Chapter 36
Chapter 36
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: When Meeting the Dead (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1
Nibiris loved the darkness devoid of even a single point of light. Only in such darkness could she attain complete peace.
However, what she loved was the darkness itself, not silence. Whispers reached her mind as she gazed into the void darkness of the air.
-Have you still not finished the job?
It was a voice from an unimaginably distant place. Crossing mountains and rivers, beyond the borders humans had drawn on maps, from the snowfields shrouded in darkness....
Nibiris replied.
“The preparations are complete. I’ll handle it soon.”
-Why are you dragging your feet like this?
-That place is dangerous ground for you.
-If you’re not careful, they might sense your presence and mobilize the Dragon Sword Duke.
-Or even the Mirkel Earl....
The voices were not from a single source. Voices from all corners of the continent flew in, conversing as if they were right there on the spot.
“Is there any reason to fear them that much? They’re the sort who’ve lost even their true wings and cling to humans to survive.”
Nibiris revealed her displeasure.
The Dragon Sword Duke and Mirkel Earl were figures listed among those to watch closely in the Lurein Kingdom. The Dragon Sword Duke was a Dragon Demon tribesman, and the Mirkel Earl was a Dragon Demon Hybrid.
There were not many Dragon Demon tribesmen affiliated with human society, and their names were mostly widely known. Living far longer than humans, most of them possessed formidable power. There were some who had assimilated into human society and honed no combat skills or magic beyond their innate strength, but most leveraged their talents to shake the world with fame.
From the standpoint of Dragon Demon Worshippers—who, upon revealing themselves, would have killers swarming from all directions—they were existences to fear. But Nibiris was dissatisfied with the voices fretting over her.
-Do not underestimate them.
-Our forces in the Lurein Kingdom are too weak. Slack off, and you could run into big trouble.
-Nibiris, everyone acknowledges that you possess exceptional talent, but....
“I know. That’s precisely why I’ve delayed the execution date by this much.”
Nibiris let out a weary sigh.
In the organization, she was so young she bordered on being a child. As such, facing the older veterans felt like dealing with nagging old fogeys, which grated on her nerves.
Nibiris spoke.
“I’m exercising plenty of caution. On the night the moon vanishes behind clouds and complete darkness blankets the world—that’s when I’ll settle everything.”
A mage’s power is heavily influenced by the environment. It mattered what magic they specialized in, but the origin of their magic was an issue as well.
As a mage, Nibiris’s origin was darkness.
The denser the darkness, the greater her power grew. Moreover, on a moonless night, she could erect a vast barrier that completely isolated inside from outside—no matter what she did, not a whiff of her presence would leak out, transcending mere secrecy.
She had held off attacking Arietta’s group until now precisely to await this day. She had predicted and prepared for the moment when they would linger in a location ideal for an ambush, aligned with her desired weather.
“I’ll thoroughly dig up whatever secrets the bearer of that sinful name is hiding.”
2
People do not change easily, for better or worse.
But give them the right trigger, and they can transform astonishingly.
Azel truly felt this for the first time in ages.
“Sir Azel, if—if it’s all right, might I also request a lesson?”
Boer mustered his courage to ask.
Since the day of the duel, Boer had handled his share of the work without a single complaint. From washing dishes to preparing and cleaning up camp, he proactively asked what needed doing, melting away the accumulated dissatisfaction like snow under the sun.
He still didn’t mesh well with the rest of the group, though. Unlike before, when he’d kept a natural distance, now he furtively glanced around, shrinking back hesitantly.
The reason became clear soon enough. He wanted to join Azel, Zail, and Arietta as they sparred and swapped stories about techniques.
In the end, he gathered the courage three days after the duel.
Azel was a bit surprised by the shift in his attitude but accepted gladly.
“You’re welcome to it anytime.”
Seeing this, Arietta remarked.
“Sir Azel, you’re a hit with everyone.”
“Seems that way.”
“Unlike me.”
“…Hahaha.”
Azel gave an awkward laugh at Arietta’s pouty expression.
Arietta, having Azel as a sparring partner, had wanted to cross swords with Zail as well. But Zail declined, fearing he might err with his immature skills against Her Highness.
It was the same for Boer, who’d joined later. When Azel subtly sounded them out midway, he got similar responses.
Zail felt awkward about Arietta being a woman.
“Um. Well… it’s not just that she’s royalty, which is burdensome enough, but she’s a lady, after all. Somehow….”
Boer felt much the same.
“I’ve never drawn a sword on a woman before. I want to live up to Her Highness’s expectations, but somehow….”
The Lurein Kingdom did have its female warriors. Even so, they were far fewer than the men. And knighthood carried a macho streak laced with self-indulgence, so for these two earnest young knights, matching blades with a woman felt inherently awkward.
Azel understood their stance, yet found it absurd all the same.
“What if the enemy’s a woman? There were women among those Dragon Shadow guys last time, remember?”
“Umm.”
“Th-that’s….”
Azel inwardly clicked his tongue as Zail and Boer floundered.
‘Good grief. After 220 years, things have come to this?’
During the Dragon Demon War, plenty of women had fought among the enemy ranks. Dragon Demons wielded overwhelming power regardless of gender.
Not only that, but human women in the Dragon Demon King’s forces abounded too. They’d taken in those oppressed in human society, training those with magical talent into combatants. Magic aptitude knew no gender, so encountering powerful female mages as foes was commonplace.
As such, Azel had never found it awkward to clash full-force with women. But the knights of this era were different.
‘These guys are a problem. I need to do something about it.’
Hesitating against Regina because she was a woman would mean instant death. He needed to condition them to fight women without unease first.
Azel made a request of Arietta.
“…For that reason, Your Highness, please give the order.”
“You’re turning me into the villainess?”
“A noble sacrifice.”
“With such slick packaging, you’re definitely a bad man.”
“Busted.”
Arietta snorted derisively but went along with Azel’s proposal. From that day on, Zail and Boer were compelled to face Arietta in spars, only to be thoroughly crushed.
At first, they went along reluctantly, fretting over the risk of harming her. But Arietta scoffed, overpowered them both, and declared.
“You two are utterly arrogant. Even the renowned royal knights give me their all without underestimating my skill—how can young, green lads like you be so brazen?”
This shamed them and sparked their pride. They acknowledged her skill, but losing to a seventeen-year-old girl stung all the same.
From then on, they faced Arietta in earnest. Being spars, Arietta refrained from brute-forcing with Dragon Spirit Arts, allowing them all substantial practice.
The trouble cropped up the following night.
3
‘Hm?’
In the dead of night, Azel opened his eyes.
The group had set out aiming to overnight in a village beyond the mountains, but a minor mishap en route delayed them, forcing them to camp short of the pass. That mishap had been encountering another group fleeing beasts, whose carriage axle snapped.
After dispatching the pursuing beasts with ease, the group escorted them back to the village they’d departed from amid thanks. The delay had saddled them with the unwanted campout.
“…Sir Azel?”
Boer, standing watch, eyed him curiously. Azel pressed a finger to his lips, signaling silence.
Even with a dedicated watch, Azel never fully dropped his guard. With someone clearly surveilling them, complacency was out of the question.
Laying down an alert network—one that reacted to set conditions even in sleep—might seem the province of mages alone, but it was a ‘technique’ Spirit Order practitioners could manage too. At least in Azel’s era, it had been formalized as such and passed down.
Something had snagged in that network.
‘This evil aura… a black mage?’
He sensed a stealthy, clammy dark energy.
The aura was masked by magic. He could tell effort had gone into concealing the presence.
But Azel’s absolute sense—honed under the one-armed swordsman Barf—keenly picked up the faint, lingering afterscent leaking from one who’d meticulously hidden their own energy.
‘And this ground tremor….’
Azel touched the earth and focused his mind. Through its faint vibrations, he detected a band of foes maneuvering just a few hundred meters distant.
‘But no group mind. Looks like the real deal’s shown up.’
Even Spirit Order practitioners might overlook the subtle tremors ordinary folk would never notice. Yet Azel inferred the enemies’ presence from them. The lack of detectable group mind, even with senses extended, meant magic was at play.
This was no Dragon Shadow mage like the one who’d charged beasts into Ballan Forest. A powerful mage steeped in the common knowledge of the Dragon Demon War had come here.
Azel roused the group at once.
-Everyone, wake up. No noise—keep lying there, pretend to sleep.
He didn’t speak aloud. Whispering conveyed his intent, while subtle psychic waves nudged their senses to naturally open their eyes.
The cumbersome method had a simple reason.
Gazes upon them. Not just one or two. The enemy was undoubtedly watching from within line of sight.
‘Regina’s here, that woman.’
Azel never forgot the presence of someone he’d sensed once before. Especially if they wielded mana.
‘And Kirion.’
Kirion’s presence pulsed from underground. No doubt he’d ambush using his signature earth-swimming magic the instant the enemy attacked.
‘But how are they hiding their Dragon Demonic Force?’
He’d detected them via faint stray psychic and mana waves. Yet the Dragon Demonic Force inherent to Dragon Demon Hybrids was absent. As before, it was concealed so thoroughly it fooled not just Arietta, but Azel’s senses too.
‘They didn’t strike me as that capable… Did they develop a new method while I slept?’
Dragon Demon Worshippers were treated as existences fit only to die socially, so it wouldn’t be odd if they’d advanced techniques for hiding themselves. And 220 years was ample time for it, wasn’t it?
Azel had already encountered technologies developed in his slumber via Zail and Boer. Zail’s mind-body separation defense technique was one example.
‘Hmm….’
As he pondered, a question came from Arietta, now awake.
-What’s going on?