Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: The Price
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The moment I realized it, my body moved.
By the time the creature showed signs of attacking, I was already out of its range.
I could see the attack descending from above.
I moved my fingertips. Swords of dark green rained down upon it. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried, my swordsmanship was worse than a common soldier's.
My physical body was weaker than an average person's. In that case.
‘I'll play to my strengths.’
Countless swords. Threads of prana wove together, a green light streaking down like a meteor.
The creature moved.
Crack. As if to prove its confidence in its body, each of its attacks shattered my swords. With a single swing, the blades broke and swirled around it.
As its attacks closed in with every moment, I moved my fingertips.
Bang!
An attack aimed at its center of gravity. Its rapid movements halted. I moved my swords.
Gaze, center of gravity, preparatory motion, signs of attack. I already knew everything. What more was needed?
No.
‘What am I still lacking?’
An endless bombardment of swords. Yet, the creature's body bore no wounds that could be called fatal.
“Graaaaargh!”
Dvergr roared. His muscles bulged as he ignored the attacks. His bloodshot eyes turned toward me.
“…It'll be difficult to recover him intact.”
“Why? Are you a little dissatisfied with the body you achieved by sacrificing everything?”
The creature answered with a grin that stretched from ear to ear.
“Yes, it's a bit lacking... I could use a younger body.”
With those words, he let out a bellow and began to close the distance stubbornly, like an enraged bull. He covered only his chest, his eyes filled with greed.
“Kaaaaargh!”
Swords rained down. My magic fluctuated. How much longer could I last?
‘Two more spells, no, maybe three.’
My already strained body screamed with intense fatigue.
A method I could use in time.
I closed my eyes.
In my mind's eye, dozens of methods surfaced and vanished, spitting out a solution.
The circle's ring spun madly, pulling out threads of prana.
What I needed to create now. What I needed to imagine.
Hand signs intertwined, released, and intertwined again in an instant. A single scene rose in my mind's eye.
All my magic responded, crying out loudly. Wounds finally began to appear on Dvergr's body, shredding his skin.
But he paid no mind to such minor scratches and charged forward stubbornly.
I opened my eyes.
He would reach me in a moment, but I had found a way.
The creature's red eyes gleamed with excitement.
Finally, just as he reached me with his transcendent physical abilities.
“Well…”
I flicked my fingertip.
Thwump—
That was enough.
A powerful shockwave sent my body flying sideways. Dvergr's attack then shook the entire space where I had been standing. The resulting gust of wind rustled my hair.
I could see the look of incomprehension on Dvergr's face. Perhaps he hadn't expected me to evade his attack in such a way.
“…”
I swallowed the blood rising in my throat and pointed a finger at him.
Before he could react, the scattered fragments around him began to swirl, enveloping his body and grinding it down.
A body strong enough to tear steel with bare hands could not be destroyed by ordinary means.
What was needed was a single opening.
And a sword to pierce that opening.
‘I've figured out everything I needed to know.’
Dvergr unconsciously covered his chest with one hand.
Dozens of colorful musical instruments materialized around him, creating a beautiful harmony that echoed through the cavern.
Vmmm—
The threads of prana began to converge into a single form.
More exquisitely, as if crafted by a lifelong sculptor. The one sword I desired.
Thinking the attack was weaker than expected and manageable, Dvergr covered his ears and revealed a hideous smile.
“Is this the end of your magic? It's not as impressive as I thought…”
The pieces, the shattered fragments. The threads of prana.
All of it intertwined and wove together, becoming one.
[Separation] [Severance] [Space] [Soul] [Contract] [Awakening] [Release]
The imagination bound by intent was refined in my mind's eye, manifesting as a formula.
The essence of magic is not scholarship, and a mage is not a scholar.
‘Magic does not follow reason, nor does it abide by the flow.’
Magic is the art of altering reality through the caster's consciousness, intent, and imagination.
Though a mage may be more knowledgeable than anyone in their particular school, they often fail to follow the essence they understand.
For such a mage to call himself a chimera user, and for that to be the result.
“Now, quietly become a part of me…”
Receive the price for abandoning magic.
Above Dvergr's head, a sword with only half a blade materialized.
I glanced at the man now right in front of me and replied.
Smiling gracefully.
“No, I'm afraid that won't do.”
And as if for a grand finale, I flicked my fingertip.
Snap—
“I have too much to do.”
The sword fell.
“What is th— Huh?”
Thud—
His body crumbled.
“No, this…”
Dvergr's body began to melt. The amalgamated flesh released steam as it dissolved into a liquid.
In the black puddle, I could faintly see the hideous, aged body I had glimpsed before.
“Why? Can't believe it?”
“Th-this makes no sense. How? How did you do it?”
“You gave up on magic, yet this is all you could achieve. You must be quite surprised.”
I stepped through the sloshing liquid and stood before him.
The answer was simple. My target wasn't his body or his soul. It was the stone dagger he had plunged into his heart.
When he blocked my attacks, he protected his chest to an excessive degree.
At first, I didn't think much of it, assuming it was just part of defending a vital point.
However, despite the carapace protecting his other vital spots, his obsessive need to guard his chest convinced me.
‘His transformation isn't complete.’
That suspicion turned to certainty when I tried to grind him down with the fragments.
Even as his arms were torn to bloody ribbons, he kept one hand firmly over his chest.
“And now you're curious?”
Though I was half-certain by the end, I couldn't deny it was a gamble.
With the magic I could currently wield, I couldn't have pierced Dvergr's muscles and carapace in a short amount of time.
“No, it doesn't matter. Please, young man. Please spare me. I can be very useful.”
Instead of shouting in disbelief, Dvergr quickly accepted reality.
“Do you happen to need a useful servant? Please, please, young man…”
More than his strength or magic, I couldn't help but be slightly creeped out by his mental fortitude—his ability to quickly accept reality and find a countermeasure.
“I have a great deal of knowledge. Having lived a long time, I have plenty of treasures, too. I'll be very useful. Aren't you curious why I settled in this mountain range?”
Begging so wretchedly, without a hint of hesitation, to the very person he was fighting just moments ago…
‘There's no need to keep him alive.’
I was curious about his identity and his reasons for being here, but I could investigate that myself.
“I'm sorry, but I already have two maids.”
Without hesitation, I placed my foot on Dvergr's head.
“Young man, please, please... Don't you need treasure? Ancient artifacts? Perhaps beautiful women…”
Crunch—
And so, the master of chimeras who had terrorized the region and abducted Inellia, the very source of the trouble, died a surprisingly empty and easy death, one that didn't befit his notoriety.
Just in case, I picked up a nearby great-axe.
Thump, roll…
The creature's head was easily severed by the sharpened blade and rolled across the floor.
After crushing his heart as well, the thought that it was all over made the tension begin to drain from me.
I let out a long breath. Perhaps it was from overusing high-level magic unbefitting my first-circle rank, but my heart throbbed painfully, and my fingertips wouldn't stop trembling.
“As I thought, I need to raise my circle or improve my skills quickly.”
The spell I'd forced out at the end had manifested in an incomplete form.
I was still far from capable of embodying seven concepts into a single ring.
‘I barely managed to create the form due to a lack of magic…’
Honestly, I couldn't shake the feeling that it had been a close call.
I was only able to seize the opportunity because he hadn't shed his old human habits, failing to fully trust his new body and instinctively covering his weakness.
If that had failed… I would have had to prepare for a long battle of attrition, slowly chipping away at him.
“That, certainly, would have been dreadful.”
It would have been a fight to see whether Dvergr adapted to his body first, or if I could wear him down before he did.
As I was organizing my thoughts and retrieving the stone dagger from his chest, a tingling sensation enveloped me.
“What's this?”
The sensation came from Dvergr, right in front of me. He was definitely dead.
When I closed my eyes and maximized my senses, I saw two threads connected to his body.
The threads wavered precariously, as if they would disappear at any moment.
“Could it be?”
The corners of my mouth lifted.
If my guess was correct, I had just obtained a truly valuable prize.
These threads seemed to be connected to Inellia and Legnol.
I hurriedly connected the two threads to myself.
The threads, which had seemed on the verge of vanishing, flickered with a white light for a moment after connecting to me, then soon became distinct and stabilized.
“…Excellent.”
A result I could only achieve because I had studied the school of contracts.
I had never been more grateful for learning contract magic than at this moment.
“And…”
My gaze turned to the stone dagger that had come from Dvergr's chest.
Perhaps because of my magic, its hideous appearance had changed, turning it into an unremarkable stone dagger.
A symbol was carved on the stone dagger.
Eight small dots orbited a red pupil, each following a different trajectory…
“It looks like stars.”
But other than that, there were no other markings. The dagger itself seemed to be made from a common, carved stone.
The only peculiar thing was that its surface was polished so meticulously that it reflected my face.
I committed the symbol to memory and tucked the stone dagger away. Looking around, I saw the cavern, shattered by our battle.
Rotting corpses and various body parts of unknown origin.
Among them, I found many bodies that seemed to have died recently.
A certain scene came to mind. An altar built of skulls, a floor slick with blood. Scattered corpses, as if there were no respect for the dead.
“Who's to blame whom.”
Many thoughts crossed my mind.
I laid them out on the ground, one by one. Few of their bodies were whole. A missing arm, a missing leg. A face with wide-open eyes glared up at me.
I moved one.
‘Knowing the future doesn't mean you know every variable.’
I moved another.
‘If everything went exactly as I thought, I'd be no different from a god.’
This time, it was the body of a child.
I hesitated for a moment.
A girl with reddish-brown hair. She would have been cute if she were alive. She would have been loved by many.
The child's pupils were empty.
I hurriedly suppressed my wavering emotions. If I had acted sooner instead of waiting, would the outcome have been different?
If I had moved first, instead of waiting for my father to test the creature…
‘No, that's wrong.’
Waiting for the right time was the best choice. Was there any guarantee of a better outcome if I had rushed in? In the end, my goal is to save my younger brother.
In the end, I gained that bastard's favor, so wasn't it fine?
Compared to that, these mere villagers are…
“…I'm sorry.”
The words escaped my lips. I tried to take them back. It wasn't as if anyone was watching.
“For not coming sooner. For not being able to protect you.”
But my mouth wouldn't stop. As if I had to let it all out, my lips moved ceaselessly. As if a hole had been punched through my soul.
“Because I wanted to save my brother… No, it was my own greed.”
I had to save my brother. I wanted to save him.
But if asked whether I needed to follow the same path as in the past, I couldn't answer.
Because I didn't want the future knowledge I possessed to change.
‘There were many other ways. Yes, I could have dealt with this place quickly and then handled the monster that appears later.’
There were ways.
I could have dealt with the monster that would appear in the domain a few months later, or, closer to home, I could have handled those trying to tarnish the family's reputation.
It's just that, just that.
“…Having come to the past, I wanted to enjoy its benefits.”
To simply wait for future events and prepare for them. How easy that would be.
No need to fear sudden accidents, no need to be surprised. It would be so much easier to act calmly, as if I knew all along.
“And as a result, you all died.”
In the end, how am I any different from him?
Is it right to sacrifice the innocent for my own gain?
A question I thought I had settled once before asked me again.
It asked if I could do it.
If I could sacrifice everyone else under the pretext of saving my brother.
“…I can.”
I can. I have to be able to.
My stomach churned.
My head spun.
Then what am I doing here right now? Instead of being with that bastard Julius.
It was all just an excuse.
To now sincerely accept him as my brother, to laugh and live comfortably with him?
To make the family prosper with my vague knowledge of the future, collect beautiful women, and wait for disaster after thorough preparation. Just like him?
“I can't do that.”
I let out an empty laugh. I can't do that. Not now.
I moved the bodies.
Dozens of them. How many villagers had been kidnapped before this? It felt as if all the dead were watching me.
I did not avoid their gazes.
Things like this will happen again. To win Julius's favor. To obtain treasure. Or because of a future that has changed.
Even so, will I act as I have now?
“I,”
I turned around.
A foul stench mixed with the wind blowing from the cavern.
“will remember you.”
I felt someone's gaze on my back. Without looking back, I walked on.
The path to the entrance was still filled with the stench.
A foul, sickening stench.