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〈 Chapter 297 〉 Intersection (1)
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“Stop pulling your hair, please!”
Sara grumbled as she tried to fix her messy hair.
“You think healing miracles can fix everything? Missing hair doesn’t come back!”
“I know that.”
“What did you say?”
Raniel, nodding as she flicked a handful of her pink hair onto the floor, responded.
“I know. Hair loss can’t be fixed even by the First Saint, right? It’s against the natural order.”
“…You remembered that?”
“I usually have a good memory.”
“Then why did you pull my hair?”
“Because.”
Raniel smiled brightly.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I target your weak spot?”
“This crazy mage for real…!”
As she watched the screaming Sara, Raniel felt satisfied. Unlike Sara, Rania had been obsessively targeting the same spot for years. Pulling a few trees from the forest might not show, but…
‘If it’s just one spot, it’s a different story.’
That effort is about to bear fruit.
Seeing Sara’s thinning hair, Raniel nodded in satisfaction.
“What’s with you? That’s rude.”
“Better you didn’t know.”
As Raniel ignored Sara’s questioning gaze and sank into the carriage’s backrest, she suddenly spoke up.
“Hey, Sara.”
“What is it?”
“What do you think about the Star?”
That question came out of nowhere.
Sara almost gave her usual response but paused, shutting her mouth for a moment. After a brief silence, she returned Raniel’s question.
“What kind of answer do you want?”
“Do you think I ask with a predetermined answer? Given that we received a prophecy, I’m asking what you think about the Star.”
Leaning with her elbows on the window, Raniel mumbled.
“Well, as a mage, I don’t worship the Star as a god, but you? Remember when you faced the Demon Lord? You were half-mad, right?”
That was the truth.
Immediately after meeting the Demon Lord, Sara had locked herself away, reciting prayers fervently.
Because she couldn’t believe in a god.
In front of the malevolent entity that needed purification and annihilation, the god remained silent. No matter how many prayers she said, she heard no reply from the god, and even the sacred spells she recited like breathing just scattered into the air.
“Be honest with me, okay? Your answer should be a bit different from before.”
“So, are you implying I’ve been lying for years? Wow, and you said saints shouldn’t tell lies back then…”
“Such a rule isn’t in the doctrine.”
“What?”
Raniel’s eyes widened.
Sara snickered as she replied.
“That’s also made up. How can a person live without lying?”
“You’re completely insane.”
As Raniel was stunned, Sara bluntly chimed in.
“I’m no different from you. Gods are imperfect, just a sort of rule. That’s how I’ve come to think.”
“For someone who thinks that, you passionately called for a god.”
“That’s the result of early education. Do you know what the first thing I learned was?”
Sara swept her hand across her face, and when her fingers left, her expression had changed. The mischievous grin turned into a compassionate saint’s smile, and her eyes, once light, settled like a tranquil lake. As if wearing a mask.
“It’s all an act.”
Even her voice changed.
Raniel instinctively recoiled.
“Ugh, can’t get used to that.”
“Should I only be the one doing this? I can’t get used to your appearance either. What happened to you?”
“I don’t know. It just ended up like this.”
Raniel trailed off, seeming too lazy to finish her sentence. Sara felt the same way. She didn’t want to talk more about gods, so she changed the subject.
“So, why ask about gods and stuff?”
“I thought since a miracle from prophecy has come down, you’d been diligently praying.”
“I just slept, and it seems I was bestowed upon. Oh, I did fall asleep next to the god’s apostle.”
Pretending that was a saint.
Raniel mumbled to herself, swinging her head back and forth. She still despised the church. She didn’t believe in the existence of gods and felt repulsed by Sara.
However, it wasn’t the same as before.
After all, for this operation, she needed to cooperate with Sara and borrow her strength. Sara would be of help against the Death’s Blade.
“······.”
Lost in thought, Raniel gazed out the window.
‘…Prophecy.’
A predetermined future.
A future that must happen.
If there’s no variable, the future becomes a reality. The Death’s Blade would kill countless people, turning the North into ruins. She and Kyle might die too.
So, variables need to be created.
That will be her role.
At the same time, Raniel remembers one disciple she’s raising. For some reason, she feels a deep connection to this incident with that disciple.
Lac von Grace.
Thinking of that boy who would arrive in the North just like her, Raniel mumbled.
“…Maybe he’ll be the variable.”
It was just a thought.
A gut feeling with no basis.
2.
Lac was suddenly put on a break during the semester. His father urgently ordered him to return to the North. Lac felt puzzled by that call.
What in the world was happening?
He had heard rumors about the recent turmoil in the North. Supposedly, the strongest hero, Kyle Toven, had come to the North? He even heard from Sebas that Kyle was staying there for a while.
‘A bit exciting.’
Lac, unaware of the seriousness of the situation, was thrilled at the thought of meeting the hero he admired.
The strongest hero, Kyle Toven.
The hero who had slain the Black Dragon and faced the Death’s Blade was like an idol to Lac. As someone living as a warrior, it was only natural to admire the title of the strongest (?).
If given the chance, he would challenge him to a duel.
With that thought, Lac looked out the window.
The scenery rushed past. As they got closer to the North, Lac placed his hand on his heart. For some reason, his heart was pounding fiercely.
Excited to meet the hero?
No, it wasn’t that.
He felt a wave of blood coursing through him. Almost as if responding to something. Or being drawn to something. The closer they got to the North, the larger that strange sensation grew.
*
Lac departed for the North.
Professor Rania had taken a long leave.
The students didn’t know the reason, but Chloe, who was both a student and a hero, did. As a trainee hero, Chloe had access to certain information.
“News says the Death’s Blade, Ganikalt, has appeared in the North.”
“…Cough!”
Belnoa, sipping a drink, started coughing and pounded his chest.
“What? The Death’s Blade?”
“Yeah. That’s the prophecy that came out.”
“…So Lac and Professor Rania went because of that?”
“Yeah.”
Naturally, Chloe wasn’t included in the operation.
Against the Death’s Blade, numbers were meaningless, and Chloe would only be a hindrance if she went there. This wasn’t just about Chloe; even superhumans who had exceeded human limits were excluded from the operation.
The Death’s Blade was such a being.
Even superhumans couldn’t rival that monster, and heroes were no exception. This was the truth backed by centuries of history. Where Ganikalt appeared, only death remained. The only exception so far had been relatively recent.
The hero who had slain the Black Dragon alongside his party.
Led by Kyle Toven, with the Ashen Mage and the Saint Archer as companions. Only they had a track record of fighting the Death’s Blade. Unique in hundreds of years of history.
“…So Professor Rania went, right?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s truly incomprehensible, isn’t she?”
When seeing her ugly and light-hearted demeanor, it was easy to forget, but Professor Rania’s true identity was the Ashen Mage, Raniel van Trias. That great sage.
“So, Belnoa.”
“Yeah.”
“I think I’ll go to the North too.”
“…You, say you’ll face the Death’s Blade?”
Chloe shook her head.
“You know that would only be a hindrance. I’m not going there. I’m planning to help evacuate the North residents, moving along that evacuation line.”
That was originally a duty Galahal mainly handled.
Protecting those fleeing from the threat of beasts, and preparing for any surprise attacks. A task Galahal had been doing since his trainee hero days.
Those who left their hometowns, without knowing if they would return. Naturally, such people would be filled with anxiety. The presence of a hero beside them would be enough to ease their worries.
“They say it won’t be that dangerous. The Knights Order leader and the professor mentioned that it should be fine.”
“…It’s true, I guess.”
Belnoa nodded.
“I’ll go too.”
Just a while ago, they had made that promise.
Belnoa told Chloe to wait for a moment before heading to his room to get something. It was a robe given to him by the Master of the Black Tower, a matching robe for Chloe.
After putting it on, he went to see the Master of the Black Tower, Yetual, who surprisingly granted him permission. When asked why, Yetual responded.
“It’s a good opportunity to show the world.”
Yetual smiled widely.
“Master of the Black Tower who raised heroes and their companions. What an honorable title, isn’t it? I’m somewhat jealous of Rosel, who waddles around with the title of ‘Sage who raised the Ashen Mage.’”
Waving his hand playfully, Yetual smiled.
“Go and come back.”
And then,
“Show the North that the Black Tower is superior to the White Tower. I’ve been considering expanding our business to the North as well.”
The words he first uttered when he got Belnoa were now on his lips.
“Prove that black is superior to white.”
Yetual smiled as he repeated that phrase.
3.
The rattling carriage came to a halt.
Taking in the chilly air, Raniel stepped out of the carriage. True to the North, where the seasons hardly change, she stepped on the snow with a soft squelch.
“Welcome.”
Warriors had come out to greet them, but unlike before, they were not bare-chested. Knowing what was to happen soon in the North, their expressions were stiff.
They followed their lead toward the White Night Castle.
“What will you do?”
As they approached the castle, Sara asked.
“I will go meet Kyle.”
“Let’s go together. I need to see that guy too.”
They needed to meet to devise a plan. Perhaps they needed to uncover secrets as well. Given the current situation, they had no time to hold back.
“Then go ahead.”
Sara turned her steps.
Sara took the lead, as if to guide Raniel, though it was unnecessary. Passing through the main gate of the White Night Castle, they found Kyle waiting there.
“You’re here, Sara.”
In a snow-blanketed place.
Amidst the falling snowflakes stood Kyle, his pure white attire billowing in the chilly wind.
“You came too.”
Kyle looked at Raniel.
Raniel met Kyle’s gaze. A brief silence fell, and it was Raniel who broke it first. She nervously flicked her hair away and let out a long sigh before stepping forward.
“Hey.”
She reached out her hand toward Kyle.
“It’s been a while.”
Kyle quietly glanced at her hand.
Without grabbing it, Kyle spoke.
“Where’s that guy?”
Narrowing his eyes, Kyle mumbled.
“Hasn’t he come yet?”
Raniel lowered her outstretched hand.
Then, she looked into Kyle’s eyes, which were different from the ones that met her in Arcadia. Unlike then, which was filled with emotion, now Kyle’s eyes were completely expressionless.
With a gaze that seemed indifferent and uninterested.
Now, Raniel finally understood what Sara had meant.
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