Chapter 96: Resurrection of the Dead (3)
“No, it wasn’t the wrong expression, was it? Because Mr. Zeraphe wouldn’t have been able to survive without Gale’s help.”
Elwin said, blinking his eyes with pure innocence.
“Why are you so angry? Gale.”
“Eeeeeek-! This insolent brat! The Chairman’s analogy was spot on, absolutely spot on! A very polite ruffian! No, now even the modifier ‘polite’ doesn’t seem to fit!?”
Gale, pounding his chest in frustration at the grumbling Elwin, yelled out.
“What polite gentleman suddenly turns a young bachelor with a bright future into a widower with a child! I haven’t even gotten married yeeet-!”
As Gale shouted, almost as if in a scream, Elwin awkwardly scratched his cheek.
“Haha, I’m sorry. It was just a joke, you know? Please calm down.”
“Enough! Apologies with just words are meaningless. Meaningless.”
Gale snorted forcefully.
“Ah, right. Then… shall I do it like Mr. Dalton Pactio? Since Gale likes money.”
Rummaging around, Elwin searched his subspace and pulled out a heavy pouch.
Sensing something out of the ordinary, Gale showed a slight interest.
“Gale. Would this be enough for your anger to subside?”
“Please work me like a dog.”
Gale’s expression softened upon confirming the glittering gold bars. His hands clasped together respectfully, and his back naturally bowed.
Gale Garav, he was a man thoroughly steeped in capitalism.
“Gale is already my dog. Because I hired him.”
“Woof woof woof! Grrrr!”
“……”
Watching the comedic exchange between the two, Zeraphe Gnaude felt his mind grow distant.
‘Why am I here? …Why do I have to be here?’
He almost wished he could return to that strange space from before.
Elwin’s gaze fell on Zeraphe, who was sitting there like a forgotten bundle.
“Oh, my apologies. I kept our guest waiting.”
“……It’s nothing. You are my saviors.”
The boy before him, who had introduced himself as ‘Lewin’, had saved Zeraphe Gnaude.
Although his height had been halved, and his appearance had changed as if he had rejuvenated.
‘This appearance… is it from when I was about 10?’
He honestly didn’t know how, but when he first opened his eyes, those two had been in front of Zeraphe, so there must have been some connection.
“How is your body feeling?”
“……Couldn’t be better.”
It was true. He wondered if he had ever felt this energetic in his life.
And what was this powerful mana enveloping his entire body?
Zeraphe Gnaude’s original innate mana affinity was ‘Ice’.
It was an affinity completely at odds with the Gnaude tribe, who dealt with tree roots and plants, which was why he had received special treatment within the tribe as a child.
‘For the Manticore’s liberation, my original mana affinity was taken in the deal with the Dark Sect…’
But what was this. Currently, mana of a completely different affinity, neither the Dark affinity obtained from the deal with the Dark Sect nor his original Ice affinity, was flowing through his body.
“You must be curious. How I saved Mr. Zeraphe, who was ‘eaten’ by the Manticore, and why I went to the trouble of reviving you. And…”
The boy smiled, his eyes crinkling, and pointed to himself.
“Just who is this person, me, who casually commits such acts.”
“……You’re right. To be honest, I don’t understand any of the situation surrounding me right now.”
Zeraphe confessed honestly.
‘I remember seeing that gray-haired man. He was a Hunter exam applicant. He was also there during the decisive battle with the Manticore.’
But who on earth was this blond boy? This was their absolute first meeting.
‘He’s an extraordinary individual.’
But Zeraphe could tell. That boy was no ordinary person.
‘The flow of mana surrounding him is unusual.’
If it had been the original him… him, a genius among mediocrities, a mediocrity among geniuses, he might have found it hard to notice.
But for some reason, the flow of ambient mana was clearly visible to Zeraphe’s current eyes.
Lies or vague excuses would not work.
“To get straight to the point, I revived you to use you. Mr. Zeraphe, you’re from the Gnaude tribe, aren’t you? The one with the unique trait called Sacrifice Devouring.”
“……! You know… about our tribe?”
Zeraphe’s pupils trembled violently. The secret of the Gnaude tribe was known only to their tribe members for generations!
Zeraphe had betrayed and left the tribe, but he hadn’t gone around blabbering about the tribe’s secrets.
He had betrayed the tribe to save Prie, but his love for the tribe still remained unchanged.
“I know.”
Therefore, for the boy before him to know the secret the Gnaude tribe had tried so hard to protect was… extremely surprising!
It meant that someone from the tribe had divulged their secret to an outsider.
“The Gnaude tribe, by being ‘eaten’ as a sacrifice, grants powerful strength to the one who consumes them, correct?”
“……That’s right.”
But now was not the time to question him about it. Zeraphe was not in a position to do so either.
To his quiet affirmation, Gale asked bluntly.
“Then how did that guy survive? That fellow, he was eaten by the Manticore, wasn’t he? Nom nom, gulp.”
Gale continued speaking with his usual flippant attitude, but the air around him had become noticeably heavier.
“This old man here is curious too, you know. You suddenly brought me here asking for help, then told me to pour my mana into some bright red pebble.”
“……Pebble?”
Zeraphe muttered, unsure. Gale chuckled as if it were ridiculous and said.
“Yeah. Then suddenly, a dazzling radiance poured out of that pebble, and ta-da-! And then.”
Gale playfully poked Zeraphe Gnaude’s forehead repeatedly.
Zeraphe swatted Gale’s finger away as soon as it touched him. Gale shrugged nonchalantly.
“There you were. Looking like a 10-year-old.”
Gale’s gaze was far from friendly, to put it mildly.
It was because he had faced a near-death experience in the Labyrinth due to Zeraphe’s atrocities.
“I don’t know what’s what, but I guess I helped save that guy, right? I think I have a right to know too. Brat. Don’t you think so?”
“I was planning to tell you even if you didn’t press me.”
Tap, tap, Elwin tapped the desk surface and said.
“The Gnaude tribe’s trait, Sacrifice Devouring. I used that trait in reverse.”
“In reverse?”
“……?”
When Gale and Zeraphe looked bewildered, Elwin slowly explained.
This was information that had appeared in 「LAMPAS」.
The Gnaude tribe, by becoming a ‘sacrifice’ and being devoured, strengthened their consumer.
When sacrificed, a Gnaude tribe member either became a dry, dead tree or turned into a round stone.
“However, that doesn’t mean there’s no way to save a sacrificed Gnaude tribe member.”
First, one had to kill the opponent who became stronger by devouring the Gnaude tribe member, then retrieve the heart, the part where mana congregates.
“I eliminated the Manticore and obtained two spoils of war, one of which was the Manticore’s core. And in that core, besides the Manticore’s mana, your soul and body, Mr. Zeraphe, were dissolved.”
“……!!”
Over that ‘core’, one had to pour Light or Holy affinity mana.
Light and Holy affinity mana, being the purest among all existing mana, could restore the dissolved soul and body to their original state.
Of course, the unique nature of the Gnaude tribe also played a part in making such a workaround possible.
“That’s why I joked at first that Gale was Mr. Zeraphe’s father.”
If Gale hadn’t removed the Manticore’s foul and corrupted mana, Zeraphe Gnaude would never have been able to revive from the ‘devoured state’.
The person who helped him exist fully in the world again.
If that person wasn’t a ‘parent’, what else could they be?
“Anyway, after going through the purification process I mentioned, a Gnaude tribe member devoured as a sacrifice can be saved!”
Moreover, a Gnaude tribe member revived in this way would gain a new ability, which was…
“They can make the power of the opponent who ate them, their own.”
“……!! Don’t tell me, does that mean……?!”
Zeraphe stood up abruptly from his seat in shock.
Elwin smiled brightly and said.
“Mr. Zeraphe, it means you have now inherited the Manticore’s power.”
At that moment, thrilling goosebumps spread all over Zeraphe’s body.
The awe and fear he had felt when he first faced the Manticore were still vivid.
Zeraphe repeatedly opened and clenched his hand.
‘I have such power?’
He couldn’t believe it. He was dumbfounded, but there was no time to dwell deeper on his emotions.
“The reason I awakened you, Mr. Zeraphe. I’ll tell you about that as well.”
Elwin continued the conversation in a serious tone. Zeraphe focused on his words.
“Currently, Depicio is planning to resurrect the Beastkin King.”
“The Be, Beastkin King? That’s… the aspiration of the Gnaude tribe, not Depicio’s objective, is it?”
But Elwin shook his head firmly.
“No. It’s related. Depicio’s grand cause is… to erase the Batevil Kingdom and establish a kingdom solely for demi-humans in its place. They’re trying to resurrect the Beastkin King for that purpose.”
“……!”
“You know, don’t you? Sometimes, the presence or absence of powerful strength acts as a coercive force.”
No LAMPASian could be unaware. The existing Top Hunters were killing the Geoma that endlessly revived on each continent, acting as a deterrent to prevent intercontinental conflicts.
Therefore, it could be seen as a plausible idea… perhaps.
‘Overthrowing a nation?’
Zeraphe felt dizzy. His weak mind found it hard to bear the harshness of that phrase.
In fact, he had guessed as far as the Beastkin King’s revival, but he had considered it an impossible wish anyway.
But listening to the boy, didn’t it seem like his sibling was smoothly progressing with both overthrowing the nation and reviving the Beastkin King?
“Is that… even possible?”
Unlike monsters sealed in distant antiquity, the Beastkin King had been clearly ‘defeated’ by a Top Hunter.
His limbs were severed, his head cut off and hung on the castle gate, and the scattered pieces of his body were fed to wild beasts.
Moreover, about 500 years had passed since the Beastkin King’s death!
“There wouldn’t even be any remains of his body.”
Wasn’t it completely absurd?
“……Well.”
However, Elwin thought differently.
Apart from what he knew about the original work, he believed that having no body was not an issue at all.
If there was no body… couldn’t one be made?
“Now, it’s time for me to tell you about myself.”
Elwin gracefully rose from his seat and placed a hand on his heart. Then he gave a light bow.
“Allow me to introduce myself again.”
A Hunter’s greeting, signifying a pledge to contribute to humanity, with a hand on the heart, where mana gathers.
“I am Lewin Legisel, Vice-Commander of Spero, an organization directly under the Top Hunter of Yellow.”
“The Top Hunter of… Yellow!?”
As Zeraphe’s eyes widened as if they would pop out, Gale, who was a little distance away, tutted.
Then he muttered inwardly, ‘Another victim of the brat’s blackmail and fraud has appeared.’
“He recognized Depicio’s atrocities starting from Mediale, and subsequently dispatched us. To stop Depicio, we need your help, Mr. Zeraphe.”
Then Elwin made a proposal.
“If you help us… I will save your lover. With Gale’s help over there, she can be saved.”
“I earnestly ask for your help!”
Zeraphe didn’t hesitate and immediately grabbed Elwin’s hand.
But he soon hesitated and added.
“Bu-…… But, will a dull-witted mage like myself truly be of any help?”
When Zeraphe spoke uncertainly, Elwin gave a slight smile.
“I wouldn’t know if it were the old you, but the current you is more than enough.”
Elwin affirmed in a confident tone.
This was because Zeraphe Gnaude, who had been ‘eaten’ by the Manticore and then resurrected, was an officially recognized powerhouse character in 「LAMPAS」.