Book 5 Chapter 15

**Chapter 117**

**<Snow Ridge Great Wall>**.

No one has lived without hearing this place name. While there are two walls now, in Rin's era, this was the only wall that came to mind.

The end of the world, the border of civilized society…

When the azure cliff appeared over the southern horizon, cutting across the pale pink dawn, Rain let out a cheer even before Kasena.

"That's the Wall…"

He wondered if it could truly be described as a wall.

Would humankind's technology ever reach a point where such a structure could be built? The <Snow Ridge Great Wall> was more elegant, grand, and beautiful than any structure Rain had seen in his entire life.

Not only its height but also an indescribable sense of weight overwhelmed anyone who looked up at it.

"How much further do we have to go?"

「It will take a full day's walk, so we should arrive around noon tomorrow.」

"Let's go faster! Pich, what would it feel like to look down on the world from up there?!"

Kasena, her violet eyes sparkling, giggled and dashed vigorously towards the Wall with Pipi.

Alakish, who usually led the way, was looking up at the Wall with an expression as if overcome with new emotions.

Was it because she had witnessed the prosperity of the Wall from its very beginning, under the gods' grace, that she wore such an expression? A strange curiosity arose.

"Do you remember the day the Wall was built?"

「Of course, I remember. Dragons do not forget. Especially memories from childhood.」

"You remember? Something from 1,400 years ago?"

Alakish, walking ahead, her eyes quietly gleaming, gazed into the empty space beyond the Wall.

Somewhere beyond that Wall, recalling a day in the distant past.

The memories of her childhood, joyfully playing with her four siblings in the embrace of the Divine Dragon, felt both incredibly distant and yet so vivid, as if she could almost touch them.

'Pyras, Grydaone, Shalesarum, Zhakan… are you still with the Great Fire?'

The joy and sorrow of her childhood had now become a miserable grief, directed towards the vigorously squirming dragon egg on her back.

I had such memories, but this child would have none of them.

In this land of extreme cold, in this empire of death that grows colder and colder, would this child truly be able to fulfill her mission…?

「Perhaps the gods alone know the reason, that such memories must be cherished like sustenance throughout an immortal life.」

For Rain, it was an unbelievable story.

Even events from just 300 years ago were barely remembered unless they were particularly impressive.

"Then, Alakish, you must have actually met the Black Sun Kalenden and Emittsa Page too?"

「Of course. Kalenden even personally held this Alakish's hatchling body on the day I broke out of my egg.」

As Alakish explained, her expression, rather than her usual solemnity, seemed almost shy, like a girl recounting childhood stories.

「Ah… now that I think about it, Emittsa Page was also with them then. They always traveled together before Kalenden left this land.」

As the story of ancestors came up, Kasena, having heard it somehow, rushed over and listened intently.

Alakish merely recounted what she had seen and heard, without any particular flair, yet it was so fascinating that they lost track of time.

Where else could they hear such vivid accounts of the Age of Gods, an era now only glimpsed through fragments in books?

"Our ancestor was strong?! Super strong?! She was the progenitor of magic after all!"

「Certainly, compared to you two now, she would have been powerful. But Emittsa's forte was not combat to begin with.」

"Oh, then you must have seen how Kalenden and Emittsa used magic too?"

What type were they?

One was the founder of truth, the other the first sage to attain truth, so surely they were Yorhen types, right?

However, Alakish seemed to completely disregard such expectations, suddenly clasped both her hands together.

「Both used it like this.」

"Huh?"

「I meant they used their power by interlocking their fingers like this.」

It was a bizarre story. What did that even mean? Didn't that look more like a prayer pose than magic?

Magic, a rational discipline, and prayer, a religious conclusion, were literally diametrically opposed.

And with that posture, where would the magic circle be? Kasena seemed to feel the same doubt, and suddenly began drawing runes in the air.

"Then what is this? I heard this was a bloodline limit passed down from our ancestor, was it all a lie?"

「No, that method was certainly used as well. When instructing disciples, that is.」

Tch, either way, it wasn't helpful information.

*Clap, clap-clap, clap-clap-clap*… So, they kept interlocking their fingers and Kasena even clasped hands with Rain, but it was all in vain.

Magic cast by clasping hands—the principle of its activation remained utterly elusive. What would magic look like when one reached the truth?

"What is this! I don't get it!"

Perhaps wanting to catch up with her ancestor in an instant, Kasena, who had only been clapping her hands together, finally threw herself onto the snow in frustration.

No, was this a living room floor? Why did she lie down so naturally?

Seeing their confusion rather than enjoyment, Alakish, perhaps feeling sorry, stroked her chin and made a sudden suggestion.

「Then how about you two have a magic duel later?」

"Huh?"

「I can teach you the principle of how Kalenden used her power, and I have seen several times how she used that power in combat.」

It was a revolutionary offer that truly opened their eyes.

It was something anyone aspiring to magic dreamed of, yet a teaching unattainable anywhere in the world in the current era.

As Rain and Kasena faced each other, mouths agape, Alakish nodded, seemingly pleased with their reaction.

「I will observe your combat once, then compare and teach you.」

***

Madellia Page awoke in her mansion bed and, as she had always done since the Black Spot incident, reached for the bedside table.

There was always a wine glass filled with the finest wine there… because she had instructed her servants to do so.

But for some reason, no matter how long she fumbled, she couldn't grasp the glass. She couldn't live without alcohol, couldn't even sleep without it.

"You rascal, how much bitter wine have you drunk that the smell of alcohol is so strong in the room it's making my nose stuffy?"

With a short scolding, the curtains by the window, which made the room darker than midnight day and night, were all drawn back.

When had the sun risen…? Madellia squeezed her eyes shut against the dawn sunlight streaming into the room and used telekinetic magic.

The curtains then drew shut again, seemingly engulfing the room in darkness, but with a tearing sound, they were forcefully thrown open again, and rays of light poured in.

"If I had known you would become such a wreck, I would never have passed on my magical knowledge to you."

Standing with her back to the sunlight was the hunched woman, Head Professor Marhena.

Marhena, a close friend of her now-deceased father (specifically, one academic year his junior), had been a benefactor who guided young Madellia in magic. Thus, despite the difference in their status, Madellia was the one who used honorifics.

Madellia turned away from the sunlight, weakly, and snapped at the servants.

"Wine, bring me wine. Now."

"Stop it, you rascal. Are you trying to drown yourself in alcohol?"

"I'd rather that happened. So please, just leave me alone."

"Madellia."

"Leave me alone! Kasena, Kasena… she died because of me… What do you expect me to do?"

"You rascal, why is it because of you? Did you summon the Abyss? Good heavens, then the Special Operations Division or the Papacy should come for you! Not just arrest innocent children!"

Marhena retorted in disbelief, yet the hand she placed on Madellia's shoulder was tender enough to be poignant.

Silence hung for a long time, then Madellia buried her face in Marhena's hand and began to sob quietly.

Just as she had secretly cried by Marhena's side when her father, Anben Page, died in her youth, despite showing no emotion throughout the funeral.

"I shouldn't have sent her to the Papacy… It was the same when she injured her leg last time, and this time too… I shouldn't have indulged her stubbornness…"

They say when parents die, you bury them in a tomb and grieve on their anniversary, but when a child dies, you bury them in your heart and grieve every day…

She tried to bury Kasena, but no matter how much she dug and dug, tearing her heart apart, she couldn't create a grave big enough to bury that child.

Her lovely smile was still so vivid, her footsteps so missed… How could she bury her?

"Living for sixty-odd years, I've seen a lot. The brighter the light, the faster it burns out, and those I felt were truly special often leave the world too quickly. Just like your father."

"…"

"You don't know how relieved I was that you wouldn't become like that. Your daughter's matter is truly… regrettable."

If Ludwig and his wife had heard these words, would they have found even a little comfort? She was an excellent child, worthy of such words.

But in Madellia's case, she could absolutely receive no comfort. And for good reason.

"Marhena-nim, Kasena, that child never shone brightly even once…"

***

As they walked diligently south until sunset, the Wall also seemed to grow larger and closer.

After Alakish decided it was a good spot for camping, Kasena and I stood facing each other on the snowy plain.

Kasena, who slapped her fist into her palm, was unexpectedly triumphant. Did she have something up her sleeve?

"Don't hold back, Rain. If you do, you'll be in for it!"

"Hmm, we'll see."

Sorry, but there's years of difference in magic combat experience between Kasena and me. Talent aside, the level of proficiency isn't even comparable.

"Yah!"

Kasena, who had lowered her stance and watched me, quickly moved sideways, extending her fingertips and scattering letters of light into the air.

'A moving attack capitalizing on her specialty, good!'

Rain, who had whistled in approval, felt his heart ache the next moment at the shadow of the past superimposed on Kasena's face.

- Yes, that's it. Not bad!

He remembered feeling the same emotion and saying the same words when Turayna had tried something similar.

"Where are you looking!"

At that moment, the runes, which had spread into a glow and flickered in the air, transformed into power. Three fierce fireballs split and rushed towards me.

Hmm, I thought it was a rune I hadn't seen before, but it must have been a dragon tongue taught by Alakish. Still, it wouldn't do to underestimate it.

The next moment, a gust of wind scattered snowflakes and sharply surged, slightly deflecting the fireballs' trajectory upwards.

"First lesson, magic isn't all about speed."

His moment of calm, wiggling his index finger, was fleeting. A sense of foreboding rushed over him as he saw Kasena's confident smile.

Since awakening Bel Kyurius, there were often times he could see the flow of magic without using his eyes, and now was exactly one of those times.

A chilling current of magic was converging into Kasena's palm. And what was that…?

'Runes in her palm… when did she do that?'

Had she applied the Page family's bloodline limit like a Remediere-type? Good.

Kasena clenched her hand, and the letters of power shattered, manipulating the world's anomalies.

It seemed to be a multiple psychokinesis type, a quite overwhelming gravity pulled me towards the ground, simultaneously redirecting the altered trajectory of the fireballs back towards me.

"I knew you'd use wind magic for defense! This is my win!"

Was this really the clumsy Kasena who used to whine that she couldn't even use 1-star magic on me? A remarkable surge in growth, it was a moment that swelled one's chest.

But well…

Should he say the opponent was bad, or that she had the wrong teacher(?)?

"And second lesson, a magic battle isn't over until it's over."

Kasena's confident smile froze for a moment.

What came first and what followed was something Rain only realized after reviewing it later, his magic was ridiculously fast.

In an instant, water surged from the ground, colliding with the fireballs, and a powerful explosion rocked the pine forest. The dense steam blocked their vision.

In that brief moment of sensory paralysis, the water droplets scattered by the explosion froze into daggers, raining down like a torrent.

「That's enough.」

Alakish's voice echoed, who had instructed them not to worry and fight with all their might, as she would intervene if it seemed dangerous.

Simultaneously, a current of flame enveloped Kasena, instantly melting the daggers that were about to tear her small body to shreds.

Did she finally grasp the situation much later? I worried Kasena's face would twist into a tearful expression out of frustration, but no, she simply shone her eyes with pure innocence.

"Rain is amazing after all! I thought I could win!"

"No, that's not it."

I gave you a lot of leeway, but it seems I looked too easy.

"I'll catch up soon! Just you wait! After learning more from Alakish!"

No, such a cowardly tactic…!

That's too much, I almost cried for a moment. I can't learn from Alakish even if I wanted to.

Alakish, who had carefully reviewed the duel, finally nodded.

「Indeed, Rain is several times higher in rank than this Alakish thought. It wasn't even a match.」

My heart twinged for a moment.

I wonder how long it had been since my heart pounded like this from someone's praise.

The compliments I received at school were merely embarrassing. After all, the professors were initially inferior to me in skill.

「And the techniques Kalenden used are quite similar to yours. Switching or combining and amplifying elemental properties during combat was one of her specialties.」

But who was Alakish?

A True Dragon, a True Dragon.

One of the five servants of the Divine Dragon, a divine being endowed with infinite magic power and ultimate strength. And an immortal who remembered the forms of Kalenden and Emittsa.

「However, in the overall framework of how power is used, Kasena might be closer to her than you.」

I was settling my swelling chest, expecting more praise, when at that moment my head tilted in confusion.

"Huh?"

"What?"