Reborn As Noble

Chapter 1484: Crystal Cube and Swirling Smoke ( 1484 )

Javier glanced around again, his eyes scanning the rooftops and the distant treeline before he turned back to his brothers, his hands moving in quick, questioning signals.

[Why do you two want to use hand signals?]

Marcellus’s shoulders slumped, his face twisting into a look of pure dislike. He let out a quiet sigh before raising his hands again.

[You know Father is monitoring right now, right? At least if we use our special hand signal, he won’t understand what we’re saying.]

Cedric nodded, rubbing his chin with a smirk as his hands moved in smooth, deliberate signals.

[True. It’s our secret language. We’ve been using it for so long. There’s no way Father can decode it.]

Just as Javier was about to respond with another hand signal, all three of their mana talkies crackled to life simultaneously. Garius’s voice came through, calm and composed, carrying a weight that made all three of them flinch and snap to attention.

”You all think I don’t know about your hand signals? Hmm?”

”A... ah! Esteemed Father! It... it was Marcellus’s idea! Not me!” Cedric blurted, his voice cracking.

”W... wha? I... I’m not... Father. J... Javier’s the one who started it!” Marcellus stammered, pointing accusingly at Javier.

”O...oi!” Javier swallowed hard before tapping his mana talkie and speaking again, his voice strained. ”...I...I’m sorry... esteemed Father.”

”Hmm. Now you have little time to get out of there before the nobles’ soldiers notice all your presence. I’ve already commanded the extraction unit and Garak to stay in the extraction zone. You three... get out of there and bring Marcor with you.”

”Understood, esteemed Father.”

”And Marcellus, Cedric.”

”Y...yes, esteemed Father?”

”I expect full pages of reports on my desk the moment you two come back to the estate. Understood?”

”Yes, esteemed Father!” they both replied in unison, their voices tight.

The line went silent. All three brothers exchanged a quick, sheepish glance before Javier narrowed his eyes at the two of them.

”Ugh! I hate you two. You’re the ones who started using hand signals and then blamed it on me. Great. Just great.”

Marcellus moved toward Javier, slinging his arm over his younger brother’s shoulder with a lazy grin. ”That’s what the youngest brother is for~ Covering for your older brothers~”

”Yeah, yeah... whatever.” Javier rolled his eyes, shrugging Marcellus’s arm off his shoulder. ”I’m not helping you with your report. Do it yourself.”

He walked toward the area where remnants of the dark miasma still lingered, the corrupted air shimmering faintly like heat rising from scorched stone. With a sharp snap of his fingers, a crystal cube materialized in front of him, hovering silently in the air. Its surface was flawless, a perfect translucent prism that caught the faint light and refracted it into soft rainbows around them.

Cedric tilted his head, his brow furrowing. ”What are you doing, little brother?”

Javier remained silent, raised one hand, channeling his mana, and the floating crystal cube began to drift slowly toward the lingering miasma. The runes on its surface flared brighter as it began to absorb the dark energy, pulling the corrupted essence into itself like a vacuum, streaming into the cube in thin, dark ribbons.

More samples from the ground, the blackened blood, the corrupted flesh fragments, all lifted and were drawn into the cube, trapped within its crystalline prison. The cube pulsed once, sealing itself shut with a soft hum.

Javier caught the cube in his palm, his expression calm and serious as he spoke.

”I’m going to record the sample, analyze its properties, and write a new magic code to update my mana satellite cameras and the Sky Eyes surveillance system so that in the future, we can detect and track this entity even if it tries to mask its presence. I’ll also run a full diagnostic on our scanning arrays, recalibrate the mana signature filters, and add a new detection layer specifically tuned to this corruption frequency.”

He turned the cube over in his hand, watching the dark energy swirl inside like trapped smoke.

”I’m also going to upgrade all our soldiers’ tactical gear and armor, along with their mana rifles, mana shields, and barrier runes, so they’re able to at least detect, counter, or defend against this unknown enemy. I’ll integrate a corruption-resistant layer into the armor plating, modify the mana shields to automatically adjust their frequency when they come into contact with dark energy, and enhance the barrier runes with purification properties so they don’t get overwhelmed.”

He slipped the cube into his dimensional storage, his eyes turning serious.

”Whoever they are... they’re not from this continent. And maybe they’re not from this world either. The magic they use doesn’t match any known magical signature from our records. It’s the same thing that happens when we try to focus our mana satellite surveillance toward the other continent. It’s like a veil is there, a heavy, unnatural interference that blocks our view. Something, or someone, is actively obscuring it from detection. We can’t afford to be caught off guard again.”

Marcellus glanced at Cedric with a calm smile before both of them moved toward Javier, slinging their arms over his shoulders from both sides. Marcellus poked and twisted his finger against Javier’s cheek, making an exaggerated funny face as he teased him.

”Oh my honey bun~” Marcellus mimicked their mother’s voice perfectly, his tone dripping with playful affection as he pressed his cheek against Javier’s head. ”You don’t need to worry too much or overthink it~ Everything will be fine~”

Cedric grinned, wiggling his eyebrows as he rubbed his chin against the top of Javier’s head.

”That’s right, honey bun~ Just relax~”

”Eww! You two! Get off me! Blergh!” Javier shoved at them, his face twisting with disgust as he tried to squirm free.

They both laughed, stepping back just enough to let him breathe. Marcellus grinned and wiggled his eyebrows again.

”Anyway, little brother~”

”What!?” Javier shot him a sharp side glare, his face still scrunched in annoyance.

”I saw you feed your pekko with some rare fruit the other day.” Marcellus tilted his head, pretending to be deep in thought, tapping his chin with one finger. ”What is it... hmm... the fruit is huge~ with several colors, glowing... what’s it called again, Cedric~?”

Cedric’s grin widened as he narrowed his eyes playfully at Javier. ”Rainbow fruit~ And I’m sure you already ate it too, right, honey bun~?”

”Ugh! You two are even more annoying than Buddy.”

Buddy turned his head sharply, letting out an indignant squawk.

”Cuquawked?” (Why me?)

Javier pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out a long, tired exhale. ”Fine... I’ll give it to you two after this.”

”That’s our little brother!” they both cheered, throwing their arms up.

But just as they were about to celebrate, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from a distance. The rhythmic thud of armored boots against stone, growing louder by the second.

”Ah crap. I think that’s our cue to get out of here.”

”Yeah. If they know we’re here, I’m sure Father will be mad.”

Javier turned sharply. ”Buddy!”

”Cuquawked!?”

”Let’s leave this place.”

”Cuquawked~”

Marcellus reached down and grabbed Marcor, hauling him over his shoulder with a grunt. All three of the brothers mounted their pekkos in a rush, gripping the reins as the massive birds shifted into position. With powerful beats of their legs, the pekkos launched forward, tearing through the ruined street at full speed, dust and debris swirling in their wake as they raced toward the extraction zone.

( End Of Chapter )