Chapter 120:
Chapter 120:
Claude busily moved his short legs to chase after Benjamin. No matter how fast he was walking, his back was not seen while he was running. Then with a bang! a roar that seemed to resonate with the ground, people began to hear screams.
"Urargh!"
"Aaargh!"
"Help me!"
Claude hardened his face even more when he heard that sound.
"Oh my God, what is this sound?"
Penelois, who was following Claude, was startled and hugged Elexa in her arms stronger.
"It's the sound of Uncle Benjamin going crazy!"
"Oh my God, oh my God!"
Nanny. The only people who could stop Benjamin from losing his mind were Belluna and her. Claude remembered Benjamin going crazy the day Sarah vomited blood at the palace. Thinking about how frightened Benjamin was at that time, his body trembled spontaneously.
"We have to stop him!"
If they didn't stop him, people would die. Claude thought so and tried to move his legs faster.
"Aargh! Keok, heok!"
The screams got closer and clearer. Claude's eyes reflected Benjamin in the distance, grabbing the man's neck with one hand and lifting him into the air. Claude was confused whether to think it was fortunate that Benjamin was doing that with pure force without magic.
"He, help m...... keok!"
The man struggled with breathing because his legs couldn't touch the ground.
"Heaven!"
Penelois pulled Claude towards her and covered Elexa's eyes with her hands. The stout men on the floor seemed already beaten by Benjamin. Judging from the fact that they were trembling and flinching, it appears that they were not dead.
"Uncle!"
Claude called Benjamin in a sharp voice. However, Benjamin could not hear the voice, and his hand holding the man's neck became more and more tense.
"I, I made a mistake......, heok, please!"
Gradually choking on his breath, the man gave up struggling and began to beg. Then his gaze turned to someone over Benjamin's shoulder, and as Claude followed him, he saw a boy crouching in a corner and trembling.
"......Heok, heok."
The boy was being beaten until Benjamin came, and there was not a single part of his body that was intact. It was a frowning sight to anyone's eyes.
"Is that person okay?"
Claude tried to approach the boy, but Penelois quickly pulled the child's hem.
"......?"
"Stay here for a second."
Claude looked at Penelois as if wondering. But her gaze was not on Claude, her gaze was on the mercenary lying near the boy instead.
"......That man is pretending to be unconscious."
As Penelois whispered to Claude, she put Elexa in her arms to the ground and hid him behind her back. Then, having Claude and Elexa hold hands, she pulled out a dagger from the bag and held it tightly in her hand.
"So don't come near and wait. When I tell you to run, run in the opposite direction from here."
"Mo, Mother......"
"It's fine. Didn't you hear from your dad? Your mother also beat down monsters in her old days."
Penelois smiled at Elexa and flicked the dagger between her fingers. The dagger moved freely as if it were part of her body. Only after seeing this did Elexa and Claude relax a little.
"Grrr......"
When the man who Benjamin was holding his neck passed out with foam around his mouth, he threw the man's body to the ground. And the moment he was about to turn around and look at the boy again.
"Uaaah!!!"
The mercenary, who was pretending to be unconscious, as Penelois had spoken, took a knife from his bosom and rushed at Benjamin.
"......"
Benjamin dodged the blade of such a mercenary by twisting his upper body. Then he hit him hard in the ribs with his foot.
"Ugh!"
The mercenary once again swung the knife in his hand horizontally while wrapping his arms around his side, but Benjamin quickly leaned back and avoided it.
"Ho, how......!"
The mercenary's face was stained with fear as he watched Benjamin avoid even the confident raid. No matter how hard he struggled to attack, it didn't work, so he looked around hurriedly. Penelois, who was guarding this side with a dagger, and two children hiding behind her. And a boy trembling nearby.
"Eeek!"
The mercenary chose to take the boy hostage among them. He grabbed the knife he was holding, and quickly rolled to the side and wrapped his arm around the neck of the boy who was sitting on the ground and pulled him back.
"If, if you come closer, I'll cut off this bastard's neck at once!"
As soon as he encountered the mercenaries, Benjamin's actions, which had beaten them without a break, stopped just then. Benjamin's mouth, which was not opened when the mercenaries shouted numerous times, asking why he was doing this, who was attacking them, and why he was attacking them, was finally opened.
"......Do you want to die?"
The low voice that flowed out of the murky air contained clear killing intent. The mercenary, who was not trembling in fear in front of any monsters or in the middle of the battlefield, screamed in fear for the first time.
"How dare you attack our Georges mercenaries...... Do you think the mercenary guild will leave you alone?! Do you want to be chased for the rest of your life"
"......"
Benjamin didn't answer any further. Only a slow snapping finger made him aware that Benjamin was now contemplating how to kill the mercenary.
"You, you can't......"
Claude was restless when he saw that. Sarah said magic shouldn't be used. Because magic left a mark. She had said that it should not be discovered that there were still magicians in the Empire. Benjamin's now faint reason was keeping him from using magic, but it seemed to Claude that sooner or later the rest of his sanity would be blown away.
"What should I do?"
How can I end this situation?
Claude's troubled mind vaguely recalled the conversation he had with Sarah again.
'There's a way when Benjamin goes crazy......'
'What?'
'When I first brought Benjamin, he was very rebellious. Every time I called him......, the other kids made fun of it a lot. He really hates being called......'
'Then shouldn't you call him that when he loses his mind?'
'That's why I have to call him that even more. Benjamin hates being called...... so terribly, so that feeling makes him come back to his senses.'
'Ah, he came back to his mind because he hated it so much.'
'Yes, that's right. Our Claude-nim is smart, too!'
Claude closed his eyes tightly as he recalled the conversation he had with Sarah in his head. She said that Benjamin hated being called that enough to start a match. He just couldn't remember that part. Obviously, it was a nickname that didn't suit Benjamin just by hearing it, and that he would really hate.
"Don't, don't come near me. Don't come near me! Do you really want to see this bastard die?!"
Then Benjamin was gradually approaching the mercenary who took the boy hostage. He was staring at the tip of his finger as if faint mana had appeared.
"Heok, we've got a problem."
Claude, who was in a hurry, stomped his feet and did not know what to do. It felt like his heart was rushing and he couldn't think of anything he should have thought of.
"So, so......"
The child tried to recall Sarah's voice once again.
'But isn't it a cute nickname in its own way? I usually want to call him that, but Benjamin hates it so much.'
'That's cute. I want to call Uncle that later.'
'No, it's a magical word that returns him when he loses his reason, so if we call him that too much, it won't work.'
'I see. Too bad.'
'That's right. It's such a bummer. Every day, I asked Belluna to speak for me by writing letters with mana. You don't know how many times I wanted to call him...... with my voice.'
At that moment, in Claude's head, the nickname that Sarah had spoken of would pull Benjamin's leash came to mind.
"This is it!"
Claude let go of Elexa and stepped forward in front of Penelois.
"It's dangerous, Young Lord Ambrosia!"
"It's okay!"
Penelois tried to pull Claude back, but the boy shook his head vigorously and took a deep breath. Then, after giving strength to his stomach, he shouted very loudly, thinking that he would release all of his collected breath at once.