Chapter 309
Chapter 309
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 309
Chapter Title: What the Star Desires (2)
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Raniel van Trias didn't like the stars.
That said, it wasn't to the point of hatred.
Raniel had no intention of dragging the stars down from the sky like Celrhalim or the heretics. To her, the stars were merely a kind of rule. How could anyone rage against the natural order that formed the world?
She didn't worship them. She didn't prefer them. Nor did she hate them. They were just a little uncomfortable, and that was the extent of Raniel's perception of the stars.
But now...
"This is ridiculous."
That perception was starting to shift.
Raniel ground her teeth and gripped her staff tighter.
"What, after it's all over? A contract? Give me a break."
Her suspicions about the stars had been steadily building.
Especially now that she was doubting their fairness.
And in the midst of it all, the sight of the stars' agent appearing right in front of her filled Raniel with irritation. With a creak, the ancient wooden staff in her hand began to warp under her grasp.
"If you're coming, then hurry up. You always run away at the crucial moments..."
Raniel yanked the staff toward her.
She shoved it right in the face of the ancient dragon mage.
"It's always like this. What the hell are you even doing?"
"This is no concern of yours, Raniel van Trias."
The ancient dragon mage, Yormun, gazed at Raniel with an expressionless face. His vertically slit pupils were chillingly cold.
"The hero, Kyle Toven, made a deal with the star. He accepted the conditions and restrictions of his own free will. If he tries to refuse them now..."
Yormun's golden eyes gleamed.
"Then he must be dealt with. That, too, is part of the contract."
The contract had been made.
Refuse it, and face disposal.
'...That's the condition.'
Raniel mulled over Yormun's words.
She knew such forms of contracts existed. By imposing powerful restrictions, one could maximize the rewards gained from the deal.
"......"
Raniel silently shot Kyle a glare.
"What the hell did you offer up?"
"......"
"What could you have possibly gotten in return to accept conditions like these? Are you an idiot? What kind of..."
He would lose control over his will and body.
He had accepted conditions bordering on enslavement.
And piled on every disadvantageous restriction imaginable.
'What could be worth going that far for?'
Raniel couldn't fathom it.
Cases of heroes making deals with the stars were exceedingly rare to begin with, and she couldn't guess what could be worth such extreme restrictions.
"Hey, Kyle."
Raniel grabbed the collar of Kyle, who knelt on the ground. She pressed him with questions since he wasn't answering.
"What the hell did you agree to?"
"......"
"Damn it, I need to know to help you!"
Unable to hold back, Raniel shouted.
No matter how she thought about it, something was wrong with the contract. For the star's agent, an ancient dragon mage no less, to appear because he hadn't fulfilled it? And talk of disposal?
'Has he already received something?'
There were deals where an advance payment was given at the time of contracting. In such cases, these harsh restrictions made a bit more sense. Raniel frowned and spoke up.
"What did you already receive?"
"...I received it."
"Starlight accumulation? Or maybe when you fought Ganikalt..."
Kyle slowly shook his head.
"Something else. Accumulating starlight was my choice, and the star was completely cut off when I faced Ganikalt."
"Then what the... Never mind."
Raniel snapped irritably.
"I don't know what you got first, but just give it up. Spit it back out and break the contract for now. These conditions are all wrong, no matter how you look at it. Break it and remake it from scratch. I'll oversee it..."
Kyle looked at Raniel wordlessly.
'Let it go, Rani.'
Mulling over those words, Kyle gave a bitter smile.
"I can't do that."
"...What?"
"Step aside for now, Raniel."
"What are you..."
"If you're not moving, at least duck."
Kyle muttered as he raised his hand.
The chains binding him snapped with a clink and clatter. The moment Yormun narrowed his eyes, Kyle reached out and pulled Raniel's arm.
"I'll handle this."
With a swish, the chains surrounding Kyle were sliced apart.
2.
Before they knew it, the holy sword was in Kyle's hand.
After severing the chains with the holy sword, Kyle dusted himself off and stood. He faced the ancient dragon mage glaring at him head-on.
"What do you think you're doing? Kyle Toven."
"The first hero told me something."
Kyle let out a short breath.
"Not to live as a slave to the stars. So I'm trying to act a bit more boldly."
Gripping the holy sword, Kyle spoke.
"I'll fulfill the contract. But I'm changing the conditions."
"...Changing the conditions?"
"You'll see. I've become a superhuman. That's something the stars didn't foresee, which means my value has gone up. The worth of what I've paid has increased."
"And?"
"So I'm demanding a change in the conditions."
"You think that'll work?"
"I think it will."
Kyle said calmly.
"Your position isn't so lofty either."
Kyle recalled the contract's details.
A contract plastered with all sorts of conditions and restrictions.
But at its core, it was still a transaction. Kyle had stated what he desired from the stars. The stars had replied that they would grant it if he overcame two trials.
The first trial was the blade of death, Ganikalt.
"In overcoming the trials, the stars aid me. As long as I keep the restrictions, the stars provide power accordingly. That's what was said, right?"
"But," Kyle continued,
"I broke through the trial with only my own power. You would have seen it if you were watching."
To face the blade of death, Kyle had accumulated starlight for a long time. But in the end, when death came, the stars offered no help. Kyle had confronted death solely with his own strength and skill.
"The stars failed to properly fulfill the contract as well."
Isn't that right? Kyle posed the question.
Yormun stared at Kyle silently. His gaze shifted to Raniel standing behind Kyle. A being who had gained the same qualifications as a guide.
The gaze of a guide couldn't be easily dismissed.
"...You're really a pain."
The ancient dragon sighed.
He looked up at the sky.
"What the hell are you even doing properly? Didn't I tell you to call me only in clear situations? Am I some kind of broker? What is this..."
Realizing he'd been summoned to a stage completely different from what he'd expected, Yormun let out another long sigh. Then he turned and looked at Kyle again.
"Fine. It sounds reasonable enough. If the proposed change is fair, I'll accept it."
A star twinkled above Yormun's head, but he muttered, 'You shut up for now,' dismissing the star's voice.
"State your desire."
"You can take control of my body. But I want control of my consciousness."
"A fair demand. Very well, accepted."
Mid-sentence, Yormun stroked his chin.
"Wait. Emotions too? All of them?"
"All of them."
"That was part of what you asked for."
Kyle smiled bitterly.
"Doesn't matter. All of them."
Fear, anger, regret.
If all emotions were stripped away, he could become a superhuman like Raniel. There had been a time when he believed that. But not anymore. Kyle nodded vigorously with a relieved laugh.
"If that's what you want, then so be it."
Yormun looked reluctant.
Then he tapped the ground with his staff. A passage to the ancient dragon's city opened. Beyond it lay the audience chamber of Yormun's royal castle.
"We'll discuss the rest inside. There's something else I need to tell you separately. Come in."
The ancient dragon passed through the passage first.
Kyle started to follow, then glanced back. There stood Raniel, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Raniel."
Looking at his changed friend, Kyle said,
"We'll meet again. Next time..."
After a long silence, Kyle spoke again.
"Next time, I think I can apologize to you."
"Who puts off an apology like that?"
"Who knows. There's a mage who punched me in the face while saying sorry, so maybe there's someone out there who delays theirs too."
Raniel flinched, her shoulders twitching.
"...You won't even tell me what contract you made?"
"I'll tell you then."
"You're hiding a ton, you bastard."
Leaving the grumbling Raniel behind, Kyle passed through the door. Watching his back, Raniel debated following, but sighed and stood, figuring someone needed to stay and report the situation.
"Hey, Sara...?"
Just as Raniel was about to leave with Sara. Someone brushed past her with a whoosh. Pink hair blocked Raniel's view.
"Where do you think you're going alone?"
As the passage Kyle had taken began to close, Sara dashed toward it. The passage swallowed Sara too and vanished without a trace.
"...What?"
It happened too fast to stop her.
It felt like she'd been ditched. Standing there dazed for a moment, Raniel turned at the sound of footsteps.
"...You were here?"
"I've been here since earlier."
The Divine Archer, Remia.
She blinked at Raniel.
"But, human."
"What."
"Why does everyone call you Raniel? Are you Raniel? It seems like it from what Kyle was doing."
Raniel's mouth fell open slightly.
She lightly smacked her forehead.
"You sure ask fast, huh?"
3.
Belnoa had seen it.
Chloe, drawing down starlight to fight the curse dragon flying in the sky. The knights gathering to protect her. And Belnoa had seen all those efforts rendered meaningless.
Thud.
The flames spewed by the curse dragon incinerated the knights.
The flames turned into a heat ray, and the transformed ray pierced Chloe's side.
"Chloe!"
By the time Belnoa reached Chloe, slashing through the horde of ghouls wildly, she was crawling on the ground, bleeding. Carrying her on his back, Belnoa fled.
Two fingers. If that wasn't enough, both arms. If still not, his broken fingers once more.
Throwing everything onto the scales, Belnoa fled.
Carrying Chloe, he broke through the ghoul army and escaped the curse dragon's breath shooting from the sky. But even that reached its limit.
Crack.
Having sacrificed everything and twisted the trajectory of the heat ray by mangling his own legs, Belnoa could flee no longer. One couldn't crawl away forever.
Belnoa looked at Chloe collapsed on the ground.
Crawling, he embraced her with his broken arms. Her body was cold. Chloe's face was pale. Belnoa looked at his hands holding her.
Squelch.
Red blood smeared them.
Not his blood.
Chloe's. The blood loss was severe. Belnoa's fingers trembled. Amid the whirlwind of thoughts, Chloe slowly opened her eyes.
"Bel...noa."
"Chloe!"
"Let me go."
She gently pushed Belnoa away.
Chloe staggered to her feet. Blood dripped, staining the snow red.
"Chloe, you..."
"I have to stop it."
Chloe looked up.
Sweating coldly, she glared at the curse dragon hovering in the sky. Her gaze didn't waver. Clutching her pierced side, Chloe tried to draw a circuit with her trembling fingertips.
Grab.
Belnoa seized the nape of Chloe's neck as she tried to draw the circuit. Standing on his broken legs, Belnoa pulled her down.
Kiiiiing!
The shot heat ray grazed the spot where Chloe had just stood. The piled snow melted and evaporated, leaving the boiling ground exposed.
"That thing."
With Chloe pinned, Belnoa said,
"You think you're going to fight that?"
"...Yeah."
"That thing that reacts the instant you draw mana? You'll die. For real."
Belnoa gripped Chloe's fingers trying to gather mana. He shouted.
"We have to run."
"We can't."
"We have to. We can't win. We're outmatched."
"Still, we have to."
"You'll die!"
Belnoa yelled.
To Belnoa, the top priority was survival. Flee if dangerous, hide if outmatched, and wait for the next chance.
That was Belnoa's way.
"You can see it."
But.
"You can hear it."
That wasn't the hero's way.
Chloe reached out, pointing at something. There, refugees screamed as they fled. Knights held back the ghouls.
Their eyes naturally turned to Chloe.
They saw the young hero here.
They sent expectant gazes, hoping she would do something. Chloe couldn't bring herself to avoid those eyes. Just like a certain hero from the past.
"I..."
Chloe pushed Belnoa away.
"I have to be the hero."
Belnoa's expression soured.
The moment he opened his mouth to shout at her.
"I was wondering why you were late. So this is what happened."
A voice came from somewhere.
Crunch. Snow crunched underfoot. Belnoa slowly raised his head. There stood a young man dressed in an old-fashioned robe.
"A black dragon whelp, huh. I heard it was buried under the fortress, but it seems it was revived after all. Obviously the work of that mad bitch."
The voice had no inflection.
No emotion. Belnoa felt he'd heard that voice before. The professor who had stayed at Aphria under the name Rtia.
And Belnoa had heard his true identity.
The mage of the fallen kingdom.
The one who had broken through to superhuman by shattering walls with madness.
"Shall we go then."
The madman, Celrhalim.
He snapped his fingers.
Hundreds of circuits filled the area.
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