Chapter 96

Previous Summary:

Rage and his companions boarded a ship to meet the "Sage of Pharmacology." Before they reached the island, Non informed them that she would return to the church after this journey.

Upon arriving at the island where the "Silver Scales" reside, they were met by a man who seemed to have been expecting them, and led Rage to the center of the island, a town of the "Record Keepers," a clan of the "Covenanters."

Reuniting with Dantes, they were told that they had been expected. Rage thought that the "Sage of Pharmacology" waiting for him must be related to the covenant.

Rage entered the room where the sage was waiting. It was a cozy room with a reading stand and a faintly glowing magic lamp. An open book, with pages about a meter square, lay before a small figure.

The figure had long, fluffy white hair that almost touched the floor, and his face was hidden by his eyebrows and beard, making his expression unreadable. He wore the same clothes as the man who had guided them, but the metal chains wrapped around his hands and feet were unsettling. According to the "All Things," the metal was an alloy containing silver from the sky and emitted a mysterious magical power.

"The Sage, I have brought him."

"……"

The small old man—Sage—had already been looking at me from under his fluffy eyebrows.

"My name is Rage."

"……"

He didn’t say anything. When the man left the room, the Sage hopped off the chair and walked to the wall with bookshelves. He placed his hand on the wall, and it smoothly disappeared, revealing a path. The Sage glanced back and continued forward.

"……Am I supposed to follow?"

My "All Things" was reacting strangely to the Sage—showing "Ununderstandable."

It didn’t matter if he wasn’t human, but the reaction was not like that of a librarian; it just kept repeating the error "Ununderstandable."

"Even so……I can’t turn back now."

I stepped into the passage where the Sage had disappeared.

"——Huh?"

I found myself in a grassland. It wasn’t that I had gone outside; the entire area was a grassland, with no towering mountains or dense forests. The sky was abnormal, with a mix of crimson, blue, and the darkness of night. Looking at it made me feel uneasy.

The Sage was walking steadily across the grassland, as if he was certain I would follow. It was a bit annoying, but I followed him.

After a while, a square cloth was laid out in the middle of the grassland. It was a brightly colored, mosaic-patterned cloth, like a picnic blanket.

An old man, dressed similarly to the Sage, was already sitting there, but he had short white hair, no beard, and no fluffy eyebrows. He had a sharp face with purple eyes.

However, the most distinctive feature was his forehead, or rather, his hairline. There were two protrusions—like "horns."

"……What do you mean by bringing me here?"

The old man with the horns said in a hoarse voice. My "All Things" was still showing the error "Ununderstandable" for him, but I was starting to figure out who he was.

"Are you……a Phantasmal Demon?"

Yes, that’s right, the old man with the horns said casually.

★

In the "Hidden World," Hito Mane said:

—We were born to maintain the balance of this world… like pillars. The goddess divided the world into two. This world was entrusted to the Phantasmal Demons, who created us.

The beings called "Mediators," the black humanoid figures, are automatons created by the Phantasmal Demons.

If he is a Phantasmal Demon, then the other Sage—old man—is also one.

"…Sit down. I can’t offer you any hospitality."

The mouth under the fluffy beard moved and spoke. The tone was that of an old man, but the voice was surprisingly young.

I took off my shoes and sat on the mat, feeling curious. The Phantasmal Demon was looking at me with interest—incidentally, he and the Sage were both barefoot.

"As you might have guessed, I am a dragon."

"!"

The Sage spoke before I could ask.

"This form is just an appearance. There’s no need to explain the details."

"…Do you also need to explain that the Librarians have dragon blood in them?"

I had noticed that the people called Librarians were different from the human race—they had a dragon-like aura.

"You knew. They said they wanted to follow me. They were originally human, but I granted them blood because they had the aptitude. But that’s a minor matter."

"Minor, compared to the reason I was called here?"

The Sage nodded slowly.

"But I’m just looking for a cure for Lark—my sister. I fought the Mediators, but only because they attacked first…"

When I mentioned the Mediators, the Phantasmal Demon made a visibly displeased face, muttering about how much effort it took to create one.

If you want to keep them so much, just store them. They cause chaos in the world, so we had to destroy them.

"A girl who used the Six-Star Talent Orb and paid the price."

"Do you know about it?"

"…I am the Mediator of this world. The Talent Orbs support the world. It’s natural to pay attention to powerful Talent Orbs."

"Lark’s vitality is declining. How can we increase it?"

"Destroy it."

"…What?"

"Destroy the Six-Star Talent Orb. That will return the vitality locked inside the orb to the person."

"But destroying a Talent Orb is impossible, isn’t it?"

"For that, there’s the Talent [Orb Destruction]."

"Ah—"

Right, there’s the Talent [Orb Removal] for attaching and removing Talents, but it’s supposed to be rare.

On the other hand, [Orb Destruction] is not so rare, but compared to [Orb Removal], it’s still rare—unique Talent Orbs are generally rare. This allows you to selectively destroy the absorbed Talents.

"Normally, an orb is destroyed when the absorber dies. But that wouldn’t make sense, would it?"

"Yes…"

If Lark absorbed the [Shadow King Sword Technique] and died to eliminate the Talent, it would be counterproductive. But with [Orb Destruction], it could be easily resolved—

(The problem is whether Lark will agree to it…)

Thinking about the arguments I’ve had with Lark, I was unsure if I could persuade her. She wanted the [Shadow King Sword Technique] so much, and now I’m asking her to give it back and destroy it.

"Then, let me explain."

The Sage said.

"I need your help as a ‘Child of Calamity.’"

"Help, you say?"

"Do you have the [Covenant of the Other World] Talent Orb?"

"…Yes."

There was no point in lying, so I answered honestly. I had entrusted the [Shadow King Sword Technique] to Cook in the port city of Zackerhaven, but the [Covenant of the Other World] is something only I can handle, so I have it with me, in the bag hanging from my waist.

"Use that power to connect the two worlds."

"…What?"

The Sage, or rather, the dragon, said something simple. I understood the meaning, but I was completely confused.

"Hey, dragon, you’re rushing things again."

The Phantasmal Demon said in a hoarse voice.

"Hmm… then you explain. After all, it’s your management problem."

"Hey? Are you picking a fight?"

The Phantasmal Demon, surprisingly energetic for an old man, said with a vein popping on his forehead.

"Anyway, can you explain the situation? I don’t understand at all."

"…Fine."

And so, the Phantasmal Demon began to explain—the history of the world, which I didn’t know and didn’t really want to know.

The two worlds divided by the goddess were supported by the "Mediators," "Covenanters," and "Talent Orbs"—I already knew this from the [Covenant of the Other World].

However, over a long history, the Talent Orbs have become concentrated in the "Visible World"—the world I live in.

This has caused the balance of the world to be disrupted.

"Especially the high-star Talent Orbs. You people have been pulling them out with [Orb Removal] and preventing them from being destroyed. Some are even stored in warehouses."

I have nothing to do with "you people," but that’s beside the point.

The "Hidden World," where high-star Talent Orbs no longer circulate, has seen a significant decrease in the number of races that can handle Talent Orbs, and is now in a state of survival crisis.

"…Could the reason the Mediators in the Kingdom of Curvaan were so insistent on breaking the covenant be this?"

I’m referring to the "Talent Orb Granting Ceremony" where my young lady, Eva, participated.

There, a black dome appeared, and the Mediators demanded that the Holy King break the covenant. I barely managed to destroy the dome, so it didn’t happen.

The Phantasmal Demon nodded with a grim expression.

"That individual was quite out of control, but it was given the mission to somehow break the covenant. In a sense, it was an expected action."

"Such! Using an 8-star, incomprehensible Talent Orb to make sacrifices and making such demands…!"

"Sacrifices… well, they are sacrifices."

The Phantasmal Demon recited the covenant.

★ Covenant for the Covenant (Holy Water People / Underground People)

By offering the blood of the nobility, the covenant can be maintained.

The Mediators monitor this, but they cannot harm the Mediators.

This is why, in the Kingdom of Curvaan, noble children could not have Talents until the "Talent Orb Granting Ceremony."

"The Underground People offer the blood every time. The ones who broke the covenant were the Holy Water People—the royal family of the country you call Curvaan."

"!"

"This maintains the covenanters in the world and sustains the two worlds."

"But… that’s…"

"Even though many people die every day, can you accept offering one life? If not, that’s your sin."

"Sin…"

"We are doing our best to maintain the world. And we have our eyes on you, the ‘Child of Calamity’… You have brought chaos to the world before, but I thought you were a bit different."

The "Child of Calamity" is a reincarnated person.

They can hold 16 Talents, twice as many as a human—someone who can handle over-the-limit Talents.

This power can be used for various purposes if misused. Unlike powerful authority that is monitored by many people, a power that depends on one person can easily lead to delusions—like thinking you are a chosen, special person.

"I… met the people of the ‘Silver Scales,’ Mimi, Dantes, Non, and Rai. Because of them, I didn’t drown in this power."

And probably, meeting Eva, Asha, Zelly… and Lark, too.

For the first time, I saw emotions in the eyes of the two old men—not as a transcendent being, but as a human.

"The previous ‘Child of Calamity’ took off their shoes before sitting on the mat. But after living in this world for years, their behavior changed… they became more aggressive. In the end, to clear the sin of that child—to kill the child—tens of thousands of human lives were sacrificed."

Tens of thousands of lives is a number I can hardly imagine, but from the serious expressions of the two old men, I could tell this was not just someone else’s problem.

The Sage, who had been silent, spoke.

"…We don’t understand the goddess’s thoughts, but the appearance of reincarnated people like you might be to anticipate such situations. The reason for the existence of Talents exceeding 8 stars."

Originally, there are only 8 slots for Talents, so the existence of Talents exceeding that is strange.

The reason for the existence of 16-slot Talents is to prevent the collapse of the world.

The goddess prepared reincarnated people as a safety net… for me.

It’s hard to grasp that it’s about me, and my head is spinning.

The Phantasmal Demon, seeing me, said,

"In any case, what I want from you is to use the [Covenant of the Other World] to break the covenant. It would be fine if the covenanters did it, but persuading them would be difficult. The covenanters are inclined to maintain the covenant unless something extraordinary happens."

"…Is it like a suggestion?"

"Pretty much."

"What will happen if the two worlds are connected?"

"Hmm… probably, but the density of life will temporarily double. Each creature will be maintained without dying, living in one world."

I felt a little relieved. If connecting the worlds would cause sacrifices, I wouldn’t want to trigger it.

"But, as you know, the monsters in my world have evolved to be more aggressive. I created the 8-star giants but couldn’t control them. Those monsters will also come. Adequate measures must be taken to avoid many casualties… that’s not what we want."

Right. If the monsters from the other side come, the people here would be in trouble.

"Ultimately, if there will be sacrifices, I don’t want to do it."

"…That’s natural. No one wants to be a party to it."

"Even if you do nothing, the world will end."

"Can’t it be stopped? For example, by correcting the imbalance of Talent Orbs…"

"Will you go around destroying 5-star and 6-star Talent Orbs?"

"……"

It’s impossible.

A 6-star Talent Orb is more valuable than a national treasure.

Saying "I want to destroy it because the world is about to collapse" won’t be accepted.

That leaves only force.

"What exactly will happen if the world ends?"

"Hmm. Do you wish for the collapse?"

"No, I just want to know the possibilities."

"It’s simple."

The Sage said.

"All life activities of all creatures will be forcibly stopped. Then, they will return to nothing. The dragon and I might remain, but there’s no certainty."

The situation was more urgent than I thought.

"…How much time do we have?"

The Phantasmal Demon shook his head, saying he didn’t know.

"Tomorrow, next year, or 100 years from now. The world is composed of various elements in a cycle, but my world is now clogged in many places. The worst is that the blood of the nobility of the Holy Water People is not being provided. The situation is critical."

"Such…"

The "Talent Orb Granting Ceremony" in the Kingdom of Curvaan had such a significant impact.

"What about the Red Gate… the red crack that connected the two worlds?"

"I felt it might resolve many of the clogs."

"It’s an irregularity. I felt it might accelerate the collapse."

The two old men had opposite opinions.

That’s why the Mediators tried to invade through the crack, and the dragons tried to close it.

"The dragon and I have few points of agreement… but on the points we do agree, we are certain. Your suggestion to destroy Talent Orbs and correct the imbalance might be good, but there’s no time for that—time is running out."

"……"

There’s no real choice, is there?

"…Warn the countries about the many monsters that will appear, have them prepare for battle as soon as possible, and break the covenant as soon as possible…"

Saying it made me feel nauseous at how difficult it would be.

"Why… why me? Why do I have to do such a thing? It’s impossible… I can’t do it."

I felt like crying if there was no one around.

I didn’t come here to hear such things.

I just wanted to cure Lark’s body.

Is it so wrong to wish for my only sister’s health?

"…I’ve placed too heavy a burden on such a young one. It’s fine. You don’t have to decide now. As the Phantasmal Demon said, the world might still hold on."

"Dragon, you’re being too lenient. Is it okay if the world ends? With that much power, he should be able to protect his own people."

"Not just his own people, but this child can even imagine the lives of strangers… He is different from the previous ‘Children of Calamity,’ too kind. It’s fine. You don’t have to bear this burden."

The Sage’s hand reached out and patted my head.

His wrinkled hand felt cold, but the gentle touch made me feel—determined not to cry, I clenched my teeth.

Many things have been revealed.

Rage’s choice will be in the next chapter.

Also, the second episode of the comic adaptation of Obasuki is now available on Comic Walker and Nico Nico Manga, so please enjoy it.

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