Chapter 444
Chapter 444
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 444
>Chapter Title: That's a Bit Savage
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Blazing flames.
Silence descended.
The space, which had been chaotic with surging mana just moments ago, grew deathly still.
And at its center.
“……!”
Bodo Khan Sherman writhed in agony. There was no scream. The deep blue flames had burned even that away.
Thus, as the Arc Mage—no, the copy of the former Arc Mage—convulsed in pain, a single man crossed the field.
The man…… Pahren.
He gazed at Bodo Khan Sherman with indifferent eyes. Then he approached to within arm's reach and halted.
The flames flickered out right after.
“Hah…… haa!”
Bodo Khan Sherman curled up, gasping for breath. Healing magic soon took effect, mending his body. Meanwhile, he lifted his head to take in his opponent.
Indifferent eyes.
Arrogant.
And…… utterly detestable.
How could he not be.
……A Grimoire.
The coward who dared bring such a transcendent artifact into the trial.
“I knew the Decullans were scraping the bottom, but…… I never imagined it’d be this bad.”
“Didn’t I tell you? You were simply lacking.”
“……Nonsense.”
“If you’d gotten your hands on a Grimoire, do you think you could even meet my eyes?”
“You dare……!”
Bodo Khan Sherman shot to his feet in a frenzy. Mana responded to his will. That was when something slammed down on the back of his head.
“……Guh!”
“…….”
Pahren looked down at Bodo Khan Sherman, his foot pressing firmly on the nape of the man’s neck. In those cold eyes, Bodo Khan Sherman looked pathetic.
Sprawled out, trembling helplessly.
A little more pressure, and the trial would end. But Pahren did not finish it.
Instead……
He simply looked down at Bodo Khan Sherman.
He said nothing.
There was no value in it.
A false mind forged from the Sanctuary’s mysteries, housed in a false body. Even if it believed itself real, its essence was nothing but fiction.
What words could hold worth from that.
……If not for the ‘Spear,’ it wouldn’t have been overturned so easily.
Just as Bodo Khan Sherman needed time to manifest the ‘Spear,’ so too did Pahren.
Moreover……
‘A Grimoire.’
Nor was that wrong.
The spell just now had mimicked the Grimoire’s power. Of course, it hadn’t been easy. No, it was nearly impossible.
The risks that came with it were considerable too.
But as said, such circumstances meant nothing.
The man underfoot was no great Arc Mage who had etched his name in magical history—he was merely a copy.
However, what mattered was……
Contempt.
Yes, that was it.
Though a false existence, the contempt it felt was undeniable truth.
It wasn’t long before Pahren ended the trial.
Crunch—!
A hollow bursting sound echoed across the field. The aged body shuddered, then went limp.
Soon, its form began to blur.
“…….”
Pahren quietly took in the sight. The field melted away smoothly, returning to the original chamber.
……The heavy silence persisted until every change had concluded.
How much time passed like that.
“Congratulations on ascending to the 13th Arc Mage.”
Hermit’s voice rang out.
Only then did the observers accept reality.
Pahren von Decullan.
He had claimed the seat of the Arc Mage.
* * *
Leaving behind the trial’s anticlimactic end, the Hermits guided the observers to the reception room.
Even as they moved, the seven observers maintained their silence.
The shock was that profound.
The Calamity of the Skies.
The Spear of Kahalom.
He had been defeated.
No, it wouldn’t have been so shocking if it were mere defeat. The ‘Arc Mage’ was the strongest in history, but not invincible.
The problem was the process.
The Spear…… and the deep blue flames that devoured it.
They had seen it with their own eyes, yet couldn’t comprehend.
Devouring the ‘Spear’?
What kind of magic could……
“Please wait a moment.”
The observers snapped from their reverie at Hermit’s voice and entered the reception room. They sat on the circularly arranged sofas, lost in their thoughts.
Minds tangled in complexity—and Aster was no exception.
Of course, his reasons differed slightly from the others.
‘Pahren won, huh…….’
That could happen.
Future? Past? Either way, the ‘Arc Mage’ of his previous life had been Pahren.
He didn’t know the process, but he’d dismantled that magic, so he’d earned the title.
The fact itself wasn’t so surprising.
What tangled his mind was……
‘……Can I catch up?’
Yes, that was it.
He’d confirmed Pahren’s realm as initially planned.
Frankly, it exceeded expectations.
What enlightenment Pahren had achieved, the level he’d reached, and furthermore…… his hidden ace.
He’d confirmed it all.
But.
Precisely because he’d confirmed it all, his mind was in turmoil.
Anything halfway decent could be gauged, but that realm…… especially the final spell, crossed the line.
‘That one was…….’
No, actually, ‘Pahren’ wasn’t the issue now.
Pahren couldn’t step in personally. Worries about him could wait—the real problem was elsewhere.
What was it.
None other than.
‘……Decullan’s lackeys.’
The imperial mage Parapus.
Count Taurus.
Yes, those two.
‘Dogs who sold their souls to Decullan for personal gain.’
All who sold out to Decullan were scum, but these two were extreme cases.
Because they already had everything.
Anyway, what mattered now was what tricks these two were up to.
But that wasn’t all he needed to worry about.
‘……Salvatium. They’re here too.’
Pahren, two lackeys, and Salvatium.
A chaotic mess all around.
Aster leaned back on the sofa, staring ahead.
The bald imperial mage Parapus and the count with his stylish mustache, Taurus, were in plain view.
‘Even if wyverns bite you, keep your wits and you’ll live.’
Numbers were even, at least.
This side had the Arbiter of Jamal.
No, perhaps……
‘……The parasite might be here too.’
Hold on.
If so?
Lightning flashed in Aster’s mind. He’d realized something new.
‘Me, Arbiter of Jamal, and the parasite jumping Parapus and Count Taurus?’
What then.
Power balance tips.
3 to 1.
Obviously, the ‘1’ was Pahren.
Then……
‘Three against? Might have a shot?’
They wouldn’t bring a Grimoire to the Sanctuary. And this side had the parasite with his magic sword.
A thoroughly righteous setup……
Creak—
The reception room door opened, and Pahren entered, guided by the Hermits.
Like the previous Arc Mage, he’d undergone the ritual to leave a copy in the Sanctuary. The first to react was Parapus.
“Patriarch, congratulations.”
Parapus sprang up, bowing at a perfect right angle, exposing his shiny bald scalp. The weathered surface reflected light right into Aster’s eyes.
The next was Count Taurus, rising as well……
“Congratulations, Patriarch.”
Not as servile as Parapus, but still deferential.
Aster looked at the pair…… no, the three including Pahren, lips curling.
‘Justice prevails.’
No matter the means, the victor is justice.
Look.
Even fairy-tale heroes gang up to beat the demon king. They even sneak into the demon castle.
The lesson here.
As mentioned……
‘……The winner is justice.’
What? Written from the hero’s view, so it seems just?
‘If the demon king won, it’d be from his view.’
Sad but true—history belongs to the victor.
Of course, victory doesn’t justify everything, but that gets too complicated.
Right now, what mattered was his relation to Decullan……
‘……I’m good.’
Not because of ‘me.’
Because the opponent was ‘Decullan.’
Short of slapping innocent Decullan kin, any Decullan mage getting slapped deserved praise for the slapper.
……Anyway.
Aster decided to offer congratulations with the magnanimity of the learned. Sages congratulate even foes, after all.
But then.
“Congratu…….”
Boom—!
A sudden roar shook the space. Like an earthquake—and the changes didn’t stop there.
Grind, grrrrind—
Floor, walls, ceiling…… bizarre magic circles emerged everywhere. And.
“Hm.”
“Ugh—!”
Groans erupted from all around.
The reason was simple.
The bizarre magic circles suppressed mana—and so powerfully that even grand mages struggled against it.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
Hermit, waiting in the corner, licked his lips at Kahazar’s question.
He too hadn’t grasped the situation fully, but it didn’t take long for him to speak.
“The Sanctuary’s barrier magic has activated, it seems. We’ll need to investigate the cause…… please wait a moment.”
Hermit left after that, and one word flashed through the observers’ minds.
What was it.
Salvatium.
The cabal of gold mages who’d schemed through countless ages.
It had to be them.
“Looks like…… I’ll have to check it out. If it’s gold mages, we need to move too.”
“Agreed.”
Kijystone nodded to Kahazar. The two rose from their sofas.
They meant to assess the situation, but a chilling voice reached their ears right then.
“Sit.”
“……?”
“……?”
Kahazar and Kijystone turned awkwardly toward the voice’s owner.
None other than.
……Pahren.
The new Arc Mage.
At his command, they narrowed their eyes and tilted their heads.
Sit?
Eyes full of doubt, but Pahren walked to an empty sofa instead of answering. He sat, leaned back, and crooked a finger.
“Not sitting, are you.”
Kahazar stared at him. Then he asked.
“What’s this about.”
“Not sitting? I won’t stop you.”
“Right now…….”
Kahazar scowled at the insolence. That was when Parapus stepped in.
“Heh heh. Hey, Patriarch Kahazar. Why not sit? Didn’t Hermit say he’d look into it? As guests, we should heed the host…….”
“……Hah.”
Kahazar laughed in disbelief and stood fully. He shot Parapus a feral grin.
Count Taurus’s voice came right then.
“Patriarch Kahazar. Don’t be rash—sit. Hermit said to wait. And from the looks of it…….”
A glance downward. Count Taurus eyed Kahazar’s wrist and smirked.
Adding.
“With mana sealed, better be careful, no?”
……At that, Aster thought.
‘That’s a bit savage.’
Very savage.
Even good-natured Kahazar couldn’t stay calm at that line…… but why.
“Ha, haha.”
Kahazar suddenly burst out laughing.
Aster tilted his head.
‘Has he lost it?’
No.
Just pissed off big time.
“You fucking dogs…… acting human and piling on?”
Aster thought.
……That’s savage too.