Chapter 289
Chapter 289
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 289
Chapter Title: The Prophecy Points to Death (1)
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Since spring, Aphria had been in an uproar.
The announcement that Chloe was the next Hero candidate had shaken everything. And not just that—her guardian was the Ashen Mage Tower Lord, and she was currently enrolled at Aphria.
It caused a massive stir.
"It's more like a sponsor than a guardian."
"The Ashen Mage Tower respects the will of the holy Hero, Chloe."
The Ashen Mage Tower Lord had prepared for something like this long ago, so he handled it smoothly. But Aaron, the dean of Aphria, couldn't. He had made preparations too, but they weren't much use.
All because of the excessive attention.
Aphria was the last place Gallahal had visited before his passing. It was his first and final appearance at the church, which carried profound weight. The world was watching the students who had received his teachings.
And amid all that, it was revealed that the Hero inheriting Gallahal's will was enrolled at Aphria. She would remain there until she came of age.
It was astonishing news.
Not just to the world at large, but to the students at Aphria too. The revelation that the next Hero had been attending classes, laughing, and chatting in the same space as them left everyone stunned.
That was the kind of existence a Hero was.
No matter how prestigious a noble family's child might be, they were mere mortals before a Hero chosen by the stars. As the entire academy buzzed with excitement, Aaron let out a groan.
"Belnoa."
And then.
"Belnoa?"
"Yeah, what is it, Rak."
"Your face looks off. You seem exhausted."
Belnoa wasn't pleased with this situation. Not one bit.
"I've got a lot on my mind."
Belnoa stared at her own hand, the one she had opened wide.
She frowned as she gazed at the hand that still hadn't grasped the insight from the trial.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
"You want to increase your training time?"
Kalt rolled his shoulders and exhaled shortly.
His gaze turned to the boy standing before him—the one infamous even among the Hounds as the Nightmare of the Slums.
The shaman, Belnoa.
It had been a few months since this boy had suddenly approached Kalt seeking instruction. Since then, Kalt had occasionally joined in Belnoa's training.
"Do you really need to?"
"I think I do."
"Rushing it won't help."
Kalt sat down on a stump.
It wasn't hard to guess why Belnoa was saying this. Kalt knew some of the internal situation.
"Is it because of Chloe, that girl?"
"......"
Belnoa affirmed it with silence.
Kalt let out a short breath.
"I don't think I can increase it more. I'm busy too."
He muttered and shot Belnoa a sidelong glance.
Kalt was skilled at reading people. Even Belnoa, who rarely showed his inner thoughts, couldn't hide from Kalt's eyes. Kalt narrowed his gaze.
He looked chased by something.
Behind that hurried demeanor shone anxiety.
"I get it, sort of."
Kalt rested his chin in his hand and spoke.
"At your age, what you've achieved is more than enough."
Kalt sighed and continued.
"You could join the Hounds right now and rise straight to my level. Even on the battlefield, you'd make a name for yourself in no time. Reaching that realm at your age? It's rare, hand-picked talent. You know that, right?"
That was Kalt's conclusion after sparring with Belnoa these past few months. The boy before him was gifted. He had the talent to become first-rate. As expected of the student his senior had taken an interest in.
'Not just in physical techniques or skills...'
His judgment was swift.
His thought process was quick, and choosing what to discard and what to pursue was seamless. It was innate talent, honed in real combat.
"Personally, I rate you highly. And I'm not alone—my senior and my comrades do too."
It wasn't just Kalt's subjective opinion.
Objectively, few at Belnoa's age had reached such heights. Even hearing that praise, Belnoa's expression didn't brighten.
Kalt knew why.
"But you're aiming higher."
The transcendent realm.
The place reached only by surpassing the wall.
This boy was seriously targeting it. That's why he'd come to Kalt.
'He seems to have felt the wall already, but he can't progress further...'
Kalt had been through something similar.
He scratched the back of his head, choosing his words, then sighed and blurted it out.
"Want me to be honest?"
"Pardon? About what...?"
"Training in your current state won't mean much. Just enough to keep your edge."
What kind of talk is that?
To Belnoa, who looked at him with that expression, Kalt tapped the hilt of his sword stuck in the ground.
"Don't people say transcendents are forged in real battle? That something appears in the moment of death."
Most transcendents said as much.
In the face of inescapable limits at death's door, something appeared. Grasping it allowed them to surpass the wall.
"The act of gaining insight is what matters."
Kalt had gained insights each time he faced disaster.
He'd seen something and reached for it.
Stacking those up, Kalt had climbed the wall. The final push involved the Holy Grail, but he'd learned countless times on the brink of death.
"More training now won't reveal any answers. I know because I went through it."
That's how transcendents were.
You couldn't surpass the wall by honing yourself safely. Insights always came in extreme situations.
"Sounds like old-man talk, but you can only learn in real combat. I can only tell you what worked for me."
In the end, Kalt's advice was limited.
"That moment will come for you too."
Kalt spread his hand toward Belnoa.
"The moment you challenge your limits, facing a massive wall that seems impossible to climb. It will come. Definitely. So when it does..."
He extended his hand forward.
"Don't close your eyes. Don't think of retreating. Even if you're scared, reach out. Reach out and..."
Kalt gripped the empty air tightly.
"Grab it."
That was it.
Kalt said. Belnoa quietly looked down at his palm. Still, a shadow lingered on his face.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 3.
"I've confirmed the contract has changed."
Cardi said, fiddling with the scales.
"The contract I had with the stars was altered. More precisely, something's wrong with the one distributing starlight in a cycle."
It was the first anomaly in centuries.
Cardi narrowed his eyes and looked ahead. Raniel stood before him.
"Raniel, you seem to know something."
"I do."
Raniel pondered where to start but ended up recounting everything from the beginning: Gallahal's death, the miracle he performed at the end.
"...I suspected it was related to the Hero's death, but it really was."
Cardi sighed after hearing it all.
"The star chose Chloe in her final moments?"
"Yeah."
"Transferring the starlight. I thought only that bastard Ganic alt could do it, but she went and pulled off the same feat."
Cardi looked wistfully at the scales floating before him. He scanned the contract engraved on them and continued.
"It's not impossible."
Not impossible.
There was precedent, and this contract had been created using it.
"We could interpret and analyze all sorts of details, but I don't want to. Not sure it even matters."
"...I agree."
Raniel nodded.
Gallahal's final miracle. She had no desire to dissect and probe it. It felt like something she shouldn't.
"Not my place as a mage, but not everything can be calculated."
Cardi touched the scales.
"The world seems to turn predictably under the stars' providence, but gaps appear somewhere. The stars can't foresee everything. Some call it God's mistake..."
And some, Cardi muttered.
"Call it a miracle."
Miracles happened in every era, every moment.
Cardi clearly remembered the miracle his comrade had wrought centuries ago. Recalling it suddenly, he smiled bitterly and continued.
"Raniel, do you know this?"
"What?"
"I told you we once severed the Demon King's flesh. Who do you think did it?"
"...Ganic alt?"
"Right, correct."
Cardi nodded.
"At the end of a ten-day battle, Ganic alt finally severed the Demon King's flesh. He stripped perfection from the god who set foot on this land. And..."
Cardi tapped his right arm.
"At that time, Ganic alt had lost half his body."
"...What?"
"That's how fierce the fight was. He sacrificed half his body, sword in hand, resolved to die. He normally wielded it right-handed, but that final swing was with his left."
And that sword.
"Reached the divine."
No starlight filled Ganic alt's final swing. Ironically, it was a human sword—not the one chosen by the gods—that severed the god.
"A miracle. Impossible. Even now, I don't know how it happened. Explaining it feels pointless."
Anyway, Cardi said.
"Human resolve sometimes yields utterly unforeseen results. That's why Glerea said prophecies are meaningless—because of such variables."
It was contradictory.
A mage, who should analyze stellar providence more than anyone, speaking of miracles.
The old Raniel would have scoffed and tried to analyze Ganic alt's final strike. But not now.
Cardi felt a strange sense of incongruity from her.
"You've changed."
"Have I?"
"Your expression's lighter. Not as stuffy as before."
"I seemed stuffy?"
"Reminded me of my old self."
"Ah."
Raniel straightened her back and exhaled briefly.
A faint smile on her lips, she said.
"I've just been thinking a lot lately."
"Found any answers?"
"No way. Gotta keep thinking."
So, Raniel began.
"How's the changed contract? Any issues?"
"The star's cycle has shifted to three. No more Heroes will be born, I'd say."
"I see."
The contract upheld for centuries had flipped.
Without any trades.
All that remained was the flow of starlight following human will. Recalling it, Raniel nodded.
"Means it properly reached Chloe."
"Probably."
"Good."
As Raniel moved to stand.
"Raniel."
Cardi quietly called her name.
Turning back, she saw Cardi's complicated expression. He slowly opened his mouth.
"Glerea took a fatal wound, you said."
"Chloe said so. She saw a spear blade pierce her heart."
"...I see."
Listening to Raniel, Cardi had pieced together Glerea's goal. She wanted to steal Chloe's body—similar to his own—to come meet him.
Cardi didn't know what emotion to feel about it. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly before falling silent.
"...Sorry. Shouldn't have asked."
Raniel didn't add anything.
Instead, she asked a question.
"Hey, Cardi."
"What?"
"Since Ganic alt came up—when the hell does that monster make his move?"
It was a question Raniel had long harbored.
Skeval and the apostates had their own patterns. They moved for purposes. But not Ganic alt.
"I can't figure out his goal at all."
His battlefield appearances were unpredictable, his motives unknowable. Paradoxically, that made him all the more disastrous.
"Who knows."
Cardi looked at the table.
More precisely, the flickering candle on it. Beneath the flame lay shadows. Staring at them, Cardi murmured.
"If anything knows, it's the shadows. He'd swing his sword for them."
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