Chapter 330: In the Name of Sloth— (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 330: In the Name of Sloth— (3)
Saint Yuman believed in Marquis Palatio.
After all, he was one of those who had witnessed the miracles the Marquis had performed with his own two eyes.
However.
“……Isn’t this just a dog’s death?”
“Shh—be quiet.”
“No, honestly, isn't it? To get rid of this Black Territory, we have to deal with the thing in the center, but is that even possible? You saw it too! If you even set foot in there—”
Regrettably, the soldiers did not share his faith in the Marquis.
“…….”
Yuman looked at the soldiers.
Their emotions varied, but they all shared one thing in common.
Distrust toward Marquis Palatio.
Of course, those gathered here likely knew of the Marquis to some extent. There was no one in the United Kingdoms who didn't know of him.
Despite that, the reason the soldiers remained skeptical was not because of the Marquis’s ability, but because of the Black Territory itself.
“Whew—”
Yuman turned his gaze toward the Black Territory.
Though only a day had passed, it had crept much closer to the Ashtalon Kingdom than yesterday, instilling fear in everyone present.
They had seen it firsthand.
They had seen what happened to their comrades who made the simple, reckless choice to ‘set foot’ into that black land.
“…….”
Yuman, too, had seen clearly what became of those who entered the Black Territory.
Bloody tears streamed from their eyes, and confessions of sin burst from their mouths.
Their bodies, devoid of will, became puppets that drove blades into the hearts of their fellow soldiers.
As he quietly recalled those horrific memories, he looked up at the sky.
A massive ship was floating so high up that it looked like a tiny speck.
And at that moment.
“……Selaim.”
“Parkline.”
On the outskirts of the Ashtalon castle walls.
Parkline, the Red Tower Master who had arrived at dawn, called out to Selaim.
“Is everything ready?”
“Yes. But—what do you think?”
“About what?”
“This plan. Do you really think it will succeed?”
At Parkline’s question, Selaim looked up at the ship in the sky.
“Why do you ask?”
“I’m following the plan, but I just don't understand it.”
Parkline recalled what he had heard from Alon during the final meeting early this morning. A skeptical expression clouded his face.
Of course, he didn't think Marquis Palatio’s plan was entirely nonsensical. The Marquis’s words had seemed quite credible.
At times, he even wondered, ‘How does Marquis Palatio know such minute details?’
……Except for the very first part of the plan he had proposed.
“Sigh—”
The Marquis’s plan was solid. That was an undeniable truth.
However, it was a plan that could only be executed if the ‘Sin’ in the middle of the Black Territory came all the way here.
In other words, if the Sin that created this Black Territory did not personally grace them with its presence at the desired location, this plan was effectively meaningless.
Of course, the Marquis had mentioned a way to draw the Sin out of the Black Territory.
“……To fire magic and attack a place that can’t even be seen with the naked eye.”
It was just that the method sounded utterly preposterous to Parkline.
That was why he had asked Selaim his skeptical question.
“Do you think it’s impossible?”
Parkline was dumbfounded by the response he received.
“I should be the one asking you. Why on earth do you think it is possible?”
While his magical achievements might be a step below Selaim Mikardo’s, he was still a mage with his own Origin and the Master of the Red Magic Tower.
Therefore, he knew exactly how ridiculous the idea was.
“It makes no sense. No matter how special the Marquis is, it’s impossible to create magic that can deal a meaningful blow at a distance beyond sight. You know this, don't you?”
Even if one could manifest the magic, that wasn't the end of it.
Mana is consumed depending on how long the magic is maintained, and the amount of mana required varies by the Tier of the magic. Naturally, the higher the Tier and the greater the lethality, the more mana it consumes.
No matter how perfect the structure, the moment it becomes long-range, the array or the very nature of the magic could warp, causing it to dissipate.
The Marquis’s plan would only have a slim chance of success if he could solve every unforeseen problem in advance.
“Even if Marquis Palatio uses the divine power I’ve heard rumors about—”
As Parkline continued his argument, Selaim interrupted.
“It is exactly as you say.”
“What?”
Parkline narrowed his eyes at Selaim’s easy agreement. Regardless, Selaim’s voice continued calmly.
“I said, it’s exactly as you say. You’re right. Magic isn't as simple as just manifesting it and being done. If you don't manage the mana output, you can't even fire it far in the first place. You have to account for all the corruption that happens in that short interval—”
Magic isn't just delicate, after all.
Watching Selaim add those words nonchalantly, Parkline felt a moment of absurdity, but then—
“If we were talking about an ordinary mage, that is.”
“……What do you mean by that?”
He couldn't help but ask.
“Exactly what I said. An ordinary mage would have no choice but to consider those things.”
“……Are you saying Marquis Palatio is special?”
At that question, Selaim, who had been looking at the sky, turned to meet Parkline’s eyes.
He pointed a finger toward the heavens.
“It’s better to see it for yourself than to hear it from me,” he said simply.
As if possessed, Parkline looked up at the sky.
There was the clear blue sky and the ship floating in its center.
And then, unlike the scenery he had known—
“……?”
Something strange began to manifest.
The sky was beginning to warp, bit by bit.
“……!”
It was bizarre. No, it wasn't just bizarre.
It wasn't the sky that was warping.
That was—
“A mana phenomenon?”
When mana is released at high output, the surrounding area temporarily distorts. That in itself was not particularly surprising. He could create such a phenomenon himself if he released his mana right here.
However, the scale of this mana phenomenon was—
“Are you insane—”
It was so massive it looked as if it would swallow the entire ship in the sky.
Parkline cursed under his breath without realizing it.
“He really isn't ordinary,” Selaim’s voice, tinged with a hint of a smile, drifted into Parkline’s ear.
At that moment, the soldiers, who had been glaring at the Black Territory with distrust, also turned their gazes toward the sky.
Their eyes widened.
Their faces held a form of pure astonishment, stripped of any other emotion.
And then.
───────!!!!!
Along with countless star clusters rising into the blue sky, Alon looked at the form that had grown so massive even the caster could barely handle it—a form so giant it could no longer be called a needle—and spoke the Sentence.
“Bullet of Bion.”
The immensely bloated shape transformed into a spiral.
And then.
With a low murmur that followed.
“Snipe of—”
—Remembrance.
───────────────-!
A bolt of light was fired.
* * *
The soldiers’ eyes followed the erupting light.
The light plummeted, letting out a roar so massive it seemed to suck in even the high clouds.
That light vanished beyond the horizon, past where their eyes could reach.
It was a moment close to an instant.
The soldiers stared blankly toward the horizon, and soon—the light vanished.
As if it had never existed in the first place.
The world, which had been blindingly bright for a moment, regained its original color.
Just as a subtle doubt began to rise among the soldiers.
─-!
They heard it.
A small sound.
A heavy yet faint sound, as if a cannon had been fired from far away.
At the same time, they saw it.
Dust rising in the distance, obscuring the horizon—
And then—
─────────────────!!!
A tremendous roar overwhelmed the soldiers.
Soon, a massive wall of dust covered the entire horizon, and a giant cloud of debris billowed upward.
Twitch—!
While everyone stood frozen in disbelief at the situation.
“Th-That—!”
“!”
At a soldier’s shout, the faces of everyone nearby stiffened in unison.
The Black Territory, which had stained the earth black, began to writhe all at once.
No, to be precise, it wasn't the Black Territory itself that was moving.
The lumps of flesh that had been strewn across the black land, previously motionless, were gathering as if possessed by intelligence.
Threads erupting from a single point on the black ground began to knit the moving masses of flesh together.
Clumping—
Clumping—
And clumping again.
Human flesh and monster flesh merged without distinction, forming a massive mountain.
Soon, it began to take a specific shape.
Crack— Cra-crack!
Twisted bones repeatedly pierced through the flesh and retracted, while the blood of monsters and humans mixed grotesquely, creating a dark, crimson stain.
“This is insane—!”
The soldiers were thrown into a panic, but the mountain of corpses only continued to grow in size.
First, as tall as the castle walls.
Then, as tall as the inner castle.
And then—
Cra-cra-crack—!!!
It grew even taller than the royal castle.
At its overwhelming size, fear and terror once again filled the soldiers’ eyes.
The entity, dripping with dark red and green blood—a being that should never have existed in this world—looked down upon the soldiers with cold arrogance.
“That…… is even larger than I thought—”
“How can such a horrific thing exist—!”
Parkline and Yuman each cried out in horror.
As if responding to the humans’ reaction, the creature slowly raised a massive hand.
The hand, covered in grotesquely twisted bone and flesh, blotted out the sky.
“R-Run—”
The moment a soldier, falling into a state of panic, instinctively tried to scream.
─────────!
From the sky,
────────────────!!!!!
It fell.
A massive roar swallowed the hearing of everyone present.
The twisted hand was severed effortlessly, and the sun shone down upon the soldiers once more.
And then—
What appeared before the eyes of the soldiers, who had lost their hearing, was a massive, ink-black snake.
Tearing away the arm of the being that had plunged the soldiers into terror, the ink-black snake asserted its presence with cold majesty—
—Receiver Basiliora.
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■-!!!!
It had manifested.