The Northern Grand Duke’s Crazy Son-in-Law

28. Amanda

Demons were the natural enemies of mages.

Demons alone are tough, but now they’re even causing mental interference-.

Magic was a very delicate and sensitive task that involved calculating complex formulas.

But a demon that causes mental interference-.

‘This is the worst.’

Galahad took a deep drag of his cigarette. His hazy mind cleared up. His blurred vision returned.

The people who were laughing and dancing turned into soldiers with their lids open.

‘Is it a range?’

Looking back at the notes, the range seemed to cover the entire village.

It got worse when Amanda came near.

For a moment, he forgot about the existence of magic.

‘So it’s contact.’

The discomfort grew worse as Amanda rubbed against him.

‘I should have listened to Lord Gilbert.’

Galahad grumbled sarcastically as he looked around the situation.

‘Is it easier to control if I open the lid?’

It seemed that it was easier to interfere with the mind if the lid was off.

The movements of the soldiers spewing out anger were unusual.

They were well-trained soldiers, and with the addition of fierce anger, their momentum was fierce.

“Have fun.”

At that moment, Amanda whispered as she stepped back.

His vision blurred. He was back at the cheerful festival. People reached out to him with warm smiles.

He took another deep drag of his cigarette. The lidless bastards ran towards him, spewing curses that were hard to put into words.

Galahad took out the flask inside and put it to his mouth.

The taste, which he had become quite accustomed to, burned his insides.

No, it tried to burn him.

Until the grotesque bastard in the middle moved-.

‘Orb of agony?’

The bastard ravenously sucked the demon’s blood. Galahad had no time to stop it. His mana disappeared in an instant.

The bastard grew as if it wanted more. Its momentum increased slightly.

‘···This is unexpected.’

The Orb of Agony drank the demon’s blood instead.

It was quite interesting, but at the same time, it was a deadly variable.

He was supposed to fight the demons without demon blood-. It was like having his weapon taken away.

Just then, the soldiers began to approach.

“Woof!”

He turned his head and saw a dog with its mouth hanging open. Galahad grimaced. It was Damian.

“Damian, can you buy me some time?”

“Yes.”

Damian stomped on the ground.

He took a deep drag of his cigarette. He could see Damian rolling around among the lidless soldiers.

Damian dodged the sword diagonally and swung the sword he held in his reverse grip. The movement was close to a dance. In the meantime, the sword aimed at him and stabbed.

Damian twisted his body and dodged him. He moved using the back of the sword that had stabbed him as a support.

Damian thrust his sword out at the soldier heading towards him. The gap created by that cut Damian’s back.

Damian didn’t scream. His face was still calm.

‘Mental interference is basically magic that involves the brain.’

It was clear that Amanda had planted something the moment they came into contact.

Galahad put his left hand to his temple.

He condensed his mana. No, he tried to. The mana didn’t listen.

What was mana in the first place?

‘What the hell.’

Galahad stuck his fingers into the scar on his shoulder. The wound, which had been burned with fire, burst open and agonizing pain surged up.

He came to his senses. Without pulling out his fingers, he condensed his mana.

Only then did the mana compress.

Fortunately, the grain of pain did not target Galahad’s mana.

Galahad recalled the pattern he had.

“What are you trying to do?”

At that moment, Amanda whispered.

Amanda was right next to him. Her naked body caught Galahad’s eye. The illusion was clear.

“It’s called zero point adjustment.”

Galahad raised the corners of his lips and moved the compressed mana to his temple.

If he created a virtual lid with high-density mana, he would be able to weaken the mental interference.

No matter how demonic they were, their power would be dispersed if they tried to control this number of people.

“What if you make a mistake and it explodes?”

“I guess I just shouldn’t make a mistake.”

The head was delicate. A small mistake could go wrong somewhere.

However, to gain something, you had to risk something.

When he placed his finger, which had compressed the mana, to his temple, the surroundings came into clear view.

Damian, rolling around among the lidless soldiers who were running around, cursing and spreading the words of the curse, in the burning village-.

Galahad quickly removed his finger.

In an instant, his vision became distorted.

‘Oh, so that’s how it is.’

Galahad exclaimed briefly.

“Wow-, are you really amazing?”

“It’s a boring compliment.”

He flicked his other finger at Amanda.

The magic was fired in a different direction.

“Did you think you could go against me, your master, as a wizard?”

Amanda bursts into laughter like a bat.

It was a situation where he recognized mental interference. Even though he had wrapped the condensed mana around his head, he couldn’t stop the mental interference.

That wasn’t just mental interference, it was something on a whole other level. He followed the clue.

If it weren’t for Damian, the composition of the town would have been perfect. All because of Galahad’s unconsciousness.

“So you’re stimulating the unconscious.”

Amanda’s laughter stopped abruptly.

“What difference does it make if you know? You’re the one getting in the way.”

“Oh, that was the correct answer. Thank you.”

“What feigned composition.”

That his unconscious was his opponent meant that he had to fight himself.

His opponent was himself.

‘How interesting.’

Galahad glared at Amanda, his fingers aimed elsewhere.

The fired spell targeted Amanda precisely.

There was nothing there.

“How?”

A short distance away, Amanda tilted her head.

“I cannot tolerate incorrect formulas.”

Even as an unconsciousness, he was Galahad. No, rather, he was Galahad even more so.

He could deliberately distort the correct formula, but Galahad was the type who could never stand to see a formula wrong.

Ironically, it was his unconsciousness that was helping him.

“You really are amusing.”

“I agree.”

A splitting headache came over him.

Once again, his vision blurred. He seemed to sense something.

“Are you really experimenting on yourself?”

Amanda asked, looking slightly weary.

It was a stupid question.

“Isn’t that obvious? It’s the most efficient way.”

What the Dark Magic Society had said was not a lie.

No matter what the experiment, it was most efficient to do it on oneself. Doing it on others was the cross-validation step that came after.

“How interesting.”

Amanda’s lips curled up into a smirk.

At that instant, his vision flickered.

Several soldiers collapsed like a broken line. It seemed like they had concentrated their power on Galahad.

“Enjoy your insignificance.”

Amanda’s whisper tickled his ears.

A familiar man approached, pushing past Amanda.

It was a man in a neat uniform. He had a cigarette in his mouth.

[After I taught you everything, you hit me in the back of the head?]

A crude curse burst out.

There was a small hole near the man’s heart. Whoever had done it had been very clean.

[Clean? You’re crazy.]

The man’s face twisted like a ghost.

Gallad met him in such a place-. He clicked his tongue.

“Didn’t you do wrong, senior?”

[You’re going to make my heart burst from behind for something so small? I’ve been spoiling you since you were the youngest.-]

“I wouldn’t call it a small mistake to burn ten innocent people to death.”

[How many lives have I saved? It’s just ten. This brat. Your magic has gotten stronger thanks to that, hasn’t it?]

“I appreciate that.”

[Then-.]

“Business is business, and life is life.”

Gallad flicked his fingers without hesitation. The hole in the man’s body grew larger.

[This bastard-. Brat.]

The man collapsed, glaring at Gallad with bloodshot eyes. Gallad did not avoid his gaze.

Amanda was laughing like a bat.

“Are you trying to stimulate my guilt? I’ll tell you in advance, it’s useless.”

“Really?”

“Guaranteed.”

[Senior, didn’t you say you’d marry me?]

His eyes trembled with anxiety and his arms shook sweetly, a huge ax in his hand-. He was Gallad’s first junior.

“I’m sorry, but I never made such a promise. And didn’t you die?”

[You killed me!]

“Then you’re dead, aren’t you? Don’t be clingy and die again.”

The hole in his chest grew larger. His junior poured out words of curses and resentment, but Gallad did not stop.

When the junior’s form disappeared, Amanda appeared. Unlike before, the corners of her lips were firm.

“Didn’t I tell you? It’s useless.”

“Are you human?”

“Very human.”

Just then, something rolled down below Gallad. It was Damian, covered in blood. His mouth was swollen, and his cheeks were puffy.

“What are you eating, man?”

“Food.”

“That’s not food. Spit it out.”

Damian stared at Gallad. He saw Gallad with red lips in his eyes.

“I didn’t eat it, I drank it.”

Damian opened his mouth. Rotten food that had fallen off poured out.

“You’ve worked hard, so I’ll take it from here. Get some rest.”

Damian’s head snapped back. Soon, the sound of snoring could be heard.

‘How peaceful.’

Then, the front became noisy.

[You’re a wizard-. Are you going to do such a lowly job?]

[The soup I ate in the morning was poisoned? Brother, surely you don’t suspect me?]

[Be my queen. Know that it’s an honor.]

[Follow along! For the eternal glory of the empire!]

Familiar faces approached with an ominous aura.

‘Hmm, that’s weird.’

One crucial thing was missing.

‘Are they saving it?’

It was obvious that they were saving it.

They’ll probably bring it out at the crucial moment-.

Would it work? He didn’t know.

As always, he just chose the option with the highest probability.

Galahad flicked his fingers, a cigarette between his lips.

****

Hans was the fourth of five brothers and sisters. His oldest brother died of a cold, and his second oldest brother enlisted before he became an adult. The same went for Hans.

Hans was brave, like a man from the north. He didn’t hesitate to shove his body into the monster’s snout.

Hans crossed the line between life and death with his comrades. He killed monsters every day.

On the day a comrade was eaten by a monster, he drank enough alcohol to make his nose crooked. He didn’t cry. His tears had already frozen long ago.

It was an ordinary day. On his way back from his shift on the border, he ran into a woman.

She was a truly beautiful woman. His heart sank the moment he saw her-.

Even the ever-exceptional captain stopped in his tracks. The woman reached out her hand, saying she was looking for a man to continue the tradition.

She said that she would know when she felt it when their hands touched-.

They rushed to extend their hands. Hans was one of them.

The 5th Battalion was covered in corpses. There was no sign of life anywhere. The demons who had created such a horrible tragedy were right in front of them.

The captain gave his orders.

“We have to kill it, even if it costs us our lives! Otherwise, the world will end!”

Hans nodded. There wasn’t a single man in the north who would avoid a time when they had to burn their lives.

The comrade in front of him screamed and collapsed. It was a stepping stone for the next step. He advanced, using his comrade’s life as a foundation.

Hans exhaled hot breath at the demon he soon came face-to-face with.

The demon looked at Hans with an easygoing expression. It had one hand to its temple and was laughing.

It was a truly horrible demon, laughing in such a situation.

Hans bit his lip and readjusted his weapon. He couldn’t back down. That wicked demon-.

Huh?

His vision suddenly twisted.

The horrible demon transformed into a clean-cut man.

Then, the pain came. His forehead felt hot.

“It worked. Are you conscious?”

The clean-cut man spoke with a voice full of fatigue.

Hans opened his mouth in a daze at the polite question that was out of place for the situation.

Only then did he notice his surroundings. His unit members, who had become hideous, were running toward the man, cursing. The woman was laughing behind him.

They were attacking the man who wasn’t a demon with curses.

The man dealt with them one by one without complaint. He was as solemn as someone performing a funeral.

Hans realized. They had been tricked by a demon-.

The man asked Hans.

“What’s your name?”

“Ha…ns.”

“Yes, Hans. Unfortunately, you’re going to die soon. That vicious demon has your skull split open. Ah, don’t touch it. It’ll be hot. May I borrow your head for a moment? I plan to use it to deceive him. In return, I’ll call out your name while twisting the demon’s neck.”

Hans nodded with the last of his strength.

“Don’t worry. It won’t be painful.”

The man’s face was filled with exhaustion as he spoke.

“Thank you, Hans.”

Galahad lit a cigarette without wiping the blood off his hands.

Amanda appeared between the five remaining soldiers.

He was still smiling.

‘Good.’

There was no need to provoke him.

****

‘Interesting.’

Amanda nodded cheerfully.

He had expected it since he had ordered it himself, but it was true.

He and his beast were both interesting.

His beast, in particular, was immune to his ability.

‘He smells like another one of them.’

Amanda frowned. He could smell another demon from the beast.

A very strong scent-.

It was the scent of a demon far superior to Amanda.

It was a blatant warning not to touch him. This complicated things.

He had to get rid of the rampaging beast without killing it-.

But there was nothing he could do.

If he got involved with a high-ranking demon, Amanda would be the only one to suffer.

That’s why things dragged on a bit.

Of course, the result was the same.

A mage and a beast were no match for Amanda, who was prepared.

The mage struggling to pour mana into his head was a bit annoying, but he was a mage nonetheless.

When there were three soldiers left, he collapsed.

Amanda stopped the soldiers who were about to stab him.

“He told me to bring him back alive.”

Amanda muttered to herself and rose from his seat.

“Honestly, you’re amazing. I didn’t expect it to be this hard. Fighting while resisting my ability-. I can’t believe it.”

It was a genuine compliment.

Amanda was infinitely weak against those stronger than him, but he had absolute power over the weak.

Yet, despite being a mage, he had put up a good fight.

She had collapsed in the end, but even that was impressive.

It wasn’t for nothing that he had been ordered to do it himself.

“Thank you, it was really fun. I can’t remember when I had this much fun -.”

Amanda thanked him with sincerity.

“He’ll really like this. He’ll give you an award? Ah, I’m happy.”

“He?”

“Oh, you’re still conscious? You’re strong. Really.”

The fallen man looked up at Amanda.

Amanda scoffed at his foolishness for still flicking his fingers without giving up.

“Yes, he. You’ll like him too. He’s not someone you can meet often. I just wondered because he was interested in humans -. As expected, he’s the best.”

“What is his name?”

“Name? You’re asking his name? You’ll really die if you do that.”

Amanda gave him a sincere warning.

Asking his name -. He was definitely a strange guy.

Even in this situation -.

‘······This situation?’

She felt a very small sense of discomfort.

It was a sense of discomfort that she had never felt before.

Something was strange -.

“Oh, you’ve been caught.”

A calm voice rang out from right behind her.

The man was pointing his finger at Amanda’s neck.

Blood was dripping from the hole in his shoulder, and there were scars all over his body, but his sunken eyes were still sharp.

“How… Did you use your authority on me?”

Amanda stuttered in shock. The magician had tricked her?

“You call it authority. I’m sorry, but this is magic. It’s easier to fall for it when you don’t even suspect it. You know that, right?”

It was a peaceful answer.

He was aiming for Amanda’s confidence in her authority -.

No, it wasn’t confidence.

How could she have expected a magician to implement his authority with magic?

However, she had no choice but to admit it.

Amanda had been defeated by him.

“Well, this isn’t fun.”

Amanda concentrated her authority on him.

“Beatrice?”

A final mutter burst out of the man’s dull eyes.

Since she had used her authority to the maximum, he would be an opponent that he would never be able to kill.

Her head was dizzy because of the strain. She had been outdone by this damn magician -. If she had known this would happen, she would have finished him off cleanly from the beginning.

She had wasted her energy trying to have some fun.

“It’s nice to see you face to face like this. Don’t call me a fool.”

At that moment, the bastard let out a rough murmur. His voice was trembling, unlike before.

Amanda sneered at the thought that the bastard’s voice, which had been firm even when a sword was stabbed into his shoulder, was now trembling.

“Yeah, I made a promise.”

The bastard curled his lips and flicked his finger.

Sparks flew between his fingers.

The sparks grew in size as they flickered between his fingers.

Amanda stared blankly, mesmerized by how beautiful it was.

The sparks that had been flickering between his fingers took shape.

It looked exactly like a flower that a god had carved out of lightning.

In full bloom.

That was the last thing Amanda saw.

****

“What a shitty demon.”

Galahad muttered as he pushed the charred demon aside.

He had expected it since Beatrice’s name hadn’t come up.

He had expected her to pull her out at the last moment.

Rather, he used it to his advantage.

He had promised to give her a really cool lightning flower if they met again.

If it hadn’t been for that, he wouldn’t have been able to strike such a blow.

It was the demon’s downfall to have pulled her out.

It was an expected turn of events, but it left a bad taste in his mouth.

‘And now that I think about it, she must have heard about me by now.’

He grimaced and put a cigarette in his mouth.

“Ah, this is Hans’s share.”

Galahad crushed the charred head, turning it to ash.

He flicked his cigarette on top of it.