The Prestigious Family's Son-in-Law Wants a Divorce Chapter 23

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Chapter 23: The Sinner of Blackthorn (1)

[Are you kidding me? You can’t even do this? Do you plan to live in disgrace of our family?!]

The boy’s “crime” was

that he simply had no interest in the sword.

[Why are you so weak-minded? Are you trying to tarnish our family’s name? How do you ever plan on receiving them like this—?!]

Another of the boy’s “crimes”

was that he lacked courage in the face of intimidation.

[You want to cook? You want praise? Look at this lunatic! Somebody bring a cane right now!]

He liked cooking,

and wanted to show off what he made.

That was also deemed a “crime.”

[Why would a child like you… Haah… A brat who should’ve been born in some slum ended up in my womb—.]

And perhaps his greatest “crime”

was being born here, in the Blackthorn, without knowing his place.

****

“KeuhahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

A roar of manic laughter exploded as Pollu rampaged about.

The black fluid seeping from his body soon crawled back inside, re-entering through every opening in his flesh.

He trudged across the snowy field.

Beside him, a yeti—equally corroded by the black fluid—followed in Pollu’s wake.

“Shhh-khooom! Shhh-khooom.”

His speech, slurred as if his mind had deteriorated, still showed that the yeti was clearly walking toward its target.

Before long—

Upon reaching a frozen stream, the recon party’s comrades came into view.

“Pollu…”

“So it really was you.”

At the murmurs of Isaac and Melodic, Pollu smirked crookedly.

“I’ve returned, everyone.”

He was nothing like the timid person he used to be.

His once fair skin had broken out in bumpy welts, gradually darkening in color.

If not for that ‘bone’ still piercing his heart, no one would’ve believed it was Pollu at all.

“I’m here! I even subdued a yeti! Kkheuhahaha! Do you see? I’ve helped you all, right? Right? Yeah? Isn’t that right?”

Overcome by Pollu’s frantic questions, the recon party remained silent.

Still reeling in confusion, only Isaac stepped forward slowly.

“Pollu, listen calmly.”

“Huh? Isaac? Who do you think you are? You abandoned me! Let Silverna come say it!”

Frowning, Silverna approached. At that, Pollu opened his mouth wide, drool dripping in a monstrous display.

“Y-you abandoned me? Silverna? Huh? You abandoned… me? That’s okay. You’re pretty, so it’s okay. But you abandoned me? Was I really that useless? Did I really do something so wrong?”

“…Pollu?”

“No, no. Don’t be scared. I won’t kill you. But I might. Actually, I’m not sure. But wow, Silverna, you’re seriously beautiful. I thought that from the first time I saw you. You’re good with a spear, so different from me.”

Pollu chattered on in a way unlike himself, as though a filter had disappeared from his consciousness and reasoning.

He poured out one instinctive comment after another, then his eyes went dead as he gave a small nod.

“I’ll have to kill you.”

Bwoooom!

The yeti’s fist came swinging. Already anticipating the move, Silverna sprang backward in a single bound to evade it.

“I’ll handle the yeti! The rest of you subdue Pollu!”

Ironically, the first to respond to her command was Pollu himself.

“Subdue? Subdue me?! Right! Kill me! Kill the worthless trash! The Ashen of Blackthorn! The darkest star among the stars! Purge the sinner of our house!”

“W-why’s he acting like that?”

Stunned, Anna questioned, while Isaac bit down on his lip.

Leaving the yeti to Silverna, everyone else charged at Pollu.

Leading the attack was Sharen Helmut.

Boom!

Eager to end things quickly, she unleashed her full ‘Red River’ aura throughout her entire body and lunged at Pollu as if to strike him down.

Clang!

“…!”

Sharen Helmut’s crimson eyes trembled.

She stared in shock at Pollu—who had blocked her powerful blow so casually with a single slender sword.

He didn’t budge an inch.

It was as effortless as catching a falling snowflake by hand.

“Huh?”

In truth, Pollu looked just as astonished.

He gaped at his sword with wide eyes. As he began pushing Sharen Helmut back with newfound strength, a grin slowly split his face from ear to ear.

“Khehe… Hehehe! HahahaHA! Father! Do you see me? Are you watching?! Look at this! I’m pushing back Helmut!”

While Pollu roared with maniacal laughter, a spearhead suddenly pierced his side.

“Huh?”

Hiding behind Helmut’s Red aura, Anna slipped in and landed a strike, but her spear felt as though it had hit solid steel and bounced off. Pollu lightly swept his arm, knocking aside her weapon.

Melodic, who’d rushed in next with his fists instead of a sword, halted in his tracks as well.

Everyone realized that no attack could faze Pollu now.

“He’s suddenly turned into a monster.”

“My spear’s been getting blocked a lot lately.”

Sharen and Anna, having withdrawn a bit, spoke in hushed voices. Although they encircled Pollu, their formation didn’t seem to bother him at all—he was simply overjoyed.

“Hahahahaha! So that’s what it was! Father, Mother, this is why you wanted me to become stronger—to swing a sword—to keep training—saying it day after day!”

“……”

“Ah, seriously! I never wanted to swing a sword or anything like that! But now that I understand, I can see your point!”

Pollu let his shoulders drop, his head lolling forward as he sniffled.

“But I still don’t want to.”

Watching his muddled emotions and erratic state, the recon party felt equally thrown off balance.

“He’s acting totally deranged.”

“What in the world happened to him?”

Sharen and Melodic muttered in dismay.

In contrast, Anna—almost unconsciously—looked toward Silverna, who was fighting the yeti.

They all knew there was no way they could handle Pollu on their own…

“Silverna can’t,”

Isaac, catching Anna’s glance, responded coolly.

“Pardon?”

“The yeti is not in a normal state, either. It might not be as far gone as Pollu, but it’s still under the control of that black fluid.”

Seeing how the creature’s body was becoming murky in color made it undeniable. Its strength and speed had soared well beyond normal. Ordinarily, they should’ve been rushing to assist Silverna.

“Right now, with Silverna tied up with the yeti, we have our best shot.”

If Silverna were to lose, it would be over. None of them here could hope to withstand both foes attacking in tandem.

“Isaac, do you have a plan?”

At Anna’s question, Isaac studied Pollu again. The black fluid flickered around him like some changed aura, giving off black smoke-like wisps.

In Isaac’s eyes, it looked like a pile of firewood burning fiercely.

“If we drag things out, we can win. That state can’t last very long.”

“……”

“But we can’t afford to drag things out. So our target is that thing right there.”

Isaac lifted his longsword, pointing at the ‘bone’ lodged in Pollu’s chest—

the very thing that had impaled him in the yeti’s initial ambush, and likely triggered all of this.

“We use that to kill Pollu.”

Melodic and Sharen gaped at Isaac in shock. They were appalled that he was talking about killing a former comrade. But—

“We have no choice.”

There was no hope. Isaac recognized Pollu’s state all too well.

Though he’d never seen this exact black fluid before, he had witnessed people transform in a similar way in his previous life.

“The moment he became that, he was no longer human.”

Isaac spoke heavily.

“If you can’t do it, then I will.”

There was no tremor in the hand gripping his longsword.

As Isaac stepped forward, Anna asked hesitantly,

“What exactly do you know? Please tell us.”

“…They call it ‘subjugation.’”

“Subjugation?”

“An incantation the transcendents use to make humans their possessions.”

It grants rapid physical enhancement but twists the mind in a deeply bizarre way.

They act purely on instinct.

They utter every thought that crosses their brain.

They’re forced to speak their truths.

“I’m sorryyyy! Father! Mother! I’m so sorryyy! Sorry I turned out such a worthless brat!”

“You mean—”

“Kkheugh! I never should’ve been bornnnn! I’m worthless, even though I have such power, yet I don’t even want to wield a sword!”

Anna turned fearful eyes on Pollu.

“Kill meeeeee! I’m a disgrace that never should have existed! A vile child that made Mother shed tears—a sinner of Blackthorn!”

All the words pouring out of him were unfiltered truth.

“I am a sinner! A sinner! Agh! Gyaaaah! Kill meee! Then Father won’t be disappointed anymore! Then Mother won’t cry anymore! I… I have to atone—even if it’s only this way!”

Beating his chest, the sinner of Blackthorn confessed his innermost regrets.

It seemed he’d already forgotten the very name Pollu.

Perhaps that’s why—

“Pollu! Get a grip, you idiot! Don’t let that thing break you!”

Melodic, suddenly overcome with some surge of emotion, cried out in desperation.

He was alarmed by Isaac’s declaration that Pollu must be killed—refusing to believe there was no other way.

“Khrrgh!”

The sinner of Blackthorn snapped his head around.

He looked at Melodic, nodding as drool trickled from his mouth.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…”

And then—

“I want to live.”