Chapter 117
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 117
“Kratos! Zeus! Greek mythology! Argh, make it stop!”
Inside the Sun Temple, the Elder parried Turan’s golden greatsword with desperate, frantic swings, screaming nonsense all the while.
His bizarre behavior had begun the moment he heard Turan’s last remark. Whether it was the shock of Turan claiming to be the son of the Baraha Family Head or some hidden implication within the words themselves, the man had clearly lost his composure.
Regardless, Turan’s only option was to press the attack. The Elder’s outburst clearly touched upon the secrets of the gods, and Turan had no intention of trying to provide the "correct" answers to his ravings.
Fortunately, it didn't take long for the scales of victory to tip.
Originally, the Elder had balanced the overwhelming difference in mana with superior physical abilities and high-tier weaponry. Now that the gap in equipment had been closed, the outcome was inevitable.
Only then did the Elder realize Turan had no intention of talking. He tried to resume a proper combat stance, but his breathing, ragged from his mid-fight outburst, wouldn't recover so easily. A moment’s respite might have allowed him to regroup, but Turan was not foolish enough to grant him that chance.
A moment later, six golden needles erupted from Turan’s Halo. They pierced the Elder’s arms and torso before pinning him ruthlessly to the floor. With his tendons punctured, the two swords forged from Judgment Light slipped from his grasp and dissipated into motes of light.
“Ugh, wa—wait—”
Perhaps it was because he possessed the power of the Guardian Bloodline, but while a typical high-ranking noble would have died instantly, the needles seemed to stop halfway through his body.
Turan brought his greatsword down on the neck of the Elder, who was coughing up blood and struggling to speak.
CRASH!
A single blow severed nearly a third of the neck. The head, dangling precariously, was cleanly lopped off with the second strike.
“Whew…”
Unlike Ymir, this Baraha Elder hadn't become dramatically stronger even after revealing his hidden bloodline. Strictly speaking, his technical skills had improved by utilizing the power of two bloodlines, but he had hardly used any of the strange, non-magical powers Turan had encountered before.
As Turan briefly reviewed the battle, a soul began to crawl out of the Elder’s corpse. He expected it to fly high into the sky and vanish like the others, but—
‘...The floor?’
For some reason, instead of ascending like the other "gods," the Elder’s soul seeped directly into the ground. The moment the question arose, the conclusion followed immediately: the place where the souls of the dead returned was right beneath this building!
‘I have to find it.’
Originally, he had planned to rummage through the Family Head’s study for secret passages, but he changed his plan. If he could find the stronghold beneath the residence, he might find a way to pull this conspiracy out by the roots.
Just then, he sensed presences approaching from a distance.
“Intruder in the inner sanctum!”
“Everyone, defend that area first!”
Though their battle had taken place indoors, the clash between two beings transcending the highest ranks of nobility had sent shockwaves rippling outside. The mages who had been chasing Solif noticed the anomaly and were rushing back.
“Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue, Turan picked up the Elder’s corpse to absorb its mana and stepped through the door the man had been guarding. The barrier installed at the entrance detected his intrusion and emitted a sharp, piercing alarm.
‘Bathroom, bedroom, lounge, study, office, bedroom...’
Tossing aside the Elder’s mana-depleted corpse, Turan tore through the interior of the building with wind magic. He searched every possible hiding spot—ventilation shafts, under carpets, even the sewers—hoping to find a passage leading underground.
‘I don’t have much time...’
Thanks to their immense mana, the high-ranking nobles were faster than most and were already closing in on the residence. If he got caught, Turan would have to fight a full-scale war against every mage in Baraha. He wanted to smash everything apart to find the passage, but he couldn't.
This building was part of the Sun Temple itself. Ancient structures built during the Old Empire could not be easily destroyed, even by a Great Mage of Turan’s caliber, who now rivaled a Deputy Family Head.
Suddenly, another explosion and shouting erupted from outside.
[Where do you think you’re going?!]
[You brat!]
It seemed Solif, who had been circling the area to buy time, had returned to tie down the Baraha mages. Grateful for the extra time, Turan thought for a moment before storming into the study and stuffing every item in sight into his High-Capacity Pouch.
There had to be something useful among them. The bookshelves were relatively sparse, as if the Family Head had taken the most important documents with him, but the room was so large that there was still plenty to take.
After confirming the study was empty, Turan unleashed a massive amount of Soul of Fire and detonated it, wrecking the study and the rest of the building. It was a calculated move to make it difficult for them to tell what or how much had been taken. As a bonus, it was a final attempt to find a secret passage; a hidden room behind a bookshelf or under the floor might be revealed by the aftermath of the explosion.
Unfortunately, even this failed to uncover an underground path. Clicking his tongue in disappointment, he stepped out of the residence to see a weary Solif surrounded by Baraha mages.
“That guy?!”
“Are you the one who broke into the Family Head’s residence?!”
“What did you do to Elder Rounel?!”
Rounel was likely the name of the Elder he had just killed. Turan immediately joined Solif’s side and whispered softly.
“I’ve scavenged enough. Let’s go.”
“Which way?”
“West.”
After the brief exchange, the two bolted in the same direction simultaneously. The mages blocking their path gasped, their eyes widening in horror as they saw a Halo rise from Turan’s back as well.
“What...?!”
Regardless of their shock, the fact that they immediately rained down magic proved they were well-trained. Turan and Solif shaped their Judgment Light into whips, swatting away the incoming spells as they sprinted south.
“Out of the way!”
While Solif broke through the encirclement at the front, Turan stayed right behind him, focusing on parrying the incoming magic. A short while later, they passed through the gates and made it out of the Sun Temple.
“Where to now? South?”
“Let’s stop by your parents’ house first. We need to completely erase those traces too.”
“Got it.”
If he had known the bond between the two families was strong enough for Zahar nobles to be staying at the Baraha estate, he would have eliminated them sooner. It was a shame, but there was no use crying over spilled milk.
Naturally, Helio City was ablaze with lights. The noise from inside the Sun Temple had been loud enough to carry for several kilometers. Ignoring the terrified gazes of the commoners, they ran swiftly toward the mansion located on the outskirts of the city.
A three-story mansion with about a dozen rooms appeared—a relatively modest home for a noble couple.
“Are they there?”
At Solif’s question, Turan used tracking magic again and shook his head. There seemed to have been guards originally, but perhaps because it was night, no one was there now.
“There’s quite a bit left. It’s a hassle to find everything individually... let’s just burn it.”
“Tsk, I was actually getting attached to this place.”
Despite his grumbling, Solif poured flames onto the mansion. With their combined power, it took less than twenty seconds for the building to be completely engulfed. Naturally, things like hair or fingernails couldn't withstand such heat. Turan stopped the magic once he confirmed that all traces left by Solif’s parents had been completely erased.
“Let’s go. They’re chasing us again.”
Masses of mana were rapidly approaching from the distant Sun Temple. Naturally, they were the enraged mages of Baraha.
*
The pursuit that began in the middle of the night took quite a long time to end.
With his massive mana and the superior physical abilities of the Guardian Bloodline, Solif’s running speed was not something ordinary nobles could hope to match. The problem was the magical beasts. From horse-like beasts like the Berk family’s Tilly to large reindeer and cheetahs, several pursuers mounted on beasts specialized for sprinting followed them relentlessly, relaying their position.
To counter this, Turan used one of the magic devices he had taken from the dead Zahar nobles: a staff that fired Frost Spears.
Though it consumed a fair amount of mana, the staff fired spears comparable to those of a true Carmine noble. He also used Wind Path to eliminate air resistance and increase their speed. When several of the pursuing beasts were killed in succession by the silent, high-speed spears, the others lost the nerve to close the gap.
How many hours had passed?
Running with Helio at their backs, the two finally stopped as the sun began to rise. Drenched in sweat, Solif collapsed onto the dirt.
“Ah, damn it. That was exhausting... I couldn't run another step even if someone tried to beat me to death.”
If it were just running, he wouldn't have collapsed after only a few hours, but a long-distance sprint while already exhausted from a fierce battle against hundreds of mages was bound to be grueling. In contrast, Turan, who had used flight magic the moment they were out of sight, was in relatively good condition—though his mana was low from intercepting the pursuing beasts.
“Their presence is completely gone. We’ve put at least dozens of kilometers between us, so let’s disguise ourselves and rest before moving on.”
Turan deactivated the mask’s disguise, handed it to Solif, and used Meisa’s magic device to increase his physical age. This time, he went a bit older, to his mid-sixties. A moment later, the two were transformed into a grandfather and grandson resting during their travels.
Solif, now disguised as a grey-haired boy, caught his breath and asked, “How’s Meisa? Did they escape safely?”
“It seems so. I think we can regroup if we head north for another three hundred kilometers.”
As planned, Meisa and Solif’s parents had escaped far away on Bije, who had been waiting on the outskirts of Helio City. Turan tried to convey to the worried Bije through their soul tether that he was safe. This kind of communication was much more abstract than direct conversation, but it felt more sincere.
“Feeling better?”
“Yeah. Somewhat.”
Despite his casual reply, Solif’s face was still etched with fatigue. Instead of moving immediately, Turan rested for a while and told Solif what had happened while they were separated—from the sudden appearance of the Zahar nobles to killing Elder Rounel and looting the Family Head’s residence.
“Old man Rounel was a vessel?!”
“Did you know him?”
“A little. We weren't close, but he was always quite kind to me...”
Solif’s face clouded with complex emotions as he clicked his tongue, unable to believe the man had been a vessel. It made sense; Solif had a strong attachment to his family despite having run away. He had even felt bitter about the deaths of the family members who had come to capture him.
Of course, looking back, killing them all at that time had been the right choice. There had been three nobles with high-rank power or greater in that pursuit party; if they were here now, escaping the encirclement would have been that much harder.
‘Come to think of it, were there no gods among those who came to catch Solif back then?’
At that time, Turan didn't have the ability to disguise himself, so he had fought with his real face exposed, not to mention using a holy relic to freely display the power of the Sun Bloodline. If there had been a vessel among those he fought, those facts would have been relayed. The fact that they weren't meant there were only pure nobles present.
‘Or... did they only find out recently?’
A thought suddenly occurred to him: one of those who died back then might have only recently obtained a new body and been resurrected. And perhaps that was why the Baraha Family Head, realizing Turan had used the bloodline abilities of both Zahar and Baraha, had personally headed to Lavitas to capture him...
It was a terrifying thought, but a hypothesis worth considering. In that case, his disguise would be useless, as they would know it was Turan who had intruded with Solif. His earlier act of pretending to be the Baraha Family Head’s child would have been for nothing.
After pondering the possibilities, Turan shook his head to clear his thoughts. He was already tired and didn't want to dwell on such grim theories for too long.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. More importantly, I should check the materials I found inside.”
Turan first pulled the jewelry box containing the Librarian from his High-Capacity Pouch.
“What is it now?”
“I’d like you to look at what I’m seeing and remember it. If you have any advice, I’d appreciate the help.”
“So now you’re just using me as an external memory drive,” the Librarian grumbled.
Turan gave an embarrassed smile and bowed his head. Regardless, since the Librarian was also a guest living off him, he didn't argue further and stared intently at the materials Turan pulled out.
The first thing to come out of the pouch was a large map covered in various symbols.
“Hmm, this is...”
“A resource map of the Baraha territory.”
A map of a Great Family and the distribution of its major resources. While it was top-secret information, it was far from what Turan actually wanted. Turan flipped through it so the Librarian could memorize it, then immediately burned it.
Next were documents regarding the major members of the family. It recorded everything from public information to their reputations, criminal acts, and even secret sexual preferences. Turan, who had been flipping through the pages with a light glance, stopped when he reached the description of Solif.
[Strong preference for married women and older women. Do not allow him to start a family until he is at least seventy.]
[Secretly imported related books to develop masochistic sexual tendencies...]
After reading the contents, Turan hesitated for a moment before showing it to Solif. Solif took it with a nonchalant face, but his hands soon began to tremble violently before he incinerated it with fire magic.
“Did... did you read it?”
“Sorry.”
Since he had seen someone else’s private life—and something they would truly want to keep hidden—Turan apologized sincerely. After a long silence, Solif let out a deep sigh.
“Damn it, don't be sorry. I’m never looking for an older married woman again.”
“Well, you shouldn't be looking for married women in the first place,” Turan pointed out jokingly as he continued to scan the documents.
To his great disappointment, there was nothing regarding communication between the gods. He had expected something more useful, given it was the Family Head’s residence...
Just as he was clicking his tongue in frustration, his hand brushed against a book made of leather that was strangely flesh-colored and sticky. The book even emitted a faint trace of mana. Turan sharpened his dulled focus and read the title on the cover.
“This is...?”
[ Introduction to True Magic ]
An introduction to true magic? It was hard to even guess what "true magic" might be, and it was even harder to understand why such a thing would be in the Baraha Family Head’s study. Why would one of the most powerful mages in the world need an introductory book?
Puzzled, Turan opened the book and read the preface. Usually, it would contain a dedication to a patron or the purpose of the text. He frowned as he saw the writing inside was red as blood.
His expression froze as he read the contents.
[...This book records the method of entering into the True Magic that we humans have inherited since ancient times, rather than the false magic spread throughout the world by those so-called gods.]