Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Red Desert
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The golem-drawn carriage pressed on without pause. Even after the sparkling blue fields faded from sight and cracked, parched earth took their place, its speed never slackened. A dry wind grazed the skin, while the starlight in the pitch-black night sky climbed endlessly higher.
About two weeks after departing Nuarein, we finally reached what could be called the outskirts of the Red Desert.
The view stretched out wide open. Endless dunes unfurled without a single obstacle in sight. A sunset-like red glow lingered along the horizon where the distant ridgeline met the sky.
“Hot.”
“It'll only get hotter from here.”
We'd dismounted briefly to survey our surroundings, but my skin burned under the sun's direct assault. Without the wide-brimmed hat, my scalp would have scorched too, radiating fierce heat.
I draped the white robe I'd packed in my bag over my body and climbed back aboard the carriage.
The blistering heat grew fiercer the deeper we ventured into the desert's heart. The sky loomed infinitely high, yet the sun's blaze felt ever closer. The same went for the waves of heat rising from the superheated sands.
Why did this desert's sands run red? As I stared blankly out the window, taking in the drifting scenery, a few black specks appeared in the distance, red dust clouds billowing in their wake.
What were they? Even with Arcana unveiling the world's mysteries, I lacked the eyesight to identify distant objects clearly. Beyond the shimmering blue haze, the specks grew larger, their numbers swelling.
When the dots atop the ridge crested a massive dune, I detected traces of mana from a handful of them.
They were people—black-robed figures astride enormous lizards, charging across the sands.
And they were heading straight for us.
“Durel.”
“Yes?”
“Get ready.”
“Ready for wha— exactly what...”
At my words, Durel rose and stuck his head out the window. Frowning, he instinctively rested a hand on his sword.
“They don't look like they mean well.”
“Bandits?”
“That's what it looks like to m—”
Before I could finish, a dull thud echoed from outside the carriage.
“An arrow's lodged in it...”
I immediately commanded the golem to accelerate. I'd set it to a slow walk for a smoother ride amid the pounding steps and vibrations, but luxury had no place now.
The passing scenery blurred faster outside. Just as the intervals between the golem's footfalls quickened, more dull thwacks—thwack thwack!—rang out from beyond the carriage.
Paltry arrows couldn't pierce the carriage. This was their message.
'They want us to come out.'
“Durel.”
“Yes.”
“Five on the right. Form a long line right after we exit.”
With that, I stood and approached the left door.
“I'll sheath you in wind—ride it up. Like back in Nuarein. Familiar, right?”
“Yes.”
Exchanging a glance with Durel, I steadied my breath. The Mana Circle nestled in my heart whirled rapidly, flooding mana through my body.
“Go.”
“We killing?”
“...Kill.”
The moment the door swung open, wind erupted from beneath my feet, enveloping the entire carriage. Arrows streaked in through the wide opening—like they were waiting for it. No need to dodge; the Gentle Wind barrier cloaking the carriage naturally deflected their trajectories.
The bandits on their giant lizards were deranged. Did they have no fear of mages? Even after watching their attacks fizzle harmlessly before their eyes, they still demanded we halt and spat threats of death.
Some cackled like lunatics.
Stepping into empty air, I raised my right hand. Blue lightning crackled to life, lancing straight ahead.
No screams echoed in the lightning's wake. The seven bandits, shrieking with mad laughter moments before, tumbled lifeless across the red sands.
My wind-borne form crested the carriage roof, Durel landing behind me. In the receding distance, the five I'd left to him rolled across the red sands as well.
“Strange lot. They have no fear of mages.”
No fear of mages. And that was just the start—they didn't so much as blink at their comrades' deaths. Instead, they whipped their lizards to close the gap faster.
I glanced sidelong at Durel.
“The two masked ones in the rear—they wield mana.”
“Mages?”
“No.”
“Then no issue.”
That instant, one of the flanking masked figures surged ahead, overtaking the bandit horde to pass our carriage. As I readied another Chain Lightning,
The figure dipped a hand into his robes and flung a round object.
A burning fuse protruded from the round object.
'Bomb.'
The moment I realized the scattered payloads were bombs, the mana's nature surging from my hand transformed. The blue bolt morphed into wind, laced with biting cold.
'A bit over-the-top welcome.'
Returning a gift in kind was only polite. The wind redirected the bombs along my body's barrier. Stepping back, I swung my arms wide.
Flames roared to life amid the sudden gale. The three rapid shifts left me breathless for a split second. No matter. Shoving aside the faint ache, I scowled.
The wind-launched bombs detonated in unison, spilling light.
Kaboom-!
The brutal shockwaves rattled the carriage, but my stance held firm—the Gentle Wind barrier maintained perfect balance.
That's when it happened. Bursting through the explosion's smoke, the remaining masked figure drew his sword and vaulted onto the roof.
Unlike the common bandits, faint mana lingered within him. And now, it began to flow along those traces.
'Right side. Massive overhead chop.'
Mana raced through his right arm, waist, and left leg. Explosive velocity loaded into the blade in an instant.
No complacency. I'd learned from experience that Gentle Wind's wall wasn't infallible.
I fell back naturally, slipping free of the sword's path. A razor-sharp blue gleam rent the Gentle Wind barrier as the masked figure landed atop the carriage.
A brief hush fell.
Durel, grasping the peril late, lashed out in frenzy.
“Nngh...!”
Durel teetered on the cusp of eleven. He couldn't overpower an adult male. Yet his magic bridged the gap.
Swords conjured from every direction menaced the masked figure, forcing him to halt.
Not every blade Durel summoned was real. Amid the fierce swings, some dissolved like mirages. Blending true and false sowed chaos in the foe. I didn't miss the breach it created.
The carriage roof offered little room. Chain Lightning or Frost Breath risked clipping Durel. Thus, I unleashed Reaping Wind.
Reaping Wind
Golden Wind School basic attack magic
Invisible gusts raked the masked figure's body time and again. Yet no killing blow landed. He'd sensed the Reaping Wind belatedly and deflected the strikes bit by bit.
The instant he batted away Durel's spell with a grand parry, I seized his nape, yanked him back, and stomped down hard.
A ferocious storm exploded from my stomping foot. The Golden Wind School's second attack spell—raging tempest gale.
"The Golden Sage said. The wind that returned harboring fury caused the seas to overflow..."
⟨ Erkamon ⟩
As the apt Erkamon flowed from my lips, the masked figure was hurled skyward by the raging winds.
I exhaled in relief at the sight—then something lashed from the heavens, coiling around Durel's wrist.
“Huh...”
“This is...”
An eerie contraption. The black rope constricted Durel's arm, scattering his mana in a flash. As realization dawned and I moved to intervene, Durel was yanked toward the airborne masked figure.
'Kidnapping—that was the goal?'
The masked assailants maneuvered as if abduction had been their aim all along. Upon landing, another swept in from afar, scooped up the pair, and sped away.
Observing this, I retrieved the glider from inside the carriage and unfurled it.
Thin wings extended left and right, drinking in the wind. Flight demanded special updrafts from the desert thermals—but that meant nothing to me.
Kicking off the roof, Gentle Wind propelled the glider soaring into the heavens.
From on high, I surveyed the ground below. First time flying one, yet steering proved effortless.
Hovering steadily, I raised my left hand.
Mana converged, birthing icy crystals laced with frigid chill atop it.
The crystals swelled with time until two the size of my torso hurtled groundward.
Sunlight danced within the plummeting ice. As the two masked figures craned their necks skyward, the crystals impaled their torsos simultaneously.
Riding unsteady winds, I descended to their collapse. My vast shadow loomed as I neared the ground; Durel, sprawled on the sand, mumbled dazedly.
“Now you take to the skies too...?”
“Wasn't hard.”
“I see...”
Touching down on the blood-soaked sands, the winds cloaking my form scattered in all directions.