Chapter 451
Chapter 451
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 451
>Chapter Title: Even Life Itself
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Before they knew it, the sun had set.
After wandering various spots around the Sestheraion Mountains, the three returned to their starting point and prepared to camp.
Moon deftly kindled a campfire.
No one knew how he managed it in this high altitude where firewood was scarce, but soon warm flames rose between the three of them.
From a historian's perspective on magic, it was like witnessing the Mythic Age itself with a bit of exaggeration, but Aster remained utterly indifferent.
He simply gazed quietly at the blazing fire.
That was when a voice came.
"Want some?"
"......"
What Moon offered was dry jerky, and right in front of Aster, Moon tore off a strip and popped it into his mouth.
As if it contained no poison whatsoever.
Aster watched the scene impassively, then shook his head.
"No, I'm good."
"Then we'll eat it ourselves."
Moon didn't offer twice.
And so, silence settled among the three.
The campfire crackled, its flames flickering in a breeze from somewhere. The two old wizards chewed on tough jerky and hard bread to sate their hunger.
Aster suddenly looked up at the sky.
It was dazzlingly brilliant.
Was it because the sky felt so close? It was like plunging into the heart of the Milky Way, the pouring starlight nearly blinding him.
Today's events. Aster replayed what he had heard from Sun.
- Why commemorate a great wizard?
The question remained unanswered.
Just what were those two old men gaining from it?
Of course, people didn't act solely for profit.
There were dreams, romance.
Even worthless endeavors that yielded not a single coin or scrap of meat—people could devote their lives to them.
Simply.
No other reason.
It was a sentiment Aster couldn't comprehend, but that didn't mean he dismissed it as impossible.
The world was full of people, and some lived that way.
So at first, he thought those two old men might be that type.
But something was off.
'Something......'
......else was at play.
If so, let's think.
Sun and Moon, the two wizards, had mastered "ancient magic." And both possessed "Reverse Heaven Fragments."
In the case of the Urbona Family, there was no guarantee they were "Endurance," but after observing them for a day, Aster was half-convinced.
'They are Endurance.'
Those two old men were guardians protecting the Reverse Heaven Fragments.
If so......
The first thing that came to mind was the greatest library on the Eastern Continent, Rapiter.
Rapiter.
A library built with the help of the Sage, the first Director who was an Endurance.
Rather than wandering the continent in search of the Reverse Heaven's master, they waited at the greatest library for that master to come.
If the Reverse Heaven's master sought the fragments, if they wanted clues, they had no choice but to visit Rapiter.
So he thought.
......Perhaps Sanctuary too?
'Plausible......'
Why?
Because it was Reverse Heaven.
Just look at how the Grimoire owners had established great houses and reigned for hundreds, thousands of years.
Grimoire owners held the world at their feet.
The Reverse Heaven's master?
'No different.'
Look at the reality.
Not the strongest ever, but selected as one of the seven observers, hadn't he set foot in Sanctuary itself?
If Sanctuary's founding purpose was to draw the Reverse Heaven's master, it had succeeded.
......But.
Aster, who had been staring at the sky, lowered his gaze. He took in the two old wizards sating their hunger.
That was when his eyes met Sun's.
"Got a question?"
"Yeah, sort of."
"Seems our meeting wasn't coincidence after all."
Aster nodded.
He hadn't intended it himself, but today's encounter was far from "chance."
"Well then...... ask away. What's on your mind?"
Aster chose his words carefully for a moment.
Now he was certain.
The initiative in this illusion belonged to Reverse Heaven. But just in case, he avoided uttering the word "Reverse Heaven." The Ninth Elder might be spying on this illusion.
And truthfully...... he didn't need the word "Reverse Heaven" to grasp their true intentions.
Just ask.
"What's your real purpose?"
"......Purpose?"
Sun tilted his head.
Purpose?
"If you're asking about the intent behind building the temple, as I said, it's to honor the 'great wizard' while showing later wizards the path."
It was a story one had to believe.
Sanctuary had indeed fulfilled that role as Sun described.
It commemorated the greatest wizard who pioneered new horizons in magic, while serving as a goalpost for future wizards.
Over long ages, wizards had advanced magic using "Sanctuary" and "Arch Mage" as benchmarks.
So other wizards would have no choice but to believe.
But Aster didn't.
Why?
'......Reverse Heaven Fragment.'
Because he knew those two old wizards possessed Reverse Heaven Fragments.
So he shook his head.
"Not that."
"Not...... that?"
Sun tilted his head in bewilderment. Aster looked at him, then shifted his gaze to Moon.
His crown reflected the starlight of the night sky, and his eyes blazed with sharp intensity.
Aster met that gaze calmly.
For a moment.
Even Sun narrowed his eyes, but Moon's mouth opened soon after.
"You know something."
"Dunno."
"......"
Instead of replying, Moon rummaged in his bosom. Then, as if feeling his heartbeat, he placed his hand still and closed his eyes.
How much time passed?
Moon arduously lifted his eyelids. The eyes revealed beneath trembled faintly. Like someone who had learned an unbearable truth.
"What's wrong?"
"......"
Moon didn't answer Sun's question. Like someone who had forgotten to breathe, he simply stared blankly at the campfire without inhaling.
For a long while.
Moon raised his head right after Sun's voice sounded.
"......Hey?"
"......"
Instead of replying, Moon straightened and stared at Aster. Meeting that gaze, Aster narrowed his eyes. And for once, he showed bewilderment.
"What......"
He was never one for gentle eyes.
His nature seemed twisted from the start.
But this was beyond that.
In other words...... yeah.
The glare of one facing their arch-nemesis. It was venomous.
The murderous intent pouring from those eyes was sharper than anything Aster had encountered in his life.
Why?
Aster pondered that far.
"You bastard......"
"......?"
"How much more must you toy with us to be satisfied."
It was a scorching voice. Like magma. But even hotter were the tears streaming down that old face.
Amid it all, Moon's voice flowed low.
"I've lived deeming it Heavenly Punishment. I even meant to endure this fate. But you...... you......! You stole my master and devoured my disciple! And in the end! In the end! Even my life―!"
"......!"
Moon kicked off the ground and leaped up. His eyes, already red with tears streaming down his cheeks, burned.
A powder keg ready to blow.
In that moment, Aster tilted his head.
'What?'
As he harbored the doubt.
"What are you doing!"
Sun stepped in, blocking Moon's path.
To Aster, the situation remained utterly baffling.
* * *
The battle between Sun and Moon was like something out of myth.
People often likened battles of wizards or knights who had reached great heights to "myth," but these two's fight was literally akin to myth.
What to call it......
'......This is ancient magic?'
Yes, due to a certain characteristic of ancient magic.
Kwarrrrk, kwak!
Space warped.
Boom―!
Light flashed.
No precursors.
No mana ripples, no magic power stirring.
Moreover, their magic belonged to neither fire nor wind, earth nor water.
For example...... yeah.
'Manifestation of will or imagery.'
The will to "kill" became magic, the will to "block" obstructed it.
Will had no attributes, so the magic manifesting that will had none either.
Aster had heard about ancient magic from Teheman, Rapiter's curator, but these two wizards' level far exceeded his expectations.
If the magic Teheman inherited was a degraded variant refined over ages, theirs was closer to the source.
Insight-based, logic-transcending magic manifestation.
So...... like this.
'Blink.'
Just as he leaped through space, the two wizards manifested magic on similar principles.
Honestly...... it was a rare sight.
A breakthrough that broadened the mind.
He wanted to watch the fight endlessly, but Aster didn't forget his original purpose.
First, let's see.
'Heavenly Punishment?'
This was the point Aster focused on.
So, what was Heavenly Punishment?
'To Endurance, Heavenly Punishment is......'
Simple.
'......Reverse Heaven Fragment.'
Yes, protecting it.
And.
- I even meant to endure this fate.
'That means, he was prepared to calmly accept Endurance's destiny.'
What came after was the mystery.
What?
- You...... you......! You stole my master and devoured my disciple!
'Me?'
Stole the master and devoured the disciple?
And what else?
- And in the end! In the end! Even my life―!
What on earth did this mean?
He pondered that far.
"......Kuhk!"
Boom!
A scream and explosion overlapped and resounded. The campfire swayed in the ferocious wind, the ground quaked.
The one slammed into the dirt was none other than.
......Moon.
Sun pinned Moon to the ground and planted his foot on the earth. Looking down at him, he posed the question.
"Calm down and explain. What the hell is going on?"
Guilt spread over his rigidly set face. An emotion born from attacking his old friend. But instead of answering Sun, Moon stared piercingly at one spot.
"You bastard......"
Sun noticed he was glaring at Aster and trailed off.
The reason was incomprehensible.
He knew masked wizards had their inscrutable sides. But this sudden reaction?
One might think he'd met his mortal enemy, but for a man who had wandered like a ghost his whole life, where would such an enemy even come from?
It was baffling.
Amid it.
Moon's voice rang in his ears.
"You still, still...... don't know?"
"What are you talking about? Please, just tell me. How else am I to understand?"
Sun pleaded.
And when the answer came.
He instantly grasped why his lifelong friend had lost his reason, where that rage stemmed from.
"All of this...... is an illusion."
"......"
"You too, and me."
......Even stealing his life meant that.