Chapter 113
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Fog (2)
It was nothing but a dark space.
Not a single ray of light seemed to seep in, yet strangely, shadowy silhouettes were clearly visible.
A space shrouded in what felt like an endless black curtain. From afar, it resembled a massive swamp of darkness that had swallowed the earth whole.
However, the beings present there were not the sort to be constrained by such an environment.
"...We lost him."
Ard, his entire body covered in thick white fur, uttered the words with great difficulty.
There was no reply, and that silence pierced him even deeper.
He bowed his head lower.
"It seems... those bastards got involved."
[It's all just speculation.]
"It's just an excuse at this point, but I never imagined we'd end up dying so helplessly. Bringing in a mere 7th-circle mage... It was my mistake to take it so lightly."
At that moment, a frivolous voice rang out from elsewhere, distinct from the cold tone of "That One."
"Tsk tsk. If you were going to start something like that, you should've been prepared for the consequences."
"... ."
Ard could offer no rebuttal.
The frivolous voice grew even more excited.
"Ever since you created that essence, it feels like you've been stumbling around uselessly."
"...And what have you done? What exactly?"
"I'm faithfully carrying out the Lord's orders. At least I'm not messing things up by charging ahead like you. You took on too much for your own good from the start."
"Are you questioning the Lord's judgment?"
Ard's voice dropped low, but the owner of the frivolous tone just chuckled.
"Let's not bring out that ultimate trump card. It's not doing you any favors."
Strictly speaking, failing a task assigned by the Lord implied some responsibility on the Lord's part for delegating it.
But no one dared voice such a thought.
Ard ground his teeth and fell silent.
The voice that had been chuckling softly at him soon turned into overt mockery.
The source of that laughter was Asma.
The fifth apostle of "Clifort," known as "That One," and a descendant of the ancient Palamat race with a cruel disposition.
All his kin had met their ends in the endless prison, but Asma alone had survived to this day thanks to Clifort's salvation.
In contrast, Ard was the eighth apostle, joining later than Asma, yet he had quickly earned thick trust with his unique and ingenious thinking.
'Well, that was hundreds of years ago.'
Asma didn't particularly dislike Ard, but watching his repeated failures lately brought a strange sense of pleasure.
Some might call it base satisfaction, but for Asma, such feelings came without a shred of guilt.
To him, others' downfall was simply a form of entertainment.
And Ard had long regarded Asma with eyes of disgust.
A man who couldn't hide his emotions, who reveled in mockery, and wrapped it all up as instinct.
He surely would have done the same now if not for the Lord's presence.
That made it all the more enjoyable.
Above all, at this moment, Ard's plan had crumbled, while his own was proceeding perfectly.
[Asma.]
"Yes, Lord."
The Lord ignored Ard.
The meaning was clear.
The final warning.
[Execute it.]
"...Yes!"
Asma's eyes gleamed. He replied with ecstatic fervor.
His time had finally come. The chance for him, who had lost his name at the bottom of the abyss for so long, to etch it upon the world...
And when all cried out for god and died helplessly in the abyss, it would prove that he alone, who had chosen evil, was right.
***
"This is all your fault. Wasting strength in pointless places... Damn it."
Merin shook her head dismissively, too weary to even respond to the bald man's irritation.
But the bald man showed no sign of stopping. His voice only grew louder.
"In the end, we didn't even touch the people around that guy. We should've just done our own jobs."
"That's just hindsight, you idiot."
Maron stepped between them, trying to mediate.
"They might be plotting something else on that scale. Don't be so pessimistic. This was just the beginning. And in the midst of it, a likely hero candidate fell right into our lap—that's a good start."
"It's not good. Not good at all! If it were a real hero, fine, but... The transcendents we gathered are disappointed now, and that's a bigger loss. It's damaging the value of the covenant itself. At this point, we need to go all out without mercy."
Another transcendent replied listlessly.
"Weren't we about to do that this time? The plan just fell apart."
"That's why we need to be bolder. Recruit talent more openly, expand our forces without hesitation. No more tiptoeing around. If we keep hesitating, we'll really get swallowed up."
They knew it too. Their hesitation so far was because acting like this violated the covenant itself.
A group that had to fight its own contradictions.
They knew it best, and that contradiction had strangled the faction from the start.
Yet human transcendents—and humanity itself—had survived in this vast world thanks to the legacy of the ancient hero: the covenant.
Without the covenant, how could frail humans endure on this expansive continent?
The covenant was the power that enforced it.
"Hm... Maybe it's an unstoppable current throwing the world into chaos."
"Don't dress up your incompetence."
The bald transcendent glared fiercely at the ever-calm Maron in this situation, then sighed deeply.
"Something worth considering is that the elves knew about our ambush in advance. And their response was weirdly half-hearted. If they hadn't held back, we wouldn't be here now."
"They know it too. That wiping us out would set them on an irreversible path. Their enemies aren't just us. Same for them."
Forces of evil.
The name flashed clearly in the bald transcendent's mind.
"...Could be. The elves see them as the bigger threat."
"Then the reason they let us live..."
"To fight the forces of evil for them."
At that moment, the silent Joat spoke up.
"Don't pin it all on the forces of evil."
"What do you mean?"
"We've been too caught up in the elves' affairs and forgotten, but this chaotic current isn't limited to elves, us, or the forces of evil."
"Another faction..."
"You knew, didn't you?"
With those words, several forgotten incidents flashed through their minds.
The powerful transcendent who slew Dragon Rank Philip Deran.
And Cedric, who killed the troublesome fairy transcendent Parthan.
Those subtly entangled in this current.
"Maron's not wrong. It won't be easy to resist that flow."
***
I'd once thought about exploring the fog-shrouded area at least once.
I had no idea how vast it was, and I'd always put it off due to lack of time.
But upon discovering the primordial rune, the fog receded on its own.
Was this the way?
If so, then every time I found another primordial rune, the rest of the fog would lift too.
And I stood there, momentarily lost, at the sight revealed as the fog cleared.
"...Huh."
A bewildered groan escaped me.
The field where the fog had lifted was studded with countless tombstones.
All those tombstones I'd been searching for... this many?
The entire field looked like a graveyard.
But up close, I couldn't help feeling disappointed.
They weren't preparations for a successor. They were tombstones from the past.
Probably messages meant for past heroes.
No—oracle fit better.
That was the only way to describe the content.
- Only by walking that path will a new sun rise.
- The time has come. Do not look back. Duty lies ahead.
Maybe because I was skimming them sporadically. Grasping the exact meaning was hard.
But from the context, they seemed like instructions to the hero. Or oracles given to the hero's followers.
Actually, commands disguised as oracles.
Still, it wasn't all orders.
There were plenty mentioning preparations made for the hero.
Provisions for the ancient hero, no doubt.
'Is there any point going now?'
The ancient hero must have already claimed some.
When I had the chance, it might be worth checking.
Not now, though—time was short.
And I slowly made my way to the edge of the field.
Amid the tombstones set at regular intervals, one stood out oddly isolated.
Truth be told, it had caught my eye from the start.
Pushing primal mana forward revealed the hidden inscription.
- Successor, if you've found this, it means you've discovered a primordial rune.
"...As expected."
It felt strange that it was so separated, but it was left for me.
- At last, you have crossed the threshold of truth.
- Intrigued, are you?
'Hm...'
It... didn't feel much like an oracle.
Compared to the others I'd seen, the tone was starkly different. Like a casual private conversation...
For the first time, it felt like actual "dialogue."