Chapter 419: Central Magic Tower (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 419: Central Magic Tower (3)
The Arm Spitter, naturally, believed the words of the Risen One.
There were two reasons for this.
First, the Risen One had absolutely no reason to lie to him. From the beginning, the Arm Spitter belonged to the faction of the Abyss Gazer. Even without any false persuasion, he would have protected the Star Eater regardless.
And the second reason was the source. He had heard that the information the Risen One shared had come directly from the Abyss Gazer.
Of course, the Arm Spitter did harbor a tiny sliver of doubt—or rather, a healthy skepticism. It was only natural. No matter how he thought about it, the Star Eater’s supposed ability was simply preposterous.
Even if the Star Eater’s power turned out to be different from what he had been told, his resolve to protect him wouldn't have changed. Nevertheless, it was true that he was curious.
Furthermore, even if the Star Eater’s ability wasn't real, the Arm Spitter figured that by drawing everyone's attention to one spot, he could easily take out at least one of them with a surprise attack. That was why he had opened the Void.
And there, he saw it.
The power of the Star Eater.
[This is impossible—]
The muttering of the Burnt Vegetation reached the Arm Spitter’s ears.
Ironically, the Arm Spitter, who had opened the Void himself, shared the exact same sentiment. He had known about it beforehand, certainly. But knowing something and witnessing it with one's own eyes were two entirely different things.
[…Hah.]
The Arm Spitter let out a hollow laugh despite himself.
Soon after, the Void he had opened snapped shut.
[….]
[….]
[….]
[….]
The Divine Bloods stared at one another with vacant expressions, speechless.
[I didn't see that wrong, did I?]
[Of course not. That was unmistakably the power of the Poison Eater.]
[…Are you saying it’s actually possible to grant the power of the Divine Blood to a mere living creature of this world?]
[Then what the Risen One said… was the absolute truth.]
For a moment, they exchanged words with expressions that suggested they couldn't believe whether this was a dream or reality.
[B-but, there’s no reason for him to share that power with us, is there…?]
The Burnt Vegetation voiced his opinion once more, but—
[…Realistically, I don't think that's the case.]
The Piercing Eye flatly rejected the Burnt Vegetation’s doubt.
[And why is that?]
[With His Excellency’s ability, he will eventually obtain the Karma of the other Divine Bloods anyway. If that happens, the things he acquired at lower levels will lose their luster as he ascends higher.]
The Piercing Eye had already switched his form of address from "Star Eater" to "His Excellency." At his statement, the Burnt Vegetation reflexively fell silent. In truth, he had been thinking the same thing.
And so.
[It seems I must make a new choice.]
The Burnt Vegetation reached a decision.
[…Is there any way you could arrange an opportunity for me to pay my respects to His Excellency?]
[Regrettably, I have no such authority. I have never personally met His Excellency myself.]
[Why not?]
[According to the Risen One, His Excellency does not wish for his identity to be revealed—]
[Then how are we supposed to—]
[Well, is there really a need to worry about such things?]
"Isn't it quite simple to show him that you intend to follow him?" the Arm Spitter added. Then, as if he had no need to hear anything more, he vanished into the depths of the sea.
[…Hmm, come to think of it, there were quite a few others heading toward the kingdom besides us.]
The Piercing Eye muttered to himself.
And then.
The Burnt Vegetation.
[I see…!]
He nodded as if he had realized something profound.
* * *
It had already been three weeks since Alon arrived at the Central Magic Tower.
In truth, when he first came here, he hadn't intended to stay for so long. However, after hearing a clue about Intent from Heinkel, he decided to stay at the tower to learn even a little bit of magic.
He had begun researching the magic of the Magi in earnest alongside Heinkel and Penia. That research had already stretched into three weeks.
"Whew—"
Alon let out a long sigh. Fatigue was washing over him.
Sitting down and conducting research wasn't particularly difficult in itself. The problem was the magic.
With her incredible intellect, Heinkel had grasped the essence of the Phrases without much trouble, but even so, she couldn't fully comprehend the entire structure of the magic. The same went for Penia.
In the end, Alon was the only one capable of actually manifesting the magic. He had to use magic continuously throughout the research, which left him utterly exhausted.
"Are you very tired?"
"A bit."
"It’s because your Mana Hole is small, so you have to keep using Defying Heaven."
Penia nodded as if it were only natural.
"If only that person, Sparrow, could have been of more help."
"Tell me about it."
At first, Alon hadn't expected to struggle this much. That was, of course, because of Sparrow. Even though he was trapped inside a gem, he was a bona fide Magus. Alon thought he would be able to get explanations regarding the principles of the Phrases, but unfortunately, he hadn't been able to receive much help from him.
In fact, he was perhaps even less helpful than Heinkel.
The reason was simple.
[Why can't you do that?]
Sparrow was what one would commonly classify as a "genius." He would skip over the most essential early steps as if they were obvious, and his explanations were dreadfully poor…
Alon had long since given up on getting help from Sparrow.
"Well, it’s fine. We’re seeing results proportional to the effort."
"That’s true."
Perhaps it was thanks to all that hard work, but they had achieved quite a lot over the past three weeks.
"We’ve almost got all the basics down now."
"Indeed."
For three weeks, Alon had been rebuilding the basics of magic—no, the Phrases—from the very beginning. To be precise, "starting from scratch" was a more fitting description. Although he had used Phrases before, it had been more like using a type of blessing rather than actual magic.
"Hmm, still, in about three or four more days, I think you’ll be able to use at least one Phrase properly."
"It’ll take a bit more work, though."
"If only I could use Phrases too, it would be so much better—"
"I appreciate the thought."
"Don't mention it. Not between us."
Alon smiled at Penia’s playful remark, but the moment was brief.
"Lord Alon."
"Evan."
Evan opened the library door and walked in.
"How is the research going?"
"So-so."
"That’s good to hear."
"Right. Where are Blackie and Basiliora?"
Just this morning, Evan had taken out Basiliora—who had stuffed himself into the ring to hide from Heinkel—and Blackie, who was bored.
At Alon’s question, Evan shrugged.
"They’re playing in the carriage outside. By the way, are you taking a break right now?"
Alon nodded. Evan approached him, looking pleased.
"I actually have a few things to tell you."
"Is it about the Divine Blood?"
"Well—there’s that, but I have other news as well."
"…Other news?"
"Yes. It’s about the Marquisate—no, about Palantia."
Alon tilted his head in confusion for a moment. There was no reason for anything to be happening in Palantia right now. However, Alon soon remembered something and let out a small "Ah."
"Is it about the castle?"
"Oh, how did you know?"
"That’s the only thing worth talking about in Palantia right now. So—is the castle finished already?"
Alon’s question sounded nonsensical on the surface. After all, it hadn't even been two months since he ordered the construction. Alon’s question was half-joking, and half-serious because he had heard that two Tower Masters had joined to help with the construction.
'Honestly, I still don't know why they bothered to join.'
Regardless, Evan shook his head at Alon’s question.
"No, it’s not that."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Instead, how should I put this…?"
Evan scratched his head, unable to continue for a moment.
"To give you the conclusion first, they say they’ve just finished preparing the foundation."
"That’s faster than I expected."
"And the Palantia territory has become the Palantia Southern District."
"…I see… wait, what?"
The words finally registered.
"…Palantia Southern District? What does that mean?"
"It’s, well, exactly what it sounds like."
"No, that’s the only territory there is, so how…?"
Alon’s brain was struggling to process this. Evan scratched his head again.
"Well, they say the castle they’re building is just that big."
"???"
That was his answer, and Alon fell even deeper into a maze of confusion.
"And one more thing, I have something to tell you regarding the Divine Blood."
"No, wait…"
Before he could organize his thoughts, Evan brought up a new topic. Eventually, Alon pushed the mountain of questions in his head to one side for the moment.
"…Go ahead and tell me that too."
"They say that battles between Divine Bloods have been occurring frequently lately."
"…Between Divine Bloods?"
"Yes."
Alon was momentarily puzzled but soon understood the situation. He knew from his conversation with the Risen One that several Divine Bloods were taking his side.
"I see."
Alon was about to nod naturally, but then—
"About eight of them."
"?"
He was bewildered once again by the following words.
"…Eight?"
"Yes."
"…Not two or three?"
"…Yes, well… based on the confirmed individuals alone, they say there are eight."
At the unexpected number, Alon’s face was clouded with doubt once more.
'…What is going on?'
* * *
Around that time, in Tullian, the capital of the small city-kingdom of Chronosax.
To the 'Fury of the Whirlpool,' a Divine Blood who had crossed the sea, the place looked quite appetizing. People were densely packed in one area. Given the nature of his abilities, such a gathered crowd was easy to use as tools with just a single session of brainwashing.
Thus, before completing the request from the Rotten One, the Fury of the Whirlpool intended to establish a small base of support.
[Stop.]
[?]
He turned his gaze toward the resonant voice that reached him before he could even get close to the capital.
[…Burnt Vegetation?]
There, he encountered the Burnt Vegetation.
The Fury of the Whirlpool was stunned for a moment. But he soon seemed to understand something.
[I see—so that’s how it is. You arrived first?]
He formed a twisted smile with his shell-like mouth. His fishy expression was full of certainty. After all, he had landed in the southern part of the Empire just like the Burnt Vegetation, and he knew why the other was heading toward the United Kingdoms.
And so.
[It’s a coincidence that we met here, so why don't you form an alliance with me? You know as well as I do that no matter how many of us gather, we just need to take care of the 'Star Eater,' right?]
The Fury of the Whirlpool naturally made the proposal to the Burnt Vegetation.
[What kind of nonsense is that?]
[?]
He was rejected, hollowly and easily.
[…What?]
The Fury of the Whirlpool asked back, flustered. But the Burnt Vegetation…
[To dare call His Excellency’s name so carelessly, you must be out of your mind.]
He growled, the flames across his body burning hot as if he were truly enraged. Instinctively flustered, the Fury of the Whirlpool tried to speak—
[No, suddenly!? When we landed, you were saying you were going to roast the Star Eater—]
[Shut up!]
He couldn't even open his mouth.
[His Excellency and I are as one, in a state of complete unity. In other words, an attack on His Excellency is an attack on me! I, the leader of the 'Star Root,' will not forgive you!!]
As he watched the Burnt Vegetation, drenched in a madness of rage, shouting a group name that sounded like something out of a children's cartoon, the Fury of the Whirlpool began to feel a bizarre sense of dread.
'Wh-what is this…?!'