Chapter 263. Distinguished Guest (1)
Fragments of rock clad in lightning pierced through skin, muscle, and bone.
The recognition of pain lasted only a brief moment. Everything that composed and sustained human consciousness began to collapse like a sandcastle.
As brain activity ceased, the remaining right eye lost its focus.
The faint light of life that lingered within the pupil was extinguished completely.
Immediately after, the lips that had been faintly twitching also froze.
The heart, the source of a Mage's power, was utterly destroyed.
The magic power flowing within the body scattered swiftly into the void.
At the same time, the mana circuits attached to the right arm, radiating blue light, withered up like roots of a tree cut off from moisture.
"..."
Clouds veiled the sunlight, casting a cold shadow.
Breath ended completely in the darkness.
Court Mage Division Head, Leonil Bertanas.
Known as the strongest of the Estiria Kingdom, a ruthless Magician who dreamed of, and indeed achieved, transcendence, ended his life in this moment.
One of the giants of the magical world had fallen. None mourned his death.
Srrrk.
The ragged body lost its last function.
Fingers, unable to endure the weight of the staff, slowly loosened, the right hand that had clutched it weakly fell open.
───Thud.
The metal rod rolled with a small sound, landing at Verden's feet.
Quietly, he stretched out his left hand and picked up Leonil's staff.
He grasped the portion untainted by blood and gazed upon its tip. Alongside the familiar blue crystal, a securing device was fixed.
The dagger at his waist floated into the air.
He wedged the blade between the device and crystal, then twisted it forcefully sideways.
Clunk, the crystal and staff separated properly. Tossing aside the now useless rod, he carefully examined the blue crystal.
'So this is the Witch's Heart....'
A crystallization Leonil had completed over decades.
A faint blue light reflected in Verden's blue eyes. The rhythmic beat resonated through his fingertips.
An artifact that allowed one to surpass the limits of humanity and reach transcendence lay before him.
Verden narrowed his eyes.
'If I use this, could I step into the next realm as well?'
If its effect was to amplify one's tier, then certainly.
And that realm would be of a different caliber than Leonil's.
For Verden was already a Quasi-Transcendent, long since having shattered the framework of the tier limit.
A body freed from limits could surely endure greater power, and his capabilities, he was confident, could fully wield a Transcendent's might.
Unlike Leonil, he would not end in self-destruction.
'A Transcendent, huh.'
Spiritual enlightenment had no assured promise.
If he skipped that step and grasped transcendence... he would be several steps closer to vengeance.
Especially if he could wield 7th-tier or even supreme-tier magic, then perhaps, he might even face Balrog Bessias, tower master of the Bohemirn Magic Tower, on equal footing in open war.
Of course, this was all conjecture.
From the very start, using the Witch's Heart was not an option.
Step, step.
Casting a final glance at Leonil's corpse, Verden strode forward.
Toward the center of Capital Eznoren, toward the woman who had dreamed of avenging her mother.
***
Silis, collapsed on the floor, looked up at the sky.
Not the light of twilight, but the wide heavens spread across her vision. Familiar, refreshing air of the capital and of nature brushed against her nose.
The texture of the bricks beneath her legs felt vividly real. The spiritual aura that had lingered in her senses was gone without a trace.
The spiritual realm had collapsed.
She was back in reality.
"...Ha."
Silis let out a small sigh.
Her trembling lips pressed shut. Her knees ached beneath her weight, but she could not spare the thought. All she could do was recall the battle of magic just moments ago.
Leonil, overwhelmed. The enormous sun, the gray star. Darkness and blinding flashes. The world collapsing.
She had been powerless to intervene.
Even with the power of the Crown of the Witch's Thorn, she had not come close.
The helplessness of her childhood, when she could only become a puppet, returned. Though she had long prepared, long dreamed, she was ultimately dragged along by another.
An indescribable emptiness consumed her.
For what had she endured, persevered, lived so stubbornly?
"...!"
Just then, a presence approached.
When she lifted her head, she saw a man with ashen hair walking toward her.
He bore the marks of a fierce battle, yet showed no grievous wound. In his hand was the Witch's Heart.
The madness that had consumed Leonil was gone without a trace.
'So it really was him who won.'
Alone, he had annihilated the high-ranking court mages, and even defeated Leonil, who had touched transcendence.
This was no mere man, but an overwhelming force. What kind of being possessed such magic power at such a young age?
Silis, who had been unable to avenge her mother, who had failed even to reclaim her heart, could not dream of opposing such a figure.
Before she knew it, Verden stood close.
His shadow fell across Silis's head.
Why had he come to her, was it to ask again the question she had not answered before?
That was her thought when——
"Upon inspection, there's no damage otherwise."
Verden extended the Witch's Heart to Silis.
A silence stretched.
Silis blinked blankly.
"Why are you giving this to me...?"
"Different in nature as it may be, it is still your parent's keepsake. Naturally, it belongs to the child, doesn't it?"
He was not wrong.
Almost by accident, the processed heart landed in Silis's hand.
The unforgettable, dearly missed heartbeat pulsed. Tepid, yet imbued with a warmth beyond words.
As she stared fixedly at the blue glow, Silis's shoulders trembled.
She hugged the heart with both hands. Then, slowly lifting her chin, she cautiously parted her lips.
"...It was Asher who struck Leonil down. Without you, I could never have taken it from him. So... I am not qualified to claim ownership of this heart."
Silis bit her lip.
Yet, she still clutched the Witch's Heart tightly.
In her contradictory action, she was asking Verden.
The Witch's Heart, which transcended limits and amplified tiers.
Whether its power would extend even to a Transcendent of the 7th or 8th tier was unknown, yet regardless, any who walked the way of magic would covet it.
And Verden was no Transcendent. He had merely reached the realm close to it.
With the Witch's Heart, becoming a Transcendent instantly was surely within reach. Silis roughly understood that truth.
'Then why is it that───'
The Witch's Heart, was he handing it over so willingly?
With a face devoid of regret, he abandoned ownership as though it were of no worth.
It was Silis's pure bewilderment, unable to comprehend the situation.
"Ownership, huh. Then let me ask the opposite. Why should I, take a heart that is nothing more than the product of human experimentation?"
"B, but, it can raise your tier..."
"That premise is mistaken from the start."
His tone was so cold, it made her shiver.
As Silis stood speechless, Verden spoke low.
"Not all Mages are like Leonil, Princess Silis."
"...!"
"Each of us has our own line."
Verden recalled the past.
Not long after he had become an unofficial test subject, he had hated the entire Magic Tower.
Whether worker or Mage, he had wanted to tear apart everyone within it, to make them suffer as he had.
Perhaps even Rovellin, his only true friend.
But that had lasted only a moment.
Gradually, reason returned and reined in his emotions.
To vent his grudge on those unrelated to his pain was meaningless, and it would only make him another Leonil.
So he waited.
After Rovellin left the Magic Tower, he marked the Magic Festival, when those unrelated to unofficial experiments left the tower, as the starting point of Defying the Heavens.
For those guilty of his suffering, he gave hatred in full. For the rest, he strove to keep rational judgment. He did not want the innocent to be swept into his cruel vengeance.
Others may have chosen differently, but Verden did not.
Thus, Verden drew his own line.
Above all, human experimentation in the name of magic was unforgivable. Had Silis not been here, the Witch's Heart would have already been crushed to dust.
"A line, you say..."
Silis's grip tightened.
"So, because of that line, you're throwing away the chance to become a Transcendent right this instant."
"I don't expect you to understand. To me, this is only natural."
Silis's face stiffened.
At a loss for words, she lowered her head.
The crystal, processed beyond recognition as a heart, glowed faintly and brushed against her skin.
Memories rose unbidden. She thought then, of her blinded judgment for vengeance, her hesitation on the eve of the Coronation, of the line one should not cross as a human. Looking back, all she could see was regret.
"Asher, I..."
Silis hesitated, then spoke.
"Was my way wrong?"
"Well, I wouldn't know. I haven't achieved my vengeance either."
Verden cast his gaze toward the royal capital.
Only a quiet current of air lingered.
"Well, you should know best."
Silis let out a powerless laugh.
A wise answer to a foolish question.
Indeed, as he said, she knew the answer better than anyone.
With platinum eyes, the crown of thorns upon her head tilted, and the Witch's artifact fell to the ground. It rolled, spun, and came to a stop.
The dream was over.
***
The Witch's power Silis held was the manipulation of dreams.
Not only nightmares, but also fair dreams, and the ability to overlay dreamscapes upon the mind to implant false memories.
No one possessed the mental strength to resist Silis while she wore the Crown of Thorns. Not even Leonil could withstand that magic.
In the aftermath, people regained their senses.
There was a brief stir, but it passed easily. For them, the Coronation—something one might see once in a lifetime—was of far greater importance.
The first to recover consciousness, Marquis Esperanza, placed the gold and gem-encrusted crown upon the head of the First Prince, Valrgna, who still wore a vacant expression.
"Long live His Highness, no, His Majesty Valrgna!"
"Long live the Kingdom of Estiria!"
"Glory to the royal family, forevermore!"
Shouts of jubilation engulfed the capital.
As Valrgna raised his hand mechanically, greater applause and louder cheers surged like fire.
Amidst the fervor, Leonil and several others had vanished.
Some collapsed, unable to bear the mental chaos, but the Coronation went on without hindrance.
In the end, none but those directly involved realized Silis had used magic.
"And so the Coronation concluded. Within months, or at most two years, the dying king of Estiria will be replaced, and the First Prince Valrgna will ascend the throne. At least on the surface."
Balcony of Capital Eznoren's royal castle.
Marquis Esperanza sat across from Verden, summarizing the situation.
It was something an information broker or even Lorian could have reported, yet the Marquis had taken it upon himself. Because he wanted to.
Verden asked.
"What of Princess Silis?"
"She is enduring the backlash of using the Crown of Thorns. She said it will take more time before her body moves normally again."
...Whether her heart would recover as well, that was doubtful.
The Marquis exhaled softly, wetting his throat with tea.
Then he flinched, as pain coursed through him. The tea rippled, some spilling over the rim.
"Are you well?"
"...I am fine. Leonil's flames were indeed vile. Even with Her Highness's aid lessening the damage to my spirit, I still suffer the aftereffects."
"Still, compared to the other two, you're faring much better. That's a relief."
Marquis Esperanza chuckled faintly.
Melzard and Edmon still lay bedridden, drenched in cold sweat. Compared to them, he was practically unharmed.
"Now then."
The Marquis rubbed his forehead.
The touch steadied his wavering senses.
"How does it feel, to be the kingdom's strongest?"
At the question, Verden turned his head.
The scenery of Capital Retia greeted him from beneath the balcony.
"The view is pleasant."
So he said, and on his wrist gleamed a mithril bracelet engraved with the royal crest.
It bore no magical effect, a mere ornament, yet within the castle it signified something profound.
The treatment reserved only for dukes of foreign lands.
Verden had become the Estiria Royal Family's most distinguished guest.
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