The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 241

241.

The Red Sanctuary, [a sacred place].

A sanctuary established in the crater of the dormant Keltimute volcano, said to have been the most powerful volcano before the Age of Mythology.

The Keltimute volcano is famous for its breathtaking natural scenery, surrounded by layers of mountains called the Shurigana Mountain Range.

“Ava, do you see that rioter falling powerfully over there?”

“Not a rioter, but a waterfall. Why are you saying scary things?”

“There are slackers playing in the lake here!”

“I hate slackers. They are evil.”

“Ahem! Not slackers, but swans. If you say such things carelessly, you’ll get scolded [superstition about misnaming sacred things].”

“!”

“?”

“Aki, Akiaki, Aki (Aki can’t actually talk).”

“Setz too (Me too).”

Perhaps because this area was also where the Fire Dragon Bel’dakidun resided, Aki’s eyes sparkled brightly after climbing the mountain.

“Actually, this place is more like a volcanic zone than a mountain range. The strata changed like this as the volcano erupted periodically.”

“Volcanoes explode!”

“Popooooppaaaaal!”

“That lake over there was originally a crater, but it filled with water. Many travelers sought it out as a hot spring imbued with Shurigan’s power.”

As I relayed the explanation I had heard from Friede somewhere in my daily life 300 years ago to Aki, a pang of longing throbbed in my heart.

That day, here, we….

The sound of the river flowing through the shrub-filled valley, brushing against the bizarre rocks, created a mysterious stillness.

“But isn’t it too quiet?”

“In the morning, fog rises thickly from the crater lakes, mysteriously enveloping the mountain range. That’s why it’s quiet.”

The explanation that Miria gave to Rem now was nothing more than a verbatim repetition of what Friede had told us 300 years ago.

Only then could I see that Miria was also wearing the same longing expression as me.

Of course, the pain the two of us felt couldn’t compare to Pipi’s, who was silently looking down at the scenery of the mountain range….

“The Rista party used this fog to achieve victory. It’s also famous for the sulfur smell that comes in the afternoon, which stings the nose.”

The battle, which overturned the tide of the war, Rista used the fog here to achieve victory….

“That operation started on that peak over there.”

“I can’t see it!”

“Then climb on my shoulders, Aki.”

Then, a bizarre sight unfolded as Aki, who had Setznen on his shoulders, climbed onto Bart’s shoulders.

I was worried that they might fall, but Aki’s sense of balance, having learned martial arts from two great masters, was truly first-class.

Rather, seeing him taking care of his younger sibling like that touched my heart.

“Rain.”

Then, a dark, sunken voice was heard.

Because it was a voice that didn’t suit the atmosphere or the person at all, Rain turned his gaze in surprise.

Miria gestured lightly with her chin towards the front and started walking ahead. Was she telling me to follow?

“Did you know?”

Because I didn’t immediately understand the intention of the question, a momentary gap occurred in the conversation.

“Know what?”

Rem, Bart, Setznen, and Aki were too busy looking at the surrounding scenery to pay attention.

“The identity of that guy Zerniks.”

“Of course, I knew.”

“Tell me.”

“He’s a person from a thousand years ago who was a disciple of the 5th Great Mage Ryuken Ludwig and disappeared at a young age. But he didn’t disappear; he was affiliated with the Black Church.”

“And?”

“And… he’s the enemy who plunged Tureina into dark magic.”

“And?”

“I don’t know what answer you want to hear. You don’t want to hear that he’s Aki’s real father, do you?”

Because Miria glared at me with a scolding gaze, I had to drop the joke with a dry cough.

“You really don’t know. Neither you nor Tureina… well, you received a surprise dark magic attack and died.”

Miria let out a soft sigh and continued.

“Zerniks doesn’t have such an indirect grudge against you.”

“?”

“300 years ago, have you ever thought about who the dark magician was who killed you and faced the Rista party alone?”

“That’s… wait, could it be.”

I could realize the chilling reason why Miria hadn’t brought up the main point until now at that very moment.

“Yes, unless they’re twins… that’s the guy. Zerniks was the one who killed you.”

There have only been two times in my life that I have felt an overwhelming gap without any way to do anything.

Once was when I met the White Spirit Shar’kas in Harbardonia.

And once was….

‘That was the first time since entering the 5-star level that I was pushed back from simply a magic power struggle.’

But.

Was the owner of that attack Zerniks?

Was the identity of the enemy that the youngest Archmage Rin had no choice but to escape into the ice?

‘If so, the source of the tragedy that has deeply overshadowed my life is….’

* * *

In that village that sprouted in the crevices of the mountains, the shadow of death was thickly cast.

“You can eat slowly.”

The corpses sprawled on the blood, each in their own pose, had only bones left, and even those bones were rapidly disappearing due to insects.

“Don’t choke from eating too fast. There are humans everywhere, and there’s no one to interfere.”

However, the next moment, an ominous wind swirled in from afar, and the insects raised their heads stiffly as if on guard.

“As expected, cleaning up is a chore that suits you, Sierra.”

The creature that landed on the ground with a heavy mass looked somewhat like a dragon.

However, no dragon has such pale and smooth gray skin, and its legs are only two deformed hind legs.

The name of this creature, whose maw is torn into twelve strands, is Pulladon, the monstrous bird Tuaki from nightmares.

“It’s a perfect fit for you, who only handles bugs.”

The middle-aged man riding on the back of the monster is Butem, the number one among the nine leaders of the Black Church.

“Are you begging me to kill you now!”

As the old insects swarmed around Pulladon in an instant, Pulladon clashed its teeth in its maw, threatening them.

The moment that broke the tension that had reached its peak was a fireball that flew in from somewhere.

No sooner had Pulladon and the insects avoided the fire than a dozen arrows rained down this time.

“It’s you guys! You’re the ones who have been sweeping through the villages near this castle──”

A witch who had brought about a hundred slave soldiers seemed to be shouting something.

Before she could finish shouting, the witch’s upper body disappeared. Not only the witch, but also the apprentice mages standing next to her.

The lower body, which had lost its body, staggered and sprawled on the ground one by one.

The upper body, which had disappeared as if torn apart by something, was being chewed and eaten whole, bones and flesh, in Pulladon’s maw.

“H-Hiiiik…!”

The slave soldiers, who had lost their will to fight in fear, abandoned their weapons and began to flee.

Even that struggle to live was ignored by the insects that sprang up from their feet and the monstrous birds that flew in from the sky.

How many seconds had passed since the presence was felt? But again, the only sounds that filled the surroundings were the sound of insects tearing flesh and the sound of monstrous birds sucking blood.

“I refuse to fight here now.”

Butem sneered as he pulled Pulladon’s reins and soared into the sky.

“If I fight you, I’ll definitely kill you, but if I do, I’ll be the only one who gets scolded.”

“You’re ugly, so you have to be good at talking. So what’s the matter? You face-split bastard?”

“The matter? Hmph, I just came to tell you to raid the villages diligently as you are now. Then those guys will show up.”

“The order from that person was to avoid fighting those guys until after killing the Witch of Justice.”

“Pulladon, with just this guy who toyed with the Hero Party, I won’t lose to anyone now.”

“It’s not a matter of winning or losing, you idiot! It’s an order.”

“Order? Hmph. I don’t listen to anyone’s orders anymore. Except for the first pillar who engraved the curse on my body.”

“So you’re going to challenge the pillar now?”

“Now that Elamas is dead, there’s a vacancy in the pillar, isn’t there? If I prove my skills by dealing with those guys, it’s only a matter of time before I become a pillar. Then, with the authority of the pillar, I’ll cook you up as I please.”

Butem led Pulladon and disappeared like an arrow into the night sky. Sierra’s eyes shone sharply as she watched the scene.

“That bastard….”

* * *

Socrafres.

– You can inherit the progress of ‘Unique Magic’ research from the surrounding environment.

– Progress: ????

Fine wrinkles formed around Rain’s eyes as he looked into ‘Rin’s Notebook’ in front of the midnight bonfire.

‘It’s still the same….’

After the battle with Elamas, the progress is not displayed accurately.

‘Is Rudien of Karenden saying that he can’t teach me any more than this?’

With a soft sigh, I slowly closed the notebook, but it slipped out of my grasp and rolled on the dirt floor.

Am I shaking?

Are my hands shaking now….

It goes without saying that I’m dozens of times stronger than when I was Rin.

Even so, strangely enough, I don’t feel like I’ll definitely win in a match against Zerniks.

– You have transcended humanity by swallowing the soul of a True Dragon, but your power is not yet complete, while Zerniks is a monster who has awakened that power to near transcendence, even though the level of his soul is low.

Even if I didn’t bother to recall Valensidice’s warning, I had already seen a glimpse of that power in the meeting 300 years ago.

– It was Zerniks who killed you and faced the Rista party alone 300 years ago.

A heavy and solid hand was placed over my trembling hand. Bart, with his fierce expression, gave me a kind look.

“Why are you shaking so much?”

“I think it’s right to separate from you guys from here.”

“What the hell?”

No sooner had those words ended than a branch flew and stuck into Rain’s crown.

“What nonsense is this all of a sudden?”

The culprit was Rem, who was roasting a rabbit over the bonfire.

I have to explain.

I have to explain in a way that you can understand.

“Zerniks is the Archmage who killed Rin 300 years ago and cornered the Rista party.”

“……?”

“Since then, for 300 years, Zerniks wouldn’t have been just twiddling his thumbs while Rin was asleep in the ice. He must have become dozens of times stronger through 300 years of exploration.”

How much he has improved can be roughly estimated by asking myself what it would have been like if Rin had been given 300 years.

“Are you saying that you don’t have a chance of winning even as you are now?”

“I don’t know that well. But I can’t delay any longer. If I postpone the showdown for training, only innocent people will die.”

Bart stroked his chin with a serious expression.

“That’s what he’s aiming for, isn’t it? He seems to be calling you to that [battleground].”

“Yes, and even while going to that battleground, he’ll sacrifice hundreds of thousands more lives. I can’t let the situation flow in the direction he wants any longer.”

“Is there something you can do?”

“I’m going to bring the main body here.”

“How?”

“In a coercive way.”

“So how?”

“I can’t explain it in words. I can only say that I have to meet the spirit body again for that method.”

For a moment, a dizzying silence fell. Considering the usual lively atmosphere of the party….

Everyone must have been preparing for the upcoming showdown. But I didn’t think it would come so suddenly.

But I have to be honest. I don’t want this relationship, which I barely found again, to be cut off like it was 300 years ago.

“It’ll definitely be incomparable to Elamas. You don’t have to die here. Thank you for everything… until now.”

What was precious cannot be replaced by anything. I can’t get it back again.

I know that better than anyone.

I’ve come to know that better than anyone in this world.

“If we catch the guy who gave my ancestor a hard time, it’s a matter of course that Bart and I will become Diamond-ranked adventurers, right?”

“What?”

“How often do you get a chance for such a meteoric rise? Isn’t that right, Bart?”

Before I could be surprised by Rem’s words, Bart placed his hand on Rain’s crown. Just like he did on that day of youth, on the day we parted.

“I said it then, I was so worried that I couldn’t leave. It’s the same this time. I have no intention of making the same mistake as then.”

For a moment, Rain’s heart stopped.

It wasn’t a coincidence that the memories of the Rista party came to mind on the day we first met.

When I’m with these guys, I get the illusion that I’ve gone back to that time. I fall into a dream. A dream that doesn’t end even when the moon sets and the sun rises.

A stream of water flowed thinly from Rain’s left eye as he turned his head towards the bonfire as if avoiding his gaze.

“Whoa, is this guy crying? How disgusting for a man?”

Rem poked Rain’s cheek, who was turning his head wildly in denial.

“Aigoo~ Our baby Rain is crying again? Who hit you again? I’ll have to change your diaper, so let’s take off your panties [teasing him like a baby].”

“Panties, panties, Rain panties tea panties [nonsense rhyme].”

“You guys are really.”

Rain tried to grab Rem, but as before, it is impossible for a mage to catch up with the agility of an archer.

A transparent smile formed on Miria’s lips as she watched the scene of playing tag around the bonfire.

‘Yes….’

I had no choice but to shed tears.

The memory somewhere in Rista’s soul and that scene just now were so similar.

Even Miria, who had only inherited the memories partially, could recognize it.

‘The memories of 300 years ago are overlapping.’

At that time, Friede was in Rem’s place and Kies was in Bart’s place, but….

“Abat!”

Then, a cute and fair hand grabbed Rain’s leg.

“Aki has cooked all of Daddy’s meat.”

“Hotoooootwoooootyooooo [baby talk].”

“Aki will blow on it so it’s not hot.”

The moment Aki blew on the skewer in his hand with all his might! What kind of dragon’s breath is this! Flames burst out of his mouth, charring the surface of the meat black.

It didn’t take long for the dazed atmosphere to turn into a sea of laughter.

Setznen even moved his meat far away from Aki.

“Give it here, Aki.”

Into Rain’s soul, who took the skewer from the bewildered Aki and ate it, a greater sorrow than before quietly seeped in.

“Oh, it’s delicious?”

“Is it delicious?!”

“Yeah, it’s crispy and delicious.”

Ending the 300-year-old feud.

That also means that this relationship, which has lasted for nearly two years, is also coming to an end.

If I delay dealing with Zerniks, I will be able to drag out the journey longer. I will be able to build more memories with Aki.

But I shouldn’t.

I must not.

Now, it’s really time to prepare to say goodbye.