The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 221

221

Bara, the City of the Sun.

The stench wafting from outside the city was so terrible that the soldiers on the walls constantly gagged.

“Please…….”

Hungry children had bellies swollen blue, and adults, with sunken eyes, died while endlessly suffering from diarrhea.

“My child is sick, please, open the gate…….”

Ashka, the gatekeeper of the West Gate, had to close his eyes in a sigh.

‘A triangular fortress built solely with luminous stones that hold the light of the sun and brighten the darkness of the night….’

How could this fortress, originally built to block the Abyss [a dark, chaotic dimension], be in such a state?

Blocking the same humans, even citizens of the same country.

As a woman holding a dead child staggered towards the gate, Shantani, the First Dispatch Officer, shouted.

“Woman, do not come any closer! If you dare to bury that unholy plague at the sacred gates of Bara, you will not be forgiven!”

The woman either didn’t hear the shout or perhaps thought her child would be healed just by touching the gate.

Because she didn’t stop her faltering steps despite Shantani’s yelling and kept approaching the gate.

A vein bulged on Shantani’s ugly, old, and wrinkled forehead.

“Archers!”

The archers blankly looked back and forth between Shantani and Ashka.

“What are you doing! Shoot! Turn her into a beehive!”

Ashka doubted his ears.

“Are you saying to kill her?”

The nobles said that the people had rioted and were besieging the City of the Sun, but in reality, they were just people gathered to survive.

No one had committed any violent acts, not yet.

They were just asking for food and shelter. The officials’ answer was to close all the gates of the City of the Sun.

“Initial action is important in cases like this, to prevent the plague from spreading to this great city. Hurry!”

“That woman is a citizen of this country!”

“Are you, a mere gatekeeper, defying me now? I’ll have to teach you how serious insubordination is by locking you in a cell!”

Shantani roughly snatched a bow from an archer standing next to him.

In Solond [the kingdom], archery was a basic skill for nobles, so Shantani was also quite skilled with a bow.

In the silence where everyone was fumbling for words, the string twanged, and soon the woman fell to the ground, her throat pierced.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

Thousands, no, tens of thousands of eyes stared at the scene.

In the suffocating silence, only Shantani straightened his clothes, which had been disheveled from shooting the arrow, and berated Ashka.

Unaware that the anger and resentment the people had suppressed in their hearts as a sign of loyalty to the dead queen had exploded in an instant.

“Kill them all…….”

“Why do only we have to die……?”

“They say there’s so much food inside the city…….”

The sick people, who seemed too weak to even move, began to rise one by one.

The murmurs of one person became a wave of thousands, tens of thousands, shaking the city like a massive outcry.

The faces of the soldiers looking down at the scene from the walls turned as white as a sheet.

Doo-geun.

Within that soul, within the dark emotions of humanity, the Abyss pulsed, its rate of expansion accelerating.

Some of the people rushing towards the gate began to scream. Their skeletons twisted and contorted grotesquely.

As one primeval human climbed the walls with grotesque fingers, Shantani gasped and hurriedly ran towards the stairs of the wall.

The soldiers panted.

Still unable to properly grip their spears and swords, they looked at their direct superior, Ashka.

“Sir, what are we supposed to do?”

“Do we shoot? Do we shoot? Are we really shooting?”

“Do we pour burning pitch on them? Sir? Sir?!”

Ashka’s head was spinning.

He was completely out of his mind.

What should he do? It was the gatekeeper’s duty to protect the royal castle from the kingdom’s enemies, but were the people in front of him really enemies?

“A barrier. Activate the barrier first! Don’t hurt them! You mustn’t hurt them! It’ll all be over the moment you do!”

The defense mage, who had been waiting in the turret, immediately played the flute.

The two bells built into the turret amplified the sound greatly, sending a heavy bass range out beyond the gate.

Solond was a country where music magic was developed, and the melody of the bells wrapped around the bodies of the people like ropes, holding them in place.

‘This country is going crazy.’

No, it’s already gone mad.

When the Queen was alive, everyone could enjoy peace, even with the King’s tyranny.

What is the Predal Regency [the ruling council] doing?

They closed the gates on the people, even those who weren’t infected with the plague yet, and that’s why it turned out like this.

‘If only the Queen were still alive…….’

No.

If only the Prince were here.

‘There is no king in this country. So that crazy king’s brother is acting as regent and causing trouble.’

Around the time all three gates were in chaos due to the people’s ‘riots,’ the royal court meeting, in which all officials participated, also came to an end.

“49 votes in favor and 7 against. We recommend the immediate activation of the Taesungjin [a powerful magical defense], Your Highness.”

“Taesungjin……?”

“To do so, Your Highness must release the barrier spread over the Asahat Mausoleum, the tomb of King Ligwind.”

“That’s…….”

“Do you wish for all the people of this city to kill each other and become infected with the plague?”

Frightened by the Predal Regency’s cold gaze, Princess Obira looked around and stared at the Ramasa priest.

Obin had told her not to rely on Ramasa, but…….

Unlike the officials who always showed scary expressions, Ramasa always showed a bright smile.

“If the Taesungjin is successfully activated, the plague will also end. You can then return Ligwind’s barrier to your will.”

She couldn’t understand what he was saying.

But if she did what the priest said, would this chaos end?

Would she not have to see the officials’ scary eyes?

“Your Highness, no. The barrier left by the Great King was a barrier built to block the Abyss. If we tear down that barrier like this…….”

“Speak sense! Is the royal capital not about to collapse before we can even block that Abyss? What good is that barrier if the royal capital collapses from the plague?”

“We can protect that barrier with death. Your Highness, you must uphold the will of the Great Mage Ligwind and protect the barrier!”

As the Chief Secretary came forward to the throne and kowtowed [knelt and bowed deeply], other officials shouted as if to bury his cries.

“Have you ever seen such an ignorant person!”

“Listen, Chief Secretary! Are you telling us to die now? Are you going to let all of Your Highness’s people die?”

“It must mean that Your Highness’s body can be harmed. Have you ever seen such a wicked person? Your Highness, immediately strike him down and show the dignity of the royal family!”

All of this was so scary that her ears hurt and her chest ached.

The Princess grabbed the hand that the Ramasa priest politely offered. She rose from the throne and walked towards the hallway.

“Your Highness, Your Highness! No, Your Highness!”

The voices of the Chief Secretary and his like-minded retainers, who were frantically trying to dissuade her, were buried in the opposition of other officials.

The Asahat Mausoleum was located in the middle of the courtyard. To be exact, it was in the center of the Kingdom of Solond.

Every royal family had a tradition of tidying up their behavior for the day by worshiping at the Great King’s tomb every dawn.

“Here, Your Highness.”

A musical score was engraved on the tombstone of the Great Mage Ligwind, and only the royal family could read and play the score.

It is said that the score speaks. It is said that it makes you feel.

Ligwind’s will to his descendants, and his feelings of longing for his teacher, Emitza.

– Ah, ah-eh, ah-ooh.

Princess Obira recalled Obin and held the ocarina she was wearing around her neck.

It was something Obin had carved and made as a gift.

It was not an object that produced mysterious tones like a master craftsman’s instrument. It was just an instrument that made weak sounds.

But Obira liked this ocarina. In the first place, her playing was so clumsy that she wasn’t in a position to be picky about the instrument…….

The moment the Princess put the ocarina to her lips, an unmistakable smile bloomed on Elamas’s lips.

‘Yes, this is the end of it all.’

It was a similar thought that the Dawn Brigade members dispatched to each gate had.

‘The trash is surrounding the castle like ants.’

Break through here?

Breaking through that procession would be more difficult than fighting us in the city.

By the time they broke through that, everything would already be over…….

“Hmph.”

Gaha (No. 2), Pel, who was guarding the South Gate, playfully flipped a gold coin.

He snatched it out of the air and looked at the fortune. Of course, it would be heads…… Huh?

Pel’s eyebrows shot up blankly.

‘Tails?’

Around that time, Dalta (No. 3), Jeniaz, who was guarding the West Gate, also frowned.

‘Why is the shadow so dark all of a sudden…….’

It was already a gloomy day, so there were no clouds or anything?

Only then did he notice the anomaly.

All the soldiers and citizens were staring blankly at the sky. To be exact, at the ship that was somehow speeding down the Meia River at an incredible speed, jumping up, and flying in the sky.

“Ha, I can tell just by looking!”

Jeniaz’s reason and instinct simultaneously made a clear judgment.

“Hee hee hee hee!”

Unlike humans, fairies, who can handle all the miracles of the gods, have an excellent ability to sense the power of the gods.

“It’s not difficult to embody the abilities of the Forgotten Kings now that they have fallen into the Abyss.”

“El Bek Desim Opat Ktsreiha Aktum.”

The moisture that made up the atmosphere froze into a dark blue color and gave off a rotten stench.

Surrounding the ship, which had lost its levitation power and was slowly beginning to fall due to gravity, the Abyss’s ice rushed in.

The moisture that had seeped into the wood that made up the ship was instantly eroded by the Abyss, frozen, shattered, and the beings inside it as well──

────!

A fierce lightning bolt, which could only be thought of as striking in an instant, burst out of the ship with a crackling sound.

“Ugh……?!”

Jeniaz, who was staring at the ship more directly than anyone else, momentarily lost his sight with the pain of his retina burning.

“M-my eyes…… Damn it, what is this!”

Without even knowing that the old Archmage, who had experienced all kinds of hardships, on the bow of the flying speedboat, had aimed right at that.

“Found you.”

At that moment, the eyes of the Archmage, who had been sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, flashed open.

“Let’s go, Nien.”

[Aruuu!]

The red-glowing eyes accurately captured the coordinates of the enemy aiming at the ship.

Take away the sight with the first move.

And take that life with the second move. This is the Archmage’s mind game that leveled the elite black mages who ran rampant during the turbulent period.

“Rune Modification.”

There are few mortals throughout history who can keep up with this Archmage’s combat experience in long-range ability battles.

“Island Lightning Heaven Strike Cannon.”

Now, give a sophisticated form to the magic circle that was filled in a simple way with only the rune of explosion.

Weave in five new runes.

Rune manipulation of an already cast spell, which only masters who have left their names in magic history can perform.

Cannon, the muzzle.

Open, to open.

Annihilate, to annihilate the target.

Thunder, lightning.

Strike, to collide and flow.

So that the light that exploded white in the sky leads the thunder and strikes fiercely on the ground. So that it can annihilate the target.

“………………………!”

In that dazzling yet violent dragon’s radiance, the arrogant body and soul of the fairy priest turned to ashes in an instant.

Because the dragon’s lightning strike did not even allow him the luxury of screaming in his death throes.

Even if he could have screamed, it would have been buried in the thunder that brought silence to the chaos that was engulfing the city.

“Rune Modification again.”

The Archmage, who burned the wreckage of the speedboat that was shattering and scattering over the City of the Sun with flames so that it would not harm human lives, shouted.

“Valensidis!”

“I know!”

The black mage immediately waved his fan.

He boasts the skill of controlling both wind magic and telekinetic magic at the same time, though not as much as the Archmage.

So that the three adults and one child on board can land safely on the city walls.

“……?!”

The eyes of Gatekeeper Ashka, who was staring at the uninvited guests who had appeared, leaving an indescribable first impression, widened.

“W-Prince Obin?!”

As she was about to kneel, Obin, who had stepped down from Miria’s arms, shouted urgently.

“D-don’t, d-don’t fight! D-don’t kill anyone. I, I can turn everything back to normal.”

How could the prince, who had been missing until now, return at this moment?

How could the prince, who couldn’t speak, be able to speak?

Numerous questions swirled in her head, but the trembling in her heart was so great and hot that all those questions were suppressed.

‘The prince, who looks just like the Queen.’

Prince Obin, who took care of all the people as the Queen used to do, according to the Queen’s will to cherish the lowest places in the world first.

The well-off and high-ranking people mocked him as a mute, but the powerless and low-ranking people supported Obin fiercely.

The reason why the people surrounding the City of the Sun, those hungry and sick people, had never once caused a riot was because of that young prince.

Because there was expectation.

Because there was a glimmer of hope.

“This situation is─”

Valensidis, who judged that the moment of silence was doubt or disobedience, tried to point out the core of the situation, but Rein stopped him.

“─Trust my disciple.”

No sooner had he said that than Ashka bowed politely and the military officers immediately followed suit.

“Your Highness, what would you like us to do?”

Valensidis’s eyebrows fluttered, and then a hollow laugh escaped. Obin answered.

“F-first, we have to stop Ramasa. We have to go to the inner palace.”

“The path to the inner palace is guarded like iron by the regent’s soldiers.”

As one of the military officers answered, Ashka nodded.

“So we will need the soldiers of the royalist faction, Your Highness.”

“I, I’m okay, please protect this place. Please make sure no one dies.”

“Your Highness?”

Obin smiled as he pointed to Rein, Valensidis, and Miria, who were standing behind him.

That clear and pure smile was so reliable and so beautiful that the gatekeeper forgot to even think about protesting and just smiled back.

“You’ve come back looking even more like the Queen while we haven’t seen you, Your Highness.”

“There’s no time, Obin. Judging from the situation, Elamas’s plan is already on track.”

“I know, then, please.”

The prince watched the sight of the unidentified people hurriedly running down the city wall stairs and said to the adjutant, wiping away tears.

“Banya, continue to ring the bell to control the movements of the people. You mustn’t hurt them. That is the Prince’s order.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Spearmen other than archers should go to help the Prince, following the lead of the military officers as much as possible. Gebal, you contact the signalman and ring the signal bell. Five times.”

“Five times means?”

The military officer also asked in a trembling voice, as if he still didn’t understand this situation, even though he knew what it meant. Ashka smiled and nodded.

“Yes, it’s the King’s return.”