Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: The Magic Tower of Schwerin
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Her decision was swift and her courage commendable, but there was also a hint of recklessness.
It was a wonder she thought she could handle such a height.
Naturally, a world-shattering scream followed.
And as expected, the demonic beasts below looked up, baring their teeth and claws.
“Kraaaah!”
Two tongues flickered from within their gaping maws, and crests split open to reveal sharp horns.
Some leaped from where they stood, while others scrambled up the tower walls, trying to close the distance.
From Loan’s perspective, it was a relief to be able to confirm their aggression.
He controlled his descent with Convection and unleashed Sheville.
Once he decided to kill them, a dozen or so demonic beasts lost their lives in an instant.
After clearing the ground below, Loan landed lightly and looked up at Karin, whose sharp scream seemed to stretch out as long as her fur.
* * *
‘Impressive, indeed.’
His eyes hadn't deceived him.
The fur extended long enough to cover that height, with enough tensile strength to withstand her weight and the acceleration of her fall.
The one thing he was curious about was how she would control the distance at the last moment to land.
“Kyaaaaak!”
Contrary to his expectations, the landing was not so graceful.
She dangled and swung just a hand's breadth from the ground, as if she'd jumped with a rope tied to her knees. Only after Loan supported her body was she able to retract her fur.
Essentially helped up in what was almost an embrace, Karin's face turned beet red at the assistance of a boy much younger than her.
It seemed as soon as one embarrassment passed, another took its place.
Loan said,
“It's nice to see you again so soon, but let's save the talk for later.”
A considerable number of people had appeared, drawn by the commotion.
Karin's scream must have served as an alarm, but the speed at which they organized themselves was impressive.
These were no common rabble.
Above all, their attire was identical to that of the black mages he had seen in Sheville.
Woooooong—
The moment he recognized them, his two Circles began to spin furiously, a reflex.
Feeling a sense of stability and comfort, Loan focused his senses on his vocal cords.
‘There was something I've been wanting to try.’
Originally, Loan's use of sound was limited to imbuing mana into sound waves.
He didn't utilize sound itself.
That changed after meeting Archbishop Fabian.
By altering vibrations, he had grasped the concept of Heart Language, confirming the potential of sound. After confronting the demon Decara, he saw another possibility.
It was to utilize vibrations and waves simultaneously. Of course, it was still questionable whether he could control an opponent's actions at will just because he could manipulate sound.
‘But inflicting physical damage should be possible.’
Sound, after all, was the transmission of vibrations. He figured it would work if he could rapidly send vibrations that the recipient couldn't handle.
As it happened, a wide array of test subjects was positioned right in front of him. There was no reason not to try.
Moreover, they were just about to raise their magic and act with malicious intent, so he opened his mouth to produce the highest-pitched sound he could.
“U—”
“Ugh!”
The moment a single syllable left his lips, they flinched, letting out short screams.
Loan immediately continued what he was about to say.
The sound was high-pitched, but his open mouth and expression were perfectly calm.
“…nion Faith Division Runner, Loan. Are you Brien?”
By the time he finished speaking, every single one of them was clutching their ears and rolling on the ground.
There was nothing wrong with the content of his words.
It was an overly relaxed statement for someone about to face a many-against-one battle.
The effect came not from the content, but from the delivery.
A possibility he'd considered while facing the demon Decara. He had immediately put his ideas on the use of sound into practice.
‘So it works,’ Loan thought, filing away his analysis.
‘It might have been easier because they're black mages who neglect physical training. Or perhaps they sent the weaker ones out first.’
Just then, Karin asked from behind him.
“What's wrong with them?”
Her voice was tinged with both fear and curiosity.
Because he had specified his targets and limited the range of the waves, the sound hadn't spread far behind him.
Naturally, Karin was unharmed. She simply thought Loan was quite mature for his apparent age.
But it was certainly strange to see people suddenly drop to the ground, clutching their heads and rolling around.
“They must be scared of the Union.”
It wasn't something he could explain in detail, so he gave a vague answer.
“Oh...”
Seeing Karin form an 'O' with her lips and nod, it seemed she believed him completely.
Loan shrugged and considered what to do with them.
They were down and in pain, but they weren't dead or incapacitated.
His attack hadn't been that powerful.
But these were black mages. Binding or restraining them wouldn't guarantee safety. There was no telling what kind of magic they might use to escape.
Loan pointed at them and looked at Karin.
“Do you recognize any of them?”
He asked in case she had family among them, or if there was anything she wanted to find out.
Karin immediately shook her head.
Some of their faces were obscured, but her prompt denial suggested she had no lingering attachments to anyone here.
Loan raised numerous sharp spikes from the dirt ground, ending the lives of the writhing men all at once.
Blood burst out in all directions.
Splat—
Karin showed no particular reaction, even though Loan had just killed a multitude of people at once.
She could have been horrified or frightened—a number of reactions were possible—but she seemed even more indifferent than when she had seen the dead demonic beasts.
Loan started walking and said,
“I'm going into the mansion.”
“Yes. Me too.”
Karin replied, following him.
From then on, while dealing with the black mages, Loan didn't ask for Karin's opinion.
He didn't know what tricks they might use, but he didn't wait to find out either.
The result was close to a massacre.
“So you're the one in charge here.”
Loan left only one man standing, the one who appeared to be the leader.
Like the Le Tell assassin Loan had met on his way to Sheville, this man was possessed by a demon yet capable of rational action.
The difference was that he wore the robes of a black mage, not a priest.
Judging by the density of the dark mana, the possessing demon was likely not a named one.
After subduing the man with [Sphere of the Void], Loan summoned Aul and, for the first time in a while, placed the [Mask of Truth] on him.
He asked how long they had been here, what they were doing, where Brien's headquarters was, and how he could remain autonomous after being possessed by a demon.
The answers were bland: they had settled here about five years ago, choosing the location for its easy access to a research facility; they had killed everyone in the original mansion; and they had left the tower standing simply to take advantage of the useful local rumors.
Karin showed no agitation even after hearing the man's answers.
Perhaps she had expected it. After his confession, her expression seemed almost relieved.
Her relationship with her family must not have been very good, Loan thought, turning his attention back to the black mage covered by Aul.
One part of the man's answer still puzzled him.
“What research facility?”
“Brien... laboratory... in the snowy mountains... path between... convenient... Commander... returns today... you... are dead.”
Piecing together the fragmented words, it meant that the black building in Sheville was close to this location.
The part about a commander returning also pointed to that.
“Is there a map?”
The easily found map showed a valley path cutting through the White Peak Mountains. It was a shortcut between Sheville and Schwerin.
It was a route that Loan and Archbishop Fabian had failed to discover.
“So this mansion is a midway point connecting Brien, the black building, and that research facility.”
There was no more information to be gained.
He claimed he could maintain his reason because he was special among the many possessed, and he didn't know the locations of other facilities or the main headquarters.
He wasn't high-ranking enough for that.
Loan had Aul devour the man's head, then re-examined the secret space he'd found while looking for the map.
As expected of mages, most of the documents were research notes.
Various attempts to create Fallen Monks, records of failures, the discovery of Decara and tests on its application, recent production quantities, the correlation between Fallen Monks and dark mana, and the necessary exposure time to create a vessel for possession were all neatly organized.
It was valuable information obtained from an unexpected place.
If the Union could thoroughly study this content, it would be a significant help in dealing with Le Tell, Brien, and the demons in the future.
Besides the research notes, there was little else of use.
There was a large amount of money and jewelry, likely stolen from someone. The original owners of the mansion were surely among the victims.
Loan looked back at Karin.
Even after hearing that her family had been annihilated, her emotions still showed no discernible change.
“This mansion and these items will belong to you, Karin. Provided there are records of your family in Schwerin.”
“There might be records of the family, but I'm not so sure about me. They swore they would erase my name.”
“If you need it, the Union can provide assistance. You are, after all, a victim of Brien.”
“It would be better if the Union took possession of it. I have no intention of living in this house.”
Her expression held no lingering attachment, no greed.
Loan confirmed her words one more time, then wrote a message including that detail along with all the information he'd gathered and sent it off.
“Is there anywhere you'd like to go, then?”
“That place called the Bridge Zone. I'd like to go see it.”
“Ah...”
“I want to see them with my own eyes. The fur-users you admired. Perhaps there's something I can learn.”
It was quite a long way.
For someone who had just emerged into the world after ten years, wasn't she pushing herself too hard right from the start?
But they had already said their farewells back at the tower, in a sense, so he refrained from offering any hasty advice.
Instead, he made a suggestion.
“It's late. Let's sleep here tonight and leave in the morning.”
“You mean... sleep here?”
For the first time, the emotionless girl blushed.
Loan picked out a clean room for her and said,
“Please send my regards to the elders in the Bridge Zone. I hope we meet again.”
After a simple farewell, Loan headed for Schwerin.
He thought he might discover the research facility or encounter remnants of Brien, but no such thing happened.
He hadn't run into any Le Tell assassins since Sheville, either.
Their approach had likely been to gauge his strength. Thanks to those who never returned, their objective had been achieved.
There were no proper graveyards, but that didn't mean the journey was peaceful.
On the contrary, there were so many robbers and bandits that it was reminiscent of the anarchic Ferrara.
The difference was that the villages he passed through were completely unscathed by looting or arson.
This was true even for the small villages, a result of the long-held habit of defending themselves.
It was a structure that had formed naturally because most of the leaders were mages who had no interest in governing the country.
In contrast.
The capital, Schwerin, which he reached a few days later, was more magnificent than any city in the six duchies.
It was as if all the wealth of the duchy had been concentrated in one place.
Among it all, one thing, in particular, captured Loan's gaze for a long time.
An island in the middle of a vast lake, connected by a bridge.
Upon it stood a structure of four towers supporting an even larger, single tower.
It was visible from a great distance.
He had never seen a building so tall and immense.
‘That's the Magic Tower of Schwerin.’
The place where all the magic in the world was said to have begun.
His heart pounded.
Along with it, his two Circles spun with vigor.