Chapter 245: Enlightenment (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 245: Enlightenment (2)
From the following day, the capital of the Allied Forces grew frantic.
Soldiers who had once stood as still and listless as withered trees were now moving incessantly, preparing for something. The people, too, lent their hands to the soldiers without exception.
In the midst of this, Alon...
“You’re so mean!!”
“...”
...had come to see the children he had saved.
Alon looked down at Arculainisis—no, Ar—who was wailing like a child with her tail wrapped tightly around his waist.
“Why didn't you come to see us?!”
“...It’s only been a few days.”
“It’s still mean! You could have come yesterday, or the day before!”
Ar sobbed, yet managed to get every word out.
“Get down already, you stupid dragon.”
“No!”
When Nangwon, who had been watching the scene with a pathetic expression, spoke up, Ar shrieked back at him.
Leaving Ar clinging to him like a cicada, Alon turned to Nangwon.
“Have you been faring well?”
“Yes. Thanks to your consideration, Brother, we’ve been able to stay very comfortably. Thank you.”
Nangwon bowed his head politely, just as he always did.
Alon felt a sense of relief.
I’m glad I went out of my way to have quarters prepared for the kids inside the palace.
He wasn't so worried about Ryanga, Ar, or Ria, but in Nangwon’s case, he feared leaving him outside might cause issues. That was why he had deliberately arranged for their stay within the royal grounds.
“By the way, where is Ryanga—”
“Boss!”
No sooner had Alon asked than Ryanga came running from afar. A bright smile was etched onto her face.
“Have you been well?”
“Yeah, I’ve been practicing.”
“Practicing?”
“...Yeah. I’m not used to it yet, so I need to practice controlling it.”
Ryanga replied with an awkward laugh. Noticing her hiding her hands behind her back, Alon shifted his gaze downward. Blood was seeping through the bandages wrapped around her feet.
“Don’t overexert yourself. If your body is in poor condition when it really matters, you won't be able to do anything.”
“Thanks for worrying about me.”
Following Ryanga, the fox beastkin Ria arrived late as well. After checking on all the children, Alon headed to his next destination.
“Penia.”
“You’re here, Marquis?”
It was where Penia was staying.
“Has there been any new progress?”
The reason Alon had sought her out was to hear her opinion on the hints he had received from Dowon not long ago.
“Hmm—it’s not perfect, but I’ve managed to interpret it in my own way.”
Penia recited the words Dowon had passed on to Alon.
[First, do not obsess over the formula of Defying Heaven; contemplate what you truly need.]
[Second, do not try to find laws.]
[Third, carve it in at the moment of birth.]
[Fourth, the divinity of green life is regeneration—.]
It was a formula requested of Dowon by someone unknown, as if they had foreseen Alon’s journey into the past. Alon himself had already replayed those words in his mind countless times.
“...In my opinion, these hints can’t really be interpreted as anything other than a command to create a new law and become a Magus.”
“Is that so, after all?”
“Did you think so too, Marquis?”
“I wasn't certain. However, I kept thinking about what you told me last time.”
“That every Magus possesses the potential to become a god... is that it?”
“Yes.”
Penia nodded in agreement.
“To be honest, I interpreted this part with that phrase in mind. Well—there’s really no other way to interpret it anyway.”
“Did you not gain any other specific knowledge?”
“There were so many different books that I learned a lot, but... there wasn't much regarding the essence of a Magus, or rather, the fundamental aspects.”
“...The essence?”
“Yes.”
Penia hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Based on the knowledge I’ve acquired, ultimately, all Magi—excluding the very first one who created the laws—develop by passing down their ‘Heart Image’ to future generations.”
As Alon nodded for her to continue, Penia went on.
“Because of that, the details of how a Magus actually becomes a Magus... are mostly written in vague terms. Even though other parts are quite detailed.”
“For instance, things like the laws of words or the laws of beastkin,” she murmured, before letting out an “Ah!”
“Still, this part will be helpful to you, Marquis.”
“I suppose it will.”
“Right? It’ll be very helpful, won't it?”
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
“...What artifact do you want to research?”
When Alon asked, having caught onto her ulterior motive, she giggled.
“I’ll tell you that next time. Anyway, it’s certain that one ‘becomes a Magus through the process of becoming a god,’ but—”
“The process itself is the mystery.”
“Exactly.”
She clutched her head, letting out a troubled groan.
“Well—I don't think I can reach a hasty conclusion without actually experimenting. Regardless, that’s the extent of my interpretation.”
“I see.”
“...But it certainly is subtle. Didn't you receive a hint before about reaching the 5th Tier?”
“I did.”
“But you’ve already reached the 5th Tier, haven't you?”
“I can use Mana Burn, which is only accessible at the 5th Tier, so you could say I’m at the entry level.”
In truth, Alon had already reached the 5th Tier before coming to the past.
“Do you feel a sense of the path you need to take next? Anything like that?”
“Of course not.”
“...Do the hints lack connectivity?”
As the conversation stretched on, so did the contemplations of Penia and Alon.
* * *
Exactly one week passed.
During that time, Alon spent his days with the children or discussing formulas with Penia. At night, he listened to Magrina or shared brief conversations with Line.
Because he was so occupied, the week flew by in the blink of an eye.
“Everyone, move out!”
The time had come to march toward the final battlefield.
The army and civilians began to move, effectively abandoning the capital. This was because the World Tree was located even further back than the capital of the Alliance. Fearing a massacre, most of the civilians remaining in the capital joined the exodus.
Watching the seemingly endless procession, Alon...
“Let’s go, Godfather.”
“Right.”
...soon joined the ranks.
Is it about two weeks now?
Just as Alon was recalling the information he had heard previously...
“By the way, Marquis,”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“I haven't thought much about it until now, but where did that guy go?”
“...That guy?”
“...You know, Basiliora.”
“Ah.”
Alon let out a low exclamation at Penia’s casual question. Penia scanned the surroundings, her head turning back and forth.
“You mentioned Blackie has been asleep since a while ago, so I figured as much, but I haven't seen hide nor hair of Basiliora.”
It was as Penia said. Since coming to the past, Blackie had appeared a few times, but had spent most of the time sleeping and rarely showed his face.
But Basiliora was even worse. He hadn't shown himself at all since their arrival in the past.
Alon immediately checked his ring.
“...?”
The ring looked the same as always. He tried channeling mana into it, but there was no change.
What is it?
Alon stared at the ring for a long time with questioning eyes.
* * *
The Allied Forces steadily advanced toward the location of the World Tree.
Exactly two weeks after the march began, the Allied Forces reached Greinif, the land of the elves where the World Tree stood.
Everything was as expected. They had reached the World Tree within the time bought by Yongrin’s sacrifice, and the World Tree, though heavily damaged, still maintained its form.
However, there was one thing they hadn't predicted.
“H-How are Baarma’s believers...!”
It was the believers of Baarma.
They, who shouldn't have been able to enter Greinif, were arrayed in formation as if they had been waiting for the Allied Forces to arrive. And as if that weren't enough—
“Baarma...!”
Baarma himself appeared.
The god who had fattened his body by feeding on the life and fear of demi-humans. As if flaunting his savage madness, he sat upon a massive, towering throne decorated with flesh and bone. From that chair, he looked down upon the Allied Forces.
“Ugh—aaah—”
“B-Baarma is... here...!”
“H-He shouldn't be able to enter right now—”
“How on earth—”
At the sight of the Allied Forces falling into instant chaos just by his appearance, the corners of Baarma’s mouth twisted upward.
Baarma’s appearance was grotesque. From various parts of his body, which was nearly the same size as Dowon’s, mouths clamored as if begging for prey to devour. His crimson inverted eyes, like the abyss itself, instilled a desperate terror in anyone who looked upon them.
The moment everyone’s gaze was fixed on Baarma...
Crunch!
Under Baarma’s slowly descending foot, a believer who had been prostrated in worship was crushed to a pulp. It was a mistake so trivial it was all the more horrific. Yet, no one dared to object. Instead, the believers bowed even lower, praising him.
The bizarre fanaticism weighed even more heavily on the air.
Finally.
[Welcome, my banquets.]
Baarma’s voice fell. The members of the Allied Forces clearly heard the word he used to describe them, spilling from his twisted lips.
Not ‘enemies,’ but ‘banquets.’
Baarma then rested his chin on his hand.
[You have quite good faces. They are the most mouth-watering expressions for a final feast.]
He spoke arrogantly, and to Surang, who was murmuring as if dazed, he threw a sneer.
[What are you so curious about? Are you wondering how I could enter this place even after that fellow Yongrin sacrificed herself? Or are you wondering how I knew you were coming here and was waiting?]
Heh.
His mockery deepened.
[The answer is simple. That fellow’s sacrifice has long since lost its power as a living offering.]
“A living offering?”
[Yes—it took a great many sacrifices to make that power fade. Thanks to that, I couldn't even eat them; I had to waste them all on that task.]
■■■■■■■■■—!
■■■■■—!
■■■■■■■—!
Following Baarma’s lead, the maws attached all over his body bared their sharp teeth and erupted in mockery.
Surang clenched his fists.
“Then why didn't you att—”
However, his mouth soon fell silent. Alon was the same. Because they knew the answer. Because he had already experienced something similar.
He had heard the explanation from Baarma’s Apostle—why he didn't kill them immediately, and why he deliberately left them with hope.
[Hmph.]
As if realizing why Surang had fallen silent, Baarma stood up and began walking toward the World Tree. With every step he took, the bodies of the prostrated believers were crushed and met a brutal end, but not a single person with their head to the ground stood up.
Immobility.
A spine-chillingly devout fanaticism overwhelmed the surroundings further and further.
And finally.
Arriving before the World Tree, Baarma stroked the massive tree. It had been burned once, yet it still clung to life. Baarma stroked the tree, which was far larger than himself, several times.
[This must be your hope.]
He smiled at the Allied Forces, and then...
Crack!
...he plunged his massive hand directly into the World Tree.
Creeeeeak—cr-cr-crack!
In that instant, the World Tree, which had been maintaining half of its life, began to swell rapidly.
K-K-K-BOOM—!!!
In a flash, it exploded and was completely shattered.
So suddenly. So easily.
“...”
No one could easily draw a breath. The Allied Forces’ gazes simply drifted hollowly toward the sky. Fragments of what had been the World Tree scattered in all directions, creating a thunderous roar as they fell.
Beside the now completely destroyed World Tree, Baarma wore a smile bordering on ecstasy.
Only then.
“Ah—”
A low lament escaped someone’s lips. A lament of utter helplessness.
In that moment, amidst the despair where everything had flowed according to Baarma’s intentions, while looking at the fragments of the broken World Tree...
“...!”
Alon alone reached a single realization.
Instinctively, he put his hand into his pocket. And he felt it.
The thing that had already been in his pocket for a very long time.