Ch.43Palace Defense Battle (1)
by fnovelpia
It was a scene that defied the laws of nature.
Dark clouds continuously multiplied from the crumbling Mansion of the Sorcerer. As if riding an updraft, thick black clouds piled layer upon layer in the sky above the mansion.
Swoooosh…
A downpour began.
The fire at the Mansion of the Sorcerer, which had seemed ready to consume everything, was extinguished with disappointing ease. Serin and her companions stared in astonishment at the mansion, witnessing a power that seemed to manipulate natural laws at will.
“How is that possible…”
Kanarin muttered, dumbfounded.
The group had landed in a forest 200 meters away from the Mansion of the Sorcerer, as Kanarin had intended with her spell. This area was still a clear, lush forest.
Meanwhile, as if deliberately targeted, thick black clouds gathered specifically around the airspace above the Mansion of the Sorcerer.
Even though Kanarin hadn’t directly experienced the original work, she could easily guess how the world of “Taming the Child of Abolition” had met its end.
“Let me ask, is that… Rahilt’s doing?”
Luca looked back and forth between Kanarin and Serin.
In truth, Luca had known about Kanarin’s status window and possession circumstances since childhood, so he was certain they would have some answers. Serin and Kanarin confirmed his certainty with nods.
“I’m speechless. That’s beyond what’s possible with magic.”
Controlling weather phenomena was already close to the realm of gods.
If not that, then it belonged to the domain of dragons that circulate the world or divine beasts born of miracles—beings that transcend the norms of the material world.
“It makes me grateful that he’s a good person…”
“From what I’ve heard, he had a terribly unhappy childhood… Whoever raised him, I think he might have saved the world without us even knowing.”
Serin readily agreed with Kanarin and Luca’s sentiments.
Her father-in-law was an educational genius who had raised the precious Child of Abolition.
“Rian…”
Through the pouring rain, Rahilt was nowhere to be seen. Was he wandering around the Mansion of the Sorcerer, which had stopped collapsing, thanks to spatial magic? Serin’s fingernails were being bitten nervously, like a child experiencing separation anxiety and compulsion.
After repeatedly pushing past the limits of her patience, Serin wiggled her toes. Soon, her body grew hot with anticipation, and she finally took a step toward the Mansion of the Sorcerer.
Just one step.
It was when she had taken just that single step.
Rahilt gradually revealed himself from the front of the Mansion of the Sorcerer.
Red bloodstains seeped into the dirt, washing away with the downpour. Like a rain-soaked stray dog, water dripped mercilessly from him, yet the bloodstains wouldn’t easily wash away. It was a horrific scene that showed just how many black magicians Rahilt had eliminated.
His cold mask turned toward Serin’s group.
Kanarin and Luca flinched. Despite recognizing him as an ally, Rahilt’s mask seemed unsettling at that moment. The emotionless mask seemed to hide any trace of humanity he possessed.
Only Serin was different.
She approached Rahilt without hesitation as he came closer, scattering raindrops. Their reunion took place at the boundary between clear and dark skies.
“…Serin.”
Rahilt was the first to speak.
“I’m sorr—”
“What’s this?”
Interrupting Rahilt’s apology, Serin reached out to his shoulder.
“You’re soaked through. All wet. You should have prepared a raincoat…”
Serin brushed off Rahilt’s shoulders. The bloodstains he hadn’t managed to clean were washed away cleanly with the water droplets.
“Look at your hair, all matted down from the rain. Your clothes are completely soaked too, which must feel uncomfortable. And with that mask on, your face must feel even more stifling.”
“…I…”
“It’s fine, don’t apologize and don’t make excuses. Rian must have had his reasons. I told that black magician… what was his name? That the mouth is the source of all trouble.”
“Yes, you did say that.”
“He must have misused his mouth to make you this angry.”
“…”
“Honestly, from the moment Rian disappeared, I was planning to kill them all anyway, so it doesn’t matter. As long as we reach our destination, the path doesn’t matter.”
Serin stared at the Mansion of the Sorcerer. Just then, a limping black magician crawled out through the main entrance.
Glancing at him, Serin flicked a pebble from the ground with her foot, then kicked it hard when it reached the right height.
Thwack!
The pebble fragment flew like a meteor and hit the black magician’s ankle bone. He grabbed his twisted ankle and screamed in pain. From the looks of it, there was significant bleeding above the ankle bone.
“Let’s go, Rian. They say all the knowledgeable black magicians are at the palace. With their base destroyed, they’ll have nowhere to run.”
“Are you saying they’ve taken over the palace?”
“Probably.”
As their conversation continued, Rahilt had many questions he wanted to ask.
How did she know the weather change caused by Pou was his power?
Was she disappointed that he had lost control of himself so recklessly?
Did she find him repulsive now?
Rahilt swallowed his questions.
He simply decided to trust Serin.
He had no right to interrogate her, and they weren’t in a situation where they could leisurely exchange questions and answers.
So, Rahilt silently joined Serin and the others.
Meanwhile, Kanarin was looking at the main quest in her status window and thinking.
‘What kind of being is this Child of Abolition…’
[Main Quest: Palace Defense Battle]
[Overview: The black magician group has seized the palace after detecting a fatal crisis. If left unchecked, mental contamination will spread throughout the kingdom. Defeat all the executive black magicians within the time limit.]
[Time Limit: 48:00:00]
[Warning: Critical damage to the palace increases the possibility of contamination source spreading.]
The existence of Rahilt had drastically accelerated the main quest. Even in the original work that Kanarin had read, the confrontation with black magicians at the palace was a scene positioned in the very final stages. That climax had arrived in one fell swoop.
‘We need to purify the palace within two days. Excluding the method of recklessly destroying it like the Mansion of the Sorcerer…’
From the beginning, the palace was populated with many humans unrelated to black magic. If a scenario like the Mansion of the Sorcerer were to repeat, innocent humans would be massacred as well.
“…We need to go to the palace.”
“Has the main quest appeared?”
“Yes, somehow the end seems to be approaching.”
“That’s welcome news.”
If they could eliminate them quickly, that would be ideal. From the moment they provoked Rahilt with pure malice, the extermination of the black magicians became a foregone conclusion.
While Serin was burning with determination, Luca patted Rahilt’s shoulder.
“Well done, Rahilt. They were scum who deserved to die anyway, so it’s good we saved time. Though I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t get to show off my skills.”
Luca felt pathetic for having momentarily viewed Rahilt with unease. That’s why he spoke more playfully than usual.
Rahilt silently nodded.
He understood it was Luca’s way of being considerate, so he didn’t add anything further.
“Let’s go.”
Somehow, his steps felt a little lighter as Luca pushed him forward.
◇
The sky above the palace, which they reached by hurriedly driving a carriage, was ashen.
Despite it not being a time when dark clouds should gather or the day should darken, the color of the sky was murky. This eerie phenomenon worsened as they got closer to the palace at the center from the Mansion of the Sorcerer on the outskirts of the capital.
It seemed that black magic contaminated not only the mind but even the clear sky.
“Black magic is spreading through the air like dust.”
Luca explained succinctly.
“It seems they’ve released an unacceptably vast amount of magic. If this becomes widespread, the mental contamination of the kingdom’s people will accelerate.”
“How is that possible? With this much, it should have been impossible not to detect it early.”
Serin expressed a reasonable doubt. Even Kanarin, who had read the original work, couldn’t identify the source of contamination.
“Just having a mature divine beast on guard would unconditionally purify all black magic. So originally, there shouldn’t have been much reason to search…”
In other words, in the original work, the female protagonist and the divine beast acted as a cheat, making the location of the contamination source unimportant.
“The problem is that even when we searched, we couldn’t find it. We looked in all sorts of secret places in the palace but found nothing, and I was also complacent thinking we just needed to follow the main quest…”
Serin understood from a reader’s perspective.
Few protagonists were proactive in works featuring status windows.
When the status window presents a quest, the protagonist faithfully completes it and gradually becomes stronger. There can be no errors in this system. Therefore, most protagonists show a dependent attitude toward the status window. Kanarin would have been no exception.
“Looking back, I was incredibly careless… We brought this upon ourselves, so I’m sorry, Serin. And Lord Rahilt.”
“I don’t blame you. There’s no point regretting the past now. With so many of us gathered, we should be able to handle it.”
“I have no complaints either.”
Encouraged by Serin and Rahilt’s reassurance, Kanarin discreetly wiped away a tear. Watching this from the side, Luca thanked them on her behalf.
“Thank you both for helping Kanarin. I’ll make sure the kingdom provides some compensation for this matter. How about a duke title in our kingdom for Rahilt?”
“…”
For an instant, Serin’s eyes lost focus as if they were deep abysses. Her expression, devoid of any trace of emotion, was eerily colorless.
For no reason, the Mansion of the Sorcerer flashed through Luca’s mind. Particularly, her action of crushing a black magician’s lower body with a casually kicked pebble.
In the suddenly chilled atmosphere, Kanarin pinched Luca’s thigh hard. Only then did Luca come to his senses and frantically waved his hands.
“Ahaha…! Of course, I’ve never once thought that my friend would harbor such worldly desires! Looking back, one Rupenter duchy is enough, right? Right…”
“Sigh… this idiot…”
Kanarin grimaced and clutched her head beside him.
Meanwhile, Serin, whose focus had returned, gave a subtle glance to Rahilt.
“Are you interested, Rian? A duke title in the kingdom.”
“No. Everything I value is in the Empire.”
As long as Rodrick and Eshtiel—the two people he could call family—were in the Empire, Rahilt had no intention of leaving.
Additionally,
‘Being far away from Serin… I think it would be hard to adjust now.’
At some point, it had become difficult to imagine a daily life without Serin.
From some time, he had been so thoroughly steeped in her warm presence that it seemed indelible.
If one were to make an analogy, Serin’s existence was like inertia.
Just as the body wants to move forward even if you close your eyes tightly and try to stop,
even if she suddenly disappeared from his daily life, the lingering echoes of memories would remain to torment him for a long time.
“Hmm…”
Serin let out a satisfied hum.
“Did you hear that clearly? Second Prince.”
Serin’s fingers slipped between Rahilt’s, intertwining with his.
Proudly displaying their firmly locked hands, she declared:
“Don’t even think about it, no matter how the world might turn upside down.”
He’s my man.
That desperate and obsessive protective instinct blazed from Serin’s blue eyes.
Luca could only provide the expected answer while hiding his cold sweat.
“Haha… of course…!”
Luca sensed a life-threatening danger that couldn’t even be compared to black magicians.
Clap!
Kanarin clapped her hands to dispel the awkward atmosphere. She was observing the deserted bustling district through the carriage window.
“Let’s walk from here.”
The black energy swirling from the palace was close enough to be clearly visible.
There was no room for disagreement.
They quickly got out of the carriage. Kanarin, who stepped onto the ground first like a guide, handed the coachman a paper filled with writing.
“This is a contract promising to pay your living expenses for the next 20 years in a lump sum two days from now. Thank you for risking your life to drive the carriage. I hope you leave the capital quickly before getting involved.”
“That was the contract?!”
“I thought you were a servant of the duchy with tremendous loyalty…?”
“This is… somewhat surprising.”
These were the reactions of Luca, Serin, and Rahilt in order.
They all seemed to agree that it was quite remarkable for a coachman to make such a deal with a duchess in this situation.
The coachman bowed respectfully, released one of the horses, and turned his back on the palace.
“Let’s start making our way in.”
Kanarin, the protagonist chosen by the status window, declared from the front.
As if influenced by her momentum, everyone’s steps turned toward the palace.
‘…Strange.’
This was Rahilt’s impression.
‘Something feels off…’
Rahilt couldn’t fully deduce the reason for this discomfort. Soon, he shook off the distracting thoughts from his mind.
It was a fatal mistake made by the entire group.
The reason for the discomfort—the absence of tension.
No matter what happened, Rahilt was there.
The strongest being who possessed the power to destroy the world alone was standing guard.
The presence of just one person created an asymmetrical tilt in their fighting power.
Thus, they approached the task of eliminating the black magicians assuming failure was the remotest possibility.
Not knowing how foolish this misconception was.
They moved forward toward the monochrome future they would soon face.
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