Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Alen Barbe
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Alen Barbe. The first word that comes to mind when hearing that name would be diligence.
Sincere actions. A posture that always upheld etiquette. Alen, who listened gravely and spoke cautiously, was a man who knew his duty.
Regardless of whether their status was high or low, everyone who met Alen came to respect him.
Lander was no different. After the war ended, Alen had assisted him upon his return to the Holy City.
Alen had put in every effort for a deficient man who had only ever rolled around on battlefields. Thanks to that, he had been able to adapt easily to life in the Holy City.
Even when his wife's condition had worsened severely, he had received Alen's help.
While Lander held his wife's hand and offered prayers, Alen had taken care of his duties in his place.
He was a man Lander felt sorry for and grateful to.
That was why.
It was why he had told Tane that he would personally review the Administrative Bureau's documents.
While Kalligo was reviewing the 1st Administration Bureau, he had checked the inventory ledgers managed by the 2nd Administration Bureau.
While examining the documents, he discovered a discrepancy in the October verification report. He had gone to the inspection post, where the goods were actually checked, to confirm the details.
They were subtly different. Mistakes could happen in human work. He thought it was nothing serious. At least until he checked with the department in charge of the task.
"The section chief himself verified and approved everything from September onward."
Everyone made mistakes. But not Alen. At least, not the Alen that Lander knew. If he had spotted the discrepancy, he would have immediately ordered a recheck.
The fact that he hadn't meant the discrepancy was intentional—and that Alen was behind it.
He decided to personally investigate where the missing goods had gone. He wanted to believe in him to the end.
He was a man who cared for the citizens more than anyone. He wasn't the type to unleash terror in the heart of the Holy City.
"His Majesty has summoned Section Chief Alen. It's just a formality, like calling in all the top officials."
He learned of Alen's whereabouts through Kalligo. After replying that he understood, he moved out.
The goods managed by the 2nd Administration Bureau had been directed to the noble district. The shipment date matched the summons date.
It didn't bode well.
It was while entering the noble district and searching for someone from the 2nd Administration Bureau that he felt the mana surging.
It was an alien energy. He couldn't pin down what kind of magic it was.
Far off in the distance, mana condensed in the air, forming something like a red cloud. Then indiscriminate attacks followed.
It was too fast to respond to. The moment he thought he was too late, a mana explosion erupted quite close by.
Lander threw himself aside. Where he landed, there were shattered crate debris, a cart, and naked women.
The moment he saw it, he knew.
They were in the midst of opening a Realm.
The magic preparation was nearly complete—a red pillar rose from the body of the man who appeared to be the caster.
Soon enough, that too would turn into red clouds and threads. He had to act before the magic finished casting.
It was while checking his surroundings and drawing his sword that he spotted a survivor.
He hadn't noticed until seeing with his own eyes. Their presence was so faint, as if they weren't there at all.
He instinctively realized they had been pulled somewhere else.
Probably an Unstable Realm.
He halted his attack and approached the man.
The man stared blankly ahead with eyes wide open. There was no white in them at all. They were entirely black.
The man's energy was gradually turning into that of a Magical Beast. If left alone, he would transform into a monster that could ravage the Holy City.
Lander placed a hand on the man's shoulder. He would pull him back. No matter where the man's soul had gone.
Though he didn't know the form of the magic or the structure of the Imaginary Realm, Lander didn't hesitate.
Following his will, guided by the mana, he seized the man's soul. The man was faintly clinging to his senses. It was a state easy to reverse.
The man blinked. His entirely black eyes separated into whites and pupils.
His face was confused, but at the same time, it held the expression of someone who had realized something.
He had obtained a valuable clue. Lander sent the man to the Emperor's side, along with a message that Alen Barbe must be spared.
Alen had appeared unflinchingly despite the Emperor's summons. He must have resolved himself. Resolved to offer his life.
He wouldn't even dream of assassinating the Emperor. He would likely finish saying what he had to say before the Emperor and then calmly end his own life.
Lander couldn't let that happen. He needed to hear the reason.
Why had a man who cared so much for the citizens turned? What had Gillud said to make him commit such slaughter?
The man who appeared to be the magic caster was sucked into the red pillar. Red threads extended from the top of the towering pillar piercing the sky.
He couldn't grasp the flow of mana.
Lander drew the sword Tane had prepared for him. Amid the chaotic mana vortex, something was maintaining its balance.
It seemed to be sustaining the magic through the caster as a medium.
Destroy the core, then.
It was while Lander lifted his chin to look up at the sky that the red threads, tangled and thickened, moved toward the ground.
They seemed leisurely at first, but accelerated like a hawk diving on prey as they neared the earth. The red line bore down on him.
He used a bit of mana to slice at the line. It had enough power to parry. He could protect himself even without the Root's aid.
But the red threads weren't just one strand. The red energy blanketing the sky unleashed a wide-area attack.
Lines as thick as a person's torso slammed into the ground.
Landscaped trees were uprooted. The even pavement cracked, turning the road into a mess.
Nothing remained intact where the line passed. The red line, which had half-destroyed the facilities, now headed toward people.
Lander moved as fast as he could, severing the lines, but there were limits.
Screams rang out. Humans swallowed by the line vanished without a trace.
Decomposed? He closely observed the flow of mana.
The mana absorbed by the line gathered toward the core floating in the sky above. It was magic that proliferated by using humans as nutrients.
He knew of it from books, but this was the first time seeing it in person. It was magic that must never be cast.
The noble district guards were forming ranks to respond, but they were helpless.
Even if they blocked a few massive lines, one or two would be swept away eventually, and the moment a gap opened, it was over.
"Get away from the site as much as possible."
Lander blocked in front of the guards and said.
"We have to protect this district. Evacuating on our own means execution anyway."
They explained that dying on duty at least earned compensation, but getting caught fleeing would drag their families into collective punishment.
"I'll take responsibility. Take any visible survivors and evacuate outside. Move while the range is still narrow."
The magic floating in the sky was slowly but surely expanding. The silver lining was that it used humans as its power source.
If it had been magic drawing mana from the Root, just imagining it was dizzying.
The guards, exchanging glances, pressed down their helmets and scattered. They shouted to find people.
People fleeing in disorder gathered around the guards.
The red line that had been smashing buildings moved toward the clustered humans. It seemed to sense their mana.
"This way!"
As long as they were within his domain, he could protect anything. He swung his sword, sending over a dozen people behind him.
The sword Tane had provided let out an uneasy sound. It was a fine blade, but still insufficient to handle this mana.
He sorely missed the sword he had entrusted to Andukaf.
He picked up a spear left by a guard. He channeled mana from the Root into the tip and hurled it with all his might.
Whoosh—the spear, slicing through the air, reached near the core. But a red line blocked its path.
Piercing, shattering, and cleaving through the line, the spear ultimately crumbled. The mana within dispersed, momentarily pushing back the red line, but it soon regained its form.
Lander frowned. Mana released from the hand was prone to slipping control.
Even with sufficient power, it scattered midway—a headache.
He turned his head. The red cloud that had risen first was also steadily expanding its influence.
Time was short. If the magic escaped the noble district into the outside, casualties would multiply exponentially.
How many more times could he hold out? Lander eyed the sword in his hand and then moved. He transferred mana from the Root to the sword.
The overwhelming mana provoked the red line. The lines ravaging buildings scraped the ground as they charged at him.
Lander kicked off the ground and leaped onto a building. Lines approached from all directions.
He regulated his breathing. The speed of the approaching lines gradually slowed. If the core was far, he could resolve it by going directly.
He stepped on the railing and jumped up. He kicked the line right in front of him to gain height. Lines closing in from the opposite side became footholds too.
He controlled his body flung back by the repulsion, continuously kicking the lines. The ground grew distant, the distance to the lines closer.
One wrong twist, and he'd be swept away by the mana waves from the lines, vanishing. As he distanced from the Root, the inherited power waned.
Even the mana left to protect his body grew precarious. His shoes wore away where they touched the lines—a signal that his mana was reaching its limit.
Around 300 meters altitude? Lander gazed at the core right before him. He thrust his sword at the thing that had lost human form, now a red mass.
Vanish cleanly.
Crack—the blade shattered with a sound. The fragmented sword struck the core.
If only it had held a bit longer. Lander steadied his body and landed on the ground.
The red lines extending in all directions converged on the core. Like a tortoise spotting a natural enemy, it retracted all lines and huddled.
It didn't dissipate. It was clearly damaged, but it would restart soon.
Sweat beaded on his back for the first time in a while. He felt fatigue he had forgotten. It was a harsh situation, but in a way, welcome.
How long had it been since he could unleash himself fully?
He picked up a guard's sword. In his other hand, a spear. If once wasn't enough, he'd strike repeatedly. First, deal with what's in front of him, then the remaining one.
The guards' weapons wouldn't withstand the mana. Forming mana into shape barehanded would be difficult even with the Root's aid.
He took a deep breath. Mana rising through his body dwelled in the weapons. Even briefly infused, the metal trembled.
It would burst soon.
As he steadied his stance and waited for the attack, he realized. The magic overhead had gone completely silent to self-repair.
No lines to serve as footholds.
It wasn't a distance he could reach by jumping.
Moreover, it was slyly moving. Toward another red cloud on the opposite side.
He didn't want to think what would happen if they met.
It was while preparing to aim and hurl the spear at the core again.
Thud, thud, thud.
Heavy sounds rang out.
Lander turned his head left. Welcome reinforcements were arriving.
A Giant Soldier was charging in, its silver armor gleaming.