Ancient Sorcerer, Skebal.
Having lived for centuries, this sorcerer felt proud of the zenith he had reached, which was, in a way, only natural. Skebal could wield element spells of all attributes, a feat that was objectively remarkable.
Mastering all attributes meant his weaknesses as a mage were few, and he had undoubtedly stepped into the realm of the Great Mage.
With the addition of experiences accumulated over centuries, indeed, there were very few who could stand against Skebal. Even heroic adventurers and superhumans who soared in the battlefield would find themselves toyed with, while Skebal leisurely savored his victories.
Those who had ever faced or encountered Skebal echoed the same sentiments.
“The Nightmare of the Battlefield.”
“The Arch-Nemesis of Mages.”
“The Mage Closest to the Truth.”
When Skebal learned of the infamous title bestowed upon him through the screams of mankind, he laughed with more joy than ever. In his past life as a human, Skebal had always been overshadowed by the damned ashen.
But to be called the Mage Closest to the Truth?
What a beautiful resonance that was.
After all, he was still alive, and that title surely suited him well. Listening to the screams of humanity, Skebal felt he had led a fulfilling life.
So, several hundred years passed.
In the ears of Skebal, once a formidable wall for humanity, rumors began to spread. People no longer called him “The Mage Closest to the Truth.” A more suitable figure had emerged for that title.
Who dared?
He would teach that arrogant human his place. Thinking so, Skebal willingly stepped onto the battlefield and confronted a sorcerer he had once vanquished. A mage with ashen hair.
…This human is closest to the truth?
Wasn’t this someone I had dominated before?
Skebal scoffed and lunged at the human, only to face a bitter defeat. Accepting that defeat took a long time for Skebal. Why did he lose? It was merely overconfidence. There was no way he could lose…
Skebal experienced a second defeat.
No, perhaps this time…
A third.
No.
A fourth.
……
When the tally finally reached double digits, Skebal had to acknowledge it. He had lost to a human who had barely lived a fraction of his life. That human had indeed become his nemesis.
Of course, Skebal was still strong.
Objectively speaking, that remained true.
The issue was that, relatively speaking, he had become weak.
In comparison to that ashen mage, Skebal was merely a shadow of a man. The humiliation he had felt hundreds of years ago had to be relived once more.
…But that’s fine.
If he waits long enough, he will survive.
Survival means strength. Eventually, his time would come as he patiently endured. After years of brooding over his humiliation, Skebal finally faced the light.
In other words, he came face-to-face with Raniel, surrounded by starlight.
That day, Skebal screamed.
*
Kaboom! With a thunderous sound, Skebal crashed into the ground. With half of his skull embedded in the earth, Skebal reacted astonishingly quickly, much thanks to insights gained from repeated experiences.
He deformed the terrain to extract himself, immediately accelerating his body, performing evasive maneuvers in midair.
Pabababababababab!
In the next instant, multiple streams of light slammed down upon the spot where Skebal was just blasted. If he had been even slightly late, it wouldn’t have been dirt that pierced through, but his own skull.
“Wow, you dodged this.”
Raniel smirked, while Skebal’s pupils quivered with rage. Scratching his skull with his nails, he raised his voice.
『You! Ashen! You…!』
Skebal spread his arms wide.
Normally, he would have sought a glorious death by bursting his own skull at this point, but he couldn’t do that now. He had to fulfill the wish left by his subordinates; he wasn’t allowed to die.
Behind Skebal, circuits dazzled with brilliant light.
As nearly hundreds of circuits sprang forth, Raniel scoffed and rolled up her sleeves.
“Stop the nonsense.”
The glowing circuits numbered in the hundreds.
While he had merely displayed circuits for show, half of them were auxiliary spells to enhance and bolster. This meant they were not offensive spells with varied trajectories like Kelharlem’s division.
Among hundreds of circuits, the core consisted of barely twenty spells. Of course, even that was impressive; every mage walking the magical path would likely groan before such a plethora of circuits, but…
Not for Raniel.
The moment she snapped her fingers, Raniel’s arm blazed white-hot. The stockpiled circuits flashed violently, and in an instant, spells burst forth.
Smite.
Spell-bunch.
A blinding light struck at the center of the circuits Skebal had laid out. A flash pierced through the core of his circuits in an instant. As Skebal’s carefully constructed circuits crumbled, Raniel tapped her toes against the ground.
Then tap.
In a heartbeat, Raniel’s form vanished.
Although Skebal couldn’t pinpoint where she had gone, he lifted his head. This was also an insight born from repeated experiences. The moment he raised his gaze, his eyes met Raniel’s as she reached down from above.
『I hate you. I hate you.』
Crack! Raniel grasped Skebal’s skull.
“Go ahead. Hate me as much as you like.”
Acceleration.
Accel.
As starlight and mana intertwined in an instant.
Raniel and the Skebal she grasped seemed to evaporate out of thin air. In an experience that felt shorter than a second, Kwaaaaang! came a thunderous noise accompanied by the unsettling sound of Kagagagaga, as dust erupted violently.
When the swirling dust settled,
marks of something driven into a cliff and evidence of repeated impacts littered the ground.
At the end of those traces stood Raniel.
And Skebal lay there in a pathetic state on the ground. His arms shattered, rolling lifelessly, and the robe he had prided himself on was tattered, pierced by the flash.
『N-no, this… can’t… be… happening…』
Skebal’s gaze dimmed, eventually fading to darkness.
A crunching sound resonated from his skull, and murky water spilled from his eye sockets.
Crack.
Holding Skebal’s skull, Raniel stomped on his ribs with her boot, ripping it from his body. Fingers twisting in the eye sockets, she turned back to look.
“Belnoa, and the entire search team.”
She flashed a gentle smile towards the two wide-eyed individuals gazing at her and the knights standing nearby.
“Good job. Let’s head back.”
As the situation resolved so suddenly, Belnoa let out a nervous laugh. The tension released as he fainted, while Chloe buried her head in Belnoa’s embrace.
Thank goodness, really, really…
Chloe’s murmurs resonated softly.
The knights offered wry smiles, and Raniel, turning her head, wiped her mouth with her sleeve.
‘…I need to think more about how to reduce the number of subordinates.’
Crimson blood flowed.
The sensations on her left side were faint, and her left eye was obscured. Twisted and broken bone fragments rolled around inside Raniel’s body as she felt the pain.
‘Damn, this hurts.’
Puh! Spitting out blood, Raniel sighed. Fortunately, it was Skebal she faced; had it been another calamity, it could have been dire.
Still, the risks taken bore fruit.
“…”
Raniel silently glanced back.
Seeing Chloe, who was sobbing while clutching Belnoa, she felt relief. Yes, as long as they had been saved, that was enough. Nothing had been lost.
And…
Raniel squinted her eyes.
‘The conditions have been met.’
The fragment of the Holy Grail that blossomed within Belnoa.
Confirming that, Raniel silently whispered.
Finally, it seems I can move on to the next stage.
2.
Without much difficulty, Belnoa and Chloe successfully returned to the base. Upon returning to the base, the two were given a few days off, during which Chloe stuck close to Belnoa as if never to part…
“Promise me.”
“Ah, alright.”
“Promise me. Quickly.”
“I said I’d do it! I won’t do it again. I’m sorry!”
“Just words?”
“…What?”
“Sign here. Quickly.”
“No, Chloe… this is a subordination contract!”
As she shook Belnoa’s collar fervently, Belnoa broke a sweat desperately trying to dissuade Chloe from getting them to engrave a subordination contract.
[Well, it turned out alright, didn’t it?]
The goddess chuckled, watching their bickering, as if she had enjoyed the show. Then suddenly, she pointed to a dessert Chloe had brought…
[I haven’t forgotten the large lollipop I returned to you at the Phantom Territory. Pay your debt promptly.]
The goddess’s demeanor was so serious that Belnoa selected a few desserts to offer. Finally, after a few days of rest, Belnoa could finally rise from his bed.
“Belnoa van Dragonik.”
Someone had come to visit Belnoa.
His eyes widened at the sight of the figure who had come. His other mentor was there.
“…Kalt?”
“Yeah, it’s been a while, Belnoa.”
The Tracker, Kalt.
The head of the Royal Guard, who had stepped down from his position to return to the battlefield… the superhuman who had trained Belnoa in martial arts. He waved towards the area outside the tent.
“Your senior is calling for you.”
*
“Senior.”
“Ah, come in.”
When Belnoa and Kalt entered the tent, Raniel was busy rubbing something with a cloth. Polishing something until it shone brightly. Curious about what it was, Kalt squinted and realized what it was, nearly horrified.
It was a skull. Skebal’s skull, specifically.
“No way, what are you doing, senpai?”
“What do you think? Polishing Skebal’s skull.”
“Then… why…”
“Why? This is my new hobby.”
Raniel gleefully rotated the skull under the reflective light in the tent. While Kalt grumbled, Belnoa felt a very complex emotion.
That skull, was definitely that of a Dragon Hunter.
The confident smile the Dragon Hunter had held at the end lingered in Belnoa’s mind. While there might exist a world of lions, if that Dragon Hunter were watching this scene from there, he would likely feel a sense of déjà vu similar to Belnoa’s.
Or perhaps, he might curse the world.
It remains unknown how the curse of the dead affects the living, but if it were the person in front of him, it felt like they would chew it up without a care.
“Hm, not bad.”
Raniel set the polished skull of Skebal on the table, then let out a brief sigh.
“Congratulations on becoming a superhuman, Belnoa.”
“…How did you know?”
“There are ways.”
Nonchalantly saying this, Raniel gestured.
As Belnoa sat down in the chair placed opposite Raniel, she reached out and patted his head.
“Good job. I hear you survived ten days in the Phantom Territory? I saw the report, but… it was unbelievable?”
“Should I say that to the professor?”
“Everyone calls me professor. It’s been years since I quit!”
But, it didn’t really sound bad.
Muttering that, Raniel smiled.
“The reason I called you is… you have a rough idea, right?”
She tapped the report Belnoa had submitted.
“You mentioned you visited Alkeia.”
The land for those who do not believe.
Belnoa nodded slowly.
Raniel narrowed her eyes as she spoke.
“Care to share the story? As detailed as possible.”
Kalt, standing behind her, silently placed a document in front of Belnoa. A document layered with multiple security spells. Tap, and the moment Raniel tapped the document, the security spells were disabled one by one, revealing the first page.
『Defector Subjugation Plan.』
Alkeia Annihilation Operation.
That was what was written on the document.
