Eyes of the Past
“And that’s when he was counterattacked.”
The traces stretching from underground looked as though they had been made by plant roots or vines. The faint drag marks and holes left on the ground were textbook examples, and it was clear they had wrapped around Kainaknus himself. There were also partial human footprints that seemed to have retreated from him.
“They captured Kainaknus after he transformed into his dragon form.”
I couldn’t be certain of Kainaknus’s strength in dragon form, but even if only half the legends about him were true, the Ante-Ramibedelgus I had summoned to protect Granbipra wouldn’t have bought him any time at all. And that was assuming perfect control.
“Do you have any idea what they summoned to make that possible?”
Elena and Cliven both shook their heads. If the two people who surely knew Kainaknus’s combat ability far better than I did couldn’t even hazard a guess, then whatever it was couldn’t be an ordinary plant. Whether it was a summoning or a spell, it had to be extraordinarily powerful.
“The new arrival seems to have walked in from over there.”
As Cliven said, distinct black footprints remained on the ground. They looked scorched, yet they weren’t actual soot.
“……”
I could hardly believe my eyes. This was the trace of an immensely powerful magical energy—strong and vast enough to be seen on high-ranking demons.
“A high-ranking demon…”
No demon would ever expend magical energy or cast a spell just to leave footprints. This had to be an incidental result. If so, then ordinary low- or mid-ranking demons that could be summoned wouldn’t leave traces this strong. Especially not when Kainaknus had been defeated.
“How on earth…?”
Unlike low-ranking demons or the occasionally capricious mid-ranking ones, high-ranking demons never answered a summoner’s call. They considered the very act of linking their soul to a summoner’s an insult. Even the brilliant summoner who first ushered in the age of the Dark Priests had never been able to command a high-ranking demon.
Yet the people trying to return to the Dark Priests had summoned one?
“…Have you examined the traces enough?”
They didn’t immediately understand my question, but after a moment they nodded. I reached out and summoned a black sigil from the earth. Soon, black liquid welled up from the ground, forming a pool.
“Anak?”
“What…!”
While Cliven and Geil looked flustered, Elena watched my actions with relative composure. I gave her a slight bow in thanks for her trust, and soon Puppet Crows emerged from the black pool—all of them that I could summon.
“……!”
While Geil and Cliven grimaced at the crows’ appearance, surprise filled Elena’s eyes.
“Are those real Puppet Crows? I heard only the most skilled witches could create them… How…?”
“I had occasion to face witches. They’re a kind of trophy.”
“Puppet Crows! You mean the real ones?”
Cliven’s eyes sparkled at last, but Geil, not understanding their significance, only showed his worry for his master Kainaknus, suspicion still heavy in his gaze.
“‘The Witches’ Eyes’! They can see the past, can’t they!”
At Cliven’s cry, Geil’s eyes finally lit up. He seemed to have realized what I intended to do.
“I’m going to try.”
The Puppet Crows, created by witches in imitation of the gods’ sacred crow Mugin, could peer into fragments of the past through their eyes. Although they couldn’t view a precise time period at will, special events left strong impressions on time, and the crows could see the surrounding periods far more easily.
Through soul synchronization, the crows’ vision connected to mine, and magical energy filled their eyes. The flow of time mixed and overlapped, and multiple time periods lingered at once. I closed my eyes.
Everything I now saw belonged entirely to the past; the present no longer existed. Scenes of withered grass turning the land into wasteland, fields of blooming flowers, and crimson autumn leaves overlapped. I severed those visions as well.
The remaining visions at least looked similar to one another. Even so, none of them showed yesterday’s battle or the time around it.
“…Not this time either.”
I withdrew the magical energy from the Puppet Crows’ eyes and called up the past once more. This time a battle appeared before me, but it was an old war fought in this area between tribesmen and knights. I cut that vision away and discarded others showing great floods or different seasons.
Finally, I caught sight of the trace I had been looking for. The marks of battle looked exactly as they had moments ago. I sent the other crows away and focused on that single vision, pouring magical energy into it to shift the time period little by little.
It was extremely delicate work. Even skilled witches struggled to view a desired past through the crows, and only those born with the talent of a prophet and possessing immense magical power had ever succeeded, and only temporarily.
The reason I was managing even partial success now was because the event had occurred only the day before and had left an exceptionally strong impression.
At last I saw the scene I wanted. Kainaknus, in dragon form, was entangled in countless tree roots. In front of him stood a terrified skeleton-like man, and a surge of intense magical energy struck Kainaknus.
“……”
I tried to shift the time period further, but the past scenes only scattered. The spell broke, and the vision returned to the present, showing Elena, Cliven, Geil, and me with my eyes closed.
I severed the soul synchronization. I could try again, but I needed time for my mana to recover.
“Did you find anything?”
At Geil’s desperate question, I gave a small nod.
“I saw part of it. A powerful surge of magical energy struck the captured Kainaknus.”
“Was Master all right?”
“…I can’t be certain, but it didn’t look fatal. Considering he was in dragon form, it seemed strong enough to knock him unconscious.”
I had seen more than enough of demons’ magical attacks. If there wasn’t much difference from what I had experienced, he should be able to endure that much.
“What about the enemy?”
“I saw a skeleton-like man, but I couldn’t see who was actually moving the roots or the magical energy.”
At the mention of the skeleton-like man, I noticed Cliven’s eyes waver for an instant. Elena’s did the same.
“Does something come to mind?”
“…No. It’s nothing special. Just a rumor I heard while traveling—that a gaunt, unpleasant man who looks like a skeleton lives in a mountain cave.”
Well, the story itself was a common rumor. Tales of giant monsters living in mountain caves or witches holding festivals had existed even before the Great War. And of course, most of them were just idle gossip. In the end, they turned out to be nothing more than goblin packs or other ordinary monsters.
“Can you see more clearly with the Puppet Crows?”
“I can try, but judging from the remaining traces, even if we’re lucky enough to see anything, we probably won’t gain more information beyond the high-ranking demon’s appearance or the teleportation scene itself.”
Of course, even that would be important. We could confirm whether Kainaknus was still alive when the teleportation circle activated and what the demon looked like. But obtaining that information would require not only mana and effort, but also a great deal of time and luck.
“Well, that’s all I have to say.”
At my gesture, Elena drew her sword from her robes and pressed it to Cliven’s neck. There was no longer any reason to hesitate. The moment my words ended, relief flashed across his eyes, and Elena had seen it clearly as well.
“A-Anak, Elena, what is this…!”
Cliven acted flustered at the sudden sword at his throat, but the naked dismay in his eyes proved everything.
“Stop acting, Cliven. You just told us you’re the spy.”
Elena’s voice had turned surprisingly cold. It was an intellectual tone that seemed to hold no emotion at all, let alone anger—the same voice I had once heard from elves.
“Cliven, you betrayed us!”
In contrast, Geil’s fury was plain, as though he might lunge at him at any moment. I raised a hand to keep distance between them.
“Now then, why don’t you tell us the truth?”
“I-I don’t know anything…!”
When Cliven raised his voice, Elena’s hand moved a little closer, and drops of blood began to trickle down the blade.
“Tell us everything, Cliven.”
Elena’s cold voice sent a chill down even my spine, but Cliven only trembled slightly and showed no sign of speaking.
“You both know that even if you kill me, you won’t learn anything, don’t you?”
At Cliven’s words, Elena’s expression hardened for a moment. Seeing that, a faint smile appeared on Cliven’s face. It was typical—so typical it was almost laughable.
“I see. So that’s how you’re going to play it. You think you have leverage, is that it?”
The information he held was valuable. And we wanted that information. Therefore, we couldn’t kill him. In other words, as long as he didn’t talk, he would never die.
At first glance it sounded correct, and it was certainly logical. That was why countless torture methods had been invented throughout history, and why the tales of those who endured them were passed down like legends.
“If you release me, I’ll promise Kainaknus’s safety.”
“Shut your mouth right now…!”
“Geil, summon Duran. And your other summons as well.”
Geil, who had been about to charge at Cliven, looked at me in confusion at my sudden words. If only he would just do as he was told for once.
“Summon them.”
“Ah, understood.”
At Elena’s words, Geil soon called forth Duran along with a griffon and several spirits.
“Good. I don’t know why you’re not even trying to run when you believe we can’t kill you, but caution is still important.”
At my words, Geil and Elena finally understood my intent, and Cliven’s face twisted. From his expression, it seemed he had only just realized it himself.
“Wait just a moment. Until I recover my mana.”