Chapter 269: The Ashes (2)
The group met by chance at the Ashes shop. The wizard Epherene and prosecutor Rose, alongside Arlos, led them to her adventuring group. In a place decorated like an ordinary office, Epherene and Rose took off their robes and looked at each other in surprise.
“Aren’t you the Professor’s disciple?”
“Aren’t you his bodyguard?”
Rose raised an eyebrow.
“I am not a bodyguard. I’m a prosecutor belonging to Yuren’s Magic Supreme Prosecutors’ Office….”
“Oh~.”
Prosecutor’s Office. Of course, Epherene didn’t know what it was.
“No, more importantly.”
After interrupting, Epherene looked back to Arlos. To be precise, at her doll.
“Do you know who stole the conversion formula?”
Arlos shook her head.
“I don’t know, but it’s obvious. It will be among the most wanted.”
There were several wanted posters on the corkboard against the wall. Epherene glanced at those faces and, startled, pointed out a name.
“Authority Carla? Is Carla here?”
The Authority Carla. In the past, she was a super genius who was called a powerful next-generation archmage. However, at some point, whether she was corrupted or tired of their state of affairs, she abruptly hid her career and achievements as a wizard, and in the end, she was reduced to being a criminal moving among the Ashes.
“Yes. She is.”
Rose answered.
“She’s a huge headache, both in Yuren and in the Ashes. There’s no need to even mention her brother Jackal, but she herself has committed too many crimes.”
As she said so, she stared intently at the wanted poster for Carla. However, there was no detailed appearance. It only showed her figure in a robe with her name written under it. She was the most mysterious wizard in this world.
“The first time Carla was discovered in Yuren was five years ago. We loved it because Yuren has quite a few magical talents. We expected to train her as a student.”
“But?”
Epherene asked. Rose snorted.
“Student, my a.s.s. She stole, then studied strange magic with the Ashes, and her younger brother Jackal was a murderer. But she was incredibly strong, so even Yuren’s public powers couldn’t catch her.”
Drent, Julia, and the two guards swallowed hard as they listened.
“Fortunately, Jackal went to Hadekain. I don’t know why, but Carla also went quiet… but this kind of thing happened again.”
Rose clicked her tongue and looked back at Epherene. She asked in a slightly worried tone.
“Inspector. That research is worth 1 billion Elnes, right?”
“Yes. But I am not an inspector; I am an a.s.sistant professor.”
“And I am a prosecutor, not a bodyguard.”
Rose put on her robe again.
“Where are you going?”
“We have to go to the volcano. I heard someone is following the footsteps of Decalane.”
“I will go with you. Drent. Julia. What about you guys?”
The two scratched the back of their necks and shook their heads.
“We have something to do… I guess we’ll have to go back to Yuren again?”
“Really? Okay then. How about you, Ms. Puppeteer?”
Arlos grinned. Then she hefted a large duffle bag on her shoulder.
“I’ll go too. There are many dangerous men in the Ashes. I also know Deculein, so the escorting is free.”
* * *
…The Ashes’ volcano existed even deeper than the town and commercial districts. The lower one went, the darker it grew, and the volcanic ash seeped into the air. Those who visited these areas were miners, criminals, drug addicts, and other lower-cla.s.s citizens. Pathetic and disgusting souls who had no purpose in their lives and had forsaken even the value of their existence.
I was standing at the heart of that volcano, looking at the glistening magma.
“This is the end. There is nothing under it.”
The man who guided me explained.
“Um…”
“Take it and go away.”
I threw a bag of gold coins at him.
“Oh! Thank you! Kuhuhu!”
He backed away, smiling brightly, and I watched the volcano quietly.
“…”
Below this was a shimmering aura, the energy of mana that could not be hidden from my Vision. I floated the wood steel over it without a word, then weaved the four pieces of steel together and put my feet on them.
I descended slowly into the volcano in chase of that aura. I quickly discovered a shelter made by excavating part of the volcanic wall. It was a long pa.s.sage heading inward, warmed by the volcano’s heat.
Tak-.
I stepped into it and looked around. First of all, there was furniture. A couch and a desk, magic papers too, of course. However, I wasn’t looking at them.
“…You were here?”
Someone was lying on the bed at the far end.
“Carla.”
Authority Carla. I slowly approached and looked down. She was lying on the bed, sweating buckets. Her dark hair was drenched, and her body was burning up.
“…”
Carla looked at me. Her body, terminally ill by the setting, was steps away from death. Such an overwhelming talent. But that body couldn’t handle it.
[Independent Quest: Carla]
◆ The Authority Carla does not want to die.
“…Deculein.”
Carla quietly called out to me. That tone drew me back to Deculein’s past; it was quite a long time ago.
She expressed the talents of a great wizard since she was young, and she once came to teach me with Decalane’s support. Those memories of her were clear in my mind. In other words, she was Deculein’s teacher before Rohakan.
─Why don’t you know this?
─Why can’t Deculein learn?
However, the difference in talent was overwhelming, and Carla left the mansion puzzled by Deculein, who didn’t understand any of her knowledge. Her naive questioning was a great setback for Deculein.
“Yes. I’m Deculein. We haven’t seen each other since the Ghost Island.”
“…Is that so?”
Carla smiled as she replied. Meanwhile, I examined the various magic papers placed by her bedside and understood the spells written on them. It was a harmonious type of magic that could cause an artificial explosion by burying a magic circle at the bottom of a volcano.
“Carla. Why do you want to activate this volcano?”
[Main Quest: Volcano in Yuren Mountains]
◆ Reward according to your choice
The main quest overlapped with the independent quest. Now, the appearance of Carla was like a signal to the second half of the story. She was a Named that cooperated with the Altar.
“…Did you come to a stop me?”
Carla asked and forced her body up. She managed to lean against the bed frame and looked at me.
“I came to ask why.”
“…”
She lowered her head quietly. Sweat dripped down her chin. Taking in a rough breath-
“I… I don’t think I want to die.”
Her mana was erupting like a volcano, heating her. Her mana was eating away her heart and corrupting her blood.
“Is that why you cooperated with the Altar? Because you didn’t want to die.”
Everyone wanted to live. Whether this world was a game or not, very few were willing to accept death. That was natural as a human.
“At first, I think I asked Decalane. Was he researching eternal life? But…”
“He died. Decalane.”
Carla nodded. Then, she looked elsewhere. I followed her gaze.
“Did Decalane leave a legacy? But was that legacy not enough to continue my life?”
There was a magic core sitting there. An ugly-looking organism that looked like tentacles sprouted out of a huge heart, but it was already dead.
“Was that the reason the Altar talked to me? Telling me that if I cooperated with them, they would give me life.”
Cough- Cough-
Blood mixed with mana flowed from her mouth.
“Carla.”
“…”
She looked up at me.
“Do you want life? Do you want your own life to the point of slaughtering tens of thousands of people?”
Carla yelled.
“…Then, what about you? You don’t want to die either!”
Her voice was hoa.r.s.e.
“No, you don’t know because you are alive.”
I shook my head.
“I know that too.”
“…”
Carla frowned at me. I looked at her with a slight smile.
“I, too, am dying.”
After accepting the chaos of those hundreds of years of memories from the Palace, there was no way I would be okay. Of course, I told Sophien I was fine, but I deceived her because I knew her better than she did herself. I told a lie.
“…”
Carla looked at my heart without saying a word. I raised her hand and placed it on my chest. In the stillness, Carla nodded.
“However, I have a theory that could save you.”
“…?”
She looked up at me.
“Artificial organism. By implanting an artificial heart that can handle your mana, you can continue to live. Of course, you shouldn’t use magic higher than advanced for the rest of your life.”
Carla’s pathology was ultimately the body’s overload of mana. Therefore, she could be healed much more easily than Julie. It was clear what needed to be fixed.
“Is it possible?”
“Once my theory is complete.”
“It seems I don’t have much time left.”
“It’s enough. So, discard your magic.”
Carla pondered what I said for a moment, staring into s.p.a.ce with empty eyes. Watching her like that, I clenched my teeth and warmed up my mana.
“…”
If Carla didn’t accept this offer, my response would be simple. I would kill her.
“…Deculein.”
Then, Carla pointed behind me to the other side of the cave.
“Look over there.”
I glanced back.
Stomp- Stomp-
Someone was moving in the darkness. One step at a time, calmly. I looked at him with a furrowed brow. On the other hand, he met my gaze with a smile.
“Nice to meet you, Deculein.”
The intruder who called out to me resembled Sophien.
“It’s me.”
A person who introduced himself as me. However, I knew who that was.
“…Are you that self-proclaimed G.o.d?”
He smiled.
“Yes. I borrowed the doll’s body and came down for a while. It’s not a manifestation; it’s not an advent. Just like you ordinary humans, I came to experience the world and the realities of the continent for a while.”
I looked at him with my Vision. There was nothing special about him, no great mana and no divine aura.
“Deculein. Why don’t you take a moment to travel with me? There’s a lot I want to show you…”
* * *
Meanwhile, Epherene was eating. Squid skewers, pork skewers, octopus skewers, lobster skewers… countless skewers pa.s.sed through her hands. Though no one on the continent knew it, the Ashes had the most delicious food!
“I mean, a.s.sistant Professor. What are you doing after telling me to go to the volcano?”
Arlos looked at her and smirked.
“It’s just that this is too good. Wait. Oh, I’m going to buy just one more.”
Beef tongue skewers next. Arlos and Rose shook their heads as they watched her try and savor all the food stalls in the Ashes.
“We should talk even if it’s just between us. What does this volcanic eruption mean?”
“I heard that Carla lives near the volcano. No one has seen her, but rumors are rampant. So, I’m wondering if Carla foretold the volcanic eruption or if she’s trying to cause it to explode. And…”
Arlos sighed and pulled out a wanted poster from her pocket.
“This. It’s a doll I made.”
Rose read the wanted poster. Then, she nodded her head.
“He is a famous thief these days. But is this a doll?”
They were criminals stealing valuables and inventions around the capital of Yuren.
“Yes. But he’s no ordinary thief. This is a masterpiece that I made to serve as the body of a G.o.d.”
“…”
Arlos had made up her mind to explain. However, Rose didn’t show any reaction. Was it too hard to believe?
“Wow, this is good! Chomp, chomp- Oh, excuse me. What is that? What? Whaaaaat-! Roahawk?! Do you have Roahawks here too?!”
Behind them, they could only hear Epherene munching on more food. They wondered how a magic tower wizard could like the Ashes food so much.
Rose nodded.
“Oh, yes. Right. You must be a capable puppeteer.”
“I’m not just competent. I can even create life.”
“…I see that you’re also in a cult, right?”
“Tsk. Either way, it’s up to you whether you believe what I say or not.”
Arlos scratched her head.
“If that doll now has a divine consciousness….”
She paused for a moment and looked around the Ashes. Although they were despised, being called the Ashes on all continents, it was a sacred place that had nevertheless nurtured their self-esteem. Shaking her head, she handed a certain Bible to Rose.
“This is the Bible the Altar believes in.”
“Bible.”
“Yes. There, the very first ceremony to announce the coming of G.o.d is this volcanic eruption. Read it.”
Rose nodded and stowed it away. The responsibility given to her was too big to be reading a cult’s holy texts right now.
“Roahawk. Roahawk, this one. Just a few more, please. No, pack only ten-“
“Hey there, a.s.sistant Professor. Are you coming now?”
She called out to Epherene.
“Yes? Oh~, you should take one too. I’m sorry. I ate too much by myself~. Now, aahh, open your mouth~.”
Chuckling with her lips glistening with oil, Epherene handed her several skewers.