The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 158

158

[Dear Teacher Rin,]

I must have read the opening of the letter, supposedly written 27 years ago, at least seven times. The letters were blurred and faded, making them difficult to decipher.

It was undeniably her handwriting from our school days.

It had become more refined and mature than when I first taught her how to write, but the characteristic loops and slants remained the same.

[I am writing to you again today, Teacher. When I wondered why you wrote letters to the Magic Tower every day, Teacher Friede explained it to me like this:

A letter is a way to express in writing a certain feeling that can only be captured at a specific moment in time.

But it’s incredibly frustrating.

No matter what I did on any given day, no matter what I experienced, whether it was spring, summer, autumn, or winter, the feelings and words I wanted to share with you were always the same.]

I stopped reading the letter and rolled up the scroll again, sitting alone for a long time in the humid summer night air.

Just sitting alone.

Barely letting out faint breaths. It wasn’t until Pipi came in through the wide-open window that I realized I was crying.

“Rin, don’t cry, Rin, don’t cry.”

Pipi fluttered its bandaged wings in front of my face, and I quickly wiped away a tear, shaking my head.

“I’m not crying, Pipi. It’s just… I got some dust in my eye.”

“Dust, dust, dust.”

I smiled weakly and leaned my cheek against Pipi’s head, and it lightly pecked my cheek.

“Tourhena wrote a letter.”

“What’s it say, what’s it say, what’s it say.”

“I’m not going to read it.”

Letters are exchanged between those who are separated by time and space, unable to meet. I can go meet her now. Because we live in the same time and space. So…

“I’m going to go see her in person and talk to her. Then I’ll read it to Pipi too.”

Once is enough, a farewell through letters. I suddenly thought of Headmaster Juliana’s face. And the Osarius schoolmates too.

“I don’t even know if Tourhena will recognize me like you do…”

She didn’t even seem to remember the texture of my soul, let alone Pipi. How will she react when I say, ‘It’s been a long time?’

She’s not an easy opponent to use the magic that made Pipi recognize me (she’s on par with me from 300 years ago), and I can’t even use water magic now.

And… when I meet Tourhena again, who has committed such heinous acts, will I even be able to scold her? When you think about it, it’s all because I made such an absurd promise, wasn’t it?

‘Lady Yerisellica, you’re leaving it up to my judgment? What exactly do you want me to do?’

I thought about what Headmaster Juliana or Rista would say if someone else had been trapped in ice and I had become obsessed with black magic.

All night long, I sat on the hill with Pipi, watching the night sky as the summer breeze gently caressed the trees, grass, flowers, and my hair.

The answer didn’t come to me until the very end of the night, but the twilight, as always, mercilessly and accurately illuminated the world.

“Hey.”

And as the birds woke up and chirped at dawn, Rista appeared….

No, the hair that brushed against the wind was golden, and her eyes were a clear turquoise, as if carved from jade. It wasn’t Rista, it was Miria.

Even though she was wearing a simple tunic without any adornment, her beauty was as exquisite as the flowers of spring. Just like Rista.

“He’s the one who saved us in Aurelinople.”

Before I could even feel relieved to see her safe, I sensed the presence of someone whose connection to me was more of a bad relationship than a good one.

“He used to be the chief black magician of Luzaihen, but I don’t know about that, and I would have died if it weren’t for him. He’s the one who gave me and Pipi emergency treatment with his magic.”

It was a tall young man wearing a black-blue robe typical of black magicians and an expressionless iron mask.

I couldn’t see his face because of the iron mask, but I could definitely feel everything else.

The intense magical power that sent shivers down my spine and the immense poison that made Pipi instinctively spread its fiery wings… I know this energy.

“You, you are…?”

A voice arose from a complex emotion that I myself couldn’t define. It was a voice that was both welcoming and bewildered, and also filled with an uncontrollable rage.

Perhaps he read my complex thoughts.

He let out his characteristic annoying sneer, pushed back the hood of his robe, and released the clasp of his iron mask, revealing his face.

“Hmph. It seems the flattery about being the most respected magician in the world wasn’t a lie, since you recognized me right away?”

In the morning sunlight, amidst the swaying dark blue hair, a face so beautiful it looked as if it had been cut straight out of a painting was revealed.

I know this guy.

The name of this detestable guy, who could be said to have decorated the finale of my last school days, which were like a storm….

“…Valensidice?”

* * *

From the beginning of time, the area around the Mythical Fire Peak of the Red Mountains had never been covered in dark clouds. The temperature was always high, and it had never been covered in perpetual snow.

It was because of the sacred heat that circled the mountain peaks, but now only eerily dark clouds were swirling above it.

The dark clouds, made up of a deep abyss, writhed like insects, spreading wider and wider, cutting off the world from the light of the sun and moon.

[Can you see the beautiful scenery of the old world?]

The spirit of a girl, constructing her form with dark blue haze, said as she walked through the magnificent archway of the Belrakior (Blessing of Fire) Temple.

[Most humans live peacefully without any suspicion. Without even knowing that this world is not what it used to be.]

The girl was speaking to a red-haired baby with fangs bared, chained to the Polantir altar in the temple.

“Agbuuh.”

A painfully intricate and complex magic circle was drawn on the altar, with the baby at the ‘entrance’ of the central circle and a frozen boy at the ‘exit’.

[That world was a very perfect world. A world where no one suffered, where there was no such thing as the sorrow of parting. A world where all humans lived freely in their instincts!]

“A-geubaat!”

[It was such a perfect world, but a bunch of lackeys calling themselves the light came along! Then they mumbled something about freeing you from your shackles…]

The girl, who was pleased to see the dark clouds gradually encroaching on the blue sky that had been spread out over the horizon, turned around with a twirl.

[Humans, who only have primitive brains, fell for their seduction. In the end, the world has changed so unreasonably.]

“Areueut?”

[But you know what’s funny? Humans want to be like the old kings and nobles. Do you know that all the noble titles in the current empire are taken directly from the old era? And what about the slavery that is rampant on the Adrion continent?]

“Eruu!”

[You dragonkin, who received the command of light, wanted to transplant a new civilization, but humans are returning to the civilization of the old era.]

The girl approached the baby with a hopping gait, and then caressed its face with a gesture filled with chilling murderous intent.

[It’s a regression instinct. Regression. The world that you forcibly and forcibly changed is trying to return to its original state.]

As her hand slowly began to tighten around its throat, the baby dragon cried out roughly, but the shackles could not be overcome by the strength of an infant.

“Abat, Abat, Abat, A-baat!”

[Look outside. On the day your era ends, the era will return to its original state. The future sinks back into the abyss. Just like it did in the past. Eradicating all traces of your stench that has deeply permeated this world─]

“─Don’t touch it recklessly.”

At that moment, a puff of cigarette smoke flew in from somewhere, roughly wrapped around the spirit’s wrist, and pulled it back. The arm fell off the spirit.

[Ah, that’s right~ This was an important tool for Tourhena’s wish.]

The youngest of the three pillars of the Black Church, Elamas, chuckled, but Tourhena’s expression, with a pipe in her mouth, was even gloomier than usual.

– Tourhena, Tourhena, Tourhena.

That parrot… what was it?

No, who was it?

It felt like an existence that shouldn’t be forgotten, but I couldn’t remember… all I felt was a sense of loss filling my soul and an inexplicable sense of guilt for what I had done back then.

[Oh, this is going to be a problem.]

Perhaps sensing the traces of chaos, bewilderment, and hesitation in her eyes, Elamas approached and placed his hand on Tourhena’s cheek.

[Tourhena, the things you’ve done with us so far have been an incredible miracle in this world. You and Zernyx have changed the century.]

“Take your hand off.”

[But are you thinking of backing out now? You were supposed to put the first button on the task of fixing the chaotic world, and if you give up on that, it will affect the work I’m supposed to do, and then the world will continue to be in chaos?]

Unlike when she touched the baby dragon, her gestures seemed very gentle, but the obsession swirling darkly in her deep eyes and the fanatically incessant muttering voice were terror itself.

“I told you to take your hand off.”

The cigarette smoke spread fiercely, grabbing the spirit’s limbs and twisting them off. The spirit, scattering and fading away, smiled brightly.

[Seeing that this cruel nature remains the same, I don’t think there’s much to worry about… but if you’re thinking of disappointing me, you’d better be prepared.]

Only after the suffocatingly oppressive fog of the spirit disappeared did Tourhena take a deep breath and wipe the cold sweat from her forehead.

Then, she turned her head towards the side where she felt a gaze, towards the baby dragon looking up at her with innocent eyes.

The baby dragon tilted its head, as if wondering, and then widened its eyes as if it had realized something, clasped its chained hands together, and closed its eyes. Just like the boy who used to look at Tourhena’s statue with sad eyes.

“Are you praying for me?”

Tourhena asked mockingly.

Perhaps because she was once a shaman who lived in the age of dragons, a trace of respect for the dragonkin remained behind her animosity towards the Mad Dragon.

“You guys are really kind from birth. Take that hand away. I’m not worthy of such blessings.”

“Auu?”

“I, Tourhena, am a nasty bitch. I’ve killed thousands of powerless and innocent people without any hesitation.”

“Ae?”

“Was there any great cause in it? No, there wasn’t. It was all because of my own insignificant wish.”

The eyes of the woman muttering in a sorrowful voice were directed not at the baby dragon, but at the face of the boy next to it.

She never forgot.

She could never forget.

She tried not to forget no matter what, but now she had forgotten most of it except for that face.

“It’s just because of a small wish… the first and last one I’ve ever had in my life.”

* * *

“They say you live long if you get cursed. I don’t know how much I have to be cursed to survive the fight with that Tourhena,” Valensidice said.

He even brazenly held out his hand as if to celebrate the reunion, but I hesitated, stood up, and instead of taking his hand, I punched him right in the face.

And I was embarrassed.

It was an attack that was not long after recovery, so my center was staggering and the power wasn’t properly loaded. I thought he would avoid it, but Valensidice was hit right in the face.

“Hey, why all of a sudden?”

Miria, who was blinking blankly, was surprised and approached, but Valensidice spat out blood and raised his hand to stop her.

“It’s okay. This is how the reunion with this guy should be.”

How dare you bring that brazen face to me? Because of you, what happened that day, what did I have to go through?

I couldn’t say that.

There was no way I could say that.

Could I condemn this guy, who was her subordinate, when I hadn’t even sorted out how to deal with Tourhena? Besides, this guy saved me twice.

“You, you were alive, Valensidice….”

I ended up saying that with a voice trembling for some reason I couldn’t understand myself.

No, was it because I saw the sleeve fluttering empty from his left arm… the left arm he blew away himself to let me go back then?

So he didn’t die because his betrayal wasn’t discovered back then.

“I see my expectations were wrong. I’m indescribably happy to disappoint you.”

Valensidice gave the same quiet smile he had at the school festival before. I bit my lip and suppressed a hollow laugh.

“Yeah, thanks for disappointing me, you son of a bitch….”

This guy is a son of a bitch without needing to explain the background. Publicly and personally, I couldn’t hate him at all. I don’t need to explain the reason for that either.

An ambiguous relationship where we can’t welcome the reunion, but we can’t draw a sword and oppose each other. That’s the distance between him and me.

Standing there awkwardly in an indescribable atmosphere, I opened my mouth first.

“Was the teacher you mentioned back then referring to Tourhena?”

“Yes.”

“The reason why you were proficient in both sorcery and magic is also because of that.”

“That’s correct.”

“But why did you betray Tourhena?”

“Are you asking if I betrayed her because of you?”

“Half right and half wrong.”

“It’s true that it was the decisive trigger. But this is also half right and half wrong.”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

“Neither am I. You may or may not believe me, but I originally went under her with the intention of betraying her.”

Miria and I couldn’t help but look at each other as we exchanged words dryly rather than sharing a reunion. What are you talking about?

“It was this Valensidice who was providing information about Tourhena and Luzaihen, whose whereabouts had been unknown since the Black Spot incident.”

It was Juliana who gave a clear answer, appearing with a pipe in her mouth. Valensidice slightly bowed his head as an example.

“A master and disciple… were you that close?”

“No, that person and I have different uses. We only recently found out that we were master and disciple.”

“Use?”

“I am the ‘root’ that Tourhena raised to be used for secret tasks. On the other hand, that side is the ‘flower bud’ that was raised for external symbolism.”

Even those involved couldn’t help but tilt their heads at Tourhena’s dualistic behavior of raising excellent disciples in both light and darkness.

“This guy is more black-hearted than he looks. No one knows what he’s up to.”

When I warned him by poking Valensidice’s side hair with my index finger, Juliana blew cigarette smoke between Valensidice and me, keeping us away from each other.

“I can’t completely trust him either, so I put a Geas [a magical compulsion] on him. He accepted it willingly.”

I wondered if a Geas could really exert much power on Valensidice’s skills. But the other party is also a shaman with tremendous spiritual power….

“My guess is that Tourhena didn’t seem to have any intention of destroying the world altogether.”

Juliana continued, exhaling cigarette smoke with a bitter taste.

“Just looking at her raising someone like me and making me a shaman… if she wanted the destruction of the world, she would have built a world full of human trash.”

“….”

“From the beginning, she only wanted to revive Rin and live together. That’s what met the abyss and turned into an evil obsession.”

I thought of Tourhena.

The face that smiled brightly, calling me Teacher.

“By the way, Valensidice, can you really fight your old comrades?”

“I never thought of them as comrades, so there’s no problem. If you think I’m going to betray you, you can activate the Geas and kill me, can’t you?”

When Valensidice answered in a lifeless tone, Juliana gave a meaningful smile.

“Really, will you die with a Geas? I don’t think so. I can inflict some damage, but….”

Juliana seems to know Valensidice’s skills roughly.

As I said before, even by Rin’s standards, this guy is a great master, and without any special explanation, Tourhena used him as the chief black magician.

Valensidice let out a low sigh and stroked the magic circle of the Geas engraved on his neck.

“I have only seen the power to create a new possibility from black magic, a revolution of equality in this world that is currently becoming fixed… I have no intention of releasing the old nobles.”

Then what is the Black Spot incident?

I was about to sneer like that, but I closed my mouth. Back then, that guy was just one of Tourhena’s pawns.

We can’t go against the flow now… was that what he meant back then?

“Shaman.”

The red-capped witches appeared from the sanctuary.

“Everyone has gathered.”

Juliana nodded and gave me a deep look before moving her steps towards that side.

“So, have you decided what to do with Tourhena?”