EP.468 The Pursuit of the Braver (2)
The shadow swayed.
The swaying shadow was heading somewhere.
Skebal moved his body following the shadow, but he had lost the ability to discern its direction for some time now. It was dark. He could see nothing. Only the shadow swayed in the darkness, as if it had become one with the thick darkness.
That sight was quite peculiar.
Peculiar, grotesque, and strange.
Thinking back, that First Braver had always been such a being. Acrita Clen Arcadia. While chewing on that name, Skebal glanced at the flickering shadow.
···An existence that had been intertwined with human history from very long ago.
Skebal didn’t know the origin of that entity.
All he knew was that this being had been by the Demon Lord’s side for a very long time. Sometimes it was an advisor, sometimes a commander, and sometimes it referred to itself as a ‘Guide.’
It could not be slain, no matter how much you tried.
What it dreamed of was a mystery.
This being always used to say things like this.
That it was waiting for the right time. Once the time came, magic would cover the whole world, and our era would begin, it would whisper.
‘However···.’
Skebal no longer trusted those words.
He could no longer discern the purpose of the Braver. What did it desire? A few years ago, when the attack on the Royal Capital failed, the Braver had vanished. In a situation where it could have intervened, it merely stood by.
As if waiting for the Demon Lord’s army to be pushed back.
‘What reason could there possibly be for that?’
Skebal glared at the shadows.
“What are you thinking so deeply about?”
As if feeling that gaze, the shadow muttered with a voice mixed with laughter.
“I can hear your brain working all the way over here, my impatient friend Skebal. Did I not say I would show you? Just hold on a little longer.”
The shadow sneered.
With a light laugh, the shadow moved forward, and Skebal followed him deeper. The air was chilly. The cool air was mingled with a foul odor.
“This is the place.”
Thud, the shadow stopped.
When the stopped shadow waved its hand, the darkness that had filled the area began to slowly clear. Revealed through the parting darkness was a massive hollow.
Snap, the shadow snapped its fingers.
Lights lit up simultaneously. The burning flames were black. The light emitted from the burning black flames was strange. With the peculiar shadow of fire casting over the large hollow, Skebal’s pupils narrowed. The scene of the large hollow revealed by the light captivated his gaze.
Countless dolls filled the large hollow.
The dolls standing in various poses, with varied expressions, didn’t move at all. It was as if they were preserved there, on display. All those dolls were human. They were humans who had made their mark in human history. Among them were some humans Skebal recognized as well.
···The Sword Master, the Master of the Tower, the Hero, the Saint, and countless heroes from battlefields were all on display here.
『What is all this?』
As Skebal muttered and looked around for the Braver, he found no one there. Had it vanished all of a sudden? As he gazed at the spot where the shadow had disappeared, footsteps echoed from deep within the large hollow.
Clop, clop, the sound of footsteps softly reverberated.
“Welcome to my exhibit, Skebal.”
A human voice, not that of a shadow.
Skebal looked at the human approaching from afar.
“All these are my treasures. My flesh.”
Thud, he stopped walking.
Skebal gazed at the man who emerged from the depths of the large hollow. A young man who appeared to be an elegant noble or a renowned mage stood there. He gestured dramatically around him.
“Isn’t it beautiful? This place is truly···.”
『That.』
Skebal interrupted the young man’s words.
Cutting in, he extended his long finger. With its white bony joints, Skebal pointed at the young man before him. He pointed at the skin draped over the shadow··· No, at Acrita.
『Is that your true form?』
The mana radiating from that flesh, the ominous aura was certainly not that of a commoner. No other flesh on display here exuded such energy. It was a body that harbored energy only thick, aged poison could possess. A body and soul cursed for having incurred the wrath of a god.
“Correct, Skebal.”
The Braver smiled.
Smiling, he lightly tapped his foot. Thud, the large hollow trembled. As it shook, a path leading underground appeared. Come, the Braver began walking ahead.
The deeper they went underground, the thicker the poison became.
Having chosen to become a lich by abandoning his flesh, Skebal had lost all his senses. Yet, even he could feel the resonance of the poison in this space. It was only when they reached the end of the damp, foul underground that the Braver finally halted.
“When you knelt before the Demon Lord, when you hoped for betrayal, you said this: You wanted to reach the Truth. You wanted to explore the truth and know the essence of this world.”
The Braver pointed at the poison residing underground.
“The truth you sought is over there.”
Skebal saw where the Braver’s finger was pointing.
What is called the truth or principle. That which he had chased all his life. The Braver whispered that it was over there. Skebal’s pupils gleamed a vivid blue.
『···A tower.』
What lay there was a tower.
Whether that could be called a tower was uncertain. Even if it didn’t maintain the form of a tower, it was called a tower in the history of magic. Because it served as a means to ‘ascend’ something, it was named a tower.
“In ancient history, the wizards always longed to challenge the divine position. It was natural. Magic is the process of understanding the principle, and mapping circuits is ultimately a process of reaching the heavens.”
The Braver whispered.
“The accumulation over a lifetime. Wizards often expressed the magical path they had walked as a tower. That’s why the research facilities they created were also called towers.”
But why? The Braver asked.
Ah, the Braver answered his own question.
“The tower ultimately aims for the heavens. While they likely spoke mindlessly··· unconsciously, it was not the first wizard. No, it wasn’t.”
The Great Mage spoke.
“A long time ago, even before antiquity. In the primordial age, filled solely with chaos. In that era, the first wizard thought: let’s gather everything humanity possesses. Let’s amass everything they’ve accumulated. To bring them together and erect a tower.”
Acrita Clen Arcadia pointed towards the sky.
“A tower that reaches towards the heavens. A tower that challenges the gods. The one tower that pierces through this chaotic era.”
He smiled.
“Babel.”
『It’s impossible.』
Skebal declared with a trembling voice.
『Babel is a concept that exists only theoretically. Impossible. It isn’t truth because it can’t be proven or experimented on. There’s no way such a thing can be truth···.』
“Oh, foolish friend Skebal.”
The Braver clicked his tongue.
“To deny that tower would mean denying the master you serve. As someone who has always pledged allegiance to the master of the Demon Lord, such betrayal should not be shown, right?”
『What?』
“The shadow touched the divine position. It had become a complete god standing at the antipode of the stars. You haven’t forgotten that I was the one who created that shadow, have you?”
Snap, the Braver snapped his fingers.
The murky water accumulated beneath the tower writhed.
“Your master ascended that tower. He climbed this tower and achieved divine status.”
And then···.
“The god has vanished. Your master has fallen. Crashed and crashed again until he was broken. He no longer functions as a god.”
But, he said.
“We still need a god. And it seems we have gathered enough materials to create a god here.”
Clap, the Braver applauded.
In the depths, the shadow fluttered. What the fluttering shadow brought was the living Demon Lord’s army. They were crawling on the ground, missing limbs. As they crawled along the floor, they recognized Skebal and cried out.
To save us.
Are you here to rescue us, great one?
So many voices screamed. Amid the echoing screams, Skebal looked back at the Braver. The Braver was smiling. With a wide grin, he was beaming with madness.
“The time for the birth of a new god is upon us.”
Amidst the screams, the Braver took a step closer to Skebal. Getting closer, he whispered to Skebal.
“The day the new god ascends this tower, at that moment, everything will crumble. This Babel will no longer be used for ascension.”
Ah, the Braver smiled.
“On that day, you will witness the truth.”
The screams ceased to be screams.
In that cacophony that had merely degenerated into noise, the Braver extended his hand to Skebal. He proposed to a sorcerer engulfed in truth.
“Will you not join me, Skebal?”
“···Is that the Braver’s goal?”
“There were many clues.”
Raniel spread her fingers.
“When Skebal invaded Apuria, bringing the shadow along that day, the Braver was behind you. What did the Braver intend on that day?”
Raniel tapped the railing.
“A new vessel.”
A new being to hold the vessel.
A child beloved by the stars, a child blessed by the stars, a child who reads the context of the stars. That day, the Braver sought to create a new vessel by sacrificing them.
“At that time, the Braver only thought about finding a vessel to contain the shadow. But upon reflection, it was odd. The sense of incongruity was realized when the Braver appeared at the center of the Royal Capital.”
Seizing the Ashen Tower, the Braver tried to summon the shadow once more at the heart of the royal capital. The one designated as a sacrifice back then was none other than Resti Elenoa. The Watcher.
“Delving further back, there was a period when the Watcher and Stella both existed at the same time. Kelharlem’s disciple. She possessed two talents simultaneously.”
How did her story end?
“Though they said she was broken by the traitor, from what I heard from Kelharlem, that was not the way of a traitor. If she were truly a traitor, the traitor would have made her their servant. But that day, Kelharlem’s disciple···.”
Tried to embrace something.
Though she attempted to embrace it, she couldn’t withstand it and was shattered.
“She tried to embrace the murky water, the shadow. The entire Academy City ruled by Kelharlem was a giant altar.”
“That means···.”
“Exactly.”
Raniel exhaled deeply.
“What the Braver is aiming for is the birth of a new god. A new god who will replace the failed Demon Lord. Using that god to fulfill his own purpose.”
“Is it possible to create a god?”
“He’s already succeeded once. It wouldn’t be impossible to do it twice. Given enough time, experiments, and finally just the right justification.”
And time had been given.
The experiments had also been conducted several times.
Now all that was left was justification.
“···What is the justification?”
“The complete annihilation of the Demon Lord.”
It was humanity’s wish.
That was what Raniel desired.
“When the Demon Lord is annihilated, the balance will be shattered. Like before the Demon Lord was born, the god will exist only on humanity’s side.”
“That means···”
“A new god, another god standing at the antipode of the stars will have the justification to be born.”
Thus, Raniel breathed out deeply.
“Before subduing the Demon Lord, we must kill the Braver. Otherwise, when the Demon Lord is subdued, another god will surely emerge.”
『Stella and the Watcher are pawns.』
『At the end of the chessboard, they become the Queen.』
“Specifically, they become the vessels for Stella and the Watcher.”
『The Braver aims to use the god they created to achieve his goal. In other words, for the Braver’s purpose, Stella and the Watcher are essential entities.』
Raniel recalled her journal.
『He preserved my queen because he needed her.』
“But.”
『But.』
“There’s no way he’d let it go as he wishes.”
『Thus, the Braver revealed his own weakness.』
Raniel smiled.
The method she had thought of. And the method discovered by some human through obsession hundreds of years ago. Reflecting on that, Raniel spoke.
“This time, we will shatter the Braver. Thoroughly. Completely crush him. Preparation is needed for that.”
And the key figure in that operation would be···.
“None other than you and the queen, Resti.”
Raniel looked over Cardi’s shoulder.
Cardi turned around. Standing there was the Master of the Ashen Tower. The first Master of the Ashen Tower and the previous Master of the Ashen Tower were gathered, as well as the current Master of the Ashen Tower.
“I received the message.”
The Master of the Ashen Tower, Resti Elenoa said.
“Please tell me what I need to do.”
