Chapter 59

EP.59 The Corrupted (2)

The Altar.

The main culprit behind the destruction.

A nightmare or tragedy on the battlefield.

The first time I encountered the altar was when we were dealing with the sorcerers on the front lines. Dealing with the sorcerers was complicated, but if you asked if it was dangerous, it wasn't.

In most battles, we achieved perfect victories. Every time Kyle swung his sword, the demons and sorcerers were swept away in droves.

"Huh?"

However.

"What is this? This is intact?"

There was something that didn't get swept away. After pushing back the front lines and reclaiming the land that had been taken, we came face to face with something strange.

Something that resembled bone fragments.

Something we couldn't identify.

Amidst all the chaos, that thing remained intact. We pulled it out and showed it to the knights. One of the knights found something similar.

That's how the four pieces came together.

Judging by the completeness of the circuit, I realized one piece was missing. And it didn't take long to figure out where that piece was.

"···What is this...?"

There was a mage with us at the time.

A promising talent in the knight order.

The same thing appeared in the mage's heart. Before we could stop him, he vanished from the spot.

"·····"

The mage, who had disappeared without a trace, reappeared the next morning. He appeared in the center of the knight order's barracks, looking up at the sky with inverted eyes.

"■■■■■■■■."

He chanted, looking up at the sky. The four pieces resonated with his heart, forming a single circuit.

Then, a door opened.

A door connecting to the heart of the demon realm.

Demons poured out from the door.

The place where the door opened was the knight order's base. The demons pouring out from above the base were a nightmare itself.

‘···It wasn't just chaos.’

That day, the knight order was on the brink of annihilation. That's when we first learned about the altar.

‘The second time the altar opened...’

In a similar situation, we managed to respond better. Again, one piece was missing. The missing piece was embedded in the heart of a nearby mage.

The same thing happened.

The mage disappeared right before our eyes.

From the moment the mage disappeared, I began to track him. Then I realized.

"···We can't touch this."

"What do you mean, Laniel! If we don't stop it now, it'll be the same as last time...!"

"Fuck, he entered the other realm. The realm where spirits and familiars are summoned. I can't touch anything in that realm."

The realm the mage entered was beyond my jurisdiction. That was the role of the spirit mage.

"···I'll give it a try."

Coincidentally, a spirit mage from the White Magic Tower, who was with us, thoroughly searched the other realm. He found the missing mage.

"I'll pull him out!"

And.

It didn't take long to realize that was the wrong approach.

"I've pulled him out! Immediately...! Uh...?"

Crack!

The spirit mage from the White Magic Tower exploded right before our eyes. The one who caused the explosion was the missing mage he had pulled out.

"Ah■■■■■■■?"

The mage, who had been forcibly pulled out from the other realm, went berserk on the spot. The 'something' that controlled his mind helped him go berserk.

‘...His talent had fully blossomed.’

I don't know how, but we had to face the mage who had been transformed. It was terrifying. No matter how many times we broke his limbs or cut off his head, he wouldn't die.

In the middle of the knight order, we had to subdue the berserk mage. In the process, two of the knight orders were completely wiped out.

Two failures.

From those failures, we came to understand the cause and what the altar was.

"I gained three insights."

"·····"

"One, once the pieces are in place, it's impossible to block the altar in advance."

I folded one finger.

"Two, the person who acts as a 'medium' with one piece must never be touched, whether before or during the ritual."

Another finger.

"Lastly, three, the mage who acts as a medium falls into a dream during the ritual. The one who put him into that dream takes control of his body."

I folded the last remaining finger. At that moment, Karl asked me.

"···Why don't you take the lead and use the medium for the ritual? It would be much easier if you did."

"Because that guy is a coward."

Karl tilted his head at my answer. Since there was no specific part to explain, I shrugged.

"Anyway, the only way to stop it is to intercept the medium right before he starts chanting, when he comes out of the other realm."

"···Yes, I remember that. It was a race against time. Has anything new been discovered since I left the battlefield?"

Karl had also experienced the altar. He was with me during the previous two failures.

"There is more. A way to buy a little more time."

"What is it?"

"Destroy the pieces of the altar."

I pointed to the piece on the ground.

"This is similar to the stock of spells I use. When the altar activates, the circuit engraved here activates at the same moment. It shortens the incantation to open the door."

"Then...?"

"Right, destroying this will buy us more time. From what I remember, about two minutes per piece, probably."

We had four pieces in our possession.

"That means ten minutes."

"···Still tight."

"Compared to the two minutes we had back then, this is more relaxed."

Karl had a serious expression.

"Still, we don't know where the medium will appear in that vast forest. He'll pop out from the other realm, and with the mana saturated to the point of overflow, tracking him will be impossible."

Standing on the rooftop, we looked at the forest. The forest was vast. The demonic aura that had engulfed the Harmain Forest was excessively murky. With the mana saturated, it was difficult to see through it.

Finding one person in there, even with Karl's keen senses, would be impossible.

That's the worst part about the altar. Even if you know something is going to happen, you can't do anything until it actually starts.

But this time, the situation was a bit different.

"If it were a normal altar, that would be the case. But this time, it's different."

I slowly stroked my chin and spoke.

"There is a way to find it."

"Really?"

"The coward who created the altar seems to have made a mistake this time."

2.

I had a dream.

It was a happy dream.

So happy that I didn't want to open my eyes.

* * *

"You have talent, child."

"Talent?"

"Yes, this is the second time I've seen such talent in someone your age. I never thought I'd find a treasure like you in such a place."

An orphan who lost his parents during the war. The orphanage where such orphans were gathered welcomed a visitor.

‘...Who is this person?’

Young Resty didn't know who he was. He just thought the person must be important, seeing how the usually stern teachers bowed repeatedly in front of him.

"What's your name?"

"Resty."

"Resty, huh."

The old man introduced himself.

"My name is Crenvel Elenoa, an elder of the Ashen Magic Tower."

Resty was young, but not so young that he didn't understand the significance of this.

The dream of every mage, the Magic Tower. Even though he didn't know the exact color, an elder of that place was an incredibly high-ranking person.

"Nice to meet you."

"Haha, no need to be afraid. I'm here to make you an offer."

The old man, who introduced himself as an elder, pointed to Resty's notebook. It contained the circuits Resty had drawn over a month.

"You can already handle spirit circuits at your age. Have you ever tried channeling mana into them?"

"···Well."

"Don't worry about being caught. I won't scold you like your teachers."

"···At night, I secretly went out and tried it a few times."

"Curious, huh? What came out?"

"A fox wrapped in wind came out."

The old man touched the circuit.

Wind blew. When the wind subsided, the fox wrapped in wind sat on the old man's shoulder, just as Resty had seen.

"Is this what you saw, Resty?"

Resty nodded.

"Do you know the name of this fox?"

"The book said it was a wind spirit."

"Hmm, just calling it a wind spirit might make it sad. Its name is Sylph."

"Sylph?"

"Yes, Sylph."

The old man placed the fox on the ground. Resty touched the fox with sparkling eyes. The sensation was amazing.

"Resty."

"Yes?"

"Would you like to learn magic under me?"

The old man extended his hand.

"You have talent."

He smiled, looking directly into Resty's eyes.

"You have the talent to lead this era."

Resty grabbed the hand. That's how Resty became a mage. The subsequent events flashed quickly before Resty's eyes.

It was a happy time.

He learned magic, made new contracts with spirits every day, and the elder always praised him.

"Great job, Resty."

The old, wrinkled hand swept over Resty's purple hair. The rough feeling when the split fingertips touched his forehead was even pleasant.

However, that memory was soon cut short.

The elder fell ill and lost consciousness. Resty was left alone in the magic tower.

The dream doesn't show the three years of memory that followed.

It only shows the happy memories.

"·····"

The Resty in the memory is smiling.

He was learning magic with a bright smile.

"·····"

The real Resty raised his hand.

He absentmindedly stroked his lips. They were stiff. The face in the mirror was one he didn't want to see.

When I close my eyes, I see the dream.

When I open my eyes, I see reality.

The dream was sweet.

Reality was bitter.

The dream was filled with things I wanted to see.

Reality showed me a version of myself I didn't want to see.

Resty closed his eyes.

He wanted to dream a little longer.

Rustle.

While he was dreaming, his body moved faithfully toward the center of the altar.

3.

"I heard about another altar, Kyle."

"It doesn't seem like we can just let it pass this time. It's opening on the King's Road."

"It doesn't sound like a good situation."

Sara and Remia whispered.

They were moving through the alleys of the King's Road, cloaked in robes.

"Here, everyone."

Leading them was Hound Gale. Gale swallowed his dry throat and navigated the alleys, guiding them to the shortest route to Aphria.

‘...Senior Karl said he would call for reinforcements... I didn't expect it to be the hero.’

Gale knew Karl to be a cautious person. As a knight who had experienced the battlefield, he avoided wasteful actions. He was particularly efficient among the Hounds.

Such a person called for the hero.

It meant something significant was happening on the King's Road.

‘What could have happened to warrant this?’

Gale, who was only assigned as a guide, couldn't know. He could only speculate that something big was about to happen.

"This way... "

"You're a Hound, right?"

"Yes, sir."

The hero, Kyle, who was following behind, spoke.

"Let me ask you one thing."

He asked Gale while maintaining his pace.

"Are we the only reinforcements for this incident?"

"Yes, the reinforcements I was instructed to bring include only Kyle and the hero party."

"That guy... no, the Ashen Mage, isn't participating as a reinforcement?"

"From what I've heard, it seems he's not. At least, he's not in the King's Road."