Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: The Lich's Final Moments
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The lich, Leozak Valhard, reflected on his life amidst the cascading light.
As the pain of his body disintegrating spread, a final panorama of his life flashed before him, just as his existence was gradually fading from this world.
'This is why I hate geniuses. The difference is just too vast.'
He had hated geniuses since he was a child.
Leozak had an older brother, just one year his senior, whom his parents always held up as a standard for comparison.
Unlike himself, who lagged a step behind in everything, watching his brother who always surged ahead inevitably planted a deep-rooted sense of inferiority within him.
While his brother always shone brilliantly with talent, he was stuck in that shadow, forever chasing from behind.
At first, he recognized the gap and tried countless times to bridge it with effort. He believed that innate talent could be compensated for with acquired hard work.
But,
'What have I accomplished all this time...'
The world is unfair, and most things don't work out that way. When the untalented strive, the genius doesn't just stand still.
'...I just wanted to become a splendid mage like my brother.'
It was a belated regret.
Leozak superimposed Astal and his own brother in his mind. If he had possessed something called talent, perhaps he could have lived without envying others.
No, that likely would have been impossible.
Medicore talent is more like a curse, burying a person in false hopes.
Leozak's brother had an innate gift for earth-attribute magic. He possessed such tremendous talent that he could turn pebbles lying in the street into gold dust.
Seeing his brother, Leozak thought he must have such talent too. Since bloodline plays a significant role in magic, there existed prestigious families famous for their hereditary magic arts.
But, truly unfortunately, Leozak's talent for magic amounted to no more than an ant's fingernail.
How much time passed like that?
"I will follow my brother and go to the Gold Magic Tower, Mother, Father."
Though his mind understood that no amount of effort would make him equal, he may have clung to an unreasonable stubbornness.
Perhaps he couldn't shake the thought that some incredible talent lay hidden within him too.
Following his brother, Leozak entered the Gold Magic Tower and made relentless efforts to become a great mage just like him, but...
"Leozak, it's unfortunate to say, but you've failed again this time. At this level, you cannot keep up with our tower's teachings."
The responses he received were only words of disappointing betrayal. The opposite reaction of his brother, who was even being discussed as the next Gold Tower Master.
"Master, please... let me become a mage."
With a desperation greater than anyone's, Leozak knelt and begged. He had given up too much to choose this path.
To earn the registration fee, he risked his life collecting monster materials to sell, and the knowledge he had already studied and learned to become a mage felt too precious to waste.
"I'll give you more money if needed. I'm sick and tired of being treated as lesser than my brother."
Since the Gold Magic Tower was uniquely known for a culture that judged a person's value by converting it into gold coins, he could substitute his worth with money.
"Hmm... In that case, I'll give you a little more leeway. But this is merely a temporary measure. If the Gold Tower Master finds out, he will surely expel you from the tower."
Leozak slipped a few silver coins to the mage he served as his master, barely managing to avoid expulsion and eke out an existence within the tower.
His parents' expectations that he, too, would be a genius like his brother.
The effort and experience he had accumulated until now.
Finally, even the encouragement from his talented brother.
Leozak was a desperate man who could not afford to fail.
If he were cast out here and couldn't become a mage, nothing would remain for him. All his time, effort, and money would have been wasted.
But then, a single anomaly occurred even in that precarious tightrope walk.
"Leozak Valhard. Did you truly think you could deceive my eyes? You have quite the nerve. Daring to attempt to bribe the mages of the Gold Tower."
The Gold Tower Master at the time had noticed Leozak's stagnation.
"B-but... According to the Gold Tower's rules, one can substitute their value with gold coins..."
"That was meant to elevate one's personal worth, not to bribe others with mere money."
Leozak had interpreted that saying as accepting valuables to smooth over disagreements, but in reality, it was quite the opposite.
"So if I were just good at magic, this would all be solved, right?"
Clenching his teeth hard, Leozak harbored malice for the first time.
Resentful that the world didn't acknowledge his efforts, and hating the fact that he had to accept that reality.
He began studying forbidden magic.
The kind known among tower mages as 'inverse heaven' magic, absolutely forbidden to research.
Magic that reverses time,
Magic that resurrects the dead,
Magic that alters the principles of the world—these were it.
To approach such magic, one ultimately had to deal with demons, becoming a dark mage by pawning one's soul.
This was entirely different from the dark magic advocated by the Black Magic Tower. They merely shared the same name, different from those who used only their own life force as collateral and swore oaths to mana.
"I will become a mage so strong that no one can ever laugh at me again."
Needing to prove himself quickly, the impatient Leozak had no choice but to rely on shortcuts and luck.
Even knowing that achievements not gained through the proper path lead to a more painful fall, he had no other way.
"Leozak, your progress lately seems to increase daily. At this rate, you might truly be able to challenge your brother's fame."
"Amazing! Forgive me for not recognizing your potential before!"
At first, he was overjoyed as his mana capacity grew day by day, and each word of praise from those around him felt wonderful.
Even though he had become a dark mage who stole others' life force to use, building achievements through forbidden knowledge and methods.
But,
"Valhard. You've failed to surpass your brother again! What on earth have you been doing that your mana is so impure and turbid?"
"Leozak. You're not... killing people, are you? Rumors are circulating lately about children disappearing from orphanages."
Even after using all such means and doing his utmost, he couldn't defeat his genius brother. He couldn't escape his shadow.
He had tried grinding up abandoned children from orphanages into fragments of life force, using them to strive to become the strongest mage, yet he still failed.
"For someone with no talent in magic to suddenly grow powerful is too strange. Therefore, investigating you should be fine, right?"
His brother, who was being discussed as the next Gold Tower Master, grew suspicious that he was involved in something sinister.
"It's not me! You must be confusing me with someone else!"
"I am a person being considered for the position of next Gold Tower Master. Even if you are my brother, I cannot cover up such evil deeds."
"I said it's not me...!"
In the end, he killed his brother, who was closing the investigative net. It appeared to be an accident caused by a misfired mana blast from the tip of his long-used staff, but...
"Guhak...!"
"Brother, brother...!! Snap out of it!"
In truth, it was the doing of the demon to whom Leozak had pledged his soul. At the time, unaware of such a hidden hand, he fell into despair.
His sibling, called an unparalleled genius, died so meaninglessly, a hole blasted straight through his chest by a single spell.
"So even a brother called a genius is no match for dark magic."
Was it from then?
Feeling a chilling thrill, Leozak grew curious about what lay at the end of the magic he pursued.
Thus, he poisoned the previous Pope, accessed the forbidden archives to delve deeper into taboo magical knowledge, and
even transformed his body into a lich. He thought the combination of holy magic and dark magic he achieved was the pinnacle of magic, but...
'Was I wrong...?'
The combined magic Astal and Victoria had just shown was more aligned with his ideal.
This is why he hated geniuses. Because they were beings who rendered his efforts futile, no matter how hard he tried.
Leozak exhaled his last breath. Though he was already a bare skeleton with no lungs or heart, the sensation of life ending surged through his entire being.
"...Tell me your name one last time. Genius mage."
Since Astal possessed everything Leozak had desired in life, he wanted to at least hear his name before the end.
"Astal Kaisaros."
"A name from a family famous for magic. Then you must have had the abundant support of your household since childhood..."
"...No. My mother eloped with my father, who was a butler, so we lived poorly in the countryside."
Astal spoke candidly. He clearly possessed talent and skill comparable to a genius, but he utterly despised being called by such a title.
"...This is the first time I believe I've heard you speak of your parents."
Beside him, Victoria spoke with an air of surprise. He was someone who normally never spoke of his past.
"It's not exactly a pleasant story."
Watching Leozak vanish, Astal lit a cigarette made from magic leaves. Though they had lived opposite lives, the pinnacle of magic they ultimately reached was similar.
"If you are reborn as a human in your next life, don't rely on luck like this; strive until you die. Then someday, you might meet someone who recognizes you."
The difference was that Leozak chose to be alone,
"...Are you speaking of someone like me?"
"Perhaps."
while Astal chose a life with his comrades.
"This Victoria is very pleased that our stoic boyfriend seems to have finally become a little more honest."
Victoria smiled, wiggling her fingers intertwined with Astal's, feeling his warmth.
"...That side of you is always the problem."
Looking at her, Astal bit his lip slightly and spoke. Her changed attitude was thumping against his heart.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Watching Leozak turn to ash and vanish, I couldn't help but feel it wasn't so different.
Had I lacked a master or comrades, I too might have chosen the path of a dark mage and gone astray.
"One last thing... I shall tell you something good. Astal Kaisaros."
Just before delivering the final blow, my fist stopped right before his face.
"There is no fundamental solution for the side effects of the Saint's Miracle."
Leozak pointed inside the forbidden archives with his remaining arm. Hearing his words, I froze momentarily.
"Then... there really is a way to save Victoria..."
"Hear me out till the end. The side effects of the Saint's Miracle exist because it follows the rules by which the gods manage causality."
Leozak spoke, emphasizing words like 'rules' and 'fundamental,' as if giving me a final hint.
"Someone as clever as you should be able to figure out a way."
"...Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?"
Seeing the lich's attitude, I couldn't shake a sense of suspicion. Weren't we enemies trying to kill each other just moments ago?
I couldn't fully trust the words of such an opponent.
"Because you are the one who showed me, even if just a little, the end of magic I had imagined."
Leozak spoke in a calm voice, a sense of peace even emanating from his face, as if superimposing someone he missed.
"...What is that?"
"Telling you outright would be no fun. Just as the gods have their secrets, we humans should also have things we keep secret until the very end, shouldn't we?"
Leozak then laughed, clacking his jawbone. Now, most of his form had vanished, with only a faint outline remaining.
"I pray we do not meet again under unfortunate circumstances in the next life."
Victoria, even to such a Leozak, knelt, closed her eyes, and offered a respectful prayer.
"A joyous thing indeed. To receive solace from both a Saint and a mage."
Fsssh...
Immediately after, ashes scattered in the wind, and the mage named Leozak vanished from this world without leaving even a trace of his lich existence.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ How much time passed after the incident was settled?
"Lord Astal, I've thought this for a while—isn't your smoking and excessive drinking caused by stress...?"
Victoria stared intently as I smoked a cigarette made from magic leaves. Normally, she would have long since turned the tobacco leaves into flowers.
Something was different from usual. She looked at me with honey-dripping eyes, fidgeting as if she had something to say.
"......?"
"Th-that is to say. If you find a wholesome way to relieve stress, you might be able to stay away from cigarettes and alcohol."
- I saw it in a dubious book, but this is also common sense!
Victoria raised her voice, perhaps embarrassed. Her ears were red as strawberries.
"How about... whenever you feel stressed, you massage the chest of your lover, me? I may look like this, but I have confidence in both size and softness..."
- Th-this way, I can make it a fait accompli, right...? I've never allowed anyone else's touch, but... if it's Lord Astal...
Victoria stammered as she barely managed to speak.
Even knowing Wilhelm was listening nearby, she was making an outrageous statement that a Saint would never normally make.
"I think it's better if I vacate the premises! Brother, I'll be waiting upstairs!"
"...I'm not that kind of person!! I said I won't touch!!"
Seeing Wilhelm salute me and immediately prepare to head upstairs, I thought I'd rather bite my tongue and die.
It wasn't a wholesome method from the start; it was an unwholesome one.