〈 Chapter 345 〉 The ■ ■■(6）
*
···creak, creak.
Something twisted, making a sound.
The chronomancer’s needle, which had been still for centuries, started to move. The loud noise of rusting cogs turning after decades of dust accumulation stirred a wizard who had lived for centuries.
“······.”
Cardi van Armiel.
The Grand Magus sensed a change had occurred in the contract with the Star. A change had indeed taken place. An entity bound by this contract had increased by one. Not exactly good news. Cardi sighed deeply.
“···So, this was it.”
The Star whispered to Cardi.
A new calamity had appeared.
Though it was only a single line, Cardi understood the entire context that led to the formation of this line. She couldn’t help but understand. After all, she had heard it all from the mouth of Raniel who had come from the future.
‘Raniel failed to persuade Kyle.’
In the end, she would have to resort to Plan B.
Cardi felt bitter about this fact. Despite having anticipated this outcome and wishing it wouldn’t come to this, it had.
It couldn’t be helped.
What lay before the current Raniel was the path Cardi had once taken. Nobody knew how horrifying that path was better than Cardi herself. Yet, knowing this···
‘It was said that it must be done.’
Raniel from the future said.
If the first plan failed, this was the only method left. She knew how dreadful that method was, but still, there was no choice but to proceed.
A tragedy.
The very tragedy she wished wouldn’t repeat itself. Cardi looked up at the stars in the night sky with a pained expression. It was bitter, but she couldn’t remain seated like this forever.
It was time to move.
She said she would come back ten days after the calamity was born. Cardi already knew the answer to the question of what she was supposed to do during those ten days.
“First, I need to bring her back.”
Cardi donned her robe.
2.
Even though the sun had already set and the stars twinkled at night, someone was bustling with unfinished work. In an office where everyone had left, Kalt, who was organizing documents with weary eyes, reached for an empty coffee cup.
The coffee cup was already drained.
Shortly, Kalt leaned back in his chair with a sigh. It was frustrating as nothing was going smoothly, leaving him with a congested feeling.
‘Still no contact from the senior···.’
There had been no updates from Raniel, who was bedridden. Even if he tried to visit, he only received refusals in return. Normally, she would shake off such setbacks.
“Haah···.”
Just as Kalt sighed, fiddling with the coffee cup, he sensed a presence at the end of the corridor. It was an unusual presence.
All the Hounds had gone home, so he alone remained in this building. Why, then, was there a presence?
The footsteps were steady.
The corridor was lined with magical tools meant for intrusion prevention, so how? Kalt hurriedly checked the crystal linked to the magical tools. With every step the intruder took, the connections to the magical tools within range severed.
‘It’s not just broken.’
It was being shattered.
Thud!
Something flew from the blind spot and hit the magical tool, and that was it. With a crack, several more magical tools were destroyed.
‘As if being sniped···.’
It was an unusual skill.
Kalt’s eyes narrowed.
“······.”
Kalt gripped the hilt of the sword hanging on the wall.
The presence stopped in front of the door.
As Kalt steadied his breathing, prepared to charge, someone knocked politely at the door. Such courteous behavior didn’t match an intruder.
‘Is this lunatic serious?’
Kalt blinked.
Then the door creaked open. The moment he saw the face of the person standing at the door, Kalt’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Hello, human.”
She waved her hand while standing in front of the door.
“The Great Ancestor has ordered me to bring you.”
“···Lady Remia?”
Remia the Archery Master.
With the identity of an unexpected intruder revealed, Kalt let out a hollow laugh and released the hilt.
“Was the intruder Lady Remia?”
“Intruder?”
“Yes. What reason do you have for this?”
“I didn’t intrude, though?”
“Excuse me?”
“Uh?”
Remia tilted her head.
Kalt blinked in confusion and asked again.
“You destroyed all the intrusion magical tools, didn’t you?”
“That thing that looked like a target?”
“···Yes?”
“It was blinking red, so I smashed it. It was dazzling. Elves are sensitive to that kind of visual stimulus.”
With a thoughtless expression, she squeezed her eyes shut pretending it was too bright. Watching her imitate the discomfort, Kalt thought.
···Is she crazy?
Fortunately, he didn’t voice the outrageous thought that sprang to mind. Kalt followed Remia outside the building. After stepping outside, how long had it been?
“Here we go.”
In the late dawn.
In front of a carriage located at the edge of the castle wall stood an elf. This elf had crossed paths with Kalt several times through his connection with his senior. An ancient elf named Cardi.
“First, get in. I’ll explain while we go.”
*
Inside the rapidly moving carriage, Cardi spoke. The explanation was brief, with many parts missing.
“Are you saying—”
Yet Kalt had grown accustomed to such explanations.
Quickly grasping the situation, Kalt opened his mouth.
“We need to rescue the senior who is within the calamity’s domain··· is that what you mean?”
“Exactly.”
“Why is my senior there?”
“Because that calamity has saved your senior.”
Cardi answered shortly.
Kalt’s eyes narrowed.
“···A calamity saved a person? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“······.”
“Neither Death’s Blade nor Skebal, nor that traitor would save someone. They only know how to kill and ruin···.”
Suddenly silencing, Kalt realized the elf’s expression had stiffened in front of him. Understanding the atmosphere well, Kalt sealed his lips waiting for Cardi to speak.
“The censorship is··· better than I thought.”
Sure, I’ll tell you.
Muttering that, Cardi continued.
“Kyle Toven.”
The strongest hero.
“That guy has become the new calamity. It happened as a trade-off for saving Raniel van Trias.”
“···Eh?”
Momentarily, Kalt blinked as he couldn’t grasp the meaning. Cardi pressed on.
“It’s complicated to explain, but that’s the result. Kyle Toven has become a calamity, and··· I plan to bring Raniel out from the area he’s dwelling.”
“What does that even mean···?”
It was incomprehensible words.
However, Cardi stopped explaining any further. It was as if saying anything more would be difficult. Instead of those expendable details, Cardi switched topics.
“He won’t attack us outright. He hasn’t been a calamity for long. His ego should still be strong.”
“···Is that so?”
“Right. It’s not easy to betray one’s soul. For at least ten days, there’ll be a clash of egos before he fully engages.”
The information was detailed.
Cardi laid out a concrete plan, and even though Kalt was still processing the situation, he understood the operation. The clarity of the information was striking.
“You seem to know a lot about calamities.”
“I have to know.”
Cardi replied succinctly.
“I’ve experienced it all.”
The time it takes for a human to become a calamity.
The period in which a corrupted human begins to act.
The reactions typically seen at the start of the corruption.
Cardi knew all of it. Even if she hadn’t found the answer, she was the one who studied calamities more deeply than anyone else. She had never anticipated this knowledge would be used in such a way, but it was what it was.
“That’s it.”
Having finished her explanation, Cardi exhaled sharply.
As she did, she glanced at Kalt. It seemed this Hound with a sharp intellect had understood. The problem lay with the seemingly thoughtless elf sitting next to him. As Cardi threw a sidelong glance at Remia, she spoke.
“···Did you understand, Remia?”
“Yes.”
Remia nodded.
“Don’t provoke Kyle, and rescue Raniel. So, that’s how I understood your words.”
“Any concerns other than that?”
“I don’t understand the intent behind your question.”
“About Kyle Toven becoming a calamity. Your comrade, after all···.”
“Hmm···.”
Remia rubbed her chin.
After a moment’s contemplation, she spoke.
“It doesn’t matter.”
She smiled.
“After all, it was a fleeting relationship.”
Kalt, who sat beside her, swallowed hard.
Cardi frowned.
Their reactions were far from exhibiting disgust. Remia’s awkward tone and exaggerated demeanor clearly suggested she was lying.
‘It’s a lie.’
Both Kalt and Cardi sensed that.
Yet, they did not call it out.
“As long as you’re fine with it, that’s what matters.”
“I’m fine. I’m an elf, after all.”
Remia nodded and replied.
“For an elf who lives forever, humans are merely a fleeting amusement. I remember the teachings you emphasized to us several times, Great Ancestor, Cardi.”
Cardi remained silent.
It was something she had said while teaching Orbel, and a phrase passed down from the previous Elder. Elves are a race that lives forever. To them, humans, who live only a moment, are poison.
Never love a human.
Never truly love them.
What remains is just a profound loneliness.
A human life that burns brightly in a moment leaves an indelible mark on elves. It is poison. A deadly toxin that cannot be cured.
‘···It will cause them to obsess over the past.’
They will long for the past.
They will become consumed by a past spent with humans. In an instant, it becomes a downhill spiral for those eternally living beings.
The previous Elder experienced that.
Cardi had to experience it herself too.
For that reason, Cardi had warned against having regrets like hers in her past, but··· seeing this rather simple-minded descendant before her, Cardi bitterly smiled. In the end, advice is just advice.
“Indeed.”
One can’t truly realize until they’ve experienced it for themselves.
“As long as you’re okay, that’s what matters.”
You too have become wrapped up in it.
You too have carved an undeniable mark.
How pitiful, Cardi muttered inwardly.
“Thank you for your cooperation, Archery Master.”
“···It’s an honor to be of help to my benefactor.”
A long silence ensued.
After quite a while, the carriage finally arrived at their destination. They stepped foot into the faded forest located near the ruins of the fallen Ancient Kingdom of Selef.
3.
Kai ■ ■ ■ recalls.
Who he was.
What he must do.
He reflects and reflects, but his thoughts don’t connect properly. Thoughts are broken and fragmented. No matter how he looks around, he sees nothing. In the pitch-black void, he recalls what he must do.
What promises he must keep.
In the darkness, he saw a wisp of ash rising. Gazing at the ash, he thought. Ashen. Ash. A handful of ash. That was his purpose.
The reason he must resist.
But, against what?
But how?
He didn’t even know what to resist against or what to cut down. His mind was muddled. In that murky state, the shadow whispered into Kyle’s ear.
Kill.
What, Kyle asked.
The ash, the shadow replied.
*
