Let’s Block the Ruined Route in Advance Chapter 70

“Are you two good walkers?”

 

The man looking down at Neumann and Jessie laughed, twisting his neck to one side in a grotesque fashion. The creepy grin sobered Neumann and he yanked Jessie hard.

 

“Run!”

 

But first, he jumped out the window. Neumann pushed Jessie onto his back and reflexively unleashed a blast of fire magic. But the man caught the flames and let out a laugh that was more like a shout.

 

“Ahahahaha, that’s good, not just any rat, but a superior rat, perfect for a spare hide.”

 

Neumann’s face drained of color as he saw that his offensive magic was having no effect. The man waved his hand lightly as if to encourage him to try again.

 

“Kid, do you have anything else, something a little hotter, a little more chest-thumping?”

 

The man laughed, his hips rising and falling, and each laugh was accompanied by a creepy clanking sound, like metal clashing. Neumann focused his full attention on the man and clasped his hands behind his back, signaling again for Jessie to run.

 

“Anything else? I’m bored. You’re supposed to be doing something important.”

 

Yawning languidly, the man turned toward Jessie at once.

 

“So you think killing this rat will cheer me up?”

 

Neumann stepped in front of him as the black energy rushed toward Jesse. He quickly unfurled a thick shield, but it was only enough to block it.

 

“Run! It’s about to break!”

 

Neumann urged, and Jessie, who looked like she was about to burst into tears, turned and ran, her eyes tightly shut.

 

“You’re wasting your breath. You’re not getting out anyway.”

 

The man grinned in amusement, and with a snap of his fingers, Neumann’s shield easily crumbled. A few more offensive spells were exchanged, but it was all to no avail.

 

“Hmph, let’s call it a day, I’m in a hurry. Don’t be too scared, poor thing. I’ll make good use of your body, despite its lowly and archaic abilities.”

 

The man grabbed Neumann by the throat and lifted him high into the air. His feet floated in the air and he twisted in agony.

 

“Ugh!”

 

Neumann’s head sank heavily as his breathing became increasingly labored. The man smirked, waiting for Neumann to catch his breath, and Neumann squeezed his eyes shut, afraid to look him in the face.

 

In the darkness, a memory of a day when he was very young flashed through his mind.

 

‘It’s cute that he’s a little stupid,’ Neumann thought, ‘why try when you’re born with talent?’

 

He wanted to be someone special, like his father. Like his sister, who was hailed as a genius. All the adults around him were, so he thought he deserved to be, too.

 

So he tried. He wanted to be a genius so badly that he was willing to die to avoid his sister, who told him he didn’t need to bother trying.

 

But in Verotanis, where geniuses abounded, his talent was excellence. It was all he had.

 

An effort that is not perfected is worthless.

 

Unable to contain his feelings of inferiority, impatience, and disgust, he chose the worst possible option: to join the group and show off his power.

 

A gaping maw awaited him for all his hard work.

 

“Those cookies were good.”

 

Neumann stood on tiptoes, no longer able to move.

 

“You worked really hard.”

 

The first time Neumann heard those words. He realized what he really wanted to hear: that it was okay, that he didn’t have to try too hard, that he deserved something less than that, that he wanted to be acknowledged for his efforts.

 

“Hmmm, that’s a pretty good quality for lasting so long. Mr. Urzar will be pleased.”

 

The man turned to push the nearly unconscious Neumann through the door.

 

“Let go of Neumann!!!”

 

Jessie, holding the gnome from wherever she’d found it, punched the man in the back of the head.

 

“Ha?”

 

“Kuluk! Kuluk!”

 

Coughing violently, Neumann looked up at Jessie. His blurry vision flickered for a moment, then came into focus, and he saw Jessie’s face.

 

“Why aren’t you running away… Kuluk!”

 

“I can’t get out anyway!”

 

It was so reckless. But for some reason, a part of Neumann’s heart was raucously happy, and he felt like he hated himself.

 

“Haha! I was going to kill you if you stayed put, but you did something so cute. Okay, as a reward, I’ll rip you to pieces as painfully as possible.”

 

The interrupted man looked back at Jessie, and she hiccupped in surprise. This was her greatest courage in a life far from combat.

 

Neumann summoned his magic as he watched the man’s hand reach for Jessie. It took all of his strength to hold on to him, even for a moment, but the man simply threw his hand out in annoyance, throwing Neumann against the wall.

 

“Neumann!”

 

Jessie rushed to Neumann’s side as he collapsed in shock. Holding Neumann in her arms, she looked at the man with a mixture of hatred and fear. The boring stranger clicked his tongue as if watching a boring skit.

 

“Tsk, stupid thing.”

 

His hand gradually descended toward Jessie’s head. Jessie’s legs went limp with fear, and she stared up at the hand with despair in her eyes, unable to think of running away.

 

Then.

 

“Huh?”

 

A puzzled look crossed Jessie’s face. There was a small crack in the sky above him. At first it was incontinence, then it grew larger, turning into a hole. A torrential downpour of rain slowly revealed itself through the ashen sky.

 

A giant tree trunk slammed down on the man, but not before the raindrops from the crack had reached Jessie.

 

“Jessie!!!”

 

“Eileen!”

 

Cordelia used Lynn to evacuate Jessie to the roof of one of the buildings while the tree crushed the man. Felix magically dragged the unconscious Neumann over and laid him down beside Jessie.

 

Jessie’s eyes widened as the shock of her near-death experience washed over her.

 

“Is she okay?!”

 

“She’s fine, Eileen. She just blacked out.”

 

Cordelia gently laid the unconscious Jessie down.

 

Eileen nodded, a worried expression on her face. The writhing man gave up one arm and slipped out from under the tree. Before he could do anything else, Lucian’s sword swooped down.

 

He barely managed to block Lucian’s attack with his remaining arm and screamed.

 

“You scum!!! How dare you put your filthy feet in my space!”

 

Felix then spoke up, his voice filled with sneer.

 

“I thought the ceiling was too weak?”

 

The man who had taken a large step backward, away from Lucian, stopped in his tracks to look at Eileen and Felix’s faces.

 

The stitches sealing the man’s eyes burst, and he blinked. His eyes, grotesque as if the whites and blacks were reversed, fluttered wildly.

 

“You! You!”

 

The man clutched his head with his free hand in rage. He looked directly at Eileen and screamed.

 

“You! You’ve ruined all my plans! It’s you again!!!!”

 

Black tears streamed from the man’s eyes. After a moment of panic at the sudden accusation, Eileen turned to Felix.

 

“This isn’t the same guy from the greenhouse, is it?”

 

“No, he’s too weak for that one, but I don’t think there’s any connection.”

 

As the two chatted nonchalantly, the man’s voice grew more venomous.

 

“I should have killed you!!! Even if he had stopped me, I should have nipped it in the bud! If it weren’t for you, I could have used your offspring to take care of Gladius!”

 

“What?”

 

Lucian’s face contorted.

 

“What was I supposed to do with my father?”

 

“You’re Gladius’s spawn, you stupid, clueless thing, everything would have been easier if you’d died by the lake, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

 

This time Eileen’s face hardened. It was eight years ago that Lucian had nearly lost his life in the lake. There was no way the man could know what had happened before she and Felix had confronted Lovel in the greenhouse.

 

“We must catch him.”

 

Urzar. The brightest light to come out of the darkness. Eileen had only the vaguest of clues, but it was clear that capturing the man would provide her with more information than she had ever known before.

 

Eileen stretched out her hand, and the old tree shot toward the man with a fierce intensity that seemed to speak her will. It was a curious thing. The giant tree trunk, which normally wouldn’t come to life no matter how much she called upon it, now moved as delicately as Eileen’s limbs.

 

‘But it’s not awkward at all.’

 

He didn’t know how, but it was clear that this force was supporting her. The man was caught in front of the old tree in full swing.

 

“Wait, that’s not really a capture.”

 

The man who had been bowing his head while being held by Eileen suddenly raised his head to the sky.

 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was imprudent, I was imprudent, I dared to make fun of your mouth, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

 

The man who had been screaming in anguish a moment ago began to apologize breathlessly.