Chapter 180: Birth, Day…? (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 180: Birth, Day…? (1)
Alon stared blankly at the dragon that had swallowed the ruined world.
Except for the flashing red light in its eyes, it was an existence that shimmered like a shadow across its entire body, much like Blackie.
Soon, as soon as Kailas created the counter-spell, it slowly scattered and vanished.
“…That was the Shadow Spirit Dragon?” Alon muttered, dazed.
“No. Strictly speaking, what I showed you was a fully grown Spirit Dragon. One that I once commanded.”
Kailas’s voice carried a hint of lingering affection.
He soon shook his head as if to snap out of his sentimentality.
“Anyway, it’s twice that.”
“…Twice?”
“I’m talking about the size of the Shadow Spirit Dragon when it’s fully grown.”
“Twice the size of what I just saw? In scale?”
It was unbelievable.
He couldn't truly grasp it. Even the Spirit Dragon Kailas had just shown was overwhelming in its proportions.
It looked like it could devour this entire world and still have room to spare… and it gets twice as big as that?
Alon unconsciously looked down.
[Kyu—]
For some reason, Blackie was looking up at him, looking incredibly proud of himself.
To think this tiny little thing would really become that.
“So, brat. Where did you get that Shadow Spirit Dragon—no, that Spirit Dragon’s egg?”
Alon, who had been dazed, snapped back to his senses at Kailas’s question and explained everything that had happened.
A short while later.
“I see. So that’s how it was.”
Kailas muttered as if something finally made sense, then looked at Alon.
“You received the legacy I left behind.”
“…A legacy you left behind?”
Kailas nodded at Alon’s question.
“It was something I left for the last remaining Magus.”
“…The last remaining Magus?”
“Yeah, well—it seems you received the legacy instead of him.”
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Alon.
“Is the last Magus you mentioned perhaps Duke Comallon?”
“…Duke Comallon? Unfortunately, I don’t know that name.”
“Hmm…”
The question had been wrong from the start.
“…I’ve met a half-baked Magus.”
“…A half-baked Magus?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure if he really was a half-baked Magus. That’s just what he called himself.”
“Tell me more, brat.”
After a moment of thought, Alon explained everything exactly as it happened, starting from when he first encountered the Artificial Outer God.
Kailas, who had listened to the entire story in silence, spat out a name.
“…It seems the fellow you met was ‘Diad.’”
“…Diad?”
Kailas searched his memories.
“He was a fellow whose pride as a Magus was higher than anyone else’s, but he never actually managed to inherit a Heart Image. And, he was the disciple of a close friend of mine.”
“…”
“He couldn't follow the Magi into battle. He was someone who hadn't properly inherited a Heart Image, let alone the formulas. That’s probably why he was able to survive.”
Perhaps because he was recalling memories of the distant past, his voice sounded a bit submerged.
He muttered softly.
“I see. So that fellow—it seems he’s been clinging to life until now. Just to follow the words his master spoke merely for the sake of comfort.”
“…Were those words from his master to ‘slaughter humans so that the black thing cannot rise’?”
“He wouldn't have wanted to do that. More accurately, it must have been an unavoidable choice.”
“…An unavoidable choice?”
“Yes. In the end, for a Magus who survived only because he was a ‘half-baked’ one who hadn't properly inherited power, that was likely the only thing he could do. Well, the same goes for me.”
Kailas stopped there and clicked his tongue.
For a very brief moment, a strange sense of unpleasantness and pity flashed through his eyes.
Seeing that, Alon recalled the scene from before.
The sight of Kailas indiscriminately slaughtering people.
After a period of silence.
“Hey, brat. You asked me to teach you how to handle the Spirit Dragon, right?”
“Yes.”
“Fine, I’ll teach you.”
“Really?”
“But before that, I’ll ask about your purpose.”
“…Purpose?”
“Yes.”
Kailas stared intently into Alon’s eyes.
“What do you plan to do with the knowledge of how to handle that Shadow Spirit Dragon?”
“I—”
“For the record, don’t throw some idealism at me. That’s not what I want to hear.”
Alon thought in silence.
To be honest, even if it wasn't an idealistic answer, it wouldn't have been very difficult to say something that would please Kailas.
Based on their conversation so far, he could roughly grasp what kind of ideology the man held.
However, rather than giving the answer Kailas wanted, Alon decided to state his true purpose as requested.
“For a peaceful life.”
“…For a peaceful life?”
“Yes, that’s all. I want to learn it so I can clear away all the threats that will come in the future.”
A simple answer.
However.
“Not bad.”
On the contrary, Kailas nodded with a satisfied smile.
“Fine, I’ll teach you the techniques.”
“In addition to that, I’ve also made a contract with Rainisius.”
“…With Rainisius?”
Alon also told him about the conversation he had with Rainisius.
“…So it was a situation where I had to teach you whether I liked it or not.”
Kailas let out a low groan and looked at Alon as if he were a strange creature.
“By the way, can I ask you one thing?”
A sudden question had occurred to Alon.
“What is it?”
“You said you lost everything and only your name remains, right? Then how are you using the techniques for the Shadow Spirit Dragon?”
Kailas looked around as if the answer were obvious.
“The answer is simple. Because this is the Mental World.”
“…Because it’s the Mental World?”
“Yes. Here, it’s not difficult to manifest magic by relying on my memories.”
Well, even so, it’s just an empty shell—
After muttering bitterly, Kailas spoke.
“Anyway, it’s about time to say goodbye.”
“…What do you mean, goodbye?”
He stood up from his seat.
“Exactly what it sounds like. My mana is running out, so it’s time to part ways.”
“Was there a time limit?”
“Since there’s no time, I’ll briefly tell you what you need to do before you come back next time.”
Kailas explained the things Alon needed to do one by one before they met again.
Immediately after.
“Then, I’ll see you next time.”
Before Alon could say anything, a pure white light enveloped him.
And.
When Alon opened his eyes again, the familiar scenery—
“…?”
—did not enter his sight.
After the pure white light had taken his vision, what he saw was…
“!”
A black abyss.
* * *
Alon was flustered.
Clearly, when he had used the Feet Running Through the Past before, the scenery of the real world appeared immediately after the pure white light faded.
In other words, the real world should have appeared after the white light this time as well.
But the sight before Alon’s eyes now was…
What is this…?
An abyss.
One where nothing could be gauged.
Something he did not know—
No, he did know it.
Alon knew this place.
He had definitely seen it before.
This abyss.
The moment he realized that, Alon discovered a nebula caught in the corner of his vision.
And he realized that what was in front of him…
Was an ‘eye.’
An eye like the deep sea, which he had seen in the mirror the Observer had handed him before.
That intimidating eye was slowly lifting its eyelid.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump—!!!!
His heart began to hammer wildly.
He hadn't even formed an impression or an evaluation yet.
And yet, just by ‘perceiving’ it, his heart pounded as if it would burst.
It surged as if it would tear his entire body apart.
Alon, whose breath grew ragged from the uncontrollable throbbing—
Soon met the eye that was now perfectly open.
A giant pupil containing a brilliant nebula.
Sinister yet beautiful.
Terrifying yet demanding reverence.
T̸h̸e̸ ̸P̸u̸p̸i̸l̸ ̸o̸f̸ ̸A̸l̸l̸ ̸C̸r̸e̸a̸t̸i̸o̸n̸.
And then.
[̵̡̕A̸̧͞t̸ ̸l̸a̸s̸t̸,̸ ̸y̸o̸u̸ ̸a̸r̸e̸ ̸a̸b̸l̸e̸ ̸t̸o̸ ̸s̸e̸e̸.̸]҉̕͢
The entity, which spat out a sentence of unknown meaning, continued.
̷̕͜[̵͢͠R̸e̸a̸c̸h̸ ̸t̸h̸e̸ ̸r̸o̸o̸t̸s̸,̸ ̸D̸e̸v̸o̸u̸r̸e̸r̸—̸]̶̡҇
≯̡̕[̸͜͞L̸e̸a̸r̸n̸ ̸t̸h̸e̸r̸e̸]̸͢͝
̷̨̕[̶̢͠H̸o̸w̸ ̸t̸o̸ ̸u̸s̸e̸ ̸S̸t̸a̸t̸u̸s̸]̵͢
It commanded in a voice laced with noise.
̷̧͞[̸̢̛C̸l̸o̸s̸e̸ ̸y̸o̸u̸r̸ ̸e̸y̸e̸s̸.̸]̵̨̛
Alon, who closed and opened his eyes under an irresistible power, gasped.
“Heugh—!”
He exhaled the breath he had been holding.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump—!!!!
His blood flow raced like a car speeding down a highway.
Alon, clutching his aching heart, barely managed to lift his head, and soon—
“Marquis?! Are you alright?!”
He realized he had returned to where he was supposed to be.
Evan had rushed in at some point.
Alon answered with difficulty toward the face full of worry.
“I’m… fine.”
“You don’t look fine at all! Do you not realize what state you’re in right now…?”
But Evan hurriedly grabbed Alon’s shoulders.
“Blood is flowing from both of your eyes!!”
Only then did Alon feel something trickling down his cheeks.
When he slowly raised his hand to touch it, bright red blood came away on his fingers.
What on earth was that?
Alon let out a hollow laugh despite himself.
Recalling the pupil he had witnessed.
Recalling that overwhelming existence.
* * *
The next day.
Having finished his business, Alon decided to leave the Colony immediately.
He had wanted to move after resting leisurely for a few days, but several things had come up that were weighing on his mind.
…Greinif.
Alon planned to start preparing to go to Greinif immediately after arriving at the Marquisate.
When he first heard the story from Siyan, he had intended to move slowly.
There was no mention of it being urgent, and he had thoughts of his own to organize.
However, both the conversation with Kailas and the realization that there was much to be gained by heading to Greinif made him decide to act a bit sooner.
“Is Mentor leaving now?”
“Yes.”
Now, even if Seolrang didn't ask, Alon automatically gave her ears a firm squeeze.
At this, Seolrang, purring as if she felt extremely good, shouted.
“Got it! Then see you in a month!”
“…In a month?”
“Yeah!”
At the sudden promise, Alon reviewed his schedule in his head.
“I don’t have any particular reason to come to the Colony in a month, though?”
No matter how much he thought about it, there were no plans to visit the Colony…
“I know! I’m the one who’s going!”
“…Seolrang, you are?”
“Yeah! Mentor, it’s your birthday then!”
“Ah.”
Only then did Alon let out a low exclamation.
That was right.
A month from now was Alon’s birthday.
“Are you planning to give me a gift in person?”
“Yeah! I can’t give this gift unless I deliver it myself! You have to accept it, Mentor, okay?!”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
Seolrang’s tail wagged furiously, as if she were excited just by the thought of giving the gift.
Naturally, a fatherly smile formed in his heart.
…In that case, should I move after spending my birthday?
Contemplating an unintended change in plans, Alon’s carriage left the Colony.
At that same time.
“Finally, it’s finished!”
“…Is this the eldest brother’s gift?”
“Yeah, isn't it cool?”
“…It is cool, but.”
Luna Bloodsail, the master of the 2nd Archipelago, barely swallowed the words, Isn't that a bit much?
Starting with the gift from Hidan, who stood before her with his shoulders squared triumphantly, the birthday gifts for Alon were being completed one by one.