Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Great Warrior Kahareper (3)
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*
“Cough...!”
The explosive divine power coursing through his bloodstream had cleanly healed his wounds, but Fernandez’s condition was worsening instead. The mortal flesh couldn’t handle the overload of divinity, which now rampaged wildly inside him.
Blood poured from his throat.
-Shing.
With trembling hands, Fernandez sheathed Beitasser’s key-sword at his waist. It was the first time he’d used it since obtaining it in Kadan’s sanctuary, and he had no desire to ever wield it again.
‘Kadan lost her divinity and used this sword to compensate... It truly isn’t a weapon for mortals.’
-Almost evaporated there.
‘Too bad.’
Feizashi Wildcast chuckled darkly at Fernandez’s words. Fernandez drove the greatsword of the Dain King into the ground and steadied his stance.
-Thud, thud, thud.
His heart was still pounding fiercely. Blood vessels burst from the pressure in his bloodstream, red veins bulging across his skin. With bloodshot eyes, Fernandez looked down at the fallen Kahareper.
The great warrior, cleanly bisected from torso to legs, stared up at him, his breathing replaced by the flickering runes embedded in his body.
[You’re no son of Mumto after all.]
“That’s right.”
[Why would a mortal, a living being, impersonate one of his? The three pharaohs of the wasteland will all hunt your head. What do you stand to gain?]
Kahareper was utterly powerless. His body was being corroded by the key-sword’s divinity. Panting, Fernandez approached him.
“I was hoping your kings would come after me.”
[Seeking suicide?]
“Ha, as if. They’re idiots. Too stupid to kill me.”
[...Insolent fool.]
The great warrior glared at him for a moment with eyes blazing like fire. But that was all he could do.
[...Still. I salute you. To surpass me with a mage’s body...]
Yes. It had been a battle laced with tricks and deception, but a victory was a victory. Fernandez rubbed his throbbing throat and thought. Without the blessing of immortality, how many defeats would he have suffered?
But he possessed immortality. He didn’t know how much remained, but for now, he still held his most powerful trump card.
If he could use it more efficiently and precisely, Fernandez was willing to hurl his body, soul, and life into the fray as one of his discarded words.
“Tell me your story, great warrior.”
[My story?]
“You’re going to vanish anyway. And I need a moment to rest.”
His body wasn’t in normal condition. He needed rest to restore its functionality. Fernandez sat down hesitantly beside the fallen Kahareper.
[Hmm, very well. Sharing stories with one’s worthy foe after a duel... If I were alive and we had liquor here, it would be perfect.]
“We’ve got enough atmosphere already.”
Fernandez sheathed the greatsword and snapped his fingers. The surroundings had been utterly devastated by the fierce battle, but with a crackle, flames reignited around the extinguished campfire.
Catching his breath, he felt a cool breeze pleasantly cooling his overheated body. The night sky was filled with clusters of stars and the Milky Way.
Kahareper turned his head to gaze at the heavens. Fernandez uncorked his canteen beside him.
[My throat burns.]
“Don’t you lack a physical throat?”
[A spiritual thirst. Our souls are forever plagued by thirst and hunger. Some comrades even lost their minds because of it. Chewing flesh or swallowing fluids brings no sensation.]
“Is your sanity intact?”
[In this twisted world, how many truly possess sound minds? They all just mask their madness with decorum. Are you any different?]
“...No, I’m not.”
Fernandez mulled over his words for a moment before taking a sip from the canteen. Less than half remained. A Religiosa Demonica’s body offered some resistance to dehydration, but it wasn’t invincible.
Hunger and thirst weren’t mere desires. Prolonged, they would cause immediate functional decline. Yet Fernandez tilted the canteen toward Kahareper’s mouth.
-Gulp.
“Not meant as mockery.”
[I know. A meaningless but valuable gesture. Thank you. Will you help me sit up?]
“Of course.”
Fernandez swung the greatsword wide and plunged it firmly into the ground. With a powerful grip, it dug in deep. He dragged Kahareper’s shattered upper body and propped it against the blade.
[Thank you. Perfect. Now the sky is fully in view.]
He stared silently at the night sky for a while. His body was slowly crumbling. The countless ancient incantations etched into him were the only anchors holding his flesh together.
[The moon and stars still shine as they did back then, but this land is warped and corrupted. I hope this barren mound of dirt isn’t the last sight we behold—that grasslands may bloom again on this earth, and our descendants may frolic upon them.]
“Did your king feel the same?”
[...At least I did.]
The pharaoh’s heart had overflowed only with ambition. Kahareper let out a mental bitter laugh.
[Do you have a loved one?]
“I did.”
[I did too. A woman who couldn’t overcome the cold madness of my dead body. I buried her myself.]
“Do you believe in a god?”
[Raparata.]
“...Shild.”
The sun god Raparata of the ancient pantheon. Now one of the high seats in the Holy Pantheon of Good Gods. Fernandez unwound his rosary, wrapped it around his wrist, and let it dangle before Kahareper’s eyes.
-Clink.
“Shall we pray?”
[A priest?]
“Now, yes.”
[Haha. Your true nature intrigues me. Black mage, priest, and warrior...]
He clacked his jaw in laughter. Then, in a low whisper:
[May the souls of those fallen on this land of death reach Your halls.]
“Holy Pantheon, grant Your blessing.”
[Grant Your blessing. May those poor souls find abundance in Your embrace.]
“Mumto Supe Laudo.”
Fernandez closed his eyes quietly and wound the rosary. Clink, clink. The chains rustled softly.
“I don’t want to let you go.”
It was a sudden whim. Fernandez felt a kinship with this dead spirit. With the man who had to kill his beloved with his own hands.
The fierce battle, swords aimed at each other’s lives, had ultimately been a struggle for their respective ideals. Fernandez gazed at the specter with somber eyes.
“Your prayer won’t be answered.”
[...What?]
“You know it. The spirit realm of this great wasteland belongs to Mumto. Your lover’s soul was likely dragged into his domain. No matter how exalted a deity Shild is, the sealed gates of the Holy Pantheon cannot be breached on this land.”
[How dare you!!]
-Clack!
Kahareper ground his jaw fiercely. His eyes blazed with rage and shock. Fernandez met his gaze unflinchingly.
“You asked my purpose. My goal is Mumto’s death. An eternal death.”
[...?]
“To permanently strip away the magic that devours this land. That is my aim, Kahareper, great warrior of the Sangahsit Empire. Don’t you wish to see wildflowers bloom here again, young souls frolicking across this earth?”
Fernandez’s voice echoed low through the night air.
“I can make it happen. And with your help, it would be all the easier.”
[...You can kill Mumto?]
“And free all the souls he has ensnared.”
[How?]
“By offering the lives of the three kings, your pharaohs, as sacrifice. I’ll open the gate to the Necropolis. Remove the great seal and enter to claim his life myself.”
[Why should I trust you?]
“Would you rather die here and be bound once more to Mumto’s spirit realm? Lose yourself and repeat a life as a mere puppet?”
[...]
Kahareper stared at Fernandez in silence for a long while. The crackling of the dying campfire filled the quiet.
Soon, his head turned toward the night sky.
[What must I do?]
“Return to your pharaoh’s side and serve as his confidant. Until I light the signal fire. Until I stand before the pharaoh and take his head.”
[For a member of the great Triarch to play the spy... A lamentable fate.]
“The pharaoh’s ambitions are meaningless. Your king seeks only to sate his lust for dominion. But you and I are different, aren’t we?”
“Yes... Yes, you’re right.”
-Clack.
Kahareper clacked his jaw once and turned to look at Fernandez. Slowly, he raised his one intact arm toward him.
[Am I to become your puppet now?]
“No. A friend.”
-Clasp.
Fernandez gripped Kahareper’s forearm. Kahareper gripped his in return. Strong power flowed through their tightly clasped arms.
A bond was forged.
-Whoosh.
Black flames flickered behind Fernandez’s head. With one hand, he swiftly formed seals. At the same time, Kahareper’s shattered body began to slowly knit back together.
“I too buried my beloved with my own hands. Friend. An innocent, pure child.”
[You had a child?]
“The blessing of my final years. I was always lacking as a father to that child.”
“All parents feel that way toward their offspring. You live to turn back the past as well.”
“No. I’m turning it back.”
Fernandez rose and pulled Kahareper up. Kahareper’s broken lower body mended, allowing him to steady himself.
He was a giant nearly two heads taller than Fernandez. Fernandez looked up at his restored body and said.
“I’m in the midst of turning it back.”
[I’ll gladly join you, friend. Your name?]
“Fernandez Cerned.”
[Mine is Kahareper Kemet Kasht. I shall be your dagger from now on.]
Thank you. Fernandez nodded quietly. Feizashi whispered in his ear.
-Good silver tongue. You talked a spy into the fold. Things just got easier.
‘It was sincere.’
-Sincerity is just one tool to exploit.
Feizashi snickered. I never commit to just one play. But Fernandez didn’t respond to his mockery.
*