Chapter 152
Chapter 152
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: Northern Region, Epilogue (Part 2)
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Two days before departing the Northern Region, Raniel headed out for one last training session with Rak. Part of it was to check on his growth, but there was also something she had to face again at the end of the holy site.
And so, one hour after arriving at the holy site.
Raniel felt astonishment at the unexpected result. She stared at Rak with her eyes wide open.
"...You've really improved a lot?"
The limit from their first training session wasn't even visible from where Rak now stood. He was planted firmly on both feet, far beyond that point.
And that wasn't all.
"Spells... too... I think... I can use them."
Breathing in short gasps, Rak tensed his arms. Veins bulged on his forearms as the incantation enveloped his body.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Enhance Strength [Strength temporarily amplified]
With a snap and twang, the ropes broke.
Raniel clicked her tongue inwardly.
'...This wasn't the case before.'
An astonishing result. Truly.
He had grown beyond recognition in just a few days. The unexpected outcome brought not just surprise, but joy as well. With a light tap, Raniel nudged Rak's head with the back of her hand.
A smile tugged at her lips.
"Not bad."
After that, Rak held out for quite a while longer. It wasn't until sunset that he collapsed from exhaustion. That was the first time he passed out that day.
"Hyup."
Carrying Rak on her back as she exited the holy site, Raniel pondered. Such rapid growth in mere days... there had to be a trigger.
'...A trigger, huh. Only one thing comes to mind.'
'The encounter with the Sword Ghost, Draka.'
A sword swung by a superhuman with killing intent.
Facing the death bearing down on him, Rak had resisted. He succeeded in slicing even a single strand of the superhuman's sword aura. It was an undeniable feat.
Approaching death.
The boundary between life and death.
Placed in that narrow gap, few fight for life. And those rare few gain enlightenment.
'He must have realized something.'
In other words...
'He saw the wall.'
Raniel had never personally felt a wall, so she couldn't grasp its form. She could only vaguely imagine it from what the superhumans had told her.
A boy who had just faced the wall.
And the realm he would reach by surpassing it.
Just picturing it brought her joy. Feeling another sense of accomplishment from her Northern journey, Raniel murmured.
"...I'm looking forward to it."
Muttering to herself, she moved on.
A little lighter and sprightlier than usual.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
After laying Rak down outside the holy site, Raniel headed back inside. It was a path she had already passed once. Retracing her steps was easy.
Chin.
Before long, Raniel reached the center of the holy site.
Walking across the mystical meadow at the heart, where the blizzard had cleared—even now, she couldn't get used to it.
"......"
She stopped in front of the shattered statue.
She paused only briefly. Crossing the waterway infused with starlight, she headed toward the island floating in the middle of the lake.
A sword impaled at the island's center.
A blade astonishingly similar to the Sword of Death.
Raniel narrowed her eyes at the greatsword. It was different from when she first encountered it. Now that she understood the forgotten history of the past, this single blade held an entirely new meaning for her.
"The First Star Sword."
The sword that had spent a lifetime with the Sword Superhuman.
A sword of the stars, forged when starlight dwelled within it.
'...The form most suited to containing starlight is the holy sword, they said?'
Countless heroes who left their names in history.
Their weapons varied, but the strongest of their era always wielded a holy sword. It even spawned the saying that the holy sword was the most perfect form of a star.
'In a way, it's true.'
Now knowing the truth, Raniel let out a wry smile.
'It was starlight meant to dwell in a sword from the beginning.'
Raniel had seen this sword in the pages of past history. In the hands of the first hero, Ganikalt, this greatsword was more powerful than any spell and sharper than any incantation.
'A sword that turned the tide of battle with every swing.'
Cleaving through demon legions.
Slicing away the darkness that blotted the skies.
A blade that beheaded even the shadow devouring the sun.
This greatsword, held by the first superhuman and hero, was worthy of being called perfect. Recalling those memories from the past, Raniel took another step forward.
"A sword is half the swordsman's soul."
A phrase the Sword Superhuman Kuntel had repeated endlessly.
"A sword holds the swordsman's soul."
Words she had brushed off as a joke.
Perhaps even superstition.
But for this one blade, at least, the swordsmen's habit proved true. Raniel narrowed her eyes. In her hand was now a wooden box.
Rustle.
Starlight flowing from the wooden box resonated with the starlight overflowing from the blade. Starlight briefly filled Raniel's vision.
'I see it.'
Raniel reached out.
She reached out and gripped the hilt.
Sizzle.
Ignoring her palm burning away, she stared straight at the sword. She read the flow of starlight pooled in the greatsword. Her pupils gleamed platinum.
Her eyes grew bloodshot.
She widened her reddened, blood-veined eyes.
'A fragment of the soul.'
A shattered fragment of the soul lingered there.
The moment Raniel inserted her own soul into it.
Crack, crackle.
Raniel's vision split.
Temporary confusion flooded her sight. The shattered soul pursued another soul. The discarded half-soul of a swordsman headed toward where it belonged.
"...Ah."
Raniel let out an involuntary gasp.
Her vision connected with something. Through her left eye and the confused sight, she looked around. Darkness everywhere. Thick fog. And something was there.
「......」
Black eyes gleamed in the darkness.
Familiar eyes flashing from within the cracked helmet. Raniel's shoulders trembled. Cold sweat trickled down her spine. Her teeth chattered.
'Sword of Death, Ganikalt.'
The death she had once faced.
'The connected vision... to the Sword of Death.'
Ganikalt's original blade.
The shadowy sword connected to her vision. The shattered souls resonated. She felt like an intruder caught between them.
"One who is not a swordsman." And, as expected.
A master swordsman noticed the intruder's presence.
"Do not mimic a swordsman." It slowly reached out a hand.
Drew the extended hand lightly from top to bottom.
"Ugh...!"
Raniel released the sword and closed her left eye.
A trickle of blood ran down her cheek.
"That... crazy..."
As expected of a monster.
Raniel muttered with a hollow laugh. Even borrowing starlight to insert her soul, she was repelled effortlessly by a single casual gesture. Wiping the flowing blood, she kept her left eye shut.
'Still.'
She had gained something.
The risk had been worth it.
"...So this is it."
The method she could never find, no matter what.
The way to hunt the Sword of Death that neutralized starlight.
'Only now, after all these years...'
Raniel had found it.
The means to bring a heavenly existence crashing to the ground.
2.
"...Senior? What's wrong with your eye?"
"It'll heal in a few days."
"No, the left one looks pretty serious..."
Ignoring Kalt's words, I packed my things. In truth, I had more luggage to take back than when I came to the North.
「Oh, leaving already?」
「Then this, this, and this too...」
Lady Failia's gifts were quite substantial. The warriors' presents added up too. As I packed, Kalt spoke up.
"You're heading back to the capital today, right?"
"Have to. You're going later?"
"Yes, the knight order is dispatching one member..."
"...One?"
One. At that word, I turned to Kalt.
He rarely referred to anyone as "one." I asked him casually.
"The knight commander uncle won't come, so then..."
"The hero Glahal-nim is coming."
"Makes sense. Glahal's reliable."
I nodded.
No need to worry if it was Glahal. I patted Kalt's shoulder.
"Give my regards to Glahal."
"...Senior?"
"Yeah? What?"
Kalt sighed and pressed his forehead.
"Officially, you're retired, and your identity is unknown right now. You know that?"
"Yeah?"
"Normally, even me contacting you is top secret. Kinda..."
"Whatever."
I shrugged.
"Glahal'll get it."
"Well, true, but..."
It was Glahal, after all.
He'd understand the nuance. Thinking that, I stood up, hands full of luggage.
"Take care then."
"Yes, I'll contact you once I'm back in the capital."
"Sure."
I waved casually and walked off.
All schedules in the North were complete.
Now, it was time to return to the capital.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 3.
After a light farewell party and send-off, I boarded the carriage to the capital. Rak would come later for the school term, so I was traveling south alone.
"Did you enjoy your journey in the North..."
"Too many incidents to just enjoy it."
"Quite a few unfortunate events, it seems. Next time you visit, we'll do our utmost to let you experience the North's beauty in full..."
Though alone, familiar butler Sebas kept me company now, so the return trip wasn't boring. After several days, I arrived at the village near the capital—my hometown.
"Ughaa..."
Stretching languidly, I walked through the fields.
Gentle hills, swaying green grass.
The path to Master's mansion at the forest's edge was the same as always. Now summer, with a slightly warmer breeze blowing, I hummed as I walked.
Knock knock.
I knocked lightly and opened the door. Master, sipping coffee on the living room sofa, turned to look at me. With a clink, he set down his cup and spoke.
"You're back, Raniel."
"Yes, Master."
I'm home. Saying that, I showed him the luggage filling both hands and smiled.
"Brought tons of gifts."
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"There are two pieces of news."
Rosel opened his mouth as he sipped his tea. Raniel, munching on snacks after dinner, tilted her head at his words.
"What news?"
"Things that happened while you were in the North. There were a few minor incidents, but only these two you really need to know about."
Rosel pulled out two letters.
Unfolding one, he continued.
"One is that an elder from the Ashen Mage Tower retired due to an 'unfortunate incident.'"
"...Unfortunate incident?"
"Yes. The vacancy left by that elder is set to remain empty going forward. And the one who sent this letter..."
Rosel pointed to the sender on the letter.
"Is the Next Mage Tower Lord, Resti Eleanor."
A pillar had gone vacant.
And it would stay that way.
It was a kind of warning from the Next Mage Tower Lord to the other elders. A declaration that this Tower Lord would seize control aggressively.
"She's pulled off something bold. Personally, I like it. There were too many elders anyway."
They needed trimming.
For the Ashen Mage Tower to advance, six elders were simply too many.
"A long-postponed task, but..."
"Looks like she's planning to handle it all at once."
Raniel gave a faint smile.
Rosel narrowed his eyes at her smile.
"...Did you give her some kind of hint?"
"I gifted her a trap. Left it to her to decide where to set it, how, and what prey to catch."
Raniel chuckled aloud.
"Seems she's really got it figured out."
What about the next one? As Raniel asked, Rosel unfolded the remaining letter.
"A secret official document came from the royal family and the Black Mage Tower. Only to a select few among Aphria Academy's faculty."
A letter stamped top secret.
Rosel read it line by line.
"It's about a girl named 'Chloe,' who will transfer in next semester under a disguised identity."
Chloe. Raniel blinked at the name.
She had heard it somewhere before.
"Under her disguise, she's a girl with a unique constitution under the Black Mage Tower's protection, but..."
Rosel tapped the letter.
The emblem on it symbolized the Black Mage Tower—one used only by its master.
"Her true identity is the Next Hero Candidate on the verge of awakening. The royals describe her as the fourth hero of this era."
Rosel slowly raised his hand.
"The first wizard-class hero born with starlight itself as her mana. An unprecedented case in centuries. Considering her uniqueness, the royal family and Black Mage Tower..."
Rosel's finger pointed at Raniel.
"...have entrusted her education to you, Raniel."