Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: Unexpected Reunion (1)
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Three hundred years after their parting, the warrior and the mage sat facing each other across a table made of woven branches.
Melissa had cried until her eyes were swollen like gumballs before finally calming down. Embarrassed by her childish outburst, she belatedly tried to act composed. Yet her inner unease lingered, and without realizing it, she kept sending vines creeping out to wrap around Kadim's ankles.
A long silence hung over the table.
It was a deadlock born of too many words clamoring to be said. Fragments of thoughts swam in a sea of contemplation, pushed and pulled until they formed vast islands. Neither knew where to begin, unable to pick just one piece from the mass.
After an eternity of deliberation, Melissa spoke first.
"I missed you, Kadim. So much... for so long."
"...I felt the same, Melissa."
A tender smile touched her lips. Her gaze pierced him, still disbelieving.
"How did you find this place? The World Tree's branches guard it from every side. It shouldn't have been easy to get in..."
"I cut one on the way. Before that, they certainly gave me a headache."
"Ah, that... so it was you. But why from the south? The Empire, the Alliance... all the places with people are north of here. Did you see the records I left at the Magic Tower?"
Kadim briefly recounted his journey from the Magic Tower to here. Melissa nodded slowly, her expression conflicted.
"I see... I'm sorry. If I'd known, I'd have cleared the obstacles long ago... When you climbed the World Tree, did the guardians guide you properly?"
"...No, quite the opposite. They tried to keep me from meeting you. Probably planned to hold me hostage and negotiate something."
"What?! Who the hell were they?! I'll summon them right now and burn them to their bones..."
"No need. I killed them all on the way up. If their deaths cause you any trouble, I apologize in advance."
"..."
Melissa, who had shot to her feet in fury, sat back down silently. Shadows of the past flickered in her reddened eyes. Yes, Kadim had always handled things before anyone else could step in. He'd wave it off, saying there was no need to worry, that he'd have executed those traitors anyway.
And another silence fell.
This time, Kadim broke it.
"...I have so many questions, but this one can't wait. What's happening here, Melissa? Why has the elves' god descended on this land, and why are you— a skeptic— its proxy? How have you survived all this time?"
"..."
Melissa blinked slowly. An inscrutable emptiness crossed her face.
Her response wasn't an answer, but another question.
"...Who's that? Why's he been hiding in the corner?"
"..."
The figure in the shadows flinched.
It was Duncan Wheeled, who had hidden there in case Melissa lost her mind. Kadim gestured for him to come out, then shoved the hesitant merchant forward to introduce him.
"This is Duncan. He was a merchant, but now he's my guide. One of my new companions."
"...Companions?"
"Yes. He may not look it, but he's quite capable. Without him, getting here would have been far more troublesome."
"Fr-friend? You call him a friend...?"
A strange twist marred her features.
Duncan felt a chill like touching a volcano's vent. Instinctively bowing low, he vehemently denied it.
"N-no, no! D-don't misunderstand, great and mighty archmage! I-I'm not his friend. I'm just a lowly servant tending to the divine warrior of the gods, Duncan Wheeled..."
"..."
Whether the right choice or not, the ominous twist faded. Melissa offered an awkward smile and lightly scratched her chin.
"Ah, I see. Impressive. Even the capable ones rarely survive long around Kadim..."
"Th-this is all thanks to his boundless grace... I live every day engraving his kindness in my bones..."
"Got it... Could you give us some space? It's been so long since I saw Kadim— really, truly so long... We have so much to talk about, and with someone else here, it's hard to relax."
"..."
Of course, Duncan bowed deeply and scurried away.
Kadim furrowed his brow. The merchant had only sensed it vaguely, but he knew clearly: before that awkward smile, Melissa had flashed refined killing intent.
As he opened his mouth to point it out, vines surged up with a crunch, binding his ankle. A remorseful whisper escaped her crimson lips.
"You've made a new friend in the meantime, Kadim. He doesn't seem all that reliable..."
"...Don't worry, Melissa. Duncan's trustworthy. And I won't leave again, so this vine..."
"You said that and left anyway. The first time."
"..."
A sharp silence fell, like shattered glass.
It didn't last. Melissa, her face blank, replayed her words and startled, her shoulders trembling.
"Ah, no, what did I just say...? Sorry, Kadim. I didn't mean to blame you. You must have had your reasons..."
"...No, I should apologize. No matter how urgent, I shouldn't have left without a word. It was an unforgivable sin to those left behind..."
"Then... can you tell me now? Why, after slaying the archdemon... you left like that...?"
"..."
Her eyes, flushed and trembling with desperation.
Kadim closed his eyes calmly.
It wasn't easy to confess. But Melissa had waited three hundred years for this answer— not a fixed term, but endless endurance. Delaying or evading now would be too cruel.
After deliberation, he opened his eyes and revealed the truth.
"I'm not originally from this world."
"..."
"I came from a world where gods and demons, miracles and mysteries don't exist in daily life. A place where you can't split a rude man's skull with an axe. My routine was lying in a comfortable bed, drinking beer, without killing or fighting demons."
He didn't mention playing the game, seeing the first playthrough, or aiming for the true ending. Just that he thought the rift would take him home.
Melissa didn't seem shocked. As if she'd half-expected it, she nodded and muttered to herself.
"I knew it... That's why no one could find you, and that rift... My conclusions weren't wrong after all..."
"..."
"Wait... so do you still want to go back to your original world?"
Her voice trembled anxiously. Kadim didn't deny it but added reassurance for his old comrade.
"Of course I do. But as I said, I won't rush off. This world is my home too, and I have unfinished duties here."
"..."
"Until I uncover why the demons are rampant again and seal it, find the rest of my comrades, confront the Heavenly Atala and whoever schemed to send me here— and bury an axe in their face... I absolutely won't leave. Don't worry."
Yet Melissa's unease persisted.
No— she seemed more shocked by his last words than his otherworldly origin. Her face showed little change, but the writhing vines at her feet betrayed it.
Kadim grew slightly concerned. What if she nitpicked that he still planned to leave eventually?
Unexpectedly, her words veered elsewhere.
"So even though this world wasn't yours, you still fought the archdemon, saved it through all that hardship."
"...Because I thought I'd return home."
"No, that's no mere byproduct to diminish. If I were in your shoes— anyone would be— no one could have done what you did."
"..."
"And even now, you're sacrificing for this world? All life on the continent owes you an immense debt. Better late than never... On behalf of everyone, thank you for finding us, for saving our world then and now, Kadim."
"..."
Caught off guard, Kadim's eyes flickered. Embarrassed by her solemnity, Melissa cleared her throat and added lightly.
"...When that dark barbarian first showed up demanding to join us, I thought for sure he was a slaver."
They both chuckled softly.
That broke the ice, and reminiscences flowed. Tales of Atala's great warrior as a greenhorn with only size to recommend him, and the archmage as a bookish recluse.
"...When you barged into that village chief's house and wrecked it, I was so shocked..."
"It solved your problem and gave us an excuse to leave. A rational choice."
"Hmph... Still, doing it like some brute..."
The stories endless. As each other's first companions in a clumsy, ignorant youth, there was plenty to share. Recounting their tumultuous journey would take sleepless nights.
But Kadim reined himself in and changed the subject.
More urgent matters loomed than nostalgia.
"Anyway, Melissa. We should revisit what you said earlier. Can you explain exactly what's happening here?"
"..."
"And about Cyril, Gordon, Gale... or any other comrades. Anything you've learned?"
Melissa's eyelids lifted slowly. Inscrutable emptiness veiled her face again.
She glanced away briefly, narrowed her brows at the waterskin on Kadim's belt, then suddenly smiled brightly and clapped lightly.
"Ah, sorry, sorry, Kadim! How could I forget? I promised to tell you some great news the moment we reunited..."
"..."
Kadim shot her a shadowed look.
Vague at first, but now clear: she was deliberately changing the subject. That "news" was bait to deflect and distract.
But bait he couldn't ignore.
"I found it. The solution."
"...What?"
"A perfect cure for the 'berserk rage' that eats your mind and makes you lose control."
His pupils dilated uncontrollably.
*
Duncan was climbing the World Tree's roots toward the sky.
The footing was still wide enough, but the ascent was no easy feat. The altitude above the clouds, precarious winds, hazy visibility, and narrowing path were a nightmare for anyone afraid of heights.
Whoooosh... whoooooosh...
He hadn't set out to conquer the World Tree on a whim. It started when he sensed something while climbing before meeting the archmage.
'Eh, master? This energy...'
'...'
Demonic energy. The aura of demons that ensnared and corrupted all things.
Faintly offset by Hesilia's divinity in the mid-layers, it grew starkly clear higher up— enough for Duncan to notice. Yet no demons appeared, and the closer he got to the sky-touching root, the thicker it became.
Even reaching the root leading to the Hall of Eternal Dreams, he couldn't spot the source visually. Divinity and demonic energy mingled densely, blocking his view like sea fog. And scouting personally would take unknown time...
Kadim prioritized reuniting with his old comrade but ordered Duncan to check the root's end if the chance arose.
Thus, Duncan climbed now. Kicked out of the hall and with the archmage distracted by reunion, it was perfect timing.
Dangerous up close, but his mind was easier than before. Recalling the archmage's ominous aura chilled his spine. Staying might have brought worse than falling from here.
'And master was her old comrade?'
He'd heard the archmage founded the Magic Tower and secluded herself two centuries ago. So they'd been comrades even before that...
Suddenly, he recalled their first meeting: Kadim calling the Lucaonia Empire a kingdom, utterly ignorant of the continent's state.
'No way... I thought he was just from some isolated wilderness beyond the mountains...'
Duncan intuited he'd brushed a corner of Kadim's hidden secret— a massive one tied to this world's essence. Excitement bubbled, mingled with fear. It felt like everyday life with his family was slipping irretrievably away...
'N-no, I'm not abandoning them... Just this journey, then I'll go back to my family...'
Not the time for distractions.
Crack!
"Whoa, ack!"
His left foot caught on a loose bark. He hopped on one foot, crouching to regain balance.
Whooooosh... whoooooosh...
The biting gale, the abyss a hair's breadth away. Cold sweat poured down his back. He'd nearly never see his family again.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
His thoughts flipped. Better to hide in the hall after all... But no turning back now. Duncan took deep breaths, steeled himself, and stepped more cautiously.
After more near-misses, as his mouth parched with thirst.
Finally at the root's end, Duncan faced it.
The source of the demonic energy plaguing the World Tree.
A sky-rending rift, vibrating as if about to shatter.
――――――― Rumble rumble rumble...
Its scale stole his breath— center alone city-sized, fringes vanishing into the world's void. Black energy gushed like a flood, the deafening roar pounding his eardrums and heart.
At least the World Tree's roots were wedged in, staving off total collapse. But even they wouldn't hold long. Over half had snapped, the rest trembling precariously.
What lay beyond to unleash such force? Peering into the gaping maw with trembling eyes.
"...!!!"
Duncan lost all sensation, collapsing in a heap.
"...Ah, ahh, Lord Remillion, Atala, Elga... M-master... Y-Yulia, Duncan..."
From broken lips poured the names of those he trusted, those he must protect, in a jumbled torrent.