Chapter 368
Chapter 368
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 368
Chapter Title: Side Story 53. We're Doing Well Too (5)
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Savior Cain wrote three grimoires in his lifetime.
Vajra of Destruction.
Lerant of Wisdom.
Bloer of Harmony.
Naturally, all three were regarded as peerless masterpieces.
There was a barrier to entry in the form of their ferocious difficulty and the books' own egos, but considering the author was a sage who had lived since ancient times, it wasn't much of an issue.
Anyone who understood even a fraction of their contents either became a great hero or an unprecedented monster, etching their name into history.
As Asel and Elisia had.
Among the three, the most famous was undoubtedly Vajra of Destruction.
"I'll explain it just once, so listen carefully. I'm going to seal the Grand Duke inside Vajra. But I can't do it alone—I'll need your help."
Erzsebet spoke.
In her hand was a thick, pitch-black tome.
It was Vajra of Destruction, stealthily borrowed via telekinesis.
At her feet lay Lerant as well, thanks to Ophelia and Braum's assistance in securing it before the Grand Duke could.
"Inside Vajra? Is that even possible...?"
Ophelia tilted her head.
Vajra of Destruction was fundamentally a book that revealed the truths of magic.
Using it for sealing was a concept she found hard to grasp.
"Yes. Vajra is an excellent grimoire, but it's equally perfect as a medium for sealing. Think about where the Winter Witch—the highest-ranking frost spirit, Izienne—was imprisoned."
"Ah. Right."
Ophelia raised her eyebrows in understanding.
The Winter Witch had been trapped in one of Vajra's pages, serving as Asel's mentor.
Though weakened from being sliced by Ronan, it was still an incredible feat to seal a top-tier spirit for decades.
"Conveniently, Vajra is completely empty right now.
The original malevolent personality was eradicated by Ronan, and the Winter Witch has departed.
It should be more than sufficient to contain the Grand Duke."
"Sounds good. Sealing means we don't have to kill him outright..."
"I approve! I've got too much left to experience to die in a place like this!"
Braum replied without turning his head.
His body was already drenched in sweat.
He was maintaining a barrier of aura to protect the other two.
The Grand Duke's shadows were unleashing a relentless assault, but Braum steadfastly held the line.
Erzsebet placed her hand on Vajra's cover.
"Alright. I know the sealing incantation. While I chant it, you two need to buy me time. I'll be using every last drop of my mana, so assume there's no second chance."
"Got it."
"Hahaha! Now that's my specialty! Good luck!"
Despite the life-risking request, the two accepted without hesitation.
Erzsebet bit her lower lip.
She knew Ophelia and Braum could flee whenever they wanted if they chose to.
"...Thank you both. If we succeed, I'll make sure to reward you properly."
Erzsebet bowed her head deeply.
The greeting, performed in the manner of high nobility, was impeccably polite.
Ophelia and Braum flashed smiles before turning away.
"Don't do that, Erzsebet. This whole mess is my fault to begin with."
"Wahaha! This is nothing between friends! Here I go!!"
Before Erzsebet could respond, Braum leaped into action.
His massive frame shot toward the ceiling before plummeting in a steep arc toward the Grand Duke.
"Over here, you monster!"
His booming shout echoed through the library.
The aura-infused greatshield slammed down onto the darkness.
With a thunderous crash like a glacier shattering, the Grand Duke's form rippled violently.
"That's enough now. Josef."
Ophelia's blood magic activated next.
Hundreds of crimson thorns erupted, tearing through the ceiling and floor.
Each one was the size of a building pillar, forged entirely from blood.
The thorns swarmed the Grand Duke like enraged hornets.
The darkness convulsed with every thorn that pierced it.
Ophelia frowned.
No trace of the Grand Duke's former self remained in those bestial howls.
"Huuuuu... Here goes."
Erzsebet, having taken a deep breath, opened Vajra.
The black tome parted like jaws, revealing ink-black pages.
The moment she began chanting, an immeasurable surge of mana flooded onto the paper.
"Kgh... Krghhhh...!"
Erzsebet groaned.
True to its reputation as the King of Forbidden Books, the mana was savage.
It felt like rolling her brain down a hill inside a whiskey barrel.
Her mind echoed endlessly with those voices.
It was the evil-heart magic imprinted in Vajra.
The personality might be gone, but its power to torment the reader's psyche lingered.
"Shut... up."
Erzsebet clenched her teeth.
She knew they were hallucinations, yet they still hurt.
Each question voiced a doubt she had harbored at least once.
"Don't you dare... speak my sister's name."
But she overcame it.
She might doubt her own talent, but she wouldn't tolerate slander against Sion.
Crunch!
The sound of breaking teeth filled her mouth, and the voices vanished.
"Huuuup...!"
Erzsebet lifted her head and began the sealing incantation.
A dirge-like melody filled the air.
Black light seeped from the open pages of Vajra.
The reaction was immediate.
The swollen darkness began to be sucked into Vajra.
It was like water spiraling down a drain.
Braum cheered.
"Ooh! As expected!"
"Shadow Grand Duke. I will seal you."
Though the tide had turned, Erzsebet didn't relax for a moment.
Her mana was draining away like the tide.
It was around the time Vajra had absorbed half of the Grand Duke's body.
"E-Eri sis! Help me!"
"What?"
Sion's voice suddenly rang out from somewhere.
Erzsebet's focus shattered in an instant.
She turned her gaze and froze.
Sion, who had clearly fled, was bound deep within the shadows.
"S-Sion?!"
"No, Erzsebet! It's fake!"
Ophelia shouted.
Erzsebet blinked hard.
The spot where Sion had been was empty.
"Damn...!"
A fatal lapse.
As Erzsebet tried to refocus on the incantation—
Kwaaaaaaaa!!
The darkness, momentarily freed, exploded outward.
On a scale incomparable to before.
It took only seconds for the entire library to be engulfed.
Braum turned to the two women and screamed.
"Ladies!"
It was like a black avalanche bearing down.
Braum reflexively threw himself forward.
He scooped Ophelia into his arms and reached for Erzsebet—
"Guhk."
A tentacle surged from the darkness and struck Erzsebet dead-on.
"No!!"
Braum shrieked.
The sealing incantation halted.
Erzsebet slowly lowered her gaze.
"This... is..."
A shadowy tentacle had pierced her abdomen.
Suddenly, the top of the tentacle split open, revealing a human mouth.
A familiar voice emerged.
"......!"
Erzsebet's eyes widened.
This time, it wasn't fake.
The strained voice belonged to the Grand Duke, whose ego she thought long destroyed.
Perhaps there was still a chance to save him.
It was tremendous news, but she couldn't respond.
"Ha, agh...!"
A drop of red blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
The pent-up pain surged forth.
Her consciousness faded into the distance.
"Erzsebet!!"
"Erz..."
Ophelia and Braum's voices echoed in her ears.
As the tentacle withdrew, a fist-sized hole was revealed.
Erzsebet's tilting body collapsed forward.
Blood from the wound soaked the pristine white book.
"...Hah!"
Erzsebet opened her eyes.
The all-white space around her was utterly empty.
She clutched her head as she looked around.
"W-Where... is this...?"
She remembered being impaled by the tentacle, but everything after was hazy.
Her abdomen, hastily checked, bore no hole.
What?
Did I die?
As terror gripped the bewildered Erzsebet—
"What a pretty young lady. Your face passes, at least."
A soft woman's voice echoed from behind.
Goosebumps erupted across her skin.
It was a voice she knew.
One she missed dearly.
Erzsebet turned and froze like stone.
"A-Adeshan sis?!"
"Hehe."
Adeshan stood before her.
The tall, slender build and high nose bridge.
Even the hips that made her mouth water—it was all identical.
The only difference was her hair, which should have been gray, now stark white.
"......No, you're not. Who are you?"
"Guess."
Adeshan—
Or rather, whatever had taken Adeshan's form—smiled with her eyes.
Suddenly, the moment before her collapse flashed in Erzsebet's mind.
The white book crushed beneath her.
The other forbidden tome beside Vajra.
Erzsebet spoke.
"Lerant."
"Correct. Nice to meet you, miss."
Lerant giggled.
Her flowing white hair exuded an eerie allure.
Despite the friendly greeting, Erzsebet was speechless.
"This can't be."
One of Cain's forbidden books had manifested before her.
The tome said to bestow infinite wisdom.
Not as infamous as Vajra, but it had driven countless mages mad all the same.
Steadying her reeling mind, Erzsebet spoke.
"......What happened to me? Am I dead?"
"Not yet. But if left alone, you will be soon. This is a world I created momentarily. For an interview."
"An interview?"
"Yes. Just as people choose books carefully, I choose my readers. I need to see if you're worthy to be a reader of this Lerant."
Lerant approached.
Her long fingers, like Adeshan's, twirled Erzsebet's hair playfully.
Even knowing it was fake, her face flushed.
"I-I don't know what you mean, but there's no time for that! Let me out now!"
"Quiet. You're half-dead already."
Lerant suddenly gestured.
Erzsebet clutched her throat.
She couldn't breathe, as if shackled by iron chains.
Lerant whispered in her ear.
"It'd be wise to cooperate obediently. In the past millennium, no one but Elisia has passed."