Book 14 Chapter 45
Episode 47
Flesh Collection, Appearance of Preda, the Priestess of the Fire Dragon (4)
“Ta-da, I’ll introduce her once again! This is the Republic’s top, Preda, the Priestess of the Fire Dragon! If you treat her well, a super-fast promotion in the Republic is guaranteed!”
“Indeed!! I can parachute you into any public position, that’s what I mean.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
At Lista’s introduction, Preda nodded arrogantly. Pipi also bobbed her head back and forth.
Year 1103 of the Era, November.
Southeastern ‘Richland’ in the Central Empire, Milbratzil Plains.
“And this is Lin, the new face of our hero party! Oh my goodness, how amazing! It is said that since childhood, she has been subduing bandits and hordes of monsters with a burning sense of justice!”
After securely handing Zolla and Simon over to the enforcement agency, we gathered in front of an inn in a nearby village.
“Heeh, this kid? I thought he looked like a slacker, but after hearing that introduction, he seems a little decent.”
Burning sense of justice?
The [Strongest Mage] is justice to me, so couldn’t pursuing and aspiring to that also be defined as a sense of justice?
If so, Lista’s expression ‘burning sense of justice’ might not be wrong after all.
“It’s similar, I guess.”
Sval narrowed his eyes.
“Gyoo…”
“What, buddy, you’re saying it’s not similar at all? What do you know? You were attacking people as an axis of evil before I beat you up.”
“Gyut, gyugyut, gyugyugyugyugyut…!”
Preda watched the scuffle with Sval with interest. Lista asked.
“What do you think?”
“It’s strange. You subdued Ballag and out came Sval?”
“Yes. According to Lin, that’s right.”
As Preda chanted a simple spell, three or four fireballs, like fireflies, appeared. They were fire-attribute combat spirits.
“Fire! Fire! Fire!”
“What, what, another fight?”
Of course, their innocent chatter was short-lived; Preda stuffed them into her pipe along with tobacco leaves, and they fell silent.
“As you can see, spirits that receive power through chanting can communicate very simply. Their intelligence, if compared to humans, would be around two to three years old, perhaps?”
“That high?”
“Since all they do is follow orders, comparing them to humans might be a bit strange. Strictly speaking, it could even be lower. But this guy Sval, I tried chanting a spell for him about twice, and he didn’t utter a word.”
At that explanation, my head nodded naturally.
“Of course. This guy is truly useless.”
“It’s the opposite. He’s too high-dimensional a spirit for chants that summon lower spirits to work on him.”
“Nonsense. Then want to swap with that Sun Parrot? I really don’t need this guy.”
That was the first time I saw Preda make a serious face.
“Hey, how can you swap family? If you say something like that again, even if it’s a joke, I won’t let it slide.”
Of course, her serious expression was momentary; Preda took a puff from her pipe, giving significant weight to her next words.
“As a priestess, I’ve communicated with countless spirits, but I’ve never seen a spirit argue with a human before. Spirits are classified into lower, intermediate, and higher grades… even at the higher grade, all that happens is their speech becomes more refined and their size increases. There’s no one like our Pipi.”
“Pipi, Pipi is unique, Pipi.”
“Yes, our Pipi is one of a kind in the world.”
As Preda rubbed her cheek against Pipi’s beak, Pipi also swayed with a shoulder dance.
“Anyway, I can’t understand what that Sval says. It seems like some kind of subservient relationship has formed between you two?”
Preda explained it as if possessed by an expert, but there was a huge misunderstanding here. That was…
“Sir, you yourself don’t understand a single word of what this creature says.”
“Huh?”
“Huh? Huh? Huh?”
“It’s just me interpreting it however I like. Of course, he probably doesn’t understand my words either.”
Preda choked on cigarette smoke, sneezed painfully, stared blankly at me, then exchanged a bewildered glance with Pipi, and finally burst into uproarious laughter, spitting saliva everywhere.
“Isn’t this just a completely crazy lunatic! Yes, I get it now why Lista took you in! You need that level of madness to join our party. Hey, I approve of you.”
Being recognized by the Republic’s [Strongest] is certainly not a bad feeling.
“This is me.”
Therefore, I proudly straightened my shoulders and stroked under my nose. Lista also nodded in satisfaction, crossing her arms.
Around that time, the dishes we ordered arrived. There were many flowers in the Central region, so they were often used to decorate food.
A flower emitting a bitter or sweet scent would come with the dish on the side. Lista got to the point.
“So, what’s the real reason you came all the way here?”
Preda, who had been spooning cream soup onto a small plate and feeding Pipi, answered with a voice devoid of her earlier playfulness.
“It’s true that I came here chasing the escaped prisoners. But that’s a secondary reason; there’s a bigger one. It’s to find a certain shadow master.”
“Shadow master?”
“His exact identity hasn’t been revealed yet. Other than that he’s the leader of an elite black mage group called [Seven Souls].”
[Seven Souls]… wasn’t that the black mage who gave me such a splendid experience this time?
“That guy appeared 32 years ago already… My master, who was the top priestess, had been tracking him, realizing he was behind the major and minor incidents that occurred across the continent during that period. But then she disappeared 6 years ago. That must have been his doing.”
“…!”
“Those incidents seem to have been a diversion. The chaos that occurred simultaneously, wasn’t it perhaps to deceive the dragon race while preparing for the demons’ advance north and the [King’s Flesh] incident?”
Hmm…
It sounds like an important story, but I’ve finished eating, so can’t I go read a book now?
“The warden of <Ikegrad Prison> was Mina, my junior disciple. She was like a younger sister to me, but she died in that incident.”
“Mina, Mina, Mina.”
“We can’t let someone like that continue to act. So I was tracking his magic signature, and a similar magic headed towards <Central North>. I was going there, but since you said you’ve already dealt with it, well.”
Lista narrowed her eyes.
“Are there no other specific characteristics?”
“My master fought him once, and it’s said that no attack could reach him. He didn’t block it, nor deflect it; it simply couldn’t touch him.”
Hmm?
I think that mercenary archer said something similar before.
“There’s a classified matter: when I reported that information to the Fire Dragon, he said it was a magic that the ancient Archmage Zernix completed in his later years.”
“Zernix? Really?”
“What, why are you suddenly getting excited?”
How could I not get excited?
Who is Zernix? The father of geometry, truly the strongest mage. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him my ideal. And a mage who uses that magic?
I want to see him. I want to meet him. I want to fight him. I want to test the [strongest] I’ve built against the magic created by the [strongest] of the past.
“Where is that mage now?”
“Hey, you idiot, if I knew that, would I be here now? I’d have gone to kick his ass.”
“Idiot, idiot, idiot.”
Preda’s eyes, exhaling cigarette smoke, gleamed coldly.
“Seeing you react sensitively to the name Zernix, are you indeed the next dean of the Osarius Academy? It seems they’ve already told you ‘that story’.”
That story?
If it’s the story of Zernix, is there anything to hear or not hear? It’s basic knowledge for a mage.
“Hmph, it’s the most basic of basics.”
Then Preda let out a slight, admiring chuckle.
“Basic, huh… To seriously shoulder the academy’s mission at that age, that’s quite mature.”
It seems Preda knows nothing about the history of magic.
If there’s a mage who doesn’t know Zernix, then that guy is either a rookie or a madman.
Lista’s voice, who had been listening to the story with her chin resting on clasped hands, became unfamiliar in its seriousness.
“Preda, I told you in the letter, but we’re heading south while collecting as much of the [King’s Flesh] as possible.”
“I know.”
“I know, I know, I know.”
“If the culprit who spread this flesh and the one behind the <Ikegrad Prison> incident are indeed the same person, won’t we encounter him as we search for the flesh? Because we’d be directly hindering his plans. So, let’s not be too impatient and gather the flesh together.”
Then Preda grinned, tapping her pipe on the ashtray on the table.
“I already intended to do that from the moment I joined you. It’s not like I’m planning to leave the party anyway.”
Lista swept her hand across her chest and let out a sigh of relief.
“Whew, what a relief. I was so surprised, thinking Preda was going to say she had to leave the party because of that issue.”
It was around that time that the playfulness returned to Preda’s eyes and voice.
“So, what’s your relationship? How far have you gone?”
At that question, Lista and I looked at each other and tilted our heads almost simultaneously.
“How far, you say…”
“We came from the North all the way here, what ‘how far’ are you talking about?”
Preda slammed the table with her fist, looking dumbfounded.
“No, damn it, hey, that’s not what I meant. What was it, uh? Hey, at least she’s a kid, but you’re an adult, why don’t you understand this question?”
“Sorry, Preda. Please explain it in an easier-to-understand way.”
“Sigh, what kind of pranks am I even trying to play on these innocents? Alright, fine.”
Preda seemed to shake her head with a sigh, then suddenly snapped her fingers and her eyes gleamed.
“Ah, right! Then what are you to each other?”
Lista and I had to look at each other and tilt our heads once again. Lista smiled first and said.
“A trustworthy mage of the hero party.”
It was my turn to speak.
“A crazy hero who doesn’t hide regional discriminatory feelings but hides her power well.”
Lista quickly stood up, placing both hands on the table.
The small amounts of food remaining on the plates shook as if about to spill.
In her golden eyes, bewilderment and anger seemed to intertwine.
“W-what?! H-how can you say such a thing! W-with what mindset did I eat all the food Lin made for me until now! That’s too much! It’s really too much! Sob!”
“What?! You two were even cooking for each other? Kahahaha! Wow, what a huge event!”
“Wow, wow, wow.”
What is it?
I really don’t know why she’s making such a fuss.
“If you want, I’ll make some for you too.”
“Preda, absolutely not. Seriously, don’t even try. What lies ahead… is hell.”
“See? A regional discrimination remark.”
“Lin started it first!”
“Are you jealous right now? Is that it? So much that you’d warn your best friend about hell? This, this this this, I have to try it even if it’s just to see your next reaction!”
“No, I’m telling you not to because we’re true friends. Believe me.”
“Nope, I don’t believe you.”
It seemed Preda couldn’t quite understand the everyday language due to the dialect differences between the Republic and the Empire.
Sigh… even in the Magic Tower, if another girl was next to Gisela, it was so noisy that studying was difficult, but Lista and Preda are on par with or even surpass Gisela.
In short, it seemed the hero party’s journey was going to become ridiculously noisy from now on. And that prediction was correct.
* * *
‘The uninvited guest’ appeared, accompanied by thoughts colder than death. Atlante, the dean of the Osarius Academy, awoke amidst an intense chill.
‘What is this…?’
It was a night when the rustling trees outside the window felt as if they were sobbing in fear.
‘Did the barrier not work?’
Quickly donning only the hanbok coat gifted by her beloved disciple, Atlante went out to the Magic Tower’s courtyard via the porch.
‘No, the barrier is intact… How did he get in?’
In the courtyard, a man stood still, as if enjoying the ambiance of the Magic Tower.
His elegant demeanor immediately revealed him to be a noble, yet he was both familiar and unfamiliar.
More precisely… his appearance was familiar, but his aura was strange.
“Young Master Serman?”
The man reacted only after a long moment, as if unaware that it was his name.
[Serman? Ah, yes. ‘This body’ was Serman now. What was the name? Was it Gen, or Ken?]
He was clearly speaking, but there was a tremor as if his voice echoed from somewhere else… another world.
Her gaze met the man’s. Dark blue… eyes holding a sea of chaos. It was the abyss.
The power within it made all thoughts and reasoning vanish, leaving only instinctive fear.
“Could it be… Zernix?”
The man let out a scathing laugh, as if the question was immensely amusing.
[This is interesting. Did that cunning old man make sure ‘this body’s’ great name continued to be passed down to his disciples?]
“What do you aim to achieve by coming here?”
[Don’t ask if you already know. I hate such fools the most in the world. Where is that secret text left by that old man Osarius? The book about beast-man magic.]
An incredibly cruel magical power, like hundreds of snakes, ruthlessly enveloped Atlante’s body.
If she moved, she would be bitten and die…
Atlante barely gasped for breath. She wondered if this was the first time in her life she had ever felt so weak.
[You won’t tell me? Then there are other ways.]
Ken Serman closed his eyes and spread his palm.
[Let’s see.]
A dark wave spread throughout the entire Magic Tower. That wave soon became a brainwave signal, constructing a mechanical blueprint in Zernix’s mind.
[What’s changed… Hmm? The reliquary is gone.]
It was about crossing the past topography around this Magic Tower with the current topography to instantly find the changes. Truly the ultimate geometry.
[Hah, did that crazy old man perhaps hide it inside his reliquary? I really didn’t touch the remains out of a final respect, but wow, he pulled off an artistic move right to the very end. My mistake. I was too humane.]
When Ken snapped his fingers, the concept of space-time tore apart like a curtain.
[Then, as Kishua said, that kid might have it. Then I have no more business here.]
It seemed that with that incomprehensible space-time magic, he was able to enter here, neither dispelling nor destroying the Magic Tower’s barrier.
[This place just makes me feel dirty every time I come. They’ve multiplied like cockroaches among the nerves… Hmm, well, they’re all just waste, so I guess I can leave them be.]
But if he sent it there, it would surely head towards Lin… and as a master, she could never tolerate that.
[Are you confident?]
He didn’t even construct a spell.
He had merely begun to raise his magic power… and Zernix placed his index finger before his lips.
[I have a theory when dealing with women. To truly deal with pretty women is only in bed, that’s what it is. Of course, that only applies if they don’t attack first.]
“…?”
[While ‘this body’ here is barely above garbage level among the puppets I control, I could easily sweep away the kids in this Magic Tower in 30 seconds.]
His voice, speaking of mass slaughter, was full of playfulness. That playfulness descended upon her entire body, more chilling than any ruthless threat.
[And you, who must stop it, are just a step shy of Gladoss (4-star) and don’t seem to be a mage specialized in combat, alright, shall we see what happens?]