Chapter 355
Chapter 355
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 355
Chapter Title: Now Forward (3)
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The Hero, Galahal, is dead.
The Hero, Kyle Toven, is missing.
Astronomers in the capital say the constellation remains intact, calling it "The Hero, Kyle Toven, lives," but even they lack certainty. They just endlessly repeat that something's off with his constellation.
Mass migrations of magical beasts.
Clusters of beasts forming dense zones.
Rapid demonification of the land.
In this time of countless anomalies, only one Hero remains to respond—excluding apprentices. The world points to a single man.
Destel the Coward.
The Hero who survived by running and running.
Bearing a moniker utterly unfit for a Hero, he ignored the public's gaze. Without a word, he headed to the Anomalous Frontline. But all that rained down on him was mockery.
Someone mutters that he's finally found a place to die after all that fleeing.
"Your fellow Heroes have achieved great feats—what will you do?" the world demands of Destel.
Condemnation, ridicule, scorn.
Ignoring the voices he's grown numb to, Destel just brushes them off with a laugh. No desire to argue back.
'What a joke.'
Destel himself thinks the same.
How utterly pathetic he looks.
In the end, what he must do hasn't changed.
The so-called Anomalous Frontline is just the whims of catastrophes. Battlefields are rigged games that advance, retreat, or hold at their caprice from the start.
On that "special" battlefield, his role is nothing more or less than a symbol.
He lacks the power to counter the catastrophes. No way he could stop even one if it charged in earnest. All he can do is pray nothing happens.
"...That's what I thought."
Destel let out a sigh.
"But seeing you come all this way, it looks like I can't just let it slide. Something else must've cropped up."
Turning his gaze with a sigh, he saw a girl standing there. Ashen hair cascading down, draped in a robe like her brother's.
Lania van Trias.
Her appearance was one he could never get used to, no matter how many times he saw it. A soft impression that clashed entirely with the battlefield. But Destel now knew her true skill.
The successor to the Ashen Mage, Raniel.
The mage who inherited all his magic arts (??).
She wielded power rivaling the Ashen Mage himself, backed by ample proof. She always appeared at critical moments, as if it were her destined place.
"Your presence here means..."
Destel sighed deeply.
"Something's about to blow up here."
Lania van Trias.
When she requested to visit this post under his command—the Eastern 0th Frontline—Destel was certain.
Something was there.
In that place teeming with magical beasts.
In the ruins of the Seleph Kingdom, blocked by beasts, where the past Demon King is said to have appeared... something was stirring.
And it wouldn't be trivial.
'Whatever, though...'
Thud. Destel tapped the table.
"Guess I should hear you out first. You came all this way for a reason, right? Know anything about those anomalies?"
Inside the command tent.
Destel, arms crossed, eyed his two guests. The Divine Archer, Remia, and Lania van Trias, heir to the ashen legacy. As he opened his mouth to say "tell me everything," she cut in.
"Before we get into it, there's something I need to say."
"Something to say?"
"Yeah. Info you need to know. It'll make the rest easier..."
A brief hesitation, lips twitching.
Her demeanor screamed the importance of what was coming. Destel slowly nodded.
"What is it?"
He's a battlefield commander who's seen it all.
Nothing could rattle him...
"I'm Raniel van Trias."
Or so he thought...
"......"
Destel blinked.
"I know. Lania van Trias."
"No, Raniel."
"What?"
"...Not Lania—Raniel."
Blink, rub his eyes—the girl before him doesn't change. Destel tapped his ears and asked again.
"Uh, look, I get wanting to be like your brother, but that kind of talk is..."
"No, it's not..."
"Come to think of it, you got mad last time over brother talk too? I get the admiration, but impersonating him is a bit much, don't you think?"
Lania's ears flushed red, as if she'd been branded an impersonator on the spot.
Biting her lip, she pressed on.
"No, not my brother—I am Raniel. Raniel van Trias. The Ashen Mage. Not impersonating—it's me."
"You feeling okay?"
"Perfectly fine."
"Then it's worse."
Has she lost her mind?
At Destel's look, Lania's face turned fully red. Most people caught on first, so she rarely had to voice this embarrassing truth herself.
Head bowed, she pointed weakly at her face.
"I... am... Raniel..."
"The Raniel I know isn't a woman."
"Urgh..."
Remia, beside the groaning Raniel, sighed and added,
"It's true. Circumstances are complicated."
Destel gawked, alternating stares. Raniel spent ages convincing him...
"You fucking doing this on purpose? Revenge for that slap? Admit it!"
Only by grabbing his collar at the end of her rope did she finally persuade Destel that she was Raniel.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
"Normally, I wouldn't buy it."
Destel straightened his rumpled collar with a sigh. After the long explanation, he eyed Raniel suspiciously.
So, this girl is that Raniel?
The pieces didn't fit easily.
The Raniel in Destel's memory was a ferocious mage who could kill with a glare. A hero without flaws, drying the blood of those around him with his unyielding sense of justice.
But this girl?
'Not just her harmless looks...'
She has gaps. Humanity.
Destel remembered her shaken on the battlefield last time. Her broken, dazed state when Galahal died.
"Haven't seen you in a bit... changed a lot?"
"Don't force out compliments. Seriously."
Destel meant it ambiguously, but Raniel took it as about her appearance.
"Hoo..."
Raniel pressed her temples, sighing as if her situation was utterly absurd.
"Just know I'm Raniel. It'll make talking easier. And build some trust in the info I share."
"Fair enough."
"Anyway, to the point..."
Maps strewn across the tent.
Raniel pointed to one spot. A bold red X marked it.
"The ruins of the Seleph Kingdom."
The paths leading there were all painted red—fully blockaded by beasts. Staring at the red, she said,
"I have to go there. No choice. So, help me break through."
"...Break through? That?"
Destel frowned.
"Haven't you seen the beasts swarming? That's why you're saying this. Kid, there's more beasts than ground to step on. How the hell..."
"Not asking you to clear everything."
Raniel shook her head.
"I'll go alone. Just draw the beasts' eyes."
"Alone?"
"Have to."
"Suicide mission?"
Destel tossed out casually.
"Even a top mage like you can't solo that—it's suicide. Kyle might pull it off trusting his regen, but..."
At Kyle's name, Raniel's face hardened. Destel trailed off at her darkened expression.
"...Something happen to Kyle?"
Quick on the uptake, Destel.
Sensing he shouldn't ask, he did anyway. Raniel answered by snapping her fingers.
Snap.
Mana ignited from her fingers.
Tss, tss. Above the burning mana rose platinum starlight. At the sight, Destel's eyes shook wildly.
Starlight, symbol of the Hero.
And whose it was? Destel knew. His ability mimicked dead Heroes' starlight—he had the eye for it.
"This is Kyle's..."
Destel swallowed dryly.
"Kyle... no way..."
"He's alive. For now."
A sentence heavy with meaning.
About to probe, Destel swallowed his questions at her grave face.
"...Keep going. About the plan."
"Got regen like Kyle's. Body tough enough to punch through barehanded. Not suicide. Can't die even if I wanted."
Not just my life anymore. Swallowing the rest, Raniel clenched her fist.
"Concentrate fire when I charge to make an opening. Then block the rampaging beasts from crossing once I'm in."
"...Sounds tough."
"That's why I'm asking."
Raniel gestured to Remia beside her.
"This elf... I mean, Remia will help. Useless against bosses, but great for beast swarms."
"'Great'? That's it?"
Remia's eyes narrowed.
As if asking about their cart talk, Raniel snapped back.
"What, need me to say you're as useful as me? Why do you and Destel crave my praise so bad? Hungry for it?"
"Yeah, lately."
Remia smirked, grasping the air. In her slender fingers gleamed a moonlit arrow.
"Commander."
Eying Destel, Remia wiggled the arrow. Moonlight turned her hair golden.
"You know the power? Moonlight Arrow's the original for the Meteor Shower that famed bowmaster Epta used. Epta was taught by the elf king, Orbel himself."
Epta, Hero called bowmaster.
Destel had mimicked her Meteor Shower on battlefields countless times. Even degraded copies were devastating.
With the Divine Archer's aid, the Ashen Mage's demand wasn't impossible.
Not impossible, but...
A lingering unease.
Destel narrowed his eyes at Raniel.
"I get the plan. You going solo ahead. All that."
Thud.
Destel tapped the map with a finger. The Seleph ruins Raniel had pointed to. Poking the beast-guarded spot, he continued.
"What's there, anyway?"
Beasts gathered.
Enough to form a new frontline. Mindless beasts instinctively guarded the Seleph ruins.
And the Ashen Mage.
Somehow bearing Kyle's starlight, she aimed to pierce the horde. As if she had to go. Destel focused on her reason.
"You know something, right?"
"......"
Raniel stayed silent.
Lips bitten, unwilling to speak. But Destel didn't yield. As Anomalous Frontline commander, he needed the core details.
The suffocating silence broke with Raniel's exhale.
Hesitant, she finally squeezed out,
"A new catastrophe."
Raniel said.
"A new catastrophe is being born there. Not complete yet, but once it is, it'll be more dangerous than anything. Its seed is there."
"...A new catastrophe?"
Unheard of in centuries.
As Destel opened his mouth to question—
Rumble.
The ground shook.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 3.
Right after the quake.
『C-Commander!』
『...Report!』
『...Squad leader reporting!』
Telepathic messages flooded Destel.
Static-filled voices screamed to look outside. Destel bolted up and rushed out of the tent.
"Wh-what the hell is that?"
"...Ah."
"Something... huge..."
Not just Destel emerged.
Soldiers trickled out from the shaking ground, staring blankly. Fear etched their gazes.
"......"
Destel slowly raised his head to follow. Twisted cliffs. Ruined forests. Demonified land blocked the distance, but the sky was visible.
A blackened sky.
Something surged toward it.
A mere dot from afar, but the vibrations hit full force. Steadying himself on shaking ground, Destel blinked.
Mimic: Famed Bowmaster Epta.
His cape fluttered with light, expanding his vision. Temporary farsight let him peer afar, beyond the cliffs.
Surging up: trees, stone pillars, dirt mounds.
And... watchtower-like structures.
Rumors said the Seleph royal castle's ruins remained intact. Unverified hearsay, but Destel guessed those massive structures hurled skyward were it.
Why skyward?
Eyes narrowing further, he saw it: something uprooting the kingdom's debris, dirt, trees—and flinging them skyward.
A colossal sword aura (??).
The realm only master swordsmen, sword transcendents, could reach. But could you call that sword aura? Endless, it engulfed the area, piercing heaven like a massive city wall.
A wall, a giant wave.
Hurling everything earthly skyward. Structures climbing its path crumbled to dust on touching heaven.
"What... the hell?"
Legs buckling, Destel turned. Raniel stood there, freshly out of the tent.
"That."
"That's the new catastrophe."
Lips bitten tight, Raniel snapped her fingers.
A barrier instantly enveloped her and Destel. Soundproof. Inside, she spoke slowly.
"Catastrophe, Kyle Toven."
The goddess from 13 years in the future had said,
"Reverse Heaven Sword, Kyle Toven."
Reverse Heaven (??) Sword.
Muttering the name for the catastrophe, Raniel smiled bitterly. Her face twisted. As the massive sword aura shot skyward, she heard a grotesquely warped voice.
【Kill.】
【Kill the Ashen One.】
Raniel could now hear the god's voice.
It didn't take long to realize it was the Shadow's voice. Nor that the Shadow had noticed her.
"Looks like it knows I'm here."
Raniel smiled painfully.
A smile on the verge of collapse.
Kyle was calling her.