Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: A Scene from Legend - 3
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Just as we entered the bustling streets, an enormous roar shook the earth.
Kugugugung.
Without anyone needing to say it first, we all turned toward the source of the sound.
We gaped in unison.
“The castle’s collapsing?”
Just as Neril said, the castle was indeed crumbling.
The scene was so utterly unreal that it barely stirred any emotions.
Shouts of astonishment rose from the territory’s residents all around.
“Huh? What the hell is that?”
“The castle...”
“Is Raynus Territory really done for? Is this the work of that necromancer too?”
“Wait. Look up there!”
The last person pointed toward the sky.
I followed their finger and lifted my head.
There, floating effortlessly in the air like birds soaring through the heavens, was a figure.
Neril stared blankly before speaking.
“An incredible mage.”
“You could do something like that too.”
“I could, but their mana control is so clean. How does a grand mage like that even exist in this era? Truly respectable...”
“That looks like Tibur.”
“...Not quite. Yeah.”
The mention of Tibur made me grimace.
Jenia spoke up.
“It’s just Tibur’s face. Some soul must have taken over that body—no doubt about it.”
“Tibur’s a holy knight, at least nominally. You think he’d just hand over his body that easily?”
“It was probably because he was disoriented after losing to us, but more than that, it’s because the soul is too strong. Strong enough to casually demolish a castle.”
That was when it happened.
As if deciding we’d gawked long enough, the one floating in the air—who looked like Tibur—suddenly spoke.
From the shape of his lips, it seemed like a whisper, but his voice boomed across the entire territory.
“Sorry, everyone, but lend me your strength.”
If sound waves were visible, it would’ve looked like a tidal wave crashing in.
Those with weaker constitutions nearby clutched their ears and collapsed.
“I need to borrow some of your power. I’m starving right now.”
With that, Tibur extended his hand.
Chaos erupted around us in an instant.
“W-what? My strength?”
“Ughhh.”
“Honey! Snap out of it!”
“I-I feel like I’m dying. Save me.”
Some bled from their eyes.
Some vomited.
Others clawed at their own faces with both hands.
One by one, the territory’s residents began to collapse.
‘I feel a bit heavier myself?’
As I tilted my head, Neril shouted.
“T-this magic!”
“What about it?”
“There was an old mage like that... Someone who could convert holy power and ki straight into mana.”
“...”
“That alone was shocking, but they could even turn people’s lifespans into mana.”
The word “lifespan” made me flinch.
It reminded me of how Jenia had resolved this in my previous life.
“A monstrous mage who steals lifespans and converts them all into mana. A mage who turns the mere act of gathering mana into the cruelest form of attack.”
“No way?”
“Yeah. That’s the guy who played a starring role against the Second Demon King, the Greed Demon King.”
Jenia muttered with a pale face.
“Iori Otics.”
Iori Otics’s greatest achievement was, naturally, helping the hero of that time slay the Greed Demon King.
But beyond that, he contributed to humanity’s progress in countless ways.
For instance, the communication orbs we carried were his invention.
The elemental deletion spell Neril used in the Avis Territory was also developed by Iori.
Amazed to see a legend in the flesh, I looked up at the sky again.
Neril spoke.
“You told me before, remember? ‘Who’s this Iori guy trying to show off to you?’”
“...”
“Could you say that now?”
“A hundred times over.”
Neril’s expression turned strange at my words.
Like she wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or not.
Jenia cut in grumpily.
“Do you two have to create that atmosphere right now?”
“What atmosphere?”
“Ugh. Whatever. So what do we do now?”
Uncharacteristically anxious, Jenia bit her nails.
When my response didn’t come right away, she racked her brain and came up with this.
“I do have a way.”
“No.”
“Ah, yeah. Figured as much. ...No, wait—you have to hear what it is!”
“You’re planning to use Great Purification, right?”
It was the exact incantation she’d used in my previous life.
Trail had asked if I’d been there, what I would’ve done.
I hadn’t answered then, but now I was being forced to.
Jenia’s face filled with shock.
“Y-you even know that?”
“I know everything except what I don’t.”
“Everyone’s like that.”
“Anyway, no purification. Don’t even try.”
Neril asked why.
“What’s purification?”
“It’s an incantation that reverts everything against the gods’ will back to how it should be. It’d expel Iori from Tibur’s body, end the ghost disturbances in this territory, and remove whoever’s possessing Marianna too.”
“A convenient spell like that—why not use it sooner? ...There must be a price.”
Neril was quick on the uptake, as always.
Jenia tried to play it off casually.
“What’s the big deal? Even the heavenly gods would cut us some slack.”
In my previous life, the slack they cut was her lifespan.
I spoke firmly.
“I’ll say it clearly one more time. Absolutely not.”
“M-Maide.”
“It’s even worse because we don’t know what it’ll take. What if it claims your lifespan as the price?”
“No way...”
“Anyway, no. Not now, not ever. Remember that.”
I worried I’d been too cold, but surprisingly, a warm smile spread across Jenia’s face.
She bowed her head lightly.
“Thank you, Maide.”
“Huh?”
“As expected of the hero I chose. So warm, even when you try so hard to act otherwise.”
“What are you talking about?”
She laughed and changed the subject.
“So, what’s your plan?”
“We take down Iori. Your holy sword can strike souls directly, right?”
“It can, but... We’re up against a hero from the Second Demon King era. And among all historical hero-tier figures, Iori Otics is always in the top ranks.”
Before answering, I glanced at Jenia and Neril.
Then I grinned and said.
“You two are heroes too.”
“...!”
“...”
“And there’s me, the hero. That’s a 3-on-1. If we lose here, we don’t deserve the titles.”
“We never claimed to be.”
Neril giggled as she said it.
She stepped forward and spoke.
“Fine. Truth is, I’ve always been curious. Just how amazing was this grand mage Iori that everyone reveres?”
“Is that so.”
“We’ll find out in a match. How close I got to him.”
Jenia seemed resolved too.
“No matter the legend, defying the gods’ will isn’t allowed. I’ll join you.”
“Good.”
“Then right now...”
Jenia drew her holy sword.
But I quickly stopped her.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh? Preparing for battle, obviously.”
“No. With a stage this grand set up, you can’t just fight plainly.”
“...”
“Let me ride Agril once.”
Neril pressed her forehead.
“You’re hopeless.”
Thanks for the compliment.
Tain was an ordinary woodcutter in Raynus Territory.
With the weather warming, firewood prices were dropping, so his finances were tight.
But today was lucky.
He’d gotten a few extra coins from a generous regular customer.
He planned to buy his precious daughter a nice lunch with it.
He’d just stepped out with her for that.
“Ughhh. Media. Please, snap out of it. Cough.”
The backlash from Iori’s lifespan absorption magic was far from minor.
It felt like your insides were being forcibly ripped out.
Especially for children—the shock could kill them outright, even if lifespan remained.
Tain himself was bleeding from the mouth, but he focused on his daughter.
“D-Dad. I’m cold.”
“Snap out of it. Please.”
“I’m so cold. Dad. Hold me...”
Tain hugged his daughter tightly.
Her body was ice-cold, like a frozen block.
Instinct told him her life hung by a thread.
“Oh god. Please.”
His lips moved on their own.
“Please, someone help us. Anyone.”
Anyone would do.
Even the cursed cobbler who’d tried to cheat him.
Even the so-called friend who shamelessly hadn’t repaid the loan.
Even his runaway wife or his drunken father.
He’d give up this worthless life a thousand times over—just save her.
“Please, help us!”
That was when it happened.
Whoosh.
A shadow suddenly fell over them.
He looked up without thinking, and there in the sky floated a massive monster.
Was that what a dragon from legends looked like?
Squinting, he saw someone standing near its head.
Arms crossed, glaring murderously at the man who caused this carnage.
Who was that?
‘No way?’
He’d heard the tales.
Right before marching to war from a neighboring territory, a hero who descended from the heavens on a bizarre creature and routed the army.
‘No. Not a hero.’
The hero—Maide.
He shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Hero Maide! Please, save us!”
And then.
The hero spoke in a deep, resonant voice.
It echoed across the entire territory, louder than the fiend’s earlier.
“In the name of Maide Mohan, I command you. Cease that wicked act at once, mage!”
“In the name of Maide Mohan, I command you. Cease that wicked act at once, mage!”
I shouted that and lightly fanned my hand.
[Don’t you feel embarrassed even a little?]
‘Shut up. This is a crucial moment.’
My face was already burning.
Neril made a weird humming noise.
“Hmm. He stopped the lifespan absorption. Guess he does mind you.”
“A true hero recognizes the Hero.”
“Wow. You’re probably the only one who’d say that to Iori.”
Then Jenia spoke.
“Are we fighting in the sky?”
“If he doesn’t come down, we have to. History books say Iori quite enjoyed aerial battles.”
“Yeah, he said it felt good stomping lowly monsters underfoot. Honestly, his skills are secondary—dirty personality on that old man.”
“You’ve gotten pretty cynical yourself. Good job.”
“Is that something to praise...?”
Then Neril said.
“Before we fight for real, we should check on the residents.”
“Hm?”
“Lifespan absorption has severe side effects. The sick or kids might die outright.”
My expression hardened.
Jenia panicked.
“I-I’m not a priest... I can’t heal an entire territory like this. What do we do?”
“It’s fine. We have this.”
I flicked the Withering Jewel.
Last time, Neril used it to cast elemental deletion over the whole territory.
Come to think of it, that spell was Iori Otics’s invention too.
Jenia quickly took it and held it to her holy sword.
“O Heavenly God. Extend your merciful hand—though, this is a Demon King’s jewel, so I’m not sure if it’s okay to pray with it!”
What kind of prayer is that?
Fortunately, the generous god answered.
The jewel was already just an amplifier, with no connection to the Demon King anymore.
The territory’s 2 million residents’ ki instantly converted into massive holy power.
Whoosh.
Jenia spun and swung her holy sword 360 degrees.
Soon, a warm golden light bathed the entire territory.
It settled into every fallen resident.
Watching closely, they all seemed fine.
Some were even foaming at the mouth and flailing their arms at us.
‘That’s enough appeal.’
[Yeah. Just take down that guy, and it’s a happy ending.]
‘I’ll take him down. Losing here would ruin the Hero’s reputation.’
I straightened my back as I said it.
That was when it happened.
Iori’s voice rang out.