Chapter 102
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Fallen Flowers (4)
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I gasped in surprise.
"Brother? H-How...?"
"I heard the branch was under attack and came running right away."
"Watch out for magic! Spread out and attack!"
The Silver Guard Knight issued orders to the Silver Moon Knights who had arrived with him. At the same time, he closed the distance in an instant and charged toward Kaella.
"Prius scum!"
Kaella bellowed, and countless tree roots burst up from the stone-littered ground.
The knights didn't panic; they widened their distance and began slicing through the roots wherever gaps appeared.
The Silver Guard Knight dodged and cut the roots with fluid grace as he approached Kaella, as if he could see exactly where they would sprout.
As he drew close enough for his sword to reach her, Kaella flinched in surprise and leaped back to create space, drawing in even more mana as she extended her hand.
Ruuuumble...
She had gathered so much mana that the air trembled and my breath caught in my throat. Sensing it too, the Silver Guard Knight pulled back his sword and retreated.
Seeing that, the corner of Kaella's mouth curved upward.
"You can't beat me here."
The cracked ground split with a crunching sound, and the stones scattered across it flipped over as a massive flower bud forced its way up.
The Silver Guard Knight swung his glowing blue sword to sever the stem, but another bud sprouted from the cut.
Dozens of such buds were rising all around.
I instinctively knew something terrifying would happen the moment those flowers bloomed.
"Cut them down before they open!"
The Silver Guard Knight shouted to his knights, but few could keep up with slicing the buds.
Black thorny vines erupted alongside the buds, attacking the knights from all sides.
"Urgh!"
A knight trying to cut a bud found his sword stuck fast to the stem, unable to move. At the same moment, the black thorny vine pierced into his arm.
"Stay here, Lib."
Shuren gritted his teeth, sword in hand, and rushed to help the knight.
With Shuren gone, my body swayed unsteadily, but I had no intention of just sitting there waiting for the knights to die or get injured.
I took a deep breath and lifted my head.
The staff kept slipping in my blood-smeared hands.
I had countless minor wounds from failing to fully block the thorny vines, and it felt like a few bones inside me were broken too.
Still, Kaella, endlessly drawing mana from the dragon vein, could keep producing buds until the knights grew exhausted and fell.
I couldn't let that happen.
I raised my staff overhead and began gathering mana, conjuring blue crystal arrows one by one in the air.
With Kaella dominating the mana, my spells were far slower and more difficult than usual.
After barely managing three arrows, I fired them at the buds.
The struck buds were soon encased in blue crystal and shattered like glass.
Good. The rest too...
"Where do you think you're going!"
The ground shook violently, throwing me off balance.
A tree root shot up from the ground, wrapping around my ankle.
"Whoa!"
"Lib!"
Shuren rushed over and swung his sword, but the root yanked me deeper into the alley far faster.
Crashing onto the sticky, waterlogged ground of the dark, narrow alley, my vision shook violently.
Rumble...
Black tree roots sprouted from the white brick walls on both sides of the alley, starting to block the path.
A wall of roots rose up, dividing the street from the alley.
I heard Shuren shouting and swinging his sword from the street side, but all I could do was press my hand to the ground to steady my shaking vision.
"Prius really just gets in the way."
Kaella slowly appeared before the wooden wall that had completely sealed the alley.
Her bark-like skin gradually reverted to human flesh.
As time passed, her understanding of her own magic deepened.
The red flower-shaped Ecronium on her chest was steadily turning black.
Kaella looked down at me and smiled faintly.
"If I take your power for myself... I feel like I could get what I want. What do you think?"
"...That's what it means to be a demon."
Kaella just smiled, neither confirming nor denying it.
Instead, she lightly raised her hand, and one of the roots shot toward me.
I tried to raise my staff to block, but my arm wouldn't move as well as I'd hoped.
The moment the black root drew close, I squeezed my eyes shut.
Boom!
A massive thunderclap rang out, deafeningly close.
I opened my eyes again.
Kaella's root had stopped right in front of my face, charred black and smoldering, with the afterimage of a yellow flash lingering at its tip.
Following the afterimage, I turned my head to see a young man with long black hair tied back, extending his hand toward Kaella.
"Y-You...!"
Kaella's eyes widened in shock.
As the root moved, a streak of yellow lightning flashed from the young man's hand, incinerating it in an instant.
Kaella flinched and retreated.
He turned toward me. I stared up at him, dumbfounded.
There was no way I wouldn't recognize that face. I'd created it myself.
"...Bertharot."
"W-Well, uh, this is, a dangerous situation, so..."
As I stared piercingly and murmured, he panicked and started babbling excuses.
In the midst of it, Kaella stirred her mana again.
Her face flushed red with rage, she screamed.
"Traitor who abandoned me and ran! I'll wipe you out here all at once!"
Roots surged up en masse, completely overwhelming the alley.
Thorny roots tore through the ground and walls, lunging toward me.
Before my defensive spell could even activate, a lightning flash erupted.
Crackle...
There were too many roots. And the lightning's power was waning.
It couldn't burn the ones burrowing into the walls, managing only to scorch the closest ones approaching.
It was impossible to eliminate the waves of roots flooding in from all sides.
"F-First, we should get out of here..."
After firing several bolts, Bertharot panicked as the roots showed no sign of thinning.
"No."
I seized Bertharot's hand. Thin strands of yellow lightning leaked from his palm.
This is...
"You're out of mana, right?"
Bertharot looked down at me in surprise.
I gripped his right wrist firmly and pointed it toward Kaella.
"Get ready."
Just before I poured my concentrated mana into his hand, he seemed to mutter something stupid like "What?"
My mana transformed in Bertharot's palm into a massive bolt of golden lightning.
Rooooar...
Dazzling light poured out, engulfing Kaella. At the same time, the tremendous recoil sent us flying backward, smashing through a weak fence and wall.
As white bricks collapsed over my head and consciousness faded, the last thing I saw was Kaella's shocked face staring at us amid the blazing lightning.
A cold wind brushed my cheek as I opened my eyes.
Due to my injuries, my body burned with fever, and my exhaled breath was hot. In stark contrast, the wind grazing my cheek was chillingly cold.
My arm dangled limply in the air. Cold wind slipped between my fingers.
And my clothes fluttered wildly...
"Wh-Whoa?!"
When I spotted tiny buildings below my feet, I realized I was airborne and thrashed in panic.
Bertharot was holding me as we flew through the night sky.
"Don't! If you move...!"
Bertharot wobbled in panic.
He couldn't steady his unstable posture and soon lost balance, plummeting toward the ground.
Even as we fell, his strong arms held me tight.
In our spinning descent, I glimpsed the limp black dragon wings and elongated tail.
Thud!
Something felt terribly wrong as we hit the ground, but being on top of Bertharot, I barely felt the impact.
As I tried to rise unsteadily, the arms holding me finally released.
Their owner had crashed headfirst into wooden crates and a pile of firewood, completely buried under the debris.
"A-Are you okay?!"
He sprang up from the rubble and asked me.
"That's what I should be saying."
I hesitated, pondering how to dig him out, then froze.
"Ah, I'm fine. I'm tough."
He brushed off the dust and stood, looking every bit as sturdy as he claimed.
"Good to hear... Where are we?"
I tried to calm my spinning head and glanced around.
It looked like the outskirts of Elgrace's streets.
Elgrace's walls were visible nearby, amid dilapidated buildings.
Whether it was always deserted or just late at night, it was dark, dim, and quiet.
"This is our troupe's campsite. We got flung really far from that attack earlier. The master passed out, and I didn't know what to do, so..."
So he carried me here by flying.
"The campsite's this way. Lucky we didn't land too far."
Bertharot pointed in one direction and started walking.
Still confused, I grabbed his arm.
"Campsite? What are you talking about? ...And what's with the wings and tail?!"
"Uh, um."
He shrank back, trying to hide his wings and tail in extreme embarrassment. But there was no concealing those huge, conspicuous features.
Kaella had called him a mutant. A ghost of Cornik too.
Bertharot, clad in shabby, worn cloth shirt and pants, certainly looked the part.
Two black leathery wings protruded from his back, tipped with small claws. A massive black dragon tail dragged and swayed on the ground.
Half-dragon in form, yet unable to fly properly, change shape at will, or use his full power—an unstable state.
"Ugh..."
A delayed headache hit from the heavy magic use. Clutching my forehead with both hands, I tried to think.
"Mana... You're out of mana, right? Bertharot."
"Y-Yeah."
"Since when?"
"Well..."
Bertharot rolled his eyes, searching for words.
Was he wandering Cornik in this state, looking for me? What an idiot.
"Never mind, no need to say."
I grabbed Bertharot's arm and pulled him close, placing my hand on his chest.
I intended to give him just enough mana to dispel the tail and wings and revert to human form.
"...Huh?"
A dingy wooden ceiling loomed before me.
I blinked and struggled to lift my body, heavy as a boulder.
What? Did I pass out...?
I'd only meant to give Bertharot a little mana, but the guy sucked it all out until I blacked out.
I'd used quite a bit of mana, but never enough to faint before—it left me flustered.
"Master! You're awake! Thank goodness."
The door burst open, and Bertharot beamed with relief at me.
Fortunately, no sign of dragon wings or tail. He'd taken enough to hide his true form and then some; he looked full of vitality.
"...What are you wearing?"
I stared incredulously at Bertharot's outfit.
He was decked out in flashy, ornate vest and coat.
A riot of at least five colored cloths wrapped his waist, and his pants jingled with endless tassels.
"I've gotta head to the final performance soon. I ditched midway through earlier, so the passerby's probably furious. Can't be late this time..."
Bertharot calmly explained as he pulled on red shoes adorned with yellow beads from below.
"Don't tell me... Magos Traveling Troupe?"
I forced my stiffened mind to turn and finally uttered the words.