Novel Full Chapter 327: Lighthouse (2)
Chapter 327: Lighthouse (2)
Ria made a confession to Deculein that she was Yoo Ah-Ra.
I’m sure Deculein heard what I said, right? He must have, Ria thought.
Thinking that, Ria carried the unconscious Deculein on her back as she descended the mountain, unable to use magic or mana—his state of demonic energy consumption and mana overload so severe that even a single particle could trigger a fatal reaction.
Swish— Swishhhhh—
As Ria was dashing, the wind that scattered through the mountains suddenly turned boisterous, the presence of mana surged, and something silently seeped in, bringing her footsteps to a halt.
Ria closed her eyes for a moment, and with the rustling of leaves, faint footsteps, and the traces of the rushing current of air, she constructed the situation in the area, inferring the identity of the uninvited guests who were gathering—at least one hundred agents of the Imperial Intelligence Agency encircling the foothills like a siege.
“… This is not good.”
Ria quickly made a judgment.
First, we can’t escape without being found. The Imperial Intelligence Agency’s agents aren’t amateurs, and if a hundred of them gather, they could find a needle in a haystack.
“Leo, Carlos,” Ria whispered.
Then, from between the bushes, two heads popped up—Leo and Carlos, who had arrived just a little later than Ria and had been following Ria and Deculein for about ten minutes.
“Why?”
“Why.”
Though their reply was the same, their expressions and intonations were different—Leo was beaming with a smile, while Carlos’s face showed his displeasure.
“Distract them for me. I’ll hide and catch up later, okay? Got it?” Ria said, pressing her palm to the ground as a burst of mana opened a small passage.
“Got it!” Leo replied with a burst of energy.
“Why?” Carlos replied, a hint of indifference in his tone.
“What do you mean, why, Carlos?” Ria asked, turning back to Carlos as she was about to head underground with Deculein.
When Ria asked that, Carlos narrowed his eyes, still a little afraid of Deculein and a little hateful toward him.
“Weren’t we hired to kill Deculein?”
“No, we weren’t.”
“Why not? Isn’t he supposed to be a man who will bring about the continent’s destruction? He’s someone who went wild trying to kill me on sight, so why should I help him?” Carlos asked, glaring at Deculein, who was on Ria’s back.
“Because Deculein didn’t kill you,” Ria replied.
“… That is because you were the one who stopped him, Ria.”
“Yes. But even with that, he had plenty of chances to harm you. Deculein just didn’t do that.”
Of course, Ria did not know Deculein’s inner thoughts well, but she knew that Deculein could not have been unaware of Carlos’s existence all this time.
“You know who Deculein is, right? With all his authority, he could have just hired some people and adventurers and found us whenever he wanted.”
Carlos’s mouth moved as if he were mumbling.
“Carlos?” Ria said, looking him in the eyes with a warm expression.
“… Fine, I get it. Do you just want me to run in one direction and Leo in the other? He’s too dumb to do anything but run,” Carlos replied, pointing at Leo.
“What did you just say?! I am not dumb!” Leo said, flaring up.
“Yes, just do that for me,” Ria replied, nodding.
“… Alright,” Carlos said, pouting as he stretched his body, preparing to move.
Leo warmed up with some stretching as well.
“… I’ll join you guys in a little bit.”
Together, Ria and Deculein went down into a tunnel, while Carlos and Leo dashed in opposite directions.
***
… The rain drizzled from the sky, and the streaks of water rippled and settled, touching the windowpanes and forming into round drops, as if to remind that nature was, indeed, the most impartial.
The smell and sound of rain would spread and seep into every place equally, whether it was the noble inner chamber of the Empress, a dark alleyway where scoundrels roamed, or a wretched prison where criminals were confined.
Right now, Sophien sat in composed silence, watching the rain draw patterns on the window, offering no words or reaction.
“…Your Majesty, are you certain you will not ask whether this report is true?” asked Ahan, her maid, as she addressed the Empress, who was lost not in the rain, but in her own thoughts.
Sophien leaned her forehead against the window without a single word, and a chill from outside the world touched her, causing her eyelids to tremble slightly.
The news had been delivered, with the Floating Island certifying that Deculein had massacred its own Purgers and the Imperial Intelligence Agency having observed the incident as well.
“It must be true,” Sophien replied.
In truth, Sophien, as Empress of the Empire, had requested the Floating Island’s cooperation in bringing down Quay and the Altar, knowing its forces would be a great asset.
Therefore, the Purgers of the Floating Island were scheduled to be mobilized in the coming war, and they certainly would have been.
“But why would the Professor commit such an act…” Ahan muttered, biting down on her lip. “The Floating Island is furious, Your Majesty.”
“I am aware. However, they won’t dare reveal the reason. Not with their pride at stake.”
All the Purgers that the Floating Island prided itself on were defeated by a single man, Deculein, and though it could have been a gratifying incident given the Island’s arrogance, Sophien’s mood was far from good.
“If that is the case… Your Majesty, with this report…” Ahan said, struggling to find the words.
The report from the Imperial Intelligence Agency that was placed on Sophien’s desk was a confidential document that captured and detailed the circumstances of Deculein’s betrayal.
“… You may dispose of that report,” Sophien replied.
Sophien remained needing more thought—no, she needed more time to prepare her thoughts and to begin forming a judgment, as both the emotions in her heart and the reason in her mind were rejecting the report, preventing her from reading its contents and reflecting on them deeply.
“It shall not take long.”
Though Sophien loved Deculein, she would not let that love consume her and the Empire, for it was precisely because she loved him that she knew he would never wish to become a burden that crumbled beneath mere affection.
However, it was because of that…
“I have no desire to delve into Deculein’s thoughts. I find myself, for some reason, rather frightened of what I might find in his heart,” Sophien concluded.
For Sophien, there was an ominous premonition that no matter what future Deculein was drawing or what moment he was waiting for, Deculein himself would not exist in that future.
***
Meanwhile, Sylvia, Yulie, and Zeit remained trapped in the painting prison, and though their situation was not desperate or pathetic, it was comfortable enough to make them feel pangs of guilt as they wondered if it was okay to be this comfortable.
“Sylvio, you indeed have the talent to become an archmage,” Zeit said.
Of course it was owing to Sylvio, who, with a power approaching the authority of Iliade’s Primary Colors, was not only making this otherwise-empty painting prison comfortable but also manifesting a world.
“To draw the world… it is a wondrous act, one that evokes both awe and breathlessness.”
As he watched the great Sylvio, Zeit couldn’t help but think of his hometown, his house in Freyden, and he felt no trace of anxiety, all because of this archmage candidate.
“Indeed, the talent Freyden required had been near all along. Perhaps it is the world’s design that a mage should be the one to safeguard the knights’ holy ground.”
It was because the one who had ended Freyden’s ice age now stood before him, her hair shimmering in the light.
Zeit’s eyes gleamed as he turned to Sylvio and continued, “Therefore, Sylvio—”
“Quiet now,” Sylvia interrupted.
“… Understood.”
“And it’s Sylvia, not Sylvio.”
“Ah,” Zeit murmured, pressing his lips together.
How could I have misspoken a great mage’s name, Zeit thought.
“… This is magnificent, Mage Sylvia,” Yulie said, her eyes shining as she looked around the space. “Mage Sylvia, this space has become entirely your own world.”
“Those are wise words indeed!” Zeit replied, stepping forward toward Yulie.
“Yes, the future of Freyden will be bright,” Yulie said, and although she flinched, she quickly looked up at Zeit and smiled.
“That is correct. Do you not agree, Sylvia, the great mage?!”
The person who was supposed to provide the means for celebration was not even thinking about it, while Sylvia watched the two of them celebrating among themselves as if in disbelief before hardening her expression once again.
“… This isn’t the time to be joking around,” Sylvia said.
“Hmm, indeed, I am well aware. However, leave it to us,” Zeit replied, extending his arm to include himself and those around him. “We will handle everything—our escape from this place and the protection of Sylvia, the great mage.”
The number of we here was growing daily, comprising Jackal, Carla, Arlos, and other unnamed people who nodded, some with slightly confused expressions.
“… Everyone, go on inside and get some rest,” Sylvia said with a wave of her hand.
The many houses Sylvia’s Primary Colors had manifested were growing into the hundreds, and thousands of people had been abducted here without understanding why.
“Excuse me, Mage Sylvia, but have you by chance found something?” Yulie asked. “Perhaps a way to escape from this place?”
“There is no way to escape from this place,” Sylvia replied, turning harshly to look at Yulie.
“… Pardon me?”
“It’s because that foolish Epherene trapped us in here.”
It now seemed to Sylvia that she understood the reason why the foolish Epherene had brought her to this place.
“I think I understand why she chose to prepare a blank canvas,” Sylvia continued.
On a blank canvas, anything could be drawn, and anything could begin anew. Moreover, because the nature of this painting prison was paper, Sylvia’s talent rose to the level of an authority.
“What’s more, the canvas has an infinite surface.”
Indeed, there was no end because if Sylvia drew a river, it would become a river and, even without supplying any particular mana, would remain independent as the element of water forever, meaning that Epherene had already made the arrangements for this.
In other words…
“It seems that Epherene is preparing for the destruction.”
“If you mean by destruction…” Yulie muttered.
“That even if the continent is brought to destruction by the Altar, the people can continue to live on.”
It meant that Epherene was asking a favor of Sylvia—to create a space for the people who would survive even if the foundation of the continent were to crumble—because it was something only Sylvia was capable of.
“She is speaking to me through this,” Sylvia concluded.
***
Once again, in the underground of the foothills where Deculein and Ria were hiding, Ria placed a wet towel on Deculein’s forehead.
Sizzle—
At the sound of sizzling water from a frying pan, Ria was startled, but she quickly used Elementalization once more to restore the wet towel and placed it back on him.
Sizzzzzzle—
Although the sizzle was the same, it differed from before because Ria had manifested the boiling point of the water in a different way.
So that it doesn’t boil at two hundred twelve degrees Fahrenheit, but at least at five hundred seventy-two. It’s a rule that goes against natural science, but this isn’t a world of science anyway, is it? Ria thought.
“Phew.”
Therefore, the water in the wet towel did not boil but instead cooled Deculein’s body.
At that moment…
Deculein’s eyes were wide open.
“Whoa!” Ria murmured, taking a hurried step backward.
With only his eyes moving, Deculein looked at Ria, and without a word, merely stared at her for a while, as if he were threatening her.
“What is it,” Ria said, meeting his eyes with her own.
Ria confessed that she was Yoo Ah-Ra, uncertain of how Deculein would react but certain that his actions would definitely be different.
“You are Yuara, then?” Deculein inquired.
At that moment, Ria’s heart skipped a beat.
But it’s not a lie, is it? Ria thought.
“Yes.”
“My former fiancée.”
“… Yes.”
“Are you saying that it is you?” Deculein said, his eyes narrowed with suspicion as he looked at Ria.
Deculein let out a scoff and chuckled in utter disbelief, a sneer completely unlike him.
“It is true. My memories are a little fragmented, but I really am Yuara.”
“Do you have a way to prove your words?”
“… How would you like me to prove it?”
At that moment, Deculein’s expression hardened for a moment.
“What is it?” Ria asked, tilting her head.
However, Deculein offered no reply, merely staring past Ria’s shoulder at someone who was not her.
Thud— Thud—
Suddenly, with echoing footsteps and a rumble from beneath the ground, Ria also turned to look behind her.
“… Ah.”
Behind her, Quay—the final boss of the Altar and a being who would bring about the end of the continent—was approaching them with a smile.