I gathered my four companions in one place.
Soon, Chesa began explaining something to us while pointing at a map projected like a hologram above Nano Eater.
“Dragon Horse Cult leader Hagel Vinter escaped from the Lukost Kingdom not long ago. He moved quickly for about three days after that, but for the past two weeks, he’s been wandering around at a steady pace.”
As she said, the yellow dot marking Hagel’s position was moving with machine-like consistency.
The <Star Seeker> Chesa had used in the Snowflower Swamp was a spell that designated a single target and tracked their whereabouts semi-permanently. Thus, unless dispelled, Hagel and the Dragon Horse Cult’s movements were firmly in her grasp. Given the spell’s unusual form, even a mage of Hagel’s caliber would struggle to detect the anomaly affecting him.
In any case, by looking at Hagel’s path on the map, I could roughly guess the situation.
“It seems he’s finished treating his severed arm. The reason he’s started moving at such a perfectly constant speed is probably because he’s boarded the cult’s headquarters—the mobile temple.”
Clara, who had been listening quietly, raised her hand and asked.
“What’s a mobile temple, Aiden?”
“You know about Talos, the mobile city created by the Alpanium Library? Think of it as a smaller fortress that’s constantly on the move.”
“So the Dragon Horse Cult uses an alchemist-built structure like Talos?”
“No. That mobile fortress is actually a member of the Machine God Tribe.”
In the world of Reca Chronicles, there existed a unique race called the Machine God Tribe—beings who assembled mechanical bodies from various metals.
I myself had acquired a dormant Machine God Tribe core named ‘Respinel’ along with the Infinite Thunderstone during my previous visit to Mirsen Village. The Dragon Horse Cult also possessed one named ‘Melkina.’
Melkina had originally been under the Schnifelt family’s protection. She then followed Hagel—entrusted with a critical mission to the Vinter family—and began assisting him.
The Dragon Horse Cult’s large-scale magical bombardment weapon, the ‘Vice Wolf,’ was currently carried by Melkina. To use it, Hagel would need to remain inside her for months, focusing solely on energy charging.
“In other words, at this point, no matter what we do, it’s impossible for them to fire the Vice Wolf in time for the Sun Cathedral’s assembly. But that creates one contradiction.”
“What contradiction?”
“In the prophetic dream I saw, there were no survivors among the assembly participants at the Sun Cathedral. Yet without the Dragon Horse Cult firing the Vice Wolf, such an outcome is hard to achieve.”
“Is that so?”
I explained to the puzzled Clara.
“I already mentioned that the attacker on the cathedral is likely the Thousand-Man Slayer Regenshauer. But even for him alone, piercing a hole in the barrier protecting the Sun Cathedral—the <Sacred Cradle>—would take considerable time.”
And even after breaking through, problems remained.
“A mage capable of wide-area attack spells might manage, but Regenshauer is a swordsman specialized in close combat. If the group scatters and flees in multiple directions, pursuing them all becomes extremely difficult.”
“So inevitably, there would be numerous survivors?”
Linia chimed in agreement with my explanation.
Clara thought for a moment before speaking.
“…Using a specific relic from that cathedral, one can freely adjust the filters of the <Sacred Cradle>. In the case of our Sun Cathedral, it’s an item called the 『Flame Dragon Scale (S)』 that serves as the key. So if this Thousand-Man Slayer could somehow obtain the Flame Dragon Scale, he could tamper with the barrier’s filters at will and trap all the believers inside the cathedral.”
If that were possible, slaughtering everyone inside and leisurely escaping would just be a matter of time. However, even assuming Regenshauer harbored such intentions as Clara speculated, a few inconsistencies remained.
“But the Flame Dragon Scale is stored in a secret chamber at the deepest part of the Sun Cathedral. Without first breaching the barrier, the plan doesn’t hold up.”
“Y-You even know details like that.”
Clara seemed to be revising her assessment of my prophetic dream ability upward. Plebelziam also voiced doubt.
[Aiden, is that ability of yours really prophetic dreams? The performance gap compared to what I know is extreme.]
“We’re talking about the cathedral right now. What’s important isn’t the prophetic dreams or whatever, Pleb?”
[Hm…]
Nice assist, Epio.
That Plebelziam bastard had the richest experience and knowledge among the party; if he dug too deep, even bluffing my way out would be burdensome.
In any case, the only one who could bring an outsider unaffiliated with Dragon God followers into the cathedral was Elkoro Dubao. Thus, the possibility of Regenshauer infiltrating via agreement with the cathedral—like us—was effectively zero.
For reference, the <Sacred Cradle> was a spell inherently warded against spatial distortions. This meant assistance from spatial mages during infiltration was also impossible.
It seemed like an impasse at first glance, but theoretically, sneaking into the cathedral undetected by anyone wasn’t impossible.
It could be done using the Heirloom of the Denier (S-), a magical artifact.
In the original story, it was an item diligently used by a weirdo called Iron Mask—much like the 『Formless Robe (S-)』 I possessed. He wouldn’t discover and purchase the heirloom in the black market until Dragon God Year 986—three years from now. So it was possible for Regenshauer or someone Schnifelt-related to possess it in this timeline.
The Heirloom of the Denier contained a function that, at the cost of some penalty, granted “absolute immunity to all effects of yang magic for 5 seconds.”
It required a whopping three years to recharge after one use, but the performance was revolutionary.
And the <Sacred Cradle> was 100% pure yang magic, directly imitating a portion of the Dragon God’s authority from the past.
With the heirloom’s power, one could become completely immune to the barrier’s force—and 5 seconds was more than enough time to cross the barrier zone and enter the cathedral grounds.
However, there might be infiltration methods beyond using the heirloom that I hadn’t considered, and nothing was certain until I visited the site personally.
After the discussion on the cathedral concluded.
Chesa stared at me steadily.
Sensing her gaze, I asked.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…It’s nothing.”
She abruptly turned her head, avoiding my eyes.
How anticlimactic.
…
<Link Sense>
It was the unique spell embedded in the 『Firebird (S-)』 trait. When used, it allowed temporary sharing of some senses with one’s partner. I activated the spell, then infused mana into Chesa’s body, delicately circulating it through her entire meridians.
“Hm…”
Chesa furrowed her brow slightly at the foreign sensation and tickling coursing through her body.
The 『Mana Sensitivity Disorder (-)』 trait had long vanished, and her perception stat had risen to a whopping 8—but Chesa still had almost no experience properly controlling mana.
In contrast, by mastering the three footwork techniques comprising the Silent Realm, I had gained the ability to wield mana with extreme finesse.
[Experience shared via <Link Sense>.]
[Chesa Utland’s Perception increased by 1.]
[Chesa Utland’s Crimson Tower Cultivation Method (C) proficiency has reached the ‘Mastery’ stage. Upgraded to Crimson Tower Advanced Cultivation Method (B).]
By skillfully utilizing sensory sharing, I could imprint that control sensation directly onto Chesa’s body.
“Ugh…!”
Right after the message window appeared before me, Chesa bit her lip hard. Maintaining the sensory link for too long caused overload like this.
Maybe we should stop here for today.
I released her hand.
“Good work.”
“…You too.”
Chesa replied with difficulty, wiping the sweat trickling down her cheek.
Once again, I marveled—every gesture she made was like something out of a photobook. I admired her extraordinary beauty while lost in thought.
For now, our use was limited to this level, but if a high-grade mana cultivation method or spell popped out from a draw, the <Link Sense> spell would finally show its true value. Skills obtained through draws started at the ‘Mastery’ stage, and I could transfer that sensation fully to Chesa as well.
Since we had already shared the Wings of the Firebird.
From here on, we had to help each other survive.
Strictly speaking, I—who received the level correction—gained more, but mutual aid was still mutual aid.
…
Compress as many diverse elements as possible into a single point.
Cause conflicting and collapsing reactions among elements with opposing properties.
The terrifying offensive spell that utilized the aberrant energy born from that process: <Void>.
In theory, this sphere of emptiness was the ultimate attack spell capable of disintegrating anything it touched.
Thus, barring special cases, <Void> was nearly impossible to defend against; evasion was the only counter. Generating opposing void element to clash against it was also viable, but using <Void> required a high-grade elemental trait similar to 『Dense Elemental Amplification (S)』 and the advanced skill 『Compression Fusion (S)』—not something anyone could do.
Aiden intended to equip his companions with means to land effective blows even against far stronger foes. For Chesa, that was <Void>—the pinnacle of yin magic.
Yet despite considerable time passing, she still couldn’t quite grasp the 『Compression Fusion (S)』.
Flash!
“Ugh…!”
The multicolored elements she had been trying to compress in both hands repelled each other and scattered into the air. The backlash left bruises on her hands.
She had certainly witnessed Dragon Horse Cult leader Hagel using ‘Zero’—the prototype of <Void>—in the Snowflower Swamp. But having only glimpsed it in passing, it provided little help for proper imitation.
「Anomaly detected in the cultivated mana heart. Repeated mana circulation poses a high risk of meridian damage.」
「Recommend at least two hours of rest, Master. Otherwise, significant impact on future condition is predicted.」
“…Understood.”
Right after replying to the control persona, a sudden wave of dizziness hit. Chesa clutched her head and slumped weakly to the training room floor.
“Haa…”
She sighed, recalling the moment two years ago when she reunited with her fiancé.
Her initial impression upon seeing Aiden sparring impressively against the apprentice knights had been neither admiration nor fondness.
It was impatience.
Following her father Elvio’s words, she had gone to the magic tower for five years of study—yet all she had done was waste time, achieving nothing.
But her once-immature childhood friend clearly appeared to be on the path to success as a swordsman, stirring self-loathing within Chesa.
Then Aiden had said:
‘I plan to leave the principality when the time comes and form a “clan.” I’d be glad if you’d join me then, Chesa. I need your magical talent.’
Up until then, Chesa could use nothing but mana explosions.
Thanks to her family background, she hadn’t faced open contempt—but she had been subtly ignored at the tower. Thus, she struggled to adapt to Aiden’s gaze, always filled with expectation.
Honestly, it was burdensome.
And yet, it made her happy.
Truly, indescribably happy.
It was the first time since childhood that someone had placed such expectations on her.
No matter how stoic she appeared, she was fundamentally a mid-teen girl in puberty—her emotions were highly sensitive. During the time when even relatives like Elvio treated her as merely beautiful, Aiden—who saw her as a mage—left a profound impression on her heart.
“I want to stand by your side as soon as possible…”
「Further extended rest is recommended, Master.」
Ignoring even Nano Eater’s dissuasion, Chesa drew up her mana.
Diverse elements gathered in her grasp.
Immediately after, Nano Eater ceased its telepathy.
Her mana control had advanced a step beyond moments ago.
For mages, emotional turmoil sometimes produced results transcending reason. For Chesa, this was such a moment.
…
I summoned Clara.
It was because I felt the need to deal with the 『Undefeatable Divine Holy Sword (S+)』 that she had transported from Umbril to here.
With a divinity stat of 7, Clara could carry this sword. However, she was merely a temporary owner. Once the original wielder Bellifort awakened from his seal, the Undefeatable Divine Holy Sword would immediately abandon Clara and fly straight to him.
Even setting that aside, possessing an unidentified relic carried the risk of scrutiny from church officials. It was an item with various unsettling aspects, so I wanted to dispose of it as quickly as possible.
“But how will you handle it? Relics aren’t easily damaged.”
“There’s a way.”
With that, I opened the clan’s magical vault and retrieved something. It was a crimson orb glowing eerily.
<Machine God Tribe Core – Respinel>
[Level:0]
[Description: Dormant.]
It was time to use this.
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