Chapter 127
Chapter 127
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: The Tree from Another World
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The vertical flow of mana circulation.
He intentionally let the mana linger at the turning point past his core.
The next path was set.
Passing through a rapidly narrowing entrance, the mana entered a thin, horizontal path of circulation.
The more he increased the pressure at the entrance, the faster the circulating mana became.
He boldly drew in more mana. The path, trying to handle the flow, gradually expanded.
A repetition of this process.
To develop his second Circle, he had to maintain this flow.
*A good lesson.*
He was satisfied with this.
The longer the fight dragged on, the more he stood to gain, but the reason Loan decided to end it quickly was, paradoxically, the ample supply of mana.
The mana flowing from Matthias and the ceiling gave him an unsettling sense of déjà vu.
Loan's interest was now more focused on the ‘device’ supplying the mana.
However, as he had declared, he needed to finish the fight quickly.
After that single punch, the momentum naturally shifted to Matthias.
The flow of mana coursing through his entire body was unusual.
While most would enhance their body's responsiveness by extending their magic, it felt as if mana spores were spreading all at once from where they were needed inside Matthias's body.
*Bang—!*
Matthias closed the distance in a single leap.
Unaffected despite the heightened Domain, he thrust out his arm without any preliminary motion.
The knuckle, made of meteoric iron, scattered an arcane light.
The light eventually coalesced into a blue hue, though it was uncertain if this was a manifestation of some authority.
*His intention is obvious.*
As if mindful of the comment about his face, a fist aimed at Loan's face plummeted from above, pressing down on the thick layer of Convection.
Having pushed his physical senses to their limit, Loan sensitively perceived the subtle changes in the flow felt by his skin.
*Swoosh—*
He twisted his body to deflect the force.
A rotational force akin to a recoil. The outlet for that power was Loan's elbow.
*Craack—!*
Another explosion erupted from Matthias's side.
Loan saw the void where the mana had shattered and anticipated the attempt to fill it.
He left no opening.
Matthias's eyes widened as he looked down at the advancing Loan, appearing as if they were torn vertically.
The moment Loan's face filled his white-less eyes.
Loan placed his palm on the man's side.
Recalling Lazaros's unique magic that had struck his own palm—
with the mental image of countless mana spikes piercing through Matthias's body—
he unfurled the spirally condensed magic in a single burst, detonating it.
*BOOM—CRACK—!*
Beyond Matthias's utterly shredded robes, it looked as if a rotten part of an old tree had just fallen off.
The deeply gouged side was a gruesome sight.
It was a wound that should have been fatal, yet there was no blood flowing, no entrails spilling out.
He was merely pushed back a fair distance, his posture still upright.
But the shock must have been considerable, as he could only stare at Loan, his mouth agape.
After confirming that the mana inside the bishop's body was in disarray, Loan spoke.
“I was hoping for a tour of the chapel, but given your condition, Bishop, I don't think that will be possible. Nikos? Belle?”
“Yes?”
The two seniors, who had been watching the close fight in a daze, answered at the same time.
They looked as if they'd seen a ghost, though it was hard to tell if it was due to Loan's attack or Matthias's inhuman body.
“Could you please take a look around the chapel? Especially what kind of space is above here, and if there's anything out of the ordinary.”
“If there's something specific you're looking for...”
Nikos trailed off, glancing at Matthias, but Matthias still said nothing.
Loan replied.
“Anything that seems strange to you two.”
He had to keep his attention focused on Matthias, but on the other hand, memories of the past also kept him from moving.
He didn't want to witness with his own eyes the tragedy that might be there.
Soon after, the two seniors left the reception room and quickly scattered up the stairs.
Loan slowly began to speak to Matthias.
“I still don't know whether to treat you as a bishop, or as I first said, a demon.”
Matthias took a long breath before answering. The sound simply flowed from his open mouth.
“The same goes for me. I take back what I said about you lacking weight. It seems your rank doesn't fully capture your skill.”
His body didn't move an inch. It was as if it were protesting that it had to conserve every last bit of strength just to survive.
But he had not yet admitted defeat.
Instead, he spoke to Loan gently, as if trying to persuade him.
“Loan. You are special. For you, at least, the label of 'unbeliever' is meaningless. A very special person.”
The pleasant sound approached Loan, creating a subtle wave.
A will could be felt within it.
It contained a clear intent.
Moving people's hearts by harmonizing sound, waves, and mana was Loan's specialty.
So he knew exactly what Matthias was trying to do.
After neutralizing the wave with his sturdy barrier of Convection, Loan spoke.
“I've decided. I'll treat you as a demon. You must have beguiled other believers in the same way. As if brainwashed, they followed your words and turned their backs on people. Your words must have been so pleasant to hear that they thought it was okay to do so.”
Matthias didn't realize that Loan was knocking on his heart in the exact same way.
His destroyed body still wasn't healing. The concentration of mana filling his body grew thinner with time.
This was because the supply of mana from the ceiling had abruptly stopped at some point, likely due to some action taken by the seniors who were inspecting the chapel.
For that reason.
Unable to maintain his mind and body, Matthias was unaware that his technique had been nullified and gradually became engrossed in Loan's words.
“My words are pleasant to hear?”
“Yes. They sound nice. The believers must have felt like they were the chosen ones. Special people, just as you said.”
“Special...”
“But in truth, they're not worth listening to. Your arguments earlier were all just slick words. Ah, do you know what the biggest problem with your argument is?”
“I wonder. Will you teach me?”
“That you predicted the future you dream of. To make a prediction accurate enough to be certain, there's something essential.”
“Something essential.”
“It's certainly not faith or belief. It's intellect, and only intellect. You're not smart enough to predict an outcome and make your case. That's the biggest problem.”
“Ah, I see.”
It wasn't a moment for enlightenment, yet he reacted as if deeply moved.
His gaze grew hazy.
Sensing time was short, Loan summoned Aul to draw out more information.
“Aul?”
Aul stared intently at Matthias standing before him, then moved closer and circled around the man.
This was far from his usual attitude when dealing with demons.
He wondered if it was because of the pure mana, or for some other reason.
“Why does he look familiar?”
“Aul...”
The reply came back that though he couldn't remember, he felt a sense of familiarity.
Matthias's reaction was also different from before.
He ignored his ailing body and knelt.
Even so, he was still far from being at eye level with Aul.
“Stolas.”
There was even a sense of fondness in the way he called the name.
And honesty.
“It's me, Raum. It's been a long time, hasn't it?”
Loan knew instinctively that this was Matthias's real name.
Aul stared at Raum, who had revealed his name, and tilted his head far to the side.
Then he suddenly looked at Loan.
“Aul.”
He said he wouldn't eat this one.
It was unclear whether it was because he had no appetite for something without dark mana, or because he felt a sense of rejection due to his faint memories.
“Alright.”
Loan respected his wish.
Seeing Aul climb onto Raum's head and shoulders, pecking here and there with his beak, he abandoned the thought of using the Mask of Truth.
Raum's mana was fading fast, and the man, facing death, exuded a strangely serene aura.
Loan said.
“I didn't mean to kill you. I didn't know it would come to this from just that.”
“Who can I blame for my own weakness?”
“Did you come from the Stone of Goetia, or from the Gate?”
“All demons came from the Gate. I purified myself before being trapped in the stone.”
“Is that possible?”
“In my homeland, I was a tree, and a resting place for Stolas. My ability is to survive in any barren land.”
“...”
The voice of Raum—the demon who now wished to be called Matthias—grew fainter and fainter.
It became as quiet as a crawling insect, but fortunately, Loan could hear it all.
As a demon who had settled in this land on his own, he had intended to seize a life for himself through his own power.
In a different way from other demons.
Without borrowing the power of the demon world.
In a way that protected him from other demons.
“So that was the holy war you spoke of. A holy war waged by a demon...”
“No. I was not a demon then. And I am not one now. You are the only ones who call me that...”
With those final words, Matthias became as still as a dead, old tree.
The mana in his body also dispersed quickly through his dense pores.
“Aul?”
Aul tilted his head and pecked at Matthias's face with his beak.
As he watched for a while.
“Loan?”
“Huh?”
Nikos and Belle entered the reception room at the same time and were startled to see Bishop Matthias.
They immediately checked the bishop's condition, their expressions growing quite serious, especially as they looked at his side.
“He's not human, at least. What you said might have been true, Loan...”
“The repercussions will be significant. We need to clearly identify the bishop's true nature to avoid any future trouble.”
A Runner from the Union killing a bishop of the Orthodox Church could be a problem.
The Church was a difficult opponent to handle, making any internal punishment awkward, even for those ranked higher than Runner.
Nikos said.
“We'll take care of this part. Don't worry about it, Loan.”
After thanking the two reliable seniors for their help, Loan asked.
“How was the chapel? Was there anything strange?”
Nikos answered.
“Just as you said, Loan, there was a prayer meeting upstairs. It was incredibly intense. I've never seen such a fervent prayer meeting before. They prayed and shouted, and some even collapsed.”
“Collapsed...?”
“Ah, not in a life-threatening way. They just overexerted themselves. They would faint, overwhelmed with emotion, or collapse from exhaustion, and were immediately taken to the recovery room.”
Belle chimed in.
“But they seemed overly agitated, so we had them stop for a while. Seeing the situation here... I doubt it will resume anytime soon.”
He was reminded of the relationship between Le Tell's human trees and their readers. It was similar, but it seemed they weren't siphoning life force.
However, he could now understand a little why Matthias had been so insistent on only letting in believers.
Perhaps he was a being who could not leave this chapel.
Nikos spoke to Loan, who was looking at Matthias with a bitter expression.
“First, we must report the bishop's death to the temple quickly, but I'm worried about causing a disturbance here. It seems Belle and I will have to control the situation.”
“Ah, then I'll go to the temple and meet with the archbishop.”
“Thank you. Once things stabilize here, we'll check the other monasteries. Though I'm not sure how the other monasteries will take the news of the bishop's death. We'll prepare a letter for you to take to the temple. It will make things go more smoothly.”
Loan parted ways with the two seniors at the chapel.
The seniors watched Loan's back for a while as he walked north with neat, steady steps.