Chapter 68

The Duke set out early in the morning before the sun had fully risen.

“We must ascend to the western mountains for more than five hours. Please understand that the strong winds prevent the wyverns from taking flight.”

He was accompanied by more than ten knights of the Duke’s house, six magicians, and thirty elite soldiers.

Jeilliris started her journey alongside the Platinum Knight, Tenitia, and Sererassie.

Rudi was left in the castle, as there was a possibility he might be affected by the magical realms.

Determined to catch up quickly, she began the meditation training that Tenitia had shared with her.

The winter mountains were rugged and dangerous.

Though the strong winds made it so that little snow had accumulated, the slopes were steep, and hungry giant wolves and bears watched us from various places.

“This place is filled with coldness and vitality. There must be several ice spirits or tree spirits here.”

Jeilliris looked around with a bright smile, as if she could see something only she could perceive.

The knights of the Duke’s house gazed at her, captivated by her gemstone-like smile.

The Duke cleared his throat lightly to redirect their attention before speaking to Jeilliris.

“There are several giant cedars growing on that ridge. They say the elves could occasionally be seen during my father’s time, but now we may only see them within the protection of the imperial court.”

His smile immediately twisted at the continuation of Jeilliris’s words.

“Duke, the spirits are always the first to sense a magical realm. What magical realm exists in a place filled with spirits like this?”

“…We have almost arrived, so please wait just a bit longer.”

After walking for another hour, a gigantic valley came into sight.

At first, the slope was gentle enough to resemble flat land, but it steepened as we descended.

Several large tents were set up on the flat area.

Soldiers and magicians inside the tents saluted the Duke.

Long, flat stone pillars were erected around the tents, and upon seeing them, Sererassie whispered to me.

“They look like part of a great seal. It’s a stone that completely blocks the inside from the outside.”

“Could that be why we couldn’t feel the magic of the realms?”

“That seems quite likely. But they must know that just hiding the magical realm doesn’t make it disappear. Moreover, there’s something strange about it.”

“Strange? What do you mean?”

“That blocks the outside from seeing in, but not the inside from seeing out. …I think it has more functions, but it can’t be determined just by looking.”

“That is definitely strange.”

After descending for about five minutes into the valley, a peculiar energy began to be felt.

A tingling sensation as if electric currents were close by when Sererassie cast a lightning spell.

Jeilliris and Sererassie squinted their eyes, gazing downward.

“Is this the place?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

There was a wide crack in the rocks.

It was 15 meters long; in the narrowest parts, it seemed to be 2 meters wide and up to 4 meters in the widest, but it was cleverly camouflaged with trees and rocks, making it hard to see.

Around it, several rock pillars, visible from above the valley, stood sparsely.

Upon closer inspection, a rather complicated magic circle was engraved in silver circuits, each likely worth hundreds of gold coins.

Jeilliris approached the rocky crack, and Sererassie and I followed her closely.

“My goodness.”

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”

We simultaneously let out low voices.

Sererassie’s golden eyes were filled with wonder.

The inside of the crack was completely filled with a blue hue of electric currents.

It seemed there was a massive cavern or cave below the valley.

If we had come at night, we would have been able to see light seeping out.

30 meters? 40 meters? It was an enormous, jellyfish-like creature flying around, emitting electric currents from long tentacles, while large fluorescent mushrooms covered the walls.

* * *

After confirming the magical realm, Jeilliris narrowed her golden eyes.

“That would make for the best catalyst.”

Duke Purioaito nodded.

“Yes, Your Majesty. As you mentioned, using that mushroom and the floating creature, we could harness powerful lightning magic.”

“Then why are we just gathering an army instead of assaulting the magical realm? It doesn’t seem to be strong enough for a High Noble like you to not take it down.”

“It lacks a core.”

“What?”

Jeilliris frowned as if she had heard something unbelievable.

Sererassie and I displayed similar expressions of bewilderment.

The ancients mix this world with their world through the magical realms and “cross over” via the core.

If you destroy the core, the magical realm also disappears, so it’s incomprehensible that a magical realm of such size lacks a core, unless it was in its early stages.

“Your Majesty, do you remember when I started gathering an army?” Jeilliris replied with a tone that seemed to soften.

“I think I heard the first report around May of this year.”

“I discovered this magical realm in March. Since it is now late December, it has been at least nine months without overflowing, and it maintains this state.”

“That is indeed strange.”

The Duke’s expression softened as he spoke.

“If the foreign matter that has accumulated for nine months were to spill out, my province would inevitably fall. However, I couldn’t just throw ordinary soldiers into this place. Gathering as many knights and magicians as possible is all I could do.”

Moreover, the Duke continued, “That mushroom like the one Your Majesty mentioned is an excellent catalyst. If the magical realm continues to not overflow, I wish to keep harvesting and studying it. But…”

Jeilliris replied, her golden eyes sparkling, “The Church wouldn’t allow that. Rather, they would question why you haven’t exterminated it.”

“If I could know when it would overflow, when the core would appear, I could control all those risks. But none of the magicians or priests I’ve summoned could tell me when the core would appear or when the monsters would emerge from this magical realm.”

Jeilliris and the unspecified gendered Sigmaune looked at Sererassie simultaneously.

Holding her staff, Sererassie approached closer to the rocky crack and began to recite a long incantation.

“Valenciaunos. Pen and paper.”

“Do you think I’m your younger sister?”

“Quit with the rotten jokes.”

Using a pointed charcoal pencil, she began to draw on the paper.

Black lines swirled around the rocky crack at the valley’s center.

“I think I can calculate it… indeed, the density is definitely increasing. The cycle is certain too. In a week, I will be able to calculate when the core will form in this magical realm, and when it will flood.”

She said with a smile.

Sererassie’s gold eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“So it seems.”

Jeilliris looked at the Duke.

The Duke lowered his head deeply.

“Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty.”

Suddenly, the ground trembled.

I felt a chill run down my spine as I turned to the Duke.

“Didn’t you say we don’t know when it might overflow?”

* * *

Snow began to pour down from above the valley.

It seemed that just a little more would cause an avalanche.

Rocks fell from various places, and electric currents burst forth from the rocky crevice.

Valenciaunos glared at the Duke in rage.

He looked as if he might draw his sword at any moment.

Yet Sigmaun showed no sign of flinching and calmly absorbed the Duke’s anger.

“Young Duke, this mountain has many underground caves, and even a small shock can cause an earthquake. This is not the overflow of the magical realm; it’s nothing to be concerned about.”

“Are you saying that is nothing to worry about too?”

Corpses began to rise from all around the valley.

All of them were soldiers properly armed with chainmail, shields, longswords, and poleaxes.

Their skin was barely visible, making it impossible to recognize their faces, but the capable individuals gathered here could all sense the familiar tingling energy of the ancients.

As the Duke saw the risen soldiers, his face contorted like a hawk, glaring at the knight beside him.

“Didn’t you say all the dead mercenaries were purified?”

“Your Excellency, that’s…”

“In a world where corpses cannot be buried in church cemeteries and become undead, even in a calm magical realm, would you not expect the corpses lying next to the magical realm to rise?”

The Duke bowed his head to the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, I will escort the two young Dukes to a safe place. It is my fault.”

“Proceed accordingly.”

The elite soldiers brought by the Duke formed a formation to protect Valenciaunos, Tenitia, and Sererassie.

Jeilliris tied up her platinum hair with bright, curious eyes.

“I’m curious just how strong those things might be.”

At that moment, Valenciaunos noticed Sigmaun’s blue eyes momentarily flinch.

He whispered into Tenitia’s ear.

“Lady.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Protect Sererassie. Stay close at all times.”

“Yes?”

He did not ascend with the elite soldiers and remained next to Jeilliris.

Step, step, step, step.

The mercenaries with glowing blue eyes began to rush in one by one.

The Duke’s knights summoned mana blades to defend.

“How dare mercenaries point their swords at anyone?”

The Knight of the Duke stomped the ground.

His sword swung laterally, neatly severing the mercenary’s waist.

The upper body of the bisected mercenary fell forward.

However, the lower body continued to walk steadily.

The severed upper body crawled forward, pushing itself with its hands.

Valenciaunos confirmed the cross-section.

Blue-capped fungal mycelium filled the inside.

“I knew this would happen!”

He drew his sword and charged at a mercenary.

Valenciaunos was clad in a black coat reinforced with liquid metal armor and a white uniform.

Although some resurrected mercenaries shot arrows at him, they could not pierce his coat.

“Substantial and embracing flames!”

He engulfed a hefty mercenary in flames.

As he chanted, his eyes glowed gold.

The flames burrowed into the chainmail, sizzling the fungal mycelium.

The burning mercenary screamed as the valley echoed with his cries.

“Ooohhhh!”

Right after, the bodies of the resurrected mercenaries began to swell as if they might burst.

The chainmail ripped apart and the mercenary’s waist bent, as enormous blue mushrooms sprouted from their backs, arms, and shoulders like chimneys.

Though their height didn’t change much at about 2 meters, the height of the mushroom sprouting from their spines nearly reached 4 meters.

It appeared as if they carried enormous bags covered in mushrooms.

“You’ve only succeeded in inciting my rage… how dare you show me such anger!”

Valenciaunos looked up at the transformed mercenary and cursed long and loud.

Hiiiiiiiii-!

The towering mushrooms unleashed blue spores.

Valenciaunos called forth the flames again.

“Flames blooming with a shake!”

Once a mere candle flame, the flame now demonstrated the power of a true magician.

Fwoosh—!

The flames soared like a wall, incinerating the incoming spores.

Sizzle, sizzle!

Blue spores burst forth, releasing electric currents into the air.

Even Valenciaunos, standing several steps away, felt a sting.

The knights of the Duke, trusting in their armor, rushed in, but stumbled as their feet became momentarily bound.

Seizing the moment, the mutated mercenaries struck down with their weapons.

Bang!

“How dare you.”

A knight of the Duke gripped the halberd pole with his hands and held steady.

“These filthy creatures.”

With strength in his hands, the pole broke off.

The mutated mercenary spat spores once more, but the knight severed its leg and split its head with his sword clad in a radiant mana blade.

“For Purioaito!”

The knights withdrew their mana blades, cleaving down the transformed mercenaries.

Valenciaunos thought it odd how they circled Jeilliris protectively.

At that moment, Jeilliris was battling a transformed mercenary just a few steps in front of the magical realm.

To an observer, it seemed less like a fight and more like sheer torment.

Dressed in a black gown, she had yet to draw her sword, instead wrapping a stick she seemed to have picked up in gold aura.

Pop! Pop!

The stick she swung drew graceful curves as it struck the mercenary’s knees and elbows in quick succession.

As the mercenary’s limbs exploded away, a mushroom-ridden body slammed hard onto the ground.

The severed limbs crawled back, but Jeilliris simply kicked them away and crushed them.

“The limbs move via reflexes.”

Finally, as she snapped her wrist to hit its head, the mercenary ceased its writhing.

“It seems the brain remains intact.”

Crash!

The mushrooms on the back all unleashed blue spores at once, but Jeilliris made a gesture, summoning wind that scattered the spores.

“The brain and back mushrooms move differently. Did you hear that? Duke?”

Soon after, the knights of the Duke and the Platinum Knight brought by Jeilliris took down a few mutated mercenaries.

At that moment, Valenciaunos noticed that the magicians brought by Sigmaun were carrying flat stone pillars.

“They already said they couldn’t analyze the magical realm. From their armed state, they aren’t guards either. So why did they bring them?”

The pillars were wrapped in cloth, making it impossible to discern what kind of magic was inscribed upon them.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I sincerely thank you.”

“We should head back. I’m getting hungry.”

“Yes, I will prepare a meal.”

Thud!

As if his words were the signal, the magicians planted the pillars into the ground.

At that moment, Valenciaunos recognized their purpose.

The incantation engraved on the pillar he had seen from above the valley flashed in his mind.

Blocking and sealing.

“Sigmaun! You filthy, ugly traitor!”

He unleashed a curse with the strongest power since his reincarnation, activating the entirety of imperial swordsmanship.

Killing intent flared from his golden eyes, and mana, like chains, reinforced his body as he charged like an arrow into the snowy field.

He moved with a speed that left no footprints.

Swish—!

His sword, swung like butterfly wings, beheaded three of the six magicians at once.

However, the pillars were emitting a blue light already.

Crack!

With a sound like shattering glass, the mana in the area froze.

If it were just a few, Jeilliris’s mana affinity might have allowed her to overcome it, but the pillars, just those visible, exceeded a hundred.

All of them glowed, forming an enormous magic circle.

At that moment, Valenciaunos finally realized why they had tried to block the outside from seeing inside.

They must have been attempting to ensure the Emperor was the last one out.

Sigmaun looked at Jeilliris.

With those hawk-like, resolute eyes.

“And so it has come to this, Your Majesty.”

The ten knights in the Duke’s house raised their swords.

One aimed at Valenciaunos while the other nine aimed at Jeilliris.

However, Jeilliris laughed as if she were watching a child play.

Her arrogant laughter echoed in the frozen magical realm.

“Such great confidence. Do you think you can defeat me without magic?”