Chapter 333
Chapter 333
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 333
Chapter Title: Given Time (2)
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The change came suddenly.
"……."
Lania stared at her own arm with half-lidded eyes. Her pale white arm looked even thinner than usual today, and no strength would enter it. It wasn't just her arm, either.
Strength wouldn't enter her body at all.
Her vision was blurry, and exhaustion kept washing over her.
This was far removed from the fatigue of mana exhaustion. It was something different—something more fundamental. As Lania's head kept nodding off under the onslaught of sleep, the sound of the door opening made her lift it.
"Ah, Master……."
Lania let out a hollow laugh for no reason.
Rosel's gaze wavered slightly at the sight of her smile, drained of its usual energy.
"Feeling any better?"
"I keep getting sleepy, but nothing hurts in particular."
It was a lie.
Both Lania, who said it, and Rosel, who heard it, knew as much. She'd vomited blood the moment she woke up. Anyone could tell no one who wasn't in pain would spew blood like that.
"……."
Rosel sat silently by Lania's side.
He straightened the disheveled blankets, propped a pillow behind her back, then let out a short breath.
"Rest. I've spoken to Aaron."
"Yes, Master."
"You look exhausted. Get some sleep. I'll stay here."
"You can tend to your business."
"With you like this? As if I'd have the mind for work."
Lania gave a bitter smile.
"A day's rest should help."
A night passed.
The next day, Lania's condition showed no improvement. If anything, it had worsened. Every cough brought up blood, and her complexion had gone from pale to ghostly white.
It was the look of someone dying.
Rosel's face darkened as well.
After Lania, who had coughed all day, finally drifted into uneasy sleep and her breathing steadied, Rosel finally left her side.
He needed help.
Rosel sent a summons somewhere.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
The Lord of the Black Mage Tower, Yetoal.
An expert in circuit engraving and an artisan-level alchemist, he was also skilled in healing—especially for mages. In this capital, no one surpassed him in that field.
Yetoal headed straight to the mansion at Rosel's call. He canceled his piled-up work and schedule without a second thought. It was worth it.
'...That stubborn old man.'
Rosel van Trias.
He had all but begged Yetoal for help.
In the decades they'd known each other, it was a first. For that proud mage to swallow his pride and plead like that?
Unbelievable, but after hearing the details about the Ashen Mage's condition, Yetoal had no choice but to nod. He owed the Ashen Mage too much.
So Yetoal answered the call without demanding anything in return. Upon arriving at the mansion, his eyes met those of Lania, propped up in bed.
"……."
Yetoal fell silent in that moment.
The girl's complexion, sitting on the edge of the bed, was deathly pale. The vibrant energy she usually exuded was gone. Her once-gleaming eyes were dull. Her lustrous ash-gray hair was dry and brittle.
She was far too frail.
"You……."
Yetoal swallowed the rest.
He sat silently by Lania's side and began his examination. It didn't take long. After a precise check with his magic tools, Yetoal opened and closed his mouth repeatedly before speaking.
"...I don't even know where to start, so let's go through it one by one, slowly."
Yetoal forced the words out with difficulty.
"Your heart, and this circuit squeezing it. You know it puts a massive strain on the body."
Lania said nothing.
With her silent affirmation, Yetoal continued.
"Your body's already at its limit. Has been for a long time. I can only vaguely guess it's tied to your retirement... anyway."
Yetoal let out a short breath.
"A body already pushed to the brink, an unstable one—you've abused it far too much in this short time. That strange mana leaking from this circuit... you've used it often, haven't you?"
Ashen mana.
Mana of an unusual property.
"This isn't mana for a human body to handle. Using it means damaging the flesh itself. But it doesn't stop there."
Her soul was already worn.
Covered in wounds, barely patched up... it could shatter at any moment. This mana burdened the soul itself.
"One or two times? Fine."
The initial load isn't huge.
It might recover with time, but Lania hadn't let her body or soul rest. She'd kept wearing them down. Kept abusing them relentlessly.
Fought countless powerful foes.
Carved away at her own bones and flesh facing them.
Clashed without hesitation against those who stirred the curse pooled in her heart, exposed to demonic energy up close.
"Human spirit and flesh aren't machines. They need rest at the right times, and caution when wounded."
It had all piled up.
"You've run without rest. For years, pushing your body to the limit... shaving away your lifespan. And now, you've collapsed."
That was what finally tripped Lania up.
She who'd charged ahead without pause had finally tumbled.
"An ordinary person could rest and get back up... but not you."
Yetoal shook his head.
"You're the exception."
Lania van Trias was no ordinary case.
This was often how it ended for heroes who'd charged forward blindly. Yetoal felt a bitter taste fill his mouth as he spoke of the fate awaiting one called a hero.
"The time given to you is pointing to the end."
Even if she could rise.
"Not much time left."
Rosel, listening beside them, couldn't bear it and left the room. Creak, thud. As the door closed and silence settled, Lania turned her head.
She didn't look at Yetoal.
Lania gazed out the window.
Yetoal couldn't see her reflected expression. Only Lania could. She looked at herself in the mirror-like glass.
She wore an expression she'd never seen before.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Yetoal left the mansion.
Rosel returned and sat silently by Lania's side. After a long time, Lania spoke.
"Master."
"...Speak."
"Can I be alone for a bit?"
Rosel asked no more.
"Call if you need anything."
"Yes."
Rosel opened the door and left.
Alone now, Lania looked out the window.
The sun was setting. Summer was ending, autumn arriving. Leaves were beginning to change.
Someday.
She'd thought something like this might happen someday.
Lania hadn't been blind to it. She knew she was overtaxing her body, that it would eventually force her to stop. She knew... but.
'...Faster than I thought.'
Much faster than expected.
Lania calculated her remaining time. She'd never voiced it precisely before. She'd avoided pinning it down concretely.
But now she had to face it.
Originally, just over three years.
But her body was wrecked, her soul under immense strain. Yetoal hadn't noticed, but Lania knew there was more.
'The shadow.'
The filth pooled in her heart.
Facing those connected to the shadow recently, she'd vaguely realized its nature.
A seed had been planted in her body.
She'd merely been suppressing its germination all this time. But now, weakened, the seed sought to sprout.
'Must suppress it.'
Couldn't let her broken body rest.
Had to keep the seed down.
But constant stimulation meant she couldn't fully suppress it anymore. The seed would eat away at her spirit and flesh, devouring her lifespan too.
Her given time shrank.
How much was left?
Lania voiced it aloud.
"Half a year."
Half a year at most.
Probably even less.
'Half a year.'
Too little time. Far less than anticipated. Lania realized her plans had all crumbled.
See her students graduate.
Pave their path forward.
Lead them to the Demon King.
Impossible now. They needed just a bit more time, but she had none left.
Crunch.
Lania bit her lip.
Blood trickled from her tightly bitten lip. Two figures flashed in her mind. One was the elder awaiting death...
"I have."
The other was.
"I seem to have already achieved my dream."
Garahal.
Garahal's smiling face before the statue lingered in Lania's mind. The end he'd met filled her thoughts. Deep down, she'd hoped for the same—a death like his.
Leaving something behind.
Achieving her goal.
A death that etched a mark on the world.
She hadn't wished for a peaceful old age.
She'd thought a death like Garahal's was the grandest dream for someone like her.
"...Ugh."
But even that was impossible now.
Lania looked at her unresponsive arm. Recovery would take ages. Time already scarce, wasted like this.
Move.
Time's precious.
Maximize what's left...
She willed strength into her arm, but her fingers only twitched slightly. Lania's face twisted. She tilted her head back.
Her face reflected in the window glass.
Terror-stricken. Trembling in fear. An expression she'd never worn before.
...Even the strongest mind.
Even one fearless of death—it's but a moment. Advancing into death's peril without fear is one thing; feeling death creep slowly closer is another.
Death approached.
Death's shadow loomed over her head.
With her remaining time precisely calculated, Lania felt the approaching end vividly. She felt terror at the looming finale.
Now she had to admit it.
That the time given to her pointed to the end.
And that she feared it.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 3.
Kyle Toven opened his eye.
Viewing the world through one eye naturally narrowed the field of vision. But even so, Kyle saw what he needed to.
A star shone.
The shining star signaled to Kyle that the time had come. He no longer followed the star blindly. He comprehended and analyzed its information with his own mind.
Crunch.
Kyle rose slowly from his seat.
Sara stood beside him.
"Kyle."
"...Awake?"
"Of course."
Sara smiled.
"Secret, actually—I don't sleep deeply. You think I'm asleep and go for walks outside, but I'm always awake. That time too."
"...I see."
"Old church habit."
Sara poked Kyle's side playfully.
"You're doing it anyway, right?"
"...Yes."
"Well, whatever. Spent months yelling at you to stop, no use... Figured it'd come to this. Stubborn as hell."
Sara let out a long sigh.
"Can't be helped."
Sara stepped forward before Kyle.
Standing before him, she turned back.
"What're you waiting for? Let's go."
"...Coming along?"
"A god's(?) priest must follow where the god goes."
The priest who served one alone smiled.
"See it through to the end. Let's."
Kyle couldn't help but chuckle.
Kyle stood beside Sara.
Not the usual formation with Kyle leading and Sara following. They stood shoulder to shoulder, stepping toward the door with matching strides.
A dragon barred the door.
The wingless dragon(?) met Kyle's eyes. Eyes filled with resolve. Even a dragon stripped of pride could show respect to a proud swordsman. The dragon lowered its head.
Rumble!
The dragon moved its massive bulk aside.
With a deep gong-like sound, the huge door opened. The starlight gathered in the room flowed entirely into Kyle's holy sword.
A sword shining with starlight.
Gripping the holy sword(??), Kyle walked.
"Let's go."
Kyle said.
"To repay the debt I couldn't."
The Hero and the Saintess took their steps.