Chapter 048
"I am Nelga, a court mage. And you are?"
"There's no need to tell my name to someone who'll soon be dead."
Sreung.
Ran drew his sword. Of the eight he carried, only three remained now. Five had already been used up while fending off the guards' pursuit.
'Why do my swords keep breaking—both for myself and the bishop as well?'
For a moment, he was seized with suspicion, but quickly pushed it aside. Now was the time to focus on his opponent before him. A court mage, and moreover the chief of the imperial capital, had to be a formidable person. Even if he relied on magic, he had managed to pursue him all the way here.
Ran's eyebrow twisted slightly.
The opponent still stood completely defenseless.
"What are you doing?"
"I have no desire to fight."
He truly seemed that way—Nelga stood as politely as ever.
"Your intentions are irrelevant. The fact that you've discovered both Emma's and my existence means I can't let you go."
"There's no need for you to do that. In any case, I'm already as good as executed."
"Someone always has to take responsibility."
Nelga muttered.
He spoke of her own doomed fate as if it concerned someone else. The strange mage continued talking.
"If I'd intended to harm you, I wouldn't have followed alone like this. Besides, I don't even know how to use combat magic."
When it came to magic, Ran knew little.
Magic was not widely known among the masses. Only the Magic Tower monopolized such vast knowledge.
The little theory about the outside world he'd learned in Quersa, combined with his experience here on the mainland, was hardly enough to comprehend even a hair's breadth of its profound nature, let alone approach it.
'Doesn't seem like he's lying.'
It sounded like a contradiction that a mage who could distort and move through space at will didn't know how to use combat magic, yet Ran's intuition was leaning that way.
His instincts as an inquisitor flared up.
"Then why have you been following me? And in this sly manner, no less."
Ran lightly rested the back of his sword on his shoulder. For now, he intended to hear her out.
"Pure curiosity."
"Curiosity?"
"Yes. I just wanted to know what kind of person could neutralize the imperial capital's barrier array and even target His Majesty the Emperor's life."
The imperial capital was a subspace squeezed in between the palace and inner city. In that empty subspace, great mages compiled their knowledge and created the barrier array.
And Nelga was the gatekeeper guarding the place.
On that day, he had been waiting for the audience between the Emperor and Zima to end. Outsiders could only enter or leave the imperial capital under her guidance. Should anyone unauthorized set foot in the imperial domain, they would fall into the abyss.
'It was a form of light.'
Nelga remembered clearly.
He had absentmindedly looked up at the imperial sky, and a single streak of light was crossing it.
The direction of the light was from the outside in.
"It was something that defied my common sense. No, it was a moment that shattered the tower of knowledge I had built up all my life."
"Really, is that true?"
"It was as if I was bewitched. I followed the tail of that light, and at its end, there was you. It was only after that that the crown prince met his fate at your hands."
Ran was left speechless. It really was a case of pure curiosity. He wasn't testing his abilities, nor asking about his purpose in assassinating the emperor, nor about his relationship with Zima—none of that.
Nelga's eyes sparkled like those of an adventurer who'd discovered an unknown world.
"Though I can't match His Majesty the Emperor's spiritual sight, I can see a bit of the flow of karma as well. But even with you right in front of me, I can't tell anything."
"Karma?"
"Oh, the world knows it through terms like mana, aura, holy power, things like that."
Lately, those words were coming up a lot. Ran replied indifferently.
"So, what is it you want?"
"Just answer me one thing. How did you pass through the imperial capital's barrier array? Did you know some way to decipher it?"
"Well, I desperately prayed to God, and was lent strength for a moment. That's all. As you see, even for a lowly inquisitor like me, perhaps Asriel took pity because I belonged to the Church once?"
"I'm serious. Don't joke with me."
But I'm telling the truth.
Ran swallowed the words.
Tsk—
Nelga snapped her fingers.
Ran's eyes widened. The surroundings changed before he could even register what had happened.
'Illusion magic?'
He had never heard of such a thing. But the ashen dust-blown wasteland had transformed completely into a silent indoor space. There was no other explanation.
Tak, tak.
Footfalls echoed. The texture of the marble floor was vividly real. He sensed the chill in the air at the tip of his nose. It all felt strangely familiar. He looked up. The ceiling seemed endless.
As he absentmindedly glanced around, his gaze stopped at one place.
In the midst of all the deep, shadowy darkness, a gentle light hung over only that spot.
He slowly walked towards it. Like someone hypnotized, he followed the long hallway. The closer he got, the wider his eyes grew.
'That—this can't be?'
It was a golden-bronze statue of Lord Asriel.
Ran doubted his own eyes. Even as he stared, he couldn't believe it. Overwhelmed by its grand size, he could only stand in a daze. A shiver ran down his spine.
The next moment, memories began to revive around the golden-bronze statue. The scattered fragments in his mind rapidly found their place.
Ran realized where he was.
"Aurum Temple."
Ran was startled by the voice and turned his head.
It was Nelga, who had approached without a sound.
"It's the most revered temple even within Quersa, the metropolitan district where the Holy Church began. They say Asriel sleeps here?"
Nelga stared up at the golden-bronze statue. Her face was as expressionless as ever, but her eyes were cold.
Ran pressed his blade to her neck.
Only then did Nelga turn to face the sword's edge, and spoke as if utterly detached.
"Doing this in front of God—wouldn't this be blasphemy? Not that I'm an expert."
"What the hell are you playing at?"
"Go ahead and pray. I'm helping you. Show me, just as you did then. That miracle you spoke of?"
Kiiiiing!
A silvery line was drawn in midair.
The surroundings instantly reverted to the wastelands they had been.
Ran calmly sheathed his sword.
Nelga had moved far off again. She rubbed her neck.
"I thought it might help, but it seems I was wrong."
"I really don't need a miracle just to deal with you. Enough with the tricks—be quiet and die now."
"Let me give you a bit of advice. As an intellectual."
A windstorm whipped up. Their hair blew in the same direction.
"Divine miracles are nonsense. If that were so, all Asriel's followers should have been saved from suffering. Or do you claim the God of Mercy loves only you alone?"
Nelga's form grew fainter and fainter like mist dissolving in water.
"Your power belongs to you alone."
She vanished.
Only a lonely wind passed by where she had been.
'? What the hell was that about.'
Ran muttered inwardly. He forced himself to ignore it.
The truth was, these were thoughts he'd had for a long time. It was just the first time someone said it to him word for word.
At the end of all his turmoil, only the uncertainty of God remained. Therefore, he repeatedly tried to erase those thoughts.
Ran looked up. It seemed as if Asriel was watching him from behind the dull, overcast sky.
Under God, man was still weak.
* * *
Word reached Rel as well. A messenger dispatched urgently from Gerinhild delivered the bad news to Lady Camus.
'Inquisitor Ran. That mad dog actually did it??'
Her aunt Viola was also in the drawing room. Even after hearing the news, Viola looked indifferent, as if deep in thought.
Camus quietly observed her aunt's expression.
The messenger departed, urging Camus to issue a wanted order immediately.
"The crown prince was assassinated... I—I can't believe it."
The butler Toby's lips trembled. An event too unimaginable to comprehend had taken place.
"If it's inquisitor Ran, that mad dog we know, right? The one who caused a ruckus with the executioner Walter?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Oh my goodness."
Camus lifted her teacup. She calmed her mind. There was something she had to do now—something her aunt had told her in advance.
'I never thought it would really come to this.'
The only difference was that it was the crown prince who was assassinated, not the emperor. Shocking, either way.
'Would Zima the dog seller—or perhaps his hunting dog—make a move?'
So it was Ran.
It still didn't feel real. She did not issue the wanted order immediately. She waited for Viola to speak.
"They're here."
Viola spoke, eyes still closed. Only three people were in the drawing room—Camus, Viola, and Toby.
Toby asked,
"Pardon? What do you mean, aunt?"
Viola simply pointed toward the window with a finger.
Camus and Toby turned their heads to follow her gesture.
"Uwaaah!"
Both recoiled in shock.
There was a person at the huge window. As soon as their eyes met, the intruder also started and nearly lost their footing.
"Wh-Who—who is that?"
No one had ever broken into the estate in the family's history. Camus was so stunned she couldn't even call for help and merely froze.
"Let him in."
"Pardon? Who is that person?"
Meanwhile, the intruder barely regained their balance.
"Wa-wait. I've seen that uniform somewhere..."
Toby covered his mouth. Then, he remembered.
"Special Unit uniform!"
It was rare to see anyone from the Special Unit or inquisitors in Rel. Ran and Walter had been unusual exceptions. If the intruder were wearing a mask, they would have realized it instantly.
Toby glanced at Camus—when she nodded, he cautiously approached the window.
'He—he's not going to do anything, right?'
As soon as the window was opened, a crash rang out. Ran toppled inside and, in his confusion, knocked Toby over beneath him.
"S-save me! My lady!"
At the scream, Ran hurriedly got up.
Toby quickly stood as well, hiding behind Camus and clutching her skirt.
The two remained extremely wary.
"Don't get the wrong idea! I... I had no choice..."
Ran showed both his palms in a calming gesture.
Camus and Toby stared wide-eyed, jaws agape.
They spoke at once.
"Mad dog Ran?"
"? Yes."
Camus and Toby caught their breath and froze.
They still clearly remembered him and Walter conducting a witch hunt in the middle of Rel's plaza.
Even the inquisitor's blush, as if embarrassed, was scandalous to them.
"So, you've come, young mercenary. Somehow, I expected as much."
Viola stood and walked over to Ran.
Their tangled past from before flashed through Ran's mind, and he averted his gaze.
"Uh, this?."
He fumbled as if trying to excuse himself, then took something out and held it out.
It was the pendant Zima had told him to show Viola.
Viola glanced at it briefly with her eyes.
An emotion that was hard to describe appeared on her face.
"Aunt??"
Camus, reading the mood, asked anxiously. Ran and Toby also fell silent.
Viola composed herself.
"First, we need to see the inheritance Zima left behind. The rest can wait."
Ran's previously dazed gaze regained its focus.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】