NOVEL WEB Chapter 24 - Sinner of Blackson (2)
✦ Chapter 24 — Sinner of Blackson (2) ✦
「Translator – Creator」
᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃
Isaac’s memories of Subjugation were fragmented and scarce.
Not much research had been done on it, and much remained shrouded in mystery.
That it could be performed on ordinary humans…
The harsh truth of this practice only became clear to Isaac at the very end of his past life, during the final, desperate battle.
The memory remained vivid.
As flames and smoke rose from all directions, a castle named ‘Everholt,’ defended by the Grandmaster and disciples, was crumbling.
What happened to Silverna who was defending the castle walls?
What about Grandmaster’s other disciples?
Was Grandmaster alright?
Unease gnawed at him as he looked towards the sky, a chaotic tapestry of fire and smoke.
The Transcendent beings’ momentum was too overwhelming to flee while leaning on a cane.
As Isaac stood there, quietly accepting death.
When, a figure from his past emerged from the chaos, a cruel reminder of a long-standing feud.
[Brother-in-law! Khh! It’s been a while!]
Very few people would dare to address him as ‘brother-in-law,’ and none of them with such aggravating flippancy.
Certainly not anyone from Helmund.
‘Alois?’
[Well, well, well! Never thought you’d still be alive!]
Alois’ once-lustrous red hair was dull and lifeless, devoid of its former vibrancy; his eyes, usually filled with arrogance, were now stained with a sickly yellow hue, reflecting the twisted madness that had taken root within him.
The two horns protruding from his head signified the loss of humanity.
[Huhaha! What a nostalgic face to see!]
‘How did you…?’
[After being expelled from Helmund, they picked me up! Haha! How have you been, brother-in-law? I see the leg I ruined is still the same?]
‘……………!’
Alois, who had lusted after his sister, was expelled from Helmund after failing to hide his despicable desires.
[Ah, I’m really glad. Truly glad. That I can kill you like this. I could never forgive you who must have taken sister at least once.]
‘You became… their vassal?’
[Of course. Fortunately, I’m a child of the great Helmund. Even after being expelled, thanks to the Helmund name, I can rampage like this.]
Isaac understood.
The Transcendent beings wouldn’t settle for just any human to become their Vassals; they sought those with strength and potential. And Alois, a Helmund by birth, was a prime candidate, even if he was an outcast.
[Seems vassalization suits me well. Ah, Helmund! The great Helmund!]
The greatsword in Alois’s hand writhed. Isaac knew that sword would soon take his head.
‘In the end.’
The person who ruined his life…
…would also be the one to end it.
Just as he thought it would be Alois.
[Where is dear sister’s corpse?]
Alois asked while licking his protruding teeth with his tongue.
As Isaac was about to sigh watching Alois, who still hadn’t given up his desire for Rianna.
A red line appeared across his neck.
*Spurt!*
Before he even realized what had happened, Alois’ head detached from his body, and he crumpled to the ground. A strangled gurgle escaped his lips, dark blood gushing from his severed neck, quickly staining the ground black.
And beyond him.
The Grandmaster stood holding her greatsword.
[The stench of tainted blood is foul.]
Her wolf ears twitched as she gave Isaac a bitter smile.
🎕
“Kuuk!”
Meldick’s scream echoed through the forest as his back collided with a tree; the frantic fluttering of wings nearby indicated that he’d startled some birds, their panicked flight adding to the chaos of the scene.
Snow cascaded from the branches above, momentarily burying Meldick in a white blanket; this unexpected respite saved him from Pollux’s follow-up attack.
“Khahahaha!”
Pollux cackled, reveling in his manic glee.
His gaze darted around, searching for his next target.
“Ah, I hated you.”
With a flick of his wrist, he pointed at Isaac, his body contorting into a grotesque angle as he rushed forward. Shauren, reacting instantly, threw herself between them, her sword raised in defense.
*Clang!*
“Kuhuk!”
Crimson aura exploded from Shauren, enveloping her in the formidable aura of ‘Red Descent,’ a signature trait of House Helmund. This aura, as solid as steel, held Pollux’s attack at bay; they were locked in a deadly stalemate, their swords clashing in a shower of sparks.
“Helmund already lost earlier! You lost earlier so why are you getting in my way again!”
“Be quiet!”
Shauren dug her heels into the snow, her knees bent slightly. Every muscle in her body strained against Pollux’s relentless assault, her sword trembling as she fought to maintain her ground.
“Move! I said move! Get out of the wayyyy!”
Snow swirled around them, whipped into a frenzy by the clash of their contrasting energies; the black aura that surrounded Pollux encroached on Shauren’s crimson barrier, threatening to engulf her.
For a fleeting moment, the terror of being swallowed by the black goo flashed before her eyes. But then—
“Push back!”
At Isaac’s shout from behind, she gritted her teeth and focused.
With a guttural roar, she channeled her ‘Red Descent’ aura, pushing back against Pollux with every ounce of her strength.
Crimson Wave.
A signature Helmund technique.
As the steel-like aura blazed fiercely like flames, Pollux stumbled backward and.
In that split second—
Isaac, seizing the opportunity, darted past Shauren, his ‘Falchion’ held firmly in both hands.
*Crack!*
He thrust forward, aiming for the center of Pollux’s chest, where the ‘bone’ protruded from his flesh.
“Arrrgh!”
Unlike his previous reactions, a scream of pure agony ripped from Pollux’s throat. He recoiled, frantically twisting his body away from Isaac’s weapon, his eyes wide with pain and terror.
“Ahuk! Kuheuk! It hurts! It hurts! It huuuurts!”
He scrambled back, clutching at his chest, his movements frantic and erratic.
“Hah! Hah! I-it seems to work, Isaac.”
“………………”
Shauren gasped, her chest heaving.
The strain of using ‘Crimson Wave’ had taken its toll, and her ‘Red Descent’ aura flickered weakly.
“Anna, how are you and Meldick?”
“We’re fine. Don’t worry.”
“Ugggh.”
Anna had managed to pull Meldick free from the snowdrift.
He grimaced, clutching his arm.
Something was definitely broken.
Before they could recover—
“Youuuu! I hated youuuu!”
Pollux pointed at Isaac accusingly.
“You hated me?”
Isaac raised his weapon, his grip tightening around the hilt.
He was ready to counterattack at any moment.
“You…you’re just like me! Abandoned by your family! Treated like trash!”
“Ahem!”
Shauren coughed awkwardly, shifting uncomfortably.
“Why do you work so hard every single day! It makes, it makes me look pathetic! Because of you! Because of you who never slacks off even though you’re a commoner!”
Pollux’s words, laced with self-loathing, echoed with a deep-seated bitterness that chilled Isaac to the bone.
Raw, unfiltered emotions were like sewage.
Isaac had felt this through Alois, and now Pollux was reminding him of it again.
Reason built through life values.
Common sense filled through education.
Stripped of these, he became a vessel of pure, unadulterated envy and base desires.
“I…I could have done it too! If I had Silverna’s support! If I had Helmund’s backing! I know! Actually, I couldn’t! Right! Because I’m nothing! Because I hate holding a sword! Just jealousy? I know! That it’s ugly? I know!”
Like a hole pierced through his tongue.
This metaphor fit perfectly.
Spewing words that should have been held back.
It wasn’t by his own will.
As his tongue immediately spat out what his brain thought, even the moment his thoughts changed upon hearing his own words was nakedly revealed.
“Mother, I’m sorry! Father, I’m sorry! I’m…I’m a sinner! Aaaargh! I’m a sinnerrrr!”
“Somehow.”
Shauren’s eyes narrowed watching Pollux beat his chest.
“He looks pitiful.”
Isaac slowly raised his sword, his gaze intense.
“A sinner, you say?”
“Yes! I’m a sinner!”
He answers when questioned.
This was Isaac’s reverse-engineered way of using vassalization.
“Why? Why are you a sinner?”
“Because I’m ignorant! Stupid! Lazy! Unworthy! No! Don’t answer!”
He thinks of answers when questioned.
Only after spilling words does the thought that he shouldn’t answer catch up.
“The transcendent beings your family allied with cast a spell on you.”
“Transcendent beings? Spell? What’s that? I don’t know! Aak! Don’t answer!”
“It’s a spell called vassalization. Do you really not know when it happened?”
“Vassalization? I don’t know! I don’t know! Ah, was it then?”
“Then?”
“Then! When, when I pretended to be asleep! Mother came and did something to me! There was someone I’d never seen before beside her!”
His voice rose to a shriek, his fingers clawing at his hair as if trying to rip the memory from his skull.
“It hurt! It hurt so much! Something was being carved into my chest! That person saw that I wasn’t asleep! They knew I was actually awake!”
“But I endured it! I endured it all! Because! Because that’s what mother wanted! Because she hoped to use me even like that! Mother! Ah! My mother! Nooo! Don’t tell! It’s a secreeet!”
*Thump, thump. Thump, thump*
As he pleaded for silence, Pollux collapsed to his knees, his forehead repeatedly striking the icy ground. Yet, despite his desperate attempts to stifle the words pouring from his lips, they continued to tumble out.
“Because I’m a sinner! A sinner! That’s how I wanted to atone! Mother! Father! Agh! I’m the sinner of Blackson!”
*Swoosh*
Isaac slowly approached him.
Pollux flinched as Isaac drew closer, a strangled cough escaping his throat.
“Stay back, or I’ll kill you! The yeti! The yeti will be here any—”
*Thud!*
Snow swirled in the air, disturbed by the sudden impact of something heavy falling to the ground.
It was the yeti. Its chest pierced by Silverna’s spear, it had collapsed, its knees buckling as life ebbed away.
“Aaargh! Yeti! No! Silverna is beautiful! Argh! Isaac! Am I…Am I going to die?!”
“…I suppose so.”
Isaac stood before him with a bitter gaze.
Meanwhile, Pollux scrambled to his feet, raising his sword with a desperate defiance.
“Then kill me! Kill me now! I’m a sinner! I couldn’t even fulfill my parents’ wishes! I couldn’t even manage this! Agh! I’m a sinner! I deserve to die for my sins!”
And in that moment—
“I’m going to kill you!”
Pollux’s sword flashed as he swung it.
Black aura scattered desperately, adding power to Pollux’s final strike but.
“Ku-ugh?!”
But it cut through empty air.
Isaac had anticipated his move, dropping to a crouch and thrusting his ‘Falchion’ weapon deep into Pollux’s chest; the blade pierced flesh and bone, finding its way to the heart of the ‘bone’ that had embedded itself within Pollux.
“Aaaaaaargh!”
As he tried to flee again, Isaac released the Falchion and grabbed the bone with both hands and.
*Thud!*
As he pulled back to escape, the bone embedded in his heart was pulled out, and strength left his body.
“Kuhuk! Huuuk!?”
Each ragged breath was a struggle.
The black aura that had clouded his mind began to dissipate, whisked away by the north wind, returning him to human form.
Lying there, his chest heaving, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief, Pollux looked up at Isaac.
“H-how…how did you…?”
As he struggled to comprehend his defeat, Isaac looked down at him, a melancholic expression on his face.
“Because you tried to use Blackson’s swordsmanship until the end.”
However, even in his corrupted state—
Pollux yearned for his parents’ approval.
He craved their praise.
He longed for their love.
His mouth wasn’t the only thing honest about his desires.
“If you had just relied on power to swing, I wouldn’t have been able to react.”
However, his wish to use House Blackson swordsmanship, even if poorly.
Conversely, that became the sword that pierced Pollux’s heart.
“Ha…haha…hahahaha.”
Tears streamed down his face as he stared up at the white sky.
As if it was the lingering effects of Vassalization, or the realization of his own tragic fate…
He poured out the words that had been imprisoned within his heart.
“I—I never wanted to swing a sword…”
“…………….”
“I’m scared. I’m so scared. It terrifies me…having to be brave all the time.”
“………….….”
“I enjoyed cooking. When I first learned to pack lunches from the chef, I was, I was so excited.”
“…………….”
“But I shouldn’t have! I should have been swinging swords! I shouldn’t have found joy in something like cooking! I curse myself! I curse my very being!”
“I’m sorry, Mother, Father. I…I shouldn’t have been born into Blackson family.”
“It’s…it’s all my fault. I—I’m the one who sinned.”
Isaac approached Pollux.
He knelt on one knee before him.
“Accepting differences… it took me many years too.”
“I…am a…sinner…”
“Then I must be a sinner too.”
“You… too?”
His voice, weak and fading, barely reached Isaac’s ears.
As his life ebbed away, a single, desperate plea escaped his lips.
“I want… to live.”
Tears welled up in his eyes, blurring his vision.
“I’m sorry.”
“I… want… to live.”
“If there’s one consolation I can offer you-“
“I…want to…live…”
“I will definitely find the one who made you like this and make them pay for their sins.”
At those words.
Pollux’s eyes widened.
The ones who made him like this.
The Blackson family.
If it were the original Pollux, he would have shouted about protecting his parents.
He would have answered that he would defend his family no matter what.
However.
The true feelings of Pollux after Vassalization.
“Thank you.”
Gave that answer.
And with a weak smile like that,
Pollux breathed his last, his eyes holding the pure white sky of the North.
The memories echoed again in Isaac’s mind, repeating like a broken record.
[Are you fooling with me? You can’t even do this? Do you plan to live as a disgrace to the family?!]
The boy’s sin—
— was that he had no interest in swords.
[Why are you so weak? Are you planning to tarnish the family name? How do you expect to receive them like this-!]
Also, the boy’s sin—
— was that he couldn’t muster courage in the face of threats.
[You, cooking? Praise? I’ve never seen such a madman! Bring me the cane this instant!]
Loving to cook, and wanting to show it off.
This, too, was the boy’s sin; and—
[Why did a child like you… Hah, a child who should have been born in some slum, came from my womb—]
Perhaps the boy’s biggest sin—
— was that he was born here, in Blackson, not knowing his place.
But the truth was —
— the boy had committed no sin at all.
END of CHAPTER
тяαηѕℓαтσя’ѕ ησтєѕ
That was actually sad!
☩
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