Chapter 13
"Don't come any closer!"
"Damanein forced his master Togal to drink a poison mixed with annihilation flower and the venom of a spiral bee. After all, he was the one serving the tea."
I opened my mouth to speak. Every shaman and prophet in the room focused intently on my words.
"Togal collapsed to the ground, paralyzed by the spiral bee venom, and suffered agony from the annihilation flower's effects. Damanein demanded that his master hand over the spirit he had contracted with, threatening that if he refused, he'd let him die in torment without the antidote."
Damanein shuddered at my words and swung his hand wildly.
"S-stop! Shut up! Just shut up!"
But I had no intention of stopping.
"Unable to endure the pain any longer, Togal transferred the contract. A high-level spirit of the mind type—one that can read people's thoughts and emotions within the Trial Flame—thus fell into Damanein's hands. But Damanein broke his promise, abandoning his master to die and walking away. The next day, Togal was found as a corpse."
"I told you to shut up!"
There was no more mystery or dignity left in him. Damanein tried to summon his spirit to attack me, but the other prophets and shamans watching wouldn't just stand by. In an instant, shadows bound him, slamming him to the ground.
I looked down at him with pity. The power to foresee the future and reveal people's fates was immense. That's why Mom had always warned me never to abuse it, to exercise endless caution. And unfortunately, the sorcerer and prophet before me had violated that principle.
"He tortured the spirit with silver needles, forcing it to speak lies. The Trial Flame lost its impartiality and began answering as Grand Sorcerer Damanein desired. As a result, several dark elf families suffered losses: Juon. Beru. Dania. Kilga."
I gazed into the crowd, naming them one by one. Some dark elves' expressions turned grim. A few even drew swords and throwing spears.
"They had no choice but to swallow their suspicions and resentment, unable to challenge the authority and dignity of the Grand Sorcerer and the Trial Flame. And that's just the families—countless individuals suffered even more. One man's greed tainted a symbol of trust in Kaien, rare even alongside our blood oaths."
I approached the Trial Flame and thrust my hand into it.
"Is what I said false?"
The flames roared, burning pure white. I quietly withdrew my hand and showed it to everyone.
And that was enough.
"Damanein!"
Furious dark elves surged onto the platform. The subdued Damanein was immediately seized. The cloth covering his face was torn away, revealing his pale, trembling visage to all.
"S-spare me! Please! My family! Yes! I did it for my family! I demand a formal trial! I'm not the real culprit! Chief! It was the house lord's orders! I'm innocent! This is unfair!"
No one pitied his screams. Shamans and prophets approached him.
"For lesser crimes, that would be the procedure. But manipulating the Trial Flame and murdering your master is on another level. You don't even qualify for a trial, Damanein."
The shamans stepped aside, clearing a straight path between the Trial Flame and Damanein.
"He must face punishment fitting his crimes. No trial needed. Throw Damanein into the Trial Flame."
Damanein's face twisted like a demon's.
"No! Please! Not that! Just kill me instead! Let me die honorably!"
But no one listened. Damanein was dragged forward by his limbs to the flames.
I turned my head away and covered my ears.
"Nooo!"
Damanein was hurled into the fire. In an instant, the Trial Flame turned black, consuming his body. His agonized screams and writhing silhouette flashed before the crowd for a moment before vanishing.
The smell of burning flesh. A bit of ash. That was all Grand Sorcerer Damanein left behind.
Now, all eyes turned to the last remaining Grand Sorcerer. No one spoke. It would have been better if they'd screamed or shouted. A terrifying silence filled the chamber.
I slowly turned to her. I began closing the distance step by step. The Grand Sorcerer staggered backward.
"Your talismans and jewels were useless. They couldn't block my ability."
"D-don't come closer."
"I know you protected your minds and souls with your highest spells and spirit arts, believing I couldn't see your pasts or futures. That was your mistake. You should never have come into my sight to begin with."
I was just walking. But the Grand Sorcerer trembled as if a monster were charging at her, retreating frantically.
I slowly raised a finger, pointing at her.
"Rodomein."
Her name was called. Her body shook.
"Hard Rock Tribe."
Each word made her tremble harder. Soon, she collapsed to the floor, crawling away desperately.
"D-don't say it! Stay back!"
"Daughter of Nolra."
"N-no! Don't! Stop!"
"Granddaughter of Juina."
"St-stop! Stop it! Enough!"
"Disciple of Grand Sorcerer Talrok."
There was nowhere left to flee.
"Don't come any closer!"
I gazed down at her, sprawled and shivering on the floor, then turned away.
"You didn't use any foul methods to rise to your position. It was pure skill. But your one mistake was willfully ignoring the corruption and misdeeds of the other Grand Sorcerers all this time."
"Ah...... Aaaah."
Rodomein made strange noises. Terrified beyond measure, a yellow stain spread from her lower body.
"You knew of Podala's fraud but turned a blind eye. Even when Damanein helped her—a woman with no real shamanic power—pretend to be one. And when the two families carved up massive profits between them. You closed your eyes."
I leaned down toward the dark elf woman, trembling in terror, unable even to look up at me. She wouldn't fear a Betua tree monster this much.
"You knew Grand Sorcerer Togal had been murdered. You knew the spirit bound by silver needles wailed in the basement of Damanein's house. You knew countless dark elves suffered at the hands of those two shamans. Yet you just closed your eyes and pretended not to know. That was your only sin."
Rodomein said nothing. She was silent, as if her soul had fled.
I stood up. And shouted to the watching dark elves.
"I have spoken no lies! Not from the moment I entered this place until now! Not a single one!"
With that, I thrust my hand into the Trial Flame once more. It blazed with white light. I withdrew my unscathed hand from the same flames that had just incinerated Damanein and showed it to all.
And that was the end.
I descended the platform without a word.
Astoundment. Fear. Awe. And...... worship.
Amid those varied gazes, I returned to my three stunned escort knights and Cornac the guild master.
"Let's head back to the inn."
I forced a smile. But my limbs trembled uncontrollably. I'd pushed myself to the brink, mustering strength I didn't have. Any falter in momentum would have spelled doom, so the backlash hit hard now.
I'd watched an elf burn alive before my eyes. I'd seen a person's fate change with my words. The psychological strain exceeded what my mind could handle.
Supported by the knights and guild master, I made it back to the inn. The moment I hit the bed, I passed out like I'd fainted.
For a total nerd like me, playing the great sage was pure hell.
You either fail if you can't overcome a crisis. But surpass it, and you grow stronger, more solid.
That was the case with the great sage's fame and trust.
"Rodomein, I strip you of your Grand Sorcerer title. You no longer qualify as a shaman. You are forbidden from prophesying or predicting the future. Violate this, and you cannot escape death."
Rodomein could no longer live as a shaman, losing all the fame and honor she'd built. Worse, many families and people harbored grudges against her. Her life would be miserable. No one would listen or even look her way as payback for years of turning a blind eye.
Thus, the trio of Grand Sorcerers fell.
And in the wake of their downfall, Great Sage Aiden's renown shot straight to the heavens.
"The Trial Flame proved it—the Great Sage."
"When he said he'd never lied, the flames burned white. That's truth."
"We can trust the Great Sage's words."
Aiden's inn was swarmed by dark elves. Prophets and shamans sought his counsel; tribe chiefs and family heads spared no time or money to meet him. All of Kaien buzzed with talk of the Great Sage.
"He recited the names and details of those Grand Sorcerers, decked out in talismans and jewels hiding their faces and bodies. Then he exposed their deepest, darkest secrets like reading from his palm. Podala. Damanein. And Rodomein too. You should've seen it! It was insane."
Dark elves who'd witnessed it firsthand wouldn't buy drinks at taverns for a while. Everyone else was dying to know what happened.
The Great Sage had become Kaien's hottest topic. No one doubted his eerily precise prophecies and recitations of personal histories anymore.
How much did the dark elves trust the Great Sage?
"Is the report true?"
"I swear on a blood oath—it's true. All three Grand Sorcerers were defeated. Their ugliest hidden secrets were revealed. We cross-verified multiple times and investigated his abilities thoroughly. Beyond this, he's made several other chillingly accurate prophecies."
"......I see."
It was enough to sway even the terminally paranoid queen's heart. Mirien gazed coldly at her subordinates.
Those who had sworn loyalty to her via blood oath—the only ones she could trust in this vast, treacherous palace. Yet even they couldn't identify who had done this to her body or how to heal the wound.
Her loyalists were few; those wishing her ruin were legion. Mirien closed her eyes against the sharp, mind-numbing pain from her well-hidden wound, shuddering.
"Well done. Dismissed."
Once her subordinates left, Mirien frantically shoved wads of finely ground Soul Flame medicine into her mouth. Her condition improved briefly, but soon the hellish agony would return.
And those responsible were no doubt laughing, reveling in her suffering.
"Ah........."
This was the limit. Could this 'Great Sage' summoned by her enemies be a ploy? Might he pretend to meet her only to slit her throat? Deceive her with clever words? Spot her pain and exploit it?
From childhood to now, she'd never had a single day of peace. Sickly suspicion, worry, and anxiety swirled in her mind—but the pain was worse.
And for the first time in her life, Mirien decided to trust a suspicious figure.
"Hey! Anyone there?!"
Her shout brought attendants rushing through the door.
"You called, Your Majesty?"
Mirien hesitated to the very last moment. Was this truly wise? Would showing her body to the Great Sage bring her doom?
Endless doubt and unease washed away under another throbbing surge of pain.
"Summon the Great Sage. That's an order."
"At once."
The die was cast.