Chapter 181
『Translator: RainTL』
༺ Contact (1) ༻
The dark underground was occupied by citizens who could see no light.
Dana Shee - an underground city created by Dagda Mor, the Danann of Earth, in the distant past.
This enormous underground city, which had been made for fairies, was now the hiding spot of demi-humans who gathered in the city to escape persecution.
-Clomp, clomp
At the center of that underground world was a large temple-like building. It was a temple at the start - a temple built by the fairies to make offerings to the Danann of Earth who created the underworld of Dana Shee for them.
Walking down the corridor, faintly lit by torches, the feline lady soon arrived at a room with numerous people, which she could see with her nocturnal eyes.
“Wolf and Vampire. Even the Fairy elders were waiting.”
“We’ve been waiting for you, Illusan.”
Ednar glanced across the wide conference room. This temple, which used to host hundreds of believers at once, only had roughly 30 people.
The conferences held here were organized to direct the new pathway of the Demi-Human Union, so they had to choose their members with caution, but this was still fewer than normal.
“Looks like we’re missing a few.”
“They’re dead. They were helping kids escape the Deadland and did not pass the Full Moon.”
Deadland… referred to Xeruem, the Chapel of the Old Faith. Demi-human hunts were still taking place away from the eyes of the New Faith and the royal family within the outskirts of the kingdom.
“More rules have been coming into place against discrimination but these guys are acting like there’s no tomorrow. This is a bad omen.”
An old fairy Leprechaun shared their assumption alongside a lament. He managed a small shoe repair shop in the village but was the oldest fairy and was therefore the Chief Elder of Mound.
“Is it the Serpent again?”
“...Yeah.”
Serpent - that title was used inside Mound as both a derogatory and frightening term. Countless numbers of their comrades had been captured at the Deadlands and ripped apart by the Serpent.
“Damn, that little snake… We should’ve killed her back then.”
A black dog growled from the crowd of the wolf and dog beastmen. However, the few who knew of the backstory simply sighed in response.
“...”
A wolf with lustrous silver fur, the Wolf Elder of beastmen, Ku Shee, knew that this agenda was a negative one for him and kept his silence. That was when the Vampire Elder scoffed at him.
“All thanks to those little doggies that ruined everything 'cause of the Full Moon.”
“What? Glaistig…! Are you picking a fight with me right now!?”
The provocative statement of a vampire, a rival faction, incited the wolves and the dogs. The Chief Elder of Mound did not wish for a fight between the top two factions of Mound and intervened in their conversation.
“Stop there. Blaming the past won’t get us anywhere. This too is one of our mistakes, and a sin we must wear on our shoulders.”
Ednar didn’t bother commenting. The rage that formed due to that mistake that day was what had been scorching them for a decade.
“As you all probably know already, the New Faith has been going through some serious changes.”
Before talking about him, Ednar first shared what was going on around the world.
“...Right. The Saintess massacred the pope and the cardinals.”
“Wasn’t the Saintess… a supporter of peace?”
“I can’t believe that girl smashed the pope and the cardinals to death.”
The Saintess’ rampage, which immediately changed the power structure of the New Faith was also a concern for Mound. Ever since the Witch Revolution 100 years ago, the Zeon Order had acted as a shield for demi-humans against open persecution.
For the citizens of Dana Shee, who were only alive thanks to the permission of the Zeon Order, it was a concerning matter that they simply could not ignore.
“...Considering how she was, the Saintess should be on our side though?”
Ku Shee opened his mouth for the first time in the conference. He was perhaps one of the ones who benefited the most from the help of the Saintess, and despite him looking down on most humans, he did not do the same for the Saintess.
“The Saintess is not the problem. What’s important is that the Zeon Order is being cleaned out. Cardinals and bishops alike.”
“...Don’t tell me…”
“We found traces of Bishop Gress - the one who we had been supporting to become the next cardinal, fleeing to the Chapel of Xeruem.”
“...”
Everyone became silent just like Ku Shee.
Only a few people of the Zeon Order knew of Mound, the union located in Dana Shee. The pope, the Saintess, the cardinals… and a very small number of bishops. Unfortunately, Bishop Gress was one of those few bishops.
“That’s massive trouble! If Bishop Gress speaks a word about Dana Shee…!”
“It will go into the ears of the Serpent.”
The elders of Mound could not conceal their distress. Ever since that incident, the Serpent had been indiscriminately hunting their comrades in search of them.
Everyone in Mound knew upon seeing her irrationally stubborn hatred, that a conflict against the Serpent would not end until one of them disappeared from the face of this planet.
The silence in the room of sighs and lamentations was broken by Ednar’s sentence.
“What if there was a way out of this?”
“What do you mean?”
Ednar decided to share his message, earlier than scheduled. This was a very risky gamble.
“Korin Lork. He reached out to me.”
Which side would they decide to stand with, she wondered.
『Tell them to elect a head of the union, Fairy King Finvarra. It’s an old tradition but that shoe-making fairy should know it.』
『We can lend you a hand if you wish. Join us for the new world.』
Korin Lork and a Sage of the Forest, who had contacted them quite some time ago. Whoever they decided to side with, Ednar knew that it would lead to an earth-shattering change.
***
I recalled the fight I had against Tates Valtazar.
『Not bad! A bit faster this time!』
A repetition of Rearing Head of the Venomous Dragon and consistent use of the Domain. Each and every one of his actions was an eye-opening enlightenment.
『Don’t be overly conceited with the Domain. It’s not an invincible, overpowered technique. Repeated entry into the Domain sounds great, but there is always a little gap before the activation and reactivation.』
He commented, treating the Domain, which was the end goal of many warriors, as nothing more than a standard technique.
His strides; the way he held his spear; his sense of balance shifting with each strike and his artistic control over the weapon.
It was an overwhelming defeat, not only in terms of physical stats but also in terms of control over the spear. I had met countless powerhouses until now, but I had only seen three people aside from him who dominated me in martial arts.
Sword Emperor, Garrand Arden.
King of Beauty, Eochaid Bres.
And…
“Don’t lose your focus.”
Slam!
The spear stabbed through the gap in my consciousness. Despite the non-lethalizing spell cast on the spear, the stab was still a heavy blow to my vitals.
“Kuhk…!”
My body powerlessly crumbled down. I instinctively protected my head to avoid concussion, but I could not breathe due to the stab to my solar plexus.
“Korin…!”
The last thing I saw was the Master hurriedly running towards me after seeing me fall. Now that I think about it, I had never beaten Master a single time until the very end…
………
……
…
There was a soft feeling behind my head. It felt like I was resting my head on someone else. When I opened my eyes, I found Master looking down at me from straight above.
“How long was I out for?”
“Around 8 seconds.”
“You should have just left me be.”
“How could I do that to you?”
She said while stroking my forehead with her soft hands. It was still unbelievable how she was one of the strongest spearmen, despite having such soft baby hands.
“More importantly, does it still hurt? I unconsciously put in too much power.”
“I think you’re being too generous to me, Master. You should be more strict.”
“Fufu. Has the me in the future ever scolded you?”
“Hmm… I don’t think so.”
“Of course~. Why would I need to be strict to such a wonderful and magnificent disciple?”
“...”
It may be nothing new, but this person… is way too doting.
I had never heard anything negative or been scolded by her in my life.
“But still~, why don’t you try pretending to be angry at least?”
“Hmm…”
She looked perplexed after hearing that. After rolling her hand, which was on my forehead, into a fist, she glanced back and forth between me and her fist before finally making a tough choice.
“Gyaooh…”
Kong!
Master said as she gently pressed my forehead with her fist.
“...What was that?”
Master embarrassedly shrunk a little in response to my question. She let out an empty cough to chase away the embarrassment but following that was a timid whisper.
“A, a tiger?”
Was she trying to mimic a tiger just then?
“Hahaha…”
It was more like a cat than a tiger… a cat soaked in water, at that.
“Ughh…”
Master twitched her toes around, which made my head shake from the top of her lap. She could not straighten her back and her shoulders and instead shifted the topic to a different question.
“B, by the way, what were you thinking about the whole time?”
“The fight against Tates.”
“Ah…”
“He might be an enemy, but I have to admit it. He’s strong. Both in pure power and skill… I would need to improve a lot more to fight him on equal grounds.”
“I’m sure you can do it.”
I had been dominated despite the 740% amplification. Considering how that was only possible thanks to Dun Scaith, Dumnorix and Eochaid Bres also being present… it would be much less than that in the actual final battle.
‘The gap in our stats would drop if I make use of his Precept but…’
Physical stats isn’t the only difference in our caliber.
“His strength is in his terrifying proficiency of spearmanship and…”
“He possesses an otherworldly talent. Calling it simply ‘talent’ wouldn’t be enough.”
Honestly, the difference between Tates and Master’s spearmanship wasn’t that big. There was only a slight gap between their proficiency in spearmanship but…
“I would probably lose a hundred out of a hundred fights. We only won 80 years ago thanks to Clara’s help.”
“What… exactly is it? I’ve seen Sword Emperor Garrand fight before, and I got a similar feeling from that when I was fighting Tates.”
“Do you know there’s a difference between being strong and being victorious?”
“...Is this about psychology?”
Master shook her head and replied.
“Sometimes, very rarely in the annals of history, there are beings that are born simply to fight.
“The Danann of Light, Lugh, who contended against Balor the King of Titans, the killer of the Previous God King Nuada, would be one such example.
“A mysterious talent to defeat a foe that should logically be undefeatable. An otherworldly talent that surpasses any difference in strength and technique - the fortune of victory. There are people who are born with the destiny of winning as if the entire era wants to give them victory as a gift.”
I… heard something similar before. From Sword Emperor Garrand Arden, Sword Master Lunia Arden… as well as from the previous iteration’s Master.
“You are also in possession of that disparate talent. Think back on your fights. Have you ever overwhelmed your opponent in any of your battles?”
“For most of them… no.”
For all my fights, I prepared myself as much as I could. There was the support from my Precepts, and I always strived to gather everything that would let me come out victorious. That was how I was able to win.
“Whether it be power, weapon, geographical location or fortune… There’s the talent of being able to pour everything into the sole purpose of victory—”
—The talent of victory.
That was what she added.
“Right now, you might be weak and inadequate. However, I can tell you for sure, that you have the destined talent of a hero. And your talents aren’t any worse than Tates’.”
“That doesn’t… feel real though.”
I used to be a normal person on Earth, living a life far from violence.
Do I really possess a talent like that?
“Whatever the case, I need to awaken my talents as soon as possible, because I will be fighting against him in the near future.”
“Is that how it went in the future you’ve experienced?”
“...Yes.”
The unforgettable nightmare of you saving me with your life as the price.
“Dear child, my beloved disciple. Your Master will protect you no matter the cost. I have no doubts that your talents will bloom and that you will continue my legacy—”
I lifted my fingers and pinched Master on her nose.
“W, what was that?!”
“I told you not to say anything like that.”
“Uht… B, but I’m your Master…”
“If you keep saying that, I won’t even treat you like my Master.”
“T, that’s a mean thing to say.”
I pondered while looking at her reddened nose. This person was always so eager to sacrifice herself and I didn’t like that.
“You’re the one being mean.”
Turning my head, I rubbed my face on her thighs and her belly to act like the ‘child’ she suggested I was.
“Don’t die no matter what happens. If you do that again… I won’t forgive you.”
“Htt…!”
“Answer me.”
“Haa… How can I say no when you say that?”
Of course, you shouldn’t, and don’t try to beat your disciple in an argument!
“Master, you have to live with me for an eternity. You have no choice but to live forever with your disciple here.”
“H, huh? T, that’s… Fuu…”
For some reason, her voice sounded like a candy melted by sunlight. I turned my eyes to the sky and found her covering her bright red face with her two hands.
“Master?”
“Ugh… Let’s, let’s stay like this for now.”
I wonder what’s wrong with her?
This did happen in the last iteration as well, but it was happening more often in this iteration. Well, that was what my Master was saying so I didn’t have any choice as the disciple. Besides, I could rub my face on her soft thighs so it was a win for me as well.
-Jiing!
“Oh dear.”
Unfortunately, an end came to this joyous period of time.
“Student Korin. As you said… What are you doing?”
I turned around and saw Lady Josephine looking at me with a frown.
“Can you lend me your lap as well, Professor?”
“Haa… Now is not the time for this. Student Korin, everything went as you said.”
“So…”
“Yes. It’s looking slightly dangerous. We have to start moving.”
“5 days before the start of the new semester, huh? Later than expected.”
“Korin, is this about what you mentioned before?” Master asked.
“Yes. Well, it’s still going according to plan.”
We didn’t even have to bother mentioning the specific details again to make sense of what was happening. For security purposes, it was a secret shared only between us three.
The final event that would be decorating this long summer holiday was picked up by Lady Josephine’s radar.
“Now, let’s prepare ourselves. It’s the final event before a new semester, so let’s get this done quickly. Do you still have the thing I gave you? Wear that on your head.”
“Nn… I do have it because you gave it to me, but why?”
“Don’t ask questions; there’s a reason for everything. You too, Professor Josephine.”
“...Wouldn’t a mask be better if we are hiding our identities?”
“It’s not like I’m planning to though?”
I said while wrapping the cloth circlet around my head, making sure in the process to have the little scratch at the front.
***
They, who were attacking the freshman students who were returning to Merkarva Academy along with the new semester, were stopped by an unexpected foe.
Despite standing before dozens of professional assassins, the young man didn’t seem frightened in the slightest. He looked young, but there was not a single light of caution or fear in his eyes.
“Hmm…”
“Haa…”
And standing behind him were two ladies wearing cloth circlets with a strange mark at the front. He, who appeared with a beautiful lady on each of his sides, waved at the student who had been the target of the group of assassins.
“Junior Rashid. Long time no see.”
“S, senior? Chairman and Senior Professor?!”
The target said with a stupefied face, which agitated all the assassins present. The chairman and the senior professor of the Academy? They didn’t know much about the chairman, but there was only one Senior Professor at Merkarva Academy, and that was the Dimensional Witch.
“Oi, you folks.”
The young man who appeared with such big shots behind him asked a question while gazing down at the assassins.
“Do you know why we are strong?”
What the heck was this about? The assassins wondered, but before they could even say anything, the young man started shouting as if he had been longing for this moment and a chance to say the phrase.
“It’s because we are Rogue Ninjas— Uhk! Professor Josephine!?”
“You’re embarrassing us so please stop doing that.”
“Clara… Why are you being so mean to Korin?”
“...What?”
““...””