Chapter 370
Chapter 370
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 370
Chapter Title: Side Story 55. We're Doing Well Too (7)
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【Kyaaaaak! Kaak!】
The Grand Duke let out a monstrous scream.
Pain was evident in his violent thrashing.
The darkness touched by the golden flames vanished without leaving even ash behind.
Eventually, the flash subsided.
A familiar silhouette emerged.
Dark purple hair.
A haughty gaze and perfectly straight posture.
Braum's eyes narrowed.
"Erzsebet? Is that you...?"
"......I'm not entirely sure."
Ophelia muttered.
The atmosphere was different from the Erzsebet she knew.
She seemed somehow much more mature.
The very texture of the mana blooming over her shoulders had changed.
The hole pierced through her abdomen had already vanished completely.
"Tower Lord! Are you alright?!"
At that moment, Aire burst through the ceiling.
It seemed Sion's call for help had gotten through safely.
Her translucent body had taken the form of her true self—a massive wolf.
"My god...!"
Aire's fur bristled as she surveyed the surroundings.
Sticky darkness blanketed the library.
The Grand Duke's body, having absorbed hundreds of forbidden tomes along with Bajura, was boiling like oil and expanding.
"You've come, Aire."
"T-Tower Lord? You seem different... What in the world is going on?!"
"I'll explain everything slowly later. For now, please get those two outside."
"Ah, yes!"
Erzsebet's gaze lingered on her friends.
Aire did as asked.
She swooped in like the wind, grabbing Braum and Ophelia in her mouth and placing them on her back.
Erzsebet bit her lip upon seeing their injuries.
"......I'm sorry. I was too late."
"I'm still fine, Erzsebet. Let me help."
"No. You take care of Lord Braum. I'll handle the Grand Duke alone."
"But..."
Ophelia hesitated, words catching in her throat.
Erzsebet's eyes burned with fierce resolve.
Hotter than ever before—impossible to compare.
She couldn't interfere with someone who had steeled themselves like that.
"......Alright. I'll leave it to you."
"Thank you."
"Don't die, Erzsebet."
Having decided to trust her friend, Ophelia turned away.
She focused on treating Braum, who was gasping as if on the verge of death.
Erzsebet spoke.
"Aire. Anyone still left in the Magic Tower?"
"Oh, I just checked. Everyone's been evacuated without exception."
"Thank you. One more favor—using your librarian authority, move every book in the library to the shelter."
"E-Every single one?!"
Aire's eyes widened.
As the sole librarian of the Dawn Magic Tower, she had the authority and ability to relocate all the tomes.
She had moved books many times before, but shifting the entire collection at once was unprecedented since the tower's founding.
Of course, she didn't object.
"Understood. Right away."
"I trust you."
The Tower Lord was like the captain of a ship.
The captain's orders were absolute.
Aire nodded firmly and vanished back into the ceiling.
The Grand Duke's tentacles reached for her, but a wall of flames surging from the floor blocked them.
"It's no use."
The shadow failed to pierce the barrier of fire again and dissipated.
Now, only Erzsebet and the shadow Grand Duke remained in the library.
The enraged Grand Duke rampaged wildly, attacking her.
Darkness swirled.
Shadow thorns poured from every direction—front, back, left, right—like a black tidal wave.
Thousands of eyes exposed amid them scattered red glares.
But Erzsebet didn't budge from her spot.
"This is definitely good magic."
She didn't need to.
Nine blazing fireballs rotated at high speed around her.
Their orbits were all different.
No lethal attack could breach the ring of flames.
The magic, inspired by celestial movements, had been co-created moments ago by Erzsebet and Lerant.
[As expected of our Eri. She picks things up so fast.]
Lerant's laughter echoed in her mind.
She wanted to snap back about who gave her permission to call her Eri, but there was no time.
Facing the Grand Duke directly, Erzsebet opened her mouth.
"Grand Duke. You're in there, aren't you?"
The roar echoed back.
No trace of reason.
But Erzsebet knew the Grand Duke's self lingered deep within that darkness.
"You are in there, Grand Duke. I hate boring jokes. As much as I hate absurd things happening. But what’s happening to you now is an absurd, boring joke."
And a terribly cruel one at that.
A hero devoted to saving the world loses most of his power, becomes a mindless monster.
Then tries to harm his loved ones.
......And in the end, must die by their hands.
"Enough. If you leave after Balzac, Ophelia will truly be left alone. As a friend and someone who took on the request, I can't allow that."
Erzsebet snapped her fingers.
The rotating fireballs explosively widened their orbits.
The surrounding darkness shrank and vanished, clearing a vast space.
The mage's heart, having glimpsed a fragment of truth, resonated with Lerant, circulating immense mana.
The master of the Dawn Magic Tower growled.
"I will save you."
The recoiled darkness charged.
Erzsebet extended her right hand.
An invisible force enveloped and gripped the Grand Duke.
Shadows clinging everywhere were torn from walls and floor.
"Huuuuuup...!"
Erzsebet clenched her fist.
The Grand Duke's body, severed from the ground, soared into the air.
The black, pulsating mass was pure darkness, without a speck of light.
Bam!!!
The mass finally slammed into the ceiling and splattered like dough.
It was ferociously savage telekinesis.
Erzsebet didn't stop.
As she moved her left hand, a massive magic circle rose from the floor.
The golden, blazing pattern covered most of the library floor.
Just as the Grand Duke thrashed, extending tentacles.
"Haaaaap!!"
Erzsebet thrust her left arm upward.
The magic circle's light intensified.
A torrent of golden flames tore through the geometric pattern and surged.
The Grand Duke was engulfed in fire.
The Grand Duke screamed.
Within the flames imbued with solar power, his body burned helplessly.
He struggled desperately to escape, but Erzsebet's telekinesis held firm.
When the blaze had burned away about half the darkness.
Kwaaaaaang!!
The cracking ceiling caved in, exploding.
"Fly away!!"
Erzsebet shouted.
The Grand Duke, trailing a red tail, soared and crashed into the first-floor lobby floor.
The tiles made of special minerals shattered pitifully.
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Smashing through the ceiling again, the Grand Duke pierced floors 2, 3, and 4.
Even traversing the five combined floors of the library, its speed didn't slow.
Fortunately, Aire had already moved all the books elsewhere.
The Grand Duke kept ascending.
New vistas burst open with each floor destroyed.
In an instant, he reached the top, smashing through the Tower Lord's room and bursting out the crown of the Dawn Magic Tower.
Stagnant fiery light scattered everywhere.
"W-What is that!?"
"It's the Tower Lord's fire!"
The gathered mages below cried out in shock.
With the sun set, it was even more visible.
Even after vertically piercing the Dawn Magic Tower, the flames didn't extinguish.
A brilliant light spread, mistaken for dawn.
The Grand Duke shooting toward the night sky resembled a planetary holy flame.
Erzsebet followed right behind from below.
"Sis...!"
Sion, watching, covered her mouth.
The Grand Duke and Erzsebet had reached the stratosphere.
Far below, earth, clouds, and oceans blended.
The Dawn Magic Tower was no longer visible.
Lifting her head, the gentle edge of stars came into view.
"Haa... haa...!"
Erzsebet wiped nosebleed with her sleeve.
An action she'd never do normally, but no time for propriety now.
She had used almost all the mana from Lerant.
[That's quite the firepower, miss... Whew, to take this much.]
Lerant was panting too.
She seemed to have contracted with an outrageous mage.
Regaining her breath, Erzsebet faced the Grand Duke.
He had finally stopped ascending, most of his body lost.
The boy's upper body emerging from the mass proved it.
The bloated darkness had nearly vanished.
Only the Grand Duke's dying flesh and Bajura remained at the center, spewing blood and shadow.
"Huuu... You look a mess, Grand Duke."
"Ugh, really? Then what was all my hard work for? If you could just shut up, I wouldn't even be mad."
Erzsebet furrowed her brow.
A near-corpse saying that was pitiful yet infuriating.
"Just stay still. No one's dying."
Instead of answering, Erzsebet began chanting a spell.
The sealed Bajura burst open.
The Grand Duke's eyes widened.
The song-like incantation continued unbroken.
As Bajura's mouth closed, the light faded from the boy's eyes.
"But next time, I absolutely won't take a request from you, Grand Duke."
Bajura was set aside.
Erzsebet pointed her index finger at the boy.
At the lofty edge of the stars, dawn's light erupted.
****
".......Ah."
"S-Sis! Are you awake?!"
Erzsebet opened her eyes.
Her mind felt foggy, like mist in her head.
Turning her head slowly, she saw Sion looking down at her.
"...Sion."
"Waaah! Sis!"
Before Erzsebet could speak.
Sion hugged her tightly.
Her dark blue eyes were already puffy.
"What... happened to me?"
"Right after defeating the shadow Grand Duke, you passed out and fell. Aire and I flew up to catch you."
"Ah... I think I remember..."
Seeing the pristine bed and interior, it seemed to be the Dawn Magic Tower's annex hospital.
Erzsebet pressed her forehead.
The fog was lifting bit by bit.
She had extracted Bajura and burned the remaining darkness of the Grand Duke.
She was confident not a speck remained.
However...
"W-What about the Grand Duke!? Was he safely extracted?"
"Eek!"
Erzsebet bolted upright.
Startled, Sion screamed.
As she patted her chest to explain, the hospital room door opened.
"He's safe. Thanks to you."
"Wahaha! The greatest Tower Lord in history has returned!"
"You two...!"
Erzsebet raised her eyebrows.
Entering with smiles were Ophelia and Braum.
Ophelia, beaming, held a familiar black book.
Stopping before Erzsebet, she opened the final page of Bajura.
"Grand Duke...!"
A familiar voice rang out.
Erzsebet gasped.
On the last page was a terribly drawn portrait.
Fangs peeking from the mouth suggested a vampire or similar.
More precisely, the shadow Grand Duke.
Staring at the picture, Erzsebet's shoulders shook.
"Pfft."
"Puh... puhuhu... Did Ophelia draw this?"
"Yeah. Looks like him, right?"
Ignoring the warning, Ophelia puffed out her chest proudly.
She seemed to think it was a fine piece.
Unable to bear the embarrassment, the Grand Duke growled.
"Grand Duke."
"I'm glad you're alive."
Erzsebet smiled.
The Grand Duke's growling stopped.
The paper corner creased and smoothed ever so slightly.
"Live healthily from now on. Phew, success is a blessing."
Erzsebet sighed in relief.
No more risk of wounds reopening fatally.
With Ophelia's care to regain strength, he'd soon reclaim his former position.
At the last moment, she had extracted his soul and sealed it in Bajura.
A reversal of the plan to seal the rampaging flesh.
Sion clapped.
"Oh, all the forbidden tomes are safe too.
Since they were swallowed by Bajura, we got them out easily.
Once the library's repaired, Aire will put them back."
"That's good. No one got hurt?"
"Yes. No one... But I have one question."
"Hm? What?"
"Who is that woman?"
Sion glared suspiciously at the corner of the room.
A white-haired woman floated cross-legged in midair.
She resembled Adeshan but wasn't her.
The main body, the white book, lay by Erzsebet's bedside.
"She looks so much like the Grand General, I was shocked. And I heard she even kissed you... That's a lie, right? No way."
"Haa... Spreading useless rumors..."
Erzsebet sighed.
Her ears peeking through her hair flushed red.
It wasn't entirely wrong, making it worse.
Best to gloss over it.
"Introduce yourself first, Sion. This is Lerant of Wisdom."
"L-Lerant? It's not a lie?!"
"See? I told you. Cute miss."
Lerant giggled.
Apparently, they'd talked while she was out.
Sion clutched her head.
"Th-Then the kiss was real too?! No... that's...!"
"What's the big deal over a little peck? Want one too, miss?"
"Kyaaak! Stay away!"
Sion bared her teeth.
Clinging to Erzsebet with teeth shown, she looked like a startled cat.
"Sis! I don't know what happened, but you should cut ties now. Like Bajura, she'll reveal her true intentions later and try to swallow you!"
"Oh my, hurting my feelings like that. You really like Eri, huh?"
"Q-Quiet! And who said you could call her Eri? Only I can use that in the Dawn Magic Tower!"
".......Ah. My head hurts."
Erzsebet massaged her temples.
Even Marvas's marketplace seemed quieter.
Already exhausted, her head throbbed.
'Piles of backlog. Tower repairs... books to relocate...'
Thinking of cleanup made it worse.
As she tried to rise.
Ophelia pulled a letter from her bosom.
"Right, I forgot to mention—Adeshan sent you a letter."
"W-What?! Why tell me now?"
"Things were so hectic. You're tired; should I give it later?"
"Nonsense! Give it here now!"
Erzsebet snatched the letter.
As aggressive as robbing a noblewoman.
Carefully opening the envelope revealed Adeshan's handwritten note.
Her eyes welled up.
"Ahh... She's busy with army duties yet writes so kindly... As expected, only sis for me...!"
"What does it say?"
"Our Erin became class president! So clever. As expected of the child I named!"
"...Just a casual update. Your reaction made me think it was something huge."
Ophelia chuckled dryly.
Her response suggested continental unification.
Erzsebet decided to reply immediately.
"Hmm..."
Taking paper from Aire, she groaned.
Unsure where to start.
Reunion with old friends?
Shadow Grand Duke's request and rampage?
Becoming Tower Lord and wrecking the Dawn Magic Tower herself?
Or the contract with Lerant?
"Argh."
Too much to write was a problem too.
After much deliberation, she scribbled the first line.
- To my dear sister Adeshan.
[Sister. We're all doing well.]