Chapter 107
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: The Ancient Mist Beast
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“It's obviously someone from the Holy Kingdom. To interfere even slightly with an angel's halo—no, a great angel's halo—requires divine power on the level of a high-ranking priest.”
“You heard that, right? I've seen something similar a few times myself.”
Leon asked again.
“Who is it? The one who contracted with you.”
At the question, Dorn, slumped there with a hollow expression, let out a smirk.
“Ha. Do I have any reason to tell you?”
“If you refuse, at least you won't die nicely.”
“You'd better not listen. The moment you hear it, the threats against you will multiply.”
“Are you worried about that?”
“Of course. You're my enemy, after all. They called him Varil of the Holy Kingdom. That's all I know.”
At the calm reply, Leon raised his ghost blade without hesitation.
“Wait just a moment, Young Master Leon.”
It was then. Merrill Dyna of the Lunar Watch—who had been tending to the people collapsed outside the rift—made her appearance.
“What is it?”
“It'll only take a second. I have something to ask Prince Dorn.”
“...Very well.”
Merrill Dyna belonged to the Lunar Watch, the assassination unit. Yet she had firmly believed the prince was no evildoer.
He had been her charge, after all.
So the shock must have hit her hard.
“When I first heard the stories about you, I didn't believe them. I was convinced you weren't the type.”
“Ha. Sir Merrill, is it?”
Leon turned his head toward Luna, ignoring their exchange.
His face registered surprise.
“What are you doing?”
Luna had wrapped her eyes in cloth.
“Can't look. Not right now.”
Something in her answer must have clicked for him.
Leon strode over and yanked away the haphazard pile of fabric she'd thrown on.
“Ugh!”
His strength felt far greater than before, and her panic left her unable to resist.
At last, her eyes—shimmering with milky-way blue—were revealed. Leon's own eyes slowly widened.
Then he turned his head.
Was it something grotesque?
Luna flinched, staring at him in shock.
Of course, the misunderstanding cleared up soon enough.
“Pretty eyes.”
“The most reassuring thing I've heard lately.”
Luna wrapped her arms around him silently from behind.
Leon simply stood there in silence.
“Why did you do it?”
Dorn's neutralized voice echoed lowly.
“I'm human too.”
With that, bitter resentment filled his gaze.
“Even if I returned to the past, I wouldn't regret this choice. No—I'd prepare even more thoroughly.”
Remorse wasn't on the table. Humans were selfish beasts at heart.
“Now then, kill me.”
Leon shook his head at the request.
“Someone else holds a grudge against you too. I'll leave you to them.”
“Ha... haha. You, overflowing with talent—you couldn't possibly understand.”
“Sorry, but questioning my talent is an insult.”
If I had talent, I wouldn't have rotted away trapped for so long.
At that instant, something pierced the rift's massive energy currents at blinding speed—and swallowed Dorn whole in one gulp.
The ancient magic beast known as Mist was relatively docile compared to others, so a deliberate rampage like this seemed unlikely.
From Mist's perspective, the creature that had roused it from quiet dormancy and driven it mad held no goodwill.
Leon watched as Dorn scattered into bloodied chunks without even resisting.
Good thing Melissa made it out of the rift.
“But... what now? Forget Prince Dorn—that magic beast looks seriously dangerous.”
The humanoid clump of fog emitted a silent scream, madly venting its rage on the crown prince's corpse.
“Hm... Something like a high-explosive bomb would be perfect.”
At Leon's mutter, Luna scooped up the fallen red halo and handed it over.
“No more power transfer via contract possible. But this alone is bomb enough. Collide the energies with vast death mana.”
“W-Wait! I heard fog monsters like Mist are immune to most physical attacks—not to mention impossible to even pin down!”
“Hm?”
Leon glanced at Merrill.
“Even if you pin down its true form with some special trick, finding the core inside is next to impossible. One slip, and you'll end up trapped within the Mist itself...”
Merrill had clearly done her homework on ancient monsters.
But Luna and Leon merely exchanged a glance. When Leon stared straight into her eyes, she bashfully looked away.
“Core. Can you handle it?”
“Piece of cake.”
“Good enough.”
Luna grimly hefted the Halo of Judgment and poured her power into it.
“One shot, and that Mist explodes. Handle it before everyone trapped in this fog space syncs up. Otherwise, they might stay bound here like the local monsters—even after the space vanishes.”
Leon had harbored the same suspicion.
In a flash, he lunged—and seized the Mist's oblivious main body.
“How did you grab the mist's true form?!”
Ignoring Merrill's stunned shout, Leon—hand wreathed in black currents—clamped down on the Mist. Without pause, he overcharged the Halo of Judgment and jammed it straight into the core.
“Tracking you down took forever back then. Mutant or not, the structure's burned into my brain.”
With those words—
BOOM!
Something detonated massively inside it.
For all its condensed might, Mist's true body—and especially its core—was fragile beyond measure.
No telling how a mere magic beast like Mist had amassed such power. But it couldn't endure the Halo's blast. It spewed radiant bursts from every inch and detonated.
WHOOOOOOSH!!!
Its bound energies whipped into a vortex, scattering everywhere. The grip on those sucked in but not yet attuned loosened, ejecting them beyond the space.
Leon eyed his half-transparent hand.
“Let's go home.”
The festive mood in Bernier Territory—buoyed by the prince's wedding—had turned profoundly grim.
“Hic... sniffl...”
“No! No! What are we gonna do if you leave us like this!”
“My daughter... I can't find my daughter! Please, somebody—find her for me!!”
Every street held people clutching corpses, sobbing uncontrollably.
Sadness and the stench of death hung over the territory. The departed souls had moved on to the wheel of reincarnation cleanly enough—but the dead stayed dead.
The silver lining: it had all unfolded inside the fog maze, leaving outer buildings untouched.
The maze had formed centuries ago, yet mirrored Bernier Territory's layout perfectly. Mist's power was nothing short of miraculous.
Festivalgoers. Locals. Noble retainers.
Victims dotted the landscape thickly enough.
“Over 200 dead. Full-blown disaster.”
A few owed their lives to my undead. Others lucked into safe zones fast. The rest? Cold corpses—or worse, not even that.
“Tragic.”
“You saved Farrell Berly before, didn't you?”
“Only hits specific conditions. This? No dice.”
Melissa nodded at my words.
She glanced at Luna, who was avoiding eye contact, then whispered to me.
“Her eyes suddenly open, and...?”
“Some fluke in there, apparently. She doesn't seem thrilled about it.”
What went down in that orb? No clue. But nothing pleasant.
Her presence had shifted subtly since her eyes opened, too.
“Luna.”
“Yes?”
“Your eyes.”
Melissa mentioned them matter-of-factly. Luna's widened.
“Pretty.”
Luna blinked blankly—then smiled faintly.
“You siblings really do take after each other.”
“You're nuts?”
“Take it back right now? Comparing me to that bald dino freak?”
She giggled as we siblings lost it.
“Got a ton of questions, but timing's off. We'll talk en route.”
Melissa glanced toward her friend's room.
No hiding Prince Dorn as the mastermind.
Someone had witnessed the betrayal, after all.
Betrayed overnight by the man she loved. Nearly killed.
The shock hit hard—she'd wailed her heart out the moment she came to.
“What happens now?”
“What changes? Their fault, no wedding even happened—back to business as usual.”
Had it been post-ceremony, maybe trouble. But pre? Smooth sailing.
Social circles would buzz annoyingly, sure—but the imperial side wasn't downplaying it. Word was, they were clamping down on loose lips.
“I said my goodbyes. Count Bernier and his wife should arrive soon.”
With news of their daughter and the territory calamity, the couple was rushing back post-haste. They'd comfort her.
Melissa looked bitter—not being there in her friend's darkest hour. Still, she figured overstaying her unplanned extension wasn't feasible.
In that brief stay, Luna toured the territory, healing the wounded. I trailed her wordlessly.
We caught murmurs of “high priestess” and “saintess”—standard mix-up for healers.
Not that I'd deny it: Luna's recovery prowess outstripped even Saintess Nadia Ten Lilibel.
Bearer of divine stigmata, loved by the gods? Her healing shattered all norms.
Her revelation had garnered rave reviews, too.
“Welcome. Where to?”
“Cascadia, please.”
My answer made Melissa—who'd planned for nearby Badel—tilt her head.
“What's that about?”
“You'll see.”
“Connecting now.”
The attendant mage—already briefed via handover—linked to Cascadia without fuss, conjuring a massive gate.
“Safe travels.”