Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 83
>Chapter Title: No, I Never Had One To Begin With
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The strongest of the era.
It wasn't an exaggeration at all for me to feel that way upon seeing Rihaym, the master of Obern—or in other words, my senior Rihaym.
Of course, I couldn't say for sure if he was truly the absolute strongest.
There wasn't anything like a "Continental Greatest Mage Tournament" where all the mages of the continent gathered to compete.
However—
...Chilling.
An overwhelming presence.
There was only one being who could exude this kind of aura.
Archmage.
In other words, this unassuming old man was one of the pinnacles who had reached transcendence!
"...And that's how it happened."
"I see. It must not have been an easy path. You must have gone through a lot."
While I was lost in that presence, Rihaym senior finished his conversation with Obern and turned his gaze to me.
"You've been through a lot too. Well done coming all this way."
"Oh, it wasn't that much of a hardship..."
"So, how's that rascal Schwartz? No, your master. Things were urgent, so I couldn't even ask after him properly."
"That old man's doing just fine, warm back and full belly. But..."
I tilted my head.
"My master? Who's whose master now?"
"...?"
This time, Rihaym senior's head tilted.
"Your master's name is..."
"I don't have one."
"Has he passed away?"
"No, I never had one to begin with."
"..."
An awkward silence descended.
"Perhaps... Schwartz isn't your master?"
"...Don't say such a horrifying thing."
"Your eyes look just like that guy's when he was young. Hmm, how intriguing. Anyway, you're saying he's not?"
"...No. If anything, we're more like seniors and juniors."
It suddenly occurred to me.
Maybe archmages lose something precious in the process. Or perhaps only those who were already missing something from the start can reach that level.
Pahren was born human, yet his heart is no different from a beast's. The headmaster senior... well, he's such a shady character that it's hard to guess his state of mind, but he's lost his sanity.
From that perspective, what Rihaym senior had lost was his eye for people.
While I was wandering in this koan with no answer, Rihaym senior's voice reached me.
"Huh, so that rascal Schwartz gave the Token of the New Moon to someone who's not even his disciple?"
His expression was one of considerable surprise.
At this point, I couldn't help but have questions.
'Token of the New Moon?'
I definitely remembered.
He said that wearing the mask would draw heavy suspicion, but this mask would make even his friend leniently understand.
Yet, both then and now.
From the nuance in what the headmaster senior and Rihaym senior said, it seemed like an item laden with meaning to both of them.
"What's so special about this token?"
"You don't know? Hmm. Well, it's been a long time. If you don't know, that's fine. If he didn't tell you, it must have its own meaning."
I nodded along appropriately to senior's nonchalant attitude.
It felt a bit nagging, but the Token of the New Moon or whatever wasn't the important part.
"Anyway, what the hell is going on here? The atmosphere is completely different from what I expected."
Originally, the atmosphere of the 4th Base Camp I had imagined wasn't this calm at all.
Ancient specters.
A hellscape where they swarmed everywhere, tearing into the flesh of the living. A melee where undead, monsters, and humans clashed without regard.
That's what I'd pictured.
But.
'The 4th Base Camp is practically a fortress...'
From Obern and Railley's reactions, it hadn't been fortified for long.
And not just that.
'It's peaceful.'
Even if the monsters had been pushed back fleeing the undead, there weren't even any undead in sight.
It looked like things were unfolding in a completely different direction from what I'd expected.
"Ah, right. I should explain that first. You've heard of Destrow, haven't you?"
I nodded, and Rihaym senior stroked his chin for a moment.
He looked like he was pondering where to start, but it didn't take long for him to speak.
"Do you know why the ancient specters devour the living like that?"
"To sustain their existence, right?"
Unlike undead with a lich, they had to replenish their own existence force.
However, Rihaym senior shook his head.
"Half right. But that wasn't all."
"Then..."
"Let me start from there."
* * *
When the entire story was finished.
"...Hmm."
I crossed my arms and took in Rihaym senior.
Ancient specters. The reason they massacred the living indiscriminately was surprisingly easy to accept.
- When a living being dies, two energies are produced. One is vital energy. The other is death energy. You know this, right?
- Yeah, sure.
- And vital energy is what sustains the undead's existence.
This much was common knowledge. But there was more.
- They're gathering power.
- Power...
- For when Destrow awakens. They're accumulating power to offer to their master.
So, while replenishing their own existence force, they were also stockpiling energy to offer their master.
But that wasn't all.
- Then, what about death energy?
- Don't tell me...
- Yes, the more death energy accumulates, the faster Destrow's liberation. In other words... it's a sacrifice for his release.
It was a total crisis.
The more the ancient specters dominated, the sooner Destrow's liberation and the greater his power upon arrival.
Well, up to here, it was fine.
'...Yeah, that could happen.'
Destrow.
Vital energy this, death energy that.
In magic studies, they were just theoretically explained energies, impossible to utilize, but Destrow was an existence beyond common sense anyway.
Even if he used those two energies, I could just accept it.
But.
What I truly couldn't comprehend was Rihaym senior's response after realizing this.
- So, what do we do?
- Well... block them, right?
- Yes, so I did.
- ...?
He said it so casually.
- I sealed them in a barrier.
What did that even mean?
He had spread the specters rampant throughout the Hamern Great Forest, then herded them like fish in a net into a barrier.
Easy to say.
'Easy to say...'
Think about it.
Did the ancient specters cluster together nicely? No. They rampaged so widely it altered the ecosystem of the Hamern Great Forest.
Yet.
'He deployed barriers across that entire area... and drove them into the ancient ruins?'
It was the most reliable countermeasure.
The area near the ancient ruins had long been barren of life.
It would delay Destrow's arrival, and even if the worst happened, his power wouldn't be at full strength.
But.
"...By any chance, a dragon?"
"It wasn't easy for me either."
"Looking at you, yeah, I can see that..."
My eyes scanned Rihaym senior up and down.
I hadn't noticed until now, but he looked a mess.
His kindly expression and sharp eyes were overshadowed by his violent presence.
His complexion was deathly pale, hard to find any blood in his face, his back straight but shoulders slumped without any vitality.
But that was it.
He looked exhausted.
Just that.
'...Does that make sense?'
Mana... sure. I could understand if he'd used accumulated magic circles to compensate.
The mana filling this space was probably for that barrier.
And the mages of the 4th Base Camp were even now building accumulation magic circles—mana accumulation arrays—as far as they could reach.
Yeah, even generously accepting that much was fine.
But...
'There's a limit to human mental strength...'
Is that possible?
I don't know.
No, setting aside mental strength, the brain has a capacity.
Yet, using a human brain to deploy barriers over that vast area and narrow the range? Even for me, it was hard to imagine!
And not just that.
'He's... still maintaining the barrier.'
Even if the surrounding magic circles helped, this was insane. No, it was straight-up madness.
"...Why the hell would you do that?"
"What do you mean?"
Rihaym senior tilted his head innocently.
I glanced at Obern and asked again via message magic.
[Your hometown is the Hamern Great Forest?]
[...My hometown is the imperial capital.]
[Then why...]
An archmage? Transcendent?
Even at the pinnacle, having surpassed humanity, the essence doesn't change. Archmages are still human.
Their abilities have limits, and exceeding them leads to breakdown all the same. It's just that their limits are vastly higher than ordinary people's.
And from what I could see, Rihaym senior was...
Right at his limit.
Balancing on that edge.
So, what was the cost?
'...Who knows.'
Mana backlash? That might even be fortunate. In the worst case, incapacity. Or depending on how far, even his life couldn't be guaranteed.
Honestly, it wasn't my business.
'If he wants to use his own life as he pleases.'
I was just curious.
Why would an archmage of this caliber make such a sacrifice? Why stay in this perilous place with his disciple to protect the Hamern Great Forest?
Did he understand what I meant?
[Is there any particular reason?]
Rihaym senior's voice echoed in my ear.
And that 'reason'—how should I put it? By my standards, it was utterly incomprehensible.
[There's something that must be stopped right ahead, and I have at least a modicum of skill.]
[...]
[When I think of the catastrophe Destrow will bring upon awakening, how could I spare this one life?]
I looked into those eyes, then slyly averted my gaze to the ceiling.
Clear.
Those eyes were so clear, so barren that not even a single minnow could survive.
'...Humanoid."
Like master, like disciple? No, that didn't quite fit.
Obern was still a greenhorn. If I put my mind to it, I could corrupt him anytime. No, just keeping him around would taint him naturally.
'But Rihaym here...'
It felt like I was the one being purified.
Slyly.
I took one step back.
"...?"
Rihaym senior tilted his head curiously, but I didn't let my guard down and took another step back.
At this point, one curiosity arose. Something I wouldn't normally wonder about.
"Senior... who are you?"
"Me? ...Hmm. You're not asking for the name 'Rihaym.'"
A mage from the old war.
At this level, he must have been one of the top ones back then.
But an old war mage with such upright spirit? That clashed quite a bit with my common sense.
After all, the headmaster senior was the standard image of one, right?
"Well, since you received the Token of the New Moon, it wouldn't be bad to tell you. No, it would be ruder not to."
"Yes, Master. I think it's fine with senior here."
"It's a shameful past, but..."
Rihaym senior smiled somewhat bitterly and opened his mouth with a kindly expression.
And when he did.
"...Huh."
It felt like someone had smacked the back of my head hard.
"My name is Muspellun."
He didn't give his full name.
But connecting the name 'Muspellun' with the 'barrier' over the Hamern Great Forest made his full name impossible not to know.
Muspellun Gigus Aderian.
The middle name 'Gigus' means nobility.
And the last name 'Aderian' is permitted only to one single bloodline.
The most dignified ones.
Imperial royalty.
However, the name Muspellun is more known in another context outside of royalty.
That is...
The Mage of Conclusion.
The one mage who ended the old war.
A genius among geniuses in barrier magic, the butcher who single-handedly crushed a hundred thousand soldiers.
The most revered mage, yet the one known to have the heaviest sins from the old war, with the most blood on his hands.
In summary...
'The craziest bastard.'
Yes, Muspellun was the craziest among the mad war mages.