Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Rotten Thing (2)
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Altar.
The culprit behind the frontline breaches.
The nightmare or tragedy of the battlefield.
The first time I encountered an altar was when we were facing off against shamans on the front lines. Dealing with shamans was tricky, but if you asked if they were dangerous, the answer was no, not really.
In most battles, we achieved complete victory. Every time Kyle swung his sword, hordes of demonic beasts and shamans were swept away.
-Huh?
However.
-What is this? It's completely intact?
There was something that didn't get swept away.
We had pushed back the front lines and reclaimed land we'd lost before, only to come face-to-face with something bizarre.
A fragment resembling bone shards.
Something unknowable.
Even in that chaos, this thing alone remained unscathed. We pulled it out and showed it to the knights. One knight found something similar.
And so, four fragments came together.
Judging by the circuit's completion, I realized one piece was missing. And it didn't take long to figure out where that piece was.
-...What... is this...?
There was a mage with us at the time.
A promising talent from the knight order.
Something identical to the fragment appeared in that mage's heart. And before we could stop him, he vanished right there on the spot.
-......
He reappeared the next morning, without a trace left behind. He showed up in the center of the knight order's camp. With inverted black pupils, he stared up at the sky.
-■■■■■■■■.
Staring at the sky, he chanted the spell.
The four fragments resonated with his heart. The resonating fragments formed a single circuit.
And then, the door opened.
A door connected to the heart of the Demon Realm.
Demon King's forces poured out from within the door.
The door had opened right at the knight order's garrison. The Demon King's army raining down from the skies above the garrison was a nightmare incarnate.
'...It was total chaos.'
That day, the knight order was nearly annihilated. That was when we first learned about the altars.
'The second time an altar opened...'
In a similar situation, we managed to respond better.
Again, one fragment was missing. The missing fragment was embedded in the heart of a nearby mage.
The same thing happened.
The mage vanished before our eyes.
From the moment that mage disappeared, I tracked him. And then I realized.
-...We can't touch this.
-What do you mean, Raniel! If we don't stop it now, it'll be just like last time...!
-Fuck, he went into the otherworld. The otherworld where spirits and familiars are summoned. Whatever's in there, I can't touch it.
I couldn't touch a mage who'd gone into the otherworld. That was the role of a spirit mage.
-...I'll give it a try.
Coincidentally, a spirit mage from the White Mage Tower who was with us scoured the otherworld like it was a mouse hunt. And he found the missing mage.
-I'll drag him out!
And.
It didn't take long to realize that was the wrong approach.
-I dragged him out! Right now...! Uh...?
Pfbt!
The White Mage Tower spirit mage exploded right in front of us. The one who caused it was the missing mage he'd dragged out.
-A■■■■■■■?
The mage forcibly pulled from the otherworld went berserk on the spot. Whatever had taken control of his mind aided that rampage.
'His talents had fully blossomed perfectly.'
No matter how it happened, we had to face that transformed mage. It was horrific. Even twisting off limbs or severing the neck wouldn't kill him.
In the middle of the knight order, we had to subdue the rampaging mage. In the process of subduing him, two knight orders were wiped out.
Two failures.
From those failures, we came to understand the cause and what the altar truly was.
"We gained three key insights."
"......"
"First, once a fragment takes root, it's absolutely impossible to preemptively block the altar."
I folded one finger.
"Second, you must never touch the person who becomes the 'medium' for the ritual once they have a fragment. Whether before the ritual starts or in the middle."
Folded another.
"Finally, the third: the mage who becomes the medium falls into a dream during the ritual. The one who traps them in that dream takes over their body to create the altar."
I folded my last finger.
That's when Kalt asked me.
"...Why doesn't it come in person and instead uses a medium for the ritual? It would be far easier if it did."
"Because that bastard's a coward."
Kalt tilted his head at my answer.
This part wasn't something I could easily explain, so I just shrugged.
"Anyway, the only way is to stop it right before the medium who went to the otherworld comes back out and chants the spell."
"...Yes, I remember that. It was a race against time. Has anything else come to light since I left the battlefield?"
Kalt had experienced an altar before too. He'd been with me during the previous two failures.
"There's more. A way to buy a little extra time."
"What is it?"
"Destroy the altar's fragments."
I pointed to the fragment on the floor.
"This is similar to the Stock in the spells I use. When the altar activates, the circuit engraved here triggers at that exact moment. It shortcuts the incantation for the door-opening spell."
"Then..."
"Yeah, destroying it buys us more time. From what I remember, each fragment gives about two minutes."
We had four fragments in our possession now.
"That means ten minutes."
"...Still tight."
"Compared to back then when we only had two minutes, this is luxurious."
Kalt's expression grew serious.
"Even so, we don't know where the medium will appear in that vast forest. It'll pop out from the otherworld, and with this mana saturation, tracking will be impossible."
We stood on the rooftop, gazing at the forest.
The forest was enormous. The demonic energy that had swallowed even the Harmain Forest was oppressively murky. Piercing through it with the mana saturation was no easy feat.
Finding one person in there would be impossible, even for Kalt with his nose like a bloodhound.
That's the shitty part about altars.
You know it's coming, but until it happens, all you can do is watch.
That was an altar... but this time, things were a bit different.
"That'd be true for a normal altar. But not this one."
I said slowly, resting my chin on my hand.
"We have ways to find it."
"Pardon?"
"The coward who made this altar seems to have slipped up this time."
2.
I had a dream.
A happy dream.
One so blissful I didn't want to wake up.
* * *
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Child, you have talent."
"Talent?"
"Yes, you're only the second one I've seen with such gift. I never imagined finding a treasure like you in a place like this."
An orphan who'd lost her parents in the war. A guest visited the orphanage that housed such children.
'...Who is that person?'
Young Resti didn't know who he was.
She just thought he must be important, seeing how the usually stern teachers kept bowing to him.
"What's your name?"
"Resti."
"Right, Resti."
The man stated his name.
"I am Krenbel Eleanoa, elder of the Ashen Mage Tower."
Resti was young, but not so young she didn't grasp what that meant.
The dream of all mages: a mage tower.
She didn't know the exact color, but an elder there was undoubtedly someone of immense stature.
"H-Hello."
"Haha, no need to be scared. I'm here to make you an offer."
The elder who introduced himself pointed to Resti's notebook. It contained the circuits she'd drawn over the past month.
"To handle spirit circuits at your age already. Have you ever infused mana into one?"
"...Um."
"No need to be shy. Unlike your teachers, I'm not here to scold you."
"...At night, I snuck out and tried a few times."
"I see, such a curious child. What came out?"
"A fox wrapped in wind."
With a light tap, the elder touched the circuit.
A breeze blew. As it died down, the fox wrapped in wind that Resti had seen sat on the elder's shoulder.
"Is this the one?"
Resti nodded.
"Do you know its name?"
"The book called it a wind spirit."
"Hm, calling it just a wind spirit would make the child sad. Its name is Sylphi."
"Sylphi?"
"Yes, Sylphi."
The elder set the fox on the floor.
Resti's eyes sparkled as she touched it. The texture was wondrous.
"Resti."
"Yes?"
"Would you like to learn magic under me?"
The elder extended his hand.
"You have talent."
He smiled, looking straight into Resti's eyes.
"Talent to lead this era."
Resti took that hand.
And so, Resti became a mage. The story that followed flashed quickly before her eyes.
Happy days.
She learned magic, contracted new spirits every day, and the elder praised her each time.
-You're amazing, Resti.
Wrinkled, aged hands brushed back Resti's lavender hair. The rough fingertips grazing her forehead felt scratchy, but even that was pleasant.
But those memories didn't last long.
The elder's illness worsened, and he fell unconscious. Resti was left alone in the mage tower.
The dream didn't show those three years.
It only showed the happy memories.
"......"
The Resti in the memory was smiling.
Smiling brightly as she learned magic.
"......"
The real Resti raised her hand.
She unconsciously touched the corners of her mouth. They were stiff. The face reflected in the mirror was one she didn't want to see.
Closing her eyes brought the dream.
Opening them revealed reality.
The dream was sweet.
Reality was bitter.
The dream was filled with things she wanted to see.
Reality held the self she didn't want to become.
Resti closed her eyes.
She wanted to dream a little longer.
-Rustle.
Even as she dreamed, her body moved faithfully. Toward the center of the altar.
3.
"I heard it's another altar, Kyle."
"Looks like we can't just let this one slide. It's opening in the capital, after all."
"Doesn't seem like a good situation."
Sara and Remia whispered.
They moved through the capital's back alleys, cloaks pulled over their heads.
"This way, everyone."
Leading them was Hound Gail. He swallowed dryly as he navigated the alleys. Guiding them on the shortest path to Aphria.
'...Senior Kalt said he was calling reinforcements... I never imagined it'd be the Hero.'
The Kalt that Gail knew was cautious. Like a knight who'd seen battle, he avoided waste. Among the Hounds, he pursued efficiency above all.
Such a man had called the Hero.
It meant an incident of that magnitude was unfolding in the capital.
'What the hell is going on.'
As just a guide, Gail couldn't know. He could only guess something big was about to happen.
"This way..."
"You're a Hound, right?"
"Ah, yes."
The Hero, Kyle, who followed behind, spoke up.
"One question."
He kept pace as he asked Gail.
"Are we the only reinforcements for this incident?"
"Yes, the reinforcements I was told about are just the Hero Party, including you, Sir Kyle."
"That guy... no, the Ashen Mage isn't joining as reinforcements?"
"From what I heard, no. At least, doesn't seem to be in the capital."
The Ashen Mage's whereabouts were unknown even to the Hounds. The mage had vanished without a trace.
'Even Tracker Senior Kalt searched for two months straight and found not a single clue.'
At least, that was the consensus among the Hounds: not in the capital. As Gail thought that and took another step—
"Something's off."
Suddenly, Kyle stopped.
He spoke while standing still.
"You're not lying, but the situation itself feels false."
"...Pardon?"
"One of two things."
His fingers brushed the sword hilt.
Starlight bloomed over the hilt.
"Either the Star Sword gave a false prophecy."
Kyle's red eyes fixed on Gail.
"Or you simply weren't informed."
"What... do you mean?"
"The stars foretold it."
His red eyes narrowed.
"That we'll meet that guy, no matter what."
Author's Note (Afterword)
There's a scene I want to show you.
Please wait just a little longer...!