Book 7 Chapter 8
Episode 157
I had a sad dream. It was a dream where a girl with sky-blue hair, buried in the grave of memories, waved her hand fondly.
“Master, Master!”
My steps, which were heading in that direction, stopped without me realizing it. This was because another voice was heard from the opposite side of the intersection.
“A-buut!”
Alakish, my benefactor for life, was looking at me, holding Akirea, and a sorrowful lament settled on his face.
Aki.
Yes, Aki.
I desperately called out her name, but my voice wouldn’t come out… Instead, my consciousness, which had been submerged at the bottom of the dream, rapidly rose to the surface.
“Hmm, indeed, perhaps because it’s imbued with the soul of a true dragon, the recovery is fast.”
As I struggled to lift my eyelids, I heard such a voice.
“No, in this case, it would be more accurate to say that you should have died unconditionally but survived.”
“I…”
“Even if you want to move, you won’t be able to. Right now, your entire body is impaled with needles. You can think of it as treating the injury you sustained from the Poem of the Luminous Abyss.”
I was under a dazzling light that seemed to sting my eyes. I tried to look around with my half-open eyes, but there was nothing I could move besides my eyeballs.
What I could roughly discern was that I was lying on an operating table and that my entire body was covered with needles about a span long. Strangely, there was no pain.
And I saw a woman sitting on a backless chair with a kiseru pipe in her mouth. I gasped for air for a moment and almost shouted 투레이나’s name, but on closer inspection, it was different.
“The power of the Poem of the Luminous Abyss binds everything of the target it restrains, even conceptually. Even simple powers like the strength to move muscles or circulate magic, and furthermore, even basic metabolic abilities like the heartbeat that circulates blood.”
The pure white ceremonial robe she wore, along with Friede's pure black ceremonial robe, was a color permitted only to priestesses.
“I’m currently restoring it, so it’s best to stay still.”
The priestess, dressed in a pure white pointed hat and robe, also had a white kiseru pipe, perhaps carved from spirit wood, and her face was etched with countless wrinkles from her long years of experience.
“Originally, if a human body is bound by it once, they would unconditionally die, and even if they miraculously survived, they’d be confirmed as a wreck in a brain-dead state, but to wake up in half a day… It’s quite astonishing.”
Furthermore, crucially, she wore a holy scroll, a Psalm, the emblem of a priestess, at her waist, and on the opposite hip, three scrolls of incantation, signifying the Three Demon Witches.
“The power granted by the soul of a true dragon is truly remarkable. Is this what you call hyper-regeneration?”
“Where is this… and who are you…?”
“This place is safe from 투레이나’s gaze thanks to my barrier, and I am Juliana. The nickname given to me by the human I once followed as a master is ‘Witch of the Star Cluster’.”
Juliana, she said…
The one said to be 투레이나’s last disciple…
Even my vocal cords seemed paralyzed; exhaling, rolling my tongue, and producing a voice required strenuous effort.
“You saved me…?”
“No, I didn't save you. Strictly speaking, it was my junior disciple, but in this case, should I call him a turncoat? He said he’d greet you personally later, as you two know each other well.”
“Turncoat…?”
“Thank him when you meet him later. If he had intervened just a little later, your companion and the Sun Parrot would have died. Hmm, more importantly than that, what’s vital right now is the current situation and your predicament.”
Juliana gently blew the cigarette smoke she had deeply inhaled into my face.
Then, I felt as if wet wool filled my head, and suddenly, everything in the world disappeared and merely turned pure white.
And I… my body moved normally. There were no needles stuck in my body, and there was no problem with my voice.
“This is inside a hallucination world. I had no choice but to bring you here to facilitate the explanation.”
It was then that I felt something missing. As if a part of my soul had escaped…
Aki.
I soon realized the nature of that sensation, and my breathing became ragged, bordering on panic.
“Aki, where is Aki—”
“—She’s safe, for now. To answer the impatience on your face, you first need to understand the current situation.”
Juliana lightly flicked her kiseru pipe half a turn, and the pure white space squirmed, then quickly turned into a blurry image.
No, the scenery becoming blurry for a moment was because of my tears.
In the image that formed there, there was a shadow from the past that I had missed so much. Was it a part of Juliana’s memory? I saw 투레이나 teaching magic to a young girl.
“This must be the 투레이나 you know. Just as you saw in books, a priestess among priestesses, kind and gentle, caring for the hungry and sick without reward. She was my master too.”
“…”
“But this is merely 투레이나’s public facade. Beneath that goodwill lies a sinister obsession. This is 투레이나’s true nature.”
The image that followed those words was… utterly unbearable to behold.
Massacre, in the middle of a blood-stained path, there she was. Upon all sorts of forbidden research diagrams drawn in blood, there she was. The one who had smiled so purely…
Juliana spoke to me as I stared blankly at those scenes, unable to even close my eyes.
“This is the real 투레이나. I don’t know exactly either, but one thing is certain: at some point, 투레이나 began to move for a single purpose.”
“A single purpose?”
“The revival of the Great Archmage Lyn.”
Although I didn’t outwardly show it, the pain piercing my heart was so severe that it choked my breath.
I tried to let out a hollow laugh.
I tried to say, ‘Don't be ridiculous.’
But I couldn’t deny that the moment I accepted that assumption as 'true,' several mysteries were immediately solved.
—The vessel created to receive Lyn’s soul is me!
Libeni, who had my appearance when Friede forced me to dress as a woman, and Libadin, who used my face and my Jeoseoswaeranyeon.
“…”
But it doesn't make sense. Think about it, right? 투레이나 couldn't have become such an evil person. And if she had, Joshuhar would have told me…
—I cannot answer that question. Because your soul is not yet mature enough to confront the truth.
In the terrible logic that raged in my mind in the blink of an eye, I could only fall silent, dumbfounded.
“Whether that point was after Lady Friede's death or during her lifetime… the timing doesn't matter. However, it is certain that 투레이나 joined hands with the Abyss.”
“How can you assert that? It could be a fake 투레이나. Yes, it's a technique of inversion. Is it counter-magic? They might have imitated her face with it—”
“—Before 투레이나 was consumed by the Abyss, the Mad Dragon rejected 투레이나’s proposed thawing method for the Jooyeosogedaeban.”
No, it’s a lie. 투레이나 couldn’t have touched the Abyss.
It’s Zernix. That guy impersonating Zernix is now pretending to be Juliana and tricking me.
As if it didn't matter what my expression was, Juliana continued her explanation in a low, sunken voice.
“투레이나 believed that if she added a new spell she developed to the Jooyeosogedaeban, which was an incomplete ritual, Lyn’s ice would melt.”
“…!”
“But the Mad Dragon denied that proposal, or rather, plea. Was the reason that the soul had already left the body?”
My soul.
I felt my heart pound rapidly.
“Dragon-kind doesn’t lie. 투레이나, who knew that better than anyone, couldn’t believe those words. Perhaps she didn’t want to believe them.”
A sneering voice echoed wildly in my ears.
—When I told her I would teach her how to awaken that frozen brat, she flipped out and learned black magic…
I couldn't even swallow, let alone breathe, driven into a corner.
“투레이나 thought that if the Mad Dragon wouldn’t help, she would revive Lyn even if it meant borrowing the power of the Abyss. Fate is often ironic. Joining hands with the Abyss to save a master who died fighting the Abyss?”
“…”
“The Lord of Time controls time. So do its subordinates. 투레이나 intended to awaken the Lord of Time sealed in the Papal Palace and return Lyn's body to before it froze. That’s the whole story of the Black Spot Incident that brought down the Golden Dragon Legion.”
I don't believe it. I can't believe it.
It can't be.
What did I teach her? What kind of life did Friede, Rista, and Kiesz show her?
“The Abyss feeds on the negative energy in human hearts, the sadness and longing that stem from affection. It subtly seduces them into corruption.”
“Stop it…”
“투레이나 would know that well too. So she probably thinks she’s using the Abyss. But what will be the result?”
The image that formed this time was the Red Mountain Range.
Mountain villages were desolate, devoid of people, with crows flying overhead; all the forests that beautifully colored the mountains withered, and the lakes decayed into swamps.
There was death everywhere, and disaster everywhere.
“투레이나 is sowing disaster in the world. She’s ruining the world for her own desires.”
“No, no…”
“I didn’t believe it until I saw it myself. That she would transmute human bodies with the very magic used to heal the sick, commanding them to massacre for her own purposes.”
Shut your mouth.
I almost shouted that.
“Watching such a dual life, I realized an undeniable truth.”
She’s your master.
How can you condemn her so decisively? Without even suspecting it might be a fake? What about the possibility that her body was taken over?
“What is 투레이나’s life goal? The destruction of the world? If it were that, I could at least hate her openly.”
“Stop…”
“It’s a love so pathetic it’s pitiful. All of 투레이나’s life actions are merely manifestations of her desire to meet Lyn again.”
Unpleasant sweat beaded on my back, and hyperventilation prevented any thought from forming in my mind.
What I saw and heard was the bloody battlefield Juliana projected into the hallucination world. In the middle of it walked the priestess in a straw hat, 투레이나.
My consciousness was gradually blurring, and when I came to, I was screaming madly.
“How am I supposed to believe such a thing! It’s impossible, 투레이나, what kind of person is 투레이나! Everyone, everyone said she was a great person who lived a respected life! I, the book, in the book—”
“—The truth is always hard to believe.”
“Shut up! This kind of, this kind of brainwashing! I, I wouldn’t fall for it! Bel, Belkiri… Belkiriuss!”
“Calm down, what I’m about to say is the main point—”
“—Don't come near me, go away! I don’t believe such sophistry! Do you think I would! Zernix, you cursed bastard! This, this cowardly trick, I, I…!”
Even though it was a hallucination world, unable to breathe, I finally collapsed to the ground, gasping for air repeatedly until I lost consciousness.
In a dream, I smelled old books.
On the day I saved the Red City during the <Shuriganaqyus> rotation, I once fell asleep reading an old book I wanted to read in the Grand Library of the Holy City, where the southern moonlight shone coldly.
At that time, the straw hat that covered my face was suddenly lifted, and I saw the shy smile of a blue-haired little girl.
—Master, please sleep in a bed.
Sad and poignant summer memories, interspersed throughout a tiring, rough, and arduous journey.
Perhaps because of that voice in my memory… or that smile… the surface of my consciousness gently settled as if I were lying in a cozy blanket.
My wildly beating heart became peaceful, and my mind cleared. Intense pain soon became quiet sorrow, moistening my soul.
When I opened my eyes again, the needles stuck in my body were gone, and instead, Seresia covered my body like a blanket.
It took no effort to turn my head. Juliana, sitting in the chair by the bedside with a kiseru pipe in her mouth, was clearly recognized.
“How much time has passed?”
Perhaps surprised by my calm voice, unlike before, Juliana blinked for a moment, then exhaled a puff of smoke and replied.
“He brought you here at dawn, and it’s twilight now. About half a day has passed.”
I had clashed with him in <Aurelinople> late at night… so perhaps he used spacetime magic.
“What you said earlier… it must all be true.”
“I should apologize first. I don’t usually talk about 투레이나 directly. Not until the time comes to accept the truth.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s dangerous. People can’t accept it. 투레이나 is like an idol to mages and witches. Still, I had to. There isn't much time, for me or for you.”
The shock that came to me was something deeper and sadder than disillusionment… but there was no need to speak of it.
Instead, groaning from the severe pain running through my body, I still managed to get up. Then I fell off the sickbed, but crawled forward on my elbows.
“Even if you go with that body, you can't defeat 투레이나. Consequently, you can't save the true dragon's remains either. This is a sanctuary at the foot of the Red Mountain Range. It’s close to the ritual site.”
There were two troublesome burdens to find. One was 투레이나, and the other was Aki. The child entrusted to me by my benefactor.
“The ritual begins on Sakil. As she must be offered as a living sacrifice, the true dragon’s remains are safe until then. More importantly, to stop a ritual cast over a wide area, you need reinforcements. You can’t do anything alone.”
“I must go, right now…”
“I thought mages were rational beings, but are you going to throw away all chances of winning by being swayed by emotion?”
The sight of me, having to hear such words from my disciple's disciple, was truly pathetic, but I couldn't stand still.
I couldn't stand still.
Aki starts crying 15 seconds after she's separated from me. How much is she crying now? Is she safe? Is she hurt anywhere? Is she sleeping well? What about food? Is she starving?
“Let me tell you the main point I was trying to make earlier. I was an orphan. I was dying in a crumbling village. That’s when 투레이나 found me. She said, ‘Come here, aren’t you hungry?’ Then she gave me food and treated my wounds.”
At that remark, I felt a strange wariness, and at the same time, a familiar ache in my chest, making me stop my movements.
Come here, aren’t you hungry?
This line… was too similar to what I said when I first met 투레이나.
“And she said she would teach me magic. She said that if I learned magic, I would gain value as a person, and I could live with dignity wherever I went.”
“…”
“투레이나 had the skill and kindness to teach magic more easily than anyone else. And she had the magic power to justly change the absurdities of this land. She actually helped and healed many people.”
I thought, 'That's a relief.'
I thought, 'What was written in the book wasn’t a lie.' I thought, 'Her life wasn’t all a lie.'
Juliana helped me up and laid me back on the sickbed. On the silver tray on the side table were many silver needles.
“투레이나 taught me magic and gave me true freedom. She didn’t give me bread, but the ability to buy bread.”
“Earlier you said you realized the truth and were disillusioned…”
“The ‘Golden Children’ and the Special Operations Division of the Magic Alliance want me to say that. But who, among those who owe 투레이나 their lives or their family’s lives, could say that?”
It was also true that 투레이나 committed countless evil deeds, but it was also true that she had done more good deeds than anyone else who ever existed in this world.
“After realizing the truth, I tried to kill 투레이나. Once or twice a year, there were times when she collapsed from drunkenness. I wanted to give my master peace with my own hands before she destroyed the world.”
“…But why did you fail?”
“Women, unlike men, are emotional creatures. Perhaps that’s why only women can become witches.”
Juliana took out a scroll she cherished in her arms and handed it to me. I took it without much thought, and as I unfolded it, I paused for a moment.
My hands, my eyes, trembled violently.
An uncontrollable pain, like a blunt, sharp chisel scraping my heart, ran through my soul. I re-rolled the paper and raised my head blankly.
“투레이나 was asleep on her desk. While writing that letter. The moment I saw its contents, I couldn’t do anything. 투레이나, who noticed my presence, woke up then, and I fled. I took that out by accident then.”
투레이나’s letter…
The moment I saw the beautiful handwriting, ‘To My Master,’ I felt my own body freeze.
“I’m not trying to ask you to forgive 투레이나’s evil deeds. I’m just asking for a little bit of consideration.”
“…?”
“If 투레이나 is caught by the Papal Palace or the Special Operations Division, she’ll be subjected to terrible torture and then burned at the stake.”
Currently, 투레이나’s existence is almost a legendary echo.
The Papal Palace and the Special Operations Division are pursuing 투레이나, but they haven’t ruled out the possibility that it’s a fake.
It seems the Golden Dragon Legion hasn’t revealed the truth either… But the moment 투레이나 is caught, everything will come to light.
“I don’t want that. It’s right that she should be punished, but considering the good deeds she has done, I believe she deserves a death befitting that.”
“…You are a priestess and this is a republic, so why do you ask for my will?”
“The Water Dragon gave me an oracle in a dream. To leave the judgment to you. So I did my part.”
“Lady Yeriserika?”
“Yes. For now, rest as much as you can until your body stabilizes, and I'll see you at the strategy meeting tomorrow morning. There's still one day left until Sakil.”
Juliana placed her hand on my shoulder, squeezed it, and then left the room.
Excluding the ominous crow cries mixed with the moderately cool night air, it was a beautiful night with the moon and stars clear in the sky.
Before I unfolded the weight of this reality in my hand, a reality I had to accept, I had to take deep breaths again and again and again.
‘투레이나, you foolish idiot, what on earth have you been doing…?’
Feeling the pain of a cold blade piercing my chest, I finally managed to open the letter when the moon, which had been in the east, reached its zenith.