Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: The Past, An Even More Distant Past (2)
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Ancient elf, Kardi.
This old elf, whose age was impossible to guess, was always stoic. Reserved, he rarely showed his emotions. The only time Kardi ever revealed his feelings was when it came to matters tied to his past.
'When I brought up the apostate.'
That was when I first saw a flicker of emotion in Kardi. As he listened to my story, he furrowed his brow and wore a distant expression. That was the only emotional display from Kardi I'd ever witnessed.
-I clearly warned you.
So this was the first time.
-My words must not have gotten through to you, Skeval.
The way Kardi spat out his words, the way he glared at someone with murderous intent... it was the first time in the dozen or so years I'd known him.
-Do you have a death wish?
I looked at Kardi. His face twisted into a savage scowl. His already beast-like yellow eyes grew even fiercer.
-Hah.
There was someone receiving that glare.
Clack, clack. Skeval moved with the sound of bones, letting out a laugh. His mocking sneer echoed across the snowfield.
-You couldn't protect a single thing... yet your mouth is still alive and well, Ashen One. Do you even have the right to say that?
-......
-You failed to keep your oath. You promised victory to everyone, but you were defeated. You protected nothing. It seems you still don't grasp your own situation.
Skeval's bony finger.
It hadn't been long since he'd become a lich, so his bones were still stark white as he pointed at Kardi.
-You're nothing but a loser, Kardi.
Skeval reached out his hand.
-Hand it over. That's not something for you to hold. It belongs to its original owner...
-You're talking utter bullshit.
Skeval's voice cut off.
Kardi narrowed his eyes and thrust his arm forward. He pressed his thumb and middle finger together.
'...What is he about to do?'
I blinked.
I had no idea what Kardi was planning. As far as I knew, Kardi was an alchemist, not skilled enough to take on Skeval.
-Ashen One, what are you...
But for some reason.
Skeval's pupils trembled as he stared at Kardi. His black eyes darted wildly, as if he knew exactly what was coming.
-Stop!
Skeval shouted urgently.
Anxiety seeped into his voice.
-It's all over! You still can't let go of your attachments...!
-Even if everything else has ended.
Skeval hastily chanted a spell. A barrier formed around him in an instant. Unlike the frantic Skeval, Kardi remained calm.
-My journey has not.
Snap.
Kardi flicked his fingers.
-Thus, the contract remains in effect.
The surroundings brightened. The sunset over the snowfield vanished in a moment. It wasn't the darkness of night that chased it away. A greater light had dispelled the sunset.
I slowly raised my head.
I looked up at the sky.
A sun hung there. The sun blazed at the zenith of the sky. It wasn't a metaphor. A real sun had appeared in the heavens. I realized its true nature only moments later.
'...A spell.'
It was a spell.
A sun made of mana.
A gasp escaped my lips.
"...Insane."
Spells intertwined. Mana clashed against mana. Circuits collided. The entanglement, friction, and collision birthed a flame resembling the sun.
A colossal flame too vast to take in at a glance.
It wasn't so much woven as it was smashed together—a spell that fit that description. The flame it created writhed. The undulating blaze followed Kardi's fingertip, as if ready to erupt at any moment.
Whoosh.
Kardi drew his finger through the air.
From above, down.
As if dropping something.
-Vanish from my sight.
Roar!
The flame plummeted. The sun fell.
It looked just like the sun setting. The difference was that it wasn't sinking beyond the horizon... but right in front of us.
Fwoosh!
A flash struck the snowfield.
The snow covering the area evaporated in an instant. The heat erased ancient, millennia-old ice without a trace. Before that heat, a mere mage's barrier was utterly useless.
Sizzle!
Everything in my vision turned to ash.
I stared blankly at the sight.
'...An illusion.'
I knew it was an illusion.
Since it was a distant past event, I knew the heat wouldn't reach me. Even so, I instinctively raised my arm to shield my face.
-Cough.
When the flash faded, Kardi was coughing dryly. Drip, drip—blood splattered to the ground. Kardi wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and lifted his head.
Crackle, crackle.
Where embers still lingered.
Kardi took a few steps toward it. There lay Skeval, half-melted.
-I heard... you didn't have much time left...
Those words never finished.
Crunch!
The sole of Kardi's shoe crushed Skeval's phylactery. Then Kardi staggered onward. He was clearly far from normal.
"...Hm."
I glanced at Kardi's retreating figure.
It felt utterly unfamiliar. The aura enveloping him was nothing like the Kardi I knew.
'Was Kardi even a mage to begin with?'
Kardi knew many things.
He was an exceptional alchemist. But a mage? Not as far as I knew. One of the fundamentals for a mage was innate mana capacity.
'And Kardi's mana...'
Was minuscule.
Just a few basic spells would drain it completely.
'Pull off something like that with that pitiful amount?'
It made no sense.
It was impossible.
'Even I'd have to go all out for something like that.'
I eyed Kardi's illusion suspiciously. Of course, glaring wouldn't yield answers.
'...Guess I should follow for now.'
As I moved to step forward, I paused and glanced back. My gaze fell on Skeval's crushed corpse. A melted, gooey skull.
'Feels kinda familiar.'
It was strangely familiar.
A chuckle slipped out.
'...The kid really shows up everywhere.'
The one familiar thing amid all the strangeness.
2.
Near the Kurakt Mountains lies a small village. It's in the outskirts even by northern standards. The village had an old church, but the residents rarely used it.
People in the north don't believe in gods.
More precisely, they have no luxury for faith. Every day is a battle for them. Things are better now, but before House Grace rose, the north was no place for humans.
Fights with barbarians.
Endless beasts crossing the borders.
Add the harsh environment, and northerners have no time for prayer. They'd rather climb a mountain and hunt an extra beast than pray to an uncertain god.
That's the northern view on religion.
"A land of heathens. Not exactly to my taste."
Yet a devotee had set foot in this northern land.
Verdict, an elderly man revered as cardinal of the Delorhim Church. He spoke as he walked.
"The harder life gets, the more one should turn to faith. To think those under His grace claim no time for prayer. Their bellies must be full."
Holy knights followed behind him.
At the end of the ropes they tugged were children, bound. The kids in white robes had vacant eyes. They walked barefoot through the snow.
"Here."
Thud. The cardinal halted.
He stopped in a vast snowy plain. Holy relics from the Holy Kingdom were arrayed across it.
'Priceless treasures, every one.'
Items that might appear one or two at a saintess's baptism. Facing the holy power within each evoked a sense of omnipotence.
'But compared to that, these are trash.'
The cardinal recalled what Draka had shown him.
A small bone fragment. The holy power within that star-like bone... transcended his imagination.
In the end, that's how it was.
The radiant ancient era, the glorious age's saintess.
The first saintess, unnamed even in the church's historical records. Her tales were so outlandish that many dismissed her as fiction.
But no.
The first saintess had existed, and Draka's display was proof.
'To resurrect such a being.'
A smile spread across the cardinal's lips.
He would witness a miracle.
The Delorhim Church would flourish once more. More radiantly, more beautifully than ever.
"...U-um, Your Eminence."
A holy knight broke the cardinal's immersion.
The cardinal shot him a sharp glance.
"What is it?"
"May I ask one thing?"
"Speak."
The holy knight hesitated before opening his mouth.
"Why does the Sword Ghost seek to revive the first saintess?"
"...What nonsense is that?"
"He only pursues apostates, doesn't he? I know he's part of the church, but..."
The cardinal gestured as if he understood.
"A vengeful spirit obsessed with revenge—why involve himself in reviving the first saintess... something so religious. That's what you're wondering, right?"
"Y-yes... Exactly."
"The reason is simple."
The cardinal gazed toward the Kurakt Mountains as he spoke.
"Delorhim's minor precept, one of five."
Recite it.
The cardinal said, and the holy knight replied.
"Do not cling to the past; live in the now."
"Three of seven."
"Bury the dead in your heart. Miss them, but do not crave their existence."
The cardinal turned to the holy knight, hands behind his back.
"The Sword Ghost failed to uphold those two."
He clung to the past.
He craved the existence of the dead.
"He seeks to revive his deceased daughter. For that miracle, he needs the first saintess. Only she can perform the miracle of resurrection."
Even now.
Despite preparing such relics and sacrifices, resurrection felt distant. Even a freshly dead corpse seemed beyond saving.
'That's why it's a miracle.'
The cardinal surveyed the altar.
The altar formed from the relics was perfectly suited for alchemy, almost mockingly so. He stroked his chin at the inverted cross.
"Hm."
He nodded slightly.
"It's lacking."
It was insufficient.
The cardinal stated flatly.
"We need more sacrifices."
"Pardon? But the head church said this should be exact..."
"Exact isn't enough. This is the site of a miracle. There can be no shortages."
"But procuring more right now is difficult, Your Eminence. At least ten days..."
"Why difficult?"
He turned his gaze.
From the foot of the Kurakt Mountains, his eyes fixed on the village below. The cardinal pointed at it.
"Don't they overflow there?"
The holy knight fell silent.
The cardinal's eyes were calmly settled. The holy knight swallowed dryly at the restrained madness within that serene gaze.
"...Shall I prepare them immediately?"
"That would be ideal."
The holy knight asked.
"How many?"
The cardinal answered.
"The more, the better."