Episode 311
I continued chasing Verita, but I failed to catch her.
I had expected as much. From the start, Verita was more of an expert than me, and her energy detection was much sharper. With her golden eyes, she could track my location in real time. If she chose to flee, I had no chance of catching her.
It was a game of tag that I couldn't win. In the end, I returned to the cemetery and stood there, watching the sun sink as I thought, Why is Verita avoiding me?
I replayed our last meeting but found no clear answer. She had fought a fierce battle alone, bleeding heavily and unable to use her divine power. Because of that, I had gone to the place where Ymir's heart lay and fought on my own. Perhaps she felt guilty about what had happened.
"Um..." The idea seemed plausible, yet it still did not feel right.
At that moment, Annie appeared again. "Ah! You're here!"
One thing had changed. She now carried a sleek shield in her hand.
Her face was flushed with excitement as she looked at me. Then she suddenly thrust the shield toward me. "Excuse me! If it isn't too much trouble, could you sign this for me?"
"Sign?" I repeated.
"Yes!"
I studied her, puzzled. For a moment, I wondered if she was teasing me. When I saw the way her eyes were sparkling with starlight, the thought faded.
"I don't mind, but I don't have anything to write with," I said.
"Ahhh..." At my words, Annie looked devastated.
I glanced at her and decided to tease her a little. "Can I sign it with a knife?"
She gasped. "Is that possible?"
I was rendered speechless.
It was half a joke, but Annie immediately pulled the dagger from her waist and handed it to me along with the shield. "Here! Please!"
A signature carved with a knife would be nothing more than scratches, yet she did not seem to mind.
She isn't joking. She really admires me? I took the knife with unease rather than pleasure.
"What do you want me to engrave?" I asked.
"Dear Anion, from Golden Fairy Luan Badniker!" she said.
"Let's leave out Golden Fairy. And is Anion your real name?"
"Yes! Annie is just a nickname! You can call me Annie!"
"Next time." I nodded and started carving. If I pressed too hard, the surface would crack, so I worked with care.
"Ohhh..." Annie watched with bright eyes. When I finished, she beamed. "Hahaha! Thank you! I have to show this to my friends!"
I scratched my head. "Isn't the handwriting a bit rough?"
"It is a bit rough! But that's okay! This looks cooler than neat handwriting!"
She was honest in many ways.
Annie bounced with excitement, then suddenly gasped. "Ah! Come to think of it, I met Sister Razbet earlier. She asked me to deliver a message to you."
"Huh?" I started to ask what it was, but then I saw the letter.
"Well, I've delivered it. I'll be on my way now!" She smiled brightly. "Have a great day!"
"You too. Travel safely."
"Yes!"
As noisily as she had arrived, Annie dashed off across the snowfield. She felt out of place in a cemetery. I lowered my gaze to the letter in my hand.
I had no idea why she had sealed it. I broke it open and read the contents: I'm sorry.
That was all. I checked the back, squinted for any faint markings, and searched the paper for hidden mechanisms. In the end, I held it up to the light for one last inspection but found nothing unusual.
"What is this?" I looked around, puzzled.
The sun had set, and the cemetery lay in darkness. I was alone.
***
"Are you done with your work?" Kayan asked.
"More or less."
The handover was largely complete, though I was uneasy about leaving it to Mir. She was a reliable companion in battle, but not when it came to clerical tasks. That was likely why I had tried to find Verita instead.
Kayan nodded. "Then come closer, Master Luan. Have you ever used a teleportation scroll?"
"This is my first time. Are there any precautions?" I asked.
"There are a few. First, do not tense your body. You may feel as if you are falling from the sky or sinking into water, but it is only an illusion. It is also best to hold your breath. If you must breathe, do so only through your nose. Never open your mouth," he cautioned.
"I understand." I nodded and stepped closer.
"Then let's go." Kayan took out a scroll and tore it.
A bright light flared in every direction the moment it tore. A strange sensation, one I had experienced several times before, spread through my body. I felt as if I were rising, then sinking, as though swimming in the depths of the sea, pulled down only to drift upward again.
Oh gods, my head. I had experienced spatial movement before, but this felt worse, perhaps because of the distance. Or perhaps this was simply how a teleportation scroll felt. The dizziness and nausea were far stronger than before.
Just as the nausea threatened to turn into retching, the world finally steadied.
I exhaled like someone breaking the surface after a long dive. Only then did I realize I had been holding my breath.
Kayan was still standing upright, but the wrinkles on his face had deepened. He was frowning.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"One of the Badnikers' indoor training grounds," he replied.
I frowned. "Really? It's too quiet for a training ground."
"That is likely because the teleportation scroll was set to these coordinates. People were warned in advance, so no one would dare enter," Kayan said.
"No. Am I not here?"
I was not the one who spoke.
The unexpected voice made us turn in surprise. A familiar but not particularly welcome man was sitting there. It was the hermit Assad, one of the empire's seven Archmages and a key figure tied to the Badniker family's reputation. He served as the right-hand man and advisor to the Iron-Blooded Lord, as well as a longtime personal friend.
"Sir Assad?" Kayan showed brief surprise before quickly asking, "Didn't you say that if people overlap at the point of spatial teleportation, it could cause a serious accident?"
"That is a concern for those ignorant of magic. It poses no issue for someone like me, who can sense magical fluctuations and determine the destination in advance." Assad's voice carried a note of fatigue.
His turquoise hair hung down like seaweed, darker than usual, and his expression was equally dim. He had never seemed particularly lively, but today he appeared even more worn.
Kayan fell silent, as though he had nothing to add. Assad's gaze then shifted to me. "By the way, it has been a long time, Luan Badniker. Has it been half a year?"
"Around that," I replied.
"Yes. You have become quite famous in that short time, haven't you?"
Short time... From my perspective, half a year was not brief. For someone like Assad, who had lived for hundreds of years, it had to feel little more than a fleeting moment.
"Not to mention your actions at the Badniker family, but you also thwarted the demon king's plot at the academy. I thought you were keeping a low profile in the Hero Society, but in the north, you even confronted a demon legion commander. This is the first time I have seen someone so deeply involved with the church. Even Delac in his prime was not as capable as you. Do you have some kind of danger pheromone that attracts demons?" Assad joked.
I got goosebumps at his words. "That's a frightening thing to say."
I hadn't expected the Badnikers to know my experiences in such detail. Then again, I had been caught up in major incidents wherever I went.
I asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I expected you would arrive soon. I wanted to speak with you. Since we are already here, Kayan, please step out for a moment. I will explain the situation to him."
"I understand." Kayan bowed to me and left the training ground.
Assad turned back to me. "How much have you heard?"
"Just that the family head is in a critical condition."
"What did you think when you heard that?" Assad pressed.
"Honestly, I found it hard to believe," I admitted.
In fact, that was still the case. Based on the Iron-Blooded Lord's character, as I had seen it so far, I found it difficult to believe that he stood on the brink of death.
"I see. I had the same thought, but... unfortunately, the news is true," Assad said. "Delac's condition is very dangerous right now."
"How did it happen?" I asked.
"He went to Spirit Mountain," Assad answered.
The moment I heard that, I could not help but feel unsettled.
"It was Delac's mission," Assad added. "Have you heard of it?"
"Ah."
I recalled what the Iron-Blooded Lord had told me in the capital.
"If you join the Hero Society, we should go on a mission together."
"One concerning Spirit Mountain."
"It was registered on the Heroes Bulletin around 100 years ago, but no one has ever completed it..."
"Did he go to Spirit Mountain alone?" I asked.
"Yes," Assad replied.
"Isn't that too dangerous?"
"You're speaking foolishly. Do you think there is any mission Delac has undertaken that wasn't dangerous? Spirit Mountain's miasma is at a terrible level. Even a top hero with high resistance would struggle to endure it for hours. Even with that level of tolerance, few could keep up with Delac's pace. They would need to be at least S-class heroes, and everyone is occupied with their own affairs."
I fell silent, then asked more bluntly, "So you summoned me to witness the passing of the family head?"
"It's similar, but there's another reason I called you," Assad said. "Before I explain, you need to understand Delac's current condition. He went to Spirit Mountain alone, where he likely engaged in battle with the Colorless Demon King."
I had expected as much the moment I heard the words Spirit Mountain. Even so, hearing it confirmed sent a chill down my spine.
Senior Brother He Lou and the Iron-Blooded Lord were the two people who had left the deepest marks on my life. I also considered them the strongest warriors I knew. The thought of them fighting each other felt strange.
"Are you certain? He might have fought something other than the demon king," I said.
"Who knows?" Assad said. "I doubt Delac would have ended up like this against anyone but a demon king. You know the strength of the Iron-Blooded Lord."
At that moment, Senior Brother He Lou's words surfaced in my mind. Just before entering the stone door, I had used the blessing to communicate with my seniors. That was when he interrupted.
The conversation we had at that time came back to me.
[You will keep growing stronger, right?]
"Yes. I believe I will."
[Yes. But I wish you would stop growing stronger.]
[I'm sorry.]
At the time, the apology felt out of place. Could it be connected to this? Is this why Verita has been avoiding me? I stopped myself from thinking any further. The situation was confusing enough already, and speculating about what I did not yet understand would only worsen my headache.
I immediately voiced the question that came to mind. "How did he manage to return to the main house despite being so badly injured?"
"Delac also had a scroll. It is similar to the one you used to return home, but of much higher quality. He must have squeezed out the last of his strength before losing consciousness and tore it," Assad explained.
"I see."
"He isn't doing well now, but back then, Delac was truly on the brink of death," Assad added.
"What about his current condition?"
"He has fractures and bruises all over his body," Assad said. "To put it simply, he looks as though he was struck repeatedly with a massive wooden club."
Was it Senior Brother He Lou's Forest Planting Technique? I had the Yin-Yang Dao, so he probably used the Breaking Wood Sword, a wooden sword.
Assad continued, "We somehow managed to set his bones and treat his external wounds. The problem is his body's immunity dropped while he was on Spirit Mountain. It was only a short time, but the miasma spread throughout his body. It has even reached his most vital organ."
"His heart?"
Assad nodded. "Yes. At present, Delac's heart beats only once or twice per minute. An ordinary person would have died long ago. He is surviving on sheer vitality, but it won't last long.
"There is only one way to save him. We must completely remove the miasma that has penetrated deep into his heart. Even if we succeed, his chances of survival are only fifty-fifty. Still, there is no other option. And there is only one person I know who has the skill to do it."
"Who is it?"
"The master of black magic and necromancy. She is also skilled in primitive witchcraft, curses, demonic contracts, and other arts of the Dark Church. A mage of the Dark Sky, with knowledge comparable to the Seven-Colored Archmages."
I swallowed my gasp and murmured that person's name. "Lise Ladygoth."