Book 11 Chapter 16
Episode 268
#13 Epilogue of the First Disciple.
Five years since performing the duties of the Archmage.
Akki, Nenn, and Miria all left his side for training, and as he felt lonely, ‘that plague’ began to sweep across the North.
Like a cold wind ending autumn and opening the door to winter, an omen of disaster appeared.
“Lillian Carain, Chief of the Special Operations Division, will address the Imperial Council. It seems this is no ordinary plague.”
“What is your reason for concluding that?”
“Following His Excellency the Archmage’s orders, I investigated events beyond the Great Wall, and there were several occurrences that felt like omens of the Abyss.”
“Omens of the Abyss?”
“The activities of the undead have become active again, and the ancient ones are said to have occupied the Shen Plateau.”
Silence fell upon the council chamber for a moment.
Everyone needed time to process that information.
After a silence that felt very long despite being very brief, the ministers spoke up.
“What?!”
“Is that true?”
“Yes. Furthermore, the beastfolk have withdrawn from Harbadonia, and only the white wolves remain, making investigations and patrols extremely difficult.”
As long peace had continued for seven autumns, the Imperial Council had until now been a place where ministers from each department gathered to report on their work status.
Therefore, when Lillian Carain, Chief of the Special Operations Division, brought such an urgent matter to the Imperial Council, all the ministers' faces turned ashen.
Among the Imperial Guardians, excluding the Sword Saint who was currently away on a mission, the Spear Saint Bart and the Bow Saint Lem were also present.
The Emperor's Stars rarely showed their faces at regular meetings unless the matter was extremely urgent (excluding the Archmage, who was the Prime Minister), so in fact, everyone had been vaguely nervous even before the address.
“What do you think of this, Archmage?”
When Emperor Laida Aijin turned his gaze to the Archmage, Yonghyun Rain Ludwig raised his head.
“In fact, I previously witnessed the omen of the Spider Lord in Harbadonia. Its power awakened Lord Shar'Kass and Duke Beshansidug. The beastfolk eventually had to retreat below the Great Wall.”
“I know that. I am asking about the plague now.”
The plague that Ellamas had spread in the Solond Kingdom, and how devastating its consequences had been, flashed before his eyes without him realizing it.
“The mighty power of the Abyss is like a plague. We can only see this as abnormal phenomena beyond the Great Wall affecting the North.”
As the council chamber grew tumultuous, the Bow Saint Lem tapped the table with a finger, drawing Rain's attention.
“Could it be the First Pillar?”
“We can't deny that possibility.”
“Hiyah, we looked for him so much, but he never showed his face. And now he makes such an artistic appearance.”
Bart, who had been listening to the conversation with his arms crossed in silence, raised an eyebrow.
“But isn't it strange? I remember from the memories Rain read that the First Pillar had clearly gone beneath the Great Wall.”
Yes, in this matter, Bart's observation was correct.
In the Dragon Slayer’s memories, the First Pillar had clearly gone beneath the <Ten Thousand Li of Flame>.
“Then is it Zernix?”
“No, I made sure that guy was annihilated, down to his very soul.”
That means resurrection, like the old nobles, is impossible. The same goes for Ellamas.
‘If something is happening now without a subordinate like the First Pillar…’
That would be even worse.
“Archmage, what countermeasures have you come up with?”
“At present, there is nothing specific I can list. I will immediately head to the North today for investigation and treatment. Your Majesty, please request assistance from the Republic.”
“Understood. Thanks to you, our exchanges with the Republic are much more active than before.”
Thanks to the witches' healing magic, the Republic's medical advancements far surpassed those of the Empire, several times over.
“Secretary, implement the Archmage’s words immediately.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Secretary, please deliver this letter to the Solond Kingdom as well? It’s for my friend.”
“I obey your command, Your Majesty.”
“Logan, prepare the Special Magic Unit and the Anti-Demon Army. I don't know what might happen.”
Logan, Captain of the Imperial Special Magic Unit, bowed.
The Anti-Demon Army was a military branch created when beastfolk soldiers were officially incorporated into the Imperial Army.
It is being operated on a trial basis, and it is hoped that their contributions will dispel the public's prejudice against beastfolk.
“I obey, Your Majesty.”
“Also contact Seagan Wolf Blado, the leader of the Magic Alliance. We will need the Magic Alliance's support as well.”
“Coincidentally, Doran Slade, the vice-leader, is at the Imperial Palace. I will summon him.”
Upon going there himself, the situation in the North was even more serious than expected.
However, something was fundamentally different from the Solond incident. Namely, there was no magic circle acting as a catalyst.
He caught a few black mages, but they were all nobodies. They were trash, not even comparable to Ellamas, let alone the leaders of the Black Church.
“Who is behind this?”
“Hmph, hehe, hehehehehehe…”
“I am not such a kind person to you black mages. If you don’t open your mouth, I will make you suffer the most excruciating pain in the world.”
“Your reign will soon end. The King whom even you cannot stop, the true King of this world, will soon awaken. Then, then everything, everything will crumble and be rebuilt!”
They seemed to have no connection to the current events, but during interrogation, they all muttered, ‘The true King is awakening,’ then frothed at the mouth and died.
- The true King is returning.
This is ominous.
Is it as Beshansidug said?
Most of the North was a plague zone, and the plague was slowly spreading even to areas where it had not yet broken out.
“Undersecretary, is the control firmly in place?”
“Yes. Grand Duke Duren is also diligently prohibiting passage into the plague zone. But how exactly is it spreading…?”
“This is different from an ordinary disease. Rather than being transmitted through people, hmm, this disease requires investigation.”
Even if he wanted to cure all those suffering from the plague, the North was the most vast of the Empire's five regions.
Just treating those who came day and night was enough to make his schedule tight, and traversing all over the North through the slowly falling graupel seemed impossible.
‘I must eliminate the source. No matter how much I treat them, the plague will only spread again if things continue like this.’
But it was incredibly difficult.
Wasn't Harbadonia an even more vast region than the North?
While he went to that land, completed his investigation, and eliminated the source, what about those left here?
Must he just wait until Aubin and the witches arrive?
“Inefficient judgment, incomprehensible.”
It was Mirngadia who stepped forward then.
And perhaps, it was the moment Mirngadia first illuminated the world with her own light.
Mir liked to read books in the library alone or wander through nature in contemplation, and had never even been to school.
He began to let the wellspring of wisdom, accumulated in overwhelming quantities over time, flow out into the world for the first time.
“Mir, this is…?”
Mirngadia began to translate the Dragon Scripture's sutras (經藏), which are scrolls witches use for sacred magic, into the Imperial language.
The sutras were the most difficult of the three Dragon Scriptures to learn and use, and only a few witches could perfectly wield their power.
This very power, he elucidated lightly and concisely (though with reduced potency) so that anyone could use it, and made each one like a charm.
“How did you do this?”
“Not difficult. Rather, the Dragon Scripture until now was irrationally complex. Presumably to allow humans to use dragon power. Originally, the Genesis Scripture was said to be simple enough for anyone to read.”
“No, I know all that, no, hah, Mir, you really, this is…”
With the ability to supply those charms throughout the North, the plague in the North entered a new phase.
People from cities and villages where the plague had not yet spread came to Mir and took the charms.
All wept and bowed to Rain, but when Rain announced that it was Mir’s achievement, their bows turned to Mir.
“Thanks are not needed. This is to satisfy Mir’s intellectual curiosity.”
He said this with an expressionless face, but Mir redoubled his efforts in translating the Dragon Scripture.
Seeing that sight, his commendable devotion, working tirelessly through the night to create the charms people needed, tears blurred his vision.
It was as if, in a past life he couldn't even recall, he was atoning for the evil deeds (惡業) he had accumulated as Thureina.
‘If only.’
If he had been able to properly part with Thureina, or if he could have returned to Thureina.
Wouldn't Thureina, not Mir, have become such a being?
Such bitter, mournful delusions kept pricking his tear ducts.
‘No.’
Because I have lived as a human.
Because Thureina’s knowledge is accumulated in his soul.
This is why he can achieve such a feat, blurring the lines between dragons and humans.
‘My proud disciple and son.’
Rain watched Mir with immense satisfaction, but Mir’s eyes gradually became hollow as if he were overworked, and ten days later, he suddenly said to Rain:
“Mir himself desires greater teachings. Though difficult to admit, I confess to feeling the limits of my own wisdom.”
“Hmm?”
“The gist of what I’m saying is this: I will go to the World Tree.”
The Water Dragon Yelyserika had once told him to summon Mir to the World Tree as soon as he was ready.
- This is a pure white horn for that day. Tell Mirngadia to blow this when he desires wisdom. I will send the white dragons, no matter when or where.”
Mir was always calm, composed, and never expressed emotions.
Perhaps that's why.
Three days later, a white dragon arrived, and until just before their parting, life continued as usual, without much difference.
The fact that only one had come seemed to reveal the current reality of the White Dragon Legion, the most diminished of the three legions, and an uncomfortable feeling settled in a corner of his heart.
“Pa toos, please ascend my back. Oh, sagacious offspring of pure white.”
Before ascending the back of the white dragon, which saluted deeply, Mir suddenly tugged lightly at Rain’s sleeve.
“I will receive all the Water Dragon’s wisdom and return to provide greater help.”
“Hmm?”
“Currently, my wisdom is, to put it vulgarly, pathetic, severely lacking and unhelpful. To borrow Sister Setznen’s crude expression, it’s at the level of ‘evil’.”
Rain ended up laughing.
Then, as if embarrassed by what he was about to say next, Mir’s cheeks flushed for the first time, and he whispered in a faint voice:
“I must clarify that I am not tired of Father.”
Because it was so endearing.
Because it made his heart tremble with joy.
Rain embraced Mir tightly in the early winter chill that swept through the North. Unlike Akki, he didn't have a warm body, but he was still warm.
That warmth and temperature were different things, he had realized long ago, over many years.
“Mir, don’t worry, I know very well that you like me more than anyone.”
Even if he seemed blunt and emotionless, and never expressed affection, it was actually just to avoid bothering him when he was overwhelmed with work.
Because he liked him.
Because he liked his father as much as his two older sisters.
The reason he stayed by Rain’s side even after his sisters left for training, and the reason he was now going to the World Tree, was all because of that.
“Then, Mir, I shall be going. I promise to devote myself to the pursuit of wisdom.”
Mir, having climbed onto the back of the wyvern, shyly waved his hand.
The wyvern flapped its wings powerfully and soared into the sky, and Mir kept waving until it had completely left the area.
And Rain, too, just like Principal Atlante long, long ago, continued to wave his hand even after Mir had disappeared.
Children always leave the nest someday.
The more precious they are, the more you should not keep them bound to the nest, but let them leave it.
So that they can spread their wings freely, and soar into the distant sky, exploring this beautiful world.
“See you later, Mir.”
After Mir left, it took about half a day to compose himself.
In any case, thanks to Mir, they had definitely bought time until the witches of the Republic arrived.
Rain left the scene to them and crossed the <Snow Dragon Great Wall>. Kiran Wolf Blado, the Commander-in-Chief of the Great Wall, welcomed him.
“You've truly risen remarkably, Kiran.”
“I don't know who's saying what to whom. That little brat from back then. Are you teasing me? Or will I be executed if I don't use honorifics?”
“I'm not that kind of person. As long as you don't flirt with Akki, it won't be capital punishment.”
“You've become more playful. I heard you saved my elder sister, so how should I express my gratitude?”
“I guess you could say I repaid a favor. You were the one who helped me first, Kiran.”
After embracing each other and patting each other’s backs in greeting, he received supplies from the White Wolves and crossed the Great Wall.
The destination was the Battleship Base.
The Dragonbone Seal erected in its front yard, the tomb of the benefactor who had sent him to the future with her life.
“Alakish. Have you been well?
He absently stroked her sacred bones with a voice mixed with joy and sorrow.
“I kept my promise. Akki is now at <Ten Thousand Li of Flame> receiving education. She has grown up to be incredibly beautiful, admirable, and wonderful, you know? I wish you could see it with your physical body, not just your soul.”
“……”
“It’s truly, truly regrettable. If you could have walked that path with her, and witnessed Akki’s growth alongside me…”
What more was there to say?
Now that Alakish’s Yeouiju (Dragon Pearl) had fully passed to Akki, Alakish’s presence could no longer be felt.
“Thank you, truly, truly, for giving me a new life, and for entrusting Akki to me…”
Nevertheless…
As the swirling snowflakes scattered for a moment, he felt as if he saw a hallucination of Alakish smiling above the tomb.
He could not return that Alakish’s smile.
As he swallowed his miserable tears and turned away, a face as welcome as Kiran’s appeared.
Frisvia.
An Ain who was formerly rank 1 in Platinum Class but had now fallen to rank 9.
Rain adopted an overly theatrical, polite tone.
“When I hear such words from a truly noble person, I don’t know how to respond, Your Highness.”
As befitting an Ain whose aging was slow, much of her former appearance remained, but her dignity as a seasoned veteran who had endured many hardships was greater than before.
“Cut it out. I abandoned the title of princess long ago. Hmph, Eldwih, you must have told him, right? Hmph.”
“My apologies, Your Highness.”
Eldwih, standing beside her, gave him a displeased look, but Rain was only glad to see him after such a long time.
“I’ll buy you a meal sometime, Eldwih. You also guided me before.”
“No need. By the way, you went to the ends of the earth, both north and south, and returned safely. I send my praises for your extraordinary luck.”
“Thank you.”
This was probably the highest praise Eldwih could give. While Eldwih opened the gate of the Battleship Base, Frisvia asked.
“So what brings you here?”
“You must be well aware. I read the report you sent to the Imperial Council. The plague is spreading throughout the North. What are your thoughts on it?”
“Hmph, I know the tale that the mighty power of the Abyss devours the body like a disease. Hehe, in fact, half of my subordinates have caught some kind of plague, you see.”
“Ain, you mean?”
“Hehehehe, you seem to know. As Ain cannot wield miracles or magic, their resistance to the Abyss is stronger than any other race. I sent those guys back because they became unusable.”
“What about treatment?”
“There's no need for treatment. What do you feel when you face a powerful being? Fear? Hmph, yes. It's similar to getting goosebumps when you feel fear.”
Frisvia rattled off incomprehensible words, then beckoned Rain with a gesture.
“What does that mean?”
“It means they heal themselves once they leave the area of influence. The concept of 'treatment' isn't even necessary in the first place.”
“Pardon?”
Her legs, as she descended the iron stairs of the Battleship Base ahead of him, seemed to be made of some mechanical device.
Hiss, creak, hiss, each step was accompanied by steam magically escaping from exhaust pipes.
Legs lost protecting him… Seeing them, his heart ached for no reason.
“I’ve gained a strange power; shall I fix them for you?”
“To be able to heal lost body parts, hmph, the witches would weep. Though it's said that <Those Who Came> possessed such technology.”
“I am speaking sincerely.”
“No need. These are my experimental products. See? Steam. All the equipment used by <Those Who Came> has such generators.”
“A power core?”
“Yes. But with the current Ain technology, there’s no other way than to use steam. These are the culmination of my research. Hmph, in fact, I’m thinking it was good that I lost my legs back then. Right?”
Frisvia said this as she opened the door to the laboratory on the lower deck of the Battleship Base.
The object of her words was not Rain. It was a beauty checking the test tubes (試驗管) lined up in that vast space, and taking notes on something.
As soon as their eyes met, both froze.
“Rain…?”
“Miss Casena…”