[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-problematic-child-of-the-magic-tower":3,"chapter-the-problematic-child-of-the-magic-tower-the-problematic-child-of-the-magic-tower-chapter-292":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1334837,1778,"Chapter 292","the-problematic-child-of-the-magic-tower-chapter-292",292,"\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chapter 292: Primordial Evil (7)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deeper—deeper still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The subspace containing Itaca was overlaid by a new subspace, and that one was overlaid again by yet another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, Oscar broke through six layers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The time dilation inside reached 1,000,000×.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One minute in reality was nearly two years inside, the axis of time violently twisted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘But it’s not enough.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The time he needed was five minutes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Realistically, that was the absolute maximum his allies could endure against Belpher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Oscar was forced to pull on the threads of space once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Kgh…!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he yanked the strands, a wave of dizziness struck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The six lines of his mana circuits swelled as if they would rupture, and blood spilled from all seven orifices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His vision blurred, the world fading into pitch-black.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sp— Oscar!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lloyd’s voice rang out, but he had no space—no consciousness to spare for a reply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every nerve he possessed was focused solely on maintaining Itaca inside the seven-fold subspace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Over here! Treat him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Lloyd’s shout, two priests rushed to Oscar’s side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Warm holy power sank into him, soothing his body that was about to burst.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Haa… haa…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One more layer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only by adding one more layer could he reach the time he aimed for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though unseen to others, Oscar was gripping over a hundred spatial threads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Can I really wrap one more layer…?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dozens of painfully realistic reasons not to flashed through his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mana circuits were already at their limit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Failure could cause mana runaway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with seven layers, Itaca might start recovering its holy power…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the reason to do it was only one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Simply because… I must.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no noble justification.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he failed to encase Itaca in an eight-layered subspace, no one would blame him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This entire situation wasn’t even his fault.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘But still…’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oscar tightened his grip on the spatial threads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unaware, a faint smile appeared on his lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It’s been a while since I felt this. This level of pressure… it’s fun.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t someone who ran from crisis or fell silent under weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how hard or impossible the task, he completed what was required of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Please… just five more minutes.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mana circuits burned hotter than ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blazing mana that surged through them now felt more like molten lava.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every time it rushed by, it scraped the circuits, sending waves of agony through him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pain was too overwhelming for him to even scream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew that if he let out even a sound, he would faint immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tears brought on by the agony mixed with the blood on his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oscar barely held onto consciousness and pulled one final thread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eighth subspace wrapped around Itaca.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘From now—five minutes.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he closed his eyes to focus on maintaining it—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Belpher’s gaze shifted toward Oscar, reacting to a very unfamiliar emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘What… is this?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had been impaled by the holy sword for over 800 years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, he thought his senses had been ruined because of that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump. Thump.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His pounding heartbeat told him he was alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that heartbeat screamed at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Don’t ignore this ‘unease.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hadn’t he ignored it before, and ended up sealed in disgrace for centuries?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I may not have regained all my power yet—but that human can make me feel this level of danger?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had begun the moment Itaca disappeared from that human’s hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Belpher calmed the rising turmoil and made his decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Kill that human first.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Black, sticky energy burst from his palm and shot toward the man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swish!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sword dancing through the air sliced it neatly apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmph. Taking your eyes off me with this old man right in front of you? How insolent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Heavenly Sword muttered in annoyance, hands clasped behind his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Belpher’s gaze turned toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...I see. Everything must be done in order.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One of the basic laws of the world. Etch it into your head.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As you wish.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not that it mattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Belpher had already summoned ‘that’.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘My power.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The holy sword embedded in his heart had repeatedly restored divine power…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only to use that divine power to kill him—over and over again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he gathered power externally, hidden from Itaca’s gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Once that power arrives…’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every drop of malice blackening the Western Sea was converging toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he absorbed it all, not only would he return to the strength he had 842 years ago—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he would surpass it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would wield power fit to rival a god.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Four minutes. That’s all it needs to gather.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, he wouldn’t even need to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simply breathing would steal the life from everyone around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s spend that time figuring out—how exactly you die.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I do not—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he finished speaking—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His body was diced into dozens of pieces and fell to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sword soaring freely in the air had done it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Heavenly Sword frowned, unsatisfied, as he watched the scattered flesh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Indeed… killing you like this won’t work.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack, crunch—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The severed pieces wriggled together and rapidly reformed Belpher’s body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked without expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are your questions answered?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stab!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time the sword pierced his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it didn’t stop there—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blade began to shine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It exploded inside his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hundreds of fragments shredded his insides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Belpher reformed once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the heart, obliterated into nothing, was restored, beating strongly again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What a nuisance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Heavenly Sword clicked his tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, anyone would die from this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But of course a historic Demon King wouldn’t die so easily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘So only the holy sword can deal fatal damage, after all.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He inevitably thought of that brat from the White Tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It all came down to whether that kid could fully restore Itaca.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No choice then.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stretched out his right hand like a blade—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And sliced off his own left arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Heavenly Sword frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Have you lost your mind from fear?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hardly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two severed chunks of flesh trembled, melted into black slime—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And shaped themselves into copies of Belpher, colorless and pitch-black.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Clones?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment the Heavenly Sword furrowed his brows—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two black Belphers sprinted toward Oscar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You were too hasty. You’re unarmed now, aren’t you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they passed the Heavenly Sword—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One clone was sliced clean in half.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A new sword danced through the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Heavenly Sword snorted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t be ridiculous.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…A spatial artifact?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I paid a fortune for it. Wealth is power—another law of the world. Remember it well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tapped a tiny pouch at his waist—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside it were the countless blades he’d collected over his lifetime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Masterworks known across the continent, all the way to cheap iron swords.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I guarantee, you’ll die of old age before I run out of swords.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Understood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Belpher’s head tilted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But you let one slip through.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I let it through on purpose.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Heavenly Sword sneered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If an old man over a hundred is fighting, a brat who still smells of milk can’t sit idle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the remaining black Belpher lunged at Oscar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“World Liberation—Eternal Bloom.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lloyd raised a single flower—Sydney—like a staff toward Oscar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Blossom—Cradle of All Things.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A gigantic petal draped over Oscar like a blanket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the strongest shield an 8th-circle mage could currently use.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crunch!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black Belpher rammed into it and disintegrated instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmph.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Heavenly Sword didn’t even look at it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That brat was annoying, yes—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but he did not underestimate an 8th-circle mage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He entrusted Oscar to him because he fully trusted his strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s your family. Protect him yourself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I would have done so even without you saying it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tsk, tsk. Can’t agree gracefully, can you…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOOOOM!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A blade soared down just in time to block Belpher’s fist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had closed the distance in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So be it. I’ll kill you all first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Try. If you can.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they clashed—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Belpher’s summoned malice finally reached the island.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>* * *\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A massive cube-shaped labyrinth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On its rooftop, a group stood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Has word reached the airship?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Archbishop. Ah! Please look!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Northpella, the great airship, soared into the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their allies aboard were safe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Thank the gods.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if everyone here died—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least someone would carry word of what happened back to the continent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Archbishop Baldwin looked around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Priests, paladins, and members of the Heavenly Sword clan stood ready.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“From here on, our task is simple.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned toward the black tidal wave of malice crashing toward the island from all directions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We must prevent Belpher from absorbing that power.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shing—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swords were drawn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Priests made the sign of the cross and gripped their holy symbols tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Lord…’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Baldwin prayed earnestly,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Grant strength to this humble lamb…’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he prayed—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>KWWWAAAAAAH!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tide of malice surged atop the island.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A column of holy light struck down from the heavens, shielding the labyrinth in full.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>",1510,"2026-06-05T20:00:10.789Z",1,"novelbin.me","b89d324b34f845b8b832dd78152ac1ec62c411db0f30efaf57d1c506349973e4","the-problematic-child-of-the-magic-tower-chapter-50","the-problematic-child-of-the-magic-tower-chapter-291",375,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-problematic-child-of-the-magic-tower-cover.jpg"]