Chapter 176
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 176
Based on what he had learned from Resion, the former head of Baraha, the relationship between the two half-elf factions that had seized Ruban and Baraha was incredibly complex.
First, since both groups had been conscripted to work together during the Fall of the Gods, they both suspected they were in similar straits. However, neither could ever be certain if the other was truly in the same position. Even when interacting, it was impossible to peer into another’s spirit body unless they chose to reveal it.
If one side were to honestly reveal their identity while the other had found a way to maintain a complete divine soul, the weaker side would undoubtedly face a pincer attack from every god in the world and their respective forces. To the Frea Divine Clan, the sub-races who had snatched away fragments of their souls were targets for immediate extermination.
From that perspective, it wasn't particularly surprising that the half-elves of Ruban had been hiding the existence of the White Elves.
[Tell me. Why did you choose to identify as White Elves? You haven't completely erased your divine personas.]
Hearing the question, Kalais remained silent, his mouth pressed into a firm line. It was only natural; it would have been stranger if the man who had been the most uncooperative from the start suddenly became submissive.
In response, Turan gestured with his chin toward the White Elf princess, Nia.
[Speak.]
Considering that this half-elf still harbored a lingering obsession with his kin, there was no way the threat wouldn't work. As expected, after a moment of hesitation, Kalais let out a deep sigh and opened his mouth.
[It was as you suspected—because of my descendants. They gave me discernment.]
According to Kalais’s explanation, the half-elves of Ruban were initially no different from those of Baraha. Lacking expertise in soul magic, they had brought in White Elf spirit-callers and forced a reincarnation, resulting in their souls becoming hopelessly entangled in the process.
However, the decisive difference was that the gods on the Ruban side had left a few ordinary White Elves alive, rather than just the spirit-callers.
[Among the survivors was a member of the royalty with a natural aptitude for spirit arts. With his help, we adjusted our souls.]
Once the souls were mixed, it was impossible to separate them completely, but they could at least be categorized. Just as the gods inhabiting a vessel used the body's memories as a shell, they placed the divine ego on the outside and made the elven ego the core.
[So that was it.]
Turan had wondered why they maintained the traits of "fixated addicts"—such as their obsession with physical beauty—despite the White Elf ego being dominant. If that was the case, it made sense.
In a sense, the gods of Ruban were puppets who believed themselves to be the puppeteers. In some ways, their plight was even more miserable than that of the Baraha half-elves, who had at least struggled with their self-identity.
[So, what do you plan to do with us now? Will you sever our lineage as you did the others?]
[Well, if you have some use, there’s no immediate need to kill you.]
Turan did not immediately bring up the project he was preparing. If they thought they had something valuable to offer, they would likely become arrogant.
Afterward, Turan asked a few more questions. He inquired about how they had collaborated with the gods of the west and what they intended to do after occupying Baraha. Among his curiosities was why they had kept the White Elves hidden in a corner of the underground for the past few thousand years instead of reviving the race.
[Because there is no benefit in increasing our numbers.]
[Hmm?]
[Even if our race grows, we lack the ability to fight you properly. Even the most powerful spirit-caller would be killed by one or two spells from a mediocre noble. Increasing our numbers only increases the chance of being discovered... and the moment we are discovered, our lineage would truly be severed.]
Although they occupied the Ruban family, that was only possible because they were using human bodies. If their true identities were exposed and they claimed to have protected the White Elves, even the mages of Ruban would turn their backs on them.
Having finished the conversation, Turan shoved Kalais’s spirit body back into the jewelry box and returned to his own body. As he lightly stretched, Armani, who had been watching the two of them quietly, spoke up.
"Did you fall asleep?"
"Of course not."
To Armani, who lacked spiritual awareness, it must have looked like Turan had simply closed his eyes and stood still for a moment while Nia stared into empty space and muttered nonsense.
*
Two days later, Bije—carrying a human, a mermaid, and a White Elf—finally soared past the devastated Ofen Port and arrived at Kalamaf.
Unlike the citizens of Sloan City, who had fallen into a near-panic at the sight of the giant golden eagle, the citizens of Kalamaf waved enthusiastically at the appearance of the divine beast that protected them.
Turan landed in the central garden of the House Head's residence and immediately summoned the high-ranking members of the Parsha family, including Asiz, to announce the results of the war.
"The Ruban family has been completely suppressed."
"Oh...!"
"As expected!"
It was the result they anticipated, but no one failed to rejoice. After all, war was a series of unpredictable variables.
Just then, one of the vassals looked at Nia, who was standing quietly behind Turan, and asked, "By the way, the person behind you is...?"
She wore a mask and a hood, draped in a cloak to hide the pale skin characteristic of White Elves, but her stature was clearly that of a woman. Turan let out a hollow laugh at the expressions of the vassals, who seemed to wonder if he had brought back a new mistress from Ruban.
"Now that I think about it, I forgot. Lock this one in the dungeon for the time being. Leave her clothes as they are, and never remove her mask or hood."
"The... the dungeon, sir?"
"Yes. Ah, while we're at it, I'll need to renovate the facilities a bit... For now, I'll personally deliver her meals."
The Parsha family's dungeon had magic cast by Meisa to restrict the use of mana, but it couldn't block spirit arts like spirit-calling. This meant that if an ordinary person or a knight-level jailer were stationed there, they could potentially be suppressed by her arts.
After imprisoning Nia, Turan went to find Meisa, who was resting in their quarters. Now four months into her pregnancy, her belly was noticeably showing whenever she wore light clothing.
"A White Elf?"
"Yeah. I don't know if I should call it a stroke of luck, but..."
For some reason, Meisa frowned slightly after hearing Turan's explanation.
"Why the face?"
"No, it's just... hearing the story, I can't help but feel a bit sorry for them."
During the subjugation of the dark elves, she had grown to loathe the race after seeing them slaughter humans and display their corpses. However, from what she heard, the White Elves didn't seem to have much in common with the dark elves other than the name.
They were just struggling to survive while being used as pawns for the personal desires of the Frea Divine Clan. Of course, they had still occupied the Ruban family, worn human skins, and remained hostile to Turan's forces.
Ordinary mages wouldn't feel such sympathy for a sub-race that was an enemy of humanity, but they had a mermaid, Armani, as a close friend. Because of that, it was difficult to apply a different standard just because they were a different race.
"They aren't worth that much sympathy," Turan countered, shaking his head.
Since the White Elves had been a minority even before the descent of the gods, they hadn't maintained massive human farms like the dark elves, but they still possessed the cannibalistic nature of those who consumed humans. When Turan explained what he had heard from Resion, Meisa groaned softly and shook her head.
"Well then... what are you going to do?"
"First, I have to contact Lavitas and let them know. In the meantime, we'll have to figure out how to handle her."
And there was one more thing to do: absorb Kalais’s mana.
Meisa wore a complicated expression as she looked at Kalais’s corpse, which Turan had pulled out of the high-capacity pouch.
"Really... seeing him like this feels strange."
"It can't be helped."
The last image Meisa had of Kalais was him laughing heartily as he saw them off. Seeing that same man lying on the floor with his head severed by Turan's hand was a difficult feeling to describe.
Regardless, they couldn't let this massive power go to waste. Perhaps Kalais, having lost his body, would be more pleased that those who had avenged him were using this power. Of course, one could never truly predict the will of the dead.
This time, the three of them—Turan, Meisa, and Bije—combined their strength. It was a bit of a shame that one spot was empty, but there was no one else left in the Parsha main house capable of absorbing Kalais’s power. Having fought so many wars recently, most had already reached their limits.
Since they were gaining power from an equal, they didn't experience the same euphoric rush as before, but as they felt themselves growing stronger, Bije suddenly made a choking sound and spat out the mana she was absorbing.
"Bije is finished too, I see."
Bije's mana, which had finally stopped growing, was somewhat weaker than the heads of the Great Families but vastly stronger than top-tier nobles. Considering her nature as a flying magic beast, she would now be able to wage a war of attrition against a family head like Osel, who lacked offensive capabilities.
After handling the most pressing matters, rest was finally in order. Turan spent the night with Meisa, washing away the fatigue of travel and battle. He also let Bije, who had suffered through several days of flight, eat her fill and rest.
The next morning, Turan gave Bije a task. She was to go to Lavitas and deliver the news. Perhaps it was because she had grown stronger; Bije nodded with a bright expression.
-
What set Bije apart from other messengers was not just her strength, but her superior intelligence. Unlike carrier birds where one had to worry about intercepted letters, Bije could simply be told what to say and deliver it directly. Of course, considering there were only a few people in the world capable of shooting Bije down, it was an unnecessary worry.
Even after sending Bije off, there was much to do. Turan designed medals for those who participated in the war and researched the weapons and tactics used. Of particular note was the performance of the firearms deployed in actual combat for the first time.
"Are you saying ten shots weren't enough to suppress a mid-tier noble?"
"Yes. Since it was a Ruban noble, we should assume their durability was effectively upper-tier or higher, but they were bare-bodied. Most other nobles usually have defensive magic devices, so we should consider the results similar."
Melo frowned at Turan's words. Firearms development was a project the entire Parsha leadership was invested in, but the chief officer was Melo—the family's most skilled enchanter and the strongest after Meisa.
"Should we increase the performance further? But if we increase the gunpowder, the risk of an explosion becomes too great."
"What if we increase the size? There's no reason to limit it to the current dimensions."
The current size of the firearms followed the opinions of the half-elves who had helped with the design, but after using them, it seemed there would be no issue using something larger and heavier. Guns were originally designed for ordinary humans, but the physical strength of mages far exceeded that.
"I suppose I should think in that direction."
"In the long run, I'd like them to be something commoners can use... is that still difficult?"
"Yes. The technology required to implement your ideas is far too high-level."
The firearms currently being manufactured by the Parsha family were crude enough to appall a true gunsmith. The weak barrels that couldn't withstand the gunpowder explosion were reinforced with durability enchantments, and since they lacked the technology for mechanical firing pins, they used ignition magic instead. At most, wrapping the gunpowder in cotton cloth to quantify the charge was the only real "technology" involved.
After offering a few more clues for development, Turan headed to the dungeon where the White Elf princess, Nia, was staying.
"Have you been well?"
"...Not really. This place is filthy and reeks."
"Well, it is a prison."
Families with long histories like Baraha operated luxury prisons for high-ranking captives, but Kalamaf was not yet at the stage of building such facilities. Turan provided fresh food and revealed what she would be doing from now on.
"How do we handle the Spirit Chain?"
"Yes. Can the aging of the Spirit Chain be resolved with spirit arts?"
This wasn't the first time he had asked this. Half-elves like Resion had been powerful spirit-callers during their lifetimes. But unfortunately, the answer he received from them was negative. The White Elf spirit-callers of the past hadn't bothered to research ways to resolve the aging of the Spirit Chain.
Well, since they were dying anyway because their physical bodies aged, they wouldn't have felt the need.
After entering the bodies of the gods, even if they became interested, they had lost their White Elf bodies and could no longer use spirit arts. In contrast, since the White Elf spirit-callers had continued their lineage, Turan hoped some method had been developed.
Unfortunately, his expectations were betrayed.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Yes. I am not a spirit-caller of great skill..."
Just like necromancers, there were ranks to spirit-callers, and Nia admitted she wasn't particularly powerful. Those who originally possessed great power had all been hunted down or merged with the divine clans; she was merely a member of a collateral branch with thin blood.
"Is that so... well, it can't be helped. I'll just have to research as much as I can."
Turan took time whenever he could to go down to the dungeon and research the basic principles of spirit arts through Nia. He knew the basics through the Baraha half-elves, but it wasn't the same as experiencing it directly.
"Stop."
"...Ugh."
Nia occasionally made aggressive attempts during their experiments. Having tried to push her spirit body into Turan's to force a soul-mix, she now trembled as he held her by the throat. Turan looked at her coldly.
"This is your last chance. If you pull another stunt, I'll start by killing the White Elves who will be arriving here later."
"...I understand."
Her dejected appearance was quite beautiful, but it evoked no sympathy from Turan. He knew that her spirit body—her true essence—was entirely different from that outward appearance.
While experimenting with spirit arts, another study also proceeded: how to prevent her from using her power recklessly.
"How about this? Can you pass through this?"
[No.]
"Is there any other way to bypass it?"
[I don't know.]
"Good, that's it then."
Among the magic devices he had Meisa create, the one designed to block spiritual vision was effective. Just as mages cannot accurately cast spells when their vision is blocked, a spirit-caller cannot attack an opponent's spirit body if their spiritual awareness is obstructed.
Turan fitted her with a magic device shaped like a headband and created a separate locking mechanism. With this on, those delivering food or cleaning the cell wouldn't risk having their minds controlled.
Come to think of it, it's past time for Bije to return...
Turan, finishing the restraints and returning to the surface, suddenly had that thought. Even carrying a person, two days was more than enough time for Bije to travel to Lavitas and back.
The moment the thought occurred, he felt Bije's presence in the distance. And someone was riding on her back.
"I apologize for visiting without an invitation."
A moment later, Lida Lavitas landed in the garden. She stepped off Bije and waved at Turan with a warm, knowing smile.