Episode 981 The Gate of Death (5)
Unless spatial movement is free, retrieving the existing central signaling device requires a considerable amount of time and manpower.We must proceed with the retrieval process as efficiently as possible to ensure there are no setbacks to the superior’s plan.
“It is a royal command. Bring back all central beacons within the Kingdom of Estiria. Time? There is no set deadline. Just as quickly as possible!”“This is a special order. Activate all currently available airships to recover the central beacons.”“The Divine of Eon has returned and completed Eon’s intercontinental spatial teleportation circle. Immediately transmit the order to recover the central beacons to the Central Continent as well.”
The military orders issued by Dukes Perne and Esperensa, and Levana from the royal capital of Retia, mobilized the standing mobile forces.The airship fleet and mage units scattered across the kingdom.
Although there are central signal stations outside the kingdom, it is only logical to deal with the ones closest first.
Ferne swallowed hard.
The atmosphere is quite ominous.
It may appear peaceful, but that is solely due to the swift early response of various forces.The moment uncontained threats at the borders—such as the Demon Realm, the undead of the Western Continent, and the anomalies in the southernmost part of the Eastern Continent—overwhelm the world, the current daily life is bound to collapse.
Having lived tenaciously dealing with all kinds of information in the gray area, I foresaw a pessimism I had never experienced before.
‘Really, really, the War of the Transcendents from 800 years ago might break out again…’
As Ferne gazed at the city view from the terrace of the royal castle Esnoren, goosebumps ran down her skin, yet her expression remained unsettled. After all,the person standing before her was the one who had saved her life as an information agent years ago, when it was nearly ruined by the machinations of the Guild, the faction of the Third Prince of the Kingdom of Estiria.
He returned.
Ferne struck the stone railing so hard that his palm stung.
Fine, let them come if they dare.
Look at the kingdom.
The former king who orchestrated wars of conquest decades ago, maintaining a long cold war with the Republic of Beldirn and the Principality of Liviant, and ultimately bringing ruin to the Kingdom of Estiria.The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd princes who engaged in a bloody struggle for the throne to inherit the former king’s succession.Leonil Bertanas, the kingdom’s most powerful sorcerer and head of the Court Mage Corps, who committed numerous cruel acts, including processing the Queen’s heart and kidnapping elves.And the rest.
The one who stood in the way was crushed, andthe one who got in the way was trampled.
Even though he did not directly intervene, the result turned out that way.The fate of the nation was changed by the power of a single mage who came from the Duchy. Now, he exerts immense influence over the geopolitical landscape of the entire continent.
An old king?Half the continent is burning?
There is no need to be intimidated.
match!
With her light purple hair swaying, Ferne clasped her hands together in prayer, even mentioning the previous alias of the person she had met for the first time.
“Lord Asher……! I’ll only trust Lord Verden……!!”
This, too, must be faith.
* * *
‘Verden… …’
Kalia, stationed at the southern border, repeated the name out of habit as she patrolled the walls.It would have been more accurate to say she was pacing back and forth lost in thought rather than patrolling. Given her rank, the lips of the soldiers and commanders actually patrolling or standing guard were parched.
After walking for a while, Kalia rested her elbows on the battlements and cast a gaze into the distance.
Part of the hull of the Kingdom of Ronia’s airship, which had flown in from the southern part of the Eastern Continent and crashed, was visible.After Callia and her party had already confirmed the location several times, knights and mages had set up camp around it and were standing airtight guard.
Unmanned aerial vehicles, bloodstains without bodies. Aside from the fact that at least a hundred people had been murdered, there were virtually no significant clues. Neither physically nor magically.
It was the result of direct verification by Karans and Eon’s twelfth phase, Aldevan. Blue reacted as if there seemed to be something, but could not specify anything else.
“… … I’ve never felt this frustrated before.”
The family motto of the Esperensa family is the Righteous Way.
Kalia had seen through what she believed was right to the point of taking pride in it. She was also highly ambitious. The number of criminals she had dealt with in the kingdom so far proved this.Even she, who had solved so many cases, was left helpless.
I cannot dispatch personnel to the south.I cannot go there myself either.
I will go myself. You guys guard the area.
Because Adrian, who took only one small seaplane, said so.
A situation occurred on the side of the Kingdom of Ronia, cutting off contact with the figures, and Adrian set out to assess the situation following Mauler’s sudden southward movement.
It is too far to ignore his words and chase after him now.This is because short and long-distance spatial travel has become difficult, and even if one uses a seaplane, let alone a horse, the distance is too great.
What would Verden have done? Could he have found the traces we failed to discover on that Ronia Kingdom airship?
Knowing of Verden’s strange behavior, Kalia’s thoughts naturally drifted in that direction, while in the back of her mind, she worried about Verden, who had not regained consciousness since the island incident in the Hiaremar Inland Sea.
“Is that the Kingdom of Ronia’s airship?”“That—”
… … ?!
Kalia moved reflexively at the presence felt right beside her. Even with her long-honed senses, she failed to notice and allowed the distance.For an assassin, this would be fatal.Manipulating pure white energy, she swung her elbow, slicing through the air.
There is no one.
Thump.
Immediately afterwards, a gray gauntlet wrapped around Kalia’s shoulders from behind.Bloodshot eyes blazed in her dark red eyes.
How dare you… on whose body.
There was only one person in her entire life who had allowed such contact. She swiftly grabbed the dagger at her waist in reverse grip and thrust it over her shoulder.It was an astonishing reflex, yet even that strike was lightly caught by her fingers.
“Your sword energy has become sharper than before.”“……!”“Sorry I’m late, Kalia.”
Verden let go of the dagger and looked down at Kalia as if greeting her in the morning.
Her eyes widened.
The beautiful face that had remained etched in my mind since the first time we met. The only things that had changed were parts of his appearance, including the gray robe.
“Verden?”“Brother!”
Sparkle!
Karans and Blue sensed the magical power that Verden had deliberately revealed and rushed over. Naturally, Aldevan also flew in and landed in front of Verden.
“Ah…!! I congratulate Your Majesty on your return!!!”
Aldeban prostrated himself on the ground of the castle wall, shedding tears of gratitude. Even among the ranks of Eon, his loyalty was extraordinary in a different sense.
Still, there’s no need to cry.
Eventually, unable to bear it any longer, Verden manipulated the atmosphere to forcibly awaken Aldevan. Meanwhile, Karans deeply perceived his magical power.
Gasp… … !!
The boundless magical power remained the same, but the presence residing within it had changed.I did not know how to describe it, but… if I had to use a metaphor, I felt as though I had grown much closer to the Great Mother.As a Guardian Elf who had performed the ritual of the World Tree, I could not help but feel that way.
“May I call you great father now?”“Just call me brother.”
I understand what Karans meant by that, but Verden had no intention of being treated as a parent, as he wasn’t even married, let alone having children.
Sparkle! Sparkle! Sparkle!
Blue circled above Verden’s head, emitting alternating light of magic and light of destruction. The spirit born from Verden instinctively understood his level better than anyone else here.
It seems I have become able to shape and materialize it with my own power.
Sparkle!
“I think anything more than that is still too much to ask, though.”
I am curious to see what would happen if I gave Blue divine power. Of course, it is premature. After all, Verden is a nascent god who has just acquired divine power.
Callia, still being held by Verden’s right shoulder, asked cautiously.
“Are you… alright? And Alpha?”“As you can see. Alpha is with Beta.”
Verden narrowed his eyes. Seeing that his gaze was directed toward the crashed airship, Kalia put aside the joy of their reunion and reported the situation.
“We investigated multiple times, but found no significant clues other than the hull, which was left with only fragments of flesh entangled in the depleted power source and various bloodstains. It appears to have crashed after completely running out of power at the end of the journey, but I wonder how it managed to make it this far without a pilot.”
There are many environmental factors that affect the hull, such as temperature and air currents. It cannot move in a straight line simply by being left alone.Since not only the trajectory but also the altitude changes, the presence of a pilot is indispensable. Kalia knew this well, as she also knew how to pilot a seaplane.
“What if the pilot disembarked midway?”“Disembarked…? As I just said, for a seaplane to avoid plummeting or soaring without a pilot, the environment needs to cooperate. That is a matter of luck. If we completely disregard luck, for that to be possible, the pilot would have had to disembark close to that crash site. However, we haven’t found any trace of anyone else around the flight path.”“Then there must have been a being capable of manipulating even that luck at will. One capable of deceiving your observational skills.”
Even without directly examining the airship, Verden’s
Depleted magic stone power source.
The uniformity forming the interior was slightly distorted.
It was such a faint trace that it would not have been noticed unless it was taken to the Great Hall or Magic Tower of Black Hour for a precise examination.
No wonder you wouldn’t know.
Karans is an elf, so he is sensitive to natural magic power, but he is a layman when it comes to crafted magic stones.Blue is no different.
In magic engineering, a faint difference often leads to unexpected results.
The seaplane’s core power source didn’t run out naturally. It was forcibly overheated.
It is magic rather than magical power itself.It is elemental magic.
Among them, the elemental attribute that Verden is certain of is ‘Electric.’Someone seized control of the airship’s entire power source using electric power to make it move. And they must have set it to continue moving automatically even after disembarking.
“……To my knowledge, there are no lightning mages in the Kingdom of Ronia.”“I suppose you mean they aren’t affiliated with the Kingdom of Ronia. It is obvious that someone has already crossed the kingdom’s borders, but since we have almost no information, there is no need to go out of our way to search. It would only be a waste of manpower.”
There is no room to lower our stance and act while considering unknown variables.Problems are already piled up right under our noses.
Verden said.
“We have completed the intercontinental spatial teleportation tunnel connecting the Ownerless Land and Loafra. Alpha and Beta are currently constructing a new central beacon.”
… … !
The communication network within the region will be reopened soon.
Verden kept his eyes on the south.
“After that, head to the Kingdom of Ronia.”“You yourself…….”
As soon as Verden returned, the chaotic situation seemed to be settling down. It was a relief. Whenever I looked ahead, Verden’s back was there.
side.
Callia grabbed [Einber]’s sleeve and kissed Verden on the neck. It was her own way of encouraging him for his arduous anguish, effort, and sense of responsibility.
“Um, because I heard the story from Isabella.”
Kalia hurriedly averted her gaze from Verden and cleared her throat.
The story about kissing Verden on the cheek in Gargant before the World Conference… … Kalia was too embarrassed to go that far, so this was her limit.
“Blood, you didn’t dodge it.”
If it were Verden, he could have easily avoided it but did not; Callia de Esperensa was simply overjoyed by that fact.
Karans tilted his head.
“Do humans find that less shameful?”
Aldevan answered calmly as an adult human before he was a sorcerer.
“If the cheeks are the realm of a child, then the neck is the realm of an adult…….”
Sparkle!
The blue flickered.
* * *
Somewhere in the Central Continent, between the ownerless lands and the Kingdom of Ragvel.
Thwack───Boom!
The elves moved freely through the forest, firing spirit magic and arrows. An arrow shot by Merquien, who commanded the elf elite, became a storm that obliterated the undead without a trace.
“There are undead here. Weren’t the undead supposed to come out of that Mirror World over there and down below?”
Isabella spoke with her eyes wide open.
“Recently, the Artisan Magic Tower announced that the probability of the undead appearing worldwide seems to have increased. This situation hasn’t been going on for long, so it isn’t certain, though.”
Originally, this kind of investigation should have been conducted at the Darkwarton Magic Tower, but even before spatial teleportation was blocked, that side showed an unusually large amount of movement.
What on earth are you doing?
It is said that the first Necromancer leading the sinners is preparing something with the current Lord of the Darkwarton Magic Tower, but I have never heard an explanation about it.They say that even the Sinner of Gold and the Sinner of Death do not know the details.
“… … Well, still, they wouldn’t do anything that would harm the head of the family. Unless it’s a huge help.”
Isabella erased thoughts of the Darkwarton Magic Tower and concentrated her magical power even more on her golden eyes.
Extremely fine waves captured a few days ago.
That which seemed visible yet invisible even when visualized became just a little clearer. This was all I obtained after searching more than 20% of the ownerless land’s border.
Whether it is high in the sky… …or buried deep beneath the ground… …
I couldn’t get the slightest sense to pinpoint the source, so… how should I put it? It felt like I was chasing an illusion that had no substance.
Ah, this is driving me crazy.
I was on the verge of a neurosis from the intangible waves that were really rippling slightly in my field of vision.
“Another undead? And just one. Aren’t there any strong ones?”
Merquien, saying he was bored, lightly snapped the bowstring made of a branch of the World Tree.A wooden arrow imbued with magic pierced through a straight line.
Whoosh, grab!
The arrow curved and embedded itself in the ground.External interference.Merquien frowned as soon as he sensed the flow of magical power.
“Why are you blocking?”“Wait a minute.”
Isabella walked forward and glared at the undead—the zombie standing alone in the forest. The zombie slowly raised its head.
[Uh… … Uh-bu… … .]
The zombie didn’t lunge; instead, it stood there blankly, its decayed mouth twitching.It was strange.Normally, it should have attacked while displaying fierce hatred toward the living.
[Of… … .]
Isabella stared at the zombie without blinking an eyelid. At those empty eyes, and what was hidden inside.
For a brief moment, something like pure white fog was visible.
“……soul.”
Based on what has been observed so far, souls have not been found in the undead in general. The same was true for high-ranking entities possessing intelligence,with the exception of the First Necromancer, the Golden Sinner, and the Death Sinner.
‘A naturally occurring undead. No matter how I look at it, there is nothing special about it. How did a mere zombie like this come to have a soul?’
After setting out to uncover the cause hindering spatial movement, a question arose.It was the moment I became captivated by those lifeless, faded eyes.
Phew!
“……?! Wicked sister!”“What, all of a sudden?!
Bright red blood burst from Isabella’s left eye and streamed down. Raising her hand to stop the approaching elves, she did not even let out a groan. Shewas not particularly flustered,for she had already experienced a situation like this.
It is visible.
The faint wave of the problem touching the zombie’s soul. As I did not avert my gaze as if to gain insight into him, dark crevices soon flickered before my eyes.
Nine cracks.
The shape of a strange entrance, as if death lies beyond it… … waves spreading from there are affecting some of the undead.
‘Is this interfering with teleportation? Then is the undead the medium? Do I just need to get rid of this zombie?’
Isabella continued to think, paying no attention to the pain in her eyes.In the meantime, the zombie moved its mouth again.
I’ve lived my life diligently.
A piece of rotten flesh that fell from the zombie’s forehead left fluid near its eye.It looked like a tear stain.
───Where is Heaven… …?
The voice of the soul was conveyed to Isabella.
* * *
The Arkenad Magic Kingdom of the Western Continent.
“Is this true?”“Yes, Your Majesty, it is confirmed information.”“Hmph.”
The 7th Demon King—Vangelis Ruin Akenard—sighed as he read a letter. It was the latest report from the intelligence agency.
“I did expect you to make a decision like this given the series of events… but you’ve really made up your mind. Mad passion. So, even a saint is ultimately a transcendent being.”
The core of the information was as follows.
The worst and strongest military organization of the Luas Cult, which played an active role in the First Great Crusade hundreds of years ago in successfully defeating the Legion’s Great Demon and slaughtered demon worshippers and all humans associated with them, has been resurrected.
In the name of the saint.
