Make Dark Fantasy Great Again

Chapter 135 [Another Tale] [This is another story] *** "Felix...!" "..." "Felix!!!" "Damn it, I can't! I can't do it!" "Get a grip! You know this isn't something we want to do! It's something we have to do!!! Felix! If you don't do it, everyone here will die!!!" The woman reproaching Felix was named Tila. As a mage belonging to Hero Felix's party, she had personally conducted the ritual of the Asking Left Hand and was the first to be consumed by its power. Despite her careful cleansing and meticulous skincare routine even after grueling days of camping, her skin was now mottled with black stains. "Listen carefully! It's already too late for me!" "Tila, there must be a way to save you-" "No!!! I know my own body better than anyone! Unless we grant the Asking Left Hand's demands right now, I'm as good as dead! Tell me, Felix! Is that even possible for you!?" "..." "So please...! Please!!! Do what you have to do!!!" "Tila..." "Don't look at me with those eyes. Promise me. Promise you won't feel guilty about your actions. Promise you won't blame yourself for what happens...!" "But-...! If only I hadn't been interested in this Asking Left Hand...! If only I hadn't insisted on exploring these ancient ruins!!!" "Then! I wouldn't have followed you. Because you were the one who recklessly stepped into ancient ruins, recklessly took interest in their treasures- because you were the one who sought to experience more than anyone else! That's why I followed you! Hero of Knowledge Felix! I will never regret having followed you! Being with you, all those things I could experience because I was with you were the greatest fortune and blessing of my life!!! "..." "Felix." Tila. She grasped Felix's hand tightly. She added strength to his hand that held the Sacred Sword. "Are you certain?" Tila said, looking into Felix's eyes. It was a kind of ritual that was customarily performed before Felix led the party into reckless adventures. "..." Felix looked into Tila's eyes and drew his characteristic frivolous smile. Just like usual. "As if I'd actually die?" "..." Normally, Tila would have answered with disgust. -If such a situation comes, no matter what happens, I'll make sure you're the only one who dies, so keep that in mind. But the current Tila was different. She looked at Felix and created a bright yet precarious smile. "Right. Everything will work out fine." A moment later. Felix killed Tila. To fulfill the demands of the Asking Left Hand. Yes. All of this was to fulfill those unjust and unreasonable demands. Someone's atrocity. It was to pay the price for a city's destruction. Felix looked at the fallen Tila. He looked at the Sacred Sword stained with her blood. "This should be enough..." Felix tried hard to convince himself. That's when it happened. Creak. Creak. Grotesque sounds and movements like dry branches breaking. The Asking Left Hand began to move again. ...It began to speak its next demand. "...Ha!" The Hero let out a bitter laugh. Soon, that bitter laugh spread into mad laughter. Felix finally realized. Their own arrogance. "To think we could pay the price for a destroyed city..." Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands. There was no way they could pay the price for those deaths. The Asking Left Hand's demands continued endlessly. Even if everyone present met their doom- Creak. Creak. It did not stop. Because sufficient price had not yet been paid. ▶Fate 85 : The Left Hand That Grants Wishes *** A fluttering sound filled the air. It was like the flight of flocks of birds covering the sky. Countless sheets of paper, too numerous to count, scattered on invisible currents. Those currents formed a whirlwind around something at the center. Thus, a girl stood within the whirlwind of papers. She was a girl with clear and deep eyes that seemed capable of containing anything, yet never becoming full no matter what they held. Her name was Pochena. She was the spirit of the Sword of Knowledge. This place was Pochena's Inner World, and the countless sheets of paper swirling around her were the manifestation of her Divine Authority. The power of knowledge. The power to record everything the Sacred Sword and its master experienced. Not just the fleeting scent of grass blades, but even the sensation and texture of the ground beneath one's feet. And even the impressions and realizations that Heroes felt. A special collection of knowledge accumulated over countless years through the hands of various Heroes. Its vastness and value could be compared not to individual books, but to massive libraries or archival facilities. That power, which had transformed an ordinary young man with nothing but strong curiosity and adventurous spirit into an outstanding adventurer, was now demonstrating its true worth in another way. "Bring before me one who wields a sword at dawn, handles the mysteries of magic at noon, commands nature at dusk, and illuminates the surroundings with divinity at dawn." Pochena pondered the Asking Left Hand's demand. Then, the sheets of paper that had been wandering around passed before Pochena's eyes. Like fitting together scattered puzzle pieces to find the answer. Letters, words, and sentences continuously combined and decomposed again, slowly forming a single picture. The information Pochena desired. The answer to the Asking Left Hand's demand. "Ugh...!" Pochena's youthful face contorted. The price for destroying an entire city, wasn't it? Accordingly, the demand spoken by the Asking Left Hand was outrageous. A heavy burden was placed on the Divine Authority of knowledge as it sought an answer to that demand. Even within the vast knowledge possessed by the Divine Authority of knowledge, finding that answer was not an easy task. "So, that's what it is... A being that simultaneously handles sword and magic, and spirits and divinity..." Pochena shook her head with an expression as if she had heard a terrible joke. Knowledge had been with the special beings called Heroes for hundreds of years. It had been truly many experiences, truly many encounters. Eccentric individuals or monsters that ordinary people might encounter once in a lifetime, if at all, Pochena had encountered countless times. "I've never heard of or seen such a thing..." Yet, she had never once encountered a being like what the Asking Left Hand described. Not even anything similar. It was natural. Even someone who possessed just two of those qualities would be a rarely seen eccentric. But four? Normally, Pochena would have firmly concluded through her vast knowledge. That such a thing could not exist in the world. However- Pochena understood the principles of contracts formed by magical power. One cannot demand the impossible, nor can one demand the impossible as compensation. In other words. The Asking Left Hand's demand only appeared nearly impossible, but was not actually impossible. Just as driving a nation to ruin with the power of a curse seemed impossible, but had actually been accomplished. Surprisingly, the Asking Left Hand's demand was reasonable and actually feasible. "How truly comforting..." An impossible demand versus a nearly impossible demand. How different were they? From Pochena's perspective, having to fulfill that demand, there wasn't much difference. Both were equally daunting. However, she must not give up. The Asking Left Hand. The power contained within it far exceeded their expectations. If they failed to fulfill the Asking Left Hand's demands, it would bring inevitable destruction to those who participated in the ritual. "Ugh...!" How long had the Divine Authority of knowledge been working like this? "Got it...!" Pochena cried out in triumph. The Divine Authority of knowledge had finally deduced an answer to that impossible demand. Fragments of memories that different Heroes of Knowledge had encountered. They intertwined with each other, pointing to a figure from the past. "Masked Tarak..." He was one versed in sorcery and blood magic, a necromancer who trapped others' souls within himself through evil rituals and wielded their powers as his own. With that power, Tarak had handled the souls of swordsmen, the souls of mages, the souls of spirit users, and the souls of priests. -Bring before me one who wields a sword at dawn, handles the mysteries of magic at noon, commands nature at dusk, and illuminates the surroundings with divinity at dawn. He was a being that perfectly matched the Asking Left Hand's demand. The problem was- he was a being from the distant past. Was there a way to bring him before the Asking Left Hand right now, transcending not only space but time itself? Surprisingly, there was. The source of information about Tarak. Divided into countless fragments and scattered throughout the world, but woven together by the Divine Authority of knowledge into a single book. It was a record written by Tarak himself. In that record where all of Tarak's evil deeds were written as if they were great achievements, words that Tarak left for those who would read the record remained. It was both a provocation toward challengers and advice toward followers. None other than the method to summon Tarak's soul. At this location were no fewer than two- No, three Heroes were gathered. Along with their companions. If they joined forces, it would be possible to conduct the necromancer's summoning ritual. However- "Someone will get hurt..." No fewer than three Sacred Swords and their masters were gathered in one place. No matter how powerful a necromancer might be, his evil aura would inevitably lose its potency before the Heroes. Defeating the summoned necromancer would not be particularly difficult. The problem lay in the method of summoning. To summon Tarak, someone's body would have to be used as a vessel. To accept the presence of a powerful necromancer. Moreover, the subjugation of the necromancer would take place in that state. Could one remain unharmed through that process? "...No. It's not just getting hurt. There's a high probability... they would lose themselves." The result would be permanent disability if lucky, and death if nothing unusual occurred. Pochena agonized. Was this really right? Was it right to sacrifice someone for the many? Was it right for them to pay the price for someone else's atrocity? She couldn't know. The only certainty was- "But we can't just give up without trying anything." A fluttering sound filled the air- The sheets of paper that had been wandering around Pochena stopped and then lost their form and disappeared. The acceleration of thought maintained by the Divine Authority of knowledge ceased. Pochena emerged from her Inner World and spoke to her master Felix. -Felix! I found it! A way to fulfill the Asking Left Hand's demand! "...It's okay now." -Felix! Good heavens, what do you mean it's okay! Don't tell me you're planning to give up on everything like this!? Without doing anything! That can't be! I couldn't have misjudged you! The Felix I know isn't that kind of person! "That's not it, it's already all over." -No! It's not over! "No, I mean- it's all been resolved." -? Only then did Pochena check the atmosphere of the place. The atmosphere that had been racing toward catastrophe was now relaxed and deflated. "Huff... huff..." Tila, who had been writhing while consumed by the Asking Left Hand's power, had also regained her composure. The black spots that had been steadily covering her skin were fading away. Just as Felix said, it was a sight that could only be seen after resolving the Asking Left Hand's demands. -How...? Pochena's face became bewildered within her Inner World. Felix and the others turned their gazes to Risir as an answer to her question. Then. Risir approached Tila and reached his hand toward her body. "..." With everyone's attention focused on him. Risir shook his head. "Ah, it won't work." "...?" What wouldn't work? That meaningful statement drove everyone at the location crazy. -No, so how did you do it...? Pochena, who still hadn't heard an answer, pressed Felix. "...I don't know, it just worked when Risir raised his hand?" -...? What on earth was he talking about? Even after hearing the answer, rather than being resolved, her questions only multiplied. Creak. Creak. "...!!!" Then. Everyone was startled and turned their gaze to the Asking Left Hand. It began to move again. "Why!? Wasn't that supposed to be the end of it!?" Jane's cry. It was Pochena who answered him. -No. There's no way it would end with just that. "What...?" -It said so. The price for a destroyed city. Hundreds of people. Perhaps thousands. Perhaps tens of thousands. Perhaps... Jane's eyes widened. The shock he felt gradually spread to those around him. -Can we really... can we, fewer than ten people, pay that price? The atmosphere of the place settled heavily. No one dared to speak hopeful words. Perhaps. Their destruction was only a matter of time-... -Bring forth the celestial pillar that can connect heaven and earth. Hearing the inner voice, Risir hesitantly raised his hand. -...Bring forth the famous sword that has been stained with blood a thousand times, forged through a hundred battles, and engraved with glory ten times. Hearing the inner voice again, Risir hesitantly raised his hand. -...Bring forth the pouch that endlessly spits out gold. He wasn't sure about this one. Still, Risir decided to raise his hand first and see. (E/N: LOL) -...Bring forth the massive silk that would cover the world and still have some left over. He really didn't know about this one? But just in case? -...Bring forth the supreme being that even ruling sovereigns would kiss the feet of and look up to in reverence. Huh? Flash. -...This is the final demand. "..."