Chapter 209
Chapter 209
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: An Awakened Will
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Loan, having bound the priest like a mummy with invisible convection, paused as he was about to move.
The dwarves had caught his eye.
They were still just standing there with unfocused eyes.
“Excuse me?”
“…”
His casual question elicited no response from them.
All he could surmise was that the dark priest had exerted considerable influence over their minds.
What would happen if he left them like this?
He planned to seal the entrance for now, but if he did, would they just keep standing here until they starved to death?
Or would they helplessly lose their lives to the demonic beasts?
He couldn't yet confirm if this was of their own free will, but for some reason, Loan found it difficult to walk away.
He had often seen others fall into such states due to demons or Le Tell.
Then, a thought occurred to him.
Loan wondered if his voice might be able to cause some change within them.
Of course, he had used sound as a physical means of attack before.
But this time, he was contemplating a way to influence his target’s mind.
‘Demons seem to do it just fine…’
The demon Decara, who had aided in the creation of fallen monks by intentionally getting captured by the demons Raum and Brien, had beguiled people with speech infused with mana fluctuations.
Of course, it could have been an authority.
Loan himself had captivated people’s hearts in a similar fashion, but that was more about shaking someone's resolve by creating a synergistic effect with his appearance, hardly what one could call hypnosis or brainwashing.
But his achievements then and now were different; perhaps there was a little more room to try now.
“My name is Loan. I’m with the Union, and I’m stopping the evil deeds of the Grave.”
He quietly watched as his voice created waveforms that struck the dwarves’ bodies.
And he surmised.
There must be varying degrees of susceptibility to brainwashing and hypnosis among individuals.
Some would be more sensitive, others more resilient.
“I heard that after the demons emerged from the Demonic Realm, there were those who sealed it. Among them, I was told, were dwarves…”
Loan individually isolated the sound of each dwarf’s breathing and heartbeat, carefully observing if even the slightest change occurred in any of them as he continued to speak.
“You are the descendants of those who achieved such a great feat, so for what reason are you now being swept away by a demon to toil in a mine?”
With each word, he added content that would touch upon the dwarves’ pride and dignity.
“To devote yourselves like this in a place cut off from the outside world for so long is to abandon your families, friends, and former lives. Isn’t that a form of devotion? Why on earth…”
He also mixed in words that might draw out any memories or compassion they might still hold.
And it wasn't just the content; he varied the way he delivered his voice as well.
Watching the vibrations resonate inside the dwarves' ears, he influenced the fluctuations of mana by varying the intensity of his voice to change the sound waves' amplitude, adjusting the wavelength to be shorter or longer, and tightening or relaxing his vocal cords to alter the very shape of the waves.
Among these were sounds that created waves as they left his mouth but were inaudible to the ear.
Whether these various attempts were successful, at a certain point, a few of the dwarves began to react to Loan’s words.
They didn’t move their bodies or change their expressions directly, but their heartbeats began to race, unlike before.
Loan approached the dwarf who was receiving the sound most sensitively.
He stood in the center of the group, his physique as solid as a rugged boulder.
However, being a dwarf, he was short enough to only reach Loan's waist, so Loan bent his knees to bring their ears to the same level.
“Hello. For such a dignified person to end up like this… It’s truly a shame.”
He calmly observed the unresponsive man.
The marks of long years, battles, and mining covered his face in wrinkles and scars.
The rest of his face was hidden by a beard matted with dark dust and filth.
Leaning in toward the ear that was faintly visible through it all, Loan whispered slowly.
“No, frankly, I’m just disappointed. A dwarf, subservient to another, digging the earth like a slave.”
“…”
“A proud dwarf would surely awaken by his own will and snap his pickaxe. The dwarves I know are certainly such beings. Or have I been greatly mistaken…”
A one-sided conversation with an unresponsive partner.
Loan let his voice trail off with a nuance of resignation and, as if he had nothing more to say, abruptly straightened his knees, stood up, and turned away.
Just then.
Was it that his pride had been wounded by the complete dismissal?
A strange sensation drew Loan's gaze back.
‘There’s a reaction.’
For a moment, it seemed as if a halo of light was pushing its way up through the dark mana filling his body, shimmering.
But the most dramatic change was in his eyes.
A light entered his pupils, which had looked so vacant they might as well have been artificial glass.
It was as if he had been sleeping with his eyes open until now.
At the same time, veins bulged on his forehead. His brow twitched, and a faint flicker of pain passed over him like a shadow.
Proof of a fierce internal struggle.
Loan bent down again and added one more word to his ear.
“Now, awaken.”
Simultaneously, the dwarf opened his mouth.
“Aaargh!”
It was less a scream and more a roar of fury, as if he could no longer bear his own circumstances.
Loan dispersed the foul odor with convection and distanced himself from the dwarf.
The fully awakened dwarf looked at Loan with eyes as clear as spring water.
He couldn't form words with his open mouth, but he could send a mental voice.
-My name is Gradin. You have awakened me. Thank you.
Loan was inwardly surprised. The dwarf could use a mental voice despite not having outstanding mana.
He would find out how in due time, if the chance arose.
-No. It’s because your will is strong, sir. As you can see, you’re the only one who has awakened.
Gradin turned his head to look at his dozens of comrades.
They were all still staring ahead with unfocused eyes.
-It seems getting out of here is the priority.
Then, his gaze shifted to the dark priest floating in mid-air.
Gradin’s face instantly contorted.
-How is a High Priest… Did you do that to him?
-Yes.
-I’ve been surprised many times since waking up…
Gradin’s eyes widened as he scanned Loan, his gaze finally stopping at Loan’s waist.
-It looks like Alik’s handiwork, but I’ve never seen mana distributed so precisely, and more importantly, that crest…
His thoughts trailing off, Gradin forced one arm up and changed the subject.
-No, my apologies. My mind is a mess with so many things coming into view at once. Let’s go. Are you planning to drag the High Priest yourself?
-Yes.
-What a curious technique. Lead the way. The brothers will likely follow.
Urged on by Gradin, Loan was pushed to take the lead.
Behind him, the priest's fingers and body floated along.
*Thud-*
Just as Gradin had said, the dwarves took a single step forward in unison, trying to maintain their distance from the priest.
Looking back, he saw Gradin waving his hand, urging him forward.
As Loan moved, the dwarves began to follow him silently.
He had been wondering how to get them out, but he never thought it would be this easy.
In that case, couldn't he have just dragged the priest along from the start?
A faint smile touched Loan's lips at the idle thought. With the culprit priest and an awakened witness, he led the eighty dwarves, who would enhance the credibility of the testimony, out of the dead-end tunnel.
“Kieeeeeeek!”
Demonic beasts occasionally reappeared, but Sheville cleared the path ahead like an escort, so the procession continued unimpeded.
After walking for some time, they finally reached the vertical tunnel section.
Loan opened the lid high above in advance and implemented the concept of 'pushing his domain into a narrow path' beneath his feet, riding the surging dark mana to begin his vertical ascent.
Following him.
The priest’s body shot up after Loan, and the dwarves began to climb using the deep grooves carved into the wall in place of a ladder.
After Gradin was the last to climb up.
-Everyone’s up.
He confirmed that no one was left behind.
Despite being exposed to dark mana for a while after awakening, his eyes remained clear and lucid.
Loan guessed that the act of awakening itself might have granted him immunity to dark mana.
He closed the lid and induced a material transformation on the seam.
A blue spark crackled and ran along the fine gap. After repeating this a few times, the lid and the opening were so completely joined, as if they had been one piece from the start, that it seemed difficult to find a way to open it.
Even Loan himself thought that he wouldn't be able to go down now without breaking it.
‘I’ll seal it like this for now. The Union will have to investigate again or destroy it completely.’
Praising himself for the neat finish, Loan once again took the lead of the procession.
Light poured in from the distance, signaling that morning had arrived.
But Loan did not hurry.
It was because of the presences he had sensed outside from a point not far from the entrance.
They were not yet in his line of sight, nor could he see their mana, but through his synesthesia, he could tell that a considerable number of people were positioned outside the tunnel.
‘About ten of them. They must be the priest’s party.’
Soon, voices carried in by the wind became crystal clear.
“…so he said.”
“Does he think he’ll be fine even after completely botching the Ferrara job?”
“That old man needs to pull his weight. Seems like he’s gotten even more insufferable since he failed to become an Apostle.”
“No, come on. We’re in the same boat as Le Tell, but we didn’t come here to clean up that old geezer’s messes…”
Engrossed in their discussion, they were completely unaware of the presence of Loan and the dwarves who had approached the tunnel entrance.
It was proof that these men, clearly members of the Beauvoir Company, were not particularly skilled.
Loan boldly revealed himself.
Only then did they notice his presence, tilting their heads at him.
“Who…”
They must have immediately recognized he was from the Union by his clothes.
The question was merely an expression of surprise at his unexpected appearance.
He was under no obligation to answer, of course, but Loan was diligent in his duties.
“Runner Loan of the Union’s Faith Division. Beauvoir Company. Accomplices in the Pelsina Incident and collaborators with Le Tell. I am arresting all of you.”
For a moment.
A snicker erupted from the men facing Loan, then spread like wildfire.
Ten sharp swords were drawn in an instant.
But it was even more instantaneous when the single blade of Sheville swept past the ten hands gripping those swords.
Belatedly, wrists dropped to the ground with dull thuds. And the pieces of the swords, floating in the air without a single drop of blood on them.
The moment they registered the impossible phenomenon, the ten members of the Beauvoir Company were belatedly struck by excruciating pain.
They all screamed at once.
“Aaaargh!”
But the deafening screams were abruptly muffled by a dust storm that suddenly enveloped them.
Loan was gently waving his hand toward them.
Dust, sand, and dirt swirled rapidly around each of them, beginning to cake onto their severed wrists.
A forcibly attempted hemostasis.
To the men staring at their own neatly severed wrists.
“Use the rope there to tie each other up.”
Whether due to the pain or their bewilderment at encountering magic, they showed no reaction.
With no other choice, Loan kindly used convection to pull the rope over and bind the ten men together with a single line.
“We have a long way to go. Let’s move.”
He pushed a current of convection behind them to hasten their steps.
And so, ten more people were added to the group he would be taking to the four-party conference.