Chapter 404
Chapter 404
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 404
>Chapter Title: Consent? Uh, Consent
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Aster sensed the sorceries undulating from the sky and soon entered Transcendence.
Was it thanks to the enlightenment gained from his battle with Oto, the patriarch of the Urbonga Family? After that, maintaining Transcendence was no longer all that difficult.
In any case.
Within the slowed time, Aster continued to ponder.
‘How do I block the sorcery?’
The best way would be to learn sorcery himself and defend against it, but unfortunately, it was impossible for a mage to master sorcery.
‘It’s a secret art based on Tra.’
So, what was Tra?
He didn’t know much.
All he knew was that it was a processed form of mana, much like magical power or ether.
In that case, wouldn’t circles and Transcendence be effective?
Without hesitation, Aster tested it immediately. His circles spun fiercely, with Transcendence’s power dominating his mana.
But.
‘……No effect.’
He had condensed his mana to the point where most spells would lose their power, but it meant little to the sorceries. Their progression merely slowed…… ever so slightly.
So, what now?
‘Breaking them isn’t too hard, at least.’
The layered sorceries that had neutralized Shine’s body shattered with a single gesture.
Even if they grew several times stronger, shattering them shouldn’t be difficult.
But……
‘No, that’s not it.’
To be precise, breaking Shine’s sorceries had been more like wringing out already soaked clothes.
But what about now?
Rain was drizzling from the sky. And not just any rain, but lethal rain that brought one closer to death with every drop that hit.
The clothes would keep getting wet, and if careless, one might end up drenched beyond endurance.
Getting soaked in mere water wouldn’t matter……
‘……But sorcery means that moment is the end.’
So, this method was on hold.
Aster considered a few other possibilities. Could a barrier block sorcery? What if blue flames infused with the imagery of scorching crimson fire burned the sorcery?
He tried some on the spot. But the results were……
Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure……
Even amid the string of failures, Aster didn’t stop pondering.
Ponder, reject, attempt, fail—Aster was trapped alone in that fleeting moment, wrestling with the thorny problem.
How much time had passed in his perception?
“……Damn it.”
Emerging from Transcendence, Aster muttered a low curse.
There was no method. Or rather, there might be one, but he couldn’t find it.
“In the end, that’s the only way.”
“What are you up to now……”
Yurubuke tossed out the question, struck by a sudden ominous premonition, but Aster’s actions were faster.
Thud—
His body shot into the air with a kick off empty space. Aster threw himself into the sorceries woven across the sky.
It was a situation that could turn dangerous, but Aster dipped in and out of the area where the sorceries were most thinly clustered.
Soon, sorceries stuck thickly to his body, layering upon him.
Realizing too late what Aster had done, Yurubuke spat a curse.
“Crazy……!”
It was madness itself. In Yurubuke’s eyes, far more sensitive to Tra than a mage’s, it was clear as day.
Dozens of types of sorceries…… no, curses…… plastered to Aster’s body.
“What the hell are you doing!”
“Just wait a sec.”
With sorceries stuck all over him, Aster entered Transcendence again.
Zzzing—
Time slowed once more.
‘As expected…… taking sorcery with my body and shattering it isn’t a good method.’
Even diving into the least dense area had resulted in dozens of sorceries clinging to him in that instant.
It was fine now, but what if sorceries encroaching from all directions left no room to dodge?
‘Dead.’
No, even without dying, it was a problem.
What problem?
Throb—
Aster grimaced at the pain stabbing his mind.
‘There are pain-inducing sorceries too.’
Having experienced sorcery firsthand, he could vaguely distinguish their types. Most of the sorceries infiltrating from the air were pain sorceries.
The pain wasn’t that great, really. The mind of an archmage who had reached Transcendence wasn’t so frail.
But.
‘What if they stack?’
And……
‘What if I enter Transcendence in that state?’
Not good.
As he’d experienced in his clash with Oto, the patriarch of the Urbonga Family, pain felt in finely fragmented moments was pure hell.
‘They called it the hunter of the transcendent for good reason.’
He’d inwardly thought the title too grandiose, but at this level, it was anything but.
A transcendent was transcendent even without Transcendence, but one without it was half-baked at best.
To face a Kariman-level warrior in such a state……?
‘……Insane.’
Aster realized the situation wasn’t favorable.
‘I messed up.’
He should have taken out the sorcerers before the battle began. If he’d subdued them before they could cast……
It was a lack of experience fighting sorcerers.
But wait.
A question flashed through Aster’s mind as he thought that far. The moment it arose, he exited Transcendence, peeled off the curses enveloping him layer by layer, and looked at Yurubuke.
“I’ve got a question.”
“Tower Lord, I appreciate the consideration. As a tribesman of the Great Steppe, I’m deeply grateful that you’re holding back. But they’re all warriors, so……”
“What are you talking about? I said I have a question.”
Cutting Yurubuke off, Aster pressed on.
“Why haven’t sorcerers dominated the Great Steppe?”
“What do you mean?”
“Look. From what I know, warriors are the most respected on the Great Steppe. Makes sense—they’re the spears and swords protecting the tribes. They bring back the hunt. But that’s one thing……”
Aster’s question was this.
“Why are there only warriors among the Driman? Why do warriors rule the Great Steppe instead of sorcerers? Are there no Driman sorcerers? Have I just not heard of them?”
Yes, that was the question.
As far as Aster knew, all Driman on the Great Steppe were warriors. That was why warriors ruled the Great Steppe.
But think about it.
‘……If sorcerers are this powerful.’
Why couldn’t sorcerers place warriors beneath them?
The steppes worshipped the strong. That was why even a coward like Oukan was revered as a great warrior. So why weren’t sorcerers revered?
‘If sorcery is like this……’
An archmage might be another story, but dealing with a Master Knight wasn’t hard. If dozens of sorcerers layered curses while a Kariman-level warrior blocked the Master Knight, even they’d have no answer.
Even without a Kariman-level warrior……
‘……With enough time to cast, hunting a transcendent is entirely possible.’
Of course, creating that time was the issue, but was sorcery limited to curses? As far as Aster knew, sorcerers also served spirits, and their spirit-based defenses were superior to barriers in some ways.
So why……
“Sorcerers can’t surpass warriors?”
Yurubuke tilted his head as if it were obvious and answered.
“Sorcerers’ sorceries aren’t very effective against warriors.”
“Why?”
“Why…… The purer the warrior, the freer they are from sorcery’s influence. At the same level, a sorcerer can never harm a warrior.”
“Level……?”
“Child warrior, warrior, great warrior. Child sorcerer, sorcerer, great sorcerer. There are finer distinctions within, but it takes a great sorcerer to harm warriors with sorcery. Depending on the situation and environment, of course. And……”
Yurubuke pulled something from his bosom and showed it.
It was a sorcery tool made from a beast’s tooth, dyed yellow and red.
“That’s……?”
“A protective charm. You call them artifacts, right? A great warrior with this is free from most sorceries.”
“So…… immunity?”
Flinch.
Yurubuke shuddered with an ominous premonition. He felt he needed to answer carefully, but judging the right answer was hard.
That was when Aster pulled a crystal orb from his bosom.
“Astaroth.”
[Yes, Tower Lord.]
“Situation report.”
[……Most of the warriors have pulled back. A few great warriors remain, facing off against Yongyong.]
“Got it.”
Aster ended the communication there.
“Heard that?”
“I heard, but……”
“Who am I?”
“……?”
“Me? Pushk’s benefactor. So what does that make me soon?”
Aster spread his senses, gauging the sorceries drawing ever closer by the second. A little longer, and he’d be overwhelmed without any countermeasures.
Yet Aster wore a smile on his lips.
“Me, Pushk’s benefactor, soon Yurubuke’s benefactor. Consent?”
Yurubuke didn’t answer. Instead, Aster did.
“Uh, consent.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth.
“What……!”
Yurubuke let out a cry of alarm at the brutal hand clamping his nape. But Aster didn’t let go of his tight grip. And he said,
“Wondering how much sorcery you can block? Curious how far a Driman warrior can go against it?”
“No, I’m not cur……”
“Don’t care if you’re not.”
Gripping Yurubuke, Aster kicked off into the air and advanced. In the sudden chaos, Yurubuke couldn’t collect his thoughts.
‘Crazy……!’
He could’ve just taken the protective charm—!
A scream that wouldn’t reach anyone. And……
Crackle, crackle—!
The sorceries blanketing the sky vanished the moment Aster swung(?) Yurubuke.
“Gah!”
Yurubuke groaned in agony, but Aster smiled in satisfaction.
“You’re fine. You won’t die.”
……He couldn’t guarantee it, but anyway.
‘For now……’
Aster targeted the sorceries stretching toward Shine.
Before kicking off, he glanced up at the sky. No moon was out. Not that he was looking for it.
“Yurubuke, you were a valiant warrior.”
“Y-You crazy bastard……!”
The living Yurubuke cursed, but the Yurubuke looming in the sky nodded with a friendly smile.
Nod.
Aster nodded too.
Nod.
It was as if Yurubuke were speaking.
- It was a pleasure fighting alongside you.
“Yeah, me too.”
They say there’s always a way out even if the sky falls, but there’s no escape from the Tower Lord’s grasp.
That was the day Yurubuke realized it.
* * *
Meanwhile, in a world of pure white, devoid of self.
Two swordsmen who had reached Transcendence crossed blades. No, “crossed” wasn’t quite right.
Geyar Driman, Oukan, swung his sword without respite, and Shine parried, but there was no true exchange between their blades.
Just……
Clang! Scrape, screeech! Clang!
The only sounds echoing were dry clashes of metal.
You and I.
No fierce clash of emotions bent on killing and surviving.
It was almost natural, in a way.
……Having forgotten myself, only the enemy remains. In a world without “me,” what emotional clash could there be?
Shine merely reacted mechanically.
But that didn’t mean her sword felt empty or hollow.
Unity.
Her first swing since then.
Amid the flurry of strikes, Shine slowly, ever so slowly…… grew accustomed to Unity once more, advancing toward her old realm.
Had she lived, perhaps……
The strongest knight in history.
Sword Master.
Toward that title.