[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
Chapter 166 - Human Warmth (2)
In the distance, the nighttime cityscape of Calvasar unfolded.
Without rest, we had ridden from the Archmage’s forest and entered the Calvasar Plains before we knew it.
“Just a little more. Hang in there.”
I patted the horse’s neck, and it snorted as if in response.
As we sped across the plains, my thoughts wandered back to what had happened earlier.
It wasn’t a blank notebook—it was Kaiden’s diary.
A diary magically concealed so no one could see it.
How it ended up in a dragon’s nest, I had no idea.
But that wasn’t the issue now.
The contents of that diary were beyond imagination.
I was a reader of the original story, but nowhere in it was such information revealed.
Perhaps it was a piece of backstory the author had left out, never incorporating it into the main text.
I didn’t know.
Only Kaiden would know the whole truth.
And right now, Kaiden was at the Academy.
Somehow, I had a feeling he was waiting for me.
“Apologies!”
“Whoa! You lunatics!”
As we entered the city, people screamed and threw themselves to the sides of the road.
“Ah! It’s Sir Linus!”
Someone recognized Linus’s face, and cheers erupted.
“Sir Linus! Where are you going?”
“Has the Demon King resurrected somewhere?”
Ignoring the crowd’s reactions, Linus and I rode on, the cobblestones cracking under the hooves of our galloping horses.
Soon, the Academy’s main gate came into view.
The Academy still appeared peaceful, with no sign of disturbance.
But that was just my misconception.
The moment we passed through the gate—
“Huh?!”
Linus let out a sharp breath, halting his horse abruptly.
Beeeepp—!!
A loud horn blared as a car zipped past us, missing us by inches.
Following it, a line of cars screeched to a stop right in front of us.
“What the hell?! Move out of the way!”
A driver leaned out of his car window, shouting curses at us.
“Wh-what is this?”
Linus stared at the scene in bewilderment.
“Step back, Linus. Get up on the pavement.”
I dismounted, grabbing the horse’s reins and leading it onto the sidewalk.
Passersby gave us suspicious looks, edging away cautiously.
Following me onto the sidewalk, Linus gawked at our surroundings, his mouth agape.
“What… is this place…?”
Skyscrapers towering into the sky, traffic lights, crowds of pedestrians, cars zooming by, and noisy music blaring from storefronts.
Linus’s eyes reflected sheer confusion as he took in the bustling modern cityscape.
“Dian, where are we? Is this another world? Did Kaiden open a dimensional portal at the Academy’s gate?”
“This isn’t another world. It’s an illusion spell.”
“An illusion spell?! This?! Don’t be ridiculous!”
Linus raised his voice.
“I’ve never heard of an illusion spell that could create an entirely different world this perfectly! Not even Kaiden could pull this off!”
“It’s possible. I saw it at the Tower of Illusions.”
The first time I went to meet Kaiden at the Tower of Illusions for a competition.
There, Kaiden had created a vision just like this.
A flawless illusion of a metropolis, indistinguishable from a real city on Earth.
Kaiden, who had never seen a city with his own eyes, had pieced everything together based solely on the stories I’d told him.
With a mind operating on an entirely different level, Kaiden had realized shortly after joining the Special Operations Force that I was from another world.
“So that’s how it was… But how did Kaiden even come up with something like this…?”
“Let’s focus on finding Kaiden. He’s gone to great lengths to create this, so he’s unlikely to dispel the illusion easily.”
“Understood. But where do we even start looking?”
Linus glanced around helplessly.
The crowded streets and the rush of cars were utterly foreign to him.
“Just wait. When that light turns green, we can cross.”
“What? What light? What does that mean?”
As the pedestrian signal turned green, the cars stopped at the lines.
“Let’s go.”
I pulled the reins and led the horse onto the bike lane.
Horses counted as vehicles here, didn’t they? But what if we weren’t riding it? Never mind—I’d just think of it as a bike.
“Dian! How do you know all this?!”
Linus followed behind me, shouting questions.
“Hurry up. We need to cross before the signal changes.”
Once we made it to the other side, the pedestrian signal turned red, and the cars started moving again.
Linus grabbed my shoulder, his grip firm.
“How… how do you know all this?”
“This is another world, Linus.”
“Of course, it’s another world! It’s an illusion spell!”
“Yes, an illusion spell. But one that perfectly recreates a real, existing world.”
“Then… does that mean…”
Linus trailed off, his voice uncertain.
“So, you’re saying… this is what the world you came from looks like?”
Back when the Archmage decoded Kaiden’s diary, it had included the revelation that I was from another world.
The crow had relayed everything without omission.
Even now, Linus’s face from when he’d heard that was vivid in my mind.
“Didn’t you ever find it odd? How I knew everything in advance?”
“I thought you had the power of foresight.”
“I never meant to deceive you. I just didn’t want to confuse you when you were focused on defeating the Demon King…”
“No.”
Linus cut me off.
“It doesn’t matter, Dian. Whether you’re from another world, whether you already knew the future, whether you told me or not—it changes nothing.”
His grip on my shoulder tightened.
“None of that changes the fact that you’re my friend.”
“Linus…”
“You said the future you knew ended with the Demon King’s defeat, right? But ten years after that, you’re still here, helping me again. That makes you my friend, no matter what you are. Isn’t that right, Dian?”
Linus gave me a sincere smile.
“So don’t worry about it, Dian! Right now, finding Kaiden is what matters!”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Linus. This guy is a true hero.
He’s not one of those useless, arrogant, or clueless protagonists who bungle communication, harbor petty grudges, or serve as shallow cliches.
He’s the real deal—a hero in every sense of the word.
It’s my fortune to count him as my friend, even if it started with aiding the protagonist of the original story.
“Still…”
Linus glanced around.
“I’ve no idea where Kaiden could be in all this. I’ve never seen so many buildings and people in one place.”
This was the heart of a chaotic metropolis.
As Linus said, even if Kaiden were watching us from one of the buildings, we’d never find him.
But I had no intention of searching aimlessly.
This was an illusion, not reality.
Everything here was false—everything except for me.
“Let’s cut through it.”
“What?”
“Draw your sword, Linus. Let’s tear it apart.”
“But I don’t have a sword.”
Looking back, I realized Linus’s waist was empty.
Now that I thought about it, we were both unarmed.
After scanning the area, I spotted something and rushed over.
“May I borrow this?”
“What?! Hey, give that back!”
I grabbed a knife from a restaurant and ran back out.
“Here.”
Linus stared at the small knife in his hand.
“And what exactly am I supposed to cut with this?”
“We’re not cutting with the knife. We’ll use it to channel our aura. It’s just a medium.”
Realization dawned on Linus’s face.
“Got it. Let’s do it.”
Together, we planted our feet in the middle of the street.
As we channeled our auras, the asphalt beneath us began to crack and split.
Kaiden had crafted this illusion so meticulously that it responded to our actions. Truly impressive.
“You’re still alive, Dian!”
Linus laughed as he watched me infuse the knife with aura, forming a blade of energy.
“Doesn’t this remind you of when we stormed the Demon King’s castle?”
“It does. Just like back then.”
“Let’s make it count!”
Linus gripped his aura-infused blade, taking a combat stance.
The overwhelming energy radiating from him made the hair on my neck stand on end.
“Let’s go, Dian!”
“Right!”
We leapt forward, slashing through the air.
Our aura waves tore through buildings and sent cars flying like paper.
Simultaneously, an invisible barrier cracked open, revealing a glimpse of what lay beyond.
The illusionary barrier!
[Impressive, both of you.]
Suddenly, Kaiden’s voice rang out, and the barrier began to mend itself.
“Kaiden! Show yourself!”
Linus shouted.
[With such frightening aggression, how could I possibly come out?]
An inexplicable chill ran down my spine.
Looking up, I saw a massive concentration of magic forming between two buildings.
“It’s an attack spell!”
Just as Linus and I dove out of the way, a sphere of magic hurtled toward us, obliterating the area.
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The blast sent me flying dozens of meters, tumbling across the ground.
Kaiden’s attack spells were far stronger than they had been ten years ago.
If I took a direct hit, there’d be no remains left to collect.
“Dian! Over there!”
Linus, thrown in the opposite direction, pointed with his aura blade toward a distant skyscraper’s rooftop.
Something—or someone—was there. It was Kaiden.
“Go, Dian! I’ll distract him!”
But the plan was futile.
Multiple attack spells rained down on us simultaneously.
Damn it. At this rate, we can’t do anything.
Was Kaiden actually trying to kill us?!
“Dian! Look out!”
Another spell descended toward me.
Too late! There was no time to dodge!
Drawing up my aura, I braced myself.
Could I block it? After ten years, Kaiden’s magic had grown so powerful I couldn’t be sure.
But I had to try. I had to meet Kaiden!
BOOOOOM—!!
An ear-splitting roar and violent shockwaves engulfed me.
Yet, I felt no pain.
Opening my eyes, I saw a holy barrier glowing above me.
“Dian! Are you all right?!”
Lormane ran toward me.
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]