Chapter 44
Chapter 44
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: The Land Where God Revives, Infermer (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
*
-Hwoooong.
Fernandez forced his blurring vision, clouded by fatigue and pain, to focus as he placed his hand on the crumbling scales of Abelesas. The remnant of the god in his embrace throbbed.
He believed it was possible. He believed it would work. Fernandez murmured to himself as he slowly formed the hand seals. The circuits of the Bronze Throne, pushed to their limits, struggled even to channel a single thread of mana.
Only one chance. A second attempt was impossible. Whether mana, stamina, or the situation—every indicator pointed to the worst.
Just take her remains and retreat. He couldn’t tell if it was Peizashi’s voice or his own survival instinct whispering. His hearing had already failed him.
‘The flesh is expendable.’
Unlike his previous life, death held no threat for him now. Fatigue and pain no longer posed a danger to his life.
-Thump.
The pulsing wasn’t his heart—it had to be the remnants of the grand spell Gaimeorn had woven below. His trembling hand traced patterns in the air. One stroke. Again. Another stroke.
As the hand seal formed, a black halo ignited behind his head. Flickering faintly, as if on the verge of extinction. Slowly. Its meaning was [Substitution]. From foundational magitech theory, the incantation to create something through mana.
Sunk into a trance-like state, he barely registered what he was doing. His experience. His instincts conjured the magic on their own. With trembling hands, without pause.
-Fwoosh.
The shadows from the halo spread wider, taking the full form of a crown. Pertus. In his past life, it was the moniker he’d been called when casting spells. Pertus of the Thorn Crown.
My old friend. Absurdly, in that moment, Fernandez wondered if he could lead him in this reborn life. They hadn’t been close friends. If anything, they’d spent more years as enemies.
This life would be different. Yes. If he could save anyone. If he could feel hope in their salvation, that his own salvation might come through it.
My son. If you could breathe while looking at me again. If you could look at me, laugh, chatter, eat, and drink once more. And if your life could be fulfilled. Unlike the past, not a world of battlefields and death, but one where I could show you something better.
Then I would gladly dip my feet in hell and walk through it smiling.
Fernandez’s trembling hand formed the second seal. [Construct]. Without pause, once more. [Ring]. Again. [God].
Uroboros. The foolish dragon from legend that tried to devour its own tail. Fernandez’s magic slowly drew a circle, manifesting the legend.
His hand trembled in the air, then stopped. His strength was finally spent. Fernandez’s body swayed, his hand slowly falling.
In that instant, amid his fading vision, a pale white hand appeared and enveloped his scarred, rough one. Slender fingers intertwined with the hand that had traced the air. At that cold touch, Fernandez’s hearing snapped back.
[You merely lead. I shall follow.]
New mana seeped into the crumbling circuits of the Bronze Throne. Fernandez’s hand finally drew the last stroke. [Compass]. A compass to transcend legend and revive a god.
*
Gaimeorn’s flagship. The elven king’s palace that had floated across the seas. Now more than half-sunk below the waves, far beneath its original waterline. From the sanctuary at the heart of the hull, light poured out.
The grand spell the elven king had prepared for two thousand years. The ritual that had devoured all his spirit and mana was destroyed and burning.
The spell wedges Fernandez had driven in blackened the magic circle, setting it ablaze.
[Substitution] [Construct] [Ring] [God] [Compass]
The magic from the five hand seals reacted with the wedges, and the massive magic circle fully ignited—
The form of Uroboros swirled across the floor and burst.
*
There was no dramatic change, no sound. No light. Eyes half-lidded now fully relaxed, Fernandez stood silently.
The spell was complete. Abelesas, wrapped in wings around his body, slowly closed her eyes and felt the power rising within her.
It worked. Truly. Abelesas felt Fernandez collapsing against her shoulder. Her cold bones now began to sense the boy’s hot flesh.
How could such a small, fragile life possess such will, such strength? Humans had always filled Abelesas with awe. With their weak, tiny bodies, they always wrought miracles.
[Rest easy. Fernandez. I’ll handle what comes behind you.]
A remnant of the elven god? No, this was no mere remnant. Weak and crumbling though it was, this was the god the elves had once worshipped. The goddess of mercy, ‘Melisildur’. One of the three fate goddesses who guarded the World Tree.
During the War in Heaven, Abelesas had known her as well. A rare non-human god who hadn’t opposed humans.
A soft glow blanketed the deck in pure white. An overwhelming presence filled Infermer’s harbor, centered on the tilting deck.
-Kurrrung...
The vibration erupted from Gaimeorn’s flagship. Vampires, elves, and the humans watching the harbor battle—all trembled and bowed before the god’s descent.
At the shortest, thirty years since the pantheon sealed its gates. At the longest, two thousand years since the elven gods vanished. It was the moment the elves’ numb, faded faith, cooled since the War in Heaven, was revived.
Abelesas sensed the presence approaching before her eyes. A warm, comforting spirit filled her heart.
[Hello, Melisildur. My old friend.]
[Good to see you, Abelesas. My friend.]
[What a ridiculous situation, isn’t it? Two dead beings chatting and laughing in the material world like this.]
At her words, she felt Melisildur laugh.
[My friend, Abelesas. Will you lend me your body for a moment? I have words for my children.]
[Gladly.]
Like fading Abelesas, Melisildur too was on the brink of existential death. The age of myths had ended. Two thousand years was far too long to survive in this barren material world with shattered divinity.
Abelesas’s eyes opened. They gleamed with green light. From her mouth, Melisildur’s voice rang out. Broadly, into the ears of everyone in the harbor.
[My children. I am your mother, and I was your light.]
*
The realm of elven swordsmanship is determined by a single exchange. Leia hated that saying. What if you couldn’t fell them in one strike? What if the enemy’s armor was thick, their guard solid?
If once wasn’t enough, twice. If twice fell short, three times. Thus, Leia always gripped three swords.
-Clang!
Leia’s blade bounced off Sigismund’s greatsword. The sheer force made Sigismund recoil, sliding his greatsword back to deflect the impact. Once wasn’t enough—twice then.
-Clank!
Leia released the sword mid-motion and seized another in an instant. Her fingers lightly pressed the hilt of the longsword, and almost simultaneously, the blade shot from its sheath.
-Clang!!
Sigismund had no time to react, exposing his chest. His breastplate was harshly scraped and torn away. Fortunately, the underlying leather was unscathed.
“Y-You bitch!!”
As the enraged Sigismund raised his greatsword high, Leia let go of the sword in her hand again. Her hand reached the last longsword on her sword belt. Twice wasn’t enough—three times.
-Whoosh!
Sigismund’s greatsword came crashing down over her head. It slammed into her crown, its weight bearing down on Leia.
She didn’t dodge. This was the decisive moment. Her final longsword. Strength surged into her hand gripping the hilt, shaking the scabbard violently. Her bloodstained uniform fluttered in the air.
-Sheeng.
No sound. Just the feel. The blade’s path grazed Sigismund’s arms and exposed chest, then slid back into the sheath.
-Slide. Click.
Leia exhaled deeply, sheathing the blade. And at that moment—
-Kwachuduk.
Sigismund’s body split horizontally, scattering across the deck. His heavy full plate armor clattered noisily as it rolled.
Sigismund’s death wouldn’t turn the tide. Leia gripped her hilt crushingly tight as monsters crawled aboard. Her wrists ached, blood dripped from her palms. Her body at its limit sent warnings.
No retreating. Biting her lip, Leia thrust her sword at the next monster. Retreating here meant no future. She could flee inland and save herself, but what of Gaimeorn’s elven dynasty?
Her people? Leia bore the royal duty. She had to be their exemplar. Even if it meant being crushed to death, always with dignity.
-Kurrrung.
In that instant, all battles on the sea halted. Everyone in these waters held their breath, gazing at the sky.
The dark night, thick clouds blotting even the moonlight. Perhaps a naive belief that if a god descended, it would come from the heavens above.
The vibration originated from Gaimeorn’s flagship. Once it shook all of Infermer, Leia unwittingly dropped to her knees.
She felt their god looking down on them. The god’s presence crushed them. Elves and vampires alike gazed in reverence at the sinking palace in the sea’s midst, sensing the divine.
Holy light flickered on the deck. Not the blinding midday sun, but a gentle dawn twilight enveloped the spot.
Tears streamed down Leia’s cheeks. The god had returned. How long had all elves waited for this moment? How they had dreamed of it. For two thousand years, they had been orphans without parents, nomads without homes.
[My children.]
The goddess’s voice resounded.
[I am your mother, and I was your light.]
Leia’s vision blurred. Strength drained from her weary body. The goddess was with her ears, beside her, in her soul.
[Leia. Daughter of Gaimeorn. I have watched over you.]
‘Ah, aah.’
Her goddess had always been with her! Even wandering alone in that harsh, barren inland, her goddess had watched! Leia exhaled in overwhelming emotion.
[My children. Save your people. This is my punishment for the sins bound to your bloodline.]
‘...?’
What of the emperor? And her brother? As Leia raised her head, the voice came again.
[My death was Gaimeorn’s sin. That child is buried in his karma. Now, you alone must be mother to your people.]
‘But Goddess, I... I lack the strength. Strength to defeat our enemies and save our bleeding people.’
[Has not your goddess descended upon you? Is your reign’s foundation insufficient?]
‘But those wicked foes. The abyss demons—what shall we do?’
[Merely beseech me. If light is lacking, your goddess shall be your light.]
The ancient dawn that illuminated the World Tree. The purest power that purified all evil. The mythic light, lost to this age, swallowed the harbor in an instant—
And the world seemed to freeze.
“Melisildur’s dawn...”
Leia whispered, trembling.