Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: Be Careful as the End Approaches (1)
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The sun blazed down relentlessly.
Belnoa lounged in a chair at a café in the capital, tilting her head back. The heat was already wearing her out, even though she hadn't done much of anything.
Clink.
Belnoa took a long swig of her iced coffee and let out a deep sigh.
The breeze blowing in was hot.
Sweat beaded on her skin under the scorching sunlight.
With weather like this, she had no choice but to dress lightly. Belnoa hated the sun and usually bundled up tight, but... she had finally surrendered to the heat.
"Is that your summer outfit? Oh my god, you look so pretty!"
...Truth be told, it wasn't the weather that broke her—it was Chloe's relentless nagging. Chloe's eyes sparkled as she tugged at Belnoa's summer clothes, looking positively thrilled.
"What do you think of girls' uniforms? Cute?"
"Never really looked closely, so no idea."
"Think it'd suit me?"
"Who knows."
Chloe tilted her head with a beaming smile. Belnoa gave a vague nod of agreement and propped her chin on her hand.
Kidnapping, and rescue.
Quite some time had passed since then... but that incident had planted a seed of vigilance in Belnoa. A reminder that even the capital wasn't entirely safe.
"I wanna go to Aphria soon, too."
"...Yeah."
Of course, Chloe was unfazed.
Watching her grin like nothing had ever happened... Belnoa could only sigh. It just meant she had to stay sharp for the both of them—the girl whose head was full of flowers.
"Hoo..."
As Belnoa sighed for the umpteenth time, Chloe softly called her name. She tilted her head slightly.
"Belnoa."
The girl's snowy white hair cascaded down.
She smiled with her eyes and opened her mouth. Her soft voice lingered in Belnoa's ears.
"Thanks again this time."
"......No big deal."
"They said it was especially dangerous this time."
"It was."
Belnoa nodded slightly.
It really had been dangerous. If Professor Lania hadn't shown up right then... it probably would have been the end.
'Professor Lania... or Lady Raniel...'
She was someone whose distance was impossible to gauge.
Thinking of the professor brought back an unbidden image of the calamity she'd encountered there.
The Apostate, Glethus.
The alchemist known as a calamity.
For some reason, even from a distance, that calamity felt strangely familiar to Belnoa.
'White hair, emerald eyes.'
Belnoa stared ahead.
Chloe, beaming across from her, also had white hair and emerald eyes. It wasn't just the colors that overlapped.
'It was like seeing Chloe all grown up.'
They were uncannily alike.
The calamity—madness sculpted into a woman's form—kept overlapping with the Chloe before her eyes.
"Belnoa, you feeling okay today? Or did I do something wrong...?"
"Huh?"
"You've been frowning since earlier... I thought maybe I messed up."
"No, just got a lot on my mind."
Belnoa gave a wry smile at Chloe, who was mumbling with drooping eyes and a shrinking voice. Only then did Chloe seem to relax, patting her chest in relief.
"I wanna meet her, too."
And just like that, she said it.
"Is Professor Lania like that? The one who helped us this time, and you said there's a lot to learn from her."
"...She's unique."
"If even you say that, she must be a good professor, right?"
A good professor.
"......"
Belnoa fell silent at those words.
"Hmm......"
She was a good person. Someone with much to teach. An figure called the Ashen Mage, worthy of respect without question.
But for some reason...
Ask if she was a good 'professor'... and the answer didn't come easily. It was hard to affirm it outright.
"Who knows..."
In the end, Belnoa answered with an ambiguous expression.
"She's a... good person. An excellent one."
"Belnoa, why the weird face?"
Chloe cocked her head.
Belnoa looked at her with pity. Just recently, Professor Lania had said:
-Your childhood friend, Chloe, was it?
-When does she enroll?
It was like a predator eyeing prey.
Belnoa sighed inwardly.
"You'll see when you meet her."
That was all she could say for now.
She was just too hard to describe in words.
2.
"Achoo!"
I rubbed my nose at the sudden sneeze.
Maybe from all the dust on the way here? It was itching like crazy.
"Jeez."
I sighed and propped my chin on my hand, looking around. The place was crammed with dusty magical artifacts.
Dusty flasks.
Magical tomes shoved in haphazardly.
Looking at all that... I could guess how little cleaning the owner did.
"Why the hell do you live in a dump like this?"
"Built it out here so no one would come, but there's always one or two customers."
The shopkeeper replied to my grumbling.
"What is it this time, Raniel?"
The silver-haired elf, Cardi.
He eyed me like it was no surprise, then slid a teacup across the table with a scrape.
"...What's this?"
"You said you liked green tea last time. So I brewed some."
"You suck at making tea."
"It's not that I suck. Kids these days just make it too well. Unnecessarily well."
A very lame excuse.
'Still, he went to the trouble of brewing it... might as well take a sip.'
With that thought, I tilted the cup.
The moment the bizarre liquid—hardly worthy of 'green tea'—touched my lips, I silently set it down.
Ptooey.
It was utterly undrinkable.
"Not drinking more?"
"Drink? This?"
I glared at Cardi, eyes wide.
This was something you'd 'chew' or 'force down,' not drink.
Cardi stroked his chin at my response.
He looked genuinely baffled.
"Strange. She liked it."
"Whoever she is, her taste buds must be busted. Tongue issue or something?"
Cardi just shrugged.
As always, he flashed that infuriating smile while clearing away the rejected cup.
"So, what's it this time?"
"Got a question."
"You sure have a lot of those."
"Only if you'd give straight answers."
I reached into my expanded storage cape. After rummaging for a bit, my hand touched something. Just the feel of it sent chills down my spine.
Whoosh.
I yanked it out onto the table. Cardi's eyes narrowed the instant it landed.
"This is..."
"The Apostate's arm."
The Apostate's left arm, linked to another realm.
That's what I'd placed on the table.
An arm that opened a gate to the otherworld just by extending. The Apostate's symbol—and the key to subduing that madman.
I pointed at it and said,
"Something's off about it."
It looked like the night sky transplanted onto flesh. Touching it didn't feel like skin and bone—more like dipping your hand in water.
"It came off her, but it doesn't rot or crumble. I even scorched it with starlight, but not only did it not care... it felt like it was sucking the light in."
I'd tried everything.
Surely it had some use, so I'd thrown every bit of knowledge I had at studying this arm.
"But I got nothing."
And that was the result.
I knew zilch. Really, nothing. The only thing I'd figured out was... maybe a link to the 'shadow' Cardi mentioned last time.
Cardi closed his eyes briefly, then opened them. His yellowish golden eyes trembled faintly.
"...So that's why you came to me."
"You're the only one who came to mind."
Things I didn't know.
Things about the calamity.
The only one who'd know... at least as far as I could think, was this enigmatic elf.
"You faced her, then."
"She stormed the capital."
"Heard the gist. Probably used that kid to pry open a gap."
Cardi exhaled shortly and looked at me. A hint of surprise in his eyes.
"...Impressive. Truly."
He said, touching the Apostate's arm.
"Ripping off Delorhim's arm without a holy sword, or even the stars' blessing... that's an outcome I never saw coming."
"...Delorhim's arm?"
"That's its name. Used to be called that, anyway. Not sure what it'd be now."
The name didn't matter at this point.
Muttering that, Cardi rolled up his sleeve.
"...What're you doing?"
"Quiet. Need to focus."
Cardi probed the Apostate's arm, then pressed hard at one spot. Squelch—his finger sank into the muck.
"...Huh?"
A gate to the otherworld.
Without a single spell, Cardi flung it wide. No time to be shocked.
Squish.
Thumb first, then index... Cardi plunged all five fingers in one by one. Veins bulged on his forearm.
"......"
Cardi furrowed his brow.
Like he was gripping something with force.
Splurch.
Finally, he pulled his hand out of the otherworld. Something clutched in his fist.
"...A key?"
It was a key.
Rusted and worn, but holding starlight within.
"...She still had it, after all."
Cardi smiled wryly at the key.
He gazed at it nostalgically for a moment, then closed his eyes. Seemed like he was sorting his thoughts.
"Raniel."
When he opened his eyes and called my name, they were steady. As always, those unfathomable depths stared at me.
"Go north."
He said.
"I'll draw you a detailed map. There's a small research facility I built in the Kurakt Mountains up north. Thick fog and blizzards make it hard to find... but..."
Cardi pointed at the Apostate's arm with the key.
"With this arm and key, you'll find it easy. You can read mana flows, after all."
I asked what was there.
"You've come this far on your own. Time I told you."
Cardi answered my question.
"The Martyr, Glerea Bell Armias."
He smiled wryly.
"You'll learn about her—the one once called the incarnation of Delorhim."
And, he added,
"Even how to kill the Apostate Glethus."
3.
The western frontlines, the Demonic Realm of Cremphelia.
Kyle breathed the dawn air and surveyed his surroundings. Just a few weeks ago, this fortress had swarmed with the Apostate's monstrosities... now it was eerily quiet.
"......"
As he patrolled, Kyle reflected.
This battle had been perilous. The Apostate's beasts were fierce, casualties double the usual. Of course, he hadn't been in danger.
He wouldn't die from something like this.
But the front had nearly collapsed.
"...Good thing reinforcements arrived in time."
Reinforcements—just one man, though.
He was someone Kyle had half-expected. Wherever the Apostate was involved, he always showed up.
The Sword Ghost, Draka.
The specter who lost everything to the Apostate.
-...No Ashen Mage this time, huh.
-Disappointing from a soldier's view, but I welcome it. Step aside. That's not how you take down those monstrosities.
When it came to hunting the Apostate's beasts, no one was better. Thanks to him handling the horde, Cremphelia hadn't fallen.
Kyle recalled their conversation.
-You'll be sticking around the western front for a bit. I'm heading back north.
Why north?
A pointless question. The Sword Ghost's every move revolved around the 'Apostate.'
Draka had chased her traces in the north for years. Nothing unusual there.
'But......'
This time felt different.
-Blizzards make it tough, but the watchmen said the fog cleared...
-Chance to check those ruins at last. Time to end it. Been tied down too long.
At last.
There was an eerie edge to those words.
-I'll find it, no matter what.
-A way to hunt the Apostate.
A man who'd devoted his life to pursuing her.
One who'd ascended to superhuman ranks on obsession alone spoke 'no matter what.'
'He won't hold back on methods.'
He'd once planned to obliterate an entire territory to get her. If Raniel hadn't stopped him... Draka would have gone through with that madness.
Hatred and obsession.
The only fuels keeping him alive.
"...Better steer clear of the north for a while."
Best to keep distance from a man like that.
At least, that's what Kyle thought.
Author's Note: Hieeek!