Chapter 239: Formula (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 239: Formula (2)
"Ugh..."
"Are you finally coming to your senses?"
Yutia stepped forward toward Seolrang, who was groaning in pain as she rolled on the ground.
Seolrang was a mess, covered in minor wounds from head to toe. In contrast, Yutia looked as though she hadn't taken a single hit.
Seolrang spoke, her gaze still fixed with hostility.
"…I feel sorry for Mentor."
Her body was covered in dirt. Her eyes were brimming with tears. Her voice squeezed out through gritted teeth.
As Seolrang spat those words while trembling uncontrollably, Yutia’s expression hardened once more. Her index finger twitched involuntarily.
Just as Yutia’s eyes began to fill with a thick, viscous murderous intent—
‘…You are a good person.’
The voice that suddenly echoed in her mind caused the rising bloodlust to recede back into the darkness. Her curled index finger relaxed.
Yutia let out a long sigh.
"Don't go out of your way to provoke me like that, Seolrang. It’s not like I don’t get angry too."
"Then why… why are you so calm?"
"That’s because—the place I direct my anger is different."
"…Different?"
"Yes. I should pour my wrath onto them, not myself—"
Yutia approached the precarious-looking Seolrang and quietly whispered something into her ear. After hearing the whole story, Seolrang…
"…I’ll be back."
She immediately turned around. Unlike her exhausted body, her face was filled with boundless fury.
After taking a few steps, Seolrang turned back toward Yutia.
"?"
Just as a look of confusion crossed Yutia’s face—
Squeeze!
"…I’m sorry, Yutia…."
"…."
"I was just… I was just so angry…. I thought Yutia didn't care about Mentor, and that made me so mad—"
Seolrang ran over and hugged Yutia tightly. She stammered out her apology like a child clinging to an adult.
Yutia smiled and slowly reached out her hand.
"It’s okay, Seolrang."
She stroked Seolrang’s hair for a long moment.
"I understand how you feel."
"Hehe—" With a small laugh, Seolrang vanished in an instant. Watching her go, Yutia murmured.
"I understand completely…."
She gazed up at the Milky Way.
"…Because I was the same way."
She whispered the cryptic words to herself while looking at the starlight illuminating the dark, moonlit night.
* * *
The atmosphere among the soldiers, which had been chaotic after the Allied Forces' front lines collapsed, turned into complete depression after they passed through Dharma.
The hope of having survived that hellish place had kept their morale from dropping below a certain point until now. However, the gruesome sights they witnessed in Dharma had forced them to face a cold reality.
That night.
In the camp where everyone except for the minimum number of sentries had fallen asleep to prepare for the next day's march, Alon, who was organizing his complicated thoughts, spotted Ryanga heading into the forest alone.
He stood up and followed her.
"…Is that you, Boss?"
It was a strange clearing in the woods where the trees were sparse, allowing the faint moonlight to filter through the grey haze. Ryanga, who was staring blankly at the sky, spoke without turning around.
Alon hesitated for a moment but soon stepped up to her side.
"Yeah."
"…Why did you come?"
Her face was uncharacteristically still, lacking its usual liveliness. Even at a glance, the eyes Ryanga used to look at Alon were drowned in deep sorrow. It was as if she had lost something incredibly precious.
"…."
When Alon remained silent, she forced a smile that looked like it might shatter at any moment.
"Did you come because you were worried? Worried I’d do what I did earlier?"
Alon recalled the incident in Dharma. After confirming the corpses of her parents and the villagers, Ryanga had tried to take her own life with a nearby blade, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was as if she no longer had any lingering attachment to life.
Alon shifted his gaze slightly to look down at her hand. Ryanga’s left hand was wrapped in bandages.
When Alon gave a small nod of affirmation, Ryanga remained silent for a while before speaking in a weak voice.
"Boss. Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"…Why do you care about me?"
Ryanga lowered her head and looked at her own hands.
"I honestly don't understand. I mean… I’m useless, aren't I? I can't do anything, I’m just a bit strong for a kid, and I only cause trouble… I’m not helpful at all…."
So why? Alon pondered as she trailed off into a barely audible whisper.
Objectively speaking, there wasn't much wrong with what Ryanga said. Unfortunately, her presence was of no help at the moment.
Answering her question was also simple. Why did he consistently show interest in a girl who was of no help? It was because he knew that in the future, she would become the leader of the Hundred Ghosts.
"…."
Yet, the reason he remained silent was that he knew those weren't the words Ryanga wanted to hear. Thus, Alon thought long and hard.
"…."
He sensed that this answer was incredibly important. He spent a long time contemplating, choosing and re-choosing his words.
Then.
Thump.
At some point, he realized Ryanga had buried herself in his arms. Since she was short, she buried her head against him while gripping his trousers.
"…Boss, you’re a good person."
After saying that, she simply squeezed Alon’s thigh tightly. A moment later.
"…Boss."
"Speak."
"…Can you do me one favor?"
"What is it?"
"Help me… kill Baarma."
She spoke slowly.
"If you help me… I’ll give you everything I have to offer."
"…."
Alon looked down at Ryanga. Since her face was buried against his leg, he couldn't see her expression. Nevertheless, Alon felt it. He felt that her words were completely sincere.
Her voice was different than before. It wasn't the trembling voice of someone filled with anxiety like when she first made a request. It wasn't a voice thick with tears, nor was it one filled with impatience and rage.
Ryanga’s voice was simply calm. It was so calm it was chilling.
After contemplating for a while, Alon gave her the answer she wanted.
"Alright."
He didn't add any unnecessary words. He didn't say her conditions were unnecessary, nor did he offer any comfort. He simply gave a calm affirmation, just as she had.
He knew that what she needed right now wasn't comfort, but a comrade who would walk into hell with her, even if it meant staking everything she owned as a contract condition.
"Thank you. Truly."
Ryanga’s voice reached Alon’s ears again. Her calm voice was now trembling slightly.
"Really…."
His thigh was gradually becoming damp. Alon’s lips parted several times as he instinctively tried to offer words of comfort, but he soon stopped. He knew all too well that hollow words of consolation held no power.
Instead, Alon simply stroked Ryanga’s head. Silently.
…Under the faint moonlight, the sound of stifled sobbing flowed shallowly. For a long time.
* * *
A few days had passed since then.
Ryanga was gradually regaining her old self. Of course, the bright, innocent child from the beginning was gone, but she was slowly finding her energy again.
However—
"Boss."
"Yeah."
"Want a sweet potato?"
"Please."
"Wait just a second!"
It was a bit peculiar that she was only like that when Alon was around.
"…."
Watching Ryanga run off into the distance, Alon suddenly recalled that day. The morning after he had made the contract with Ryanga.
Ryanga, who had disappeared for a while, only reappeared at lunchtime. Her horns, which hadn't been very prominent before, had grown slightly longer, and she reeked of the scent of blood.
The moment he saw her, Alon realized what Ryanga had been doing all night. He understood why the horns on her head had grown and why she smelled so strongly of blood.
At the same time, he couldn't help but realize it. Having met the King of the Hundred Ghosts several times in Psychedelia, he knew how she gained her power.
Yet, Alon didn't say a word to Ryanga. He didn't want to interfere with her choice.
"Phew—we’re almost there."
While he was watching Ryanga in the distance, Penia approached him and spoke.
As Alon nodded and followed her gaze in the opposite direction, he saw thick castle walls. Of course, they were quite far away, so he couldn't tell much other than the fact that there were walls, but as she said, Alon’s group was able to reach the Allied Forces' headquarters exactly on the sixth day.
"I see."
"I’m glad nothing happened."
Penia, who let out a deep sigh as if she were truly exhausted, suddenly clapped her hands as if something had just occurred to her.
"Come to think of it, Marquis, there was something I wanted to tell you."
"What is it?"
"It’s about the Formula."
"The Formula?"
She nodded and showed him the book in her hand.
"I finished reading this."
"…Didn't you say it was hard to read because there were so many characters you didn't know?"
"After a bit of research, I managed to get the gist of it."
He was reminded once again that Penia was a genius.
"Was there any useful information?"
"Hmm—this book isn't very detailed either; it just lays out a general understanding of Formulas, so there isn't any truly vital information. But there were some interesting points. For example—that every Magus possesses the potential to become a god."
"…The potential to become a god?"
At Alon’s question, Penia nodded and began to recount the stories she had read in the book. Alon listened intently to her explanation for a while.
"I’m not sure if my interpretation is accurate, but it’s something like this."
"So, in order to become a Magus, one must first become a god…?"
"Unless the Formula is passed down from a predecessor? Of course, that’s just what’s written in this book, and it hasn't been cross-referenced," Penia added briefly.
Then, as if remembering something else, she called out to Alon.
"Oh, by the way, Marquis."
"What is it?"
"This is a bit of a tangent, but how is your divinity?"
"My divinity?"
"Yes. I was wondering if it’s still recovering well."
At her words, Alon briefly contemplated his inner world and looked at Kalanon’s divinity. Unlike his other divinities, which remained unchanged, Kalanon’s divinity was still steadily recovering.
No, rather—
‘Is the recovery… a bit faster?’
Alon opened his eyes with a strange expression, noticing that the recovery speed was indeed slightly faster than before.
"It’s still recovering. But why do you ask?"
"It’s just a bit strange."
"The fact that it’s recovering even though we’re in the past?"
"Right? After all, if this is the past, there’s no reason for your divinity to be recovering."
"…What if time and space are connected?"
"Inside a Strange Gate, I suppose that’s a possibility. But this isn't a place where time and space are unstable; it’s a fixed point."
"Hmm."
"In any case, for now, it’s best to just be grateful that you can use the divinity and use it well."
Penia then began to mutter something to herself, furrowing her brow.
"…Can we really assume time and space are connected? No—if that’s the case—"
She soon drifted off into her own world.
At that moment.
In a jungle somewhere far away, inside a massive temple.
There was a woman sitting on a stone chair carved with exquisite elegance, receiving the awe of a tribe—no, a small nation.
In one hand, she held a spear that glowed with a blue light. She stood loftily above her people, who bowed their heads repeatedly to offer their faith, her expression entirely indifferent.
However, her internal state was the exact opposite. Contrary to her gaze that looked upon everything as worthless, she was in a state of total confusion.
The reason was simple.
‘My divinity… where on earth is it going…???’
It was because the divinity she had been gathering solely to ascend to a higher godhood—divinity she herself had never once used—was disappearing in a way that felt utterly futile.
The amount and speed at which faith was being gathered remained the same. However, not only was the newly gathered faith slipping away without her noticing, but the faith she had worked so hard to accumulate was also vanishing relentlessly.
‘…Why? Why on earth?’
The woman—no—
‘My divinity… give it back….’
Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver, wore a look of utter despair behind her cold, composed mask.