The Villainous Son Loves His Mother - Chapter 76

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Alfred and Kiska led the charge, with Harris and Mayhem guarding the rear.
Kiska’s sword glowed with an eerie blue light, shattering the skulls of Skeleton Soldiers.
Alfred’s axe swept through the Zombie horde with heavy, devastating blows, his thick armor impervious to the Undead’s poisonous claws and fangs.
From the rear, Mayhem’s magic erupted.

“Flames, heed my call!”

As his incantation finished, a group of Undead was engulfed in crimson flames.
Even this basic fire-summoning spell possessed lethal, destructive power.
Born of noble bl00d, Mayhem possessed exceptional magical talent. During her exchange studies at the Gaines Empire, she had even received recruitment offers from the empire itself.
Harris casts healing and support spells one after the other.

“Divine protection!”

His Magic Power enveloped his allies in a blue light, healing their wounds while simultaneously granting them a protective barrier against evil.
The blue light instantly obliterated low-level undead such as zombies.
One of the Dullahan swung its black sword at Kiska, but she skillfully parried the blow and retaliated with a swift strike that pierced the Dullahan’s armor.
Black mist leaked from the Dullahan, and wherever it touched the ground, the grass withered instantly.

“This is the last one!”

Alfred shouted as the final Dullahan fell.
Even the formidable Dullahan, a high-level undead, proved no match for a team of S-Rank Adventurers.
Catching their breath, the four finally stood before the tower.
Up close, its sheer grotesqueness left them speechless.
But there was no time to linger.
Their priority was to investigate the tower’s purpose.
The strangest thing was that despite its tower-like structure, it had no visible entrance.

“Is it hidden?”

Harris vehemently refuted Alfred’s words.
The usually gentle man now wore an intensely grim expression.

“This isn’t just a tower. It’s a catalyst.”

“A catalyst?”

Kiska asked.

“Yes. It’s a device used in large-scale necromancy rituals. It captures countless souls to summon something…”

Alfred’s decision was swift.

“Then let’s destroy it.”

But the moment he raised his sword, a voice echoed from the depths of the forest.

“That would be… problematic.”

They turned to see a figure cloaked in black robes emerge from the shadows.
With each step, the grass withered, and numerous books floated in the air around him.
Though they resembled grimoires, each radiated an ominous aura.

“N-no way…”

Harris’s face paled.

“Do you know him?”

Alfred asked.
Harris replied in a trembling voice.

“Decades ago, a Lich appeared in the Moria Region. A Lich, needless to say, is the highest-ranking Undead—a being transformed by a mage of exceptional skill who used heretical methods to alter their soul in an attempt to escape the Wheel of Reincarnation. Among them, four Lich in history… due to the immense devastation they caused, they are known as the Four Calamities and are classified as High Lich. ‘Calamity’ Capella is one of them…”

“You’re saying that’s him?”

Alfred murmured, his guard unwavering.

“Yes… There’s no mistake. That floating book is what we would call a magic activation tool. ‘Calamity’ Capella is infamous for using such tools to simultaneously wield multiple powerful spells—a truly terrifying existence…”

The robed figure slowly raised its head, blue flames flickering in its hollow eye sockets.
A skull—an Undead.

『The hated hero who sealed me is gone… For Lord Fabian’s complete resurrection, I cannot allow this ritual to be interrupted. Therefore, become sacrifices and offer your flesh and bl00d!』

With those words, Capella spread its arms wide.
Then, the Dullahans that they had supposedly defeated earlier rose one after another and drew their swords once again.

“Everyone! I sense no more malevolent energy from them! We can do this!”

Alfred roared, his voice ringing with renewed determination.
Fueled by his rallying cry, the four adventurers relentlessly mowed down the Undead summoned by Capella.

“War God! Grant us your blessing of courage!”

Alfred’s voice echoed, channeling a battle cry imbued with Magic Power to bolster morale.
Even high-ranking adventurers who are close combatants can use magic with ease.
Though his armor was stained with Undead bl00d and black slime, Alfred advanced without showing the slightest sign of fatigue.
With each sweeping swing of his hand axe, Skeleton Soldiers were cleaved in two.
Fragments of shattered bone swirled around him like a macabre blizzard.
Kiska moved with fluid grace, her sword slicing through the Zombie horde.
She had mastered a technique to channel Magic Power into objects, dramatically amplifying their destructive force.

“We can do this!”

Kiska shouted, her voice ringing out.
Behind her, Harris supported their comrades with Divine Magic, occasionally unleashing purifying light to repel the encroaching Undead.
A devout follower of the Order, God Arne, Harris wielded prayers known as Divine Magic. While Divine Magic was renowned for its healing arts, it also possessed a potent arsenal of spells highly effective against the Undead.
However, it was Mayhem who truly turned the tide of battle.
Despite being only sixteen years old, she had already earned renown as one of Yggdra’s most promising young magical prodigies. A precocious beauty with short, sunset-hued hair, she stood out even amidst the chaos.

“O azure conflagration of Caliburn, wreathe yourself in awe and manifest—Flame Dragon: Wrathvein!”

As Mayhem completed her incantation, a colossal vortex of blue flame erupted, incinerating everything in the direction her wand pointed, as if guided by its own will.

“I’ll burn you to a crisp, too!”

Mayhem screamed, pointing the tip of his wand at Capella.
But as his skeletal hand made a grasping motion in the air, one of the floating books around them opened.
Suddenly, the vortex of flames Mayhem had unleashed began to change color.
The vivid blue flames gradually darkened, turning black as if the fire itself was being corrupted.

“What’s happening…?”

Mayhem’s voice trembled with panic.
She desperately tried to control the flames, but the blackened fire ignored her will, expanding and contracting erratically, twisting and turning to face her.

“The flames… are out of my control!”

Harris rushed forward, attempting to cast a defensive spell, but it was too late.
The black flames encircled Mayhem, swirling into a vortex around her.

“Mayhem!”

Kiska’s anguished scream pierced the air.
Alfred lunged forward, but Harris restrained him.

“What are you doing?!”

“No! That fire is unnatural! Even you—”

As if to confirm Harris’s words, an intense heat radiated from the black flames, making it impossible to approach.
Alfred and the others caught a fleeting glimpse of Mayhem suffering within the inferno.
Her green eyes were wide with terror, and her slender arms stretched out as if begging for help.
But it was only for a moment.
The once-vibrant green eyes melted from the heat, and a bubbling liquid overflowed from her lips. Mayhem’s fragile body shrank within the flames, eventually becoming a blackened, charred doll.
With a final, brilliant flash, the black flames completely reduced Mayhem’s remains to ash.
Only a handful of ashes remained on the ground.
The air hung thick with the stench of burnt flesh.
Capella made a slow, clapping motion.

『The Flower of Life, beautiful because it withers.』

Flames of fury ignited in Alfred’s eyes.

“You…!”

Alfred felt an overwhelming urge to lunge forward, but he held back.
Rotting hands and bones erupted from the ground, forming a new, massive undead army.
Kiska shouted as she cut down enemies,

“Alfred! We have to retreat!”

Alfred gritted his teeth, forced to acknowledge reality.
They couldn’t win with their current strength.
Having lost Mayhem, their greatest firepower, escape was their only option.

“Retreat!”

Alfred yelled over his shoulder.

“Harris, Kiska, fall back!”

But when he turned around, countless undead had already surrounded them.
Zombies, skeletons, and even new Dullahan closed in, their deathly stench filling the air as they slowly tightened their circle.
Capella’s voice echoed eerily.

『Rejoice, for death shall not claim you. You shall become the breeding ground for a new legion of darkness.』

The blue flames burning in Capella’s empty eye sockets flared momentarily.

『Preparations to welcome our master are nearing completion. Four towers already stand—now, only the sacrifice remains…』

Capella parted his robe, revealing a writhing mass of white maggots packed tightly within.

“Eek!?”

Kiska, usually so composed, let out a girlish shriek. She loathed insects.

『Gubububu… How fortunate. A suitable host for our breeding ground has arrived…』

Capella cackled.

“I won’t let you!”

Alfred declared, his voice defiant, but his eyes darted nervously around the perimeter.
But there was nowhere to run.

・
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“Hurry up and hand it over.”

I demanded of the inferior bone creature before me, maintaining a minimum of courtesy despite my growing irritation.

『W-what are you talking about…?』

The bone creature feigned ignorance.
After I’d gone to the trouble of coming all this way, its attitude was simply outrageous.

“Feri, are you sure this thing has the Night’s Dew?”

“…Probably. This creature is a Lich—and not just any Lich. It’s Cephus of the Death Mud, once feared as the natural enemy of all living beings. Hundreds of years ago, it was the great demon who destroyed the Armite Kingdom, a small nation in the west.”

The natural enemy of all living beings?

“Hey, is that true? Does that make you my natural enemy?”

With that, I kicked the fallen bone skull, sending fragments scattering with a hard clatter. What kind of pathetic creature was this bone, exposing such a sorry state?
My irritation was reaching its peak.
I couldn’t use Ouma in foreign territory—that’s why I’d personally come to the Duchy of Yggdra.
Yes, I was out on a quest for the “Night’s Dew.”
From the sky, I’d spotted several nasty towers rising from the Duchy of Yggdra’s vast forest, so I decided to start with the nearest one. But I’d been met with utter disrespect.

“Hey! I asked if you’re my natural enemy! I hate being ignored!”

The bone didn’t even respond, merely trembling.

『W-who exactly are you…?』

Answering a question with another question—what an insolent bone.
I’d politely asked for the “Night’s Dew” if it had it, but it ignored me and attacked instead.
It spewed out thick, filthy mud, trying to stain my clothes. I blasted it into the starry sea, leaving it half-dead, but even then, I treated it with considerable restraint.
After all, I was merely a visitor.
But this was the limit of my tolerance.

“Feri, this one probably doesn’t have the Night’s Dew. Let’s look for another.”

“Yes, Young Master. Let’s head to the northwest tower. Though we might want to destroy this tower first.”

“Why?”

I’m not a demolition worker.

“Well, this tower is a major magic—no, rather, such architecture is extremely vulgar and wouldn’t suit Madam’s tastes. Considering she will eventually rule the world…”

“Good point. Mother certainly wouldn’t approve of such filth. Let’s destroy it immediately. The soil is likely contaminated with that foul sludge, too. I might as well overturn the entire surrounding area.”

It would be fine to just drop a star.
Thinking this, I decided to at least inform Bone of my intentions, but—

“Hey, Bone. Your tower’s filthy, so I’m going to destroy it—wait, how fragile! It died just from having its head crushed!”

I must have kicked too hard.
Well, no matter.
We humans sometimes unknowingly crush insects to death, don’t we?
This was just like that.
Since life reincarnates anyway, I hope it enjoys its next life.

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Cepheus of the Death Mud

Once feared as the natural enemy of all living things, Cepheus of the Death Mud.
Even now, the elders in the west tremble at the mere mention of his name.
Hundreds of years ago, the small western kingdom of Armite was annihilated overnight.
A nation with a population of approximately 300,000 vanished before dawn.
Not through war or plague, but by the actions of a single being.

In life, Cepheus was said to have been the royal family’s court magician.
Consumed by his relentless pursuit of magic, Cepheus became obsessed with the power that lay beyond death.
After a long and secret ritual, he shed his mortal body and achieved immortality.
According to the sole survivor of the night, the Armite Kingdom fell—a shepherd—”black rain poured from the castle, turning all it touched to mud. The mud flowed, spread, and eventually engulfed the entire town.”
Historical records indicate that Cepheus was defeated by heroes known as the Knights of the Four Seasons.

However, three of the four knights perished in the battle, and the surviving Winter Knight succumbed to his grievous wounds a few years later.
Some legends claim Cepheus was not completely destroyed and is gathering strength somewhere. While the truth remains uncertain, if this were true, his return would bring unimaginable calamity.
The oldest legends suggest Cepheus’s true goal was to resurrect the long-lost God of Death.