Chapter 109
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Translator: Xrecker
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Declaration of War
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A few days later, news that the Demon Lord’s army had declared war reached the capital city of Oz.
Naturally, Oz was thrown into a state of emergency.
King Oscar immediately reinforced the Eastern Front and dispatched two divisions toward Hamburg, which would become the war's front line.
It seemed he hadn't expected the Demon Lord’s army to declare war so suddenly, just as winter ended.
Oz condemned their rudeness to the other nations of the Western continent, but the only one who listened was Nidavellir, whose own feet were now to the fire.
And it was around that time that the death of the previous Hero, Artorius, was made public.
To boost the morale of the Demon Lord’s army and demoralize the kingdom’s forces, the Hero’s body, which had been preserved with magic, was tied to a pillar as they marched.
This was something the Demon Lord and I had discussed in advance, a release of information from a purely business-like perspective.
Now that a new Hero had been born, there was no longer any reason to hide the information.
The people of the capital were shocked by the Hero’s death, but at the same time, they showed no curiosity about the survival of the other party members.
That was probably because, from the very beginning, they were just the Hero's sidekicks.
Although I knew this, as one of those involved, I couldn't help but feel bitter.
It meant that even if you risked your life fighting, not a single person would acknowledge it.
It seems a few people who knew my face visited my master to offer their condolences, but it was safe to say that almost no ordinary citizens mourned the deaths of the other party members.
Always the Hero, the Hero, the Hero.
This happened because the spotlight was focused solely on that one person.
These people just demand sacrifice from others.
If you succeed, they rejoice; if you fail, they don't care.
I wanted to break this vicious cycle created by the Church of Courage and the Goddess.
With my own two hands.
***
In the early dawn, I headed to the Emerald Tower.
I was slightly surprised when I entered through the back door as usual, because kingdom soldiers were milling about inside the magic tower, likely due to the war.
With the situation being what it was, it seemed that even this place, which professed neutrality, couldn't remain entirely free from the turmoil.
I avoided the others' gazes, stepped onto a waiting floating stone, and descended to the training hall in the basement.
Thud-
As I jumped off, gripping the railing upon arrival, my master was already there waiting.
Her white, Eastern-style martial arts uniform and the white ribbon tying back her long hair—a rare sight here—showed that she had been ready to spar for quite some time.
As I stepped into the training hall, my master said, wrapping bandages around her hands,
“Today is the last day of training, as promised. I have already passed on everything I can teach you.”
“I know.”
“All that's left is for you to realize it yourself. What the true nature of wind is, and what you are training for.”
I took her words to heart and pulled Stormbringer from my bag.
One on each hand, I put on both gauntlets and repeatedly clenched and unclenched my fists.
They felt foreign at first, perhaps because I had insisted on bare-handed combat for so long, but I adapted quickly.
Clench-
Finally, after firmly making two fists, I stared at my master standing opposite me.
“Kaldrash, magic and martial arts are not fundamentally so different. That is to say, wielding mana is an act of expressing your will upon the world. If you contemplate your spirit, the principles of nature will follow you, and you will become a dragon capable of commanding even the weather of the heavens at will.”
It was a rather abstract story, but if I were to summarize its meaning simply, it would be this:
“So if I don’t like getting beaten up by you, I should hurry up and become 7th-tier, right?”
In response, my master simply formed a deep smile at the corners of her mouth.
Alright, today is the day I’ll make that harsh mouth of hers cry out in pain.
Steeling my resolve, I took the opening stance of the Wind God Divine Arts, which I had received intensive private lessons on from my master for about two months.
“Suuuuh…”
It was like looking in a mirror; our stances were completely identical. Although my center of gravity had shifted slightly back compared to before, the heaviness of the strikes remained the same. In a fleeting moment, mana seeped into my lungs, and the dormant virtual magic core began to stir. Whoooosh— It felt as if every cell in my body was waking up. The wind mana generated from the magic core instantly spread throughout my body via my bloodstream.
In the underground training hall, where no one ever comes in the early dawn.
“Here I come!”
“Come on!”
With storms wrapped around our arms and legs, my master and I clashed simultaneously.
Thud!
The spar, which was reminiscent of a real battle, ended about an hour later.
After we exchanged over 200 blows, I stopped thinking.
In a colorless world where everything moved slowly, I was finally able to read the "grain of the wind" that my master had so emphasized for the first time.
To 'see' is a very important act in magic.
Because humans rely heavily on their sense of sight among the five senses, if it is sealed even for a moment, they are instantly neutralized.
The Blind spell that Ozma often used was one such type of magic, and being deprived of sight on the battlefield was as fatal as having no arms or legs.
Anyway, what I want to say is this.
The average person's eyes can only take in a limited amount of information.
Without the proper talent, one could train for a lifetime and never feel or see the mana in the atmosphere.
What my master taught me was to go one step further—
An eye that reads the flow of the wind, which, unlike mana, is invisible.
Living creatures are imbued with the wind of breath.
So, if you can read that, you can react before your opponent even moves.
In other words—
By reaching the 7th-tier this way, you acquire an ability close to foresight, allowing you to predict an opponent's movements through their breath.
“Huff, huff, huff, huff.”
I gasped for breath.
The air that had risen to the tip of my chin continuously demanded more.
Eventually, the sweat that had formed on my face dripped down onto the dirt floor.
“You’ve gotten much stronger.”
My master, who had been standing perfectly fine, looked up at the ceiling and muttered as if in a daze.
And for good reason, because in that final moment, I had finally broken through the wall to the 7th-tier.
My master said that, likened to her previous life, the 7th-tier for a magician was the state of "harmony."
The state of becoming one with nature.
I could now manipulate the weather of the natural world at will, without having to resort to the trick of combining two spells.
It was hellishly difficult, but the feeling of euphoria was even stronger.
Because I could finally be done with this wretched training.
I dragged my sweat-drenched body over to my master's side.
Her clothes, which were practically in tatters, failed to cover her slender body, so I took off the robe I had been wearing before the fight and draped it over her like a blanket.
Then, my master looked up at me and spoke.
“I’m tired, so I’m going to rest a bit before heading up. What will you do?”
I answered, kneeling politely.
“I plan to rest briefly at home before heading to the royal castle. There, I will kill King Oscar and then leave Oz for a while.”
“…Then I suppose I won’t be seeing you for a while.”
“It won’t be as long as last time, so please don’t worry. I will end it with a decisive battle as quickly as possible.”
As I said that and clenched my fist, my master was silent for a moment before calling my name.
“Kaldrash.”
“Yes.”
“Come here.”
I moved a little closer as my master commanded.
Then, my master's right hand, from which all traces of age had been erased through her regression, gently caressed my cheek.
“You are my greatest masterpiece. You know that, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“You must return alive. I will not forgive you for dying selfishly.”
“Yes.”
“…I’m a little tired. I think I can get a good, long sleep for the first time in a while.”
My master muttered those words, then slowly closed her trembling eyes.
Thud!
At that same moment, the hand that had been caressing my cheek fell limply to the floor.
***
I laid my master, who had fallen into a deep sleep from the backlash of using too much mana, on a bench in the corner of the training hall, then quietly left the Emerald Tower.
Normally, my legs would have been trembling from mana depletion, but thanks to the Unlimited Power I wore around my neck, I could walk perfectly fine as if nothing had happened.
That damn Hero, he was using this amazing thing all by himself?
I rolled the large, smooth gemstone in my hand and headed home.
“I’m back.”
When I opened the door and stepped inside, Vanessa and Dorothea, already in full armor, were sitting on the living room sofa waiting for me.
“How did it go? The result?”
I shrugged my shoulders and said to her,
“From now on, please call me Kaldrash, the 7th-tier Archmage.”
Today is the day of the decisive battle.