Book 10 Chapter 16

Episode 241

The Red Sanctuary, <Shuriganakyus>.

A sanctuary established atop the crater of the Keltimut dormant volcano, said to have been the most powerful volcano before recorded history.

Keltimut Volcano is famous for showcasing the grand beauty of nature, surrounded in layers by the mountain range named Shurigana Mountains.

"Aba, do you see the 'mob' falling powerfully over there?"

"Not 'mob', 'waterfall'. Are you trying to say scary things?"

"Unemployed people are playing in this lake!"

"Uunemployyyeed, I hate them. They are evil (惡)."

"Oh! Not 'unemployed people', 'swans'. If you say such things carelessly anywhere, you'll get stones thrown at you."

"!"

"?"

"Aki, Akiaki, Aki (Aki actually can't speak)."

"Setsu too (Me too)."

Was it perhaps because this region was also where the Fire Dragon Vel'dakidun resided? Aki's eyes sparkled brightly ever since climbing the mountain.

"Actually, this place, it's closer to a volcanic region than a mountain range. The ground layers changed like this because volcanoes periodically erupted."

"Volcanoes explode!"

"Expplloooddee!"

"That lake over there was originally a crater, but water collected and it became like that. Many travelers sought it out, calling it a hot spring imbued with the power of Lord Shurigan."

As I conveyed to Aki the explanation I had heard from Friede somewhere in the distant everyday life of 300 years ago, a corner of my heart throbbed.

That day, in this place, we were…

The sound of the river flowing windingly through the valley overgrown with shrubs, brushing past strange rock formations, created an ethereal silence.

"But isn't it too quiet?"

"In the morning, mist gently rises from the crater lakes, mysteriously enveloping the mountain range. That's why it's quiet."

The explanation Miria just gave to Rem was nothing more than a direct transfer of the explanation Friede had given them, 300 years later.

Only then could I see that Miria, like me, wore a face steeped in longing.

Of course, the pain of us two combined couldn't compare to Pipi's pain, who silently gazed down at the mountain range's atmosphere…

"The Leesta Party is said to have seized victory by utilizing this mist. In the afternoon, it's famous for the sulfur smell that comes in, making your nose hurt."

The <Shuriganakyus> engagement, which turned the tide of war, where Leesta seized victory using the mist of this place…

"Was that peak over there where that operation began?"

"I can't see it!"

"Then climb onto my shoulders, Aki."

"Setsu wants to see toooo."

Thereupon, a bizarre scene unfolded: Aki, carrying Setsunen on her back, climbed onto Bart's shoulders.

I worried they might fall, but Aki's sense of balance, having learned martial arts from two great masters, was truly first-rate.

Rather, seeing her care for her younger sibling like that made my heart inexplicably swell.

"Rain."

Then a deeply subdued voice was heard.

It was a voice that didn't fit the atmosphere or the person at all, so Rain flinched for a moment and had to turn his gaze.

Miria lightly gestured forward with her chin and began to walk ahead. Was she telling me to follow?

"Did you know?"

Because I didn't immediately grasp the intention of the question, a momentary pause occurred in the conversation.

"What?"

Rem, Bart, Setsunen, and Aki were too preoccupied with admiring the surrounding scenery.

"The identity of that guy called Zernix."

"Of course I knew."

"Tell me."

"He's a figure from a thousand years ago, a disciple of Lyuken Ludwig, one of the Five Great Archmages, who disappeared at a young age. But he wasn't missing; he belonged to the Black Church."

"And?"

"And… he's the enemy who made Toureyna fall into black magic."

"And?"

"I'm not sure what answer you want to hear. Surely you don't want to hear that he's Aki's biological father."

Miria glared at me with a chiding look, so I had to retract my joke with a cough.

"You really don't know. Neither you nor Toureyna… Well, you did die after taking a surprise black magic attack."

Miria let out a low sigh and continued.

"Zernix, you see, he's not in such an indirect relationship of debt and enmity with you."

"?"

"300 years ago, have you ever thought about who the black mage was who killed you and faced the Leesta Party alone?"

"That was… wait, no way."

Why Miria had kept stalling without getting to the point until now, I understood the chilling reason at that very moment.

"Yes, unless they were twins… it was that very guy. Zernix was the one who killed you."

In my life, I've only twice experienced an overwhelming disparity where there was nothing I could do.

One was when I met Baekdoryeong Shar'kas in Harvadonia.

And another was…

'Being pushed back merely in a magical power struggle, it was the first time since I attained 5th rank.'

But.

The owner of that attack was Zernix?

The identity of the enemy that the youngest archmage, Lin, ultimately had no choice but to escape into the ice from?

'If so, the culprit behind the tragedy deeply cast over my life is…'

* * *

In the village that sprouted in the crevices of the mountainside, the shadow of death lay thick.

"You can eat slowly."

The corpses sprawled in their various postures on the blood-soaked ground were nothing but skeletons, and even those bones were rapidly disappearing, consumed by insects.

"Don't choke by eating too fast. Humans are everywhere, and there's no one to disturb you."

However, the next moment, an ominous wind howled from afar, and the insects raised their heads stiffly, on guard.

"As expected, menial tasks like cleaning suit you, Sierra."

The creature that landed on the ground with massive weight looked like a dragon at first glance.

But no dragon race possesses such pale and smooth ash-gray skin, nor do they have only two abnormally shaped hind legs.

The name of that creature, whose maw splits open into six parts, is Pulladon, the monstrous bird Touaki from nightmares.

"It's perfect for you, who only deals with insects."

The middle-aged man riding on the back of that monster was Butem, the first in rank among the nine leaders of the Black Church.

"It seems to be begging to be killed now!"

As the ancient insects swarmed around Pulladon in an instant, Pulladon gnashed its teeth, threatening them.

Breaking the tension that had reached its peak at that moment was a fireball that flew in from somewhere.

As soon as Pulladon and the insects avoided the fire, a dozen arrows rained down.

"It's you scoundrels! Those who have been ravaging the villages near this holy city──"

I thought the witch, who had brought about a hundred slave soldiers, was about to scold someone.

Before her scolding could finish, the witch's upper body disappeared. Not only the witch but also the apprentice mages standing next to her.

The lower halves, having lost their bodies, stumbled and then one by one collapsed onto the ground.

The upper bodies, which had vanished as if torn off by something, were being chewed whole, bones and flesh, inside Pulladon's maw.

Their upper bodies had been torn off by Pulladon, which had flown in at a speed that even a normal person's eyes could barely react to…

"H-Hegh…!"

Overcome by fear, the slave soldiers, having lost their will to fight, began to drop their weapons and flee one by one.

Even their desperate struggle to survive was silenced by the insects that sprang from under their feet and the monstrous birds that flew down from the sky.

I wondered if only a few seconds had passed since the commotion, but once again, the only sounds filling the air were the insects tearing at flesh and the monstrous birds sucking blood.

"I refuse to fight here right now."

Butem pulled on Pulladon's reins, soaring into the sky, and sneered.

"If I were to fight you, I would certainly kill you, but then I'd be the only one to get scolded."

"Since you're ugly, you must be good with your mouth. So what's your business, you ugly-faced bastard?"

"Business? Hmph, I just came to tell you to diligently raid villages, just like now. Then those guys will appear."

"It was His command to avoid fighting those guys until the Witch of Justice was killed, wasn't it?"

"Pulladon, with only this guy who supposedly toyed with the Hero's Party, I won't lose to anyone now."

"It's not about winning or losing, you idiot! It's an order."

"An order? Hmph. Now I don't listen to anyone's orders. Except for the First Pillar who carved a curse into my body, that is."

"So you're saying you'll challenge the Pillars now?"

"Isn't it the case that Elamas died, creating a vacancy among the Pillars? If I prove my skill by taking care of those guys, it's only a matter of time until I become a Pillar. Then, with the authority of a Pillar, I'll deal with you however I please."

Butem, leading Pulladon, vanished like an arrow into the night sky yonder. Sierra's eyes, watching him disappear, gleamed sharply.

"That bastard…"

* * *

Socrafres.

- You can inherit the research progress of 'Unique Magic' from the surrounding environment.

- Progress: ????

Fine wrinkles appeared around Rain's eyes as he looked into 'Lin's Notebook' in front of a late-night campfire.

'It's still the same…'

Since the confrontation with Elamas, the progress has not been accurately displayed.

'Does this mean even Rudyien of Kalenden can't teach me more than this?'

With a quiet sigh, he slowly closed the notebook, but it slipped from his grip and rolled across the dirt ground.

Am I trembling?

Are my hands trembling now…?

There's no need to rigorously consider that he's dozens of times stronger now compared to when he was Lin.

Yet, strangely, I don't feel that I will definitely win in the battle against Zernix.

- While you, by devouring the soul of a true dragon, have transcended human status, your power is not yet complete. Zernix, on the other hand, is a monster who, though his soul's status may be lower, has awakened his power to near transcendence.

Even without needing to recall Valensidis's warning, I had already clearly seen a part of that power in our encounter 300 years ago.

- It was Zernix himself who killed you and faced the Leesta Party alone.

A heavy, sturdy hand was placed over my trembling hands. Bart, with his fierce expression, gave a gentle look.

"Why are you trembling so much?"

"Because I feel it's right for me to separate from you all from here on."

"What did you say, kid?"

As soon as those words ended, a tree branch flew and embedded itself in Rain's crown.

"What kind of nonsense is this all of a sudden?"

The culprit was Rem, who was roasting a rabbit golden brown over the campfire.

I must explain.

I must explain in a way that they can understand.

"Zernix is the archmage who killed Lin 300 years ago and cornered the Leesta Party."

"…?"

"For a full 300 years after that, during the 300 years Lin was asleep in the ice, Zernix couldn't have just been twiddling his thumbs. He must have become dozens of times stronger through 300 years of research."

How much he would have progressed can roughly be estimated by asking oneself what would have happened if Lin had been given 300 years.

"Are you saying you don't have a chance now, even as you are?"

"I'm not sure about that. But I can't drag out the time any longer. If I postpone the decisive battle for training, only innocent people will die."

Bart stroked his chin with a serious expression.

"That's probably exactly what that guy is aiming for, it seems he's calling you to <Laphtas> over there."

"Yes, and he'll sacrifice hundreds of thousands more lives on the way to <Laphtas>. I can't let the situation continue to flow in the direction he wants any longer."

"Is there some way?"

"I'll draw his main body here."

"How?"

"Through a forceful method."

"So, how?"

"I can't explain that in words. I can only say that for that method, I need to meet the spiritual body once again."

For a moment, a dizzying silence fell. Considering the usual boisterous party atmosphere…

Everyone must have prepared themselves for the coming decisive battle. But they probably didn't expect it to come so suddenly.

Still, I have to be honest. This connection, which I barely found again, I don't want it to be severed like 300 years ago.

"It definitely won't compare to Elamas. You don't need to die here. Up until now… thank you."

What was precious cannot be replaced by anything. It cannot be recovered again.

I know that better than anyone.

That one thing, I've come to know better than anyone else in this world.

"If we catch the guy who even gave my ancestor a hard time, it'll be a given that Bart and I will both become Adamant-rank adventurers, right?"

"What?"

"Do opportunities for such sudden success come often? Right, Bart?"

Without time to be surprised by Rem's words, Bart placed a hand on Rain's crown. Just as he had done on that distant day of youth, on the day they parted.

"I told you then, I couldn't bring myself to leave because I was worried. It's the same this time. I have no intention of making the same mistake as then."

Rain's heart stopped for a moment.

The memory of the Leesta Party on the day we first met, it wasn't a coincidence that it came to mind.

When I'm with these guys, I feel like I'm back in that time. I fall into a dream. Into an endless dream, even after the moon sets and the sun rises.

A thin stream of water flowed down from Rain's left eye as he turned his head towards the campfire, as if to avoid gaze.

"Whoa, is this guy crying? A man, how disgusting?"

Rem poked Rain's cheek, who was shaking his head vigorously in denial.

"Oh dear~ Our baby Rain cried again? Did someone hit him again? You'll need a diaper change, so let's see your panties."

"Panties, panties, Rain's panties, tee panties."

"These guys, really."

Rain tried to catch Rem, but as before, it was impossible for a mage to catch up to an archer's agility.

A transparent smile formed on Miria's lips as she watched the impossible game of tag.

'Yes…'

Tears must have inevitably come.

Because the memory somewhere in Leesta's soul and that scene just now were so similar.

So much so that even Miria, who had only partially inherited the memories, could recognize it.

'Memories from 300 years ago overlapped.'

At that time, Friede was in Rem's place, and Kiesz was in Bart's place, but…

"Abat!"

Then a small, white hand grabbed Rain's leg.

"Aki has finished roasting Father's meat."

"Hooott."

"Aki will blow on it to make it not hot."

The moment Aki blew her breath with all her might onto the skewer in her hand! What a dragon's breath! Flames shot out from her mouth, scorching the surface of the meat black.

It didn't take long for the dull atmosphere to turn into a sea of laughter.

Setsunen even subtly moved his own meat far away from Aki.

"Give it to me, Aki."

As Rain took and ate the skewer from a bewildered Aki, a sorrow even greater than before quietly seeped into his soul.

"Oh, it's delicious?"

"Is it delicious?!"

"Yeah, it's crispy and tasty."

To end the ill-fated connection from 300 years ago.

That also meant the end of this connection that had lasted for nearly two years.

If I were to delay dealing with Zernix, I could prolong the journey. I could build more memories with Aki.

But I mustn't.

I mustn't.

Now, it's truly time to prepare for goodbye.