EP.194 Their Stage (8)
Choosing for oneself and taking responsibility for one’s choices is no easy feat. Coming up with answers in front of others is also not simple.
One must be accountable for their words.
One must consider the possibility that their answers might be wrong.
When failure strikes, they must bear the consequences alone.
Standing in front of others inevitably brings responsibility, whether one wants it or not. In dire situations, it becomes even more pressing. That is why most people do not wish to step forward. You can’t really blame them; it’s only natural.
However, here stands a girl.
“Perhaps.”
A girl who chose the difficult path of making her own choices instead of depending on the star. When everyone else falls silent, she opens her mouth to speak.
“Perhaps, there might be a way.”
Her golden eyes shine brilliantly in the darkness. The golden gaze looks at the figures beside her, reflecting purple and green eyes in turn.
“Resti, the talent I know you have is the ability to see and understand everything related to the stars, right?”
Resti nods.
Ayla continues.
“If you understand that, then of course, as a mage of your caliber, utilizing that ability should be possible, right?”
“… It’s still impossible.”
This time, Resti shakes her head.
“I understand what you’re thinking. Right now, you’re asking me to make use of that girl’s mana, aren’t you?”
Pointing at Chloe, Resti speaks. She had thought of that too. Using Chloe’s mana to wield starlight as a weapon. If it were possible, it would be a perfect plan. However, it was impossible.
“That girl’s mana, I mean the starlight… is different from regular mana. I’ve done research for nearly a month, but I still haven’t grasped it.”
They had attended the same class, trying numerous times. But results were scarcely forthcoming. Theoretically, they understood, but putting that into practice was another matter. Chloe’s mana trickled through her fingers, uncontrollable.
“… Only Professor Rania can do that.”
It’s an area beyond her capabilities.
With that in mind, Ayla shook her head. A gentle smile appeared on her lips.
“I’m not asking you to do it alone.”
“… Huh?”
“There are more than just you and Chloe here. I also have talents related to the stars.”
Like a conductor wielding a baton, Ayla drew circles in the air with her finger. At that moment, Resti felt the flow of mana twist.
“… Just now?”
“This is my talent.”
With her eyes wide open, Resti listened as Ayla continued speaking.
“I can ‘control’ the mana around me, or the flow itself. It shouldn’t be much different even if it’s mana filled with starlight, right?”
In other words.
“I’ll control the mana that Chloe releases, making it easier for you to utilize. You handle it from there.”
What appeared to be a reckless plan now leaped into the realm of possibility.
“Chloe.”
“Yes, yes?”
Ayla grabbed Chloe’s arm.
“Chloe, just spread your mana as far as you can. You don’t need to think about anything else.”
In a soft voice that urged rather than pressured, Ayla spoke. Chloe slowly nodded, closing her eyes tightly.
“… I’ll try.”
With her fingers intertwined, Chloe bowed her head slightly as if in prayer. Starlight flowed out from her like a fountain. The brilliant starlight filled the surroundings, undimmed by the darkness.
It resembled mana, but it wasn’t.
A stream of starlight flowed, unable to be measured by the laws of the world. It twisted and wrapped around the air. Watching it flow, Ayla took a short breath.
“… Huh.”
Letting out the breath she held, Ayla steeled herself.
In her narrowed golden eyes, a platinum ring of light spun. Feeling the starlight’s gaze upon her, Ayla raised her arm. She extended her fingers.
What she desired was control.
What she wished for was the right to wield.
Her outstretched finger was a baton, and she, the conductor. Ayla moved her finger, signaling the beginning of a performance.
Swish.
Amidst the chaotic bursts of light, a semblance of order emerged. Weak but surely directing itself in a specific direction. And the Watcher did not lose sight of that direction.
“Now.”
Ayla commanded.
Resti moved.
Creak, creak.
A circuit materialized in the air. Following the paths of the circuit, starlight began to flow. Slowly, but with a definite direction. In front of the completed circuit, Resti formed the words of a spell.
“Summon.”
Light surged.
In the swirling mass of light, the performance began.
2.
Every battle is resolved in an instant.
To reach that moment, battles undergo incredibly cumbersome processes. Creating openings, looking for openings, feints, strikes, retreats—this is no different for the battles of mages.
Whoosh!
Raniel dashed, kicking up dust. Her body, reinforced to its limit, left even afterimages in her wake. Where the spell swept past, Raniel was nowhere to be found. Only ash remained where she trod.
Dodge. Counter from the dodge.
The rising dust clouds dissipate in an instant. From the blind spot, a fist clutching the spell emerges. A flash sparkles through the dust.
Smash.
The ground shakes. An intangible shockwave engulfs the area. The shadow instinctively moves to protect its vessel. The muddy water surrounds Kelharlem, but it cannot prevent being pushed away.
Thwack!
The shockwave laden with ashen mana strikes Kelharlem. The fierce gust launches the muddy water in all directions. However, it’s only for a moment. The splashed mud returns again to Kelharlem.
‘The power of the spell is weak.’
Raniel instinctively senses this.
To clear the shadow, a more powerful spell is essential. No need to seek far for the strongest spell she can cast.
Whoosh!
Raniel glides over the ground. In her hand, a small spark is already clenched.
“Ashes to Ashes.”
Tick, tick.
The spark leaps up.
The ashes swirling around react with the spark. In an instant, a flash strikes the area. The raging heat vaporizes the muddy water, creating an opening.
Thud.
Raniel charges toward Kelharlem.
Closing the distance, she thrusts her fist into Kelharlem’s abdomen, but it is blocked by muddy water. The physical impact is nullified.
However, the spell remains.
Spell Enhance.
Double Spell.
Smash.
A flash mows down the muddy water that Ballon had formed. Before the muddy water can surge back up, another spell strikes into Kelharlem’s abdomen.
Boom!
Kelharlem’s feet leave the ground.
Just as Raniel is about to grab his collar, she feels her body being grabbed and launched into the air.
“… Gah!”
Something is choking her neck. As she feels her breath cut off, Raniel squints her eyes. Something is clutching her nape.
‘… A hand?’
A black claw.
It grips her throat. The arm connected to it winds through the muddy water surrounding Kelharlem.
Whoosh!
The arm attempts to throw Raniel to the ground. Gritting her teeth, she catches the black arm with her hands cloaked in ashen mana. Twisting her body, she yanked the arm free.
Thud!
Not fully stopping her fall, Raniel rolls a few times on the ground before finally standing.
“… Ugh, spit.”
She rubbed her blackened neck and spat blood. It was fortunate she was saturated in ashen mana; without it, her neck could have easily been crushed.
“… What a mess.”
Muttering that, Raniel looks forward.
The gap she had managed to close was widening again. And the shadow cloaking Kelharlem now… takes on a different form than before.
‘What was a formless fog before now has a clear shape.’
‘A black claw.’
A form aimed at grasping something. The bent fingers resemble hooks, an image of trying to pull something down.
“… Better than the Demon Lord.”
Raniel chuckles softly.
The claws erupting from Kelharlem’s body are merely a few dozen at best… yet, the Demon Lord Raniel remembers is nothing compared to that.
‘Thousands, tens of thousands of claws.’
Filling the area with claws like a raging wave. Raniel, with the experience of binding the flooding shadows, knows she can handle this much.
Huh…
As she exhales sharply to regain her stance, Kelharlem’s body shakes violently. Suddenly, dozens of claws pour out toward Raniel.
Tap, tap.
Raniel taps the ground with her toes twice. Then she brushes away her blood-soaked bangs. Her exposed blue eyes sparkle in the darkness.
Crack.
Raniel’s ankle makes a loud noise.
Lowering her stance, she stares straight at the incoming claws. Facing the encroaching shadow, she does not choose to dodge.
Thwack!
She charges straight ahead. As she collides with the ground, it sinks, and dust erupts. Raniel leaps straight into the chains.
One step, then another.
With every step, she adds speed. Kicking up ash, she starts to sprint. The claws rush to grab her, slow and sluggish.
Crash!
She strikes a shadowy claw. Trampling the crushed claw, she advances. With punches and kicks, she creates her own path.
The claws hesitate.
Sensing they cannot grasp her, they begin to converge in a single direction, not to catch her but to block her.
Rebuild.
Kelharlem’s spell crashes into the ground.
The earth rises, and the flat plains transform into a gorge. Kicking off the thrusting and sharp terrain, Raniel leaps into the air.
Warriors losing their footing will try to flatten the earth again. They may try to cut down the risen ground in search of solid ground to leap from.
But Raniel is a mage.
She doesn’t need to limit her footing to just ‘the ground.’ She swings her arms in the air. In an instant, her spell takes form.
Chain.
Restriction.
Clatter! Dozens of chains protrude, binding the elevated earth and the ground. Raniel lands on the chains spun like a spiderweb.
Sway.
The chains sway, and Raniel leaps again. Each leap accelerates, her movements surpassing Kelharlem’s spells, which can no longer keep up.
‘All that remains.’
As she leaps off the last chain, Raniel looks down at the shadow-cloaked Kelharlem. Their eyes meet. The shadow engulfing the Braver shakes suddenly.
Whoooosh.
Like a beast exposing its mouth towards prey, the black sludge opens wide. The muddy water gapes at Raniel, beckoning her to come.
“… Ha.”
Raniel lets out a laugh.
In mid-air, she spins her body. Placing her palm upon her chest, she feels the overheating circuit, and ashen mana seeps from it. With her hand upon it, Raniel takes a brief breath.
‘The first day I used this.’
Countless times, she had to lose consciousness.
To suppress the curse inflicted by the Demon Lord, she succeeded in forming a concept and embedding it in mana. However, the completed ashen mana behaves entirely differently than ordinary mana.
It suppresses the curses and drives away the shadows.
Since its nature differs from normal mana, its usage is different too. Even forced into the circuit, spells frequently failed to activate. The cost-effectiveness is poor, and she would be bedridden for days after a single use.
Nevertheless, she had to research it.
She needed to find a way to manage this.
‘Countless trial and errors passed.’
Raniel never ceased her research.
It’s because of that process that she stands here now. Raniel can now cast spells using ashen mana. The time she can endure the ashen mana is also increasing.
And now.
“Ashes to Ashes.”
She has also succeeded in developing spells that utilize the qualities of ashen mana. Raniel prepares to use it.
Whoosh!
The scattered ash gathers into one point.
The remnants of mana converge in one location. Etching another spell into the swirling ash, Ayla declares.
“Curse to Ashes.”
The color of fire shifts to ashen hues.
The flames absorbing the characteristics of ashen mana rage fiercely. This is a fire that burns only curses.
With that fire clenched in her hand.
Eyes wide open.
Staring down what she must obliterate.
“Bite down on this hard, Kelharlem.”
As she draws the flames, Raniel descends.
“It might be a little hot.”
3.
The long darkness is nearing its end.
The altar, the center that brought darkness to Apuria, shakes repeatedly. Echoes of vibrations ripple from that place.
The situation at the altar, where the darkness is spiraling within the barrier, is reaching its climax.
Crack, crack!
Summoned beings, running with starlight, begin to smash the altar. Their teeth are the Star Spear, and their scratching claws are the Holy Sword.
Compared to the weapons of the stars, they are pitifully weak, but when dozens or hundreds gather, they become a weapon in their own right.
Boom!
The starlit summoned beings successfully shatter the altar. As the altar crumbles, the ground shakes, and the black barrier begins to lift.
Meanwhile, in the unseen backstage, the moment of resolution approaches.
Flare!
Leading the flames, a human dashes into the darkness as a streak of fire. The fire ignited by the human burns the shadow. It’s like a torch illuminating the dark. The flames begin to dispel the darkness.
Whooooosh!
Burning away the darkness created by the shadow, the human reaches the Braver. Grabbing the Braver’s head, the human incinerates the shadow contained within. Ashen flames rage wildly, and the consuming shadows begin to ignite.
Ashes scatter.
An existence akin to a god is set ablaze and vanishes.
Popping through the crumbling shadow, the human emerges, the one who could only become a Braver.
And the human faces another human.
The human who does not take anyone’s life lightly reaches out to save the one who was prepared to sacrifice for others. The chain held in that hand is akin to the Holy Sword. In spirit, it is fundamentally no different from a tool meant to save someone.
The chain ensnares the Braver.
Turning him back into a human.
Light surges, and a new contract is forged in that place. The starlight dispelling the darkness shines brilliantly. Thus, the long battle comes to an end.
【The contract has been established.】
Even if no one saw it.
Even if it was merely behind the scenes.
The two humans, willingly accepting it as their stage, did their utmost in their roles. That is why what they faced was the best possible outcome.
It isn’t the worst.
Not the lesser of evils forced upon them.
It was the best they could achieve because they gave it their all.
“Good job.”
And so, Raniel, the Ashen Mage, smiles.
“Kelharlem.”
Offering praise to the human who never gave up until the end.
Author’s Note
I received a support message saying I ranked 3rd in the awards. I haven’t checked the results, but thank you for letting me know 😀 I’ll write the support message on the dedicated off day…!
Ranking 3rd in the awards, what a happy outcome.
Once I receive the Goran trophy, I’ll post a celebratory shot…!
I collected plenty again this time 😀
