Chapter 244
Chapter 244
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 244
Chapter Title: 93. Light and Darkness Mountain (2)
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It was a bizarre sight.
A transparent statue shaped like a human, so clear you could see right through it, stood at the center of the mountain peak.
A portion of the demon's grimoire was embedded in its chest, as if the figure were embracing it tightly.
As Yuri approached, the climbers warned him.
"Be careful. There's a dangerous aura here."
They were right. The closer he got to the statue, the more an invisible pressure stabbed at his body.
But something felt off.
All the black magic he'd encountered so far had been purely malevolent.
Yet the energy emanating from this one was different.
It was so toxic that ordinary people couldn't approach, but within it lurked some inexplicable vital essence.
Yuri stared blankly at the statue.
Through its faintly translucent interior, scraps of parchment clearly bore the resentful script from within the demon's grimoire. And not just one—several sheets overlapped, as if torn out wholesale.
How could this be possible?
Around the statue, the perennial snow had melted, and blades of grass were sprouting.
No grass could grow on land exposed to black magic. It became corrupted and rotten, giving rise instead to monsters.
Yuri said,
"It's warm around here."
"Isn't it?"
One of the climbers approached Yuri. Grimacing from the statue's foul aura, he spoke up.
"This is a holy relic."
"Pardon?"
"The temples don't officially recognize it, but this is the remains of Saint Artem. Of course, if the temples found out, they'd brand us heretics."
Yuri took a step back out of consideration and asked,
"What exactly is the story behind this?"
"It's said that Artem sacrificed himself for all humanity to seal away the demon. That's the demon's full grimoire inside him. His body was crystallized, trapping the demon within eternally, unable to escape. Artem became one with the demon, doomed to suffer forever—but thanks to his sacrifice, we humans were saved."
"Really?"
"It's passed down as legend. But it's no mere legend. Here's the proof, right before our eyes."
With that, he sat down and began praying toward the statue. The other climbers set down their packs and clasped their hands as well.
Yuri stood dazed before the statue, watching them.
The climber continued, eyes closed.
"They say that demon possessed immense power. Artem, on the other hand, was just a devout coachman with a kind heart. Yet he single-handedly held it back. No matter how thick and mighty the darkness, it can never overcome a single ray of true light. Before genuine light, evil retreats like the dawn's faint glow."
"I see..."
Yuri, who had been listening quietly, suddenly asked,
"Is there any connection between this Saint Artem and the ancient tyrant?"
"The tyrant? I'm not sure. Never heard that story."
Then he resumed his prayer.
Thanks to the statue's aura, the peak wasn't that cold. Some shed their climbing gear and donned pristine white robes to perform the rite.
Jared approached Yuri.
"Isn't that the demon's grimoire?"
"Yeah."
"What the hell is going on here..."
Jared grimaced too.
"I don't know what it is, but it's potent. Not black magic, though."
"Seems like it's been neutralized somehow."
Yuri gazed at the statue again.
Though transparent, its size and proportions were so realistic it looked like a living person turned to crystal.
"I need to get a closer look."
"Pardon?"
Yuri stepped forward.
The pressure lingered despite the reduced malice, forcing him to activate Heart-Soul Severing to shield his body.
With a hand on Guilty's hilt at his waist, Yuri advanced cautiously.
The statue's form grew sharper in view.
The tale of a man turning to crystal while sealing the demon's grimoire by embracing it sounded absurd at first.
But this was a world where impossible things kept happening anyway.
Yuri placed his hand on the statue.
A searing energy surged up through his palm.
Yuri expanded his Heart-Soul domain. The peak's scenery blazed white-hot, brighter than snow, as outlines began to fade.
But one thing remained untouched.
It was uncanny.
The translucent statue, in the Heart-Soul domain, now gleamed with vivid colors at the center of his vision.
Small, yet vast.
Faint, yet clear.
Transparent, yet brilliant.
A being beyond human comprehension.
Yet to Yuri, it felt familiar.
Chaos.
It was right here.
Through the Heart-Soul domain, as he viewed the peak atop Mount Jennel, Yuri finally glimpsed what his Heart-Soul Severing touched: chaos itself.
Yuri approached the statue.
Then, the chaos dwelling within poured into him.
...
Memories from the past flooded in.
They differed slightly from the climber's tale.
The demon's grimoire had wandered the world for ages, sowing chaos. A certain lord once obtained a torn parchment from it and, enthralled by its resentment, committed atrocities.
When that host died, it sought a new one.
The coachman Artem, driving the lord's carriage, became its target.
While checking on the collapsed lord inside, he unwittingly touched the parchment—and his mind was corrupted.
But Artem refused to obey the wicked voice. Instead, to keep others from the parchment, he headed to the most remote place he knew.
Mount Jennel's peak.
Climbing there alone, half-fused with the grimoire, he knelt and prayed to the gods.
The countless resentments pooled in the demon's grimoire couldn't break the ordinary coachman Artem's will.
His spirit delved to the deepest potential of humanity, making himself the vessel to eternally embrace and seal the grimoire.
Thus, this statue was born.
Yuri fully felt Artem's radiant heart and noble sacrifice.
No matter how dense the grimoire's malice and resentment, darkness could never invade the light.
Artem was proof of that.
"Whew..."
Yuri let out a long sigh.
As Artem's memories ended, something mutated flowed from the trapped parchments into his body.
The foul malice was gone, yet its essence remained intact.
Thus, Yuri peered into black magic's true nature without hindrance.
He sensed he understood something.
Observing it for a while, Yuri suddenly felt a broad back appear in his vision.
It was the tyrant.
His memories overlaid here too. The tyrant had once touched Artem's statue on this peak and seen what Yuri now witnessed.
The moment his life changed.
The tyrant, who pursued only strength alone, experienced a kind heart through the statue. He vowed to use his power for good, rising to save the oppressed.
A mere coachman, Artem. He had held back the demon's grimoire and frozen atop Mount Jennel. Yet his legacy passed through the tyrant to Yuri.
"Not bad,"
Yuri's lips curved up.
The heroic spirit he'd felt climbing Mount Jennel now swelled anew.
Yuri had sometimes doubted victory.
Learning more about the demon's grimoire filled him with unease that Cedric might be unstoppable.
But not anymore.
Proof of victory stood right here.
"If this guy could do it, there's no way Yuri Brioll can't."
Yuri muttered with a chuckle.
Artem replied.
'Isn't that right?'
Yuri's eyes widened.
The statue embracing the parchments had turned its head to look at him.
Startled, Yuri's mouth fell open—but he nodded soon after.
Sealing the grimoire had brought Artem to the domain Yuri called chaos. Anything could happen there.
Artem's feat was a miracle from the start.
Artem continued.
'But you must accomplish something far more important.'
"Something more important?"
'By being one with this, I've come to know you. The parchments are connected, after all.'
Now Yuri could see his face clearly.
A young man with a gentle smile.
'It fears you. Through what's in my arms, I hear their terrified voices. I could only manage a seal—but you must do more.'
Yuri understood.
He was the master of Heart-Soul Severing.
The sword forged by Erich Brioll could cleave black magic.
'You must sever the demon's grimoire.'
"Of course."
Yuri nodded readily.
"That's been my plan all along."
'I see. That's a relief. Finally, I can rest.'
"You bet. Just hold on a bit longer, and I'll..."
'This is where I end.'
Artem said.
'Fulfill your duty, Yuri Brioll.'
Yuri stood silently amid the incandescent Heart-Soul domain, gazing at Artem's vividly floating face.
His deliberation was brief.
Yuri gripped Guilty.
"Yeah, that's how it has to be."
He raised the sword.
Heart-Soul Severing's energy flowed along the blade.
The sword aura that severed soul and heart alike spread a chilling light.
Neutralized by Artem's sacrifice, the grimoire wasn't destroyed.
If Artem had saved people, Yuri had to cleave this monstrosity away.
That was his fate.
"Rest easy."
Yuri swung Guilty.
The supposedly unbreakable statue cleaved cleanly in two.
The Heart-Soul domain shattered simultaneously.
"Ah, no...!"
"What the—!"
"Ah!"
The climbers' eyes bulged.
The statue had split neatly in half around the demon's grimoire.
But it didn't crumble or fall.
Instead, the two halves floated up into the air together.
Then they dissolved into radiant light.
It was like grinding jewels and scattering them skyward. As sunlight shifted angles, every color in the world shimmered in sequence.
Not a speck of darkness remained.
Light left no room for shadow.
"Ah..."
Awe-struck, the climbers gaped at the sky.
Freed at last, Artem looked down from above upon those atop Mount Jennel.
"A miracle..."
"My God...!"
"It's Saint Artem!"
The climbers cried out.
Artem gazed at Yuri and said,
'Thanks to you, I've found peace. Thank you, Yuri Brioll.'
His voice rang holy, like a divine revelation from a heavenly messenger.
The climbers prostrated themselves, while Yuri merely shrugged.
"No problem."
'Then, I'll be off.'
Liberated from long bondage, Artem departed for the realm of souls.
Yuri couldn't know what lay beyond. Perhaps nothing followed death.
Yet he felt no fear.
Just before Artem ascended,
His voice whispered in Yuri's ear.
'It'll be a tough road. You might even be betrayed by someone close. Stay vigilant and never lose courage until the end.'