Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: The Basement of Hell
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“What have you done?”
Inebille stared in the direction of the mansion as she asked. The sounds coming from there were far from ordinary.
“Something that was meant to happen has happened.”
Gilliuwd replied. She pressed the tip of her blade against his chin.
“I won’t kill you right now. There’s still a lot I need to ask you.”
“I’d like to continue this conversation with you, but time’s up. I must take my leave now. Before the Grand Flow notices me.”
She was about to stab his shoulder while calling his words nonsense when a snow-white arm emerged from inside the robe Gilliuwd was wearing.
The white arm seized her sword. She squinted at the intense light and pulled her blade back.
Magic? But I didn’t see him tear a scroll. The white arm vanished back into the robe. There was no magical fluctuation. Does that mean it wasn’t magic just now?
“Check the basement of the mansion. Then make your decision. Whether to follow Silder or head to the two-story house to help Kalligo.”
“Kalligo?”
“An era of upheaval is coming. All sorts of events will swallow the continent. The one who will end that chaos is Kalligo. You’ve already met him.”
She seized an opening during their conversation to attack again, but her sword was blocked by the white hand that shot out in an instant.
She realized it after just two clashes. She couldn’t pierce that mysterious hand.
“What the hell is that hand?”
“It’s a Legacy. A minor magical tool.”
Gilliuwd retreated. The moment she moved forward to pursue him, the white hand appeared right in front of her face.
Its open palm blazed fiercely. Inebille closed her eyes. It felt like the sun was hovering right before her.
“Prove it. Prove that you’re not a chess piece and that fate is something carved out by human hands. If the future isn’t set in stone, your actions will change it. I hope for that too.”
“I’ll never dance to your tune.”
“I believe that as well.”
Gilliuwd, now at a distance, tore a scroll. A faint magical wave brushed over her body. At the same time, Gilliuwd’s presence vanished.
“Kalligo will be in danger. The two-story house will go up in flames, and in the process, Kalligo will survive alone. His precious friend will die. That event will be the trigger that sets Kalligo in motion. With an unstoppable curiosity and indomitable spirit, he’ll unravel the truth of the matter. And you will end up helping that man.”
“Gilliuwd!”
She ran blindly toward the direction of the voice. She swung her sword along the way, but nothing obstructed it.
“You will chase after me alongside Kalligo. We’ll meet again someday.”
“Are you scared? Scared that I won’t follow your script, so you’re adding all these explanations.”
Left? Or right?
She mobilized all her senses but couldn’t locate Gilliuwd. If she knew how to handle mana, it would’ve helped right now.
“The Grand Flow will advance alongside human history. At its end, I will meet Kalligo. You will be the guide.”
The voice grew fainter. She gave up the pursuit. Lowering her sword, she shouted toward the direction the voice had come from.
“Your predictions were wrong from the start! People dying in the two-story house? You’ll never kill him. Lord Lander is there! So your prophecy fell apart from the very beginning!”
“Is that so? I don’t see everything, but what I have seen always comes to pass in the end. That’s the Grand Flow.
No matter how you struggle, the events unfold inevitably. But I haven’t given up. Resisting fate is the privilege of the intelligent, and it’s not over until the final moment. I’ll keep struggling too. So please, you resist fate as well. Break free from the mold.”
“Where is Riselra? Everything you told Lord Lander was a lie? If everything is predetermined, why bother stepping in and deceiving us! Gilliuwd!”
“I had to. Because that future was set. To deceive the Grand Flow, I had to play the role of a faithful chess piece. There was no malice, so please don’t be angry. And those memories from back then aren’t in me now. I don’t even know who Lander is.”
“You con artist!”
“When you meet Kalligo, please pass this on: ‘My name is John.’”
The voice faded away. She scanned her surroundings before turning toward the mansion.
Her mind was a muddy mess. She tried to sort it out on the way, but nothing fell into place.
That was when she spotted the mansion in the distance. The mansion, now an eyesore with its right wall collapsed. Inebille paused for a moment before sprinting toward it at full speed.
“There are people over here too!”
“It’s dangerous here!”
Everyone was bustling to rescue someone pinned under the building debris. What had happened? Why had the intact building suddenly...
As she headed toward Dianne, who was directing the scene, with questions in mind, her master shouted. Prepare—the warning came with a fierce gust of wind from somewhere.
The wind was so strong it made her body sway. As she braced herself to hold her ground, the wind’s direction suddenly shifted. Unpredictable gusts.
“It’s coming!”
With her master’s cry, the knights plunged their tower shields into the ground. At that instant, a hazy white mass appeared in the empty air.
What the hell is that? Squinting against the blowing wind, she confirmed the object in the sky.
It was enormous wings. Before she could fully take in their shape, the wings moved. The air itself writhed.
An ominous sign. Inebille crouched low. The instinct honed from countless battlefields kicked in.
Her hair whipped wildly. It felt like an invisible hammer had swung over her head.
Compressed air pressed down on her body for a moment, and the next instant, a gale sweeping up the ground battered her entire frame.
She crossed her arms to shield her face. Sand and pebbles assaulted her like deadly weapons. A groan escaped her lips.
When the wind finally died down, she barely lifted her head. Scattered building materials rained down like hailstones.
She could see the faces of the knights behind their tower shields. They were pale as ghosts.
Inebille stood up. The wings had vanished. The fierce winds had calmed. She ran to her master.
“What was that just now?”
Her master let out a deep sigh the moment she saw Inebille’s face.
“Inebille, you’re safe.”
“Yes. But what were those wings?”
“A spirit. We were unlucky.”
“A spirit? That?”
The spirits she knew were cute little things. The spirit summoner she’d met once long ago had only shown her one that resembled a chick.
She’d never heard of a spirit that could demolish a four-story building.
“It happens rarely, but it does occur. We’re lucky it didn’t fully manifest. If its true body had appeared, it wouldn’t have ended like this.”
“Did someone intentionally summon it?”
“No. No human can control something like that. It’s a kind of natural disaster.”
Is that really true? Gilliuwd had been checking the time. Could Gilliuwd have summoned the spirit?
“Is it really impossible? There are rare spirit summoners, aren’t there?”
“If there was a spirit summoner nearby who could handle something like that, I would’ve noticed first. Don’t worry—it wasn’t summoned on purpose.”
If Gilliuwd didn’t summon it, does that mean he predicted the spirit’s appearance? Did he really see the future? A hooded man approached her master.
“We’ve set up a preliminary barrier, but it won’t hold for long. After two more attacks, we’ll have to abandon the mansion.”
“Have we used all the spare scrolls?”
“We’ve used every available scroll. Even if we had more, we’d need rest due to our mental strain.”
“What about casting magic freestyle without scrolls?”
“We absolutely can’t hold. Our Mental Realms would be wrecked.”
“Understood.”
As her master finished speaking with the mage, the wind picked up again.
“Regroup! We’ll block it as best we can!”
At Dianne’s shout, the knights raised their shields. The mansion servants who had been working on rescues hurriedly fell back.
“Inebille, fall back too.”
“I’ll help.”
“You can’t block that barehanded.”
“They’re barehanded too!”
She pointed at the knights.
“The 1st Knight Order is fine. They’re like me.”
“They’ve crossed into the Realm too?”
“Yes.”
The wind crushed down on her crown. It felt like standing under a waterfall. Her knees buckled involuntarily.
But her master and the 1st Knight Order stood unfazed.
“Leave this to us and take care of the rear.”
“What about Silder? Where’s Silder?”
Her master’s expression visibly darkened.
“Charlotte’s hurt.”
“What?”
“She’s in bad shape. Silder took her and left for the guild where the healers are.”
The gale pounded her body mercilessly. The master right in front of her was now impossible to hear.
A nearby mage grabbed Inebille’s shoulder, yelling that they needed to withdraw.
With no choice, she retreated. Strangely, the battering wind vanished just a few meters back.
The spirit’s whirlwind was raging centered on her master and the 1st Knight Order.
“Miss Inebille.”
The mage who had retreated with her spoke.
“Come with me.”
The mage moved without explanation. As she was about to ask what was going on, Gilliuwd’s words suddenly came to mind. ‘The security magic is active, but your disciple will resolve it.’
She glanced at her master facing off against the spirit, then followed the mage into the mansion.
The once pristine hall was a total wreck. Cracks spiderwebbed the walls as if they’d collapse any second, and decorations littered the floor.
The right staircase had collapsed entirely. The spirit’s power that had half-destroyed a four-story mansion was astounding anew.
“This way.”
The mage headed for Silder’s office. It was a space she frequented, but she’d never entered without permission.
“I’m Hume. You must have heard about me from Gilliuwd.”
“You’re with Gilliuwd too?”
“With him? I’m not sure. I’m just doing what I have to.”
“You’re saying the exact same thing as Gilliuwd.”
“Someday, Miss Inebille, you’ll understand too. What an actor on stage must do.”
Hume pointed to the bookshelf. She recalled the note Gilliuwd had given her and touched the specified book.
The bookshelf slid aside, revealing a path leading underground. It reminded her of the two-story house.
“Are there really women imprisoned down there?”
“You’ll have to see for yourself, Miss Inebille.”
“Gilliuwd wants that too, doesn’t he.”
Hume descended the stairs. The thick darkness seemed to beckon her.
If Gilliuwd was telling the truth, what awaited below was Silder’s ugly side. The moment she saw it, there’d be no going back.
She could never return to those days of trading idle chatter and cheap booze through the night.
“Do as you will.”
Hume said. She pursed her lips, clenched her fist, and descended.
“Tell fate to go to the dogs. I’m doing this of my own will.”
Hume groped the left wall to open a secret passage. She cautiously stepped inside.
And confirmed hell itself.
(To be continued in the next installment)