Chapter 125: Nameless Hero (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 125: Nameless Hero (1)
The Emerald Fairy, Sylphia, once spoke these words to mankind:
"Offer me the bones and flesh of the deceased."
"I shall consume them and bestow eternal life upon this land."
The Astrea Duchy of the Zelver Empire was a thriving hub of commerce, born from the harmony of lush forests and wide, paved roads. It was a territory under the command of Duke Gerald Astrea—the Empire’s Hero and the Sword Saint.
It was also the place where the blessing of the Emerald Fairy, Sylphia, had been bequeathed.
However, even such a storied reputation meant little in the face of the changing seasons. As if to prove it, the forest surrounding the Astrea Duchy endured the winter, cloaked in a heavy shroud of white snow.
Kaya Astrea, a noble girl with vibrant green twin tails, trekked through the snowy fields deep within that forest.
Up ahead, thin sheets of ice drifted across a tranquil lake. At its center, an ancient arbor gigantes towered over a tiny island, its branches reaching toward the heavens.
People called this tree the ‘Covenant of Life.’ It was an arbor gigantes grown from seeds sown during the ancient pact between mankind and the Emerald Fairy. Unlike the other trees, it did not lose its lush green leaves to the bitter winter chill, protected by a constant shroud of plant mana. If the Land of the Fire Blossoms, Horan, had their Flame of Desire, the Astrea Duchy had this eternally verdant tree as its symbol.
As Kaya approached, the natural plant mana resonated around the Covenant of Life. The pale green energy coalesced into the form of fireflies, dancing through the air.
“Sylphia!”
Kaya called out to her precious friend, but her voice scattered weakly into the woods.
“Sylphia, Kaya is here!”
Silence.
Throughout both the summer and winter breaks, the Emerald Fairy had not once revealed herself to Kaya. At this point, even if the other party was a fairy, Kaya couldn't help but feel a twinge of concern.
Wrapping her body in a gale of light-green wind, Kaya floated across the lake and reached the Covenant of Life. Leaning against the trunk, she began to channel her own plant mana, hoping the fairy might sense it and appear.
However, no matter how much time passed, there was no sign of Sylphia.
“Another fruitless day…”
Kaya sighed deeply, pushing herself away from the tree. Once again, she summoned the wind to carry her back across the lake. But just as she reached the shore and prepared to leave the forest…
“…!”
A sudden sensation sent a shiver down her spine. It was an ominous mana that had become all too familiar to her.
It was coming from the heart of the Astrea Duchy, some distance away.
Atop an open ridge, black clouds formed in the blink of an eye, swirling violently around a central point. Eerie cries echoed through the air. Beneath the maelstrom, dark mana began to stack upon itself with terrifying speed, like bricks being laid by an invisible hand.
Once the construction reached a staggering height, an entity—massive, elongated, and tall enough to pierce the sky—scattered dark mana as it revealed itself to the world.
Its pitch-black form resembled a pillar. Or perhaps, a tower.
At first glance, it looked like a structure, but it didn't take long to realize it was a living entity.
The Devil Pillar. It possessed a physical form, anchoring itself to the earth with gnarled black roots.
Kaya’s eyes widened for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. She had encountered demons many times before.
However… no matter how she looked at it, this one was exceptionally dangerous. Even compared to the demons Kaya had faced at Märchen Academy, the power radiating from that black tower was on an entirely different level.
Whooooosh!
Imbuing her body with light-green wind magic, Kaya tore through the forest at high speeds. She shattered the sound barrier, leaving sonic booms in her wake as the trees shook from the fierce pressure of her passage.
[It’s a demon. A dangerous one.]
A voice whispered beside her, possessing a signature identical to her own. It was her shadow self—a version of her that only she could see. With her crimson eyes narrowed chillingly, Dark Kaya glared at the Devil Pillar. No matter how fast Kaya moved, this personality clung to her side.
[If you don’t want to die, don’t even think about charging in alone.]
“I know. But still, I have to do something…!”
Thanks to Dark Kaya’s influence, Kaya had a clear gauge of the demon’s power. That tower-shaped monstrosity would likely attempt to turn the entire region into its territory.
There would be countless victims.
It had to happen now, of all times, when their most dependable defender was gone. Her father, the Sword Saint Gerald Astrea, had traveled far away with her mother, Historia, to receive the blessing of the Saintess—a ceremony performed at the end of every year.
Furthermore, summoning the Knight Order of the Astrea Household would take too long. No matter how quickly the Imperial Court acted, it would take at least three days. Even a high-mobility elite force would need two days at the minimum.
Dark Kaya let out a sigh, crossing her arms.
“Pachi!”
[Pya!]
Kaya summoned her familiar, Pachi—a wind-element flying squirrel—onto her shoulder.
“Go to the mansion immediately and deliver this. Go! As fast as you can!”
[Yessir!]
Kaya pulled out a red scroll and handed it to Pachi. It bore the crest of the Astrea Household, a design featuring a sword and a tiger. This was the ultimate signal for the household; a red scroll indicated the highest level of emergency, essentially an order to ‘eliminate the threat with full force.’ There was no need to explain what the threat was.
Pachi gave a disciplined salute, leaped off Kaya’s shoulder, and spread its wing membranes wide.
As Pachi flew off, Kaya surged her mana like pouring fuel onto a fire, cutting through the air. Streaks of light-green mana trailed behind her like a comet's tail.
*
“Tsk.”
“Ian, are you okay?”
“I’m fine…!”
It was an unexpected crisis.
In order to grow stronger over the winter break, Ian Fairytale had come to the Astrea Duchy, taking on one guild commission after another. Amy, a girl with a black rabbit-ear ribbon tied in her short white hair, had followed him as a matter of course.
They had been finishing a hunt for demonic creatures with two adventurers they’d met in the Duchy when the disaster struck.
A demon of such obvious lethality just had to emerge now.
With a haunting howl, the black tower shot dark mana into the sky. Massive eyes with red pupils looked down at Ian. The grotesque demon had a puffy, squirming exterior. Numerous huge, inky beads hovered in the sky around it—prisons forged from dark mana.
Ian realized the demon was trapping everyone in the area within those beads to drain their mana. Having been swallowed by one himself, Ian had only just escaped with Amy by unleashing a sword strike infused with the light element.
The two took up a combat stance, facing the Devil Pillar. Compared to the tower that touched the heavens, they seemed infinitely small.
However, Ian did not falter. He couldn't afford to.
High above, countless people were trapped inside those dark spheres. Despite the short time they had spent together, he couldn't abandon the adventurers he’d befriended, nor the innocent villagers caught in the chaos.
“I… will not lose…!”
He would save them all. Ian steeled his resolve and gripped his sword tightly with both hands.
─────[Kiriririririririk─────!!!]
An agonizing sound screeched through the atmosphere. Three dark rings surged up the black tower, hovering above its peak.
Pshaaaaa!
“Keuk!”
“Kyaaak!”
Pitch-black mana erupted from the rings, spreading in every direction. Reflexively, Ian stepped to the front and generated an Illuminant. The light source expanded into a shield of light, protecting both him and Amy.
As the storm raged and the ground crumbled, Ian’s shield barely held against the shockwaves of dark mana.
“Kuaaaaaaaah!!”
Ian let out a roar of determination. It was a contest of pure strength, but the outcome was already decided. Attempting to block an attack from such an overwhelming entity was a losing game. It would have been more effective to neutralize the Devil Pillar with a light-element attack like [Radiant Wing Slash], but Ian simply didn't have the luxury of choice. Predicting and countering the attack of such a monster was nearly impossible, regardless of his talent.
Crack!
Finally, the light shield shattered like glass.
Ian, standing at the forefront, took the full impact of the dark storm. The shockwave sent both Ian and Amy flying, leaving them tumbling helplessly through the air.
“Ian!!”
In mid-air, Amy forced herself to focus, grabbing Ian’s arm and pulling him close.
Chilly dark mana swept through the sky. In a flash, the ridge had been reduced to ruins. The earth was splintered and stained black, with dark mana rising from the cracks like acrid smoke. Birds, plants, and roaming animals all had their life force drained, drooping feebly as they died.
The Devil Pillar had established its domain. This place was now a land of death.
Kuooong.
Ian and Amy hit the ground, tangled together. Amy scrambled up, her eyes widening as she looked at the motionless boy.
“Ian!!”
He had fainted.
“This is no time to sleep! Get up! Quickly!”
She grabbed his shoulders and shook him fiercely, tears welling in her eyes. But no matter how hard she tried, Ian showed no sign of waking.
This is… a disaster.
Without Ian and his divine power… how could she possibly survive against such a demon alone?
“Huh…?”
Suddenly, Amy felt the strength draining from her limbs. The area truly had become a wasteland of death.
Amy bit her lip. Since such a massive demon had appeared in the Astrea Duchy, she had hoped for immediate reinforcements from the Duke’s household… but it didn't look like she could hold out that long.
“…You really are high maintenance.”
Even so, she couldn't give up. Amy picked up the sword Ian had dropped and stood her ground.
With her back to the unconscious Ian, Amy faced the black tower, bravely pointing the blade at the demon that pierced the clouds.
The difference in power was abysmal. She couldn't suppress her terror; her hands shook uncontrollably. Her survival instincts screamed at her to run, but it was too late. Before she could even leave the boundaries of this dead land, her life force would be extinguished. And there was no way the demon would simply let them walk away.
She immediately discarded the ridiculous idea of negotiating with the tower. The only choice left was to fight.
Amy’s flames licked along the blade, reflecting in her eyes. At the same time, she manifested a fire-element magic circle above her head.
“Do you have any idea how much I like you? You dummy.”
She glanced back at Ian and stuck out her tongue with a pout, as if he were the most insufferable person in the world.
Crackle!
She didn't get another chance to speak. The demon unfurled a massive magic circle behind it, and a rain of jet-black blades began to fall.
Swallowing hard, Amy swung her sword clumsily, releasing a wave of fire-imbued energy while firing a [Fireball] from her magic circle.
But reality was cruel. No matter how much fire mana she poured out, she couldn't stop even a single dark blade.
Amy felt the cold touch of death. So this was how it ended. She wouldn't even graduate. She wouldn't even get to experience love with that idiot. She was just going to die in vain.
As the cascade of dark blades swept toward her, Amy closed her eyes and prepared for the end.
Then—
「Baphomet's Hymn (Wind + Blood Element)」
Whoooooooosh─────!!!
A furious gale saturated with mana collided with the dark blades in a relentless onslaught. The swirling pressure tossed Amy’s hair and clothes. The sound of the blades being parried was brutal—a screeching metallic roar that no natural wind should ever produce.
Amy raised her head. A girl wrapped in a light-green aura hovered in the air, her green twin tails fluttering violently. Using high-level wind magic, she held her position with perfect stability.
Amy’s jaw dropped.
“Kaya Astrea…?”
It was Kaya Astrea, the second daughter of the Astrea Household and the second-ranked freshman of the Märchen Academy Magic Department.
Kaya’s pupils were stained a deep red. Stopping this demon in her normal state was impossible; she had no choice but to borrow Dark Kaya’s strength.
[Flower of Evil]. A thorny stem extended from Kaya’s neck to her right cheek, weaving into the pattern of a blooming flower—a living tattoo. Blood mana surged through her veins.
Gesturing toward the Devil Pillar with the Armana Wand, Kaya the Ravenous took her stance.
“Hoooh.”
Kaya took a deep breath. Having faced demons before, she managed to maintain her composure even before the sky-scraping tower.
Winning… was impossible. Even Kaya could see the staggering gap in power. Therefore, the priority was to endure until the Astrea reinforcements arrived. On this land that bore her family name, Kaya refused to let another soul perish.
“How are you here…?”
“I should be asking you that! We’ll talk later…!”
There was no time. Dozens of dark blades sliced through the air, cleaving the ground as they sought Kaya’s life.
Kaya rallied her mana and swung the Armana Wand downward. A magic circle of crimson and light green unfolded on the earth, sprouting red flesh that surged up to envelop Ian and Amy.
The flesh hardened into the shape of a massive red tree, covered in iron-tough bark—an arbor gigantes to rival the black tower. It was the strongest defense Kaya could muster. It was the only way to protect them within this land of death.
“Well, well. Look at the mess you’ve made on Astrea land, you monster.”
Dark Kaya snarled savagely.
Once again, the dark blades swarmed. Kaya resisted with [Baphomet’s Hymn]. The deflected blades struck passing birds, instantly draining their life and causing them to drop from the sky.
Whenever a scratch appeared on the red tree, it healed in an instant. As a fusion of top-tier plant and blood elements, the tree possessed incredible regenerative properties.
She couldn't take a single step back. Dodging was out of the question; it would be like trying to avoid a downpour with her bare hands. Even the slightest lapse in concentration would be fatal.
“Keuhhh…!”
Kaya’s hand trembled as she gripped the Armana Wand. The strain was immense. Her red tree was being relentlessly hacked away. At this rate, her mana would run dry long before the demon tired.
Still, she had to protect them. She couldn't stand the sight of people dying before her eyes—especially not on her family's soil.
But the power gap was too wide. As if enjoying the struggle, the demon rained down blades, its massive eyes seemingly curved in a mocking laugh. Kaya could only struggle with everything she had to hold on.
“Ah…!”
After dozens of exchanges, the strength of Kaya’s wind mana began to plummet. The Devil Pillar leisurely prepared another volley of dark blades, aimed directly at her.
That attack… was impossible to block.
It was then that it happened.
A terrifying mana suddenly saturated the air, triggering Kaya’s survival instincts.
Even the Devil Pillar seemed bewildered. The massive eye on its body flew open. Simultaneously, the dark blades dissolved into wisps of mana as the demon instinctively pulled its power back into its body. It was as if the monster had judged that it needed to conserve every ounce of strength for what was coming.
The Devil Pillar turned its gaze away from Kaya, focusing instead on a young man strolling calmly through the land of death.
When Kaya looked at him, her eyes shook with pure shock.
“Sir Isaac…?”
A young man with silver-blue hair, dressed in a navy-blue hooded robe.
With his mere presence, the air grew heavy, and a crushing pressure descended upon the entire world.