Make Dark Fantasy Great Again

Chapter 245 The death of the World Tree and its descendants. Illatdein had no leisure to even mourn that tragic event. The remnants of disaster that had burned everything and seemed extinguished flared up once more. Karma swept over the blue-green city. With a whoosh, a human figure was futilely consumed by Karma. She was a woman who had once been called a Seer. "Y-you...-" Those thin, slitted eyes widened as if they might tear apart. From the agony of burning. And from the shock of betrayal. The futile deaths of her comrades flashed before the Seer's eyes like a revolving lantern. At the end of it was her own figure, vowing never to lose at least the last remaining comrade. "Why..." Those eyes, drying up moment by moment, could not even shed tears. The Seer exhaled what little breath remained and asked the one who had been her last comrade. "Seer. You have witnessed countless ruins, yet you could not foresee your own ruin." The apostle of Karma answered in a dry tone. "..." Ah. The Seer's words could not continue. Her body, turned to ash, crumbled away. ▶Fate 89: Ruin *** A fate shattered like Broken Glass. Ruin. Shuon and her party didn't know much about that ability. Ruin was closer to an unidentified phenomenon that she occasionally experienced rather than a power Shuon perfectly controlled. Even Shuon couldn't observe all ruins. However. Despite that, they held strong conviction about one aspect. The ruins that Shuon experienced hinted at or observed massive events significant enough to affect the world. Based on such rules, Shuon's party wandered the Continent, preventing ruins that would soon occur or dealing with ruins that had already happened. But now, cracks had formed in that rule which served as their code of conduct. "Shuon. Are you certain? That what I just saw was that 'ruin'?" Scratch scratch. The middle-aged man with a short beard scratched his chin. Swordmaster Junggeom. With a face that seemed not fully awakened from intoxication, he looked at the elderly woman with a warm impression beside him—the High Priest. "Granny. Could you perhaps describe in words the 'ruin' you just saw to me?" "..." The High Priest also looked equally flustered, but quickly calmed her confusion and began organizing her thoughts. "A star was born in a city full of greenery... a very bright star..." "And then?" "Heading toward a city where countless stars had risen..." "And then?" "It met with family and shared its feelings. Then it satisfactorily ended its life." Ruin is like indirectly experiencing the perspective of the party who becomes the central axis of that fate. Vague on one hand but clear on the other, it allowed them to experience the perspective of the 'star' who was the protagonist of the ruin. Thanks to this, they could understand that the star was born simply to make contact with 'family', and after completing that, it satisfactorily ended its life. After hearing the High Priest's answer, Junggeom looked in turn at Red Sky, the Hero of Sealing, and Seer Shuon. They each showed their agreement with the High Priest's statement through their respective reactions. "Right. Thanks everyone. For confirming that I'm not crazy. So this is it. Either we've all gone mad together, or we've all witnessed the wrong ruin together." Everyone's gaze naturally focused on the Seer. "..." Returning to her characteristic slitted-eye expression, she looked as if she were contemplating with her eyes closed. Eventually she spoke. "This is the first time such a case has occurred, so I'm flustered... but as Mr. Deupl said, something is definitely wrong." Shuon made a bold decision. Rather than acknowledge such a thing as ruin, I'd rather acknowledge my own inadequacy! "This isn't... the ruin I knew. Perhaps something went wrong with my ability to observe ruins through some power, or I witnessed something of a different kind than before... It must be something like that, surely." Thanks to Shuon’s self-sacrificing attempt to clarify the situation, the atmosphere in the room quickly calmed down. "Well, that could be the case. Don't be too discouraged. No one here doesn't know that your ability is the real deal." Junggeom, Deupl laughed heartily and patted Shuon's forearm. Shuon responded with a light smile as if she didn't mind at all. Even so, she was mulling over that ruin on one hand. (E/N: Deupl seems to be a second name for Junggeom. No idea why...) 'A city full of greenery... It must be Illatdein. If what we saw wasn't an illusion... what on earth could it be hinting at?' That was another conclusion Shuon had reached. She thought the scene she had just witnessed might be in the form of a metaphorical prophecy, unlike the ruins up until now. And for good reason- A star was born. It met family. The star died. That endless series of events couldn't possibly happen as is in reality. Thus, just as Shuon was pondering over the meaning of that enigmatic prophecy. "Well then. The ruin matter seems to be somewhat settled, so shall we move on to the next agenda?" Archmage Red Sky stroked his mustache and began speaking. "Next agenda? What. Did you see some separate ruin, old man?" "Nonsense from morning on. I'm talking about the Magic Sword. Karoer. Before that High Elf calls us in to proceed with the discussion, shouldn't we reach our own conclusion?" "Even if we reach a conclusion among ourselves—" Junggeom chuckled and raised both hands. "In the first place, we don't have any particular authority, do we? What was that guy's name again? Ri- Risir?" The High Priest beside him widened her eyes and looked at Junggeom. "For you to remember a name in one go. Did the sun rise from the west today?" Junggeom shrugged and continued speaking. "Risir. He's the one who discovered the Magic Sword, and he's the one who neutralized the Magic Sword. So, how to dispose of that Magic Sword would depend entirely on that guy's will, wouldn't it? It's not a matter for us to argue about." Red Sky, who had brought up the topic, now had a displeased expression. "Last night. Seems somewhat different from the content of our conversation?" The previous day. After each having individual meetings with Risir, they gathered in one place again to have a discussion. On the topic of 'Is it okay to entrust the Magic Sword to Risir?' "Didn't we clearly reach an agreement that 'as expected, we should be the ones to handle the Magic Sword'?" The Archmage argued in a coercive tone. To this, the Swordmaster and High Priest showed reactions as if troubled. "No. Even if we reached an agreement—" It was true that the three people's opinions matched to a certain extent. They all judged Risir as 'a man with sufficient strength and sense of responsibility.' However, friction of opinions began after that. —Since he's a man with sufficient strength and sense of responsibility, wouldn't it be fine to entrust the Magic Sword to him? That was the opinion of the Swordmaster and High Priest. On the other hand, the Archmage's opinion was— "Really, must you see that young man go wrong because of the Magic Sword to be satisfied!?" Like that. The Archmage was strongly arguing that 'I can't watch such an excellent young man go wrong!' and that they should manage the Magic Swords themselves. "I must have said repeatedly! The Magic Sword's erosion might already be progressing, we need to take measures as quickly as possible!" "It doesn't seem like the Magic Sword's erosion is progressing? At least not to my eyes." The High Priest answered with kind yet powerful eyes. She sensed Divinity in the man. That Divinity only emitted a faint radiance like unprocessed ore— Nevertheless, she could tell how genuine the Divinity he possessed was. The High Priest could assert with confidence. Such a person, even if he became the master of the Magic Sword, would not use that power for wrong purposes! "Ho. Is that so? Then how do you plan to explain this? That young man handles not only Divinity, but also Magic and the power of Swordsmanship!" "..." "..." The expressions of the Swordmaster and High Priest contorted. As the Archmage's statement indicated, the man's strange ability was not easy for the two of them to accept either. To handle both Magic and Swordsmanship simultaneously with one body. And skillfully at that! It was a phenomenon that couldn't be explained even through the vast knowledge of the Swordmaster and High Priest. On the other hand, the Archmage had come up with his own answer regarding this. The man was currently in a state of being unknowingly controlled by the Magic Sword. The concurrent use of those various powers was possible thanks to the Magic Sword's power. "How frustrating! You must have surely seen the same thing as I did!" The evidence was the Magic Sword's rampage they had witnessed before. Swordsmanship. Magic. Black Magic. Even Sorcery on top of that! The Vortex of Power created by all of those mixed together. That sight of containing it in the sword surely seemed to preach the true meaning of the name Magic Sword. "I assert that right now, the Magic Sword's power remains within Risir! Risir is in a state of being fascinated by that power!!!" It was an unfamiliar aspect of Red Sky for them to see. He revealed the fire-like personality characteristic of Red Magic Tower mages without restraint, pushing his argument forward. "Sodin...! Please calm down—" Shuon, who had been watching while organizing her thoughts, reacted in surprise. Red Sky Sodin. This was the first time he had shown his characteristic fiery temperament to his comrades rather than enemies. "Do I look like I can calm down now! My so-called comrades are caught up in optimistic thinking and trying to ruin a man's life!" Shuon's party momentarily wondered if they were in the wrong. Red Sky's current appearance was so unfamiliar that he was beginning to look like a different person. And- That could be called a very accurate judgment. Red Sky Sodin. Right now, cracks were forming in his mask as he felt a sense of crisis. *** The red mage who was once evaluated as being at the pinnacle of Flame Magic as the owner of the Red Magic Tower. He no longer pursued pure fire. Karma. Red Sky was drawn to that impure yet mighty flame, willingly offered himself, and was reborn as its apostle. Apostle of Karma, Sodin. He was with Shuon's party with some purpose. Naturally, that purpose wasn't to correct all kinds of ruins together with Shuon. Everything was for Karma. No. For his own power! His current actions were also based on such thinking. 'The Magic Sword... I must secure it somehow...!' In fact, securing the Magic Sword wasn't Sodin's original purpose. Nevertheless, the reason he prioritized the Magic Sword above all else like now was simple. 'Night of the Sword... Who would have thought that its fragment possessed such tremendous power...' The incomprehensible power of the Magic Sword he confirmed with his own eyes! Sodin thought. 'With that power, surely...!' So, he tried to persuade his comrades somehow. That they should take on the disposal of the Magic Sword! That they must take it on somehow! Only then would he have a chance to steal it and run away! "Shelloa! You speak up! Do you really think that brat can completely control that Magic Sword without your power—the power of Sealing!" "..." However, his comrades' reactions were far from satisfactory. His argument that 'Risir using various powers is evidence of being eroded by the Magic Sword's power!' had some persuasive force, but— "That Magic Sword was discovered in Illatdein. And it was that man called Risir who primarily neutralized the Magic Sword. Moreover, that guardian Karoer seemed to completely trust that man called Risir. There's currently no room for us to intervene. At best, we could only ask that man." Master of Sealing Shelloa said while pushing up her glasses. When everyone except himself nodded in agreement, Sodin shouted in frustration. "What use is that! In the end, isn't that Magic Sword currently in your hands!" Currently, the Magic Sword was being kept by Shelloa, the Hero of Sealing. This was a measure taken as Shelloa prevented the Magic Sword's recovery with the power of Sealing. Sodin spoke of that Magic Sword placed in Shelloa's room as if it were in his own pocket. Shelloa's eyes behind her glasses narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean? Don't tell me you're planning to take it and run away without others knowing?" "Foolish talk, it's not running away! Isolation!" "...You. It would be better if you calmed down a bit." "This is maddening. Why is this man acting like this!?" "Sodin, please calm down. Please." As Sodin's arguments entered the realm of unreasonableness, his comrades began turning their heads away one by one. "..." Eventually, Sodin began calming himself down with repeated deep breaths. "Phew." He exhaled deeply. "Right. You're all correct. I got too... excited." When he spoke in a powerless tone, having regained his composure, his comrades exhaled sighs of relief and each offered him words of comfort. "Sorry for showing an inadequate side... Thank you for understanding..." They didn't know. That Sodin's eyes were burning as he bowed his head. *** "Huh!? Risir? Why are you appearing from there? I kept knocking on the door but there was no answer, so I wondered what was going on!" "Oh my. Were you waiting there the whole time? I'm sorry. I was just coming back from morning training." "Morning training... Huh? Wait? Isn't this kind of interesting?" "What do you mean?" "Usually it's lazy people who make others wait, but Risir actually made me wait because he's too diligent, right?" Risir nodded at her words. Ratsil was also moving her mouth too diligently, causing her to be delayed in stating the purpose of her visit. Chatter chatter babble babble chirp chirp chirp chirp. "Uh-uh-uh-uh." Only after a long while could Risir manage to say those words. "So, Ratsil... what brings you here so early in the morning?" "Oh right! Look at my mind! Karoer summoned Risir regarding Magic Sword-related matters! One hour from now— Huh? When did time pass like this? About 20 minutes from now, you should come to that place from yesterday!" "Then, those people will also be joining?" When Risir said this while thinking of Shuon's party, Ratsil nodded. "Actually, there's no need for that!" "Huh? No need for that?" "That Magic Sword thing! Risir discovered it, and Risir dealt with it, right? Of course it's right for Risir to have it! Probably, Karoer called those people to clearly say 'Since it turned out that way, know that it's so~'!" "Oh..." At this very moment, Risir found Ratsil's voice particularly beautiful. Because his worries from last night had completely disappeared with just one word from Ratsil. Even though Risir had been the first to discover and neutralize the Magic Sword, he hadn't been confident about its ownership. It was because of the special nature of the object called a Magic Sword. Like in the case of Sacred Swords, he thought a Magic Sword wasn't something you could have just because you wanted it. But listening to Ratsil's words changed his thinking. 'Right. Ms. Ratsil is correct. No need to think complexly.' The Magic Sword was discovered in Illatdein, the City of Elves. Therefore, the disposal of that Magic Sword should entirely depend on the elves. If Karoer, the elder of Illatdein and a High Elf, said 'This Magic Sword is Risir's,' who could object? Risir thought. Unless that Night of the Sword came to Illatdein and said 'Excuse me, I heard you're keeping my belongings here'— It was appropriate for him to manage the Magic Sword. "Ms. Ratsil. Shall we go ahead now?" "There's still 20 minutes left, are you sure that's okay?" "With Ms. Ratsil here, what's 20 minutes?" Risir headed to the location with light steps alongside Ratsil. *** "They're late." Karoer, seated in place, muttered quietly. Ten minutes before the appointed time. Most people had already gathered at the location. Ten minutes passed from then- Another ten minutes passed. The seats that had been empty from the beginning remained unfilled. "Where the hell did these people go?" Archmage Sodin. Master of Sealing Shelloa. Junggeom scratched his chin while looking at the two empty seats. "...Wait." Pause. Junggeom's eyes gradually widened. "No way, right?" He burst into repeated chuckles. As if he thought it was a foolish idea even to himself. However, his expression gradually became tinged with anxiety. "..." That wasn't all. Junggeom's anxiety gradually infected his comrades as well. "Is there some kind of problem?" Risir felt a clear sense of discord from them and spoke. "..." After exchanging glances with his comrades once, Junggeom opened his mouth. The small commotion this morning regarding the Magic Sword's ownership. The unnatural behavior Archmage Sodin had shown in that commotion. "..." Karoer kicked back her chair and stood up, then moved her steps somewhere. Risir was the first to react. He took the lead and followed behind Karoer. "Damn it...!" Shuon's party also belatedly began following behind them. *** "Damn it, old man! What are you doing! Have you lost your mind!?" Their anxiety became reality. Master of Sealing Shelloa. It was the moment they arrived at her room where the Magic Sword was kept. "Urgh—..." The Master of Sealing lay collapsed on the floor with her glasses askew. Her entire body restrained by flame snares in an unnatural state clearly indicated that she had been ambushed unexpectedly. "How..." Archmage Sodin. Holding the Magic Sword, he couldn't hide his bewilderment when Risir's party kicked down the door and entered. "With your level, it should take at least several dozen minutes to break through that barrier...!?" "Barrier? Ah." Risir spoke meaningfully while looking down at his hand. Sodin felt an indescribable anxiety at that action. But that was only momentary. Sodin drew a vile smile at the corner of his mouth and tightened his grip on the Magic Sword. "Well, it doesn't matter." "Sodin!!! Please, stop!!! You can still make it right now!" Shuon cried out desperately, but Sodin paid no heed at all. Just as Risir and everyone else were about to act in unison— "Ugh—...!" Master of Sealing Shelloa let out a pained groan. The flame snare restraining the Hero's body blazed fiercely, burning her body. "Come any closer, and the Hero will become a charred lump of meat." "...!" Risir's group involuntarily stepped back. While they hesitated, Sodin acted swiftly. "Shelloa. Release the Magic Sword's seal." "Go to h-hell—" Shelloa's words couldn't continue. Sodin's flames engulfed her. Those fierce flames inflicted terrible pain on Shelloa, instantly robbing her of consciousness. Sodin, who had been with the Hero of Sealing as a comrade for many years, knew this. That the power of Sealing she possessed as a Hero was directly connected to her Will. Shelloa lost consciousness and collapsed limply on the floor. He didn't kill her. Then her value as a hostage would disappear. "Old man... have you really gone mad?" The Swordmaster gritted his teeth upon confirming his comrade's complete betrayal. His murderous intent began pressing down on the entire room. "..." Sodin paid no heed at all. Because he knew that he was not someone who would easily give up the life of a woman who was both a Hero and comrade. Rather, he was someone who would stop those who urged giving up a comrade's life. "All I want is this Magic Sword. If you don't interfere with me, what you're worried about won't happen." "..." Sodin smiled satisfactorily. At his words, his comrades began watching Risir and Karoer's reactions. They were ready to block them the moment Risir and Karoer made a move. "Understood?" Karoer looked at Risir and spoke. Risir nodded without hesitation. "..." Sodin was quite surprised by Risir's reaction. He wasn't even a comrade of the Hero, and at this point was the practical owner of the Magic Sword. Yet like his comrades, he unhesitatingly prioritized the Hero's life- "Don't resent it too much. No matter how I look at it, you don't suit being the master of a Magic Sword. Maybe if it were a Sacred Sword." Sodin joked with some sincerity. Even while doing so, the Resonance between him and the Magic Sword was progressing. Thump! Thump! Thump! "...!" Everyone at the location shuddered. The dark-colored sword began pulsating again, emanating its ominous Aura. "Ha, hahaha! This is it!!!" Sodin trembled at that ominous yet mighty aura and pulled out an object from his chest. "...!" At that moment, great shock arose in Karoer's eyes. Because the object in Sodin's hand looked familiar. "That's the First Hero's legacy..." "...!" Risir was startled by those words and began looking at it more closely. The cube-shaped object. "Oh! Guardian Karoer, should I say 'as expected'! You recognize this object!" Master of all Sacred Swords. The greatest Hero in history. It was indeed the First Hero's legacy, as Karoer had said. At the same time, as a kind of key- It was the reason Sodin had been with Shuon's party until now. "Hero's legacy! Respond to my question!" Along with his cry, Sodin infused power into the Hero's legacy. Then, patterns appeared on the cube and brilliant light began pouring from it. "I will fulfill all those conditions you spoke of back then, right here and now! Magic Sword!" Thump! Thump! -Yes... beast... what do you desire from me... "Offer me your power!!! The same power you gave to that man!!! Then I, Red Sky Sodin, promise to become your rightful master!" -The same power I gave to that man... "That's right!" Sodin began laughing maniacally with ecstasy. "Hero's legacy! You said back then! That if I wanted your recognition, my current comrades weren't enough! That I needed to bring Dark Mages and Shamans of my level! It will be so from now on! Watch clearly! This was the reason the Archmage decided to steal the Magic Sword. The power the Magic Sword had given to Risir. The Power That Defies Logic that allowed him to break down barriers and handle all kinds of power. When it seized Risir's body and went on a rampage, the source of that Vortex of Power it showed! If he could obtain the power of Black Magic and Sorcery with that power, he could immediately activate the legacy's power! With that, he could go to the place it would take him! Sodin focused on the Magic Sword with gleaming eyes. He concentrated on the power it would bring. However. "..." No matter how long he waited, the Magic Sword didn't function. Thump! Thump! Thump! It just pulsated silently. As if it were at a loss for words. "Magic Sword!!!" Sodin urged it impatiently. Then it finally opened its mouth. -Beast... I don't understand what you're talking about... I gave no power whatsoever to that terrible monster... "What are you saying... Then, using my body now, recreate that rampage from back then!" -Rampage... "That's right! That Vortex of Power! Sword! Magic! Sorcery! Black Magic! The power that breaks down boundaries and encompasses all of them! Give me your great power too...!" -Logically... do you think such ridiculous power could exist... foolish one... The Magic Sword reproached him with a serious expression. "What—" Sodin was at a loss for words.