Chapter 774: Maliet Hister’s Heritage Site (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 774: Maliet Hister’s Heritage Site (4)
As Maliet spoke, the scenery shifted abruptly.
September 7, 1391.
Five months had passed since Maliet revealed the truth of her curse to Honka. Jin and Valeria surveyed their new surroundings.
Flames consumed collapsing buildings, and the air was thick with the screams of the dying. The stench of blood and ash permeated everything.
‘A battlefield… And those men, are they the Wraith Squad?’
‘It looks like the moment our ancestor clashed with the Zipple.’
Boom—!
An explosion erupted right in front of them, and Maliet emerged from the smoke, having just deflected a spell from the Wraith Squad with a barrier.
“I didn't expect you to show up here, Maliet Hister. How did you get in?”
Despite being surrounded by five members of the Wraith Squad, Maliet remained composed. A smirk played on her lips as she replied, “How? I just walked in.”
The Wraith Squad members didn't show it, but they were shaken.
The battlefield they stood on was Drakka. Even if it was only the outskirts, one of the Zipple’s most wanted individuals had just appeared in the very capital of the Lutero Magic Federation.
“You’re probably wondering if I know your Captain and Patriarch are away. The answer is yes. And what does that mean? It means there’s no force in Drakka capable of stopping me. So, let’s not waste each other’s energy. Just let me pass quietly. I’m only here to find one person.”
A secret underground prison was located on the outskirts of Drakka. Maliet had come to rescue Rock Hister, who was imprisoned there.
“You don’t want unnecessary casualties either, do you? Just consider yourselves outplayed today and head back. Besides, you guys win most of the time when you fight my clan anyway.”
“True. Considering your former prowess, that might be the wiser choice. Rock Hister isn't that important a figure, after all. However, we know your situation. The Blood of Kaian. We don’t know how you’re enduring the pain, but the curse the Captain placed on you is definitely still in effect.”
Normally, those afflicted by the Blood of Kaian lasted a month at most. Yet, two years had already passed for Maliet.
Maliet didn't answer; she simply shrugged.
“Fine. If you’re that eager to die, I suppose I have no choice.”
“Still bluffing. If you were at your peak, the five of us would have been dead the moment you appeared. Attack!”
At the squad leader’s command, the Wraith Squad resumed their assault. The corpses of Zipple mages scattered around were torn asunder by the sheer force of their clashing mana.
Due to the curse, Maliet felt as if the blood in her entire body was boiling—a constant, agonizing pain. Yet, even in that state, she swung her staff, parrying the enemy's spells.
Even without the Patriarch or the Wraith Captain present, it would be impossible to escape alive if the battle dragged on. This was the heart of the Zipple; reinforcements would be endless.
Thus, Maliet decided to gamble. Even if it amplified the curse, she resolved to unleash her full power and finish this in a single blow.
Hister Secret Magic Tome 2nd Legacy
Golden Spear
As Maliet finished her incantation, a massive cloud of golden mana formed in the sky. From within it, thousands of small golden spears and one gargantuan golden spear rained down.
Both Jin and Valeria were momentarily speechless at the sheer power of the spell.
The rain of golden spears shredded the Wraith Squad’s barriers in an instant. The largest spear slammed into the center of the battlefield, unleashing endless waves of mana.
The Wraith Squad members, who were trying to replenish their shields, were forced to scatter to avoid the shockwaves. Maliet simultaneously unleashed other elemental spells, picking them off one by one.
“Gah…!”
Maliet spat out a mouthful of blood. She could feel the energy of the curse intensifying rapidly.
Two of the Wraith Squad members survived, but both had sustained injuries so severe they were no longer capable of combat. Instead of finishing them off, Maliet moved forward and opened a Record Window.
The window displayed the location of the underground prison where Rock Hister was held. After smashing through the floor of a ruined building, the entrance to the dungeon was revealed.
“Wh-who is it! Save me!”
“Please, help us!”
The prisoners had been listening to the vibrations and sounds of the battle above throughout their incarceration. A few guards leveled their swords and staves at her, but Maliet ignored them. They didn't dare oppose her and instead scrambled out of the prison.
“Rock! Where are you?” Maliet shouted as she smashed the cell doors one by one. The freed prisoners offered brief thanks before fleeing in haste.
When no answer came from Rock, she activated her record magic again. Because there were so many scattered records nearby, it took some time for the results to appear.
Five minutes later, the record revealed that Rock Hister was already dead. Maliet bit her lower lip and bowed her head.
Rock had been her lover.
However, she wasn't granted the time to recover his remains. A new commotion was spreading from the surface.
“It’s the underground prison! Pour magic into the dungeon!”
The ceiling of the prison collapsed entirely under the barrage of spells from the Zipple reinforcements. Maliet deployed a barrier and desperately searched for Rock’s body, but most of the prison was already being consumed by magical flames.
Just as she was about to begin her escape, her heart heavy with grief, she heard a voice. It was the voice of a child crying out for help.
When she opened the cell door the sound came from, she found a child who looked to be about eight years old. Maliet flinched for a moment upon seeing the child’s hair color, but she reached out her hand anyway.
“Let’s get out of here together.”
Maliet took the child and fought her way out of the prison, sweeping through the Zipple reinforcements. It took two days of fleeing before they finally reached a safe house. The moment they arrived, her body, heavy as lead, collapsed to the floor.
When she regained consciousness, the first thing Maliet saw was the child looking down at her, clutching a dagger with trembling hands. It was a dagger from the safe house.
“…Are you going to stab me with that?”
The child didn't answer, merely gritting their teeth.
“I knew you were a Zipple child from the moment I rescued you,” Maliet said calmly. “You’re likely an illegitimate child of the Patriarch, or you were locked in there for seeing something you shouldn't have.”
Maliet realized the child was holding the knife in the hope that killing her might allow them to return to the family.
“Put the knife down. You are not yet guilty of any sin. I will give you a chance to enjoy life. Not as a disposable tool or a puppet of the Zipple, but as a human being.”
The child hesitated before finally lunging at Maliet, dagger first. Without even using magic, Maliet simply waved her hand and knocked the dagger away.
The child fell to the ground and burst into tears.
“Since you failed to stab me, you are still innocent. Let’s leave it at that. As soon as my body recovers, I will provide you with a foundation to live on. Forget all your memories of the past and start anew.”
Maliet hated the Zipple more than anyone. However, she did not wish to harbor that hatred toward children who had never participated in the fierce war between their families.
A week later, when she was able to move, Maliet took the child to the Land of the Beastmen and provided a disguise. She gave the child a new background and created a new identification document.
Now, the child would live not as Elgia Zipple, but as a commoner named Iello.
“Iello, I have lost many family members and lovers to the Zipple throughout my life. Despite that, the reason I saved you is that, if you look closely, you and I are in the same boat. Even though you were born a Zipple, you were abandoned by them and lost your family.”
Iello burst into tears and hugged Maliet.
“Break free from that cycle of hatred and live your own life. You have no other siblings, so there is no need for revenge. My clan and yours need more children like you—children who live their own lives instead of fighting.”
“Maliet… how can I ever repay this debt?”
“By living well. That is the only way to repay me. And someday, when you find yourself in a position to reach out to someone else, do as I did. Grow up brightly and bravely, Iello.”
Maliet never learned what kind of life Iello led after that. However, until the day Maliet met her destined end, the Zipple never found the safe house where she had hidden with Iello.
The rest of Maliet’s recorded life that Jin and Valeria witnessed followed a similar pattern.
She protected countless Histers from the Zipple and saved many people. Yet, she never seemed burdened. She didn't appear lonely, nor did she sink into despair or become a monster consumed by hatred.
She simply looked like someone enjoying life. She believed every one of her actions was meaningful, and she lived not out of duty or mission, but according to her own convictions. Even the death curse, the Blood of Kaian, could not darken her spirit.
December 20, 1393. Winter.
At the heritage site on Honka Island, Maliet finally completed the golem for her successor.
“Fortunately, I managed to finish it in time. Golem, I was going to give you a name once you were complete, but on second thought, it might be better for my successor to do that.”
[I, understand. Master.]
“My home, my heritage site, is dangerous, but if one has the skill, they will certainly not die. Moreover, it’s designed to help the challenger grow if they pass everything. If someone ignores the traps and takes a shortcut, check their hair and mana. If they have red hair and a Complete Mana Body, they are the successor, so give them the additional test.”
[I will, keep that, in mind. If, the shortcut, user, is a Zipple. All secret traps, self-destruct devices, activated. Class-1 hostility, applied.]
“Good. Then I must be going now… I’m sorry I couldn't create more memories with you.”
[I am, also, sorry. But, Master, you must go. To the place, you chose, as the final chapter, of your life.]
Maliet, whose curse had reached its peak, no longer possessed her former grand stature. Her frame was still impressive, but she had become gaunt. Yet, her eyes still sparkled with a mischievous vitality.
Maliet turned her head toward the empty air—toward where Jin and Valeria stood.
“Descendant, this is the last story I, Maliet Hister, will tell you.”
Her voice was soft, yet it carried across time.
“Those who carry only destiny on their shoulders cannot change the world. Even if they do, something will go wrong. They end up becoming monsters, just as many of my family and comrades did.”
Maliet took a labored breath to steady herself.
“Just because you fight a family of monsters like the Zipple doesn't mean you have to become a monster yourself. Fight when you must, and show love when you must. Sometimes, you may even need to forgive the bloodline of your enemy. Do not push your life into a bleak and desolate place just because you have a duty and a mission to fulfill. Live brightly and bravely.”
Maliet smiled at the empty space where Jin and Valeria stood as observers for a long moment. Then, she went outside to say her farewell to Honka.
[…Are you leaving?]
“Yeah. I think I’ll be dead in about four or five hours. I did consider spending my final moments peacefully by your side… but I have to go. To Rock.”
[Then it is a farewell.]
“Yes, a farewell. Aside from the fact that it bothers me that you probably won't leave this place even after I’m gone… I feel relieved.”
Honka didn't answer but pulled Maliet into an embrace, just as she had first hugged him long ago. As he felt her thin, hardened body, tears fell.
[Let us meet again someday.]
“Sure, Honka. Oh, and until you feel like leaving the island, keep a close eye on the successors who come by. Make sure they follow the conditions I left properly. It’ll be a little bit of fun for you.”
Maliet then headed toward the outskirts of Drakka, the place where she had been unable to recover Rock’s body.
And so, Maliet’s record came to an end.