you won’t obey, you’re worthless!”

Reluctantly, he decided to use his last resort.

The magical tattoos on his arms glowed.

At that moment, symbols appeared on the foreheads of the other warlocks.

“Sacrifice your lives!”

Life force was forcibly drained from their bodies into the Vice-High Priest’s hands.

Ten or so warlocks screamed in agony.

“No, my life force!”

“P-Please, Hakel, spare us!”

Vice-High Priest Hakel drained them until their bodies turned to husks.

Their life force gathered within him, darkening the black aura emanating from his body.

“I offer their life force and half of my remaining lifespan!”

The Vice-High Priest raised his hands to the sky, chanting.

“rjqnrdk rjqnrdk ajflfmf soshgdkfk…”

The dark aura swirled and conformed to his words, taking shape.

“rmfjgwl dksgdmaus rndnj ajrdmfl!”

A massive magic circle, crimson like blood, formed on the ground, layered with pentagrams.

Aden’s face darkened as he recognized it.

“…!”

Understanding what the Vice-High Priest was attempting, Aden shouted to the others.

“Take the fallen and get away! Now!”

Startled by Aden’s urgency, the people snapped out of their daze.

Sensing the danger, Priest Bali shouted.

“Some, evacuate the chief priest! The rest, carry the fallen! Hurry!”

His subordinates moved quickly, rescuing the unconscious ones.

“Damn, is that what I think it is?”

-Indeed, it appears so.

Aden’s face twisted in frustration.

It was too late to stop or avoid it now.

He had never imagined the Vice-High Priest would resort to this.

A familiar scene he had witnessed many times in his past life.

“Talos summoning.”

A ritual to summon the underground world’s creature, Talos, to the surface.

The Vice-High Priest was performing it now.

The Vice-High Priest completed his incantation.

“Appear! Denizen of the underworld!”

Shuuu!

Black smoke swirled up in a vortex, and a massive figure emerged.

Under the moonlight, its enormous form was revealed.

-The surface world’s air… How many centuries has it been?

“Gah.”

“Ugh.”

Its voice made everyone nearby stumble.

A nauseating sound that seemed to scramble their minds.

“Oh my, Sacred Fire, please…”

One priest involuntarily sought their god at the sight.

Two horns like a goat’s.

Massive bat-like wings.

It glanced at the flowers at its feet.

-So beautiful and fragrant. How surprising it is that such fragile, insignificant life thrives here.

It stepped onto the ground.

The earth around it withered, flowers and grass dying at its touch.

-That’s why I want to rip everything apart and fill it with death.

Its legs, like a goat’s.

And its red eyes, symbols of the underground world’s creatures.

They gleamed with a madness that coveted everything in this world.

Talos.

Creatures that coveted and wished to destroy this world.

And this was a high-ranking, intelligent Talos.

The Vice-High Priest had summoned this vile being into the world.

-Who is the fool who summoned me?

Talos were native to the underworld.

Filled with darkness and death, they instinctively coveted and envied the light and life of the surface world.

But they could not interfere with the surface until Tarotaros opened.

Due to the world’s laws, they could not stay here long.

Like wood floating in water, they would naturally rise to the surface.

But there were exceptions.

Warlocks of a certain level could summon Talos.

Like weighing down floating wood with a stone, they could bring Talos here at a cost.

“Hahaha! I did it! I succeeded!”

The Vice-High Priest looked older, more emaciated.

He had sacrificed half his remaining life to summon Talos.

But the madness in his eyes was stronger.

He was mesmerized by the powerful Talos before him.

-Did you summon me?

“Yes, that’s right! Denizen of the underworld!”

Aden clicked his tongue at the Vice-High Priest’s insanity.

He had sacrificed his subordinates to summon Talos.

Aden hadn’t expected him to go this far.

Curse’s voice echoed.

-Mephisto.

“Do you know him?”

-A Talos of deceit and cunning. He tried to deceive me and ended up as my enslaved soul.

Aden was momentarily speechless.

My god, he tried to deceive the Demon Lord? Such a brazen Talos was surprising.

If Curse remembered his name, he was no ordinary being.

“A fool.”

There was a reason Aden hadn’t expected this from the Vice-High Priest.

‘To control a Talos, you need a subjugation process.’

Creating and managing a subjugation spell required a high level of skill.

From Aden’s perspective, the Vice-High Priest lacked the ability to control a high-level Talos.

Yet, the Vice-High Priest had summoned one far beyond his means.

Without the subjugation process, what would the summoned Talos do first?

The Talos demonstrated the answer.

Thud!

Talos’s long, sharp claws pierced the Vice-High Priest’s body.

“Ugh!”

His body hung like a skewered fish on Talos’s claws.

-Tasting a summoner again after so long

.

The Vice-High Priest realized too late that he had made a grave mistake.

Coughing blood, he pleaded desperately.

“W-Wait! I summoned you! No, please!”

Talos ignored his pleas.

Crunch, Crack!

Talos stuffed the Vice-High Priest into its mouth and chewed.

As the sound of his dying screams and the crushing of flesh and bone echoed, the remaining priests turned pale.

“Ugh, ugh!”

“Horrible…”

Some retched.

Gulp.

Talos, with blood dripping from its mouth, looked dissatisfied.

-Old, rotten flesh, with a filthy soul. Absolutely tasteless.

But soon, a gleeful smile appeared on its face.

-Well, there are plenty more tasty morsels here.

Talos’s gaze swept over Aden and the many priests and monks around.

His eyes gleamed as if looking at a banquet table filled with delicious food.