Chapter 145
Chapter 145
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Spirits of the Heroic Tombs (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The place the ghosts led him to was deep inside the heroic tombs.
It was a hidden passage beyond the 299 coffins, one that no one would ever find unless they looked closely.
At its end lay a tiny cavern.
A single ray of light filtered faintly through a small hole in the ceiling, illuminating a pile of stones.
In place of a tombstone, a lone red tulip swayed there.
“Was there another tomb?”
-Oh, you noticed right away?
-That’s right. We were originally 300 in total.
-We just couldn’t leave a single tombstone for that one.
The ghosts circled around the stone pile.
Theo could easily guess that this was the reason the ghosts lingered in the world of the living.
“May I ask whose tomb this is?”
-None of ours.
-No one’s buried here. Think of it as a cenotaph.
“A cenotaph?”
-Yeah. For our captain, who was our family head and our lord… and also Ragnar’s former Selector.
Selector.
Theo’s eyes widened slightly at the word.
-■■■! That friend’s tomb…!
In that instant, the ghost who had been about to say the name twisted in agony.
-Damn it! The name’s gone again? This is driving me crazy! At this rate, we’ll forget completely!
-I’ve been forgetting lately too. Can’t even remember the face clearly.
-That’s just your dementia.
-What did you say, you punk?
The ghosts bickering idly was no longer worth much attention.
“With the <Rank> I possess, this must be someone who delved so deeply into the world’s secrets that even their true name can’t be heard.”
-Probably. We don’t know much, but we heard they were so entangled with the [Nameless Lord] that even leaving their existence here was nearly impossible.
Theo became aware of Lord Brok’s channeling.
『That one’s words are correct.』
‘Connected to the [Nameless Lord] in some way…?’
『It was so secretive that even Ragnar’s legends barely preserve it. As a Selector, think of them as one of the rare few who nearly reached its origin.』
‘…An incredible person.’
『Understand that I can’t say more. As a Selector, as my companion, if you keep delving into the secrets, you’ll learn it naturally one day.』
‘Yes. I understand.’
Lord Brok’s voice now carried a note of sorrow.
『More than that, to think the tomb of my former companion—whose remains we couldn’t even preserve—exists here… I had no idea. I suppose I’m unworthy as a companion.』
Theo fell silent, sensing it wasn’t the moment to speak to Lord Brok.
‘Cursed by the [Nameless Lord], losing even their name….’
A name defines existence.
It’s how people remember those who live in this world, and if recorded, that name spreads their presence far and wide.
Sometimes, they’re even exalted as gods and enshrined in pantheons.
But to have one’s name erased?
That meant the erasure of existence itself.
For a Ragnar swordsman, whose ambitions burned to etch their name into history, there could be no greater dishonor.
Ragnar remembers the 299 who crossed the Great Wall to confront the [Nameless Lord].
But they don’t remember who led them.
Even though that leader was their family head.
This must be why the squad members lingered as ghosts.
‘They have no other regrets, yet they stay in this world… because they don’t want to lose their captain’s existence.’
But they were the dead, not the living.
Their clinging would end someday.
Yet they thrashed about like this—a final struggle.
“Then, ancestors, do you wish for us to find the remains of your former family head and build a proper tomb?”
-Huh? Does it come to that?
-Pffft! It could be interpreted that way. Not a bad idea, though.
-A swordsman doesn’t grieve over lacking a tomb. We never know when we’ll die on the battlefield—that’s our fate. As long as spirit and will remain, as long as someone remembers, that place is our tomb.
-Exactly! You got it!
They meant that since they remembered their captain, it was fine.
“Then…?”
-We want you to restore our captain’s sword manual.
A completely unexpected request.
Theo’s eyes went wide.
The 299 ghosts were all smiling.
-Didn’t we say? A tomb is wherever one person remembers our spirit and will.
-We already have a tomb. Fewer visitors these days, but there’s still the caretaker.
-But what happens when we’re gone?
-It’ll be gone. Totally gone! That’s why we need a ‘tomb.’ Someone to remember our captain.
“And that’s where the ‘sword manual’ comes in.”
-Exactly!
-If the captain’s secret art remains in this world, it means someone honors them, so the tomb won’t vanish.
-Of course, the captain did have descendants.
-But most ultimate techniques were lost, leaving them half-baked—not true heirs.
Theo suddenly had a flash of insight.
“That secret art… it’s what you advised me on, isn’t it?”
The detective ghost nodded.
-Yes. The captain’s art refined Ragnar’s swordsmanship, so I thought tinkering with your sword might recreate it.
-We don’t know the captain’s art. We ‘forgot’ it.
-But the insights and glimpses we gained from it remain as fragments.
“If I piece together those mismatched shards, filling the gaps with my own sword…”
-That’s the captain’s art.
-It’ll deviate from the original, of course. But isn’t that better for you? Inheriting an evolved version rather than an exact copy.
Theo nodded.
And inwardly, he was deeply impressed.
Easier said than done—their abilities must have been extraordinary.
This was an opportunity for him too.
An ancient secret art.
From one of the rare Selectors even Lord Brok acknowledged—its value would be immense.
‘Even just a taste raised my realm.’
His desire to restore it burned stronger.
‘But it could take time. I can’t stay here forever. Is there a way they can help?’
Without the ancient Selector’s item, even hatchling sync wouldn’t work.
Then it hit him: his encounter with the ghosts felt like a quest.
One method came to mind.
“There might be a way to restore it quickly. Would you try it?”
-What?
-There’s a way?
Theo spoke to the ghosts staring at him intently.
* * *
“Huh? Where’d Theo go?”
“No idea. He was right there.”
“Ray, do you know anything?”
Shake, shake.
Ray shook her head at Selphid and Arin’s questions.
She’d been focused on her breathing technique and hadn’t paid attention.
Selphid was about to search for Theo, worried something might be wrong, when Cassandra suddenly stirred. He turned.
Cassandra slowly raised her upper body, blinking slowly.
“Here….”
“Are you okay, Cassandra?”
Arin looked at her worriedly, but Cassandra stared blankly without responding.
Even though she couldn’t see.
Her unfocused pupils seemed to fix on Arin.
“Cassandra?”
“You’re Arin Negative. Famous for the Whirlwind Sword.”
“What…?”
Arin felt a strong sense of wrongness.
It wasn’t Cassandra’s speech pattern.
It was as if an adult had possessed her small body.
“You’re Selphid Gardner. Bastard son of the Gardner family, with the moniker White-Haired Freak Sword. Seems you’re doing well ‘here.’”
“…You.”
“And you’re Ray Ragnar, daughter of the Repair Palace Lord. You wield ice attributes, but your heart is warm. Thanks to Theo, no doubt.”
“Who are you?”
Selphid drew his sword and aimed it at Cassandra’s chin.
Cassandra didn’t flinch at the cold blade; she pushed it aside with her hand.
“If you ask who I am, I’ll answer ‘Cassandra.’”
“What?!”
“But if you ask if I’m the child Cassandra…”
A faint smile curved Cassandra’s lips.
“Then I’d have to say no.”
What did that mean?
She was Cassandra, but not the child Cassandra?
Selphid thought this unknown entity possessing her body was playing a cruel prank.
“No, this is absolutely not a prank. It’s natural you’d struggle to understand. I’d react the same in your shoes.”
‘She’s… reading my mind?’
“Think of it less as mind-reading and more as ‘seeing through.’”
“…!”
A chill ran up Selphid’s spine.
The entity in Cassandra wasn’t just predicting their actions—it pierced straight to their cores.
An utterly impossible situation.
As Selphid opened his mouth to speak, Cassandra’s gaze shifted sideways.
“Theo will vouch that I’m truly Cassandra.”
The group followed her gaze.
Theo was approaching.
“…Everyone, you can lower your guards for now.”
“Theo.”
“I’ll vouch for her. This Cassandra is the real one.”
Theo looked at Cassandra.
She smiled without answering.
“Fine… if you say so, it must be true.”
Selphid finally stepped back.
He’d already suspected Cassandra had special abilities.
He decided this was one of them.
“Good thing it ended without issue. But you need me, right?”
Cassandra’s gaze turned to Theo.
No one here felt she was blind anymore.
‘This is tricky. She can even do trance states?’
Meanwhile, Theo narrowed his eyes, realizing her condition.
He knew that during <Prophecy>, she acted strangely, like possessed.
It was exactly like when she read Leje’s future.
The difference? She was calm.
As if the future Cassandra had borrowed the oracle’s power to possess her younger self….
“Will you help me?”
“Yes. Where to?”
Cassandra rose slowly and followed Theo.
Once the area quieted…
“Hah…!”
“What the hell just happened?”
Selphid and Arin finally exhaled deeply.
“You saw that, right?”
“You’re not the only one with eyes.”
“What was it? What just went down?”
They’d been baffled when Cassandra opened her eyes and acted so mature.
But Theo’s drastically changed demeanor was just as shocking.
‘Couldn’t read him… at all.’
Since gaining the mystery in the Floating Army Autonomous Region, they knew Theo surpassed them.
The gap hadn’t seemed huge, so they could gauge it.
Now? Nothing.
Like trying to judge the exact height of a mountain on the horizon.
They only sensed Theo was ‘high,’ but no clue to his level.
He’d asked for alone time after arriving—had he gained enlightenment?
But could enlightenment cause such sudden growth?
Doubts and thoughts swirled chaotically.
‘Especially those eyes. Impossible to fathom the depth.’
Not fresh red anymore—true crimson, so deep it might need new words.
But one thing was certain.
Theo had reached the ranks of a <master>. No exaggeration.
Upper-class swordsman.
Or entry-level Dragon Gate swordsman.
At just sixteen.
“To even be treated as a senior a little, I gotta grind hard….”
As Selphid and Arin sighed deeply,
Ray gazed strangely at the dark passage where Theo had vanished.
Then,
“What? Where’d everyone go?”
Odd, who’d gone to check outside, returned and tilted his head.
The group weakly pointed toward the passage where Theo and Cassandra had gone.
“What? That way?”
In that moment, Odd’s eyes darkened deeply.
As if all emotion had been stripped away.
* * *
“The ‘real’ Cassandra is fine, right?”
“Lord Theo seems to know exactly who I am.”
“I was confused earlier, but now I get it.”
A faint smile played on the child Cassandra’s lips as she walked leisurely.
“You’re the Archmage, aren’t you?”