Count’s Youngest Son is a Warlock Chapter 281 - It's Snowing

 

The bodies of the undying ignited as fierce lightning struck.

 

Just when Lucion expected the flames to intensify even further, the air, already scorching, seemed to melt against his skin.

 

Whoosh!

 

A pillar of fire roared upward, feeding on the flames that clung to the undying. Thick, acrid smoke billowed into the sky, carried by the wind toward the frontier. The breeze only fanned the fire, making it blaze even more fiercely.

 

Lucion watched with pity as lost souls escaped from their crumbling bodies, with no place left to go.

 

They were innocent.

 

Though he wielded the power of a king, the true evil was Veronia—the one who created more undying as if it were nothing more than a child’s game.

 

—Lucion! Ratta… Ratta wants to run out and help them right now!

 

Tears welled up in Ratta’s eyes.

 

“I do too. But not now, Ratta. Wait. Just a little longer.”

 

Lucion’s voice trembled.

 

But he couldn’t let a moment of sympathy ruin everything.

 

They were pitiful, tragic—but as Russell had said, his true enemy was Veronia.

 

“Don’t waver, Lucion. It doesn’t matter if they call you the King of Darkness or anything else—you don’t have to bear the weight of everything.”

 

Russell’s voice was steady, reassuring.

 

Any warlock who had not succumbed to corruption would be feeling the same thing.

 

Perhaps they, too, were overwhelmed by the impulse to save the suffering before them.

 

“…I know.”

 

Lucion struggled to suppress the emotions surging within him.

 

If he acted on impulse and made a mistake, it would only lead to more deaths.

 

[Russell is right. You don’t have to carry everything alone. This isn’t about drawing a line—those people are already gone. The ones you need to protect are the living. That’s what matters. No, that’s what you must do.]

 

Gentle-hearted Lucion.

 

Sensing his hesitation, Bethel sought to remind him of the weight between the dead and the living.

 

[The fact that you care for the dead is already more than enough. So please, let go of some of that burden.]

 

The dead were the dead.

 

The living were the living.

 

No matter how the world turned upside down, that truth would never change.

 

“Thank you, Bethel.”

 

Lucion took a deep breath and turned his gaze toward Hume.

 

Just as Bethel had said, the ones he needed to protect were the living.

 

“There hasn’t been any significant movement yet. It seems they’re… hesitating.”

 

At Hume’s report, Lucion gestured toward the communication device. Hume lifted his finger, unblocking the sound.

 

“The enemy has not moved yet.”

 

<I see. That must mean they still have plenty of cards to play. But that doesn’t mean we need to rush.>

 

Shaela’s voice was calm.

 

<You said it yourself—magic is bait.>

 

“Yes, that’s right.”

 

Lucion answered, feeling the refreshing breeze from Hume.

 

<But isn’t it a bit much to call that bait? >

 

Heint clicked his tongue in disbelief as the pillar of fire burned even fiercer.

 

“The price he intended to use is gone. I purified it.”

 

Lucion’s mask turned yellow.

 

Once before, he had sent countless ghosts swarming above the fortress walls into the heavens.

 

“You didn’t send them off nicely, did you?”

 

Russell muttered from the side.

 

Wasn’t that the very reason Carson had stabbed him in the stomach?

 

Lucion flinched at the memory but quickly composed himself.

 

“That must have thrown off his plan a little.”

 

Despite all the heinous acts King Norvion of Neubra had committed, he had never been Veronia’s servant.

 

His true servant was Ravid Bahal, the first servant of Nevast. The price Norvion had set to destroy the fortress had nothing to do with Veronia.

 

‘But he probably intended to use it anyway. What kind of mad warlock would expect someone to stand in the middle of a battlefield, purifying ghosts several times a day?’

 

But that ‘mad’ warlock was standing right here.

 

It was him.

 

“Just enough to be a nuisance,” Lucion said with a hint of amusement.

 

“The undying will start to dwindle soon. Can you hold out, Sister?”

 

As powerful as Veronia was, his supply of darkness was not limitless.

 

<Of course. The magic circles we set up earlier are helping a lot.>

 

Shaela’s response was confident.

 

“Then, let’s get ready, Brother.”

 

<I’m always ready. Just give the signal.>

 

Heint’s voice carried quiet strength.

 

“Young Master.”

 

Hume’s tone suddenly turned urgent.

 

“He’s moving.”

 

“As expected. He can’t summon the undying as easily as before. Even if it’s bait, magic still has its effects.”

 

Russell saw it clearly.

 

The undying had perished in droves under the relentless magic, cast without restraint.

 

As the black magic dissipated, more ghosts drifted aimlessly, their bodies crumbling.

 

“He’ll likely use those ghosts as a price. But not yet—he’ll gather them first.”

 

Lucion clenched his fists, restraining himself.

 

[His gaze is on you, Lord Lucion.]

 

Bethel could feel Veronia watching.

 

“He probably sees me more clearly than before,” Lucion muttered.

 

He could feel Veronia’s presence as well.

 

Sharing the same power was revolting—but at least knowing his enemy’s location was a small relief.

 

“He can move like Hume, too. But I don’t know the extent of his range.”

 

Lucion remained on high alert, keeping his eyes fixed on Veronia.

 

“He’s walking toward the undying. Is he trying to enter the flames?”

 

Hume’s voice was laced with doubt as he observed.

 

“No.”

 

Russell shook his head.

 

Veronia wasn’t foolish enough to walk straight into the fire.

 

The Veronia he knew never did anything unnecessary.

 

“It’s about time we got ready, Lucion,” Russell reminded him.

 

“Yes. Besides, the stench of corruption is stinging my nose.”

 

Lucion lifted the communication device in his hand.

 

Veronia’s true goal was the Sea of Death. No matter how fierce the mages’ attacks were, if they failed to land, it wouldn’t matter. Now that the situation was turning troublesome, Veronia was likely to shift to his real target.

 

“Delos.”

 

<Yes, Mr. Hamel.>

 

“Be prepared. The barrier will be attacked soon. Kran will give the signal.”

 

<Understood.>

 

After ending the call with Delos, Lucion contacted Heroan, who oversaw intelligence for the Ale organization and managed the communication network.

 

“Heroan. There can’t be any mistakes.”

 

<Have I ever failed to handle my tasks properly?>

 

Heroan’s voice carried confidence.

 

“No. You haven’t.”

 

Lucion momentarily covered the communication device and turned to Shaela.

 

“Sister, don’t panic. Just move on to the next spell.”

 

<Don’t worry. You asked us to maintain the fire magic until he attacked and broke the barrier, right?>

 

“Exactly.”

 

Hearing Shaela’s slightly amused tone, Lucion’s mask turned yellow.

 

The fire magic hadn’t been cast without reason.

 

Wasn’t the acrid smoke obscuring their vision?

 

Veronia would assume he lacked the price to create more undying. And as the thick smoke from the mages’ flames clouded the battlefield, it was obvious what he would do next.

 

“The undying have disappeared.”

 

At Lucion’s words, Russell smirked.

 

“See, Lucion? To him, the undying were nothing more than a tool—to spread fear and serve as a backup plan.”

 

Through the dense smoke, Veronia’s darkness writhed, just as it had when he first summoned the undying.

 

“You see it now, don’t you? Didn’t I tell you he’d use the smoke?” Lucion said, his voice filled with confidence.

 

[Yes. You’re both doing great, so stay focused. This is crucial from here on.]

 

Bethel chuckled at how similar Lucion and Russell were.

 

—R-Ratta keeps shaking so much. My heart is pounding, and my front paws won’t stop trembling.

 

Ratta curled up, swallowing dryly.

 

Lucion had told her to stay hidden in the shadows no matter what, so she held back from asking Hume for a hug.

 

Lucion crouched down and reached his hand into the shadows.

 

A small front paw emerged, gripping his finger tightly.

 

Swoosh!

 

In an instant, darkness spread widely, following the sound of the wind.

 

A murky, corrupted darkness—one that had yet to earn the right to be a king—stretched as far as the night sky.

 

“Is this what you call a struggle? …Ah, how disappointing.”

 

Veronia clicked his tongue, locking eyes with Lucion.

 

As he clenched his outstretched hand, his darkness mirrored the movement, pressing against the barrier with overwhelming force.

 

It was solid, but no barrier could truly stop his darkness.

 

Slowly, the pressure increased.

 

He sneered at the fools still igniting flames and fighting against the undying that no longer existed.

 

Crack. Crack.

 

Sharp fractures splintered through the barrier.

 

Veronia moved instantly to its front.

 

Thick darkness swirled around him.

 

Beyond the barrier, the Sea of Death rippled.

 

How beautiful it was.

 

That deep, dark color—soon to be reborn as his beloved children.

 

‘Returning once again.’

 

The memory of the children who had once reached out to him flickered in his mind.

 

They had been warm. Soft.

 

Precious.

 

So precious that when those children became monsters, he was consumed by unimaginable sorrow.

 

‘Again.’

 

He wanted to turn back time.

 

To see their bright smiles once more.

 

Crack!

 

The barrier shattered.

 

A grin spread across Veronia’s lips.

 

No one could stop him.

 

No one.

 

“Soon…!”

 

Just as Veronia was about to step into the Sea of Death, a sound interrupted his joy.

 

Fwoosh.

 

A violet darkness—so beautiful it was infuriating—unfolded before his eyes.

 

“No. You’re not taking anything, Veronia.”

 

“Veronia. Yes, your name is Veronia.”

 

A voice suddenly overlapped with that of the vessel.

 

A voice that had once been kind—now a voice he loathed.

 

“You…!”

 

Veronia shouted.

 

But Lucion remained still.

 

Beyond the broken barrier, violet darkness surged from the east, west, north, and south, forming a new shield—one that repelled Veronia and his darkness as though it were an ominous presence.

 

It was a barrier created by warlocks, including Delos, alongside barrier mages from various branches.

 

Hope had glimmered in Veronia’s grasp—only to be wrenched away and twisted into despair.

 

“You can’t erase this darkness. Because it’s a darkness you could never possess.”

 

—That’s right! Veronia can’t touch Lucion’s darkness!

 

Just as he had given a portion of his darkness to Russell, Lucion separated part of his own darkness and passed it on to the barrier mages at both the headquarters and the branches.

 

Veronia could erase darkness.

 

But not this one.

 

Because this was the darkness of a king.

 

As Lucion moved his fingers, flames ignited upon his enemy.

 

The violet darkness devoured Veronia, burning him alive.

 

“Arrrgh!”

 

Veronia screamed and stumbled backward.

 

Lucion stepped out of the barrier in one swift motion, shrouding himself in a Black Wave.

 

A cloak of darkness formed at his shoulders and billowed behind him.

 

‘Let’s go, Bethel.’

 

[Of course.]

 

As Lucion swung his fist with all his might, another Black Wave surged forth.

 

The wind howled.

 

“I’ve been waiting for this day—the day I could beat you to a pulp.”

 

Russell’s grin stretched wide.

 

In sync, Lucion’s mask turned blue.

 

Seizing the moment, he swung the combined Black Wave with all his strength.

 

The darkness spread silently but struck with savage force, ripping into Veronia’s abdomen.

 

Unable to block the attack, Veronia was sent flying backward.

 

As if waiting for that moment, the flames extinguished, and the ground trembled—rocks from the jagged terrain shot upward.

 

Boom!

 

With a deafening crash, Veronia was struck by the rising boulders and flung high into the sky.

 

—Woooooah!

 

Ratta’s eyes sparkled.

 

—This is the first time Ratta has seen anything fly this high, except for birds and insects!

 

Despite the unfitting weather, petals swirled through the air—an endless expanse of them.

 

At the center stood Shaela.

 

A magic circle glowed beneath her feet, light swirling around it.

 

Above her, delicate, thread-like tendrils of darkness stretched like branches, piercing through the drifting ghosts.

 

“Return to your rightful place,” Russell murmured softly.

 

As the ghosts dissolved like grains of sand, Lucion felt his chest tighten—for just a moment.

 

Thud!

 

With a deep rumble, trees burst from the earth.

 

Carson, along with some knights and mages, swiftly began retreating beyond the frontier, opposite the fortress walls.

 

With the undying already gone, they could now act decisively.

 

Bwooo!

 

A war horn echoed in a rhythmic pattern.

 

It was the signal—the Elder, the leader of the mages, had completed memorizing all the spells.

 

Lucion glanced back.

 

Atop the fortress walls, the Elder and the assisting mages simultaneously plunged their staffs into the ground.

 

Even Lucion’s own heart pounded at the sound.

 

‘Two.’

 

With the Elder’s magic as the foundation, space itself began to shift—separating both in front of the advancing troops and before the fortress walls.

 

Lucion sensed the presence of Hume, who acted as Rental, arriving behind him.

 

Whiiiish.

 

At the sharp sound of Shaela’s whistle, the petals that had been drifting freely in the wind suddenly erupted in unison.

 

‘Good. Block his vision.’

 

Pop! Pop! Pop!

 

As the blasts erupted, the dense darkness Veronia had unleashed was swallowed by the cascading explosions and billowing smoke.

 

“Die.”

 

As expected, Shaela raised her middle finger, and the tree burst into rapid growth.

 

But this was no ordinary tree.

 

The rain that had fallen moments ago had been infused with light—holy water—and the tree that sprouted was saturated with its power.

 

Like the legendary World Tree, it grew wide and tall, empowered by the magic circle beneath it.

 

In an instant, blossoms unfurled along its branches.

 

A smirk played on Shaela’s lips.

 

Carried by the wind, thousands of petals swirled through the air, clinging to Veronia’s dense darkness.

 

“Die!”

 

Boom!

 

A thunderous explosion shook the battlefield.