The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 148

148

“If you want to escape safely, don’t let go of my back and follow me.”

The city was asleep in a mist of sorcery.

The visibility was terrible, unable to see beyond 10 meters, and there wasn’t a single star in the sky, let alone the moon.

Caw, caw, caw… If not for the eerie and unpleasant cawing of crows, the world would have been filled with an unsettling silence.

“What is this mist…?”

Following Goblin Slayer, I tried to dispel the mist with Vel Querious, but it was endless, no matter how much I burned it away.

A perfect combination of an incantation-type Altigma, an amplification-type Delbeishirts, and a forbidden-type Orbios, to the point where I felt awe for the caster… This combination is infinitely multiplying the mist.

My versatility has become close to zero, and Vel Querious can’t even be used freely, making it the worst possible environment for me.

‘I feel like I’ve seen something similar before, but when and where was it? This combination of formulas is as if it was designed to counter Vel Querious…’

Since the mist was constructed with formulas, it was impossible to see through it even with Vel Sidious. In short, using the magic eye would only obscure the vision with numbers like 010100101, making it impossible to see anything.

“No time to be spacing out.”

In that instant, a brothel on the corner was smashed, and a giant emerged from the cloud of dust, swinging a greatsword.

It was a surprise attack that even erased the killing intent in the mist, but Goblin Slayer countered the attack with astonishing speed and accuracy.

He received the greatsword with the edge of his shield, creating friction, and then plunged into the giant’s arms, driving his blade into its neck.

“Don’t look at me like that. He’s already dead anyway.”

Even after being stabbed in the neck, the giant writhed powerfully. Goblin Slayer plunged the tip of his sword into its heart, and the giant’s movements ceased as the sound of a crow cawing was heard.

“These guys are controlled by crows. They’re adventurers who have had their bodies taken over.”

That wasn’t the end of the attack, but Goblin Slayer’s skill wasn’t limited to that either.

With fluid movements, he subdued the enemies emerging from the mist, harmoniously using daggers, short swords, and short bows. It was a masterly art that inspired admiration.

The first assassin, struck by a dagger, knelt down, and Goblin Slayer drew a longsword from his waist, slashing the thigh of the second giant, knocking him over. Before the third woman could unfold her grimoire and cast a spell, he shot an arrow into her shoulder.

The gruesome part was that crows emerged from the core of their hearts each time… Goblin Slayer called them carrion crows.

– Rin.

Looking at Goblin Slayer’s back, I was inexplicably reminded of a familiar figure. But I immediately shook my head to clear my thoughts. That guy is dead, 300 years ago.

“Behind you!”

I launched a fireball at the giant approaching Goblin Slayer’s back as he finished off a mage.

“Gwaaah!”

The flames burned not only the giant’s body but also the crow inside in an instant. Goblin Slayer nodded and gestured.

“This way, hurry!”

I ran after him.

We crossed a muddy path under a half-destroyed wall where rainwater reached our ankles, passed a warehouse full of beer barrels, and headed towards the inner walls of the castle.

“How do you know the way so well?”

“After catching thousands of goblins, crawling through the underground is nothing. Goblin lairs are more difficult.”

As Goblin Slayer said that, he pulled out two daggers hanging from his shoulder and threw them into the mist. Immediately, someone fell.

Huh, he’s really amazing…

Who is he?

Rather than reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship, it’s more like he’s entered the ranks of masters through the harmony of various equipment? It seemed like a lie that he had caught thousands of goblins.

“There are four gates in [Landkip: the name of the city]. Three are guarded by gatekeepers, but they’re closed late at night.”

“What about the other one?”

“There’s a secret gate on the southeast side. We’ll go through there to the Red Mountains.”

“The Red Mountains, that’s—”

“—Shhh.”

At that moment, Goblin Slayer pulled my shoulder into the shadow of a wall covered with ivy.

As I realized the reason, my lips trembled. A dozen people, clanging their metal armor, ran down the alley in front of us.

Now I had to admit it. The Black Church was definitely after me. I spoke in a hushed voice.

“Are those guys looking for me too? How many are there?”

“Detailed explanation later.”

How long did we push through the mist? Soon, a secret gate appeared, but dozens of crows were flying above it, their dark blue eyes gleaming.

“Wait a moment.”

Goblin Slayer quietly approached a building that was almost attached to the castle walls. It looked like a shed used by soldiers, but it was secured with a huge padlock.

“……!”

It was then that a crow spotted us. A cold sweat broke out on my back as the other crows stared at us, their eerie cries.

Is that also part of the sorcery…?

The runes used were completely different, but the structure was eerily similar to Rudien’s, creating a chilling sense of déjà vu.

“Vel Querious.”

Perhaps it was because of the mist, but my vision was distorted strangely, and I felt dizzy. But now that we had been spotted, I couldn’t leave them alone.

The moment seven petals of a pure white flower bloomed in my eyes, observing the realm of providence, the crows were reduced to ashes in the flames of transcendence.

In the backlash that burned my mind white and caused blood to flow from my eyes, I grabbed my forehead. Goblin Slayer said.

“Come in, quickly.”

In the meantime, he had easily unlocked the padlock by fiddling with the wire a few times. He carefully opened the door and gestured to me.

“Where is this?”

There was a large trapdoor on the floor of the building. Goblin Slayer grabbed the handle of the trapdoor with both hands.

“The sewer. It’s the only way to safely escape right now.”

The moment the trapdoor opened, the stench of excrement stung my nose, causing an instinctive aversion… But with no idea who the enemy was, there was no choice.

The sewage flowing through the sewer floor, endlessly poured in by the rain over the past few days, had risen to waist height and turned into a torrent.

Goblin Slayer, having made a torch with a flint, led the way, illuminating the darkness above the water. The sound of the rushing waves was so loud that it was impossible to have a proper conversation.

“Hey, how much further do we have to go?”

“Shut up, unless you want to swallow sewage.”

“Hmph…”

Just as I was about to fall several times, Aki, awakened from a happy sleep, mumbled in her sleep and then suddenly opened her eyes.

“Hooing…?”

Then, seeing the waves of sewage rushing in from behind, she giggled and started thrashing around, trying to get out of Ceresia’s swaddling clothes.

“No, no, no! Aki, sit down, no, stay still…!”

“Da-boot!”

“Wait, Aki, wait! I said wait!”

“Nungji, Nungji, Nungji.”

I went through so much trouble washing this kid, and now I have to do it again? I’d rather die.

I was completely out of my mind.

Amidst the fishy stench of the sewer and Aki’s mischief, my breath, mixed with retching, reached my throat. In the distance, I saw the surface of the water shimmering.

Light was shining through.

The sewer pipe ended above a rapids belonging to a tributary of the Darcheli River, which flowed almost through the southwestern part of the empire. The moment I threw myself into it, it was so clear and refreshing…

Aki was also excited and laughed, saying ‘Out, aboot,’ while Pipi pecked at my head for pouring cold water on her.

“Sorry, I’m sorry! I was wrong, please stop!”

Perhaps feeling sorry for me, Goblin Slayer shook his head with a short sigh and reached out his hand.

“Here.”

I grabbed his hand and climbed out of the raging rapids onto the shore. Pipi tilted her head.

“Who? Who? Who?”

“He’s a guide, for now… So what? You’re going to the Red Mountains? Why are you going there? Are the witches there?”

Crossing the Red Mountains would allow us to enter the Republic without going through the border.

As if a picture is worth a thousand words, Goblin Slayer pointed to the sky above with his gauntlet-clad thumb. The moment I saw it, a cold feeling ran down my spine.

Crows.

Countless crows… were circling in the rain, ominously cawing.

That wasn’t all.

In the middle of the flock of crows, a huge winged shadow… was also seen emitting a chilling light with three wriggling eyeballs.

“What is that…”

Since Vel Sidious couldn’t perform an ability analysis, it wasn’t black magic but something tangible.

Aki, baring her fangs and growling, exuded a tense hostility.

“We need to move to a place where the crows’ eyes can’t reach. That’s why the Red Mountains are the passage.”

“It would be the same if we went through the mountains, wouldn’t it?”

“Who said we’re just going through the mountains? We’re going through caves.”

“What kind of caves?”

“Caves dug by monsters like goblins and rat-spiders. I’m an expert in that area. Follow me.”

As if the choice was mine, Goblin Slayer began to walk towards the mountain range that was filling the horizon with red waves.

Alternating between looking at his back and the flock of crows howling in the sky above , I…

‘The reason why the Witch Association is looking for me must be related to the Black Church.’

I could ignore it and hurry on my journey, but if I did, I wouldn’t be able to stay in any city or town. I’d keep getting attacked like today.

‘So let’s follow him for now…’

If I hear about this phenomenon and the enemy targeting me from the witches, I might find a solution.

And didn’t the Water Dragon Yeriserica advise me to find the little ghost?

‘The journey doesn’t seem ordinary from the start…’

Leaving the crows’ cries behind, I scratched the back of my head, wet with rain, and followed Goblin Slayer.

We walked almost all night.

We crossed a meadow where waist-high grasses drooped with rainwater, passed through a forest where cedars grew densely and emitted a fishy scent, and reached the foot of the mountain when the rain stopped and moonlight poured down.

Goblin Slayer quickly found a cave hidden in the bushes, based on traces of animal and monster droppings and footprints.

“Judging from the traces, there are about thirty inside, but it’s no problem. Let’s go. If we pass through here, we can get to the southwestern mountainside.”

I dragged my tired body and was about to follow him into the cave when I suddenly stopped.

A strange question arose.

I would have just ignored it as usual… No, it was a question I had been feeling since we escaped the city.

“Why does someone with such amazing skills use such a strange nickname?”

“Strange nickname?”

“Goblin Slayer.”

“What about it?”

“I mean, why do you use it?”

As I tilted my head with genuine curiosity, Goblin Slayer stiffened. Of course, I couldn’t see his expression because of the helmet.

“Why don’t you take a guess?”

“Ah, I see. You’re using it to be funny?”

“What makes you think that?”

“Goblins are the lowest-level monsters, and there are very few cases of damage in the Alliance. Extermination requests are only given to fresh recruits. But Slayer?”

Doesn’t the nickname Slayer usually apply to those who have hunted extremely strong beings?

Like Arthur Brius, the Dragon Slayer who killed five dragons 500 years ago and blasphemed divinity, or Cassel Linkan, the Demon Slayer who was active during the turmoil 300 years ago…

I remembered the story of Frede giving Toureina the title ‘Ashes Witch’ because funny nicknames stay in people’s memories, and I felt a little sad.

“If the goal is to make the other person lower their guard by being funny, wouldn’t something like Squirrel Slayer or Shrew Slayer be better? Goblin Slayer feels neither here nor there.”

I asked again, feeling puzzled.

I wasn’t trying to be funny or anything, it was a genuine question, but I could feel Goblin Slayer’s voice floating slightly.

“I am Goblin Slayer, I—”

“—Ram쥐, Ram쥐, Ram쥐 [Ramjwi is a playful way of saying ‘squirrel’ in Korean].”

“—Take pride in exterminating—”

“—Tatt쥐, Tatt쥐, Tatt쥐 [Tattjwi is a playful way of saying ‘shrew’ in Korean].”

“—So this isn’t a derogatory term—”

“—Tta-atjwi, Rae-aamjwi!”

But the problem was that Pipi was flying around his face, being cheeky, as soon as he opened his mouth.

To make matters worse, Aki was imitating the words, which was so funny that I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. How could I resist?

Amidst the playfulness, Goblin Slayer, who had been trembling, lost his composure for a moment, and his voice was surprisingly clear.

“D, don’t laugh! What’s so funny?”

Then, in that instant, he forcefully threw off the helmet that he had never taken off even in the midst of that misty battle.

“Do you know how hard I’ve been looking for you guys for ten days? I wouldn’t expect you to say thank you, but you’re making fun of me?”

In that instant, my vast world of solitude was shaken to its core.

In that instant, I heard the sound of the second hand of my broken soul moving, and a shiver ran through my body.

In that instant, my heart, which had been coldly frozen and dying since awakening from its long sleep, quietly awakened and began to leave footprints.

‘Hallucination…?’

In the moonlight, in the humidity and temperature of summer, sweat-soaked silver hair shone faintly.

Beneath that hair, golden-hued eyes, an iris that combined the playfulness unique to mischievous children and the pure warmth of the sun.

300 years ago, everyone was drawn to those sincere and kind eyes as if they were bewitched. Even the Great Mage Rin was captivated by that pure beauty that colored and overwhelmed the surroundings with happiness.

‘That guy is dead. He definitely died, Yoshhar also said so.’

It was an eye in a silent echo. It was a face I could never forget.

It was ‘you’ whom I had never forgotten for a single moment.

Is that why I was unknowingly calling out the name of ‘you,’ who cannot and should not exist in this era?

“Rista…?”