Chapter 65: Act 1 – The Burning City
Quazik.
Dylan Hesriel’s head is severed by the strong kick of a shoe.
With this, was it not just obtaining the “Blood of the Beheaded Criminal”?
I had a lot of worries about how to acquire it, but seeing this, it seems it can be done somehow.
“That was quite a hardship.”
Yet, I find myself unsure whether to call this good luck or bad.
Either way, what I obtained is a fact, and thinking about when such an opportunity will come again, Luke pulled out a ‘Red Sundew Seed’ from his pocket.
I had packed the seed just in case any potion or medicine, or perhaps an inspiration for a recipe similar to its effect could come to mind from the constraint facility, but I never thought I would use it like this.
Tick.
Soon, the seed absorbed the blood rapidly and vanished as if it melted into the soil.
Now, in just a few weeks, it would become ‘Red Sundew grown on the Blood of the Beheaded Criminal’.
By the way, Third, what kind of troubles have you been caught up in?
I had clearly advised not to associate with unsavory friends…
Third, I believed in your judgment and disposition, so how did you end up tangled with such a person? Truly a pitiful child.
Well, after all, is it something that can be controlled in this world?
You must have had no choice.
So even if I was deceived like this, I will trust you once more.
As a master, it is my duty and principle to believe in my student unconditionally.
Well, anyway, thanks to this, it cannot be denied that a soul remedy for you will soon be made.
So let’s just say, it’s a good ending.
However, the satisfying smile on Luke’s lips quickly faded.
“…I am truly tired.”
Luke closed his golden eyes that saw mana, the left one, which had become unable to see anything due to excessive strain.
Truly, should I call myself the strongest coordinator from 5000 years ago? It is astonishing to have the authority that the dead souls have, which even reality cannot endure.
Indeed, a divine assistant, a representative of authority in the material plane, in line with a dragon that corresponds to a world.
If there were a god, such interference would have been impossible, but perhaps because there is no god to divide and protect the boundaries of that dimension right now, it seems I could break the dimension and manifest, taking advantage of the vulnerabilities created by the variable of black magic.
It was based on the principle of Luke targeting and breaking magical weaknesses.
Though I lack the authority to utilize it to that extent, Sigarmata could have done it easily.
The price for clinging to the forcibly broken dimensional boundary against such a being and achieving balance on the scale of trade was certainly not light.
Stopping the dimension broken by Sigarmata? There is no way I could do such a thing.
So, the answer to how I was able to stitch the broken dimension back together and banish Sigarmata to the other side of where she was is as follows.
Sigarmata wanted her small world, Parvati, and had manifested by the condition of destroying the ego of ‘Luke Irushi’ that constituted its outer layer.
Otherworldly beings require a suitable purpose to manifest.
This is the basis of summoning magic.
This is equally true even if it is infinitely close to necromancy.
This transaction condition was read through magic sight, and Luke Irushi forcibly completed the trade using the essence and contents of the transaction, effectively depriving Sigarmata of the right to interfere with the dimension.
‘The price of my transaction with you, I will raise myself.’
As the first offering symbolizing ‘Parvati’, it was a horn.
What Sigarmata wanted was Parvati herself, but unfortunately, the Dragonheart that constituted Parvati could not be placed on the scale.
Trading a heart means trading a life.
However, the horn of a dragon is the greatest symbol proving the existence of the dragon, meaning that it signifies the dragon that exists within me.
Thus, I offered it as a price.
That was enough for Parvati.
However, the second offering was a bit tricky.
Now I had to sacrifice what constitutes Luke Irushi.
Yet, sacrificing myself also means death.
Naturally, that is not the desired outcome for Luke, so an alternative had to be proposed.
So, I devised a plan.
I would create a doll for trade.
Hair, hair symbolizes substance, that is, the body.
Luke cut his hair to make the flesh of the doll.
With the body prepared, it was now time to fill its interior with cotton, and Luke drew out the vast mana that he had stored in his circle and inscribed it on the doll in the form of the circle.
Thus, the doll that contained the power, authority, and flesh that constituted Luke Irushi was more than sufficient for use in the transaction.
It was thus the body and soul of Luke Irushi.
It perfectly balanced on the scale.
“That was indeed a satisfactory transaction. Was it not, Sigarmata?”
Luke muttered self-deprecatingly.
She would certainly not be satisfied with just that, knowing she might aim for him once more whenever an opportunity arises.
Luke must be prepared for her return at an uncertain time.
But for now, let’s be content with this victory.
Luke briefly focused his consciousness on his heart.
The mana remaining in the heart was so minuscule that it could only be felt when Luke focused his consciousness on it.
Only a faint thread, like a weak ring, was fluttering.
He had lost almost all the authority he had built up until now.
“Ha ha…”
How long has it been since he felt such a strong sense of detachment!
In fact, judging by Luke’s current state, even severing a criminal’s head had become an extremely strenuous task.
Thus, the beheading just performed was Luke’s last bit of strength.
However, there was a reason why he had to hastily proceed with the beheading.
If left alone, that person would have died on his own.
That was certainly not what Luke desired.
If that happened, it would truly be a waste of resources.
Thud.
Feeling the strength slowly leaving him, Luke sought a place to lean against and walked to the debris to support his back.
Now, he truly could not operate mana or his body anymore.
“Haah.”
So, Luke’s posture gradually collapsed.
It was now truly difficult to lift even a finger.
Leaning his head on his shoulder, he felt the absence of a horn.
Luke smiled faintly and muttered.
“Hahaha… Well, at least now I can lie down.”
Leaning against the debris, Luke looked up at the clear sky with his remaining eye.
Just moments ago, the space was filled with darkness and light, cracks and gaps, boundaries and pupils, but now, the azure sky was so vividly visible.
It was truly a sight celebrating his small victory.
As he gazed at the lofty sky and felt the touch of the wind, strange noises broke the tranquil silence from a distance.
-Wheeee–!
-BANG–!
-Shhrrrrr–!
Alarm sounds, mana engines, and the noise of wheels.
It was the sound of rescue workers, police, and forest keepers all mingling together.
They were not the kind of people who could casually ignore the massive mana explosion that occurred so close to the city.
“Start the search operation immediately! Hurry, hurry!”
Someone who got out of a vehicle shouted.
Then everyone began to search through the debris in an orderly manner, starting a rescue operation.
“Ugh, this is…”
“Give up, his head’s gone. Let’s find someone else first!”
That was their conversation upon seeing Dylan’s corpse.
“Here’s another corpse!”
“Here, I found someone who’s breathing!”
“Here’s another one!”
“Someone help me move this rock!”
As Luke watched the proceedings, he spotted a familiar face supervising the scene.
A silver-haired dark elf.
Siena Porfind, a friend of Yerna, who works as a police officer.
Luke faintly recognized someone being carried on a stretcher and heard her voice filled with confusion.
“No, Yerna, why are you here…”
“Officer, do you know this person?”
“It’s my friend, but why are they here? They were definitely supposed to be working at Luke Forest…”
Luke felt a great sense of relief upon seeing that.
Fortunately, it seemed that his transaction had not been delayed.
“Yerna, looks like you’re safe…”
Thinking it was a somewhat satisfactory outcome, Luke closed his eyes.
“Hey, there’s a kid here!”
———-
“So, it’s vacation now, huh?”
“Yeah, I got a call from school saying vacation started yesterday. Well, you wouldn’t really care about such things.”
It seemed he didn’t even realize vacation had started since he hadn’t gone to the school ceremony due to circumstances.
Luke chuckled and replied.
“Haha, right. I always feel like it’s vacation. By the way, how’s your body now? Have you gotten better?”
“Yeah, thanks to Dayton. Ahaha, but I think this scar will remain. Mom will be mad if she sees it.”
At that moment, Dayton cut the apple he was peeling and shoved it into Yerna’s mouth.
“Mmm.”
“Is that a joke coming out now?”
Dayton sighed heavily.
It was probably still a shock to him to hear that Luke had been hospitalized as a critical patient alongside Yerna not long ago.
The entire Luke Forest had been in chaos.
Even now, Yerna was bandaged up and wrapped in gauze all over her body, including her right arm, looking almost like a mummy.
Fortunately, aside from her right arm, she did not have any broken bones, and it seemed she could soon be discharged with most of her wounds not leaving scars, but she was told that the burn marks would likely remain.
Due to the unclear magic that had caused the wounds.
Seeing Dayton’s and Luke’s expressions turning a bit sour, Yerna tried to brighten her voice.
“Don’t worry, this is my glorious scar, you know?”
The scar left by Dylan, now dead, became a badge of honor for her.
Luke felt a slight pang at those words and cleared his throat.
“Ahem…”
“The atmosphere is not good. Shall we watch some TV?”
“What? You hate TV.”
In fact, it wasn’t that he hated it; he loathed it.
“Now it’s fine; it’s all over.”
Yet, Yerna smiled as she opened a drawer and grabbed the remote, and seeing this, Dayton was astonished.
He had purposely avoided mentioning that there was a TV in the hospital room until now, but it seemed she had finally decided to overcome her past.
Luke nodded at her and Dayton let out a sigh of relief, blinking away a few tears that had formed around his eyes.
Tick.
– The death of Dylan Hesriel has been confirmed, and the security in Beriton has become very unstable.
This phenomenon seems to be occurring because there are those targeting Dylan’s position, and the police are investigating…
“Ahem, ahem.”
Of all times for that news to come on.
Yerna glanced at Luke, who seemed to be coughing more heavily, and laughed lightly as she changed the channel.
Tick-, Tick-, Tick-.
As she changed the channel, Luke timidly spoke up.
“Um, Yerna. I’m sorry for hiding the fact that I could use magic…”
“It’s okay, that isn’t really your fault.”
She had somewhat guessed that he could perform circle magic.
In the first place, Luke had experience in halting the mana leakage incident at the power plant.
If he was capable of such mana control, there was no way he couldn’t use magic.
Though she certainly did not think it would be to that extent.
In fact, Yerna had seen Luke grit his teeth and face that enormous ‘phenomenon.’
Just watching that could have made her head feel like it would split, so she couldn’t make out what he was saying, but it was clear that Luke stood against countless eyes and teeth.
The sight of him fighting without yielding against an enormous threat that no one else could confront resembled the hero ‘Luke Irushi’ from old tales.
And because of that, she was alive now.
Tick-.
Finally, the TV channel stopped changing.
It was a program playing moderately upbeat music.
The atmosphere in the previously silent hospital room felt much brighter.
To this, Yerna asked in a slightly brighter tone.
“So, what will you do now? Back to the Rienne Forest?”
“Yeah, just like always.”
“That’s not your fault.”
Since that incident, Luke had been visiting the Rienne Forest every chance he got.
‘I killed them, Yerna.’ He spoke so seriously.
Hmm, there shouldn’t be a need to feel that much guilt for not saving them from such a monster.
“I’m just going to look at the flowers.”
“Uh-huh.”
Excuses are always good to come up with.
Well, it seemed he really had been growing flowers.
Quite ironically, red flowers had bloomed at the spot where Dylan had died.
“Dayton, take care of Luke this time too.”
“Don’t worry, Yerna.”
“Yeah, don’t worry about me; just take care of your body.”
“So, be careful not to trip while walking. Especially on the stairs since you can’t see out of one eye.”
“Haha, of course. I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.”
Luke grasped the cane he had set by Yerna’s bed and raised himself.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
“Yeah.”
Yerna waved goodbye with a smile.
————
“…….”
Luke was watching Dayton watering the red flowers.
Then suddenly, he raised his hand and said.
“That’s enough, that’s sufficient.”
“Ah, I know.”
“Is that so?”
He understood how much water was needed; hence, Luke’s words sounded like nagging to Dayton.
Dayton had accompanied Luke numerous times, performing the same task.
“You’ve never taken care of flowers, yet you learn quite fast. Must be because you’re young, huh?”
“Funny, you’re young too, you little brat. And if you repeat something enough, even a monkey will remember it.”
“Haha, is that so?”
Luke had difficulty empathizing with how many repetitions it took for criminals to remember something, but it seemed Dayton wasn’t quite that dimwitted.
As they were laughing together, something fluttered down in front of Luke.
Instinctively, Luke reached out and grabbed it, mumbling softly.
“This is…”
“A golden feather? Wow, this is kind of cool. Where did it fall from?”
Dayton pure-heartedly exclaimed in admiration.
Luke chuckled softly.
Looking up at the sky, he saw the brilliant golden wing soaring through the sky, proudly displaying itself.
Luke gazed at that sight for a moment before turning back to Dayton and saying.
“It’s hot, let’s go inside.”
