Chapter 219
Chapter 219
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 219
>Chapter Title: Investigating the Vortex
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A few days after the evacuation order was issued for the port city of Ravene, a hastily assembled investigation team was dispatched to the waters off Ravene.
They had even made frequent use of teleportation magic circles, which were rarely employed under normal circumstances.
"It's completely smashed..."
"A massive tsunami hit, so it couldn't be helped. Still, no casualties is a stroke of luck. Aside from the docks being wrecked and some water in the ships, there wasn't much damage."
"That's a fair point. The way you look at things in the world can change everything."
"It's just the difference between a gentle tsunami and an angry one. A tsunami's still a tsunami at its core, though—it doesn't change. Anyway, enough chit-chat. Let's head over there."
"It's my first time being sent out on an investigation team, so I'm a bit nervous..."
"No big deal. Just go, analyze the mana traces to figure out the cause, and if you can't, conclude that you don't know. No one will blame you."
Several ships ventured out into the offshore waters.
A heavy unease settled over the investigation team, just in case.
The mana traces in the offshore area were extraordinarily unusual—something even lifelong scholars of magic would rarely witness.
"We're almost there!"
"Don't use mana recklessly! You'll get sucked into the vortex!"
"Yes, sir!"
Swooooosh...
The waves grew steadily taller.
"Check the wave height."
"It's much higher than the usual offshore baseline."
"We're nearly there. Secure the prepared chains to that rock."
"Yes, sir."
The mages grunted as they labored to tie the chains around a rocky outcrop rising from the sea.
Though they could be versatile—almost omnipotent—with mana, they were doing this grueling task by hand for a reason.
Initially, a kingdom advance investigator had been sent to probe the mana disaster. He'd used magic near the vortex and got pulled into its center.
After that, using mana in the vicinity was strictly forbidden.
In any case, as the ships drew closer to the vortex, the chains tied to the pillar grew tauter.
Judging they couldn't go farther, they observed the distant whirlpool.
"That's..."
"The mana disaster..."
Roooooar...
Roooooar-!
From the ship at the closest possible position, someone pulled out a crystal orb.
Tzzzzz...
The orb connected to somewhere.
"What do you see?"
The one holding the orb wore an eyepatch emblazoned with the scales of Libra.
Soon, Santio, the lord of the Aries Magic Tower, appeared in the orb.
His disheveled hair and ridiculous glasses were as ever.
"Frannen, have you arrived?"
"Yeah, this is the place."
The eyepatch wearer was Frannen.
He had personally led the mages of Libra to the southern seas of Priyon to investigate the mana disaster.
All the magic towers were watching closely, but due to location, only Frannen—being the nearest—could act directly.
And the one chosen to assist his judgment was Santio. No magic tower lord could surpass him in this field.
Santio asked Frannen.
"...What do you make of it?"
Roooooar...
Frannen stared fixedly at the vortex before replying.
"I'm seeing it as it is."
"In my judgment, it's not a natural phenomenon."
"You're saying someone artificially caused a mana disaster like that? That raises more questions."
Santio nodded as well.
"Who on earth could even pull off something like this?"
"...I do know one person."
Frannen and Santio locked eyes.
They knew one person capable of such a thing.
No—most mages, when faced with the incomprehensible, thought of that one name.
"The Duke of Frost..."
"Could it be him?"
"No way to know. But if it's that guy, maybe even something this absurd is possible. Of course, the public's inflated view of his abilities plays a part too."
"Jealousy looks petty."
"Hmph."
Santio tapped his forehead and said.
"We can't take any magical measures. It's not like an unknown entity flew into a rage, so even the Eastern sorcerers won't have countermeasures."
"We'll need to chart new routes around the open sea. Fortunately, since it's offshore, new routes can be made quickly."
"But that's odd... If it wasn't an individual, then a large group of mages must have been mobilized. Unless..."
"No, there weren't any. No traces of a magic legion that size moving. Though I did spot something on the way here."
"What?"
Frannen showed Santio the object in his hand.
"A cloth?"
"Yeah, scraps of black cloth found everywhere. Some even washed up on Ravene's docks."
"That much cloth suggests..."
"Yeah, groups of any real size usually have uniform colors."
"So it could be a massive clash between organizations... There've been skirmishes in Pandea lately, but nothing this overt..."
"Anyway, we'll stick around a few days and look more."
"Yes, I'll check in again shortly."
"Do as you like."
Frannen and the Libra crew pulled on the chains and returned to their original position.
The selected investigators were veterans, so none showed outright fear.
But their honest reactions to witnessing an artificial mana disaster firsthand were plain.
"Could we head back a little sooner?"
"Why?"
"I suddenly need to pee..."
"M-Me too... Sorry."
"Kukukuku... Anyone would shrink up seeing that sight. It's natural. If you're desperate, just go in the ocean, right?"
"B-But if mana mixes in with the urine..."
"You'd get sucked into the vortex. While peeing."
"I'd rather die."
Even after the returning ship docked, the Libra mages kept talking.
"Whew... This vortex has the whole academic world watching, so the pressure's immense."
"We know it's not naturally occurring, but digging deeper seems tough..."
"If it's artificial, what group could do this? More importantly, no witnesses?"
"The evacuation order went out ahead of time. Every last bastard cleared out of Ravene. Judging by the vortex's position, the tsunami didn't hit straight on—thankfully. That's how everyone evacuated."
"It's an eerie twist that the evacuation left zero witnesses."
"They probably couldn't see it from Ravene anyway. Unless you were there that day... Huh? Where's Frannen?"
"Oh, he said he'd scout around and left."
"Alone?"
"Yeah, alone."
* * *
Frannen was now searching the perimeter alone where the incident occurred. He couldn't approach the vortex and instead circled near distant columnar joints.
"Hmm... At least one survivor should have washed up here."
The very idea of surviving a direct hit from whatever force created an artificial mana vortex was absurd, but he had to cling to that slim possibility now.
Without that tenacity, he'd learn nothing.
"Could have circled up this way..."
"Gasp..."
Frannen locked eyes with someone atop the sheer cliff.
"......"
"Hiiiiaaaah!"
"...Confirmed."
From the moment their eyes met, Frannen gleaned much from the trembling opponent.
'He knows about this!'
His persistence had paid off.
Flash-!
Frannen dashed to seize the man.
"Don't come any closer-!"
"Stop! I need to talk!"
"I said don't come-!"
"I swear! I won't lay a hand on you..."
Frannen gleaned more from the fleeing man.
One: the wild glint in his eyes.
Two: despite looking insane, the aura emanating from him was far from ordinary.
Flash-!
Frannen nearly caught up.
Swoosh...
At the cliff's edge, he finally grabbed the man.
"Uwaaaah! Let go-!"
"Stay still!"
"Uwaaaah!"
Frannen saw the black veins bulging on the man's face and understood the cause of his state.
"...Mana backlash."
"Ahh..."
The man's struggles soon weakened.
Not from exhaustion after thrashing.
'He's... about to die.'
Mana backlash usually meant a gruesome end.
This man seemed no exception.
"You saw it, didn't you?"
"......"
"That day. What happened there."
"Ahhh..."
A flicker of sanity returned to the man's eyes.
He exuded an extraordinary aura.
He was Zakun, servant of Bria.
He had swum away alone, barely escaping the site of the horrific event and surviving.
But he'd only bought a brief reprieve; Uru's mana had doomed him to die soon.
"Th-The spirit..."
"...Spirit?"
"Huuuge... spirit... appeared..."
"And?"
Zakun trembled as he spoke.
"Haaand... fingers... Uwaaaah! Scary..."
The words made no sense.
But what followed left Frannen bewildered.
"There was... a man..."
"A man? Can you describe him?"
"Got scolded... scolded... Immortal... golden light..."
Frannen's expression vanished.
"Eyes... Ugh... Uwaaaah!"
Spluuurt-!
The man's face flushed red, then he vomited black blood and slumped.
Tzzzzz...
The crystal orb signaled.
Santio's routine check-in.
Frannen hurriedly infused mana into the man's body.
Whoooosh-!
Telekinesis hurled the body over the cliff.
The orb locked onto Santio's signal.
"Frannen, learn anything? Huh? That's..."
Frannen shook his head.
"No, nothing."
"I see..."
Claaaang-!
"Hm? What was that sound..."
"Probably a dolphin swimming by."
"...Right. Come to think of it, my check-ins are disrupting your investigation. You handle the next one yourself, Frannen."
"Got it."
Tzzzzz...
Connection cut. Frannen murmured, orb in hand.
"What the hell are you two up to..."
Golden eyes and a massive spirit.
The culprits behind a mana disaster for the mage history books: Kang Seol and Uru.
* * *
【Hey, this is getting dangerous now...】
A tiny imp spoke to Kang Seol from within the lantern.
Swooooosh...
Open-sea currents were wildly unpredictable. They were mild offshore, but farther out, they dragged you right in.
These bizarre currents were like random space warps in Burumable. Get caught, and you'd fly off to some random field spot.
Days had passed since the incident, drifting to the open sea. Kang Seol had no idea where his body was headed now.
He'd used up plenty of consumables before the deed, keeping him safe so far. But he remained unconscious far longer than expected, making things precarious.
Even a large ship could somewhat resist the currents, but a lone human body?
Kang Seol's had already drifted vastly far from Ravene—who knew where.
That's why Regret crawled out of the lantern and perched on Kang Seol's body.
【Hey? Hey... Is he really dead?】
Chirp...
Chirrrp...
【Breathing! He's breathing, right? Oh...】
Regret yelled urgently.
【CPR! We need CPR!】
Regret's face suddenly hardened.
【Whoa, hold up—not yet... That'd be weird between us, right? You think so too?】
No reply from Kang Seol, naturally.
Something darted busily beneath the sea.
【Sh-Shark!】
Even the consumable repelling sea life had expired.
【Shoo! Get away! Scat!】
Oddly, the demon spirit Regret was protecting its master.
After chasing the shark, Regret sat on Kang Seol's chest, pondering.
【Whew... Guess it's up to me? Fine!】
Caw... Caw...
Seagull cries.
No response from around them.
【But what do I do after stepping up?】
Regret found its task.
【Right! Drag this guy to land!】
Regret got busy.
It tried using Kang Seol's body as a boat, paddling furiously with its arms...
【S-Sinking! Veto!】
It even tried smacking a passing sea turtle's head to tame it.
【Baldy! Come here! Don't go!】
The open sea at night was cold and terrifying.
Even for a horror-born like Regret, the unrelenting chill and loneliness shrank it.
【Quit messing around and wake up—I'm bored...】
Regret, fully cowed.
Tap... Tap...
Then something worse happened.
Rumble-!
Patter-patter-patter...
Rain fell.
Drenched either way, but the downpour amplified the ocean's terrors.
Rumble-!
【No! Don't sink!】
As waves threatened to drag Kang Seol under, Regret grunted to keep him afloat.
True panic hit: everything might end like this.
【Don't die before corrupting!】
Right then.
Rumble-!
Swooooosh...
A massive ship cut through the storm nearby.
【Ship! Ship! We're saved! Over here! Human here! Not corrupted yet! Take us aboard!】
Miraculously, the ship slowed, as if hearing Regret's desperate cries.
Silhouettes appeared on deck.
【Hey, you! Take this guy aboard, and I won't curse you!】
"......"
Whip-!
A rope flew toward Regret.
【Tie it? Got it! This is a one-time thing!】
The rope drifted away on a wave from Regret's grasp.
【Wait, kidding! I'll endure once more!】
Regret luckily snagged it.
Regret tied the rope around Kang Seol.
【Pull!】
Creaaaaak...
Regret and Kang Seol were hauled aboard.
【Phew... You! Huh?】
"Huh?"
The rope-thrower's eyes met Regret's.
【Uwaaaah! A t-talking skull!】
"Uwaaaah! A sea urchin that talks?!"
A grotesque skull with green flames where eyes should be gawked at Regret in horror.