Chapter 204
Chapter 204
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 204
Chapter Title: Land of Ashes (4)
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I've never really had much of a desire for clothes.
It was probably because I grew up in a village remote enough to be called the countryside, helping my parents run their little library. The only things I ever coveted were knowledge.
Even back when I was the Ashen Next Mage Tower Lord.
Even when I was the Hero Party's sage, I never had much greed for clothes. As long as they performed well, that was enough for me.
So that's why...
"You bought more clothes again?"
"Are you two insane? Return them before I tear them to shreds. I'm serious. I'll rip them."
I could never understand Sara or Remia. It wasn't just once or twice that I'd raised my voice watching them blow our budget on clothes every time.
'...It was definitely like that.'
I quietly lowered my gaze.
I looked at my arm, slightly lifted.
Flutter.
The sleeve rippled gracefully. The elegant curve swaying at the hem, adorned with constellations embroidered on a field of white, was truly beautiful.
Twirl.
Even spinning in place, it was the same.
The robe billowed in the wind sweeping across the wasteland. When the robe fluttered, the platinum embroidery shimmered like starlight reflected on water.
'This is unreal.'
It was a design beyond words.
It wasn't for nothing that plain robes with basic functions were called artifacts and displayed in treasuries. It had looked beautiful even through the glass...
'But wearing it... it's even more unreal.'
The comfort was even more absurd.
Just the sleeves fluttering made giggles escape me uncontrollably. I'd never craved clothes my whole life, but this... this might make me want some.
"Raniel."
Lost in admiration of the robe, Cardi called me. Turning my head, he pointed at a pile of rocks.
"Clear this away. Seems like it's this one."
"Smash it?"
"Don't smash it, move it. We can't blow away the statue inside."
I nodded.
Two days into the wasteland, we'd been progressing like this.
'We have to find the statues.'
To enter the Land of Ashes the 'proper' way, we needed to activate the statues, Cardi had said. They were buried all over the wasteland, but he found them quickly without a map.
"...There were some in the North too?"
I muttered, staring at the statue.
I remembered the one in House Grace's sanctuary looking just like this.
"The North? Oh, you mean where Ganikalt's sword is embedded. You went there too?"
"One of my students was the Grace heir."
"Grace, right, that was the name."
Cardi chuckled softly, tracing the circuits on the statue half-buried in rock.
"So, did the statue I placed there work well? It was set up as a trial for the kid who pulls that sword."
"Yeah... uh-huh?"
"I asked if it worked fine. It's been a while since I made it, so I'm a bit worried."
It worked fine.
Fine, but...
'I smashed them all because they kept blocking the way.'
I glanced sideways at Cardi.
He was focused on the statue and not looking my way. Feeling a pang of conscience, I answered his question.
"Uh... it worked... fine."
"Good to hear."
"But you made this?"
"Technically, Glerea developed it. I just inserted specific circuits."
Glerea.
'Glerea Bell Armias.'
The first saintess, now a heretic.
'And Cardi's old comrade.'
The closer we got to the Land of Ashes, the more often Cardi mentioned 'Glerea'. He seemed to enjoy talking about her.
"...The first saintess must have been talented?"
"She was exceptional. She had talent in holy magic, alchemy, summoning, and even as a pure wizard."
Whenever he spoke of her, Cardi grew talkative. Was it joy in reminiscing, or relief at having someone who could understand her stories?
Probably both.
Thinking that, I smiled wryly.
"She's on another level from the saintess I know."
"Glerea was special."
"All done," he muttered, pulling his hand from the statue. Its eyes glowed, and the tip of the spear it held pointed in a direction.
"Next is that way."
Cardi took the lead.
I followed behind.
2.
We reached the second night crossing the wasteland.
Cardi said most statues were activated; all that remained was entering the Land of Ashes. Before proper exploration, with night deep, we set camp in a corner of the wasteland.
Crackle, crackle.
Poking the burning firewood, I glanced across. Cardi had been scribbling on the ground since earlier.
"What've you been doing?"
"Wait."
After scribbling a while, he set down the stick and looked at me.
"Raniel, did you encounter my illusion when climbing the Northern Kurakt Mountains?"
"Illusion? That one with Skeval?"
"Yeah."
Nodding, Cardi continued.
"Then you saw the spell I used there."
"...I saw you drop something like a sun."
"Right. This is that spell's circuit."
Cardi tapped the ground.
A massive circuit was etched there. A unique one, blending ancient and modern circuits.
"This is the spell?"
I narrowed my eyes.
"Doesn't seem like it."
The spell I'd seen Cardi cast there.
I'd recreated it in my mind. In terms of raw power, I could cast something similar.
'But this...'
The ground circuit.
It differed entirely from what I'd imagined. Not focused on a single massive strike. It considered what came 'after' the strike.
"My mana was fading then, so I couldn't cast it properly. Didn't need it to take down Skeval anyway. It has another purpose."
"Then what's it for?"
Cardi exhaled shortly at my question.
"A spell to kill Glerea."
"...What?"
I swallowed.
Cardi pointed at the circuit, expressionless.
"After her fall, Glerea's summoning talents bloomed. She revived the dying dead, binding them as her familiars."
The miracle of resurrection.
Twisted into an alchemical abomination.
"To kill her, I had to wipe out those familiars at once. Prevent new summons too. Couldn't leave mana for her to recover."
The spell was designed with that in mind.
Cardi, muttering that, looked at me.
"Drop flames to burn the familiars. The lingering embers temporarily seal all spells there."
A two-stage spell.
Explaining, Cardi smiled wryly.
"It worked."
"...You."
"I used it. Successfully."
He gazed at the dying campfire.
His golden eyes were calm, a faint smile on his lips. The face of one reminiscing and regretting the past.
"...Couldn't finish her, but the spell proved useful."
Sighing, he looked at me.
"Learn it. You'll need it someday."
Staring at his face, I quietly asked.
"...Why couldn't you finish it?"
"Who knows."
Cardi smiled wryly.
"Probably thought there was another way back then."
3.
Night deepened.
Unlike Raniel asleep in the tent, Cardi poked the fire alone. Though late, he didn't sleep.
The blowing wind was quite chilly.
Lifting his head toward the wind's source, the Land of Ashes loomed far off. His homeland lay there. Not his birthplace, but where his life began.
He lived like a human.
Entwined with humans.
Like them, living fleeting moments, he busied through days. If now was ashes, then was blazing flames.
'I miss it.'
Missing it brought memories.
Glorious past circled his mind. Closer to the Land of Ashes, Glerea surfaced more.
"Please, Armiel."
To the eternal elf, the woman who etched an indelible moment flickered before him.
"......"
Remembering her, Cardi gazed at the Land of Ashes. No sturdy walls or soaring spires remained.
Only remnants of history.
Traces showing a once-prosperous kingdom's fall. And Cardi wished.
"I hope she understands."
The Ashen Mage, Raniel van Trias.
He truly hoped she'd grasp a fragment of truth in the ashen kingdom, earning the right to hear the second truth.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ No matter how filthy, people claim turf. Back alleys of kingdoms, shadowed slums—anywhere.
The danker, the better.
The darker, the better.
Those defying law and rules seek shadows. Gathering one by one, they form turf. Parasiting on what's already made.
Land of Ashes.
Same there. Ruins' debris lingers on the outskirts. Parasites live among them.
Called the filthiest place.
Paradise for outlaws.
A demonic realm in the human world.
Criminals notorious across nations, deserters fleeing battlefields. All filthy,卑鄙 things gathered in this lawless zone: the Ashen Wasteland on the Land of Ashes' fringe.
"Lately, more customers, huh."
The mercenary guarding the entrance muttered, chin propped. Customers increased. Especially those with notorious names.
'Already two heroes.'
No good brushing with superhumans. When they came, he slipped away. Guarding was his role, but blocking them? No.
Luckily, their goal wasn't the Ashen Wasteland.
Beyond, the Land of Ashes crawling with beasts. He didn't care why they headed there.
"Sigh..."
The mercenary lit a smoke to kill time.
Not every day special guests; even 'users' now tread carefully.
As he pondered how to pass the day—
Thud.
Footsteps from afar. He squinted toward the sound. A young man and woman approached.
'...Not special guests.'
Fine clothes, but faces not heroes or superhumans. Unfamiliar.
"Whew."
He whistled at the woman. Pretty face despite the robe, alluring curves visible atop.
Slender limbs, delicate features.
Clearly didn't belong. Ogling her, he noticed the robe's uniqueness.
'Mage Tower folks.'
From the robe's shape, both from the Mage Tower. Mages came occasionally for forbidden goods.
Same this time?
Thinking so, he spoke.
"Customers?"
The girl tilted her head at his question.
"Customers?"
"Ashen Wasteland deals in things unavailable elsewhere. If trading, the passphrase first..."
"Passphrase."
One of them.
The hooded man cut him off.
"Didn't expect a passphrase to enter my hometown."
Arrogant, displeased tone.
He strode forward. The mercenary sneered.
'Mage Tower wizards, always...'
Treat them nice, they don't get it.
Drunk on superiority, they act entitled.
"That doesn't fly here, sir."
But this was Ashen Wasteland.
Not called lawless for nothing. Once-notorious mercenary shrugged, drawing his sword.
"No passphrase, can't let you in."
Wherever these mages from, they needed etiquette lessons first. Grinning slyly, he gripped his sword tighter.
"Oh..."
The girl just admired briefly.
No tension at all.
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