Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: An Unreasonable Feeling
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Until now, he hadn’t paid it much mind, thinking she would awaken on her own, but that was no longer the case.
“Linbelle, watch closely.”
Basil’s suppressed presence expanded.
Pure white prana swirled from his body, surging up from his feet. The prana emanating from his sword formed a circle, beginning to orbit around him.
Allen whispered softly to her as she stood transfixed by the sight, her eyes blank.
“That is prana.”
“…So that’s what it is.”
“Yes. A noble, stubborn… and dreadful power.”
The greatsword blazed like the sun, and as the waves of power grew stronger, the knights watched with pride in their eyes.
“Such a powerful warrior…”
“…Incredible.”
“To think he still had that much strength in reserve.”
The elves murmured amongst themselves, surprised by his immense power, but Basil paid them no mind, focusing solely on the massive wall.
The white light, which at a glance appeared almost sacred, flickered in and out of existence. Allen ignored it all.
“It is one of the forms of power you will obtain.”
Her eyes were filled with obsession. And greed. And also…
“I.”
Despair.
“…Can I do it?”
A gloomy despair had settled over her.
“You can.”
“You always say that, Young Master.”
She clutched her jet-black sword with trembling hands and whispered softly.
“You always have. From the beginning, as time went on, and… even now. I… I…”
“Prana is.”
He cut her off.
“Prana is a noble power.”
“I know. You’ve told me so many times…!”
“That is why I believe.”
She looked at him, unable to understand.
“That you can do it.”
Prana was a power that responded to blind emotion or vows.
A power that could become infinitely strong if one’s will was firm, but could also vanish if the vow that was its source faded.
“That you can prove it sufficiently.”
That was why the user who wielded the power was more important than anyone.
“That you can become nobler than anyone.”
The reason prana was noble was the same.
It was, in itself, proof that one’s will had not withered.
“So there is no need to obsess over it. You will one day accomplish it with ease.”
“But…”
She simply lacked a catalyst.
A powerful emotional medium to draw out her prana.
The fuel of anger that would have accelerated her growth.
“But if you are truly struggling.”
“I…!”
Seeing her display an almost excessive obsession with power, so different from the past he remembered, Allen changed his mind.
“It’s alright to stop.”
For a moment, she seemed at a loss for words, her pupils trembling violently.
“…What?”
If his expectations had become a burden.
If she felt overwhelmed by the image he desired for her.
“It doesn’t have to be prana.”
“What? Why… No, then all my actions, all my effort…”
Linbelle looked up at him with a startled expression.
Seeing her confused face, Allen realized just how deeply she had been shackled by it.
“Is it… because I couldn’t meet your standards, Young Master?”
“No.”
Allen replied with an indifferent expression, as if stating the obvious.
“Because it doesn’t matter.”
“What?”
“With your talent, it wouldn’t matter if you used mana instead of prana.”
It would slightly disrupt his plans at the academy, but what did that matter?
If she was the sword prodigy he knew her to be.
He had no doubt she would produce the same result, even if it meant taking a slightly longer path.
“So, you don’t need to rush.”
He lifted his head toward the bright light shining on his face.
Turning his eyes, he saw a brilliant light burst from the Knight Commander’s sword as he unleashed a powerful slash.
“Even if you rest for a while, there is plenty of time to run forward.”
“Ah…”
The moment she opened her mouth to say something, the wooden wall was shattered by the pure white slash.
A great cheer followed.
“Waaaaaah!!!”
“As expected of Sir Basil!”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen the Knight Commander use his strength.”
Linbelle sighed at the broken atmosphere, then fell silent at Allen’s question.
Allen stayed by Linbelle’s side, but her answer never came.
*I suppose it was too much to expect a few words to change everything.*
If she remained the same after this, Allen would force her to learn mana.
It would be far better than her current struggle.
Confirming that Inellia was approaching her from behind, Allen walked toward the Knight Commander.
Julius, who had been staring in awe at the Knight Commander’s power, glanced briefly at Camilla before quickly making his way to him.
“Sir Basil, that was truly, truly incredible. Are you hurt anywhere? Do you need to rest?”
“It will not affect my ability to fight.”
Julius, impressed by his steadfast words, praised him endlessly.
“…Did you say Knight Commander Basil? With that level of skill, he would rank among the top of the Forest Guardians.”
She was surprised by his power, but the Great Forest had many warriors even stronger than him, so she quickly composed herself.
“By the way…”
Natasha confirmed the now-revealed Divine Beast’s forest and frowned.
“It’s even more disgusting up close.”
“It’s completely warped.”
As she said, the state of the forest was horrific.
The trees and ground were stained black, rotting animal carcasses were strewn about, and grotesque creatures mutated by the encroaching demonic territory were everywhere.
The forest was so damaged that it was impossible to recall its original appearance.
Natasha perked up her ears for a moment, then spoke to Allen.
“For there to be no reaction to this much commotion… isn’t that too strange?”
Allen agreed with her.
He could grudgingly accept that they hadn’t been ambushed or attacked on the way here. One could argue it was to fortify their defenses.
But now that the very trees enveloping the forest were gone, they weren’t even coming to check?
*Is my perception blocked?*
Some measure must have been taken, as his perception couldn’t extend beyond his line of sight.
After a moment of thought, she saw Julius and Basil approaching and gave her answer.
“Let’s split up.”
She suggested they divide their forces, saying it was too inefficient to move together in the twisted forest.
“We don’t know what dangers lie in the forest, but it’s also inefficient for such a large group to move as one. So, how about we divide our personnel appropriately?”
Though she offered that excuse, her intention was obvious.
*She’s saying we’re not worth moving together with.*
The elves numbered only about a hundred. In the end, her suggestion to split up was just a roundabout way of saying they should search separately.
“Since our numbers are small, it would be best if you, Allen and Young Master Julius, divide your people…”
As Allen expected, she and the elves excused themselves, leaving the choice to them. As soon as she finished speaking, Julius seized the opportunity and spoke up.
“Brother, I will go with the Knight Commander. Is that alright?”
Allen saw through Julius’s blatant intentions but readily gave his permission.
*The Knight Commander is loyal only to Father.*
He had joined the family and taken the position of Knight Commander under certain conditions with their father. Julius, unaware of this, was making a futile effort.
“Fine. In that case, I assume you won’t mind if I take eight knights with me?”
“Do as you wish.”
Allen took eight of the fifteen knights and divided the soldiers evenly, one hundred fifty each.
*He has no backbone.*
Meanwhile, Julius seemed worried that Allen might choose Camilla. Allen had no intention of interfering with him, so he just picked his personnel at random.
Their role was nothing more than scouting and serving as shields anyway.
“Are you all finished?”
Once the groups were divided, Natasha spoke.
“Let’s have whoever finds the warlock or the Divine Beast first send a signal.”
“But then we won’t know each other’s locations, will we?”
At her gesture, an elf waiting beside her handed her a pouch.
“If you throw this into the air, it will be visible from a distance.”
“What is this?”
As Basil spoke, looking at the small pouch, Julius could be seen mouthing some words.
*Seed. Balloon?*
“It’s probably better to show you. If you throw it up like this…”
She lightly tossed a light-green seed into the air. The seed shot straight up, gradually slowing until it surpassed the height of the wooden wall.
-Boom!
The seed exploded with a brilliant burst of sound.
The knights flinched, startled by the sight of an exploding seed, something they had never seen before. However, they quickly regained their composure when they saw the elves reacting as if it were a common occurrence.
“You just have to throw it, so it’s not difficult to use.”
She handed out the seeds to Allen, Julius, and the knights in a business-like manner, as if she didn’t expect much.
“We don’t know what threats may be in the forest, so please signal immediately if you find anything. Well then,”
A powerful spirit, one that Allen’s affinity couldn’t even hope to form a contract with, enveloped her body.
“We will go on ahead.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the elves disappeared at high speed through the hole created by the shattered wooden wall.
Even if the forest was halfway corrupted into a demonic territory, their familiarity with its geography meant they would have no trouble searching.
*Though I doubt they’ll actually send a signal.*
Once they were gone, Julius turned to Allen and spoke.
“Brother, I will head toward the center.”
His gaze was fixed on a point in the empty air.
*Is he using the [System]’s map function?*
Julius quickly departed with the Knight Commander, seven other knights, and half the soldiers.
Since he had the knowledge of the ‘original story,’ he would be able to find the warlock’s location on his own.
Even if not, he would find some clue soon enough.
That’s just the kind of person he was.
A knight standing next to Allen spoke up on behalf of the others.
“Where will we be heading?”
The elves would likely move based on their knowledge of the original forest map.
Julius would use the system to find the warlock.
*In that case.*
Should he feign a search until they found something, or should he explore the forest based on the information from the black book?
“We will…”
Just as Allen was about to tell them his decision.
「Wait, just a moment. That way! Please go that way.」
Vestla suddenly interjected.
Breaking the unspoken rule.
* * *
“Aaargh…!”
“Please, please just kill me…”
“Savemesavemesavemesaveme.”
Amidst the endless screams, a life was extinguished.
“Gurgle… gack.”
*Thud.*
The lifeless corpse, its life force completely drained, slumped unceremoniously to the floor. Carnel, having sacrificed another elf, turned his head with irritation.
“What was that?”
“The intruders have finally entered the forest.”
“Already? I thought they would dither for at least a day…”
Carnel was annoyed that the plan was not proceeding as he had expected.
“I can’t believe the Reinhardts are supporting the elves, and what? They arrived this quickly?”
Strange.
This was clearly strange.
It was strange enough that those two, who were on bad terms, would join forces, and it was even stranger that they moved so swiftly. Yes, as if they already knew about the current plan.
“Was the plan leaked? That can’t be right.”
A few days ago, headquarters, alarmed by the feeling of being watched, had even provided an artifact to block their vision.
He knew that the Celestial Eye he was aware of couldn’t be blocked by such an artifact, but it was capable of at least blurring their vision.
Even if that wasn’t the case, if this place had been scouted, he should have felt someone’s gaze…
“Is there a problem?”
A heavy voice spoke, and turning his head, he saw a figure in gloomy black armor approaching.
“No… it’s fine. For now, at least.”
They were proceeding with the operation, having mobilized everyone, including the personnel who were supposed to carry out the attack in the mountain range.
In just a little more time, the Divine Beast would be completely corrupted.
And yet.
“What is making me so anxious?”
Still, Carnel had a bad feeling. Yes, this was, this was…
“A sense of unreasonableness.”
A feeling of anxiety that no matter what he did, he would face a predetermined end.
“Unreasonableness…?”
“Yes.”
His thoughts began to clear.
“Malok, when was the first warlock subjugated?”
“I believe… it’s been four months?”
“Right, that was the problem.”
He should have noticed something was off back then.
“Doesn’t something seem strange?”
“What is?”
“Was the ritual we performed in the west so intense that the County would react?”
“It was not.”
They had focused on villagers, not city dwellers.
They had prioritized the elderly and women over healthy young men.
To make it seem like a chronic illness rather than a curse.
To make the deaths look natural rather than artificial.
“But somehow, the County got involved, and we got away at the cost of one warlock.”
“Wasn’t that a coincidence?”
“Yes, up to that point, it was a coincidence.”
Then what about the woman who was freed from the curse after that?
“Was that woman also a coincidence? No, in the first place, a commoner broke free from a curse? Through luck?”
“That…”
Malok couldn’t answer. Hadn’t Carnel himself called it luck at the time?
But Carnel continued, as if Malok’s answer didn’t matter.
“It was the same after that.”
Not long after the curse had spread, the County came again and killed the witch.
Less than a week after they had begun the large-scale ritual in the Divine Beast’s forest, troops were dispatched.
“What about next time? Will they stop us right before the ritual is complete? Or will they shatter the barrier right now?”
As Carnel piled suspicion upon suspicion, even Malok could not deny it. As he fell silent, Carnel’s gaze shifted to the warlock standing awkwardly nearby.
“How far have they come?”
As his crazed eyes turned on him, the warlock’s body froze.
“W-well…”
“Speak quickly.”
“They have split into three groups…”
“Now.”
As Carnel’s eyes turned cold, the warlock immediately dropped to his knees and shouted.
“One group of humans is heading to where the other brothers are gathered, the elves are coming toward the center of the forest! And the last group of humans is heading for ‘that place’!”
“That place?”
His eyes, which had been momentarily focused on tearing the heart from a corpse on the floor, glinted with interest.
“Did they look like they knew where they were going?”
“I do not know!”
“Hmm… well. It’s a good thing they’re crawling to their own deaths.”
A byproduct of an experiment conducted before planning the corruption of the Divine Beast.
A place they had been forced to seal away after the chimera master who had been collaborating on the research died.
Since it was something even they couldn’t handle, he had no intention of stopping them if they were heading there on their own.
“What do you plan to do?”
“That would be…”
Carnel smirked and looked behind him. There, a Divine Beast the size of a small hill, half-stained black, was thrashing about.
“Everything for His sake.”
-Boom!
“Stabilize the ritual formula, now!”
“Sacrifices! Bring more sacrifices, quickly!”
“Please, save me, save… gurgle.”
The Divine Beast would become the legendary demon beast that He had brought, and it would serve as the vanguard for the holy war.
For that to happen.
“You, release all the minions and have them engage the enemy. And discreetly lure them to their respective destinations.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
The warlock hastily grabbed a staff adorned with a skull and ran off to carry out his orders.
“Malok, you go to where the brothers are gathered and buy time. Be as persistent as possible.”
“Understood.”
Malok nodded gravely, offering no argument to his command.
As Malok also left to carry out his orders, Carnel turned his head.
“If this plan ends in unreasonableness, then…”
His pupils turned black.
“I cannot simply stand by.”
Absolutely not.
He shouted to his comrades in a viscous voice.
“Relay this to all but the minimum personnel required for the ritual.”
For His sake, there shall be no hesitation in our actions.
“The time has finally come.”
Even if the price is our lives.
“Hel-Critica.”
For the One we praise.