Chapter 252 - Handling Tasks All at Once
Youngest Son had returned.
It would still take time before the Black Ship rejoined the formation, but they would certainly be able to see him before the day was over.
The blood kin gathered in the Black Giant Castle for Six Paths training each had their eyes burning.
That heat was directed toward one person, toward Youngest Son, whom they would soon meet.
“When we meet Youngest Son, I am going to ask him to have a mock duel with the Six Paths.”
“As if. We are first.”
“Even cold water has an order of seniority. All of you, get behind me. I am first.”
“Hmph! Go wash your face with cold water! It looks like your head is still spinning after getting hit by my Meat Golem.”
“You fell flat on the floor countless times. Do not get too pleased just because one blow grazed me by luck.”
Once one person started, the quarrel linked tail to tail and grew in an instant.
The Chief Secretary of Fourth Son, who managed the Black Giant Castle, watched the scene from a distance and shook his head.
She had thought today might pass quietly because Youngest Son was coming. Then one of the four opened the floodgates, and they began insulting one another like released water.
In the end, unable to watch any longer, the Chief Secretary suggested,
“How about rock-paper-scissors?”
“…….”
“…….”
“Ooh! That sounds good!”
The daughters and First Son seemed deeply displeased that such an important issue would be decided by mere rock-paper-scissors.
But there was no other method, and the rock-paper-scissors proceeded.
“Kyahul!”
The winner was Fourth Son. Last place was First Son.
“...Fourth Son. What kind of Illusion did you use?”
“What Illusion? Accept your defeat cleanly!”
“We will be satisfied with this much.”
The daughters, who had taken second place, withdrew from the rock-paper-scissors war, and First Son let out a deep sigh.
Fourth Son, who had gained the glorious first turn for a mock duel with Youngest Son, laughed heartily.
Then a question naturally came to mind.
“Ah! I forgot to ask the Clone that! What kind of Six Paths does Youngest Son use? Does anyone know?”
…….
Silence arrived once again.
“...Theoretically, it would be best to assume it is one of the ones he taught us...”
“There is also a high chance it is one of the ones we did not learn, right?”
“All of that is meaningless.”
First Son’s voice cut between the two guesses.
He had been suppressing his anger over the fact that he was last, and he closed his eyes with a sigh.
“Youngest Son’s Six Paths is already at a level where he can ‘teach’ us. Even if he cannot use all of the Six Paths, he will learn them faster than we can right now.”
“So he is actually in a state no different from having learned all of them.”
“Yes. So shut your mouth.”
“Tch. Look at how foul his temper has become just because he is last. I will shut up, so get out of the way. You ghosts over there! Let us fight one more time!”
“Gladly.”
“...Wait. Include me as well.”
Nothing worked better than the Six Paths for bringing back their sulking eldest brother.
Today as well, the gears called the new generation of Millesdusk meshed together through fighting.
That continued until the smallest gear, Youngest Son, came close.
***
“So, you are the main body.”
“Are you playing spot the difference too?”
As soon as Akiell met Youngest Son, he circled him once and examined him carefully.
“It is not as though Wisdom has no magic that creates a Clone, but I have never seen one as elaborate as yours.”
However, no matter how hard he looked, all he could tell was how worn the threads of his clothes were.
“You should train your Clone instead of sorcery. You will reach the peak far faster.”
“You do not have to decide my career path. Show me the magic circle you modified while I was away.”
Akiell swallowed dryly and continued.
“In any case, it is not much different from what your Clone reported. Do not expect too much. Also, as for barrier magic, I only learned it briefly, and it is not my specialty—”
“Yes. I know all of that. As you said, I know to some extent through the Clone, so do not feel burdened and just show me.”
“...Understood.”
It was something he had learned through the Clone, but Akiell was anxious right now.
It was not that his mind had become ill, but even through the Clone, Youngest Son had felt that he was under considerable psychological pressure.
He was aboard an enemy ship and creating magic that would be used to attack his homeland.
Even though it was not a feeling one could easily empathize with, it was true that his position was pitiable.
But Akiell was anxious over something else right now as well.
Since he had already boarded an enemy ship, Youngest Son’s recognition was essential to his comfortable life from now on.
“This is it.”
The modified barrier magic circle he had created for the sake of that recognition rose from Akiell’s hand.
“I left the central part empty so it can absorb mana from the power source, and I twisted the formulae so the scale can expand accordingly.”
“Mm.”
“Wh-what? Is there something strange about it?”
When the answer did not come immediately, Akiell’s voice trembled. Youngest Son, however, nodded briefly in a calm voice.
“This should do. The first stealth Airship will be born.”
“...What Airship? What is the first?”
Youngest Son muttered something incomprehensible and turned his head toward the Head Maid nearby.
“Have we caught up with the formation by now?”
“Yes. In one hour, the Black Giant Castle will enter our field of view.”
“It is time to see my older brothers and sisters.”
Youngest Son took off his cumbersome coat and made his clothes comfortable, as though he were about to go into battle.
“You worked hard. We will do a test run around tomorrow before entering the neutral zone. I will tell Josephine as well.”
“All right.”
Akiell saw him off with a somewhat uneasy expression.
His face seemed to say, “It ends this easily?” but the magic circle had truly been completed to an admirable level.
That was because Youngest Son had left the troublesome work to Akiell and handled the core parts himself through the Clone.
After learning various kinds of pure magic, he had become able to apply his existing knowledge even when encountering other magic.
That intertwined with the player’s knowledge and made various things possible.
Like a branch sprouting another branch, his growing knowledge absorbed the wisdom of others and became thicker.
[It has been a long time since we saw those reckless brats too.]
—It has. Truly a long time.
How much had they grown in the meantime?
The details of the operation would change depending on how much stronger they had become through Act 2’s balance buff. If all of them produced as much power as I expected...
‘With this advance, we can seize even Sky Island.’
***
The basement inside the Black Ship.
All the blood kin gathered in this place, the widest space in the Black Ship.
“As expected, the real Youngest Son really is different! Since you are not hiding your mana, the difference from the Clone is enormous!”
Fourth Son bounced around with excitement at seeing Youngest Son after so long.
It was even more so because he had the first turn in the mock battle, and First Son naturally became calm. More precisely, he pretended to be calm.
“Youngest Son. It has been a long time.”
His expression was managed calmly, but his gray eyes were still those of a predator.
Was the opponent before him stronger or weaker than he was?
If stronger, how much stronger? If weaker, how much weaker? How much power would he have to use to kill him?
The thoughts a beast in the jungle always had now filled First Son’s head.
Unlike his composed features, they poured out as formless fighting spirit and stabbed at Youngest Son.
For Youngest Son himself, it was a kind he welcomed, the fighting spirit of an Asura.
“Thank you. But I only learned a few tricks too embarrassing to show you. They are nothing compared to my older brothers and sisters, who have trained in the Six Paths.”
“Do not act humble and hurry up and play with him. We are next.”
“Second-oldest brother is first.”
“It makes no sense. That tiny fellow is first.”
“Ahem! Accept the result of rock-paper-scissors!”
Behind a tone of royalty that did not suit him at all, Fourth Son brought his hands together.
“New flesh over bone. New skin over flesh.”
After the Hand Seal, even the activation words flowed very naturally.
GRRRRIIIND—
The flesh that began from a very tiny point swelled its body in an instant.
The flesh became meat, using that to expand its mass, and in the end, it attached a pig’s head.
A total of four Meat Golems set foot in the basement. Their BOOMING footsteps rang against the eardrums.
First Son, leaning against a corner of the outer wall as usual, clicked his tongue.
“Just looking at them makes them seem like stinking lumps of meat.”
“They do not stink!”
“The problem is that they look like they stink.”
As if he had decided to completely ignore First Son’s words, Fourth Son no longer even looked at him.
“Six Paths, Path of the Beast: Pig Curse. I somehow managed to raise it to four bodies, the point where practical combat is at least possible!”
“You worked hard. Truly, nothing comes to mind except to say that you worked very hard.”
Youngest Son looked at the enormous pig monsters lined up before him.
“Their degree of completion is excellent, and the only thing left now is to increase their number.”
“I was already quite used to moving huge things like this because of the Skeleton Giant, so I was able to learn it fairly quickly!”
That had been one of the things he had considered when assigning him this sorcery, but fortunately, it had worked out as expected.
“I would like to see Eldest Brother’s and my sisters’ as well.”
“Good.”
“That is not difficult.”
Nod.
“W-wait, wait! It is my turn right now!”
No matter what Fourth Son said, the other siblings spoke their activation words.
“See the world with three pairs of eyes, and grasp the world with three pairs of arms.”
“The sins and achievements within the affairs of life. They are karma linked by formless chains.”
“Oh, seriously!”
Behind Fourth Son’s irritated shout, two more Six Paths were cast.
“As expected. Both of you are excellent as well.”
Unlike his first casting, First Son’s Three Heads and Six Arms had become even more refined in form.
The dark blue chains held by the daughters were thick, but because of their translucent appearance, they looked feeble compared to the other Six Paths.
However, the two people over there had seen blood after judging Path of the Human by its appearance.
As proof of that, when the daughters brought out the chains, the remaining blood kin moved half a step farther away.
“Six Paths, Path of the Human: Repentance. We can now extend the length up to three meters.”
“You are doing well. All three of you are progressing at a dazzling speed.”
Before the three people with that dazzling pace of growth, Youngest Son continued speaking.
“You said you decided the order, did you not?”
“I am first!”
Fourth Son, who could not even be seen because he was behind the Pig Curses, at least raised his voice loudly.
But there was no need to appeal so passionately.
Because now, the order was meaningless.
“All three of you, come at me at once.”
“...What?”
Fourth Son’s voice, which had been excited since earlier, sank instantly.
“You heard me correctly. Second-oldest brother and Eldest Brother, Little Sister and Big Sister, all of you. Use the Six Paths and clash with me.”
A cold silence lingered inside the ship.
But he had experienced this kind of silence far more often in the Empire before, so it did not bother him at all. He merely continued saying what he had to say.
“I will also face all of you with the Six Paths.”
“…….”
First Son opened his mouth. However, he did not say anything.
He did not sigh, did not try to persuade him that it was a reckless decision, and did not belittle Youngest Son either.
Right now, in the eyes of the blood kin, there was a faint fear of the future they could glimpse.
The Six Paths mock battles they had continued endlessly by using each other as scarecrows. They were afraid that all the realizations they had gained in them would be shattered.
However, if those realizations were going to break now, then it was right for them to shatter as quickly as possible.
“Of course, you must not let down your guard. I have not neglected my training, but like all of you, I am not a specialist.”
CRAAAACK—
“My control over its power may be a little immature.”
The Gluttonous Ghoul of hell opened its mouth in the mortal world in search of prey.
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