Chapter: 182
Kalion’s capital, Idrenhill, is respected not for political reasons but for emotional significance.
Kalion’s political system consists of a loose federation that guarantees perfect autonomy for each island region. Therefore, one cannot expect a single administrative power. The affiliated islands were rather close to a feudal warlord system.
Thus, the term ‘capital’ sounds ridiculous. It is merely a nominal island with no administrative bodies wielding influence domestically.
Except for the Eternal Palace.
In reality, its history does not stretch to eternity. If traced back to the Age of Myths, it would be around four thousand years. According to the oldest records from the times history exists, it was about two thousand five hundred years.
The reason the Eternal Palace is called ‘eternal’ lies elsewhere: the heart of the palace, the most strictly regulated inner garden.
An area far too vast to be called inner garden. A magnificent basin occupying the very center of the island, with the forest above it, Silmerian Well. In human language, ‘Forest of Stars’.
Each tree in this forest is an ancient ancestor. A place where elves, who have become shrubs after a thousand years, take root. All those trees are intertwined and bound beneath the ground over time, making the forest itself a single entity of life.
Thus, the common name of Silmerian Well was as follows.
World Tree.
The trees in this forest, these great ancestors, have lived and breathed through at least ten thousand years of history since the times they were alive. Hence, it is the Eternal Palace, and all the time accumulated in this forest is deemed equal to the world, thus referred to as World Tree.
Therefore, Idrenhill is called the capital not for political reasons, but for emotional ones.
Because it is the holy land where all elves’ ancestors sleep.
And so, since history began, when the first winter faced by Kalion arrived.
“Hey… senior…? This scenery feels a bit familiar…?”
In the scenery of the holy land, the Cleanup Unit felt a deep sense of déjà vu.
*
Let us rewind a moment to the time they infiltrated the Eternal Palace.
Climbing over the outer walls of the Eternal Palace was not difficult. At Ivan’s gesture, the agents threw their grappling hooks in unison.
Thump Clang, the hooks accurately lodged themselves into the gun ports of the outer gallery of the Eternal Palace. It was done without a single error.
As Ivan clenched his fist in mid-air, the agents silently ascended the ropes. The soft footsteps against the wall were drowned in the storm. Their movements were like shadows due to their dark clothing.
“Wow….”
Elpheira, who was on Ivan’s back, quietly marveled.
The wind rustled the coat. The coat, fluttering violently, resembled a flag. Thirty soldiers were preparing for the Eternal Palace.
After the last member climbed to the castle wall, he reached out and shook twice.
Position secured. Confirmed.
A brief signal was exchanged as Ivan stamped the ground. He did not hook his grappling line. With his fingertips pressed to a tiny crack in the outer wall, he began to crawl up.
Huff, as he let out a deep breath, a white vapor followed. His breath formed a trail. A warm breath drew a long line as Ivan stepped on the edge of the gallery.
“Team 3.”
At Ivan’s gesture, six men raised their heads.
“Secure the exit. Team 2, seize the outer wall and search. Team 4 to 3 o’clock, and Team 5 to 9 o’clock. And Dmitri.”
“Yes, senior.”
“Follow with Team 1. We’re providing support. Kalion standard time 2100. The operation limit is 360. The retreat assembly point is Kalion Port 1.”
There was no reply. No one here was less than superhuman.
Trained agents could hear the flutter of a butterfly’s wings even in a storm. And every agent present was sufficiently well-trained by Ivan’s standards.
No sooner had Ivan’s words ended than the agents dispersed silently.
For a moment, Elpheira, who was watching the scene with her eyes wide, whispered.
“Don’t you do that?”
“Huh?”
“Lucky charms. You know, before special operations, saluting the agents.”
“Trained agents do not believe in luck.”
If an operation can be swayed by luck, then it should never have been formed in the first place. The objective must be clear, the target simple, and the process resolute.
At Ivan’s answer, Elpheira exclaimed “Oh” and hugged his neck tightly.
“Is the meditation over?”
“I’ve sort of gathered my thoughts now.”
Elpheira replied softly, closing her eyes.
As they approached the Eternal Palace, it felt as if a stone had been placed on her chest. Breathing became difficult. Let alone mana.
The mana concentration in the atmosphere was already unprecedentedly dense. It felt almost like swimming underwater.
However, the mana she could wield was not even a handful. The atmospheric mana was rejecting her, no, the elf.
She opened her eyes slightly and surveyed the surroundings from Ivan’s back.
The sanctum built for the elves’ history was rejecting elves more violently than anything else in this world. It felt as if there was hatred, petulantly furious paranoia.
Thus, she was shaking like a boat with torn sails.
In this cold winter, there was nothing to cling to but the lone warmth.
Ivan’s back was broad, warm, and solid. She buried her head into him with all her might.
*
The path towards the inner garden was completely empty. Even listening carefully, there was no sign of life. This was strange. In such a vast royal palace, there should be at least a runner.
The agents, including Ivan, moved cautiously, keeping an eye in different directions.
In the dark night, the lightless royal palace restricted visibility.
A storm was raging in the sky, with hail hitting the windows and walls, restricting sound.
The dense flow of mana restricted mana detection.
Ivan suddenly felt that this situation was somewhat familiar and frowned. It felt like entering the Demon Realm.
Meanwhile, an agent scanning the front raised a fist and drew his gun.
He extended two fingers and drew a horizontal line. [Movement detected].
Ivan nodded and quickly gestured. The agents unfurled according to his signals.
“Commander, we need to check this.”
An agent who had been probing the front returned with a serious expression. Ivan nodded briefly and followed him down the darkened corridor.
Soon, he spotted a writhing silhouette with his own eyes. He tightened his grip on his gun.
The agent beside him illuminated the area. Clang, a military mana lamp lit up the front. And—
“Ugh—.”
Elpheira, who was on Ivan’s back, quickly turned her head and covered her mouth. Fortunately, she did not throw up.
Ivan’s gaze was fixed on the writhing form on the ground.
There was a corpse. Judging by the clothes, it belonged to a servant; the species was elf, female. Height 168cm.
Without saying a word, Ivan pulled a dagger from his belt. Pushing aside the writhing forms, he briefly examined the corpse.
Judging by the rigidity, death was estimated to have occurred approximately three hours ago. The cause of death—
“Drowned.”
Water filled her lungs.
“Isn’t that a Deep Sea Leech?”
“That’s right.”
“Why…?”
The black creatures gnawing at the corpse were deep sea leeches. Almost as thick as forearms, they wriggled in unison, greedily devouring the corpse.
One of the leeches turned its mouth toward Ivan’s foot. Ivan quickly stabbed the head of the leech with his dagger and stood up.
At that moment, all the leeches turned their heads toward Ivan in unison.
“Who is controlling this…?”
“I can’t be sure, but this isn’t an environment conducive to magic usage.”
The density of mana in the atmosphere had exceeded the acceptable levels. The saturated mana had reached a point where magic usage was significantly restricted.
Ivan was not proficient in magic. However, he was familiar with comprehending magic in a tactical context.
Mages can be thought of as a type of internal combustion engine. They are delicate mechanisms that must be fueled appropriately to operate. They gather mana from the atmosphere, manipulate it within their bodies, and produce output.
Therefore, this environment can hardly be deemed a problem exclusive to elves. Human mages would also be unable to control their magic in such an environment. Just igniting a small spark could unleash a fireball.
In such a situation, casting a complex spell to control monsters, especially from outside the detection range of Ivan and his agents… Well, who knows.
It would be no different from surfing on a tidal wave.
If the balance falters even once, they would plunge directly into the abyss.
Ivan quickly organized the leeches looking at him and turned his body. The agents followed his gestures.
“Are you okay?”
“Y-yes… Ugh….”
“You don’t have to force yourself to use magic.”
Ivan comforted the panting Elpheira on his back. Her value lay in interpretation rather than magic.
In a situation where a magical disaster was unfolding, a person well-versed in magic was needed. Just as he had brought Elpheira along for the exploration of the Krasilov Underground Ruins.
However, Elpheira shook her head slightly.
“Don’t say that. I’m a Grykencos.”
“Excellent.”
Ivan proceeded with satisfaction.
*
As they got closer to the inner garden, more corpses became visible. The size and number of leeches covering the corpses increased.
Elpheira was now gripping his neck tightly, almost choking, and was sobbing.
Ivan looked at Dmitri in the windless storm, which blew solely from mana.
“Senior.”
Dmitri, tightening his fluttering coat, looked at Ivan with a tense expression.
“This feels a bit familiar…?”
The door leading to the back had been encased in ice. The entire corridor resembled a freezer. The corpses were frozen in a posture as if reaching towards the back.
Above them, leeches munched and crunched, gnawing at the corpses. The sound came from everywhere.
Among the frozen bodies, the agents looked at Ivan with anxious eyes. Ivan met their gazes and nodded.
“Yeah.”
The oversaturation of mana blocked the magic of everyone except those he permitted.
Regardless of the season or climate, the distorted atmospheric phenomena could cause disasters solely from mana.
“It’s similar to the King of the Seven Dragon Lords.”
“Does that make it the god of leeches?”
“Let’s investigate.”
Ivan tightened his grip on the axe in his hand. The tendons bulged like snakes, and like a flash of light, the axe brushed past the frozen door.
Crash—. A shockwave echoed through the corridor as if an earthquake had struck. The bodies standing like statues shattered, and the leeches tumbled to the ground.
As Ivan brushed away the ice shards, he raised the axe once more.
Crash—
*
“Look—!! Look at that!!”
At Rundis’s shout, Oswald coughed and looked up. They had just barely managed to escape the Idrenhill waters.
The massive waves that had seemed ready to smash their ship suddenly calmed. They were still in a snowstorm, but the state of the sea was much more pleasant than before.
Oswald turned his head at Rundis’s gesture.
“What is that—??!”
At his low groan, everyone in the party turned to the rear. Soon, they were able to see the same spectacle.
Following the route they had passed, the distant Idrenhill. Below the dimly blinking lighthouse of the harbor—
“The waves have frozen…?”
The gargantuan tidal wave, which seemed set to destroy the harbor, had come to a standstill, like a still life.
Lucia shook her head and squinted her eyes. The vampire could see well in the dark. Even in this darkness, it was not difficult to discern objects with even a small light.
She gazed blankly at the frozen waves and let out a small groan.
“The sea has frozen….”
In an instant.
“The entire Idrenhill waters. Ah, no—.”
She quickly climbed the lookout tower. After slipping a few times in the snow-covered tower, she finally found her footing like a performer.
With a somewhat prayerful heart, she looked toward Idrenhill. And below, she focused on the faintly glowing water surface.
The direction of the waves appeared skewed.
The sea was converging toward Idrenhill. Spiraling around it.
It seemed to resemble a part of a gigantic magic circle. It was frozen as if the radial range had dropped sharply from Idrenhill. The lumpy waves stood still, forming a strange pattern with the blue waves.
“Let’s leave quickly. Quickly!!”
“But there’s an elder over there…!”
“Are you out of your mind?! What do you think we can do by going there ourselves?! Don’t you remember the last words of the deceased?”
Gather and surround Idrenhill with the central forces.
Recalling those words, Rundis stiffened her expression and lowered her head.
“Everyone, move quickly!! Evelyn!!”
“Yes, y-yes?!”
“Rustfits, report this properly to Lady Rustfits! How long will it take?!”
“If we go by sea, it’ll take about half a day…!”
Half a day.
Gathering the troops and moving again would take at least two more days. Watching the massive glaciers expanding by the moment, Lucia bit her lip.
Praying that within that frozen wave, the heart of Idrenhill was still habitable.
*
“Betrayal already. How swift.”
Veolgrin smiled bitterly.
“Did you really trust me, Veolgrin Grykencos?”
Betrayal is a word that is only appropriate in a relationship of mutual trust. Their relationship should have been more economical than that. They had joined hands not out of trust but based on utility.
Veolgrin’s fingertips were turning icy. The mighty mana of Milestone was converging to a single point.
“Thanks to you, half of the central authorities were deceived by your name, and that grand plan to utilize Milestone would not have succeeded if it weren’t for you.”
“…”
“Your fatal mistake was merely that you didn’t realize how much more depraved your kind could be. I offer my condolences.”
Veolgrin was frozen in place, still smiling. In front of him, who had become silent with no response, Alexander burst into laughter.
“For the world’s most powerful mage, what a pathetic end, haha!!”
Veolgrin was too powerful. So powerful that even his kin had to be wary of him.
Under the queen’s command, he deceived the central authorities. Silently contacting each one, he added subordinates to Milestone.
When all the central council members began to make use of Milestone, Alexander had only offered one hand.
If Veolgrin nurtured other intentions, he could demand retribution for the crime of owning Milestone, and as for Veolgrin, he was a person who could easily cleanse them, severing ties like cutting off a tail.
If permitted, Alexander would personally strap a leash onto Veolgrin.
Every Milestone had been utilized in various ways within each academy. They utilized techniques accumulated over thousands of years without restraint, testing the limits of their species’ potential.
Thus, twelve concepts were assembled.
Methods to control other races, including magical creatures.
Methods to generate divine power by compressing souls.
Methods to forcibly accelerate neural activity to manipulate relative time.
Ways to restore mana through elemental destruction.
Ways to manipulate memories and dominate minds on a species-wide scale.
…And.
“The winter long postponed for millennia.”
The raging storm grew progressively colder. Ivan’s breath was visibly freezing, rolling across the deck.
“The souls of a race that have endured millennia and have become one.”
All of this converges to give birth to the fifth god upon the earth. Not an imprisoned and scattered, imperfect deity, but a truly conceived god of pure ideals from the very bottom up.
With this, the scales will tip. The balance will falter. The most powerful force of the United Kingdom, its axis will crumble.
“It is your merit, Veolgrin. Now, observe.”
Locked eternally in the frozen abyss, witness the end of your kind with your own eyes.
Alexander kicked and pushed the ice-encased Veolgrin. The ice pillar sank into the water in an instant.
Frozen with a smile, he lay still.
*
Clang.
A hand moved the Queen in the darkness.
Clang.
Veolgrin moved the knight without hesitation.
