Chapter 190
Chapter 190
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 190
Chapter Title: The Calamitous Flame that Burns the World (4)
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The sky was black, swallowing the soot. A deathly silence hung over the forest thick with the stench of charred wood. Crunch, crunch—the line of footsteps crushed the layer of ash and snapped the less brittle remnants of branches.
Though they traveled together, there was little interaction between the squad members. Instead, only an inexplicable tension drifted through their sidelong glances.
"……."
"……."
They were the reclamation squad's platoon, made up of numerous dark elves and the "Black Panther" Parneo.
A gulf had formed between elves and dark elves—once the same race—that could no longer be bridged. It went far beyond mere differences in skin color, an enormous chasm. With differing faiths, environments, and even lifespans, it was hard for the two races to fully trust each other, even as reluctant allies.
The uneasy silence, akin to bedding down with the enemy, dragged on a while longer. But when they were about halfway to Hesiliad, the dark elf acting as platoon leader finally spoke to Parneo.
"Hey, tree bug buddy."
"……Are you addressing me?"
"Who else would it be? Out of everyone here, you're the only tree bug clinging to the World Tree."
"I'll pass on the needless barbs. We should focus on executing the mission rather than trading emotions."
The elf boy replied coldly. The dark elf let out a light chuckle.
"Sorry about that. No malice intended—I just haven't spoken to elves in ages. If the nickname rubbed you the wrong way, I apologize."
"……."
"That aside, I've got one question…… Why did you rescue Apostle Lilia from her confinement? Not to speak ill, but elfkind's feelings toward us aren't exactly favorable, are they?"
Parneo clamped his mouth shut at first. But as the persistent questions kept coming, he reluctantly explained how he'd visited her in confinement, conversed with her, and mistakenly believed an innocent girl had been wrongly imprisoned.
A subtle stir rippled through the dark elves. The platoon leader stroked his chin gravely.
"I see…… So that's the story. Which means you endured persecution from your own kind just to save one ordinary dark elf girl."
"Mock my foolish bravado all you like. I did it simply because I believed it was the right thing to do."
"Mock you? How dare I? I swear by the primordial darkness, I sincerely thank you for your noble courage and sacrifice."
The platoon leader made a sign of the cross and bowed reverently. The others hesitated a moment before following their leader's example. Caught off guard by the unexpected response, Parneo flinched, his eyes trembling.
"……Enough. I didn't save her for honor or gratitude."
"No, my thanks extend even further back—to the fact that you kept visiting her in confinement and speaking to her."
"That was…… pointless. Looking back, it feels like an incredible rudeness. For someone of her stature to pretend to be a simple girl just to humor a greenhorn like me……."
"No such thing."
The firm declaration cut through.
As Parneo furrowed his brow in confusion, the platoon leader repeated with conviction.
"I said no such thing."
"……What do you mean?"
"Just because someone ascends to an unreachable position doesn't mean their inner ordinariness and fragility vanish. They simply hide and endure it due to their role and responsibilities. In truth, they are still individuals who feel joy and pain just like anyone else."
The platoon leader gazed into the distance with faded eyes.
"Even that horrific grand magician who summoned this catastrophe…… harbored the pure heart of a homesick child, yearning desperately for someone. Apostle Lilia is no exception. Though she acts as the gods' proxy and leads our race, she would sometimes show a girlish side in a quiet flower field far from people."
"……."
"Moreover, when in the World Tree's embrace, she sees the future through dreams. She was likely waiting earnestly for you long before you were even born. In that bottomless abyss with no visible exit, in that solitary darkness devoid of even withered hope, for some…… elf boy who would approach with the warm kindness of spring flowers and speak to her."
"……."
Parneo squeezed his eyes shut. His darkened vision rewound to the moment he first met the girl in confinement.
'……Why are you locked away here? Who confined you in a place like this?'
'…….'
The light that had flickered in her murky eyes then…… was it not wariness, but joy discolored by deep darkness?
But this was no time to indulge in wistful sentiment.
- KUHOOOOOO - !!
"Wh-what is that……."
"Inferno……? Why is an Inferno here of all places……."
The embodiment of disaster, scattering hellfire, had appeared not far off. Dark shadows fell over the squad members' faces.
Parneo was no different. But the shadow over the boy was of a different texture. He realized faster than anyone that the Inferno was heading toward the main squad at the heart of the operation.
"……Lilia."
Without a moment's hesitation, the boy druid gathered divine power and shapeshifted into a black panther.
At a dizzying altitude where even the forest breeze felt as sharp as a freshly honed razor, a man shouldered a massive axe as he climbed the writhing roots.
The pile of World Tree roots had become far more treacherous than when Duncan had scaled them before.
Crack, craaaack…….
Due to the roots' partial destruction and loss of vitality, dried roots were crumbling off in clusters.
And the phenomenon was ongoing. Step on a root that tore loose by mistake, and you'd plummet inescapably into the abyss below. Moreover, hazy energy enveloped the area like fog, and the dark canopy blotting the sky blocked even sunlight, making it impossible to visually discern safe roots.
"……."
Yet Kadim remained composed.
He calmly extended his senses to detect flows, carefully selecting only root stems less swayed by the wind. Even if misfortune struck and his current root fell mid-climb……
Craaack, craaaaaack - !!
"Hup!"
Thud—wham!
……he leaped superhumanly, skipping dozens of meters to land on another. Then continued climbing as if nothing had happened.
Among wingless beings, few could ascend so swiftly and transcendentally. Thanks to that miraculous speed, the rift in the heavens, hidden amid the turbid energy, began to reveal itself bit by bit.
―――― Ku-gooong…….
However, fate did not permit the warrior an easy path to his goal.
A white flash bloomed without warning before his eyes.
Grooo—boom, kwarrrrruck - !!
Spheres a fathom wide collapsed inward and exploded. The moment embers grazed his forearm, unfamiliar agony surged as his flesh blackened and festered.
'Damn it…….'
Kadim roughly knew the nature of these flames. Before corruption could spread, he tore off the afflicted flesh and discarded it.
Sizzle—!
Hellfire wasn't just "red flames roaring with the scent of sulfur." Deeper in hell's core burned "white flames that decayed and incinerated anything they touched."
He remembered clearly. While devising ways to efficiently sweep away demon hordes against the great demon's army, Melissa had summoned a small amount of this pristine white hellfire.
And now, she unleashed it not at demons, but at him.
Grooo—boom! Grooo—boom! Grooo—boom!
―――― Kwarrrrrruck - !!
White hellfire orbs proliferated everywhere, detonating. He slid desperately beneath roots to evade. She must have judged that only a more lethal wound than last time would keep him from escaping that damned "dream."
No time to hesitate. If Melissa used other spells, countermeasures might prove impossible. Kadim kicked off a surface, switched roots, then leaped to another, breathlessly ascending toward the edge.
The silver lining: locked in combat with the dragon, she couldn't devote full power here.
―――― Ku-goong, ku-gooong - !
"……."
Beyond the fog below his feet, far more intense clashes raged than here. Taking solace in not being caught in that, he dodged hellfire and pressed on.
His mana sensitivity remained abysmal, making it hard to predict spell manifestations. But as he went, he grasped a pattern.
Grooo—boom, grooo—boom, kwarrrrrr - ! Grooo—boom!
'Four on the left and right of the previous path, then two large ones above and below right after, six small ones randomly, and the biggest straight ahead…….'
He'd advised her endlessly not to use spells in predictable patterns lest the enemy catch on…… yet she hadn't broken the habit. Or perhaps lack of leeway made her slip. Thanks to the reproduced old habit, Kadim reached the rift's threshold unscathed by hellfire once more.
―――――― Ku-gooong - !!
However, Melissa had heeded one old piece of advice.
Always prepare a weapon the enemy doesn't expect.
Groooooong, pa-chachachachang - !!!
If the enemy swings their sword honestly, hurl the stone you've hidden at their face.
Just before entering the rift, the world fragmented and mixed chaotically. As if his vision had been split into puzzle pieces and jammed randomly into place. The rift's gaps shattered into fragments scattered everywhere, blocking entry.
The mosaic-distorted world held not just real fragments. Scattered past shards revealed familiar moments.
'No matter how much I say, "Lea, leave," you must never go…… You have to stay by my side forever…….'
'……Yes, I won't go. I'm right here.'
'Why…… Why, after promising to stay by my side forever…… did you leave without a word…….'
'……I won't leave again now. I'm right here.'
'I will return, Melissa. No matter what.'
The strange part was, none of it felt unreal.
"……."
Hesilia's authority fused with the ultimate "spatial distortion magic." Senses and thoughts alike were warped, forcing acceptance of this world's logic. Just like the hyper-real illusions in the Magic Tower.
Yes, why was I trying to leave Melissa? After promising over and over not to go? Yes, I must return. Before it's too late, right now, hurry back to Melissa……
……No, that's not it.
This time, I'm not leaving Melissa.
It wasn't just her who'd prepared a hidden weapon. Kadim steeled his mind and activated "Akulanos's Tattoo."
Kwa-gagagagagaga - !
From the world's shards, monstrosities with beast heads grafted on surged. The "Indigestible Predator" that fed on mysteries bit into the distortion. Though a tough mystery it couldn't swallow immediately, it chewed relentlessly, tore off a chunk, and revealed the exit.
Crunch, craunch, craaunch! Burst—hup!
Beyond lay the fully assembled rift gap. Amid the torrent of demonic energy cascading like a waterfall, Kadim leaped without hesitation, hurling himself into the crevice.
――――― Ku-gooong - !
'Kaa…… dim…….'
A faint voice drifted from below, but he didn't look back. He clenched his fists until his knuckles whitened and resolute repeated to himself.
Chase me.
Come after me.
I'll reveal every truth you've hidden. I'll carve open your rotting heart and extract the "Melissa" within. Extinguish the flames steeped in madness, reclaim the pure, passionate girl magician, and return her to this world.
The one who made you
"……I'll be waiting in hell, Melissa."
Darkness eroded his senses.
He obsessively etched his body's form into his mind's eye. Bronze skin, thick arms and legs, shoulders and torso, waist, head, toes, sword and axe and tattoos. He withdrew the chill energy and firmly affirmed his own existence. And then.
"……."
It appeared.
A sight forbidden to the living.