Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 392

Chapter 392

The battle devolved into the chaotic melee Isana had initially anticipated. Despite the Emperor’s surprise attack initially dampening their morale, the Grand Duke Army’s assault was fierce, and their defense proved remarkably resilient. They resisted fiercely until the very end; without the earlier breach of a castle gate, entry would have been impossible, a testament to the sacrifices made. Amidst the confusion, where friend and foe were indistinguishable, Isana skillfully evaded danger, alternating between striking and retreating. Finally, the news they had been waiting for resounded.

“Duke Wekan is dead! Duke Wekan is dead!”

It was the sound signaling the end of the long battle. Even amidst the cacophony, that voice rang out clearly. The gruesomely beheaded corpse of Duke Wekan was also clearly visible, displayed by Duke Cael, who had struck the killing blow. The collapse of an army that has lost its commander is inevitable. The Grand Duke Army crumbled rapidly, quickly losing strength and scattering. Some immediately threw down their swords and raised their hands in surrender, while others desperately fled, all amidst utter chaos.

“Waaaaaah!”

A cry of victory erupted from the surviving Imperial Army. Isana stood still, regulating his ragged breathing. Having moved non-stop for several hours, his stamina had long been pushed beyond its limit. Sicuel, who had been with him at the beginning of the battle, had to be sent back midway due to depleted mana [magical energy]. Instead, Nias, summoned as a last resort, wiped the blood from his cheek.

“Your Majesty, it is finally over.”

The Imperial Knights, who had been by his side for some time, looked back with overwhelmed faces. Isana slowly nodded, but he couldn’t smile like them. He didn’t yet feel that the war was over. Rather than relief, he felt a leaden weight in his heart. He vaguely knew the reason. The beginning was a melee, and from the middle, the tide turned overwhelmingly against the Grand Duke Army. By this point, reinforcements should have arrived from the Imperial Palace, or they should have retreated. But neither happened. Even if the lack of reinforcements was due to a shortage of troops, the failure to retreat was incomprehensible. There was ample opportunity to escape. However, Duke Wekan never even attempted to flee.

That meant only one thing: the Grand Duke was not in the Imperial Palace. Whether he had emptied the Imperial Palace and fled as rumored, or whether El had dealt with him, the Grand Duke was gone. If he had been there, Duke Wekan’s personality would have led him to choose retreat first, even if it meant protecting his lord.

It was something he had already guessed to some extent, and that’s why he knew this battle would be the end. But when things unfolded as expected, his body lost strength. He felt a strange mix of emotions, as if he could understand Duke Wekan’s choice to embrace death knowing the end, yet he could never truly comprehend it.

“Now you only have to return home in triumph, so why do you have such a look on your face, Your Majesty?”

A low voice came from behind. Duke Cael was approaching. Covered in blood, he looked like a living corpse. Still, Isana was not surprised. His own appearance was probably not much different.

“Brother.”

“Surely you’re not thinking that this is all over, or that it’s all in vain, are you? Your Majesty has much more to do in the future. You’ll be too busy to think about anything else for a while. You better be prepared.”

At the stern advice, Isana finally smiled bitterly. Seeing him smile, the Imperial Knights finally looked relieved. It was around the time the atmosphere had eased somewhat.

“Your Majesty, there’s something strange in the sky.”

One of the Imperial Knights, who had suddenly looked up, gasped and said in a dazed voice. Isana, who had inadvertently raised his head at the words, soon widened his eyes. A huge golden line was drawn in the sky, like a river of light stretching endlessly.

“What is that?”

“I don’t know? It’s a phenomenon I’ve never seen before.”

“Could that be the aurora [natural light display in the sky] that I’ve only heard about? I’ve heard about a strange light phenomenon that can be seen in the polar regions.”

“Is this the polar region?”

“That’s… not it.”

“Then it’s not an aurora.”

“I guess not.”

Even as the conversation between the knights reached a futile conclusion, Isana couldn’t take his eyes off the unidentified line of light. At this moment, only one being filled his mind.

‘El.’

He had a feeling that he was involved in this strange phenomenon. It was an intense premonition close to certainty.

‘What’s happening now?’

* * *

Finally, the Purification Circle was complete.

It didn’t take long for clear evidence to appear, making the fact known to everyone. That’s because a line gradually began to be drawn in the empty sky.

Watching the sight of golden clouds of mist dancing and stretching across the clear blue sky, I took a slight deep breath. The overall shape was not visible at a glance, but it was possible to guess that it formed a huge ring, probably connecting the four frameworks set up on this side. It was not only a phenomenon that could not occur naturally, but above all, it contained a distinct aura, so it could not be seen as ordinary. It was an overwhelmingly vast sacred power.

“Amazing……”

A path of light through which the divine power of a higher god flows. It was clear that even a mere graze would leave most beings unable to gather their bones. It seems like it would be entirely possible to create dark clouds above it right now and sprinkle holy water all over Arkadon. It was indeed a barrier worthy of being created by mobilizing all the higher gods, although my mood watching it was not very pleasant.

“That’s a really unlucky aura.”

The one word that came from the side at just the right moment defined this complicated feeling. Trowel, who had been leaning on me even while the shape of the Purification Circle was becoming clearer, was now standing a little apart and staring at the sky. He also seemed uncomfortable with the aura of the Purification Circle, as he was slightly frowning.

I already know why I feel this way. In fact, it’s called a Purification Circle, but it was at a level that could purify Arkadon as a whole. No, it seems like it could not only purify, but also make it a completely flawless state with no impurities at all. Should I say it becomes an environment close to the divine realm?

It sounds like a good thing, but intermediate beings cannot live in the sacred land. In other words, it means this world is destroyed. The situation is urgent, so I’m just passing it over, but if it weren’t for the special situation of the evil god, I would never have let something like that float in the sky above Arkadon.

‘Oh, I just thought like a pretty good Spirit King.’

I wouldn’t let it happen. It was as if I was the guardian of this world? My shoulders shrugged on their own at the sudden realization. Of course, that’s true, but I’ve never consciously thought about it, but I think I was pretty cool a little while ago. In this respect, the awakening of nature is not only a disadvantage.

Well, when I think about it, Alisa also said that I’m getting cooler and cooler. That wasn’t just empty words. Hehehe, so I’m soon to be reborn as a charismatic Water Spirit King.

“Puhuh!”

I must have been excited because I was able to interpret the part that I had only been wary of in a new perspective. I thought I was talking nonsense that I thought was novel, but at that moment, I suddenly heard something exploding violently. Surprised, I turned around and saw Trowel shaking his shoulders and laughing.

“Ah, I’m glad I came to find you after all. You’re really the best, El.”

“Huh? Uh? What suddenly… Ugh! H-h, did you hear what I was thinking just now?”

Come to think of it, Trowel said that he could hear better than usual right now… or did he?

I felt the blood draining from my head. Why do the important things always come to mind later? I wanted to believe it wasn’t true, but at this point, that was the only reason he could be laughing, so I started sweating. What’s more tragic is that, as far as I know, Trowel is ruthless in these matters. In other words, I couldn’t expect even a shred of virtue or mercy from him, like pretending not to know something to spare the other person’s shame.

“Yeah, you’re right, El. You seemed quite like a Spirit King just now. It was really cool.”

…Yeah, I knew this would happen.

Trowel started laughing openly now. Ignoring the clear and cheerful laughter, I vaguely raised my head. The sky was clear and the purification circle was successfully completed, but it was a sad day when the urge to find a mouse hole and curl up inside surged within me. Why did I have such thoughts in front of Trowel? I think today will be recorded as the most embarrassing day of my life. The fact that Lapis and Ellyuen next to me seemed to understand the situation made it even worse.

Still, I made Trowel laugh, so maybe it’s a good thing. I glanced at him, who was still laughing. Perhaps because he felt better, the precarious atmosphere that made him seem like he would disappear at any moment when he first appeared before us was no longer felt. It felt like I had given up flesh and taken bone [sacrificed something small for a greater benefit], so I felt compensated for the embarrassment. I guess this isn’t the right metaphor to use in this situation. But who cares? Originally, anything can be justified if you try hard enough.

‘I shouldn’t ask what happened yet.’

I forcibly suppressed the curiosity that was slowly creeping out. I didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere that had barely improved. But it seemed like he heard my thoughts again. “You can ask,” I was startled and turned to look at him at the sudden voice. Trowel was looking at me with a soft gaze.

“Sorry, I made you worry.”

“Ah, no. But is it really okay for me to ask?”

“Yeah, it was nothing much. I just reaffirmed something I already knew.”

“Reaffirmed?”

“That he always goes against what I want.”

Goes against? Who is ‘he’? I couldn’t readily understand what he meant, but Trowel didn’t continue. It seemed like he didn’t want to tell me more than that.

“More than that, El, look over there.”

Trowel gestured to the sky. I raised my head in the direction he was pointing, and my eyes widened. The line that had been shining golden just a moment ago had turned a clear red color.

“The color of the purification circle…”

“It’s activated.”

The words I muttered absentmindedly were followed by another voice. It was Ellyuen.

“Huh? The purification circle is activated? Then are you purifying the evil god from now on?”

“Yes.”

I looked at the sky again and then turned to look at Lapis. He was rubbing the area around his heart with a slightly uncomfortable expression. When I asked him why, he said it was because his mana circulation had suddenly sped up. It seemed like the purification circle had really been activated.

“What about the gods?”

“They’ll be maintaining the framework in the God Realm.”

Ah, they’re not appearing directly. Since Ellyuen was here, I thought other gods would appear as well. For example, Kanos, the Demon God, or the Supreme God. But the sky was as calm as it was at first. The purification circle that was said to be activated didn’t show any particularly noticeable changes other than the color change.

“It’s kind of anticlimactic.”

Ellyuen chuckled as if he knew what I was thinking when I muttered without realizing it.

“You thought something amazing would happen when the purification circle was activated.”

“…I think I’ve watched too many movies.”

I admitted honestly. No, but it’s understandable, isn’t it? Everyone worked so hard to set up the framework, so it’s inevitable to expect some flashy production. I thought I could at least watch the moment the evil god was captured and purified, not just staring blankly at the clear sky like this.

“I feel like a dog chasing a chicken [a futile endeavor].”

There’s no better way to describe the current situation. Everyone diligently ran around in all directions for one purpose, but suddenly it felt like we were excluded from the main schedule. As I was feeling dejected, I felt a hand gently stroking my head. Ellyuen was looking at me with a slightly strange expression.

“My son can’t think of the easiest way.”

“Huh?”

“It means I’m a more capable father than you think.”

With those words, Ellyuen reached out and slowly swept through the air. Then, starting from the part where his hand began, another surface began to appear as if something was being wiped away. It was like a projection screen was unfolding. While I was blinking in surprise, a clear image appeared inside. I couldn’t tell the exact location, but it was a scene of a wide field. A red magic circle was floating above it. I quickly realized that it was connected to the ring of the purification circle that was cutting through the sky.

“Uh… is this perhaps the center of the purification circle? Are you seeing that now?”

“As you can see.”

Wow, as expected of a high-ranking god. He can even do this.

Being able to output a screen like a TV just by lightly swiping through the air. It was very fascinating because even though I could see the spirits, I couldn’t make them visible to others. Moreover, it didn’t seem like there were any other conditions to meet in this process. As I was purely admiring, Ellyuen stroked my head again. I had a feeling that his expression seemed more joyful than usual, and it wasn’t just my imagination.