Chapter 23
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Life and Death (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Not much time left now.
I painfully felt the throbbing of my heart as I once again counted the days I had ahead of me.
No matter what happened, everything would come to an end when that day arrived.
Even as I envisioned that moment dozens, hundreds of times, I never gave a thought to what came after.
If I failed, Berkis would never let me off easy.
This would surely be the last time I could wield mana.
I'd never get another chance to reclaim my memories.
Whether it ended in success or failure, the fact that it would all be over one way or another filled me with pure joy.
And at the same time, agony.
It wasn't just the pain of the flesh.
Every time I realized what I'd lost, my heart clenched as if it were aching.
It felt like an empty void had become a wound inside my body.
"Luther, how's the wound?"
Liscia approached, carrying the fresh scent of Elberry flowers.
Her crisp, vibrant fragrance cleared my mind whenever she drew near.
"It's getting better."
To be precise, it just wasn't getting any worse.
Bodily pain was truly beneath my notice. Liscia probably couldn't understand that.
"That's a relief, then."
"Have all the guests arrived?"
"Yes. It was difficult, but... we managed to gather everyone."
Liscia moved to the window sill.
She placed her slender fingers on the ledge and gripped it tightly. An inescapable anxiety radiated from her.
"Lesion, Sernia, Laitas, and even the Arbat Alliance. They're not participating in the meeting, but representatives from the fallen Troyan Empire have come too."
"It's all because of you... because you said you could seal the Demon Emperor."
She was the one who'd heard my words, believed them, and called everyone together.
Liscia Erban.
I knew she was a renowned holy mage, but I hadn't expected this level of influence.
"Any regrets?"
Liscia didn't answer for a long while, then finally shook her head.
"I have no choice but to believe you now. The alliance can't endure any more battles. The weary troops have lost hope, and the Demon Emperor is growing ever more cunning. We need to seize this final chance."
Liscia gazed at me, her resolve firm.
I wondered how I looked to her.
The last hero to save a war-ravaged world? Or a monster worn down by fatigue and inflammation?
Either way, as she said, this was undoubtedly our last opportunity.
"Luther. If this succeeds, you..."
"I'll vanish."
I had no lingering attachments, no obsessions, not even any emotions left—yet why did this woman wear such an expression?
I stared down at Liscia's face.
A foolish woman trying to shoulder the world's every sorrow alone.
Embracing it all, offering pointless affection.
I couldn't comprehend it.
"Then tell me your crest."
"What?"
"Tell me your family crest."
I hadn't misheard. Liscia repeated it clearly and firmly.
Stunned, I opened my mouth, closed it, then asked right away.
"Do you even know what that means?"
"Yes. I heard that imperial mages carry a crest symbolizing their lineage within their bloodline. That's why descendants of the family use the same crest generation after generation. Isn't that right?"
I was at a loss for words.
It wasn't wrong, but she didn't seem to grasp it fully either.
She wasn't even from the Empire or Denan, nor a mage—it was baffling.
But with nearly all the Empire's vaunted mages dead in this situation... explaining it felt absurd.
"...Something like that. Why do you want to know it?"
This time, Liscia hesitated.
She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them, speaking with clear determination.
"To remember you."
"Pointless."
"Don't say that. If this ends well and peace returns to the world, I want people to remember you. What you did..."
"Enough."
I grabbed Liscia's shoulder.
She winced slightly but didn't pull away.
"Luther..."
"Have you forgotten what I did? I'm no hero. I started a war, commanding demons to offer up lives to the Demon Emperor. And I did far worse things..."
"If you're remembered as a hero after that, it'd be the greatest hypocrisy imaginable."
"You'd lost your memories and were under the Demon Emperor's control back then. Plenty of people like you existed. Not all of them stepped up to sacrifice themselves and seal him away."
"It was just the blade I'd aimed at innocents turning aside. ...If that's your intent, I can't share my bloodline crest."
I released her shoulder.
But instead, Liscia grabbed my hand.
"I understand."
She looked up at me with desperate eyes.
"I'll stop trying to spread word of you to others, as you wish. But please, teach me the family crest."
"Why? What's the point of knowing the crest of some long-extinct imperial mage family?"
"I'll remember it."
Liscia met my gaze steadily.
My reflection shone clearly in her pure eyes. It felt like I was trapped.
"Whenever I see that crest, I'll remember you were here. That's all. If it's such a trivial reason, surely you can teach me your crest?"
"...Truly trivial."
Even then, Liscia smiled.
I lightly slashed my palm, drawing a shallow cut.
Dull-colored droplets of blood welled up.
I channeled a bit of mana, and the blood formed thin lines, tracing a crest across my palm.
A complex pattern of a bird with spread wings, a star, and thorny branches intertwined.
"This is..."
"The crest of House Lendaik. It means nothing now."
No matter how many times this body had died and been reborn, the bloodline infused with mana remained unchanged.
I pressed my palm, crest glowing, directly onto Liscia's hand. A warm energy enveloped and swirled around it.
When I pulled away, the Lendaik crest had appeared on her palm.
"Remember it if you want."
A simple imprint made of blood.
Whenever Liscia thought of me, the red crest would reappear on her palm.
Liscia summoned the crest on her palm once more and smiled brightly.
"Thank you, Luther. But everything has meaning."
This woman's way of thinking was as incomprehensible as ever.
I turned my head toward the corridor, which had grown noticeably rowdier. The footsteps had been increasing for a while, and now it seemed a crowd had gathered.
"Going there now might hold more meaning."
Liscia laughed.
"...If you cowards hadn't retreated on your own back then, the north shore of Carpan Lake wouldn't have turned to ashes."
"So you think turning our own troops' lives to ashes with your idiotic plan would have been better?"
"That land was going to be retaken anyway once the eastern front stalled. Should thousands die just to claim a handful of dirt?"
"If you're scared of that, what kind of war are you even fighting..."
"Enough, enough! Both of you, stop it!"
Liscia finally raised her voice. The room fell silent.
The hot-tempered red-haired Arbat man kept gripping and releasing the hilt of his greatsword, heightening the tension.
The black bear-like Loran man facing him off shut his mouth at Liscia's intervention but was steadily building rage.
"Everyone, please take your seats. Captain Cortis, Sir Gregor. Yes, if possible, sit a bit farther apart."
The young Denan knight at the center sighed wearily, rubbing his face.
As the Arbat and Loran took their assigned seats, their attendants quietly followed suit.
The meeting hadn't even begun yet.
Liscia, about to enter the conference room with me, let out a deep sigh at the arguing voices from within.
She asked me to wait and went in first, at which point the room began to settle somewhat.
Though it already seemed hopelessly chaotic.
I leaned against the corridor wall outside, peering in.
Not many familiar faces, but I recognized those from rumors or tales of valor.
The young Denan knight at the center seat was Allen Lesis, who had come with Liscia before.
Unlike his appearance, he was a prince of Lesion Kingdom renowned for his prowess and the deep trust he commanded.
Behind him stood Lesion's second prince and their elite knights.
Liscia sat beside them.
Though Luar by race, as a holy mage revered by all, she was co-hosting this meeting with Lesion Kingdom.
The Luar man watching her was an envoy from Sernia Kingdom.
Sernia, one of the allied nations long at war with the Empire, had suffered near annihilation in recent battles.
They'd barely fielded any forces since, which was why a civilian envoy rather than a knight had come.
Beside them sat the Loran warriors of the Laitas Alliance in a row.
The Laitas Alliance, a coalition of various strong-willed Loran tribes, wasn't particularly cohesive internally.
Its representative—the black bear Loran warrior who had clashed with the Arbat earlier—was Sir Gregor. I'd heard tales of his bravery.
The Arbat Alliance delegates sat on the opposite side, spaced apart.
Though called an alliance, it was a gathering of small Arbat communities, the smallest group here.
Yet individual Arbats were exceptionally capable, unleashing terrifying prowess in battle.
Leading them was Cowan Cortis, the "Red Tiger," a fire Arbat who roamed battlefields at the head of a mercenary band.
I recalled grand stories of how his flames tore through enemies like claws.
This gathering was nearly everyone who wanted to drag down the Demon Emperor.
But no mages in sight...
"You...!"
I looked up to see a blue-robed kid no older than fifteen aiming a staff at me.
A long robe typical of kingdom mages, and a slender staff.
A mage had arrived just in time.
"Imperial mage! Why are you here of all places?!"
As the young mage kid prepared to unleash some childish spell, I raised my hand to block it.
The magic took the form of chains, coiling around my wrist.
Oh. Interesting.
Southern kingdom magic differed greatly from the Empire's, always fascinating to observe.
"Got you!"
The kid cheered as the chain from his staff bound my wrist.
I had no idea what game this was, but he seemed happy, so I let it be.
"Now, tell me what you were doing here, you vile mage!"
"Waiting."
"What does that mean?! Planning to attack the meeting?!"
"Stop it, Ron."
A low voice came from beyond the corridor corner behind the kid, and an old man appeared.
Seated in a self-moving chair, clutching a long staff, with snow-white hair.
I recognized him instantly.
Lagot Althur, the alliance's grand mage.