Chapter 145
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Blue Flames and a Messenger Bird
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However, since accelerating that process inevitably caused damage to the body, pushing too hard could lead to permanent injury. That was why people didn't hastily break through those walls unless it was truly necessary.
In other words, if one had experience reaching the pinnacle of magic and an overflowing supply of mana—as long as their body could endure it...
Wuuuuuum!!!!!!!
The process of forming the circles wasn't all that important.
Besides, my body, already adapted once before, even shaped the circles in a form eerily similar to a necromancer's rings.
In an instant, seven rings materialized before merging into one, creating yet another ring around my heart.
Two rings were visible on the surface.
But the total number of rings was fourteen—seven pairs, each set a different color.
This was the result of compressing the necromantic mana rings, which had once filled my heart, down to a single layer.
The necromantic mana was a byproduct of the Thanatos phenomenon, but the elemental mana completed in a flash, as if some lingering influence remained.
"Done."
I circulated the gradually stabilizing elemental mana, gathering it at the tip of my index finger.
Fwoosh...
A pale orange flame flickered up like a lighter's spark, steadily intensifying until it began emitting a blue glow.
This wasn't combustion from gas—it was a pure shift in temperature.
At least 1,650 degrees.
"What is that?"
"High-heat fire, what else?"
Melissa's eyes sparkled with wonder as I conjured flames at the tip of each finger and changed their colors like playing piano keys.
"The color's shifting? I've never seen a blue flame before."
"The flame's color changes with its temperature."
I gradually enlarged the flames before forming a fireball above my palm.
Then, rolling it around in the air over my hand like a game of marbles, the fireball smoothed into a perfect glass orb, unleashing solar flare-like bursts.
"Pretty. How strong is it?"
In response to her question, I murmured a test incantation.
"[Rise and burn.]"
⟨ Word of Power ⟩
At the same moment, a strange transformation stirred within the fireball.
Curious if it would work, I hurled it toward a nearby straw dummy.
Fwaaaaa!!!
Blue flames instantly engulfed the dummy, wrapping it like a thin membrane.
Without a single explosion, it turned to black ash and scattered in the blink of an eye.
It was practically vaporization.
The Word of Power effect was undeniable, but control was still lacking.
It didn't seem safe to use recklessly until I mastered it like a true Authority.
"Insane. What the hell was that?"
Of course. It looked harmless on the surface, and Melissa had no idea this was 7th-circle magic enhanced with a Word of Power.
Cute effects hiding devastating power. As Melissa gaped, I repeatedly conjured, erased, and reshaped small blue orbs atop my ten fingers.
"Wait, but why elemental magic of all things?"
Doubt piled up on her face in real time.
"You've somehow handled necromancy, swordsmanship, that bizarre shapeshifting—now where'd you pick up magic?"
"Fortuitous encounter."
"That damn 'fortuitous encounter' again! If it's that good, why not keep it to yourself!?"
She looked ready to spew fire herself, her reaction hilariously explosive.
"Wanna learn?"
"Can I?"
"If it goes wrong, things get messy."
Melissa gave up instantly.
Of course, I had no intention of letting her quit.
The relationship between big brother and little sister was always a topic of discussion, but ours often involved tearing into each other.
In truth, Melissa and I had fought tooth and nail plenty of times, so her suffering was my joy.
"Urp... Uweeeck!"
As a test, I crammed the basics of magic into her, and she immediately complained of nausea.
It wasn't just the theory's complexity.
Melissa was plenty smart, despite appearances.
She picked up the theory quickly enough.
But.
The moment practice kicked in, her body—honed by aura refinement—rejected magic outright.
"How the hell do you handle both at once? Is this even humanly possible?"
"It's a constitution thing. Most people can't— that's normal."
"You knew that and still made me try?"
"Yeah."
"You mad bastard!"
She staggered up and threw a kick, but I effortlessly dodged her sluggish strikes.
As I leisurely evaded her furious assault, I scanned the active aura flowing through her body.
Not bad at all.
Truth be told, I'd been half-doubting at first.
It was true the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword suited her surprisingly well, but I hadn't been sure if she could master it in real combat.
Seeing such vibrant, domineering aura flow convinced me otherwise.
Of course, some might argue teaching her the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword robbed her of magic potential.
But I was certain magic would be a struggle for her.
Not for nothing had I called it a constitution issue.
Even if possible, she'd stall out at amateur level in both aura and magic.
Eventually, Melissa collapsed in exhaustion, and only then did I stop.
Today's teasing ends here.
No matter how satisfying the hits, you had to play nice to keep your toy intact.
As I gazed at the sky, stretching languidly—
Something dropped from above with a plop!
"Huh?"
What fell from the sky was a bird on the brink of death from exhaustion.
An Angler Bird.
A species specialized in long-distance flights, capable of covering vast distances in one go. Rare sights this far from the central continent's Bata Kingdom.
Had it lost its way as a migratory bird and flown here until it collapsed?
Not a bird you'd expect on this continent.
I carefully picked up the Angler Bird that had landed smack in the middle of the training grounds.
No telling how long it'd flown, but revival seemed impossible by normal means.
So I beckoned to Luna, who was yawning widely off to the side.
"Luna. Save this one."
At my request, Luna yawned with half-lidded eyes before casually flicking her hand.
Prismatic energies seeped into the Angler Bird's body. Moments later, the seemingly dead creature opened its eyes, sprang up, and looked around.
"An Angler Bird? What's an archipelago migrant doing here?"
"You know it?"
"Who doesn't? Famous bird. Loyal, great flier. One of the most popular pets around."
The Angler Bird glanced around, preened its feathers by tucking its beak into its wings, then scanned the ground intently before snatching something up and flying straight to me.
Some paper?
The paper bore a picture drawn in blood-red ink.
The Moon Watchers were primarily known as a continent-spanning criminal syndicate.
Their operations spanned multiple continents without discrimination, centered in the central region, but rumors abounded of someone in the eastern continent being murdered or vanished by them overnight.
Even major kingdoms listed the Moon Watchers as top-priority wanted criminals.
Yet no one truly knew their identity.
In short, they operated with utmost secrecy.
Which naturally raised questions.
How did they secure their funding?
Investigations of their victims never turned up evidence of robbery or looting—not once.
Yet they weren't hurting for cash either.
Without substantial backing somewhere, sustaining their bold operations would be impossible.
Not mercenaries taking contracts—so how?
It remained a hot topic of speculation among many.
Though the truth was known to precious few.
Beneath Windforce, the empire's premier luxury hotel, lay underground facilities unknown to regular guests.
Mostly wine cellars, ingredient storage, or supply warehouses—but one, past a hidden nook in a storeroom wall, revealed a new chamber.
"Looks like everyone's here."
A robed man at one end of a large table rapped it twice, drawing the eyes of the dozen or so gathered there.
Among them was Merrill Daina, who'd crossed paths with Leon in Bern Territory before, and Rebecca, rising star of the Heracles Mercenary Corps who'd since joined their ranks.
"Some of you might know her, others not—but we've got a lead on our search target."
"Search... You mean you've found that child?"
"Yes. Everything rides on her survival. Rescuing her before they kill her will greatly advance our plans."
Most seemed to grasp the situation, but Rebecca and a few others looked lost.
"Um... Who are we looking for?"
"The leader once ordered us to track down a certain child."
"Not kill?"
Rebecca's innocent question left her senior, Merrill Daina, flustered.
"Were you always like this?"
"N-No, that's not—!"
Rebecca waved her hands frantically, defending herself.
"Weren't all our missions kills so far? Sure, they were scum who deserved it, but..."
"Not this time. This one's worth slaughtering everyone around her to save."
"Must be important."
"Very."
Merrill sighed.
"Leon Cascadia."
The name hit like a thunderbolt; Rebecca flinched.
"You've heard he's more dangerous than anyone?"
"...Yes."
Only after joining did Rebecca learn those chilling sky-blue eyes from her memories belonged to Leon.
Why hadn't she realized? No—why had someone like him turned out that way?
Her knowledge was fragmented recollections.
Most members here shared the same fragmented memories, they said.
Only a rare few retained full ones.
Which left the question burning.
What on earth had turned him into that?