Chapter 310: What Is This…? (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 310: What Is This…? (1)
The northern region of the Ashtalon Kingdom.
Perhaps due to the lingering influence of the northern climate, the temperature there remained perpetually low, even though the seasons clearly changed.
Kurak was staring at the Strange Gate before him—or rather, at the object he had brought out from within it.
"..."
It was a rusted spear.
It was so heavily corroded that anyone could see it was utterly useless as a weapon. However, Kurak wasn't focused on its utility; he was focused on its design.
Another type I’ve never seen before.
Kurak turned the spear over in his hands. Its form was obscured by age and decay, yet one thing was certain: this spear was of a kind that did not exist in this world.
"Hmm—"
Of course, he didn't necessarily need to uncover this fact. His orders from Hazard were not to investigate the true nature of the Strange Gates, but simply to harvest the source of their power and the 'Origin Stones.'
Still, the reason he had taken an interest in these things was the ever-changing scenery he witnessed every time he entered a Strange Gate.
Landscapes that look as if another world has been painted into existence. So, they're from another world—no, perhaps they are just incredibly ancient artifacts.
Kurak was lost in thought. But then—
"Do you wish to know?"
At the sound of the voice, Kurak’s eyes snapped wide, and he whipped his head around.
Standing behind him was a man.
A man dressed in a black Holy Shroud, his body adorned with various chains.
"...!"
Cold sweat began to pour down Kurak’s back. It wasn't because of the man's appearance.
I didn't sense his presence at all...!
He had never experienced anything like this, neither before nor after receiving power from Hazard. There was no being who could evade his senses, which had reached their limit and transcended multiple times over. Even Hazard, the one who had bestowed power upon him, could not escape his perception.
And yet, the man before him had bypassed Kurak’s senses entirely.
He had done so perfectly, right up until the moment he stood before him. Even now, as Kurak stared directly at the man, he could feel no aura emanating from him.
Driven by instinct, Kurak drew his weapon.
Thump—
With a wave of his hand, a massive hammer appeared. It was over two meters long, even larger than Kurak himself—a weapon so massive one couldn't even fathom how to swing it.
Gripping the hammer effortlessly with one hand, Kurak glared at the man in the Holy Shroud with a look of extreme tension.
"Hmm—I don't believe my greeting was particularly aggressive. It's a shame your response is so hostile."
The man in the black Holy Shroud spoke with a relaxed smile. Then—
Tap—
In an instant, he closed the distance and lightly flicked Kurak’s hand as the latter tried to move reflexively.
It was a feather-light touch. Yet, with just that—
"Wh-What—!"
Kurak’s body, which had been about to swing the giant hammer, froze in place. It was as if movement had been impossible for him from the very beginning.
"Ugh...!"
Kurak’s eyes became bloodshot as his body began to vent an explosive amount of mana. His muscles bulged instantaneously, a lethal display of strength that looked ready to obliterate the man before him.
However.
"There's no need to exert yourself. You won't be able to move regardless."
"What... is this—"
The man in the black Holy Shroud spoke with utter composure. He slowly reached into his robe, pulled something out, and placed it on Kurak’s arm.
Immediately—
"!!"
Kurak’s flesh began to be dyed black.
Watching this, the man took the spear from Kurak’s hand.
"Since I've given you the gift of a body you'll like, I suppose I should give you one more present."
He lightly flourished the spear toward Kurak, who was struggling desperately to break free from his shackles even as he turned black.
"The Strange Gates are fragments."
He spoke the sentence clearly. But Kurak wasn't listening to the man in the Holy Shroud. He couldn't.
"Aaargh...!"
He was too preoccupied with his frantic struggle to escape. Even as the capillaries in his eyes burst and his muscles tore under the strain of a power they couldn't contain, the man simply continued his story with nonchalance.
"Fragments of another world."
Finally, the moment the black substance flowing through Kurak’s arm swallowed his mind, the last things to reach him were a dry voice and a chilling sight.
"Fragments of the 'Eyes'—"
The voice said.
And the sight was a pair of bright yellow eyes, where dozens of concentric circles overlapped in a spine-chilling display.
* * *
About a week had passed since then.
"Well, I'll see you next time."
"Understood, Brother."
Alon arrived back on land and parted ways with Ladan after a brief farewell.
"He seemed a bit gloomy. Did you notice, my lord?"
Evan’s voice reached Alon as he watched the ship sail away into the distance. Alon nodded.
"I know."
"Shouldn't you have said something to him?"
Evan’s point was valid. Alon had seen the worry etched on Ladan’s face the whole time, yet he hadn't asked about his troubles.
However, Alon shook his head.
"There's no need to pry when he clearly doesn't want to talk about it."
Alon recalled Ladan’s expression. Ladan had been smiling with an awkwardness that was painfully obvious. Anyone could see he didn't want to reveal his concerns.
If Alon had asked, Ladan would have surely answered, but that would have amounted to forcing the truth out of him. So, Alon didn't ask. There had to be a clear reason why Ladan wasn't sharing it with him.
After watching Ladan’s ship in silence for a while, Alon turned away.
"Let's head out."
He walked toward the waiting carriage. Just as he was about to board—
"Huh?"
"What is it?"
"Well, how should I put this... the carriage is surprisingly clean."
"Is cleanliness a problem?"
"It's just—we left it sitting here for about a month, didn't we?"
"We did."
"Usually, after that much time, you'd expect at least a little dust to pile up."
At Evan’s observation, Alon nodded despite himself. He hadn't been paying much attention to cleanliness, but Evan was right.
Vrooom—!
Just in case, Alon moved a small amount of mana to inspect the carriage. However, aside from being remarkably clean, there were no issues.
"Let's just go for now."
"Yes, well..."
The two boarded the carriage and began to move. Inside, Blackie and Basiliora had started a game—some sort of chess-like match they had learned somewhere.
[Kyahahaha—!!]
[Kyu.]
Watching Basiliora’s small head and Blackie’s cute paws carefully pushing the pieces, Alon calmly thought about his next steps.
First, I need to find three items.
The Mask of the Walker.
The Screaming Blessing.
The Gem of the Blind One.
Fortunately, Alon knew where two of the three items were located. He also knew that the process of obtaining them wouldn't be particularly difficult.
However, the Gem of the Blind One had never appeared in Psychedelia, so he was at a loss as to where to find it.
I'll have to ask Nangwon for help with that part.
Nangwon, who ran an information guild, would surely be able to provide assistance.
[I won! You stupid beast! This proves your intelligence is lower than—Gyah!]
[Kyu—]
While Alon continued his deliberations, Blackie was now pinning Basiliora’s head down with a paw on the game board, which had turned into a complete mess.
Seeing Blackie holding the small snake’s head down without budging, even as Basiliora thrashed his tail, Alon had a sudden thought.
...When is Blackie going to grow up?
Of course, it was physically impossible for Blackie to reach maturity after only a year or two. However, knowing that Blackie grew faster by absorbing various things, Alon’s curiosity was brief.
"Marquis. I just remembered something I meant to tell you last time but forgot."
"Is it important?"
"No, not really. It's just... thanks to you, the bandits are being wiped out."
"?"
"?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Alon tilted his head, momentarily failing to grasp the situation.
"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure I understand it myself, but—"
Evan began his explanation with a similarly puzzled expression. After a short while—
"...So, to summarize: if you deal with bandits and show proof, you can enter the Divine Land of the House of Palatio?"
"Yes."
"?????"
A flurry of questions raced through Alon’s mind.
"...Who spread such a rumor?"
"I'm not sure...?"
"Just checking, but did we put out a notice like that?"
"Of course not. It was a somewhat vague notice, just as you instructed, my lord."
"Then how did it turn into 'deal with bandits'... and why would that be the requirement? No—"
Alon rubbed his temple, feeling a slight headache coming on.
"—More importantly, why do they want to enter the Divine Land in the first place?"
"It seems a rumor has spread."
"A rumor?"
"Yes. I don't know where it started, but people are saying that if you train in the Divine Land, you can use the power of Kalanon."
"...Again, just checking. We didn't start that rumor, did we?"
"Absolutely not."
"..."
Alon fell silent at Evan’s firm denial. No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't understand how a notice saying 'we will only accept the righteous' had mutated into 'bring proof of killing bandits! Then you can train in the Divine Land where you can use the power of Kalanon!'
...What on earth is happening?
He couldn't help but feel a strange sense of unease.
* * *
It had been several months since the Sins had devastated Phildegrin.
Thanks to the help of human mages, the city had been reconstructed quite cleanly and had mostly regained its former appearance. In one of the rooms of the royal castle—
Line was there.
Sipping tea with a serene expression, she looked toward the door as it opened naturally with a soft creak. Her expression shifted to one of slight surprise.
The person standing there was someone who shouldn't have been in this place right now.
"Oh my."
That person was none other than—
"Yutia, what brings you here?"
It was Yutia Bloodia.
Appearing before Line with the blue moonlit night at her back, her characteristic red eyes glowing, Yutia spoke with a smile.
"Don't look so surprised, Line. Surely you heard from Hidan?"
"I did, but I didn't expect it to be right now."
"You would have known I was coming anyway, wouldn't you?"
"Ah, you caught me."
After the light, superficial greeting ended—
"..."
"..."
A cold silence enveloped the two of them.
...A heavy, spine-chilling silence.