Chapter 576: The Light of Hairan, or (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 576: The Light of Hairan, or (1)
May 10, 1800.
About a month had passed since the war ended.
By now, even those who hadn't personally witnessed the Sword Emperor Holy War and the subjugation of Gliek knew exactly what had transpired.
Newsletters from various factions relentlessly churned out articles regarding the Emperor branding the pillar of the Empire a traitor, the true nature of the White Stone, and the harrowing consequences of it all.
Ron Hairan had ultimately succeeded in single-handedly containing the final explosion of chaos.
However, even for a transcendent who had reached the Realm of Creation, perfectly managing the aftermath of the self-destruction was impossible. The chaos had already breached his protective barrier during the battle with Gliek.
Just as everyone on the battlefield had feared, the chaos that escaped his protection was now turning various parts of the world into uninhabitable wastelands.
“Damn it, there’s no end to this. Are you telling me these things are really just the remnants of that monster, the King of Chaos or whatever?”
Daytona and Heitona.
The two brothers were currently on a mission to suppress the ‘Remnants of Chaos’ that had crashed near the Delki Kingdom.
Exhaustion was etched deeply onto the faces of both the brothers and the Guardian Knights they led. They had long since lost track of how many days they had spent fighting through the night.
The monsters dubbed the Remnants of Chaos were manifesting across the globe wherever Gliek’s chaos had landed.
Delki was just one such place. To date, the number of discovered ‘Contaminated Areas’ had reached about fifty, a figure that grew with each passing day. There was no telling how many more remained undiscovered.
If Ron had failed to withstand Gliek’s self-destruction—or if he had achieved a Realm of Creation with an attribute other than protection—the world would have been irrevocably destroyed.
“The youngest... and the people on that battlefield... just what kind of monster were they fighting?” Daytona muttered.
“It must have been something so horrific that people like us wouldn't have mattered at all. I mean, look at these things. They're just the remnants, and they're already this much of a handful,” Heitona replied as he hacked through a monster’s torso.
The monsters in the Contaminated Areas possessed a vitality incomparable to any known magical beast. If their bodies were torn apart, they simply multiplied by the number of severed pieces. They only stopped regenerating once they were shredded into fragments the size of peas.
Some specimens possessed super-regeneration rather than the ability to multiply. Those were particularly strong, but in truth, every monster in the Contaminated Areas was entirely unique.
The strongest individuals identified thus far required the martial prowess of a Black Knight-level combatant just to subjugate.
Their habits were also entirely distinct from ordinary monsters. They specialized in parasitism rather than direct combat, using living beings—including humans—as hosts.
Furthermore, any living being that became a host became highly infectious. Humans attacked by these hosts were quickly consumed by chaos and went berserk.
The only saving grace was that not all of humanity was equally susceptible to the infection. Trained warriors and mages showed a significant level of immunity. The Tona brothers didn't even want to imagine what would have happened without that natural resistance.
The Magic Association had dubbed this phenomenon ‘Infectious Chaos.’
In short, the world was facing a Great Disaster—one easily comparable to the greatest catastrophes attributed to Heluram in the past.
It wasn't just the Tona brothers; members of every faction, including Zipple, were currently deployed across the globe to suppress the chaos.
“It’s horrific enough as it is, but things would have been even more disastrous if Brother Dipus and Zipple's Fire Dragon Kadun hadn't moved quickly to initiate early suppression. Damn, it gives me the creeps. To think this is the first time the clan has taken such a massive hit since the Holy Kingdom Defense War five hundred years ago.”
“It’s not just our clan; it’s the whole world. I suppose it’s a small mercy that Zipple suffered just as much damage...”
Runcandel and Zipple.
Excluding the Empire, those two factions had undoubtedly suffered the most damage in this war.
Runcandel had lost nearly three hundred elite knights, including five Black Knights, and Rosa had been severely injured.
Zipple also saw Kelliark fall into a critical condition. They had lost their entire 1st and 2nd Fleets, including the Kozec, along with over thirty dragons and five hundred mages.
The aftermath of the final explosion was particularly problematic.
Gliek’s self-destruction had lasted for three full days. The forces of each faction were only able to escape the battlefield two days after the unprecedented explosion began.
The current strength of the two great factions combined did not even equal what a single clan had possessed just a month ago.
Naturally, the injuries sustained by Rosa and Kelliark could not be healed by conventional means. It was the insidious power of chaos that had brought them low.
“10th Flagbearer, 11th Flagbearer. A message just arrived from the main house,” a Guardian Knight said, approaching the Tona brothers.
“Report.”
The Tona brothers’ eyes widened as they listened to the knight's words.
“...So that’s what was decided in the end.”
“We’ll have to hurry if we want to make the date.”
Without even taking the time to brush the monster gore off their armor, the brothers moved deeper into the Contaminated Area.
All the while, they could feel the strange power that had begun to stir within them immediately after the war ended.
* * *
“A truce with Zipple has been finalized.”
At Rosa’s words, Dipus nodded as if he had expected it.
Black spots were visible on Rosa’s wrist, peeking out from beneath her sleeves. When Dipus’s gaze landed on them, Rosa casually covered her wrist.
“It’s because of Kinzelo, I assume.”
“Yes. They are the only ones who took no damage in this war. They likely stood by and watched, hoping both our strength and Zipple’s would be depleted. The result is exactly what they wanted.”
Suppressing a cough, Rosa recalled the final moments of the war.
The sight of the clan’s knights and Zipple’s mages being swept away by that terrifying explosion... and the moment Zipple’s Demon God Stone shattered.
Since the Demon God Stone was destroyed, it will be impossible for Zipple to recover their strength in the short term.
If Cyron had been with the clan, this would have been the perfect opportunity to end their thousand-year war in victory.
However, the Black Knights sent to the Black Sea at the start of the war had eventually returned without being able to contact Cyron.
Conversely, this would have been the best time for Zipple to strike Runcandel, but they could not afford to take such a risk with a common enemy like Kinzelo looming over them.
For Zipple, restoring the Demon God Stone was their most urgent priority. While it was necessary to recover their strength, there was another, more pressing reason.
“Mother. As you may know, something strange has been happening to the purebloods recently, myself included.”
The strange phenomenon Dipus was referring to was the same power the Tona brothers had felt.
“Are you talking about starting to feel mana?”
“...Yes.”
Mana.
Immediately after the war ended, the purebloods of Runcandel—excluding Jin—were feeling mana for the first time in their lives.
Rosa did not feel that sensation herself, but she was aware that the mana her children possessed was still at an extremely faint level.
This was the direct result of the Demon God Stone being shattered and Zipple suffering a profound blow.
The power of stories, the Zipple magic that manipulated history, was weakening. Consequently, the thousand-year covenant and the curse that had suppressed Runcandel had become unstable.
That was the real reason Kelliark had proposed a truce so urgently. And Rosa had no choice but to accept, even though she knew the truth.
“What should we do?”
“If you are asking whether we should keep it a secret or be on guard, there is no need.”
Dipus flinched and met Rosa’s eyes.
“Why so surprised? The fact that our clan originally possessed the power of the magic sword is something the youngest already revealed to everyone. The current phenomenon is likely the result of the curse on the clan thinning as Zipple’s power wanes.”
“Then things will return to how they were once they recover their strength.”
“Just because one can handle mana doesn't mean everyone can become like the youngest. Furthermore, unless Zipple is completely torn down, that power will remain at a level where it cannot be properly utilized.”
Rosa judged that there was no point in looking for ways to utilize that faint mana immediately.
She believed they could only reclaim their status as a magic sword clan once Zipple was finished and the clan’s curse truly ended.
“In any case, the Flagbearers won't have time for personal training until the chaos is sufficiently suppressed. Keep your wits about you and focus on clearing the Contaminated Areas.”
Dipus bowed his head.
“And is the 12th Flagbearer still there?”
“Yes.”
While Gliek’s self-destruction continued for three days, Jin and Dante suffered no additional damage, even within that storm of chaos. This was because Ron’s will had focused intensely on protecting the two of them.
Currently, the land where the Sword Emperor Castle once stood was more severely contaminated than anywhere else in the world where fragments of chaos had landed.
Over the past month, those tasked with suppressing chaos for each faction hadn't even been able to begin the purification of the Sword Emperor Castle.
They were merely encamped around the territory, keeping the swirling chaos trapped inside from escaping.
Just as Rosa was about to say something, a Guardian Knight rushed into the office.
“Acting Patriarch! A report has just come in that the 12th Flagbearer entered the Sword Emperor Castle territory two hours ago...!”
“What?!” Dipus shouted.
Like Rosa and Kelliark, Jin’s encroachment by chaos had not yet fully receded.
And since it had already been revealed that those encroached by chaos reacted to even greater chaos by undergoing demonization, entering the Sword Emperor Castle territory was practically a suicidal act.
“Mother, I will go there myself—”
“No, there is no need,” Rosa said in a calm voice.
“He must have done so because he is certain that something will protect him. If the youngest had entered the territory because he fell into demonization, other unusual details would have been reported. Like him attacking our allies.”
Just what do you mean is protecting the youngest?
Dipus could not bring himself to ask that question after seeing the bitter look in Rosa’s eyes.
* * *
Jin was not the only one who had entered the Sword Emperor Castle territory at that hour.
There was someone who had entered the territory—now a hellscape of chaos—even before him. And just as Rosa had predicted, the two walked the contaminated land with the help of a certain power.
They received a protection that no one else but the two of them could enjoy.
“Dante.”
Looking at his friend’s back, Jin called his name.
“Jin.”
Dante did not look back at him. Jin sat down beside Dante and shifted his gaze toward the place his friend was watching.
Amidst the gale of chaos that enshrouded the entire territory, only the single point they were looking up at radiated a brilliant light.
That solitary mass of light.
The light that had once been a man was protecting the two of them from the chaos of the contaminated land.
“‘This is not the end for you and me, so do not sit in sorrow for too long.’ My grandfather’s words... this is what he meant...”
Without looking at Dante’s weeping face, Jin silently patted his back for a long time.