Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: The Name of the End: Johan (1)
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The library's nights were as silent as stillness itself.
Whenever the night arrived, facing it alone in the empty library, I would sink into deep contemplation every single day.
In those moments of reflection, I filled in the voids of my crumbling self, bit by bit.
Such times usually began with meaningless questions and answers.
Who am I?
For a human worn down, decayed, and rotting away, was there anything left that could be called my past self?
Could the forcibly patched-together remnants of memories and emotions guarantee my own continuity?
These were not questions seeking clear answers.
Much less would inserting answers into such questions change anything about me.
Yet this process of groping through myself had continued unbroken for over hundreds of years.
So that the person I am could remain myself.
It was a desperate struggle to avoid becoming just another cog in the massive library.
“…….”
My gaze, which had been silently staring down at the grimoire amid the quiet, quietly left the book and turned toward the top-floor garden.
Trees rising in lush abundance.
Green leaves scattering beneath them.
Filling the familiar library landscape were the grimoires I had written over my lifetime.
Countless books were here.
The history I had built was in this place.
If someone asked me if I liked this place, I could clearly say yes.
Yet even so, I strove every day to escape it.
“Still, someday I must leave this place.”
Endless struggling to somehow break free from the library I loved.
From that contradictory sight, the mission engraved by my purest self from long ago stirred.
—You must go outside.
This was the vow I had left in my heart long ago, enduring across hundreds of years.
A primal emotion untouched by any distortion.
The most fundamental and ancient anchor point constituting the person I am.
The moment I lost this anchor, I would no longer remain myself.
“Even if I end up returning here time and again—.”
I loved this vast library.
I liked this strangely immense, incredibly ornate, yet comfortable and quiet place.
And yet, my presence here had to be a choice made solely by my own will.
“Even so, I would try to leave again.”
Leaving or returning—
Both had to be by my will.
Otherwise, the library would swallow the existence that is me whole.
I would become a gear trapped here, turning for eons.
“…….”
Rustle, rustle.
Amid the flow of time, meaningless pages turned one by one.
Blank white paper.
My fingers traced the empty pages, reaffirming the possibilities yet to be inscribed.
“Even after so much time has passed, at least one thing remains that I can remember by my own will.”
A human soul eventually rots.
Will decays, passion fades, and the heart ultimately falls silent.
Yet even across distant time, one tiny milestone remained until the end.
My name—Johan.
Tracing the milestone engraved in my heart, I mulled over the emotions left by my pure younger self.
“Too much time has passed.”
There was a young man who longed to see the outside world.
A young man who loved grimoires.
Flutter.
A fresh green leaf fallen from the great tree beneath quietly settled on the back of my hand as I turned the grimoire's pages.
A bitter smile tugged at my lips as I gazed at it.
“…….”
Qualifications were needed.
And proof was required.
The qualification to stand equal to this library.
Proof that I myself was a greater mage than anyone else.
I didn't know how much time it would take.
Even so, I had no intention of stopping my efforts.
Swish.
The fluttering leaf caught on the wind began to fall back beneath my hand.
“Is dawn still far off?”
Drip.
The long contemplation bore fruit.
* * * * * *
Mobile Citadel Laplacia.
Inside the massive citadel crossing the skies, a middle-aged magitech doll wore a complicated expression.
Citadel Lord, Corios Vaclier.
Before the doll ruling the Mobile Citadel floated a translucent screen.
Signals of every color densely filled his view.
What Corios faced were observations from Laplacia on several mana sources.
- “Updating information.”
- “Within detectable range, the number of mana sources showing 70% or higher synchronization is 117.”
Such reports from Laplacia on the ongoing tasks echoed in Corios's ears.
Static, static.
Amid the noise-mixed voices resounding, Corios quietly spoke.
“Display only mana sources with 80% or higher synchronization.”
His gaze shifted to the bottom of the screen after issuing the command.
The core medium for activating Laplacia's wide-area detection magic.
It was one of the branches of the World Tree, the massive tree at the heart of the Great Forest.
Corios was attempting to locate mana sources with high synchronization to that World Tree branch.
‘I've already covered most of the empire. If this fails too, it's safe to say it's not inside the empire.’
All these actions were efforts to find the ‘World Tree Fruit.’
The greatest treasure of the Great Forest, appearing only once every few hundred years.
The item the elves claimed was stolen from the Great Forest's altar by Sword Ghost Lapharia.
Corios had devised his own method to track its traces.
‘If even this method fails to detect it, the only conclusion is that the fruit has already been offered up.’
Scattering powerful detection magic omnidirectionally from high in the skies.
This was a method possible only for Corios, who commanded the Mobile Citadel.
- “Updating information.”
- “Within detectable range, the number of mana sources showing 80% or higher synchronization is 7.”
Static, static.
The screen flickered, outputting freshly updated information beyond.
The blue dots before Corios's eyes had now dwindled to 7.
Watching this, Corios opened his mouth with a puzzled gaze.
“Even at 80%, there are still 7 left?”
It was natural for the number caught by detection magic to decrease as filtering grew precise.
In other regions, at most one or two dots would remain by now.
And even those were likely mostly items carried out from the Great Forest by elves.
“Could it be we've actually succeeded this time? Raise synchronization to 90%.”
A faint possibility crossed Corios's mind.
Perhaps this time he had truly found the fruit.
Such a thought surfaced.
“…….”
As his contemplative gaze swept the screen.
Static, static.
The screen before Corios shook, displaying new information in his view.
- “Updating information.”
- “Within detectable range, the number of mana sources showing 90% or higher synchronization is 6.”
Right after the cold mechanical tone resounded.
Corios's eyes began scrutinizing the screen spread before him in detail.
Mana sources with 90% or higher synchronization: 6.
Moreover, 5 of them were clustered in a narrow area.
Swipe.
Corios's finger touched the screen, zooming in further on the marked dots.
“Nothing visible from above. Some facility concealed to make it hard to spot from outside?”
Swipe, swipe.
Corios's fingers moved busily.
The terrain where the mana sources were located.
Their visual forms.
As he probed all this, Corios paused upon spotting something suspicious nearby.
“That’s…….”
His serious eyes swept the screen.
Beyond the screen before him.
Far from the mana source locations stood a structure of unknown nature.
Pulsating flesh and pointed candelabras.
And characters densely filling the surroundings.
Examining this, Corios quickly reached a conclusion.
“An altar for rituals. From a magical standpoint, it resembles ancient soul-transfer magic.”
An altar imbued with magical meaning—
One close to facilities for reenacting forbidden rites of the highest order.
Having confirmed the suspicious structure, Corios smiled.
“Looks like I can bring some good news to Lapharia—.”
The unidentified secret society that took the World Tree Fruit.
This was the first time tracing their tracks.
* * * * * *
Technical Advisor of the Extremist Magical Research Society, Begerton Antares.
The mad researcher insisting on the title of ‘Doctor’ was currently reviewing documents while wearing a monocle.
Rustle, rustle.
As the papers in the Doctor's hand flipped rapidly.
Watching this, Reyntas spoke to him.
“Doctor. You've been deploying new chimeras around the altar non-stop for the past few days.”
Reyntas voiced his doubts about the Doctor's recent odd behavior.
Click.
Adjusting his monocle, the Doctor smiled at Reyntas.
“Yes, that's right. The experiment preparations are nearly complete, just in time.”
“By experiment… you mean the newly cultured body this time?”
“You know it well. Exactly that.”
Kekekeke.
A chilling laugh spilled from the Doctor's mouth.
Reyntas grimaced briefly at the sight.
Soon after, he shook his head slowly and spoke.
“What does that have to do with chimeras? Why build the lab right next to the research facility in the first place?”
“Because this experiment is extremely important. I can't have any interference, so I'm securing it as thoroughly as possible.”
“……No way it's an extension of that insane experiment at the border last time.”
Reyntas's gaze, sensing ill omens, fixed on the Doctor's monocle.
The experiment the Doctor had conducted in the borderlands recently.
Memories resurfaced of him fleeing and leaving failed products advancing toward the holy city.
As Reyntas watched the Doctor with a serious face, he somehow felt his guess was correct.
“As expected, Reyntas knows me too well. That's the problem.”
“…….”
“It's exactly what Reyntas suspects.”
Ha.
A short sigh escaped Reyntas's lips.
The black lightning rampaging through the borderlands revived in his mind.
Summoning a monster like that near the lab—what kind of absurd suicide method was this?
Clack.
Reyntas's hand naturally went to his waist.
“If you're going to die, do it alone. Want me to help you out early?”
“Whoa, whoa— Reyntas, you should calm down a bit.”
“How am I supposed to calm down against a guy asking me to die with him here?”
“That's not what I meant. Think about it—we haven't been here that long.”
Facing such a Reyntas, the Doctor's hand pointed toward the ceiling of the lab where they sat.
Sturdy stone pillars supporting the ceiling.
Toward Reyntas gazing at it, the Doctor's words continued.
“I just thought after this experiment, it's about time to move the lab.”
“…….”
“Doesn't it happen often? Time's up, so once this is done, we prepare to relocate.”
Lab relocation.
Hearing this, Reyntas finally released his grip on his sword.
It was certainly a valid point.
The Doctor was a wanted criminal infamous across the empire.
As such, he had prepared numerous hideouts scattered throughout the empire.
“You plan to leave the Alperatz Marquisate. Where to next?”
“B7 Lab should be suitable.”
“You're going pretty far.”
B7 Lab.
Reyntas sighed upon hearing the familiar lab name.
It was a hideout on the opposite side from the Alperatz Marquisate.
Yet among the Doctor's labs, it had some of the best facilities.
“Preparing the chimeras wasn't just for experiment security, then.”
“Of course that plays a role too. As I told you, Reyntas—this experiment is extremely important.”
“When's the experiment scheduled? After the Isaac-based chimera is complete?”
“That seems likely.”
Whew.
Reyntas, leaning against the wall, let out a sigh.
Looks like he wouldn't have to worry about dying right now.
Though with the Doctor as the counterpart, who knew when the next mad stunt would come.
“At this rate, I don't even know if I can die peacefully.”
A wry smile crossed Reyntas's lips.
It was commonplace for a mercenary.