Chapter 194
Chapter 194
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 194
Chapter Title: Each One's Stage (8)
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Choosing for oneself and taking responsibility for that choice is no easy task. Nor is it easy to step forward and provide answers before others.
Your words demand accountability.
Your answers carry the risk of being wrong.
And when failure strikes, you must bear the full brunt alone.
Standing before others forces responsibility upon you, whether you want it or not. All the more in dire situations. That's why most people shrink back from the forefront. You can't fault them for it. It's only human.
But here stands one girl.
"Perhaps."
A girl who shunned the easy path of leaning on the stars and chose instead the hard road of forging ahead by her own will. When all fall silent, she speaks up.
"Perhaps... there's a way."
Her golden eyes gleam radiantly in the darkness. Those golden eyes gaze upon her companions at her side. They sweep across purple and green irises in turn.
"Resti, the talent I know you possess is eyes that can see and comprehend everything tied to the stars. Isn't that right?"
Resti nods.
Aila presses on.
"If that's understood, then a mage of your caliber should naturally be able to wield it as well, no?"
"...Not yet, it's impossible."
This time, Resti shakes her head.
"I get the gist of what you're thinking. You're telling me to harness that child's mana right now?"
Resti points at Chloe as she speaks.
She hadn't overlooked the idea herself. Channeling Chloe's mana to turn starlight into a weapon. If feasible, it would be flawless. But feasibility was the issue.
"That child's mana—the starlight—isn't like ordinary mana. I've studied it nearly a month straight, but I still haven't grasped it."
Endless attempts during shared classes.
Yet results eluded her. Theory made sense, but practice was another beast. Chloe's mana slipped through her fingers like sand, defying control.
"...Only Professor Lania can manage it."
It lay beyond her reach.
Aila shook her head at Resti's words, a gentle smile curving her lips.
"I'm not asking you to do it alone."
"...Pardon?"
"It's not just you and Miss Chloe here. I have star-related talents too."
Aila traced a circle in the air with her finger, as if wielding a conductor's baton. In that instant, Resti sensed the mana flows shift.
"...Just now?"
"That's my gift."
As Resti's eyes widened, Aila continued.
"I can 'control' ambient mana flows, or anything like them. Even mana infused with starlight... it shouldn't differ much."
Put another way...
"I'll tame the mana Miss Chloe unleashes, make it pliable for you. Then you wield it."
The reckless scheme vaulted into viability.
"Miss Chloe."
"Y-Yes?"
Aila gently tugged Chloe's arm.
"Miss Chloe, just release your mana freely. Nothing else matters."
Her tone was soft, a plea rather than a demand. Chloe nodded slowly, then squeezed her eyes shut.
"...I'll try."
Chloe clasped her hands in prayer, bowing her head slightly. Starlight streamed from her core. Brilliant radiance that pierced the gloom filled the space around them.
Like mana, yet not.
Starlight no worldly law could sever flowed in streams. It coiled like vines through the air. Watching it twist and surge, Aila swallowed hard.
"...Hoo."
She exhaled her held breath, resolve hardening.
Her narrowed golden eyes swirled with platinum halos. Sensing the stars' gaze upon her, Aila raised her arm and extended her fingers.
She craved control.
She yearned for dominion.
Her outstretched fingers became the baton; her extended arm marked her the conductor. Aila signaled the performance's dawn.
Rustle.
Order emerged in the chaotic light swarm. Faint, yet unmistakably directional. The Watcher never missed it.
"Now."
Aila spoke.
Resti moved.
Creak, creeeak.
Circuits materialized in the void. Starlight coursed along their paths. Slow but steady, aimed true. Before the finished array, Resti uttered the incantation.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Summon Light overflowed.
The symphony ignited amid the maelstrom of radiance.
2.
Every fight turns on a single instant.
To seize that instant, battles drag through tedious rituals. Feint gaps, exploit them, lure, deceive, charge, retreat—endlessly. Mages fare no differently.
Splash!
Raniel dashed, kicking up dirt trails. Her body, pushed to its limits, blurred into afterimages. The spell's wake held no trace of her—only ash in her path.
Dodge. Counter from the dodge.
Choking dust cleared in a blink. From a blind angle erupted a spell-clenched fist. Lightning flashed through the haze.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Smash The earth quaked. An invisible shockwave devoured the field. Instinct drove the shadow to shield its vessel. Sewage enveloped Kelrhalhm, yet it couldn't halt the retreat.
Crack!
The ashen-mana shockwave hammered Kelrhalhm. Savage winds flung sewage in all directions. But only for a moment—the filth surged back.
'Spell's too weak.'
Raniel sensed it intuitively.
Dislodging the shadow demanded rawer power. Her most devastating spell. No need to search afar.
Splaash!
Raniel skidded across the ground. A tiny ember flickered in her grasp.
"Ashes to Ashes."
Tick, tictock.
Sparks flew from the ember.
Airborne ash motes ignited in response. A flash seared the area. Scorching gales vaporized the sewage. A breach formed.
Thud.
Raniel lunged at Kelrhalhm.
Closing to point-blank, she drove her fist home. It sank into his gut—only to stall against sewage. Kinetic force canceled.
But the spell endured.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Spell-Enhance Double-Spell
Smash
One flare shoved the sludge aside. Before it could refill the bared abdomen, a second spell slammed in.
Boom!
Kelrhalhm's feet left the dirt.
As Raniel reached for his collar, something seized her—yanking her skyward.
"...Gah!"
Her throat constricted. Choking, she narrowed her eyes. A grip clamped her nape.
'...A hand?'
Black talons.
It crushed her windpipe. The arm trailed into the sewage cloaking Kelrhalhm.
Whoosh!
The limb hurled her toward the ground. Raniel gritted her teeth, seizing it with ashen-mana hands. She twisted—severing it.
Thud!
Fall momentum unchecked, she tumbled across the earth before staggering up.
"...Kch, ptui."
She rubbed her blackened neck, spitting blood. The ashen mana had saved her—else her neck would've snapped.
"...What a pain."
Raniel muttered, eyeing ahead.
The hard-won gap yawned wide again. And the shadow enshrouding Kelrhalhm... wore a new shape.
'Mist without form before.'
Now, defined.
'Black talons.'
Built to seize. Crooked fingers like hooks, primed to yank prey down.
"...Better than the Demon King."
Raniel smirked.
Dozens rose from Kelrhalhm at best... but the Demon King she recalled dwarfed that.
'Thousands, tens of thousands of talons.'
Wave upon crushing wave, flooding the field. She'd bound that deluge once; this was well within bounds.
"Hoo..."
Short exhale, stance reset. Kelrhalhm shuddered violently. Scores of talons rained down.
Tap, tap.
Raniel toed the ground twice. Swept back blood-matted bangs. Blue eyes glinted in shadow.
Crunch.
Her ankles cracked audibly.
Crouched low, she stared down the onslaught. No evasion chosen against the shadow surge.
Craaack!
Headlong charge. Her kick cratered earth, dust exploding. Raniel plunged straight in.
One step, another.
Each built speed atop speed. Ash trailing, she accelerated. Talons lunged—too sluggish.
Splat!
Smashed a shadow grip. Trampled the wreckage, pressed on. Fists and feet carved her path.
The talons faltered.
Sensing failure, they clustered—not to grasp, but to bar.
⚙ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚙ Rebuild Kelrhalhm's spell scourged the ground.
Earth upheaved; the plain warped into ravines. Raniel kicked off rising spikes and vaulted high.
Warriors bereft of footing might flatten it anew, cleaving bulges for launch points.
But Raniel was a mage.
Footing needn't mean "ground." Midair, she swept her arm. A spell flashed to life.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Chain Restriction
Claang! Scores of chains lanced out, webbing the upheaved terrain like spider silk. Raniel landed atop the lattice.
Sway.
Chains rocked; she bounded again. Each leap accelerated her frenzy. Kelrhalhm's spells lagged behind.
'All that's left...'
From the final chain, she glanced below. Eyes locked with shadow-veiled Kelrhalhm. The engulfing gloom roiled fiercely.
Creeeeak.
Like a beast baring fangs at prey. Black sewage gaped wide at Raniel. Come get some.
"...Ha."
Raniel sneered.
Aerial spin. Palm to chest. Circuits overheated, ashen mana leaked. Hand upon it, she steadied her breath.
'The day I first wielded this.'
Blackouts galore.
To quell the Demon King's curse, she'd forged a concept and infused it into mana. Success, but ashen mana birthed alien traits.
Suppressed curses. Repelled shadows. That's all.
Properties diverged utterly, demanding new methods. Circuits rebelled; spells fizzled. Efficiency abysmal—days abed after each use.
Still, research beckoned.
Mastery demanded it.
'Trial after error.'
Raniel persisted.
That grind birthed now. She cast with ashen mana. Tolerance grew.
And.
"Ashes to Ashes."
🔥 SPELL ACTIVATED 🔥 Ashes to Ashes Ash specks converged to a nexus.
Mana remnants coalesced. Upon the drifting motes, Raniel inscribed anew.
"Curse to Ashes."
🔥 CURSE SPELL ACTIVATED 🔥 Curse to Ashes Flames tainted ashen.
Ashen mana-saturated inferno thrashed wildly. A blaze devouring curses alone.
She clutched it.
Eyes bulged.
Target locked.
"Choke on this, Kelrhalhm."
Flame-trailing, she plummeted.
"It's gonna burn."
3.
Even endless night draws to close.
Aphria's darkness-bringer—the altar site—shudders repeatedly. Quakes ripple outward.
Barrier's vortex heart, altar-ground zero, hurtles toward finale.
Crack, cracracrack!
Starlight-charged summons assault the altar. Fangs as star-spears, claws as star-blades.
Individually feeble against stellar arms, yet hordes forge weapons.
Rumblerumbleboom!
Star-infused beasts topple the altar at last. Shards fly; earth heaves. The black barrier peels away.
Meanwhile, backstage beyond eyes, climax looms.
Fwoosh!
A human streaks as fire, plunging into dark. Human-sparked blaze chars shadow. A beacon piercing gloom. Flames rout the night.
Fwoooosh!
Every shadow-wrought dark incinerated, the human reaches the lunatic within. Seizes his head, torches the shadows inside. Ashen pyre roars; corrosion burns.
Ash drifts.
God-rival entity chars to nothing.
From shadow's ruin emerges the man doomed to madness.
Human meets human.
The man scorning all lives extends a hand to save the one who offered himself for others. Star-chains in grasp rival star-swords—in purpose to rescue, essence aligns.
Chains bind the madman.
Restore him human.
Light floods; new pact seals. Starlight banishing dark blazes glorious. The long fray concludes.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 【The contract has been forged.】 Unseen by any.
Mere backstage.
Yet two humans claimed it their stage, exhausting every role. Their finale? The best conceivable.
Not ruin.
Not grudging second-best.
The pinnacle of full effort.
"Well done."
And ashen mage Raniel smiles.
"Kelrhalhm."
Honoring the man unyielding to the end.
✍️ Author's Note Got a sponsorship message saying I hit 3rd in awards. Couldn't check results myself—thanks for the heads-up! :D I'll jot down sponsor messages on hiatus days...! 3rd in awards? What a delightful outcome~ If I snag that llama trophy, proof pic incoming...! *Packed plenty this time too :D