Chapter 218
Chapter 218
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 218
Chapter Title: Elsia (1)
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"Ronan, this is your father."
Elsia said. Ronan's face hardened. In the silent space, only the low hum of machinery could be heard.
"Ronan..."
Adeshan gazed worriedly at the dazed Ronan. How much time passed? After a long silence, his lips finally twitched slightly.
"...My father? The Savior?"
Elsia nodded. Ronan's legs, rooted to the spot, finally moved. He slowly walked toward the glass tube containing the Savior—his father, apparently.
The closer he got, the clearer the details became. The man floating inside the glass tube was completely naked. His build was average, but his body was covered in solid muscle.
The most striking feature was the gaping hole in his upper body. A hole the size of a one-year-old's head pierced straight through from back to chest, the edges blackened like rot.
'Is he even alive?'
Ronan frowned. It was a fatal wound no ordinary human could survive. Dozens of tubes, like stems sustaining his life, were embedded across his body.
Finally reaching the tube, Ronan circled to the front. He took a deep breath and looked up.
"...Ah?"
Ronan's eyes widened as he gazed at the face. Contrary to his expectation of it being shrouded in some shitty shadow, the Savior's face was fully visible.
He had no way of knowing how he'd heard the name or seen the face before. But that wasn't important right now. Adeshan, who had crept up behind him, covered her mouth with both hands.
"R-Ronan. This face...!"
"...Robe bastard."
The stunned Ronan muttered to himself. The Savior's face bore a striking resemblance to the traitor who had stabbed him. Silver-white hair reminiscent of Iril flowed in the liquid, and his features were sharp and defined.
In truth, calling it a resemblance was an understatement—barring minor details, they were identical. His eyes were closed now, but Ronan was certain the irises beneath were the same sunset hue as his own.
'What the hell is going on?'
He was confused. A paranoid thought crossed his mind: maybe that elf bitch had tricked him after all. Maybe the one in front was the traitor, suddenly opening his eyes and lunging at him.
But the aura emanating through the glass wall was unmistakably the Savior's. As Ronan pondered, his eyes suddenly widened.
'Zaifa and Barca... no way.'
For a split second, the faces of the Chalna Tergun brothers flashed in his mind. Their personalities were polar opposites, but they looked like they were cast from the same mold.
The wandering puzzle pieces were starting to fit together. It was frustrating that he couldn't speak directly due to the unconscious state. Without tearing his gaze from the Savior's face, Ronan spoke.
"...So the Savior and the traitor were twin brothers."
"Traitor? Ah, you mean Abel."
"Abel?"
"Yes. The Savior's brother, the one who stabbed him in the back. He's the current leader of Nebula Klazie."
Ronan's eyes widened. A question he'd harbored for years was resolved in an instant. He'd always referred to him as the traitor or robe bastard, never hearing his real name before.
"Huh? But how do you know all that?"
"Well..."
Elsia tilted her head. She seemed unaware that Ronan had experienced the Savior's past memories in the mental world. As Ronan trailed off,
"And wait—can you see the Savior's face?"
"Yeah."
Elsia's eyes rounded. She appeared extremely surprised that Ronan could see the Savior's face.
"That can't be...! Just wait a moment."
Elsia approached with quick steps and stood before Ronan. Up close, she was quite short. Suddenly standing on tiptoe, she grabbed his face with both hands.
"Look into my eyes."
"Wh-what are you—?!"
Adeshan panicked at the motion that looked like she was about to kiss him. But Elsia simply stared into Ronan's eyes without doing anything else. After about a minute, she let out a small gasp.
"My god, this is unbelievable."
"What's wrong?"
"Normally, you shouldn't be able to see the Savior's face. Or know his name. Because that's the restriction he placed on you. But this..."
Elsia released Ronan's face. The tense Adeshan sighed in relief. Elsia continued with a groan.
"...The restriction is gone. More like it burned away."
"Burned away?"
"Yes. I expected you'd lifted a curse or two getting here, but to this extent... What method did you use?"
At those words, Navardoje's face flashed in his mind. That voluptuous married dragon had laid him down and replaced a curse with a fragment of her ember.
Suddenly, he recalled fighting in the ice cave after falling into Barca's trap. That's when he activated Aun Pila's magic, feeling intense burning pain where the ember was implanted.
'She said it would grow over time. Did the ember expand then?'
He'd need to investigate further, but it seemed that's when it happened. As Navardoje said, the growing ember had burned away part of the curse.
But should he tell her? Nebula Klazie's signature sparkling mana emanated from Elsia before him—and denser than anyone's.
It made sense for an original member empowered by the Savior, but suspicion lingered. He hadn't seen events after the Savior was stabbed and fell into the fire pit. After a brief silence, Ronan spoke.
"Uh... yeah. I can't remember."
"You won't explain how you learned the past, and you don't fully trust me. You're wondering if I'm still with Nebula Klazie... with Abel, right?"
Elsia's eyes narrowed. Ronan faltered at her razor-sharp deduction. Elsia sighed as if she'd expected it.
"Sigh... I understand. I need to prove I'm not the enemy first. What will convince you?"
"Hmm, well..."
Ronan fiddled with his chin. No good test came to mind. Then, the awkwardly standing Adeshan spoke up.
"Um, Ronan. If she's lying, I can tell..."
"Ah, right."
Ronan snapped his fingers. Why hadn't he thought of that?
Adeshan, who wielded shadow mana, could detect lies. In her previous life, this ability gave her the edge in psychological warfare.
"Perfect. Watch her closely for lies, Adeshan. Elsia, you okay with that?"
"Pardon? What exactly..."
Elsia tilted her head. After hearing about Adeshan's ability, she exclaimed in admiration.
"Shadow mana... and mental type at that. Quite a dangerous power for how it looks."
"I-I won't do anything weird. Promise."
"It's fine. I wasn't planning to lie anyway. Where should I start?"
Elsia accepted the proposal surprisingly readily. Ronan said,
"How you knew I was coming here. You greeted me like you were expecting me."
"The Savior told me you'd come someday. He mentioned it several times before losing consciousness. He didn't specify when, though, so I didn't know until we met on the cliff."
"Then dragging me here suddenly..."
"Yes. Just following his will. He said to bring you to him first if you came. He was still conscious then."
Elsia twisted her lips. Adeshan, meeting Ronan's eyes, nodded affirmatively—no lies. Ronan pulled a map marking this location from his pocket.
"Who left this map? Found it in the Savior's room in Drimuir."
"I'm not sure... Probably the Savior hid it himself. He said he left clues everywhere for you to find, so likely one of those."
"Damn, I don't get it. He puts a restriction not to know about him, then leaves stuff like this."
"Well, there were things even I didn't understand about his actions. But he must have had his reasons."
Ronan groaned. Then why the curse? Like an old geezer chanting "I gotta die" daily but clinging to life when the time comes. Elsia wasn't lying this time either.
"Fine. One more. Why'd you quit at Drimuir and move here? Heard you worked there until five years ago."
"The Savior's condition worsened. He settled here right after leaving Drimuir. Perfect for quiet recovery and evading Abel's pursuit."
The reason the Savior left Drimuir early was his health. The wound from Abel's stab had gradually eaten away at him, reaching the point where he could no longer work.
This ruin, known for storing seeds in the past, was an ideal hideout. Over decades, he and Elsia fortified it into a fortress rivaling Drimuir and built a life-support device for his weakening body.
"I visited periodically at Drimuir to check on him, but eventually, he couldn't hold on alone. That's when I moved here."
Elsia explained he entered the tube five years ago and lost consciousness three years ago. She added that this very space was the life-support device. Looking around, Ronan spoke.
"That... 'most brilliant era'—what does that mean? And the glow thing—never seen it in history books."
"Not sure the details, but... long ago, before Navardoje was born. This world has perished multiple times, and the people of the last world had tech reaching the stars, he said. I might seem knowledgeable, but I only learned scraps peeking over his shoulder."
Ronan glanced at Adeshan. Confirmed no lies, he chuckled in disbelief.
If before Navardoje's birth, how many years had the Savior lived? Despite no more questions, Elsia continued.
"I was devoted to Nebula Klazie. I nurtured the cult with attachment. But that was when the Savior led it."
"Much different now, huh."
"Yes. Unbelievable it's the same group. The direction changed completely. I want suffering people saved like me. No reason to stay with those destroying the world."
Elsia knew Nebula Klazie's plans to some extent. Not details like summoning the buzzcuts, but enough to know they aimed to weaken people for a big blow.
'She's an ally.'
Only then could Ronan fully trust Elsia. Knowing too much would have been more suspicious.
Her information cutoff began when she desperately escaped Nebula Klazie and fled with the gravely wounded Savior. This seemed safe. Deciding to trust her, Ronan spoke.
"Actually, I've seen you before."
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"Part of lifting the curse. Saw the Savior's memories in a world my mind created."
"...The Savior's memories?"
Elsia raised an eyebrow. Ronan concisely explained what he'd seen and experienced in the mental world: Nebula Klazie's founding, Abel's backstab, Elsia summoning Hiran, the Savior's failed escape and downing. Elsia's frozen mouth slowly opened.
"...My god. You really saw it."
"Problem is, I know nothing after. So, what now?"
"Hmm... good question?"
"What?"
Ronan frowned. He hadn't expected a "good question" here.
"What, you didn't bring me for a reason?"
"Like I said, I just followed the Savior's words. His last order was to bring you if you came. But as you see, he's unconscious..."
Elsia trailed off gloomily. Ronan let out a hollow laugh. Her rigid adherence was absurd.
"So I need to talk to the Savior first. But is he even alive?"
Ronan gestured with his chin. From the front, the injury looked far worse. Occasional bubbles from nose and mouth confirmed he was breathing. Elsia replied in a voice tinged with melancholy.
"...For now. But not much time left."
"How much?"
"Maybe a year at best."
"Fuck, really not long."
Ronan cursed. It explained why the Savior never appeared on the final battlefield.
If only he'd come while conscious. The current situation—summoned but unable to exchange a word—felt utterly pathetic.
"...No way to fix him?"
"There is. One way."
Ronan's eyes widened. He'd expected "no," not this twist.
"What's that?"
"A blood transfusion from his twin brother, Abel."