Chapter 309
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Resurgent Darkness
Once in the morning, once in the evening, divided into small portions.
The vast hall.
It had originally been built to honor the glory of the great ancestor who laid the foundation for the grand noble house of Mastien.
Only the direct lineage of the family was permitted entry.
The hall never lost its reverence, not even for a single day.
"Everyone, prepare!"
"Is there enough magic stone!?"
"The ones selected here are subpar quality! Restock with top-grade items!"
"Hurry, all of you! The family head's strict order is that the schedule must not be delayed!!!"
"Lord Martian!!! They've arrived!!!"
"Is that so!? Guide them here immediately!"
Now, the vast hall buzzed with an atmosphere like a marketplace street.
People who should never have set foot in the hall bustled in and out indiscriminately.
Dirt from unpolished shoes left marks everywhere in the hall, and in the space where even whispers would echo, shouts rang out ceaselessly.
The hall had lost its reverence.
However, the glory would only grow firmer.
They were not intruders in the hall.
What they were doing was not irreverent either.
Everything was by the family head's will.
Everything was for the greater good.
"We offer our deepest respects to Mastien's choice."
A star rose in the hall defiled by muddy footprints.
The Star Council.
The origin of all these events stemmed from them.
They paid solemn respects to Mastien upon entering the hall.
Soon after, Mastien's family head—
the continent's undisputed ruler—appeared at the site.
"..."
She briefly surveyed the hall's state with a troubled expression.
"Golden Star. I trust you've been well?"
A man clad head to toe in gold, including a golden mask, stepped forward.
He removed his mask and bowed his head to Mastien's family head.
"I hope Lady Mastien has been well too?"
"To be frank, my heart isn't in the best shape right now."
"I understand well. For that reason, I wish to express my deep respects once more for your choice."
Locard!
The Golden Star gestured, summoning his disciple.
"While I speak with Lady Mastien, prepare the ritual first."
"Understood, Master."
At the very least, he appeared exceedingly humble on the surface.
The Golden Star's disciple deeply bowed to Lady Mastien before withdrawing.
Lady Mastien watched his retreating figure for a moment before speaking.
"What happened?"
"Hm?"
"Your disciple. His demeanor has changed somewhat. He used to be—"
Lady Mastien's meaningful gaze turned toward the golden mask.
He used to be.
A cunning boy who perfectly resembled your younger self.
Her expression seemed to tickle at the tip of her tongue with those words.
"..."
The mouth visible below the mask curved into a subtle smile.
"His nose was too high in the air."
The Golden Star's meaningful remark.
The family head's face colored with considerable surprise.
"Your disciple learned the virtue of humility? From what noble figure—"
Locard of the Golden Tower.
The young genius's fame was already renowned across the continent.
In terms of talent alone, it was said that even over the past several decades, he ranked within the top five fingers.
Suddenly, a smile graced Lady Mastien's lips.
She recalled that her own daughter—
Hainya Ye Mastien—was included among that select few geniuses.
In that light, the Golden Star's actions only deepened Lady Mastien's doubts.
He was someone whose pride in his disciple yielded to no one, regardless of the method.
For such a man to so humbly acknowledge his disciple's humiliation?
"...Ha!"
"?"
"Hahahahaha!!!"
"What's come over you suddenly—"
At that moment.
The Golden Star suddenly burst into laughter.
It was a laugh positioned between guffaws and chuckles.
The kind born from something so absurd it circled back to amusement?
Regaining his composure with effort, the Golden Star said,
"I have so much to say, yet no words come. Lady Mastien. You too will one day understand this laughter. Both my disciple's state and yours. Likely quite soon."
"You've grown even more eccentric in the short time since we last met."
As Lady Mastien gazed at the Golden Star with unusual wariness, a voice called out.
"Master! The ritual preparations are complete!"
"..."
"..."
The chaotic air in the hall had by then settled into a heavy stillness.
Lady Mastien, sensing the more solemn and grave atmosphere, asked the Golden Star,
"What exactly happened?"
"As I relayed through my clone. The darkness has begun stirring once more."
Great Demon.
The Golden Star uttered the word with difficulty.
"An anomaly occurred in some of the 'fragments' held by the Council."
"Anomaly?"
"We can no longer store them away like gold coins in a vault."
The Golden Star extended his hand forward.
Then, the gold adorning his body intertwined, forming a fist-sized coffer.
"Lady Mastien. To bring such an unsightly thing into this solemn space. I apologize once more."
The Golden Star carefully opened the coffer.
In that instant.
The Golden Star and the family head's expressions twisted simultaneously.
A thumb-tip-sized obsidian fragment revealed itself from within the coffer.
Along with the immense impure energy trapped inside.
"This is..."
"One of the fragments held by the Council."
The Golden Star's coffer melted away, reforming into a hand.
With that artificial hand, he cautiously picked up the fragment.
"The fragments are resonating. With others somewhere on the continent. To unite and reincarnate into this world."
"...What must Mastien do?"
"Please. Manage this fragment for us?"
"Until when?"
"..."
The Golden Star's lips twitched.
As if they were too heavy.
The family head spoke as if understanding.
"Immortality."
A sense of pitch-black darkness flooded before her eyes.
"Is there truly no other recourse for us? Beyond bearing that immense task alongside immortality for eons?"
The family head already knew the answer.
Thus, her questioning tone carried a pitiable plea.
"..."
At that moment.
The Golden Star's gaze fixed on the distant horizon.
Toward a certain city.
"Duke Karzen?"
"Lady Mastien. Do you know the difference between demons and spirits?"
"?"
What is this.
The family head puzzled over the sudden question but pondered it seriously.
"...I can't fathom the intent of your question. Duke Karzen. Tell me. What is the difference between demons and spirits?"
"I don't know either."
"?"
Again.
The Golden Star burst into another unexpected laugh.
"I truly can't fathom why it turns out that way..."
"Karzen?"
The Golden Star removed his mask once more, facing the family head.
A strange smile played on his face.
Vague and irresponsible.
Yet brimming with confidence on the other hand.
A smile laden with incomprehensible faith.
"Don't abandon hope. Even that mighty demon lord might one day suddenly become a pure spirit."
"..."
Soon.
Lady Mastien inwardly shook her head while regarding the Golden Star.
'This will be a trying time...'
Judging by the Golden Star's state, the outlook wasn't promising.
She steeled her resolve once more.
"Proceed."
The foundation honoring the ancestors' glory became the center of a magical ritual.
The enormous magic circle drawn around it filled completely.
With the Mastien Knight Order.
And the Golden Star's mages.
And so.
The ritual commenced.
The ritual proceeded for a set duration.
Not long, yet it felt like an eternity.
During that time, day and night cycled several times within the hall.
Amid the vortex of power, heroes collapsed one by one from exhaustion.
At the end—
"Urgh, Master—"
"Rest, Locard."
Only the family head and the Golden Star remained standing.
"..."
Hoo.
Hoo.
The family head panted heavily as she gazed at the magic circle's center.
The obsidian fragment, which had been spewing endless darkness, had become an opaque gray crystal.
The resonating impure energy had also ceased.
"Ah..."
The family head felt profound emotion.
Awe and relief at the fact that even that vast darkness could be confined in light.
And a sense of vertigo.
"How long can this barrier hold..."
It was a ritual into which Mastien and the Golden Star had poured everything.
A massive crystallization of power that could remain in this world eternally, depending on its direction.
Yet it was not permanent.
On the contrary, it was exceedingly temporary.
The family head realized she was already worrying about the next step.
She understood.
The Star Council.
Why they had abandoned their long-held policy to seek aid from the great nobles.
It was the only path.
The Great Demon's fragment.
It was an object that required the combined might of the Star Council and the great nobles merely to control.
And even that, only limitedly.
'And there are several more of these...!'
Desperate to soothe her anxiety, the family head asked the Golden Star,
"Duke Karzen. What do you think lies at the end of this...?"
"...Ha!"
That laugh again.
"Who knows. If we can witness it, it might just be a spirit?"
"..."
The family head pitifully shook her head.
It seemed the Golden Star had lost his sanity amid these events.
"Haa..."
The one-eyed man let out a sigh laced with resignation.
"Is it right to gather in such numbers just to harass a single wanderer? Especially when all of you are so busy, unlike a guy like me."
Outer Sword Rodan.
He had become a new man solely for the sake of witnessing the spectacle his priestess and master wished to see.
However, time was too short for a complete transformation.
His innate rough temperament—rebounding twice over when provoked—remained intact.
The Outer Sword never shied from an approaching fight.
However—
Exceptions certainly existed.
Confirming the faces surrounding him, the Outer Sword let out an incredulous chuckle.
Legion.
No other word came to mind.
The crimson mage legion led by the Ashen Star.
The continent's most destructive force stood there.
"Foolish prattle."
The woman at the legion's forefront placed a cheroot in her mouth.
Unlike the flame dancing at her fingertips, her pale lips ignited the tip naturally upon contact.
Exhale.
Ashen Star.
Her decadent eyes followed the dispersing smoke.
In that state, she addressed the Outer Sword.
"Would this many crimson mages mobilize just to harass a single person?"
"..."
A single person, she says.
The Outer Sword pondered whether to feel pleased or humiliated by the ashen woman's words.
In the end, he nodded.
No matter how many foolish mistakes he'd made in his ignorant past—
It wasn't enough to warrant the entire Crimson Mage Legion for his extermination.
"What do you want from me?"
"Return the item you took without knowing what it was, and it's all resolved."
"The item I took without knowing what it was?"
"Some time ago. You must have snuck into a certain family's warehouse and ransacked it."
Exhale.
The ashen woman exhaled smoke once more.
"Return that item."
The Outer Sword recalled the commotion in the previous Bondales.
In pursuit of aid from the heretics for matters involving his master—
He had stolen a certain item from a family at their request.
"That..."
"It's not in your possession now, I take it."
"...Correct."
"It hasn't fallen into impure hands, has it?"
Even amid the tension, the ashen woman spoke calmly.
The Outer Sword shook his head.
"Whatever it is, you can rest easy. It's with a very trustworthy individual."
"Foolish. This isn't a matter of trust."
"What?"
Great Demon.
The word suddenly emerged from her pale lips.
"It's a fragment sealing a part of the Great Demon. Not something a mere individual can handle. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"...!"
The Outer Sword's expression twisted rapidly.
The woman dropped her cheroot to the ground, crushing it underfoot before speaking.
"Guide us to that person. Before the situation spirals out of control."
"Pardon? Lady Remier is away?"
After contact with the apostles.
Rishir visited the Gray Tower for the first time in a while.
To seek the tower master's counsel regarding the recent events.
"Not wanderlust again!?"
"Nothing like that, so relax."
Master Meltas shook his head.
"She mentioned an urgent summons from the Star Council."
"The Star Council? Ah—"
Rishir recalled the massive dragon he had encountered previously in Ilraddain and nodded.
"So, Rishir."
"Yes? Ah, yes. Master Meltas. Please speak."
"How are you managing that—fragment of revelry currently?"
Given the gravity of the matter, Master Meltas's expression was exceedingly serious.
Depending on the situation, he was prepared to issue a full mobilization for the Gray Tower.
Handling a Great Demon fragment warranted such force, naturally.
"Ah, that one—"
Rishir's eyes drifted to the upper right.
His face complex, as if chewing over something.
"I don't quite know how to bring this up—"
"What's the issue?"
"It's just so hard for the listener to comprehend."
"What do you mean!?"
"Master Meltas!?"
Meltas huffed, feeling slighted.
"How long have we known each other! Do you think I truly couldn't understand!?"
His pride as an industry authority(?) was wounded.
"A...! Indeed—my apologies, Master Meltas. I was thoughtless."
"Ahem. No need to apologize. My point is, worry not about whether we'll connect. With anyone else, maybe, but not with me. Instant rapport! I could take your dough and bake it into bread myself."
"Impressive...! Understood! In that case—"
Rishir spoke with erratic hand gestures.
"For now, once in the morning, once in the evening—like this, divided into doses."
"?"
The conversation veered suddenly.
As Meltas stared blankly, Rishir hurriedly added an explanation.
"Sorry, I was too disjointed."
"Ah. It's fine. For a moment, I thought I'd lost my marbles or something."
Hahaha.
Hehehe.
A round of cheerful laughter passed between them.
"So, tell me again. What exactly is going on?"
"Well, if I give too much at once, Ver tries to regurgitate it. So, small portions. Timed with morning and evening meals—"
"..."
Master Meltas's eyes wavered.