Chapter 532: Traces of a Past Life (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 532: Traces of a Past Life (2)
Thirty years ago.
A man who went by the name Sebastian—long before he became known as the Leader of the Maron Cult—witnessed a truly spine-chilling sight.
Thud.
"Agh?!"
He gasped in shock.
A book had suddenly dropped right in front of him.
One might ask what was so special about a falling book, but the problem was that it had appeared entirely out of thin air. Sebastian looked up at the sky with a bewildered expression. There was absolutely nowhere a book could have fallen from in that empty space. No matter how much he rationalized it, the reality of what he had just witnessed remained unchanged.
He picked up the book.
He felt an inexplicable compulsion to do so. Upon returning home, he placed the tome on his desk and sank into deep thought.
"What should I do with this?"
He couldn't tell the world.
Sebastian was a logical man. He knew that if he spoke of what he had witnessed, he would be treated like a madman. After all, there was zero scientific evidence to prove the book's origin. If he claimed it was special based solely on his own anecdotal experience, he would be no different from a patient muttering to themselves in a psychiatric ward.
In the end, he kept the book's existence a secret.
The primary reason was his inability to prove its origins, but his interest had also been intensely piqued the moment he laid eyes on the cover.
"It's a completely new language system. Could it be extraterrestrial?"
As it happened, Sebastian was a linguist.
He was a man who found profound joy in language itself. Fascinated by the unfamiliar script, Sebastian began analyzing it from that day forward. Honestly, he didn't think it was something he could accomplish alone. Linguistics is a deeply complex field of study; even if countless brilliant minds put their heads together, a perfect translation is often impossible.
Then, he found the final section.
The moment he examined its contents, Sebastian felt his breath catch in his throat.
"...What on earth is this?"
The bulk of the book contained a lengthy, indecipherable record.
However, the final section was organized like a Rosetta Stone, explicitly explaining the language system itself. This meant the book was intentionally designed to convey its contents to 'people who do not understand the language.' Goosebumps erupted across his skin. From then on, he became completely obsessed. He pored over the final section, striving to comprehend the language's fundamental structure.
Sebastian had capable colleagues.
He could have asked for their help, but he selfishly wanted this translation to remain solely his own achievement.
One year.
Two years.
Three years.
Thus, time flowed by.
Even with the provided guide, deciphering a completely alien language was a daunting task. But as the years piled up, the sentences slowly began to make sense to Sebastian's eyes.
At the time, he had no idea.
He had no idea that inside this book lay records of things that modern society could never accept.
* * *
The title of the book read:
[In Honor of the Great Hero's Achievements.]
It was a title that made his heart swell.
As he deciphered more and more sentences, Sebastian read through the book's contents while the years flew by in a flash.
Author: Henry Albert.
Rustle.
He turned the page.
With every page turned, years of Sebastian's life melted away.
[On the Salamander Continent where we reside, there once existed a great hero. We all strive never to forget his existence. As someone who personally witnessed the great hero's life, I wish to leave a record of him, if only through this book.]
Rustle.
[He was born as the eldest son of Baron Dmitry's family. Though they were a reasonably well-known family in the northeast region, Cairo itself was a weak nation, so no one paid attention to his movements. It was from then on that the hero's journey began. Starting with the subjugation of the Blood Fang, who oppressed the people of his fief...]
Rustle.
[The civil war of Cairo. Marquis Benedict's men were all slaughtered. It was a truly shocking outcome. King Daniel Cairo lacked the ability to resolve the civil war himself, but by making the single choice to trust him, he succeeded in wiping out the rebel forces. That day, blood flowed like a river. Countless lives were lost. Though it was also proven on the Southern Front, people clearly learned what kind of person he was through that battle. He was an existence that never forgave an enemy. Just as Barco was destroyed overnight, the moment one opposed him, keeping one's life became impossible...]
Rustle.
[Who could have known? Who could have known that the eldest son from the frontier would declare war against Valhalla and Kronos, the two giants of the continent? I believed in him firmly, but back then, no one could accept his actions as common sense. Yet, he proved it with results. He severed the head of Valhalla's emperor, revealing the truth to the entire world...]
Rustle.
[Emperor Alexander. The specter of the past met his death in that manner. It would have been impossible without him, but we could not rest easy just yet. The Demon Realm! The demons of the Demon Realm were constantly eyeing our world. Humanity stood on the brink of destruction, and Emperor Alexander's death did not grant peace to the world. Then, one day, he spoke to us. He declared that he would cross over to the Demon Realm himself and conquer it.]
With every page turned, the wrinkles on Sebastian's face multiplied.
At first, he thought he was learning about a real, undiscovered world. But gradually, Sebastian began to view the book's contents as a mere fantasy novel. It made no sense. Magic and Aura existed in the world described by the book, and monsters and demons appeared to slaughter people.
Only after a whopping ten years had passed did Sebastian finally reach the last page.
[The world regained peace. It was all his doing, but he suddenly vanished from the world. The reason I record his biography in this book is not merely to reminisce about his great achievements. The Saintess said that he exists somewhere beyond the dimensions. I, Henry Albert, shall scatter his great achievements across the dimensions. If anyone reads the contents of this book, keep this in mind: if he exists in your world, kneel and bow your head. If you enter his embrace, you will be granted absolute peace, but the moment you oppose him, you will face unbearable ruin. And I have one earnest request.]
Reaching beyond the book, the author spoke to an unknown reader.
Henry Albert's pen, carving the letters deeply into the parchment, conveyed the collective will of his people.
[Using this book as a medium, guide us to your world. We still cherish his memory and wish to be his people. Finally, his name is...]
The end.
The moment he checked the most crucial part, Sebastian's expression crumpled.
[The great hero is #$@#@#$#@$.]
His name.
It was damaged.
* * *
Ten years of his life.
It felt so futile.
Sebastian had failed to find out the hero's name. In truth, even if he had, he would have brushed it off as a well-crafted fantasy novel. There were famous novels that had once taken the world by storm where the author had constructed an entire language system from scratch. Although the book suddenly appearing out of thin air certainly proved there was something extraordinary about it, as a decade passed, he began to doubt whether what he had experienced was actually real.
He stepped out onto the street carrying the book.
He intended to reveal his findings to his fellow linguists, if only to prove that his ten years of effort had not been entirely meaningless.
Just then—
Rumbleeeeeee!
[Listen, humans.]
The Great Disaster began.
The world turned into a living hell.
The Absolute appeared and completely altered the laws of reality, and countless people met their deaths during the first Great Disaster. Sebastian barely survived his brush with death, clutching the book tightly to his chest. Back then, he couldn't even gather his thoughts. What on earth was happening? Why did humanity have to experience such an absurd apocalypse?
Twenty years ago, even after experiencing the Great Disaster firsthand, modern society could not accept the reality before their eyes.
In the midst of that chaos, new existences appeared.
Awakened beings who would come to be called Hunters emerged, and among them were the Inheritors and Chosen Ones born with special abilities.
The world underwent a cataclysmic change.
At the very moment a new system was being established, Sebastian heard something unbelievable.
"I have inherited the power of Chris, the Flash of Dmitry."
The Inheritors.
They openly spoke of their new powers.
Samuel, currently an S-rank Hunter in Spain, performed spectacular feats and revealed that his power originated from 'Chris.' The problem was that Sebastian knew exactly who Chris was. In the biography recorded by Henry Albert, several figures who followed the great hero were mentioned, including Chris, the Flash of Dmitry, and Kevin, the Evil Ghost of Dmitry. When Sebastian watched the video of Samuel fighting, he knew this was no coincidence.
And that wasn't all.
One after another, Inheritors of Dmitry began to appear.
Though most of them had inherited the powers of mere common soldiers, their existence proved that 'Dmitry' was not a fictional world.
Goosebumps broke out across his skin once again.
He stared down at the book with a dazed look.
"...Could it be that all of this was true?"
Henry Albert's records.
The hero's existence.
He could no longer deny it.
Was all of this just a coincidence?
This book had been given to him ten years before the Great Disaster struck, and the very moment he finished deciphering it, the Great Disaster began. And as fate would have it, the man who had obtained the book was a linguist capable of translating its alien language.
The puzzle pieces fit together perfectly.
It felt like divine revelation.
Sebastian had been a staunch atheist, but with his emotions swelling to the brim, he had no choice but to believe in the existence of a higher power.
"Oh, dear God."
The book—no, the Scripture—said:
When the specter of the past, Emperor Alexander, plotted to conquer the continent, the hero united humanity and defeated him. And when the shadow of the Demon Realm loomed over the world, he boldly invaded the Demon Realm's territory, achieving the impossible feat of conquering it—something never permitted to human strength.
This time would be no different.
Dealing with the Absolute?
He would be able to do it.
He would save this chaotic world.
Faith welled up within Sebastian's heart.
He believed blindly.
The problem was that a prerequisite was needed.
To know if the hero existed in this world, and if he did not, to summon him here...
His name was absolutely necessary.
* * *
At first, there was no way to find it, because the text was already damaged.
But absurdly enough, the new world presented Sebastian with a solution.
"It is possible with Restoration Magic."
The mages.
They manifested extraordinary abilities.
Instead of just freely manipulating fire and wind, they resolved realistically impossible tasks with the single word 'magic.' The mage who used Restoration Magic was no different. Sebastian immediately requested his services, and the mage, placing the Scripture before his eyes, drew up his mana.
Whoosh!
Mana flared up.
The mage began to sweat profusely.
It was still the early days of the Great Disaster. The mage, whose skills were not yet outstanding, had to pour his entire being into restoring just a few letters.
Time flowed agonizingly slowly.
To Sebastian, who watched with anxious eyes, it felt as if time had stopped completely.
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
The second hand moved.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes.
When five minutes had passed in that manner, the damaged letters reacted to the mage's mana.
Thrum.
The characters floated into the air.
They tangled and twisted, then settled into place accompanied by a brilliant flash of light.
Flash.
Gleam.
The world brightened.
It felt as if he would go blind.
When the light finally subsided, Sebastian witnessed a great moment that would be recorded in human history.
"Ah..."
The name had been restored.
The great hero.
The name that all of humanity had desperately yearned for in the world where Henry Albert lived.
"Lord Maron!"
Not Roman.
Maron Dmitry.
Sebastian prostrated himself flat before the Scripture.
It was the very moment of the birth of the Maron Cult, which would worship Maron Dmitry—the hope of humanity who would sustain the world for the next twenty years.