Chapter 111: Return to Arilleia

Chaos.

‘Is there any word that fits better than this?’

The last place Hio was before all this was right in front of the sleeping Dragon.

Under the great Divine Tree, the Dragon slumbered while Regarda silently gazed upon it—

A place where such calmness suited perfectly.

But the place where he opened his eyes again was—

Kwaaaang—!

The very heart of a battlefield.

Kwang!

Arrows infused with magic power flew through the air, and explosions erupted here and there.

What he felt was the thick presence of death.

「Trait – ‘Ghost’s Eye’ is activating.」

What he saw were souls leaving their flesh behind.

Above his head, the branches of the giant tree whooshed, stirring a fierce wind.

Black masses caught in those branches burst apart like explosions.

Between the unique trees and buildings of Arilleia, flames soared into the sky.

「Trait ‘Spirit Body’ is activating.」

「Skill – ‘Summon Phantom Steed’ is activating.」

He immediately mounted the Phantom Steed and soared high into the sky.

The clashing energies all over the island could be felt with vivid clarity.

Various magic reactions. Surging auras.

The presence of death, and the ominous energy of the Abyss.

‘Even with Regarda present, how could so much damage have happened…?’ That question could wait.

First, he needed to deal with the situation.

“This is truly a mess.”

From up high, the scenery of the island came into full view.

Elves dashed between trees, drawing their bows.

Their opponents were monsters with pitch-black bodies, darting rapidly through the air.

Even for Hio, these monsters were a first.

At a glance, they looked like ghosts stained in black, spewing out bizarre auras, and exploding upon death—their opponents clearly had a tough time.

Hmm… Something is…

“Why?”

— No, let’s just watch for now.

Furnel spoke with rare caution, and although Hio found it odd, he began preparing his magic.

It would be nice if he could use ‘Celestial’, but hadn’t he just used up all his holy power not long ago?

So he’d have to deal with these things using other skills.

Abyss Monsters.

He’d already confirmed there was no problem in killing them.

‘Hadn’t he sunk an entire island outside this world?’

Even so, the penalty from his Hidden Trait didn’t apply.

—’Since you only erased the Abyss energy with Celestial and didn’t harm their bodies, the penalty didn’t trigger, right?’

“Sharp observation, but…”

It wasn’t as if he had inflicted physical harm—with ‘Celestial’, he had only made the Abyss energy vanish, so it was fine.

“But this trait isn’t that lenient.”

From all his experiments after obtaining the Hidden Trait, Hio had learned there was a sort of causality.

He hadn’t directly harmed the monsters physically, but in the end, it was due to him that they fell from the island and suffered damage.

He should’ve been penalized.

Yet, there was no penalty.

‘What did that imply?’

“They aren’t living beings, or they lack intelligence.”

Judging by the situation, it seemed to be the latter.

Those things acted only on instinct, showing no signs of intelligent thought.

“Either way, the important thing is I can fight them without a penalty.”

His Endurance hadn’t risen that much, but it was still hard to increase.

Now high above Arilleia, Hio extended his staff.

“Blue Flame.”

「Skill – ‘Blue Flame’ is activating.」

Blue fire spread around in a whoosh.

He willed the Blue Flame that covered the sky.

“Burn everything.”

A dazzling blue cascade began to descend.

Those below must have felt as if the sky itself was crashing down upon them.

Of course, the Abyss Monsters lacked intellect, and the elves on the ground, spotting Hio above the Blue Flame, understood everything.

“It’s the Magician!”

The blue flames surged in like a tidal wave, burning the monsters to nothing but ash.

Unlike before, they disintegrated on contact without even a chance to self-destruct, the pitch-black forms vanishing without a single wail.

“Not much mana left… that’s cutting it close.”

Even with his mana stat nearly at the 5th circle, Arilleia was a vast island.

Besides, simply spreading Blue Flame around wouldn’t be enough to kill these.

They were mid-level monsters, after all.

Each one had to be dealt with, expending considerable mana and focus.

“Push forward!”

“The Magician fights with us!”

Still, he didn’t have to do it all alone, so the burden was lighter.

The greatest comfort was the tree at the island’s center.

That Divine Tree, as it was called, swept away monsters using its massive branches.

“I had a feeling when I sensed that much mana there…”

Ever since he felt a mana amount comparable to Tetradia in a single tree, he’d known something was off… To think it could move like that.

“With that much mana, it moving is only natural.”

‘But would moving be the end of it?’

He thought there might be more.

“But why is it so quiet?”

Normally, if he mumbled this much, Furnel would butt in with a weighty comment, but now it was too quiet.

The reason Hio found himself talking more and more was because of this talkative ghost—without his responses, it felt empty.

And then, Furnel finally spoke.

— “Ah… I understand now.”

He sighed deeply.

— “I know what those things are.”

“Those things?”

When Hio turned his gaze, he saw the exploding black forms.

They darted about like ghosts—black masses.

If they were talking about “those things,” it could only mean them.

“You mean the Abyss Monsters?”

— That’s right… Yes, that’s it.

Furnel’s voice was tinged with regret.

—They’re elementals.

“…Elementals?”

Looking down, he still saw the robust Blue Flame.

And he also saw black masses resisting with all their might, vanishing without a trace.

“Those are elementals?”

They made no cries, uttered no sound, and simply destroyed all in their path.

— “Most of their essence is masked by the energy of the Abyss, but if you look closely, there’s a faint trace of elementals. Their forms resemble elementals too. I don’t know the type… but they seem to be mid-tier elementals.”

“Elementals… corrupted by the Abyss.”

Indeed.

Furnel meant those Abyss Monsters were originally elementals.

Those monsters, which must have failed to be subdued and crossed over through the Gate, were originally elementals.

“This makes my previous theory more plausible.”

That Abyss Monsters were once normal beings.

Their souls were corrupted by the Abyss, ending up like this.

If so, all the Abyss Monsters he’d slain were really beings whose souls had been tainted, losing their intellect.

‘Maybe, once, they’d even been normal humans…’

‘Could that be true?’

“There’s no way to turn them back… right?”

—”You know well enough it’s impossible. They’ve become one with that accursed energy. Dragons are different. They used magic to weaken the energy in advance and sealed themselves, and their soul was of a much higher order. But these… just think of them as monsters. It’ll be easier on your conscience.”

Looking below, the black masses were still fighting fiercely against the elves.

One by one, they vanished in the Blue Flame.

Those were elementals…

Wait—a thought before that.

“Come to think of it, the Dragon’s gone?”

—”Hmm? That’s right.”

With the chaos he saw upon arrival, he’d focused on dealing with that first—he hadn’t noticed the Dragon was missing.

Regarda, who should’ve been with the Dragon, was also gone, which meant…

“…We’re doomed.”

The Dragon, corrupted by the Abyss, had awakened.

Like those tainted elementals below, a corrupted Dragon.

Abyss Monsters, corrupted elementals, were ultimately wiped out from Arilleia.

The city was heavily damaged, but Arilleia was not so weak as to fall from this alone.

The real problem had been a breakdown of positions for other reasons; they hadn’t been on the verge of being overwhelmed.

Still, Hio’s intervention had greatly reduced the damage.

“Thank you for saving Arilleia, Magician.”

Isidore, looking much more exhausted than the last time he saw her, came to express her gratitude.

Even so, her noble grace remained undiminished, though her face was half its usual self, probably from pushing herself too hard.

No wonder—she was the one who’d moved the Divine Tree.

With Regarda gone as well, she’d pushed herself to the limit to wield her power.

“I’m sure you could’ve stopped them even without me.”

“You kept blood from being spilled unnecessarily. Thank you again.”

A dignity that shone brighter for knowing when to bow her head.

She was truly the most noble of elves.

“…Yes.”

Isidore didn’t ask why Hio had suddenly vanished.

Nor did she ask where he’d gone.

Perhaps because it might sound accusatory.

For Hio, who had no reason to protect Arilleia, to be asked why he suddenly disappeared would have been terribly rude.

Honestly, from Hio’s perspective, he wished she’d ask.

If they just left it alone, wouldn’t he seem like someone who fled when things got dangerous, only to slink back after the fight was almost over?

Seeing Isidore wasn’t about to ever ask, Hio decided to open his mouth first.

“Actually, I have a condition.”

“…?”

“It’s… well, when an Abyss Gate erupts, I’m suddenly whisked off to another world. Some kind of curse? Or maybe magic? Anyway, that’s why I left—it wasn’t because I got scared and ran away or anything.”

“Ah… I never thought that.”

“…Otot.”

That might have been a mistake.

He’d only made things more awkward.

“Anyway, could you tell me in detail what happened?”

Trying to break the tension, Hio asked Isidore, who straightened her face and replied.

“Monsters started pouring out from that ominous Gate…”

At first, there were no issues.

They responded quickly, set up a solid perimeter, and with Regarda and Isidore’s abilities, they were holding the line.

“But then the Dragon suddenly woke up…”

With the unpurified Dragon awakening, the formation collapsed instantly.

A Dragon was strong.

Even with almost no intellect left, unable to use magic, it was still the strongest creature in this world.

“The Dragon rampaged, and Lord Regarda rushed in to stop it.”

That was why the Divine Tree and the city were damaged, and in that chaos, more monsters surged out of the Gate.

“…It must have been chaos. So, where’s the Dragon now?”

Isidore shook her head.

“I don’t know that either. Suddenly, the Dragon flew off, and Lord Regarda went after it. We stayed behind to stop the monsters…”

A walking—no, a flying nuclear bomb had headed for the continent.

It was even more dangerous, not knowing its purpose or destination.

Regarda chased after it, but… could he really kill a Dragon on his own?

Hio knew how strong Regarda was, but against a Dragon, nothing was certain.

“We need to find out where they went first…”

Hio muttered, looking weary.

And at that moment—

“I know! (‘-’)/」

A dazzling message flashed before his eyes.

[I can sense it! There’s still a trace of where they went!!」

It was Freya.

“You can… tell where it is?”

「Yup! (@v’)/*」

Freya nodded vigorously.

Come to think of it, Freya was a piece of the Dragon.

She should be able to locate the Dragon.

“Alright. Then, right now…”

As he was about to move, his legs halted.

He’d used his highest-level skills too much and for too long.

He’d burned up all his holy power with ‘Celestial’ just before arriving, and now he’d spent more than half his mana.

He might have to fight again soon, and it would be reckless to go in this state.

“…Should I rest a bit?”

The recovery of mana and holy power was incredibly slow.

He said he’d rest for a bit, but to recover fully would take days—anything could happen in that time.

So there was no choice.

A full recovery was impossible, but as soon as some mana and holy power returned, he’d have to move out.

Maybe Freya sensed Hio’s discomfort.

「Okay! Let’s take it slow! Regarda-uncle chased after right away, so it’ll be fine!」

Even in this situation, Freya beamed a cheerful message.

[Regarda-uncle loves the Dragon more than anyone in the world! It’ll be okay!」

“…Yeah.”

Hio smiled bitterly as he stroked Freya’s head.

That was exactly the problem.

That made him even more anxious, but there was no need to tell Freya that.

To recover even a bit faster, Hio plopped down right where he was.

Even if it didn’t help with holy power, doing Mana Breathing Technique would make his mana recover faster than usual.

“It’ll take a few hours. When I’m recovered enough, I’ll come find you, so you all get some rest, too.”

Saying that to Freya, Hio sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

At that moment—

***

Ding—

Stories about the one who destroyed the Sky Island are spreading.

「Stories about the ‘one who destroyed the Sky Island’ are spreading.」

Stories about the ‘Messenger of God’ are spreading.

Stories about the ‘Messenger of God’ are spreading.

Stories about the ‘True Awakener’ are spreading.

「Stories about the ‘True Awakener’ are spreading.」

…

「Stories about the ‘Grand Mage’ are spreading.」

Stories about the ‘Grand Mage’ are spreading.

Stories about the ‘Great Korean’ are spreading.

Stories about the ‘Great Korean’ are spreading.

「You have gained 0.5 points from Fame Increase.」

「You have gained 0.5 points from Fame Increase.」

「You have gained 0.5 points from Fame Increase.」

…

「You have gained 0.75 points from Fame Increase.」

「You have gained 0.75 points from Fame Increase.」

「You have gained 0.75 points from Fame Increase.」

「You have gained 0.4 points from Fame Increase.」

「You have gained 0.4 points from Fame Increase.」

「You have gained 0.4 points from Fame Increase.」

As soon as he closed his eyes, messages streamed in one after another.

The number of points shot up to a level that was hard to keep up with.

With such a ridiculous flood of messages, Hio’s eyes flew open.

“Recovery complete!”

‘Who needed rest?’

Just spend the points on stats, and that’s recovery.

“Let’s go! What are you doing?”

Leaping to his feet, he called out to Freya.

“…?”

For the first time in her life, the word ‘crazy’ flashed through Freya’s mind.