Chapter 137
A chill still emanated from Laurenti's corpse. The lingering presence left by the power of the dead was that strong.
Ceres brought Erich over to have him inspect the body—to show him the traces of magic lingering in the remains.
Ceres drew out the remaining magic from the corpse. As she did, arrays of small letters, spells, began to align in midair, glowing with blue light.
"This is the magic ordinary mages use."
"But... there's still something left."
Ceres nodded. If the spellwork had been extracted, the lingering trace left in the corpse should have disappeared, yet it still glowed luminously.
Soon after, Ceres drew out another spell. Then another.
Before they knew it, three rows of spellwork hovered in the air. Ceres's eyes narrowed.
"A triple-layered spell..."
"Judging by your reaction, that must be quite something."
"Even the legacies left behind by the greatest mages are only single-layer spells."
In short, what Ceres was trying to say was simple. Ordinary magic is usually limited to a single-layer spell, but the spells left on Laurenti were triple-layered.
Then Ceres added,
"And the problem is that there are parts here we can't read..."
― Pop!-
In an instant, Ceres squeezed her eyes shut. With the sound of air tearing in the air, a drop of blood trickled down from her eyes.
"Are you all right?"
"... Y-yes, I'm fine. But I simply can't read this spell."
Wiping the blood from her eyes, Ceres once more focused on the spellwork. This time, though, no blood emerged from her eyes.
But just then—
Erich felt something strange. Those incomprehensible spells seemed almost readable to him for some reason.
"... This is..."
Erich slowly examined the links within the triple-layered spell. The sections that Ceres had said were unreadable were precisely what tied the spells together.
At the same time, he sensed a powerful force coating the other spells—a mysterious power that did not seem like mana.
Erich was certain he had experienced a similar type of power before...
'Incencus?'
It was the same type of force he had seen when Incencus created the pillar of light. Erich's eyes narrowed.
'If this is a power of the same kind as Incencus...'
Did that mean the Lord of the Dead was a being similar to Incencus? Erich's eyes shifted restlessly, unable to settle on anything.
From that speculation, Erich naturally arrived at another possibility.
Incencus had granted Erich power, allowing him to gain new strength.
If so, then what if the connection between the Lord of the Dead and the dead operates the same way?
Just as Erich had received power from Incencus, did the Lord of the Dead bestow power upon the dead through the same mechanism?
There was only one problem left.
Was the Lord of the Dead truly a being of the same divine hierarchy as Incencus?
Erich felt a subtle chill run down his spine at the fundamental question.
Ceres then spoke up.
"... I see you witnessed something."
"You make it sound as if you expected I could read it."
"I didn't know before I gained these eyes, but once I did, I realized—there are things in your abilities even I can't read. Just like these spells."
Erich and Ceres's eyes met. Erich had never examined his powers as closely as a mage would examine magic.
He had only ever used the powers Incencus granted him naturally.
But thinking back, hadn't Laurenti used that same power just as naturally?
"If the reason we can't read this is because it's divine in nature... what then?"
"... A divine domain."
Ceres thought for a moment. She tilted her head and then cautiously drew a conclusion.
"I think it would be more accurate to call it a divine spell than a domain."
"A divine spell..."
Erich slowly nodded.
'A divine spell.'
The point was, whether it was the Lord of the Dead or Incencus, the powers wielded by both were, in any case, something that ordinary humans could never hope to approach.
In other words, both before and after his return, he had been fighting against beings like gods. A wry smile crept across Erich's lips.
"To think I was up against a god—what chance did I have?"
But what was clear now, even so, was that unlike the past, Erich had also been granted a power of the same kind.
― Whoosh.-
Unconsciously, Erich felt flames flicker at the corners of his eyes. It was like the residual heat of a stirred emotion.
Now, he could face that thing. He also wielded a power of the same order.
In that case, it was all too obvious what ability he should focus on to oppose that enemy.
Erich turned to Ceres and spoke.
"Could you possibly find a way for me to better use this divine spell?"
"A spell we can't even see?"
Ceres smiled faintly. She glanced between the spellwork in the air and Erich, then let out a low hum.
"We should at least try, shouldn't we?"
"I'm counting on you."
Erich replied, raising the corners of his mouth. He wasn't sure if Ceres would really find a way, but he was hopeful.
She had already proven herself in his eyes.
Erich slowly left the tent.
With the matter of Laurenti's corpse now settled, all that remained was to deal with the rest of the rebels.
***
A fortress still shrouded in gloom. Morale among the troops had fallen as low as it could go.
Gathered here were the forces from the 4th and 8th Fortresses, as well as reinforcements absorbed from the other rebel fortress commanders who were already dead—a truly massive army.
At the center of their camp stood the massive command tent.
Inside, the 4th Fortress Lord, Daren, sat with his head bowed, gripping his sword, his wounds wrapped in bandages.
― Swishhh.-
Soon someone entered. A man, his black cape brushed with snow on both shoulders—it was the 8th Fortress Lord, burton.
Burton set his sword down and sat across from Daren.
"I heard the lord commander's life is in danger. Supposedly an interim lord commander has already been chosen."
"That would be Grant. Hern was always far too frivolous."
"I thought so too. But, no, I was wrong. The one who became commander is that famous Erich, of all people."
Daren, his head still lowered, now flashed a sharp gaze. Subtle displeasure creased his face.
"That brat was made commander?"
"Commander August has already lost his composure. Otherwise, there's no way he'd name someone like that as his successor, especially now."
"You're right. It's not enough that he drove out Albrecht, who was doing his job, but now even the Barbarians we've fought for a thousand years are coming and going from headquarters—that's unthinkable."
The two fortress lords exhaled wearily. In their eyes, commander August had lost his way. For fortress lords who had fought on the frontlines against the Barbarians, this kind of treatment was unacceptable.
That was why they had rebelled, only by swallowing their swords, so to speak—otherwise, the Watch would soon collapse, or so they thought.
Then Daren asked,
"Was Chief Adjutant Albrecht finally captured?"
"It looks like he got away."
"... But the net should have been tight?"
Daren's eyes widened. Unless they'd been careless in their pursuit, how could Albrecht have escaped from the central region?
The two lords cast glances to the rear. There, someone in a robe was rustling about.
Soon, a voice sounded from within the robed man.
"Lord Albrecht is safe. After finishing what he needed to do, he returned to where he belongs."
"... Half the time, I can't even understand what you people are saying."
Burton sighed quietly.
Though he had no choice but to cooperate with "these people" on Albrecht's recommendation, he found them unsettling.
Even so, cooperating with such people was for the sake of keeping the Watch functioning properly.
That was when Daren voiced his concern.
"We should have finished things quickly and taken the Watch in the initial assault—we were too complacent. If it keeps on like this, the Barbarians beyond Haratakan could really come pouring in."
"If they do come, it'll be a disaster. But there's no other option. In this situation, our only chance is to defeat the main force led by the new commander and absorb their troops."
The two men stared at the blood on their swords. Blood that should have been that of Barbarians was now thick with that of Imperial men.
It was not something they liked, but they could not let this chance slip away.
If they clashed with the enemy in their current state, the Watch would surely be destroyed.
For the Watch, who had always stood their ground to defend the Great Wall, to now sally forth beyond the Great Wall—and against a massive enemy force at that.
Daren and Burton still could not understand the commander's decisions.
And precisely because they could not understand, they could only do what they had done. From their perspective, they were doing the "right" thing.
Of course, with only four fortress divisions, they knew they had no hope of completely crushing August's main force.
Especially now that a new commander had risen, the main force loyal to former commander August far outnumbered their own.
Yet, the two men still had something they could count on.
"What news from the Barbarians beyond the border?"
Daren nodded. The robed man then spoke.
"... My master says the Barbarians still cannot cross over. So you may rest easy."
"Let's hope you're right."
"All shall be as you wish. And this time, my master will provide considerable assistance."
"Hm..."
Daren stared at the robed man with narrowed eyes. The man's face was then revealed.
A face devoid of a single flush of blood—pale skin, faintly gleaming white light seeping through cracks in his flesh, and eyes shining with a chilling white glow.
Clearly, not human.
Yet Daren and Burton showed no sign of finding him strange.
To their eyes, he was nothing more than an utterly ordinary human.
The corners of the robed man's mouth slowly crept upward. From his cracked blue lips, pointed fangs were revealed.
"Our calculations have never been wrong."
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Welp, this 2 will die...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】