Chapter 184
Chapter 184
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: Omen (3)
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Kalt raced through the forest with Lania slung across his back.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. Even he, who had never lost his composure no matter the battlefield situation thanks to years of experience...
This time was different.
He couldn't make sense of it.
His mind was a whirlwind from the sudden turn of events.
Even in his confusion, Kalt didn't stop running. He steadied his balance and sped even faster through the woods. His body, now entering the realm of superhumans, showed no signs of fatigue from carrying a single person.
'She's so cold.'
Lania's arm draped over his nape.
The limp limb felt like a block of ice.
Kalt picked up his pace. He kicked off the ground, burst out of the forest, and dashed across Aphria. People murmured at the sight, but he had no time to care.
Where should he go?
He asked himself.
The closest place from here. Somewhere that could tend to a mage's condition. And a place that could keep his senior's secret safe.
The answer came quickly.
Without breaking stride, Kalt looked up.
A structure rising along the royal road. The tower humanity had built to reach the truths of the heavens stood out clearly even from here.
A black spire piercing the sky.
Known as the Tower of Black Mages.
Gazing at the tower, Kalt muttered.
"Black Mage Tower Lord."
Someone who knew Lania's true identity and was likely to help in a situation like this. Kalt hurried toward the tower where he resided.
2.
"Please, go on in carefully, Miss Chloe."
"Y-yes... It was truly an honor to speak with you...!"
The girl bowed deeply, her body tense. Anyone could see she was nervous. Aila let out a faint smile at the sight.
"I told you to relax. This is our third meeting, but you're still as stiff as the first time."
"I-I'll be careful...!"
"No need to be that careful. See you next time."
Chloe left the room trembling.
Only after the door closed did Aila lower her raised hand. The mask of benevolent smiling slipped away in an instant.
"...Hoo."
Aila sighed and picked up her hand mirror.
She checked her reflection. What she focused on were her pupils.
Golden eyes, the symbol of the royal family.
But the starlight glow that defined Aila was absent.
'No good after all.'
Her pupils still showed no platinum shimmer.
Hero candidate, Chloe.
She had hoped being near this girl connected to the stars might coax a revelation from them... but no such luck.
The stars remained silent.
It had been nearly two weeks living in that silence. Aila had spent those fourteen days in terror.
Every minor incident gripped her heart. Everyone passing by on the street seemed like an assassin targeting her. The 'prophecy' the stars had given before falling silent only imposed crushing solitude on her.
"What should I do..."
Time dragged on endlessly.
Her time was shackled to the stars' words, unable to move forward. A shadow fell over Aila's face.
"Hoo..."
She didn't know how many sighs this made.
The moment she sighed again, her guard knight's voice came from outside the door.
-Your Highness. A Royal Guard has come to see you.
"...A Royal Guard?"
-Yes, he says he has something to deliver...
Royal Guard.
The royal family's loyal hounds, Hounds.
'Why would a Royal Guard show up suddenly?'
Aila tilted her head but told them to let him in. Soon the door opened, and a man entered, dressed in Hound uniform.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
Expressionless face, lifeless voice.
"I've come to deliver an item."
He handed Aila an object.
"The palace communication network is nearly restored. Once complete, this magic tool will connect directly to the royal castle."
It was a crystal orb.
Aila accepted it without suspicion.
"...It's black."
"It's not activated yet. Once it is, it will glow the royal gold."
The Hound left after saying that.
After he departed, Aila stared at the crystal orb for a long while. A black crystal orb. It felt ominously colored for some reason.
'Suspicious, but...'
It came from a Hound, the loyal hunter willing to sacrifice their life for the royal prosperity. Just as Aila was about to dismiss her doubts...
『Trust in nothing.』
The stars' prophecy echoed in her ears.
"Havel."
Aila called her guard knight's name.
But no answer came.
"...Havel?"
Calling again yielded silence.
Aila sensed something was wrong. Swallowing dryly, she opened the firmly shut door.
"...Guh, cough."
The first thing she saw was Havel, throat gripped, gasping for air. Aila's trembling eyes fixed on the figure clutching his neck.
"You..."
A Hound sworn to the royal family.
"......"
He looked down at her with cold eyes. Finally, he slowly spoke.
"『I blocked the starlight, yet how?』"
The words came from a human mouth, but the voice was not human. Something else spoke through a human vessel. A chilling, bone-scraping sound reverberated in Aila's ears.
"『Whatever. It doesn't matter.』"
He swung his hand.
A shimmer followed his fingers. What glowed was black mana. Abyss-like pitch-black mana enveloped Aila.
"『Prepare to face Him, child of the stars.』"
Aila's vision went black.
3.
"To be honest, this is incredibly perplexing."
Yetual removed his bloodied gloves and eyed the Hound glaring at him. The glare was fierce, but he had to say what needed saying.
"What in the world..."
The top floor of the Black Mage Tower.
Yetual turned his gaze to the girl lying on the bed. She looked young and innocent on the outside... but he knew an Ashen Mage dwelled within.
Pointing at her, Yetual said.
"What happened to leave the Ashen Mage in such a state?"
Who was the Ashen Mage?
Someone who had faced even the infamous heretic alone. Yet now she lay unconscious, showing no sign of waking.
'When she first arrived, she was vomiting blood, right? I just can't figure it out...'
As Yetual frowned at the unbelievable situation, Kalt spoke up.
"I don't know the details either. How is my senior now? She seems a bit more stable..."
"Stable? This?"
Yetual shook his head.
"All I did was stop the bleeding. A temporary measure at best. It'll start again soon."
"What do you mean? What's her condition..."
"How to explain this... Her internals are a complete mess. Beyond repair."
Yetual pointed at the prone Lania.
Cold sweat beaded on the girl's forehead.
"It's a miracle she's alive. She looks fine on the outside, but inside, she's utterly wrecked."
His finger pointed toward her heart.
"Something unknown is embedded in her heart. It's periodically corrupting her mana."
Mana corruption.
Kalt furrowed his brow at the term.
"Corruption...? Like demonic poisoning?"
"Different. Demonic poisoning can be purified. Mana corruption is death for a mage."
The moment corrupted mana passes through the channels, it spreads to all mana. The more it circulates, the more the channels shatter and the body collapses. Thus, mana corruption equals death for mages.
"Mana corruption induces mana rampage. Uncontrolled mana tears the body apart from within. The greater the mana reserve, the worse it gets. And for an Ashen Mage..."
It would be like an explosion inside.
Yetual pinched his brow after saying that.
"Normally, corruption means instant death. Who survives a bomb going off inside them?"
Surprisingly, one did. Right here.
Yetual glanced at the girl.
The more he looked, the less sense it made.
"The Ashen Mage is somehow suppressing it with unknown means. She's purifying the corrupted mana. Corrupt, purify. Corrupt again..."
He pointed to her chest.
Beneath the thin shirt, intricate circuits glowed.
"These unknown circuits are repeating the madness. But something triggered it, and the corruption surged faster. The circuits can't keep up with purification, hence this mess."
That was Yetual's conclusion.
"Frankly, I don't know. Full of unknowns. No idea what's in her heart, what's causing the rising corruption, or what these circuits even are."
'I don't know.'
Repeating that, Yetual felt helpless. Even ashamed at his own inadequacy.
'And here I am, a Mage Tower Lord...'
He'd thought he knew much.
Learned much. But before the unknown, he was powerless. Yetual couldn't comprehend what lay before him.
"...Can't you remove whatever's in her heart?"
"If it could be, the Ashen Mage would've done it already. This is different. Not removable."
Yetual shook his head.
"It's entwined with her mana core. Interwoven with her soul's foundation. Removing it..."
He stated firmly.
"Would kill her. Definitely."
Kalt ground his teeth.
"Then is there nothing we can do right now?"
"I don't know. What to do..."
That was as far as he got.
A creak came from the bed beside them as it dipped under weight. Kalt and Yetual turned simultaneously. The girl on the bed was slowly sitting up.
"Senior!"
"Quiet. Shut up and watch."
She raised a shaky hand.
With five fingers splayed sharply, she jabbed them into her own chest. Squelch! Half her nails sank into skin, blood welling at the tips.
Crunch, crrrunch.
She moved her fingers.
Circuits etched into her pale skin as it tore. A sizzling burn filled the air. She spat dark red clots repeatedly but didn't stop her fingers.
"...She's insane."
Yetual muttered, watching.
Carving circuits into her own body while sane. Enduring searing pain, forcing rampaging mana to trace the lines.
Pain beyond imagination.
Amid it, she maintained sanity, reinforcing intricate circuits. Her wide blue eyes fixed precisely on her chest. Madness gleamed in that gaze.
'Something only possible if you're mad.'
Finally, she withdrew her fingers.
Blood dripped onto the bed. She spat one last clot.
"Hup, haaa..."
Exhaling, she raised her bloody hand. She pressed thumb to middle finger, then snapped.
Snap!
Crackle!
Blue sparks flew.
Crackle, zzzap. The sparks reacted with the communication circuits etched in Yetual's office. The room's circuits overheated red.
Boom!
A thunderous crash as the circuits shattered. As Yetual's eyes widened, Lania panted and lifted her head.
"Black Mage Tower Lord."
Half-lidded eyes.
Cold sweat trickling to her chin.
She looked like speaking, let alone staying conscious, was a struggle. Yet she forced out the words.
"A guest will arrive soon."
"...A guest?"
"I sent the signal, so they'll come. Whether an old man or a young elf, someone distinctive will show up..."
Please open the door.
With those final words, Lania collapsed. Yetual inwardly clicked his tongue at her determination to finish speaking.
"...One guest coming?"
Old man, young, or distinctive otherwise.
What kind of vague description was that?
Yetual tilted his head. But it didn't take long to understand.
-Tower Lord, a guest has arrived.
About thirty minutes later, communication came from the tower lobby.
-An old man? No, young? Hard to tell. Anyway, a mysterious figure showed up, demanding to be sent to the top floor or he'll smash the tower...
Yetual pinched his brow.
"...Just send him up."
An acquaintance of the Ashen Mage.
Someone who might help in this situation.
Such a person might actually demolish the tower, not just threaten emptily.
"Guide him up quickly, with full courtesy."
With that, Yetual cut the communication.
Truly, today was a day of chaos.
"...You there, Hound."
"Yes?"
"Do the Ashen Mage's acquaintances all shun peaceful resolutions?"
"What do you mean?"
"Never mind..."
You were the same.
Yetual let out a deep sigh.
『Urgent. I need help now.』
This man before him had just moments ago nearly strangled a guard blocking his path, stolen the communicator, and demanded entry.
'I'm going mad. Really.'
Yetual shook his head.
Expensive communication circuits were wrecked, the tower's dignity in tatters. Caught between superhumans or near-superhumans, Yetual felt himself shrinking.
'...I get a bit how the White feels now.'