Ch.48Aftereffects (3)

Sylvia slowly rubbed the name engraved on the letter with trembling hands.

Even when she pressed hard with her thumb, trying somehow to erase the ink that had seeped into the paper and dried cold, the name written on the letter remained unchanged.

No. It can’t be.

That’s impossible.

Sylvia shook her head with her eyes tightly shut, then slowly opened them again to look at the letter.

Whether it was good luck or bad, the bloodstains that dyed the entire letter red hadn’t touched that name at all, making it impossible to think she had seen it wrong.

Ash Staff.

Those crystal-clear letters silently glared back at Sylvia.

Was it the stench of decomposing corpses, foul enough to attract flies, or was it her thoughts tangling in complexity?

Sylvia felt a throbbing in her head and let out a sigh.

“Ha… one by one… let’s think about this one by one.”

First, the most important thing to consider was the existence of this letter itself.

The fact that Ash’s name was written on the search list meant exactly what it said—someone was looking for Ash.

Moreover, these corpses that met their deaths at the hands of the very Ash they had been searching for weren’t ordinary mercenaries or adventurers, but priests of the Goddess Church.

Well, if they were mercenaries, they probably wouldn’t have accepted any request that required entering this forest.

Judging by what was written as an “order,” it seemed that someone high up in the Goddess Church had issued commands to priests of lower rank.

An order to bring Ash.

Of course, one could wonder if the Ash written on this letter might just be someone else who coincidentally shared the same name.

But the name of Laila written right next to Ash’s immediately refuted that thought.

The Goddess Church was looking for Ash and Laila.

The Goddess Church looking for Ash?

Why?

No, calm down, calm down, Sylvia.

Sylvia took a slow, deep breath and looked at the letter again.

There was still information to be gleaned from this letter.

The fact that they were also looking for Laila meant they knew Ash and Laila had fled together in a carriage, but at the same time, they didn’t yet know that Laila was dead.

In other words, there was no magic spell monitoring Ash.

They didn’t even know if Ash was alive or dead.

Then wouldn’t it be fine to just leave things as they are?

Even the carefully selected priests they sent had died and couldn’t return, so they probably wouldn’t think Ash was still alive.

Of course, it would depend on what value Ash held for the person who wrote this order, but Ash had told me about his past many times with his own mouth.

Honestly, most of it was nothing special.

Full of harmonious and happy memories, but at the same time, he wasn’t entrusted with any tremendous secrets or honors.

Those who didn’t even bother to look for a hero whose whereabouts were unknown wouldn’t launch another search operation for one ordinary low-ranking nobleman.

And no matter how desperately they searched for Ash, he was someone who shouldn’t leave this forest.

This horrific scene of carnage explained the reason well enough.

Sylvia paused to catch her breath after thinking that far.

Though she couldn’t understand why they were looking for Ash, the conclusion remained unchanged.

She couldn’t let Ash go.

Not because of her selfishness, but because of this curse.

Having reached that conclusion, Sylvia moved on to the second issue.

“Ash… Staff.”

It was a very unusual surname, meaning “staff,” as most people typically took the name of their domain or a renowned family name as their surname.

But everyone in this country knew this surname.

This surname wasn’t inherited but bestowed.

Staff.

The staff that symbolizes the magician itself.

An honorable surname given only to the kingdom’s greatest magicians.

The most famous person with this surname was an old man named Malice, who was the most outstanding sage about 200 years ago.

A great magician who was said to have built the royal palace in a single night with magic, and a legendary hero who reportedly incinerated over ten thousand demons at once with living flames.

Stories about him were adapted into novels and fairy tales, widely spread throughout the kingdom.

Some magical scholars argued that there must be exaggerations in those stories, but the existence of such an incredible figure in history was a clear fact.

And a few years ago, another great magician appeared who inherited that symbolic surname.

It was someone Sylvia knew very well.

“…Maria.”

*

Maria.

Sylvia’s precious friend from the academy and a reliable companion who journeyed together to vanquish the Demon King.

And one of the last three party members who survived to stand before the Demon King.

Sylvia still vividly remembered how Maria died.

With another of the last three dying as soon as the battle with the Demon King began, Sylvia, short-handed, ultimately failed to prevent the powerful spell the Demon King had been chanting for a long time.

And at the moment the Demon King’s spell was completed,

A powerful magic that dissolved everything it touched surged like a tsunami.

Something like a massive crimson flesh-like substance that reached the ceiling of the Demon King’s grand audience hall was engulfing everything around, undulating as it approached.

She couldn’t tell what kind of magic it was, but it wasn’t a simple elemental magic like fire or poison.

Sylvia thought that the magic approaching her was death itself.

Indeed, even without the magic touching her, just the bizarre sweet stench emitted by that unidentified magic invading her nostrils made Sylvia feel her life fading away as she collapsed on the floor.

At that moment when Sylvia anticipated the end,

Maria stood in front of her, blocking the way.

Sacred Polymorphic Shield.

Miracle Veil.

Fairy’s Nimble Wings.

Descending Jade Light.

Superior Blue Wind Barrier.

Maria’s figure, casting successive top-tier spells that resisted the Demon King’s magic, repelled evil, and protected allies from harm, truly proved she was worthy of being bestowed the surname “Staff.”

Honestly, using not just two but four or five top-tier spells in succession was already beyond the realm of human capability.

It was also the first time the Demon King showed a look of surprise.

Maria glanced at Sylvia with a dazzlingly bright smile, just like the day they first met.

Looking at Maria’s smile, Sylvia was able to slowly recover within the layers of Maria’s magic surrounding her.

But at that time, when she still couldn’t move her body.

The Demon King unleashed even more fierce magic and walked toward Maria.

Maria could have dodged.

She, who could stand resisting the Demon King’s magic, could have easily repelled the Demon King’s approaching hand.

But Maria didn’t dodge.

Because Sylvia hadn’t recovered yet.

I remember it clearly.

Maria’s face, caught in the Demon King’s hand after his bizarre crimson flesh-like magic had receded from the audience hall.

That expression smiling as if to say not to worry,

The Demon King barking at her to remove the magic surrounding Sylvia,

Maria’s flames thrown with that bright smile as if telling him to go to hell,

And the sight of Maria being cruelly tortured before Sylvia’s eyes as she slowly rose to her feet.

“…”

Sylvia tried her best not to recall the scene she had watched while shedding tears of blood.

But it came back anyway.

It was a scene she could never forget.

Her magic persists even after she dies.

The magic surrounding Sylvia would only disappear if Sylvia fully recovered or if Maria removed it.

The Demon King cruelly carved out Maria’s will.

Maria met her death without ever dispelling the magic.

It was a heroic deed, genius skill, and a sage-like choice.

But heroes, geniuses, and sages are ultimately mere humans.

Maria couldn’t smile until the end.

Sylvia squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to recall that expression above all else.

In the darkness behind her eyelids, Maria’s last words suddenly echoed in Sylvia’s ears.

“Mother…”

Sylvia touched her forehead and slumped down on the floor.

Her voice, mixed with a sigh, trembled wildly.

Her throat, no, her entire body felt like it was convulsing from shock.

Sylvia crumpled the letter in her grip.

‘My sister was an adventurer too.’

She recalled what Ash had said once.

Sylvia clutched her hair and lay face down on the floor filled with the stench of rotting corpses.

Ah.

Maria…

That little brother you mentioned…