Chapter 178
Chapter 178
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Revival of the Murder Ghost
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A.
So that's how it happened.
I understand perfectly.
That was Palrag's reaction upon encountering Rishir at the place he had tracked by following the trail of the stars.
Halona's reaction was the complete opposite of Palrag's.
"Why are you here..."
Even within her hollowed eyes, the scholar's gaze—sharp with intellect and keen insight—shook vulnerably.
In truth.
Halona's bewilderment had begun even before facing Rishir.
It stemmed from the warning given by the shaman who had commissioned her for this task.
- ...As I said, numerous stars' deaths have been observed there.
- Stars that shine brightly yet are unstable, like newborn lambs, dying one after another.
- Impossible for an individual.
- Even most groups couldn't manage it.
- Halona. Be careful. Whatever awaits you there will take the form of a cruel fate.
In the worst case.
Halona had anticipated a sinister group perpetrating the star massacre at the site guided by the light orb.
At least a dozen in number, by her estimate.
The maximum assumed force: beings rivaling a grand shaman or necromancer.
The location—well.
Wouldn't something like a secret underground foundation on the city's outskirts be fitting?
An ominous space where the stench of rotting corpses and filth mingled with the special incense used by shamans.
That was the scenario Halona had envisioned.
But what was this?
The light orb merely hovered around Gus Mansion.
The thought that followed.
Darkest under the lamp, indeed.
Could the culprits be conspiring right here in Gus Mansion?
In the territory held by the frozen-breath Palrag, no less?
If so, they were no ordinary foes.
They would possess the audacity and power to deceive someone of Palrag's caliber.
One suspicion led to another.
And so.
Halona's vigilance and tension had reached their peak.
"Why am I here? A profound question... Perhaps because this is my room?"
All that caution and tension crumbled in an instant.
Anyone would react the same upon seeing the young man who greeted even uninvited nighttime intruders with his usual affable, mischievous smile.
"This is your room...?"
Separately.
Halona's confusion deepened further.
She hurriedly scanned the room's interior with a bewildered expression.
Indeed, it was a room provided to the most important guests in Gus Mansion.
Expansive space filled with expertly placed luxury furniture that created a perfect sense of proportion, saturated with the aroma of fine incense.
Who could imagine such a place as the site of a star massacre?
Halona's gaze belatedly followed the light orb.
The guide that had led her here by tracing the stars' traces.
At the same time, she thought.
Perhaps the light orb would slip out through the open window.
Leading her to the 'true destination'?
"...!"
No.
Halona's eyes, tracking the light orb, fixed on Rishir.
The orb floating in the air settled directly on his shoulder.
At this point, Halona was certain.
Something was definitely wrong.
To confirm the truth, Halona tried to summon the light orb.
It was a kind of spirit and assistant passed down to her from a high shaman.
Its role, infused with shamanic and stellar power, was to obey her commands and aid her faithfully.
Come back.
Come back!
Halona commanded it.
"What is this?"
No response.
Defying Halona's order, the light orb clung to Rishir, merely piquing his curiosity.
Did it look like it was seeking affection? Was that just her imagination?
"No...!"
Halona cried out involuntarily.
The light orb was an extremely sensitive and delicate being.
It followed only spiritual powers, like stellar energy.
For such a light orb to attach itself to an ordinary person of its own accord.
Regardless of the reason—
Even that brief contact could corrupt and weaken its energy.
"Get away from it right now!"
If the light orb were tainted by something so trivial, she wouldn't be able to face its master.
Halona shouted urgently.
But was it already too late?
The light orb clinging to Rishir's shoulder began emitting an intense glow.
'Energy overload...!'
As a scholar, Halona deeply understood the nature of spirits.
The sudden surge in the light orb's energy.
It was surely a precursor to corruption.
To Halona's eyes now, the light orb resembled a human convulsing in its death throes.
She wanted to intervene, but it was beyond help.
"Ah..."
And so.
Halona could only watch helplessly as one pitiful spirit met its end.
The brilliantly shining light orb gradually faded, ultimately vanishing completely.
"How did..."
Twinkle, twinkle.
"How did this..."
Twinkle, twinkle.
"..."
Twinkle, twinkle.
"...?"
What?
Why isn't it fading?
No matter how long she waited, the light orb's glow persisted.
Then Rishir spoke.
"Huh? This guy's condition—"
"Hm! Congratulations, Halona. It seems your spirit has evolved into a being of a higher realm!"
"..."
Finally.
Halona spoke.
"...So, it was practicing descending as a guardian star?"
"Yes. I understand."
Halona said after Rishir explained the full story.
"It seems you're the cause of the observed star deaths."
"Stars died?"
"The stellar realm isn't a place you can freely enter and exit as you described. Once a star reaches the stellar realm, it remains there until it dissipates."
"Ah! So—from a third-party perspective, me going in and out of the stellar realm looks like stars rising and dying repeatedly."
Halona rubbed her eyelids with her hand.
Her already hollow eyes looked even more fatigued.
"You're self-studying astrology...?"
"Yes."
"I heard that Grand Shaman Shirain is interested in you. Why not learn from him?"
"Ah! I actually met him briefly while practicing recently and mentioned it then."
"You asked the Grand Shaman to teach you astrology?"
"Exactly."
"...What was his response?"
Halona asked with an inexplicably anxious expression.
"He seemed pleased and grateful."
Ah.
Halona let out a quiet sigh.
Right now.
The reason she was acting at a high shaman's request was none other than to curry favor and gain deeper shamanic knowledge.
Magicians were insular enough, but shamans were even more so.
That was why Halona felt the injustice.
Some groveled just for a chance at shared knowledge from a high shaman—
While others sat idly and heard 'I'm delighted to offer my knowledge!' from a Grand Shaman.
Halona suppressed her churning resentment and said.
"Then why not just learn from that Grand Shaman? Why self-study astrology so recklessly?"
Palrag nodded vigorously at Halona's question.
Creating and destroying stars casually was far too destructive for mere self-study.
"I'm curious too. Someone of Grand Shaman caliber would know the ripple effects of your actions. Yet he just watches your 'self-study'?"
The two couldn't comprehend the situation at all.
"When I asked about descending as a guardian star, he said he wouldn't know how."
The two immediately understood the situation.
"Ah..."
Had they comprehended too much in too short a time?
Halona's head began to throb.
"What kind of situation is this..."
Halona clutched her aching head, trying to sort things out.
Palrag said to her.
"What situation? It's a good one."
"What?"
"The problem you worried about is gone, and that cute spirit absorbed Rishir's energy and became even healthier. What could be better?"
"...You're fine with this?"
"Me? What do you mean?"
"Your acquaintance becoming a guardian star."
"As if I could be!"
Palrag's face hardened as he raised his voice.
"Ah. Right."
Halona felt inwardly relieved at his reaction.
He might seem nonchalant on the outside, but he was confused inside too.
Palrag was in the same state as her.
"Rishir! While we're on the topic, I need to make this clear!"
Halona panicked.
She hadn't said it hoping for a serious atmosphere.
"Palrag, wait—"
"Congratulations on becoming a guardian star!"
"?"
Halona's thoughts stalled briefly.
Congratulations on becoming a guardian star.
That otherworldly sentence disrupted her cognition.
"...We'll start as soon as dawn breaks tomorrow."
Halona said, barely restarting her thoughts.
"Start?"
"The matter with the murder ghost's body."
"Oh!"
Palrag, knowing Halona's stubborn nature, showed a surprised reaction.
"You bending your opinion! Wonders never cease!"
"Stay here longer, and I might end up like you two."
"?"
The next morning.
"Oh, Rishir. You're here?"
"Sir Dray is here too."
Rishir arrived at Palrag's office right on time for the appointment.
The two already gathered and talking welcomed him.
"Huh? Where's Miss Halona—"
"Probably at the place with the coffin, preparing the ritual ahead of time?"
As Palrag said, Halona was already at the temporary storage site for the coffin, readying the ritual.
"Halona's so enthusiastic—it's reassuring... Hm?"
The ritual's progress.
And Halona's condition.
Confirming both, Palrag tilted his head.
"Halona. Did you pull an all-nighter here?"
"Yes."
"Heh. Going this far— we're grateful, but what wind blew this way?"
"Ah! I know!"
"Oh? What is it, Dray? Tell us."
"She must have recognized Rishir's character too!"
"Aha! So that's it."
Stay here longer, and I might end up like you two.
Halona muttered softly while silently continuing her work.
She recalled the once(?) cantankerous grand magician and the calculating, fastidious grand noble.
"Is there nothing we need to help with?"
Halona had piled items on the desk serving as her workspace.
Items Rishir's group had prepared for the ritual.
Looking at the materials spread atop them (organized by Rishir), Halona said.
"Actually, on my end, everything's basically ready."
"Really?"
Rishir glanced at the blue lotus at his waist.
'Klana, did you hear!? You're one step away from reclaiming your original body!'
-Don't make a fuss.
'Exactly. The fussing should be from you in this situation—why am I the one worked up? Hurry up! Show some reaction!'
The murder ghost, maintaining a bored expression in the inner world.
She looked at Rishir with a mischievous smile.
-That excited about me getting my body back? What exactly are you anticipating?
'What else? The revival of the blind swordsman history fears to remember, the strongest swordsman unparalleled in continental history.'
- ...Suddenly, the moment I reclaim my body feels thrilling.
'Oh, really!? The body of the blind swordsman history fears to remember, the strongest swordsman unparalleled in continental history?'
-Yes. The moment that shuts your mouth.
Rishir could sense that despite her words, Klana was inwardly excited.
At that moment.
Halona, who had been forming the magic circle centered on the coffin on the floor, stood and approached Rishir.
"Ah."
Rishir immediately handed over the crow's eye.
The black orb placed atop the magic circle.
Halona said.
"Preparations are complete. But before proceeding with the ritual proper, there's something we must clarify first. Rishir."
"Please, go ahead."
"What do you want to do with that body's owner?"
"The owner herself is urging me to grope her breasts, but honestly, I'm not keen on it."
"That's not what I mean."
Halona closed her mouth and pondered.
"Well. Better to see for yourself than explain."
"That's ominously intriguing. Should I be worried?"
"Don't worry about that. If it's not to your liking, we can cancel the ritual anytime."
She gestured toward the crow's eye.
"If you're ready. Inject that murder ghost's spirit? Ego? Whatever it is into the crow's eye."
"Klana, you heard that?"
"Yes."
The girl with short indigo hair.
The murder ghost's spirit had already manifested before them.
Before reaching out to the crow's eye, she looked at Rishir and flashed her signature aloof smile.
"A word of warning. Steel yourself before entering the barrier. Who knows? The deranged murder ghost might suddenly change her mind."
Without waiting for a reply, the murder ghost injected her ego into the shaman's treasure.
Now, she was gone from there.
"Once inside the barrier, the murder ghost will be waiting for you."
Rishir nodded at Halona's words.
They entered the barrier interior.
The underground cavern where the previous battle with the murder ghost had taken place greeted them.
Their gazes naturally turned to one spot.
Where the murder ghost's body lay.
"Wha—"
Rishir's pupils dilated.
The murder ghost's body—
No.
The blue lotus Klana was rising in place.
"..."
Klana blankly looked around.
Then down at her own body—
"...!"
She startled and began patting herself all over.
An emotional display rare for the usual murder ghost.
Was reclaiming her body after eons that joyful?
'She's got an unexpectedly emotional side.'
A smile spread across Rishir's lips.
He called out to Klana.
"Klana! How does it feel?"
"...!"
Klana flinched and trembled.
She slowly turned her head to look at Rishir.
Her first words.
"Kyaa!"
"?"
And her first action.
Klana covered her bare body with her arms and crouched in place.
Klana said in a trembling voice.
"Wh-who are you...?"
"..."
Wh.
Who are you.
Rishir replied with trembling eyes.