Chapter 189
Chapter 189
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 189
>Chapter Title: A Red Flower Doesn't Last Ten Days
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After all of Mysern's stories had concluded.
It wasn't long before Damian finished his breathing technique.
"Damian, are you ready?"
Damian didn't reply. He simply raised his eyes to meet Chenbi's gaze.
Chenbi stared into those clear, deep eyes for a moment, then patted Damian lightly on the shoulder and turned away.
"......"
Standing before the large hole, Chenbi took in the darkness for a while.
The passage beyond the hole stretched deep and deeper still. The darkness beyond the reach of the glowstone's light resembled a pitch-black abyss, and the heat-melted rock created an illusion of warped space.
As Chenbi silently gazed into the darkness, Mysern's voice echoed in his ear.
"Are you really sure about this?"
Chenbi didn't answer, instead flashing a slight smile.
Seeing that smile, Mysern realized just how pointless his question had been.
'......He's become a mage.'
And it wasn't just Chenbi.
Damian's eyes, standing beside him, were also deeper and clearer than before. Both of them had grown a step further mentally.
As Mysern thought that far, Chenbi stepped into the passage.
Footsteps echoed through the dim corridor. The enveloping darkness retreated with each step he took.
With every step forward, as the darkness of the passage fell back one by one, Chenbi gradually felt his own presence fading.
A sensation of shrinking endlessly, endlessly, until he was buried into the world.
It should have sparked fear, this unfamiliar feeling he'd never experienced in life, but Chenbi kept walking. He stared into the darkness with sunken eyes.
- Hey. You're Aster, right?
- And?
- I'm Chenbi. You're famous, you know. Heard you made the second son of the Doranpega Family kneel?
It had been an utterly ordinary meeting, one he hadn't taken seriously.
Having entered the academy at sixteen—a bit late—he'd felt awkward, intimidated among all those kids from prominent families.
Dealing with a Black-White Slums urchin had been easier by far, and if rejected, he could just find another group. Nothing special about it.
- Uh, no big reason. Just wanted to sit with someone. Don't have any friends yet. Kinda hard to butt into other groups... You know how it is.
- Whatever.
A connection that began without any weight.
- Damn.
The habitual curse was frivolous no matter how kindly you viewed it. His apathy toward everything was incomprehensible.
How had a kid like that caught the eye of the Blandoga Family? To say there was no jealousy would be a blatant lie.
But it had been fun.
Fun enough to blow all jealousy away.
And grateful, too.
Grateful enough to make the inevitable jealousy feel shameful.
- ......A-Aster?
- What the hell is this? Just wait a sec. We'll talk after I deal with this.
- No, don't! Aster, it's dangerous...!
Would there ever come a day to repay him?
If Damian was a brilliantly shining star, Aster was an unobstructed wind. And he himself was a pathetic jutting stone. Repaying him seemed impossible.
But.
He truly hadn't known.
The whirlwind he'd thought would become a typhoon had ended as a mere breeze, scattering pointlessly without leaving a thing behind.
He'd imagined it would one day drift to some unreachable place, but he'd never dreamed it would vanish like this.
So now, Chenbi walked this pitch-black abyss. Retracing the past with each step forward.
To put a proper end to an unfinished farewell.
How long had he walked like that?
Just as Chenbi had fully forgotten himself and melted into the world, a frail old voice reached his ear.
"......It's just ahead."
Chenbi slowly closed and opened his eyes, then looked forward. Sure enough, the long, long passage was coming to an end.
"Then, I'll be off."
"Just confirm and come back."
Instead of replying, Chenbi took the glowstone and glanced at Damian.
Leaving the passage, a vast stone chamber soon came into view.
There, Chenbi easily spotted "it."
Do spirits sleep too? In the center of the chamber, a huddled stone giant emitting only faint flames.
Its heat was oppressively intense, yet Chenbi's indifferent eyes scanned the chamber meticulously.
For some reason, the stone chamber was a total mess.
But.
......Nothing.
The only presences were the huddled stone giant, himself, and Damian.
Finally, Chenbi's gaze fell on Damian.
Damian stared at the stone giant a moment longer even after meeting Chenbi's eyes, then nodded toward him.
Having confirmed that much, Chenbi turned to Mysern, who had followed unnoticed.
"Sir Mysern, are the spirits alright?"
"......As expected, they haven't regained their senses. They're resting within me now."
"Then, you can't do anything yourself, can you, Sir Mysern?"
"That's right. So hurry...... No, wait."
Sensing something off, Mysern furrowed his brow. For a moment, Chenbi's tone had felt ominous.
It was then.
Kwaduduk, kwaduk!
"What......!"
Rocks suddenly erupted from the floor. In an instant, several spikes shot out, targeting Mysern.
Mysern could only stagger back helplessly, and soon Chenbi's voice rang in his ears.
"I'm sorry for lying, Sir Mysern."
"What are you trying to...... Ack!"
Chenbi didn't respond. He merely used magic to lure Mysern deeper into the passage.
Once Mysern had retreated far enough, Chenbi didn't hesitate—he collapsed the passage they'd just exited.
Kugugu, kugu......!
Amid the crumbling rocks.
"This isn't what we agreed......!"
Ignoring Mysern's shout, Chenbi turned his eyes back to the stone giant...... the Infernal.
Was it really asleep? Even amid the commotion, it remained huddled, showing no reaction.
Chenbi stared at it intently for a moment, then asked Damian.
"You think it'll really work?"
"Yeah."
"I see. So it will."
With that final confirmation, Chenbi recalled part of the information Mysern had shared about the Infernal.
- The Infernal is a fire spirit said to have existed in the Mythic Age. But its essence is closer to an evil spirit, born from the hellish flames of perdition.
Its flames are so hot they're lethal even to physical beings, but especially to spirits.
Flames that can annihilate spirits, who know no death?
Before, he wouldn't have dreamed of facing it...... But Chenbi exhaled deeply and heightened his focus.
Damian said it would work, so it would.
Not a shred of doubt.
"Damian, let's prepare then."
"We only get one shot."
"I know. I'll hold out as long as I can."
With those words, Chenbi positioned himself in front of Damian.
Damian gazed at Chenbi's back for a moment, then closed his eyes and began casting. His lips moved, emitting strange tones.
The chanting sped up until not even a single syllable could be discerned.
Pazujik, pazujik......!
In response, the mana in the air churned. Like roiling thunderclouds before a lightning strike.
Sensing the ominous aura?
Geuk, geuk.
The huddled stone giant began to swell in size. No, it wasn't swelling. The fiercer rising flames merely made it appear so.
Chenbi raised a barrier against the scorching flames while fixing his steely gaze on the Infernal.
Indeed, enormous.
3 meters...... no, perhaps nearing 4.
'......Five minutes, right?'
Chenbi took one step forward and closed his eyes.
When the time for one breath—in and out—had passed, he slowly opened them again.
The Infernal's massive form filled his vision. Chenbi's limp fingers precariously held the glowstone.
Right now, in this moment.
Chenbi was entering a new realm.
Self-forgetfulness, forgetting oneself......
Unity, merging with the world.
Different from a genius dominating the world. Erasing oneself to become part of it.
This was the only path permitted to an ordinary talent like Chenbi.
Tuk......
At last, the precariously dangling glowstone fell free. To Chenbi, merged with the world, every detail etched into his mind as vividly as a painting.
And finally—
Jjanggrang!
Chenbi moved first.
"I...... hate golems."
Kwaduk, kwadudududuk!
Dozens of lances erupted from the ground. Their razor-sharp tips surged toward the Infernal.
In the world of extreme focus, that scene etched fleetingly into Chenbi's eyes.
- 'Lances of the Earth,' they call it. Pretty grandiose name, huh? ......Haha.
- Not that grandiose.
- Really?
- But not exactly humble either.
- .....
What do you think, Aster?
- For magic like this, the name's worth is proven by the caster. Whether it's grandiose or not depends on you.
Pretty fitting name, right?
With that thought, Chenbi fully melted into the world.
......The blood trickling from his nose was redder than any flower.
* * *
Strange explosive sounds echoed through the vast stone chamber.
Mysern, staring blankly at the collapsed passage, knew the battle had begun.
"How......"
He felt like a fool for not noticing.
If Chenbi had truly only meant to check on the Infernal...... how could his eyes have been so clear? They couldn't have.
If Damian truly harbored no thoughts of revenge...... why had he sharpened himself so keenly against him? There'd have been no reason.
Mysern bit his lip raw in bitter regret over his grave mistake.
But his regret wasn't solely for the error.
Geugeuk...... Kuung—!
Beyond the pile of rubble, where explosions rang out ceaselessly, Mysern could feel it clearly in his senses, even without borrowing spirit power.
One presence flickered fiercely, like a candle flame burning its life in its final moments.
'......No.'
Ordinary talents have their permitted realms. A pace they must walk. Lines they must not cross.
Yet Chenbi had just crossed one.
'Why, why so hastily......'
Walk slowly at the allowed pace, and someday you might forge a path even geniuses can't.
Why burn away your given potential so recklessly?
Mysern clenched his fists and closed his eyes.
It was time to decide.
He'd delayed because it might lead to irreversible results...... but now he had to choose.
For a brief moment.
Mysern opened his eyes and gazed beyond the rubble.
In truth, it was no choice at all.
If someone must burn their potential......
'......It should be the old man.'
The Spirit Summoner of the North Wind.
Once said to rival the Archmage Muspellun, this old spirit summoner steeled his resolve and closed his eyes again.
'It's been so long...... not sure if it'll work.'
Soon, the power of the spirits dwelling in his bosom transferred to his aged body.
For the sake of the young mage.