Ch.100Ideal (1)

Mind’s Image, Ideal, Origin.

While all three innate energies are bound by the framework of being innate energies, they differ in the effects they can produce.

Mind’s Image is based on a warrior’s mental image. Given its roots, it fundamentally relies on movements, techniques, and martial arts.

Because of this, Mind’s Image wasn’t something that could produce such effects.

This was even more confusing for me since I had spent time wondering what my sister’s profession might be.

“Sister, this is…”

“Hmm? It’s my Ideal. Death of a Star.”

Death of a Star. To me, who knew what this phenomenon was, it sounded like an incredibly intuitive name.

The ominous prophecy of civilization collapsing and disappearing due to nuclear bombs was something no human of our generation could be unaware of.

That’s what Death of a Star meant.

It didn’t refer to the transcendent stars that exist in this world or the Netel of this world.

My sister had made such an apocalyptic power her Ideal.

Moreover, she called it an ‘Ideal.’

It meant my sister wasn’t a pure warrior. I had been certain that my sister’s profession was in the warrior class, so this was unexpected.

What profession could she possibly have?

Seeing her martial prowess, could she be a War School mage? Or perhaps a Duelist like Melody?

But she seemed too physically strong for a Duelist. Is it because she’s a homunculus?

I was too lost in thought to respond.

“What do you think? Is it a good name?”

My sister asked me.

A question that made even Lorian let out a puzzled “Hmm?”

Sure enough, as she spoke, my sister was looking at me with an expression that seemed to be testing me. A faint expectation in her gray eyes that resembled mine.

Facing that, I hesitated for a moment, but I knew what I had to do.

“It’s a splendid name. I’ve seen a Star Contractor before… and this power certainly matches that level, Sister.”

My sister blinked blankly at my answer, then sighed as if deflated.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, nothing at all.”

My sister waved her hand with a good-natured smile.

I wonder how long I can keep this hidden. I concealed my thoughts as I surveyed the surroundings.

What greeted me was a scene that even the word “devastation” seemed inadequate to describe.

My intuition was conveying a lot of information.

That intense flames had erupted here.

Those flames had incinerated most of the enemies at once, and those that didn’t burn were shattered by the subsequent shockwave and then baked in the ensuing high temperatures.

The soot remaining in human shapes revealed this.

And what about those that survived?

My eyes turned to a fallen figure on the ground. Something with a broken neck and its lower body completely burned away.

Even at a glance, it was no ordinary being.

Its forearm was as thick as my sister’s waist, and even those muscles seemed to be more than ordinary, with the exposed flesh beneath still writhing with tremendous power.

After the high temperature and initial shockwave had subsided, there were, of course, aftereffects.

Like a round song, subsequent shockwaves followed. The shattered trees around us and the boulders we saw flying on our way here must have been the result.

How anyone survived against this was beyond me, but even if they did survive, problems remained.

My sister was a complete warrior.

Ideal Manifestation consumes massive amounts of magical power and puts the user at risk, but even without magical power, my sister, being a homunculus with magical power, still had her formidable physique and exceptional skills.

This was the result. I looked around for a while and then saw my sister approaching me.

With her hands behind her back, she approached me closely. She was harmless without any killing intent, but that was because she was kind, gentle, and completely good-hearted.

If my sister wanted to, I would die. She wouldn’t kill me, of course, but seeing such a scene made me think such thoughts involuntarily.

A human nuclear bomb. How absurd.

But I couldn’t ask what her profession was or what the principle behind this Ideal was.

It would be tantamount to revealing that I was a transmigrator.

Since I couldn’t think of a roundabout way to ask, I’d have to casually inquire with Melody later.

“Sister, what exactly happened here?”

“…Ah, right. I was going to ask that too. Guardian Knight, what happened that required using such a technique? And who is that?”

While I was thinking, Melody and Lorian asked. My sister smiled at them with a gentle expression that was calming just to look at.

“Attackers. I think they followed the traces of that child… we brought.”

At those words, Isla’s expression darkened slightly.

It was obvious who she was referring to, so there was no need for elaboration. We all remained silent except for Lorian.

“Who are you talking about?”

“This child’s sibling.”

“Isla’s sibling… what does that… oh.”

Lorian thought for a while before realizing the answer.

“They’re subordinates of ‘Mother.'”

Powerful adversaries with endless regeneration that required overwhelming attacks to subdue.

There were none other than the subordinates of ‘Mother.’

At least, at a level that could find us and attack my sister while she was patrolling near the Temple of All Gods, there were none other than them.

“Yes. We’re acquainted, actually.”

“If you’re acquainted…”

“This man is also the one who killed the Justice Judge.”

My sister’s finger pointed to the fallen man on the ground.

A man with a dignified face, his clothes covering his upper body all burned away, and his lower body lost.

He had survived my sister’s Ideal Manifestation and was regenerating, but eventually died with a broken neck—a vicious criminal.

Being reminded that someone I knew had died made me uncomfortable.

“It’s fortunate that you encountered them while patrolling, Sister. None of the Inquisitors could have stood against them.”

“Mmm, I think so too. It’s fortunate that I was the one who faced them.”

Could I have fought and won against such beings?

Since I hadn’t properly fought them, I didn’t know, but the terror was not knowing how much of a chance I’d have even if I used Mortal Blow.

What if Isla had gone hunting instead, or if Uncle Mourner had encountered them?

It would have been a disaster. Unconsciously, I looked for Isla, and when our eyes met, she wrapped her tail around my wrist as if to reassure me.

That fluffiness gave me a sense of relief.

“Do you think we’ve been discovered?”

“I wouldn’t say discovered, but they probably suspect. That’s why they’re searching, I think.”

The safety of the Temple of All Gods lies in the fact that only those I permit or those who harbor no hostility toward me can enter.

It was close to being a perfectly concealed hideout, ensuring safety.

In other words, if the concealment is exposed, it becomes useless.

Currently, people can rest comfortably while preparing for reconstruction, and think about the future without worrying about threats, all thanks to that.

If ‘Mother’ somehow finds a way to enter the Temple of All Gods…

It would be catastrophic.

I shuddered and said to my sister:

“This might be for the best. I was about to call for you anyway.”

“Hmm?”

“I wanted to discuss our future course of action. How we should confront ‘Mother,’ who is clearly our enemy, how we should respond going forward, and what our policy should be—I was planning to gather everyone to talk about it.”

“…Ah, so that was the reason.”

She seems somewhat disappointed.

I couldn’t understand what she was disappointed about. If even I, an expert in Sister Studies, didn’t know, it must be a new aspect she gained in this world of Grim Darker.

I quickly abandoned my “Sister Exploration” and nodded.

“But just then, Melody sensed your manifestation and thought you might be in danger, so we rushed here.”

“Ah, thank you. How kind.”

My sister laughed with a “huhu.” Hearing her say “how kind” made me feel good for some reason.

How many years has it been since I heard that? As I was trying to suppress my rising smile:

“But now doesn’t seem to be the time for that.”

“…Pardon?”

“Because this isn’t the end.”

My sister’s gaze briefly swept over the corpse with a look as if she were viewing trash, then returned.

“There are more?”

Though she spoke playfully with a smile, the content wasn’t something to take as a joke.

“I found a nest down there.”

“A nest?”

“A nest where these are made.”

My sister’s foot kicked the corpse, and though I felt chilled, I looked at the face of the man who had been regenerating until the end.

It felt somewhat inorganic.

Enough to agree with the statement that they were “made.”

*

“Dawn breaks. Children of the Empire. Lower your fires and open your hearts.”

As Melody chanted, a glowing sphere floated up in front of her.

The light emitted by the sphere was more subtle than brilliant, but it was pleasant because it didn’t hurt the eyes.

It was a good light for long-term exploration. Although I already knew this spell, seeing it in reality for the first time was still unfamiliar.

Noticing that I was silently watching, Melody explained somewhat awkwardly:

“This is a Light Sphere. It provides illumination and… in an emergency, it can be detonated to cause visual confusion. Right now, I’ve reduced the light to low visibility since we don’t want to be detected…”

“I see.”

When I nodded, Melody stopped speaking with a still awkward smile. Even though she’s a bard and should enjoy explaining things.

By this point, even I couldn’t help but notice something. A suspicious air, a hesitant attitude.

There was something. Something that made Melody show such an attitude and maintain it.

But it wasn’t the time to figure that out.

“Are you sure you’re okay without armor?”

Behind me, Lorian poked my back with his long finger and asked.

“He’ll be fine. He’s a homunculus, and besides, I’m here if anything happens.”

My sister answered Lorian’s question cheerfully.

“And I’m here too. He’ll be fine. Or… would you like me to cast some spell on you?”

Melody agreed with my sister’s words but still wanted to take care of me.

I recalled a distant past.

It was during my second year of middle school.

A time when my sister’s friends would visit our room and play with me.

Though they said they were playing with me, it was only fun at first; later, I was secretly upset at being treated like a teddy bear.

And also… memories that were too stimulating for a pubescent boy, keeping me awake at night.

I was facing that past now. Just like then, my sister mainly had two friends.

“Hmm? Are you scared?”

Seeing me walking with a sour expression, Lorian poked my side, chuckling.

“How could the successor of the Father be frightened by such a thing! Even if something happens, I, Lorian, will protect you, so don’t worry.”

And as he boasted:

“I feel like giving you a knock on the head.”

“Hmm?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

I had to struggle to suppress the urge to give that boastful head a knock.

In truth, I wasn’t afraid at all.

Though past trauma-not-trauma was stimulating me, this environment itself wasn’t unfamiliar at all.

We were currently walking through an utterly ordinary cave.

A cave like any other you might see.

The silence, darkness, and humid air reminiscent of the underground city we had left recently had no effect on me.

Not having armor wasn’t new either, and similarly, the fact that we might have to fight unidentified enemies didn’t burden me at all.

Currently, there were four of us walking through the cave—four people in combat or near-combat readiness, including myself, who could respond to an ambush from anywhere at any time.

Isla, being a hunter, had limited utility in confined spaces, and also because I personally wanted her to, I sent her back.

Rather than feeling regret or loneliness, I felt reassured.

I could even leisurely speculate about what my sister’s profession might be.

If she uses Ideal Manifestation, she must have at least some connection to magic, but what profession could it be?

At the very least, it would be a mix of warrior and mage.

While I was walking and thinking about various things, we had already reached our destination.

“We have visitors.”

The moment my sister spoke, veins began to bulge on the ordinary limestone walls of the cave, and then something entered the light from the darkness.

It was something resembling humans.

Beings whose appearance made it obvious who was behind them.

They could be called zombies without being strange, but they were more like muscular, burly red corpses.

My sister looked at them, sighed, and stopped us.

“Everyone, prepare for battle.”

As Lorian gripped the beheading sword he had already drawn, and Melody pulled out her estoc from her waist.

My sister clenched her fist and widened her eyes.

That’s when I finally realized my sister’s profession.

As the whites of my sister’s eyes turned black, and her gray pupils began to emit light.

My sister’s profession was a Mage Eye.

A warrior who uses eyes as a catalyst for magic.