EP.119 As the End Approaches, Be Careful (1)
Brring!
The bright sunlight beats down.
Belnoa is sitting on a chair in a café in the Royal Capital, tilting her head back. It’s so hot that she feels exhausted even though she hasn’t done anything.
Clink!
Downing her iced coffee in one go, Belnoa lets out a long sigh.
The wind blowing is hot.
Sweat beads form on her forehead under the blazing sunlight.
With the weather like this, she has no choice but to wear lighter clothing. Despite her dislike for sunlight and her tendency to bundle up, Belnoa eventually succumbed to the heat.
“Is that your summer uniform? Oh my, it’s so pretty!”
…Actually, it wasn’t so much the weather that made her change but rather Chloe’s relentless nagging. Chloe, with sparkling eyes, was tugging at Belnoa’s summer outfit. She seemed extraordinarily excited.
“What do you think of girls’ uniforms? Pretty?”
“I haven’t seen them closely, so I don’t know.”
“Do you think it would suit me?”
“I’m not sure.”
Chloe tilts her head while beaming a smile. Belnoa responds with casual agreement, resting her chin on her hand.
Abduction, and then rescue.
A considerable amount of time has passed since that incident… but it has instilled a sense of vigilance in Belnoa. Just because it’s the Royal Capital doesn’t mean it’s entirely safe.
“I want to visit Apuria soon.”
“Is that so?”
Of course, it’s not from Chloe.
Seeing Chloe grin as if nothing ever happened, Belnoa can’t help but sigh. She feels that she must be more alert for the sake of the girl with a mind full of flowers.
“Haah…”
As Belnoa lets out yet another sigh, Chloe softly calls her name. She tilts her head slightly.
“Belnoa.”
The girl’s white hair flows down.
With a playful smile, she opens her mouth. Her soft voice lingers in Belnoa’s ear.
“Thanks again this time.”
“There’s no need to thank me.”
“They say it was especially dangerous this time.”
“It was dangerous.”
Belnoa nods slightly.
This time, it truly was dangerous. If Professor Rania hadn’t arrived at that moment… it might have ended right then and there.
‘Was it Professor Rania or Raniel?’
It’s hard to gauge the distance from such a character.
Thinking about that professor, the image of the calamity she encountered comes to Belnoa’s mind.
The Betrayer, Gletus.
The alchemist known as a calamity.
The figure of that calamity, whom she met at a distance, felt strangely familiar to Belnoa.
‘White hair, green eyes.’
Belnoa looks in front of her.
Chloe, who is smiling brightly opposite her, also has white hair and green eyes. It’s not just a mere overlap of colors.
‘It’s like I’m seeing Chloe as an adult.’
They were strikingly similar.
The image of the calamity shaped like a woman, exuding madness, keeps overlapping with Chloe’s form before her.
“Belnoa, are you feeling unwell today? Did I do something wrong…?”
“What?”
“I was worried because you looked so serious since earlier… Did I mess up?”
“No, it’s just that I have a lot on my mind.”
Seeing Chloe’s drooping eyes and her whispering voice, Belnoa bitterly smiled. Only then did Chloe seem to breathe a sigh of relief, mimicking a gesture of wiping her chest.
“I want to meet her too.”
Then she suddenly says.
“Was it Professor Rania? The one who helped you this time, and the one you said has a lot to teach?”
“…She is quite unique.”
“From the way you describe her, she must be a good professor, huh?”
A good professor.
“……”
At those words, Belnoa fell silent for a moment.
“Um…”
She is a good person. She is indeed someone with a lot to teach. After all, she is the one called the Ashen Mage. It’s undeniable that she is a person deserving of respect.
But, why is it so?
If asked whether she is a good ‘professor,’… it wouldn’t be an easy answer. It was hard to agree with that.
“Well…”
In the end, Belnoa answered with a mysterious expression.
“She’s a… nice person. An excellent person.”
“Belnoa, what’s with that expression?”
Chloe tilts her head.
Belnoa gives her a pained expression. Not long ago, Professor Rania had said to her:
– “Was your childhood friend named Chloe?”
– “When is she enrolling?”
Those words felt just like a predator eyeing its prey.
Belnoa let out a long sigh inwardly.
“You’ll understand when you meet her.”
For now, that’s all she could say.
After all, it was hard to explain in words.
2.
Achoo!
Suddenly sneezing, I rubbed my nose.
Is it because I got dust on me on the way here? My nose is itchy.
“Really.”
I sighed and rested my chin on my hand. Looking around, numerous old magical items clutter the space.
Dust-covered flasks.
Magic study books shoved in haphazardly.
Looking at those, I could roughly guess how much the shop owner neglects to clean.
“Why do you really live in a place like this?”
“I built it in such a way that you wouldn’t want to visit, but I always end up with at least one customer.”
The shop owner replied to my grumbling.
“What’s up this time, Raniel?”
The silver-haired elf, Cardi.
He looked at me with a somewhat puzzled expression, then slid a tea cup towards me with a clink.
“What’s this?”
“I remember you said you liked green tea, so I made some.”
“You can’t brew tea for the life of you.”
“It’s not that I can’t brew it. It’s just that these days, the kids brew it way too well. To the point it’s useless.”
That was an extremely lame excuse.
‘Still, I should drink at least a sip out of gratitude for his efforts…?’
With that thought, I tilted the cup.
As the liquid touched my lips, it was so bizarre that it didn’t even qualify to be called green tea, and I silently put the cup down.
Pthhh!
It was absolutely undrinkable.
“Aren’t you going to drink more?”
“Drink? This?”
I glared at Cardi, wide-eyed.
This was something better described as ‘chewing’ or ‘swallowing with difficulty’ rather than drinking.
In response to my answer, Cardi merely scratched his chin, looking genuinely perplexed.
“How strange. She seemed to like it.”
“Whoever she is, I doubt she has a normal sense of taste. Does she have a problem with her tongue?”
All Cardi did was shrug his shoulders.
He flashed that irritating smile as always and started clearing away the cup I pushed aside, then he spoke.
“So, what brings you here this time?”
“I have something to ask.”
“You’re really curious about a lot of things.”
“You should at least tell me something useful.”
I slipped my hand into the cape with the expansion and storage spell. After a poke around, I finally felt something that sent chills down my spine.
Swish!
I pulled it out and placed it on the table.
As soon as it hit the surface, Cardi’s eyes narrowed.
“This is…?”
“The Betrayer’s arm.”
The left arm of the Betrayer connected to the Otherworld.
What I had placed on the table was that.
A hand that opens the gate to the Otherworld merely by stretching out. A symbol of the Betrayer and a vital element in subduing that madman.
Pointing at it, I spoke.
“Something felt off about it.”
It looked like an arm that had simply relocated the night sky. Touching it felt more like dipping my hand into water than feeling the skin and bone.
“Even though it’s been cut off from her, it hasn’t rotted or crumbled. I tried burning it with starlight, but instead of working… it felt like it absorbed the starlight.”
I had tried every method.
There seemed to be a purpose for it, so I utilized all the knowledge I had to study this arm.
“But, I just couldn’t figure it out.”
And the result was what we have now.
I don’t get it. Truly, I couldn’t understand anything. The only thing I managed to deduce is… that it seemed connected to what Cardi had referred to last time – “the shade”.
Hearing my words, Cardi closed and then opened his eyes for a moment. His golden eyes were slightly shaken.
“…So you came to me.”
“I just couldn’t think of anyone else.”
The things I didn’t know.
Things related to the calamity.
The only person I thought who might know would be this identity-less elf.
“So, you met her.”
“She invaded the Royal Capital.”
“I gathered that much. She was probably trying to exploit that child to find a gap.”
Cardi, exhaling shortly, looked at me. There was a trace of surprise in his gaze.
“…Impressive, really.”
He said while touching the Betrayer’s arm.
“We were talking about how you pulled out the Arm of Deloheim without a Holy Sword, without even the blessing of the stars… That’s truly an unexpected outcome.”
“…The Arm of Deloheim?”
“That’s what this arm is called. They used to call it that, but now I’m not sure what to call it.”
At this point, the name doesn’t really matter.
Muttering that, Cardi rolled up his sleeves.
“…What are you doing?”
“Be quiet. I need to focus.”
As Cardi groped the Betrayer’s arm, at a certain point, he pressed down with his finger. His finger sunk into the strange liquid gently.
“…Huh?”
A door to the Otherworld.
Cardi opened it without using any spells. There wasn’t even a moment to be startled.
Splash!
Beginning with his thumb, then the index finger… Cardi sequentially inserted all five fingers into the Betrayer’s arm. The veins in his forearm bulged.
“…”
Cardi frowned.
He looked like he was grasping something firmly.
Whoosh!
Finally, he pulled his hand away from the Otherworld. Clutched in his grasp was something.
“…A key?”
It was a key.
Old and rusty, yet a key that held starlight.
“…I knew you still had it.”
Cardi looked at the key with a bitter smile.
After briefly gazing at the key with a reminiscent expression, he closed his eyes for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts.
“Raniel.”
When he opened his eyes and called my name, that gaze no longer trembled. He looked at me with those inscrutable eyes as always.
“Go to the North.”
He said.
“I’ll draw you a detailed map. There’s a small research facility I built in the northern Kurakt Mountain Range. It’s foggy, and with snowstorms, it won’t be easy to find… but…”
Cardi pointed at the Betrayer’s arm with the key.
“With this arm and this key, you should be able to find it easily. Considering you can read the flow of mana, it should be possible.”
I asked a question.
What’s there?
“You came all the way here, so I can tell you now.”
In response to my query, Cardi answered.
“The Martyr, Gleria Bel Armias.”
He smiled bitterly.
“You’ll be able to learn about her, who was once called the Avatar of Deloheim.”
And, Cardi added while saying,
“And I will even tell you how to kill the Betrayer, Gletus.”
3.
The western front, the Phantom Territory, Kremperria.
Kyle took in the dawn air as he looked around. Just a few weeks ago, the Old Castle had been swarmed with the Betrayer’s beasts… but now it was eerily quiet.
“…”
Walking around, Kyle thought.
This battle was dangerous. The Betrayer’s beasts were fierce, and the casualties were double the usual amount. Of course, he himself wasn’t in danger.
He wouldn’t die from just this.
However, the frontlines had nearly collapsed.
“…I’m grateful the reinforcements made it in time.”
Though calling them reinforcements, it was just one person.
In fact, that ally was someone he had somewhat expected. He always appeared whenever something involving the Betrayer happened.
The Sword Demon, Draka.
A ghost who lost everything to the Betrayer.
– …Looks like the Ashen Mage isn’t here this time.
– It’s a shame from a soldier’s perspective, but personally, it’s a welcome occurrence. Move aside. That monster’s beasts can’t be caught like this.
In dealing with the Betrayer’s beasts, he was incredibly capable. Thanks to him taking care of the beast horde, they managed to avoid Kremperria being captured.
Kyle suddenly recalled the conversation he had shared with him.
– You seem to be staying on the western front for a while. I’m planning to head back north.
Why was he heading north?
That was a pointless question. The actions of the Sword Demon were always dictated by the “Betrayer”.
Draka had been pursuing the traces of the Betrayer in the North for longer than a day or two. So, it was no wonder.
‘But…’
This time felt different.
– It might be tough due to the snowstorm, but I heard the guards up north have mentioned the fog has thickened.
– This time will be the opportunity to investigate that ruin. I plan to settle it this time. I’ve been tied up for too long.
This time will truly be the time.
That statement sent a chill down his spine.
– I will definitely find it.
– A way to hunt the Betrayer.
He was a man who had spent his entire life pursuing the Betrayer.
With madness felt in his determination, he had risen to the ranks of superhumans, and had placed the term “surely” in his mouth.
‘He wouldn’t hesitate to use any means necessary.’
He was a man who would have attempted to destroy an entire territory just to hunt down the Betrayer. If Raniel hadn’t stopped him, Draka would have truly executed that insane plan.
Hatred and obsession.
That was the only driving force that kept him alive.
“…I should avoid the North for a while.”
It would be best to keep distance from such a person.
At the very least, that’s what Kyle thought.
