Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Old Ties (1)
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The gorge where the demon realm and the human realm met.
The air in Kirmelt Gorge reeked perpetually of blood.
Day after day, the knight orders clashed with the Demon King's army. Corpses of demons and demonic beasts piled up. Knight corpses piled atop them.
Those stacked bodies became offerings for the spells of black mages or shamans. In the gorge where only the stench of blood lingered, knights crossed swords with the bones and blades of those who had been comrades just yesterday.
The knights of Kirmelt Gorge were expressionless.
They had no choice but to be.
The front lines, a living hell called the demon realm.
The knights guarding it were veterans among veterans, hardened by endless rolls in the dirt of battlefields.
They cut down comrades without hesitation.
That was how they endured another day.
However.
"Remia."
Tonight was different.
"Fire."
A rain of arrows poured down.
Under the moonlight, the arrows precisely culled only the Demon King's forces. Each shaft pierced at least two foes.
Twang.
The light sound of a bowstring released.
The elf standing in the gorge had her golden hair fluttering.
"Sara."
A brief respite emerged.
The battered knights gazed at the woman walking through their ranks. Clad in pure white robes, she clasped her hands in prayer.
Light spread from her center.
In that warm glow, the knights recalled the woman's name.
Saintess, Sara.
And the name of the elf in the gorge came to mind as well.
Divine Archer, Remia.
Their gazes naturally turned forward. Someone leaped down into the gorge. He stood before the knights.
Shing.
A single sword, as if forged from starlight.
That iconic blade proclaimed his identity.
Hero, Kyle.
He swung his sword.
A slash of light cleaved the gorge in two.
"Oh, ooh..."
"Ooooooh!"
The knights cheered at the Hero's arrival. That was the Hero for you. His mere presence lifted their morale.
The number of allies didn't matter.
What mattered was that the Hero was with them on the battlefield.
'The Hero fights alongside us!'
The knights rose.
'The Star fights alongside us!'
They raised spears and swords.
Under the moonlight, the knights advanced. The Hero advanced with them.
It was just one night.
But that day, Kirmelt Gorge fell to humanity.
*
"Ah, my clothes reek. Ugh! This is why I hate undead."
"Tell me about it. Couldn't even recover my moonlight arrows properly. That's why I hate coming to Kirmelt Gorge."
Lodging prepared for the Hero Party.
"Didn't it take longer today?"
"Yeah. With Kyle, it usually wraps up in under an hour, right?"
"We basically pulled an all-nighter today."
"...Yeah."
Sara and Remia glanced at Kyle.
Kyle silently polished his holy sword.
They weren't voicing it while reading his mood, but Sara and Remia knew why the battle had dragged on like this.
'The Sage, Raniel.'
The mage who had left the party not long ago.
They had felt the void left by that mage countless times while fighting the Demon King's army.
When arrows failed against wyverns.
When black mages raised undead.
When shamans tried to perform rituals.
They thought of Raniel.
They couldn't help it.
Normally, he would have snapped his fingers or clapped, and it would all be sorted.
'So we thought it wouldn't be a big deal...'
It wasn't easy.
To contain the black mages, Sara had to expend massive holy power. To pierce the wyverns, Remia had to use her precious moonlight arrows.
And the shamans.
To stop those damn shamans' rituals, Kyle had leaped into the enemy ranks, bracing for injury.
'The bigger problem is...'
Even then, they hadn't fully minimized casualties.
Knight deaths had occurred.
About the usual number.
How much they reduced battlefield losses directly evaluated the Hero Party, so Sara and Remia bit their lips.
'It's that mage again.'
This too was due to Raniel's absence.
While Kyle rampaged freely across the battlefield stage, Raniel had held the front alone. Standing with the knights, keeping the line until Kyle returned.
Kyle, bounding widely across the field.
Only Raniel could support him.
The knights couldn't keep up with the Hero's movements. Those forcing themselves to follow only became burdens.
The result was disastrous.
"Tch."
Remia clicked her tongue briefly.
"It's fine. He was gonna die soon anyway."
"True. It would've ended like this eventually."
They knew Raniel was a capable mage.
They hadn't kicked him out unaware that his absence would cause this.
'It would've happened anyway.'
That was all they thought.
Raniel's condition had been poor.
Vomiting blood repeatedly mid-battle, deteriorating day by day.
'He'd die soon, or become a cripple.'
That's why they discarded him.
"Hmph."
Sara let out a bitter laugh, twisting her lips.
"Besides, he's probably suffering right now."
She remembered.
"Without my healing, there's no way he can endure that 'cycle' that comes every month."
Once a month.
The day Raniel's eyes turned black.
2.
"What the hell."
I woke up in the morning, looked in the mirror, and freaked out.
My irises were pitch black.
"Ah, it's today, huh?"
I placed a hand on my heart.
I felt the curse rotting one side of it pulsing.
"Ptoo."
The spit was black-tinged.
'No wonder my throat felt scratchy.'
I undid my robe and pressed my palm to the spell stocked on my chest.
Ash.
Ashen mana seeped into my body. The spell I'd refined fighting that succubus bitch, mana that swallowed curses.
Thump, thump.
My heart pounded hard.
My throat tickled.
"Cough, hack. Ptoo."
After vomiting blood a few times, my blackened eyes returned to normal. Of course, it hadn't fully removed the curse.
'Just suppressed it.'
Preventing it from eroding more than a certain amount.
Just dealing with the rising curse.
'But this isn't a fundamental solution...'
Best case, it maintained the status quo.
For now, it suppressed the curse without issue, so I'd left it be...
'Who knows what'll happen down the line.'
Nothing was known about the curse.
I pondered briefly.
"...Should I go see her?"
It happened to be my day off.
Probably no work at Aphria until the day after tomorrow.
'Might as well go now.'
Seemed like the day had come to handle what I'd been putting off. I tidied my clothes and prepared to head out.
Two pairs of shoes in the entryway.
One was the loafers Master gave me, the other my old military boots.
'She'll probably make me do something again.'
After a moment's thought, I slipped on the boots.
"Master?"
"What is it, Raniel?"
"I'll be right back."
"Where to?"
"Um..."
I said,
"To see an old friend."
*
I don't have many people I call friends.
My social circle was narrow to begin with, and most I'd been close to had died, leaving only a handful.
...Kyle was one, but not anymore.
Anyway, one friend remained.
I was heading deep into the capital to meet my first non-human friend.
'Come to think of it, Remia flipped out back then.'
An old memory surfaced.
-...What? A silver-haired elf?
-Yeah. Silver-haired elf.
My first non-human friend.
Her hair was strikingly unique, so I'd asked Remia about it.
'Elves are mostly green- or golden-haired.'
So I'd asked if silver-haired elves existed.
Remia had a fit.
-Don't lie, you arrogant human. How could you meet them? They're from legends.
-I met her, so why are you freaking out?
-Make sense. Ha! Fine, what's her name? Bet it's Ali...
-Cardi.
-...What?
-Cardi, she said.
-How could you meet her...
From that reaction, she wasn't ordinary.
'She was impressive.'
Not in combat, but in knowledge.
'Best alchemist I know.'
I was now heading to that elf's home.
Deep in the capital, down dim alleys, an old, shabby shop came into view.
"Hm."
I stopped in front and knocked a few times.
"Come in."
Herb scent hit me as I opened the door.
"What brings you to this rundown old shop?"
A white-haired elder stared at me.
His hair was streaked gray, skin wrinkled—but it was contrived age. I met the elder's eyes.
Beast-like, yellowish irises.
Those eyes hadn't lost their spark.
"Hmph."
I shrugged.
"You recognized me but played dumb."
"......"
"You can tell at a glance, Cardi."
"Hm."
The elder smiled.
"You ignore my courtesy of pretending not to know."
His bony finger tapped the table.
His form shifted. Snow-white hair turned lustrous silver, wrinkled skin smoothed.
The change was instantaneous.
From elder to youth, she shrugged.
"A rare guest."
"Not sure about rare, but missed, yeah?"
"That too, Raniel."
I smiled wryly.
Of course she recognized me.
'She sees through souls.'
From our first meeting, she'd spotted unawakened Kyle's talent and foretold his future.
"Long time, Cardi."
"By human measure, yes."
I pulled up a chair and sat.
"Heard the rumors. Your name's everywhere nonstop—must've been a flashy five years."
"Kept busy."
"Slicing the Black Calamity's throat? Sounds like you swung magic wildly."
"Had to."
As we chatted, I glanced around the shop.
"You're the same as ever."
Five years, unchanged.
No light entered the shop. Deep in the kingdom's slums.
"You like these dreary places? Gives me the creeps just looking. Depresses me."
"Reminds me of my old hometown in ashes. Perfect."
"You're unique, anyway."
Conversation paused.
Cardi had gone silent. She caught her breath, removed her glasses, and wiped them.
"So, Raniel."
Glasses back on, she narrowed her eyes.
"Chit-chat can wait. To business."
She pointed at my heart.
Opened her mouth.
"That heart."
Her voice differed from the gentle one I remembered.
"That curse, that form, that soul's corruption."
She asked sharply.
"What are you trying to become?"
Author's Note Just a heads-up so you don't worry. The tone won't suddenly turn grim or super serious. It's a short 2-3 chapter episode just touching on and passing by something. :D