Chapter 72
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Noa, You Really Are a Prophet
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(2)
4.
Noa's letter, written in cute handwriting.
Ullan lightly skimmed through a considerable volume of text and swallowed hard. Then he fixed his gaze on the topmost sentence, the very first one.
The letter's opening went like this.
"Ullan opening this means you've probably been attacked by the Abyss Worshipers by now, right? The forest has twisted into a maze, and you might even be separated from Dilia."
Chillingly accurate.
Ullan let out a gasp of admiration at Noa's letter, which had perfectly predicted the current situation. Her precognition was the real deal, just as he'd thought.
"Now to the main point. First, the things to watch out for. The top priority is dealing with the Abyss Worshiper who creates illusions by offering human fingers as sacrifices."
Speak of the devil—he'd just run into some illusions.
The illusions that had borrowed Dilia's appearance and come swarming out. Of course, they'd all turned to smoke and scattered under Ullan's fists by now.
"These illusions, made with forbidden magic, can peek into their target's memories and perfectly replicate their appearance. But since their essence doesn't change, there's a simple way to tell them apart."
By wounding the skin.
If it was a real human, blood would flow from the wound. If it was an illusion, gray smoke would leak out.
The moment he learned this.
Ullan's eyes went wide.
"There was an even easier way."
No more need to swing his fists.
Having picked up this new method of identification, Ullan broke into a satisfied smile. He'd have to try it out on Dilia when they met up later.
"Next, just in case you're separated from Dilia, here's what to do. The most reliable method is to use the talisman I gave you."
Ah, right. The talisman.
He finally remembered the talisman he'd gotten from Noa.
A talisman engraved with blue runes. But nothing had happened when he tried it.
Had she anticipated this too?
The next part of the letter explained why.
"If the talisman doesn't activate, it means you're more than 3 km away from Dilia. That's the effective range of the tracking spell.
So if the talisman is dead, head from your separation point in the opposite direction from where you were originally going. You'll definitely find Dilia that way."
They'd originally been heading east, toward the outpost. So west it was.
The moment he locked in his destination.
Drip!
Blood suddenly poured from his nose.
Along with a touch of dizziness.
Overload was starting to set in. But the letter wasn't done yet. Ullan shook off the haze with a deep breath and stared at the page.
"Finally, about the forest maze. This is another result of the Abyss Worshipers' forbidden magic. It twists space itself, reshaping the entire forest's layout."
He'd sensed something off about the forest long before.
Even going back to where he'd slain Kandira and shoved Dilia aside, the place had felt profoundly wrong.
Ullan wiped the blood from his nose and read through what little remained.
"There are two ways to solve this. First, hunt down and destroy the magic circles they've planted all over the forest. Second, track down the Worshiper who made the maze and take them out."
The second option looked far simpler.
Just crack open the skull of the maze-maker, and it was all over. Noa must have figured he'd go that route too.
"I'm betting you'll pick the second one, Ullan? Then keep a sharp eye on the dense thickets of trees. I don't know the exact spot, but in my dream, it was hiding somewhere packed with them."
Somewhere with lots of trees. Noted.
As Ullan's eyes gleamed.
"That's as far as my vision went. Come back safe."
The letter finally ended.
All at once, a fierce headache slammed into him.
The delayed overload. Dizzy, Ullan staggered in place. At least it wasn't bad enough to knock him out.
"Huuuuh."
After steadying his breathing and regaining his calm.
He finally caught his balance. Leaning back against a tree, Ullan clutched the letter and grinned.
"...Noa really is a prophet."
One or two more sentences, and he'd have blacked out for sure.
The way it cut off right before the overload hit made him think she'd seen that coming too.
A short while later, fully recovered.
Ullan reviewed the letter's contents.
'In summary...'
Head west while scanning the heavy tree clusters. Bonus: find the hidden Abyss Worshiper and smash their head, and every problem vanishes.
Not a tough job at all.
The instant he grasped the plan, he bolted from the spot. Just as he started to move.
"...Hold on."
Something popped into his head.
A way much easier than Noa's advice.
No hunting down Worshipers—just a simple, foolproof way to wipe out the maze.
Ullan muttered under his breath.
"Might as well just chop down every damn tree."
The forest's disorientation came partly from the twisted space, but the thick canopy was culprit number two.
Clear all the trees, turn the whole area into a flat plain, and poof—no more maze.
"The Worshipers would lose their hiding spots too."
No trees meant easier scouting. Chop 'em all, problem solved.
That was as far as his thinking went.
Ullan grinned.
"Perfect. That's the play."
A brilliantly clear solution.
Even looking back, it was a stroke of genius. Must be all that recent reading sharpening his mind.
Havimg devised a far more straightforward fix than Noa's learned counsel, Ullan put it into action without delay.
Thud! Thruuuuum! Craaaack!
Trees toppling in the blink of an eye.
The savage axework kicked off.
Mad lumberjacking had begun.
5.
Around the same time.
Two women trudged through the dark forest.
Dilia and Professor Stella.
Their original plan had been to escape the woods, return to the academy, and call for backup.
'But...'
A snag.
No matter how much time passed, the forest showed no sign of ending. Finally losing patience, Stella muttered.
"Doesn't the path feel a little off to you?"
"It's not 'feel'—it's definitely off."
Dilia corrected her, her face tense.
She could sense every mana flow around her, so she knew exactly what was happening.
'The space is all twisted.'
Just like when she'd separated from Ullan.
Traces of space-expansion magic. The Abyss Worshipers' handiwork, no doubt.
'Noa Darshen warned us.'
Their goal was kidnapping students.
And scattering them made it far easier than picking off a group.
That way, they could grab them one by one without breaking a sweat. Once her speculation wrapped up, Dilia's expression turned glum.
'...I miss Ullan.'
That big hand stroking her hair.
The rock-solid composure that never wavered, no matter the crisis. That reassuring back, like being shielded by a fortress wall.
If Ullan were here, she wouldn't feel this anxious. Separation really did highlight what mattered most.
As she let out a frustrated sigh.
Vwoooom!
Mana surged wildly ahead of her.
The precursor to a spatial twist. Dilia thrust out her hand in alarm.
"Professor, fall back."
"Huh?"
Stella blinked in confusion.
But she didn't need to ask why.
The moment Dilia yanked her arm, the space right in front of them warped with a deafening roar.
Grrrrrind! Vwoooom!
Space contorting like a raging whirlpool.
Then the scenery shifted.
More accurately, their location did. In the span of a blink, the landscape changed, leaving both women wide-eyed.
"...?!"
No one could have anticipated the sight.
A monstrous flower the size of a building, with a bloodied human body impaled on its tendril, greedily sucking away.
A truly shocking spectacle.
At that moment, the woman it was draining seemed to notice them and reached out.
"Sa... save... me."
A desperate plea laced with raw survival instinct.
Up close, it was a familiar face.
Special Task Force agent Camilla. The instant Stella recognized her and her eyes bulged, Camilla called out again.
"Please... don't... leave me..."
Her voice fading to nothing.
Then came a grisly sound.
Crack! Snap!
Camilla's neck breaking.
A vine sprouting from the monster flower had snapped her spine clean.
With the head severed, the flower jammed a tendril into the stump and slurped up her fluids relentlessly—until Camilla's body was a withered husk.
"Ah... uwaaa..."
Had the horrific sight frozen her?
Dilia stood rigid.
Meanwhile, the sated monster flower flung aside the empty shell.
Still unsatisfied, it stirred in search of fresh prey.
And found some right away.
"Dilia!"
Tendrils lashed out, and Stella yanked Dilia close.
The vine grazed her cheek by a hair's breadth. No time to relax yet—far more tendrils now zeroed in on Dilia.
"Fall back! I'll han—"
And in that instant.
Stella vanished from view.
Not just her. The grotesque monster flower was gone too.
A familiar phenomenon.
"The space again..."
It had twisted, relocating her.
Dilia's legs buckled.
She crumpled to the ground, staring blankly into space with a dazed half-lost look.
A moment later.
Thick tears began to plop down.
"Uuugh... hng... uuh..."
Tears born of shock.
And small wonder.
It was her first time seeing someone die right in front of her.
For a girl just turning seventeen, the scene was a nightmare incarnate.
A gruesome dream she desperately wanted to wake from.
But Dilia wasn't even granted the mercy of bawling her eyes out.
"We've finally met."
An unfamiliar voice cut in abruptly.
Chills raced over her instantly. The voice grated like a knife on steel—pure unease. On instinct, she whipped her head around.
A mage in a gray hood.
The moment she glimpsed the face beneath.
"...!?"
A silent scream erupted.
Her golden eyes quivered violently. The face was utterly horrific.
Skin pallid as a corpse.
Empty sockets where eyes should be, and around his neck, a grisly necklace of what looked like human eyeballs. Taking it all in, Dilia knew at once.
"...Abyss... Worshiper."
"Unexpected. You know of us."
The mage chuckled, amused.
Dilia scrambled backward on instinct. The mage neither advanced nor retreated, simply watching her.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance, in any case."
His voice calm and level.
He extended a hand, as if for a handshake.
"Girl beloved by mana."
A smile twisted his lips with greed.
6.
The one beloved by mana.
Having zeroed in on their target and arrived, the Abyss Worshiper band split into two.
First: the search team, hunting the goal.
Second: the support team, backing them up.
Unlike the straightforward searchers, the support Worshipers had plenty on their plates.
Twisting space to maze-ify the forest, spawning illusions to disorient prey. Summoning Abyss monsters to clear out interlopers.
Hunkered deep in the woods, diligently at work—when a hulking man came thudding up in a panic.
"Cr... cr... crisis! Big trouble!"
The stuttering brute.
Mage named Duode, in full freakout mode. The other two Worshipers naturally turned to him.
"What's got you like this?"
"Did Kandira go down?"
"Y... y... yeah!"
Duode nodded frantically.
He bellowed in agitation.
"F... f... five of 'em down!"
"What? Already that many?"
The scrawny one opposite him jolted.
The finger collector, Worshiper Desem. The group's third-strongest mage—and the illusion crafter.
"Impressive. Didn't think anyone around here could take Kandira."
The last was a graying elder.
Mage Nonus. The oldest of the Worshipers, master of space-twisting spells.
Moments later, Nonus toed one of the corpses rolling on the ground.
"Even these so-called Special Task Force kids are just mid-tier mages at best. Who the hell took out Kandira?"
Three men and women, pulped beyond recognition.
Special Task Force agents.
They hadn't even landed a counter before dying. No surprise there—the three support Worshipers were all advanced mages.
The area fell quiet for a beat.
No one had an answer for Nonus. Sensing the awkward hush, he cleared his throat pointlessly and changed the subject.
"Ahem! Anyway—where's the mana-beloved one at now?"
"Hold on. Lemme check."
This, at least, he could answer.
Desem held out his palm and covered his left eye.
That let him share vision with his clones prowling the woods. After a good while, Desem spoke up.
"Got her. They just crossed paths."
"Secured?"
"Nah, just staring each other down. Looks like she's trying to talk."
No sooner had "talk" left his lips.
Duode scowled.
"P... p... pointless crap! Just nab her already, right?"
"Probably verifying."
"V... v... verify?"
"Making sure she's truly mana-beloved. That's how we get the Abyss's grace."
The intel on a mana-beloved being in these woods came solely from raiding memories in Ramil's brain.
So verification was essential.
Desem wrapped up, and Duode suddenly stomped around, face alight with excitement.
"Th... th... then her tongue's mine! Yeah? Say yeah! Hurry!"
"Should be fine. The Abyss only wants the blessings on the sacrifice and the being itself."
"Ho ho, for real?"
"Quint said it, so yeah."
Quint: the Worshiper band's leader.
The one with human eyeballs dangling from his neck. Strongest of the six, the only one nearing archmage level.
"Heh heh, now that's something to look forward to. Been dying to know what a mana-beloved heart tastes like."
"Same. Can't even guess how strong a clone from her finger would be."
Nonus and Desem leered.
Both itching to snag their prize body parts ASAP.
As they traded sly, silent smirks.
"W... w... wait! Quiet down!"
Duode hissed low.
He flattened to the ground and pressed his ear to the dirt. At this out-of-nowhere move, the other two blinked.
"What is it?"
"D... d... didja hear that sound?"
"Huh? Sound?"
"Tr... tr... trees falling or..."
As Duode answered.
Thruuuuum!
A short, distant boom echoed.
The ground trembled in its wake. Sounded just like a tree crashing.
"Kandira?"
"N... n... no. Kandira doesn't hit trees. Only humans."
Duode shook his head.
Then what caused it?
Trees didn't just topple on their own. As the Worshipers puzzled over it.
"Hm. Something's visible over there."
Nonus pointed ahead.
East through the trees—the same direction as the noise. Desem and Duode squinted at the spot.
And then.
Splat! Crunch! Thruuuuuum!
Another racket erupted.
All three eyes bugged out at once.
This time, they saw it clear.
A massive tree tumbling down.
And that wasn't all.
"Wait, what's that other thing..."
Desem, with the sharpest eyes in the group.
He blinked his saucer-wide peepers. What came into view: a bare-chested man relentlessly hacking trees with an axe.
"...A lumberjack?"
An entity that clashed wildly with the illusion-and-monster-infested woods. Desem's face grew more baffled by the second.
"A lumberjack? Out here?"
As the question hung.
Suddenly, the lumberjack halted his swings.
Then turned his head straight toward them. Crimson eyes glinted through the shadowed trees.
The instant their gazes locked.
Shiiiiver!
Hairs stood on end all over.
'R... ruuun!'
He didn't know why. Didn't need to.
It was the warning from instincts honed through countless perils. Best to heed it.
He blinked once.
"...Huh?"
The lumberjack—who'd been right there—was gone. Where to?
As he blinked again in shock.
Presence bloomed anew.
Just a few steps away.
Thwack! Grrrrrind!
A gruesome sound rang out.
Like an axe pulverizing something. Reflexively glancing toward it, Desem could only gape.
"...!?"
What reflected in Desem's eyes.
The stutterer Duode's head splitting clean in two.
And that was just the start.
The axe blade, keen as steel, sliced past the head and clove Duode's torso straight down the middle.
Grrrrrind! Craaaaaack!
The burly frame parted like a split apple.
Strength transcending all reason.
The assailant was the lumberjack from moments ago—the distant figure now Ullan up close.
"Knew chopping trees was the way."
Found you quick, didn't I?
Ullan's eyes blazed murderously as he muttered. The glare of a predator who'd sniffed out its cowering quarry in the brush.