Chapter 239: Beginning (1)
Beginning (1)
A black puppy lay curled up on Renees lap.
It was making purring sounds with its eyes half-closed.
Its tail swayed gently back and forth.
If it werent for the white arm around its neck and the third eye on its forehead, anyone would think it was just an ordinary dog.
Vera chuckled at the sight.
So youre saying you hid in one of the Federations carriages?
[Yes. There was a commotion, so I just followed.]
That size
[Im conserving energy. Hyria quickly gets hungry when she moves around too much, so she usually shrinks like this.]
Hyria.
The first child of Gorgan, and at the same time, the last remaining Karel.
That was the name of the beast before them.
Is its intelligence also at a beasts level?
Looking back, apart from Gorgan, the beast had always moved instinctively.
When Gorgan lost his rationality, it merely rampaged, and its behavior just before they parted resembled that of a well-trained wolf.
Yawn
When Hyria yawned, Renees cheeks turned red.
Oh my, you must be sleepy.
[Yeah, she must be tired from wandering around and looking for you all.]
Uh-uh
Renee didnt know what to do and her fingertips fidgeted.
Gorgan stretched out his arm around Hyrias neck and gently stroked her chin.
Then, Hyria began to nod off and soon fell asleep.
[Could you stay like this for a moment? Hyria is sensitive, and she rarely sleeps peacefully like this.]
Of course.
As Renee answered with a bright smile, Veras eyebrows twitched slightly.
Can we get down to business?
He felt shameful after saying those words.
He felt resentful upon seeing Renee find something other than himself lovable. As Vera spoke, Gorgan stopped his stroking hand.
[Ah, right.]
He then pointed his hand towards the lake.
[Did you see that?]
Veras expression hardened.
Renee, who had been petting Hyrias head all this time, also stopped her movements.
It was clear that what he was referring to as that was the castle beneath the lake.
It was a clear trace of blasphemy. Do you know anything about it?
[Hmm, so it was like that after all]
Gorgans voice trailed off.
The deep disgust and anger in his voice cause Renee to shiver.
In this situation, they needed some kind of clue, even a tiny one.
However, the answer that came back did not satisfy the two of them.
[I thought it was possible if its her. I dont know much about the details, either. Ardain didnt teach us much about blasphemy as its something we shouldnt delve into.]
Is that so
Veras expression darkened.
A short sigh escaped his lips.
Soon after, Vera shook off his regretful feelings and asked him another question.
Id like to ask you something. You came here to confront Alaysia, right?
[Yeah, I have a debt to repay.]
Can I interpret that to mean that other Ancient Species might come here as well?
Gorgans movements ceased.
Following that, Hyrias ears perked up.
Belatedly realizing this, Gorgan began to stroke Hyrias chin again. As Hyria relaxed, he gave his answer.
[Yes. Except for Aedrin, who is unable to move, probably all of them will come.]
Veras eyebrows furrowed.
This is troublesome.
This place was a barracks where armies from all over the continent were gathered.
Therefore, preparing for uncontrollable external factors was difficult.
No matter how friendly they were, the Ancient Species were Ancient Species.
The polite Maleus or the pretentious Locrion might be acceptable, but the moment Terdan arrived, who was a disaster just by moving, or Nartania, who did as she pleased, the entire system would collapse.
Orgus is
There was no need to worry about him.
He didnt seem to move unless it was absolutely necessary.
How do you think they would come?
[Im not sure about the others, but Nartania]
Gorgans hand hesitated.
[She doesnt care about you all. In other words, shell achieve her purpose no matter what happens to you.]
Is there a way?
[Personally, I recommend retreating the army. No matter how many humans are gathered here, they wont be able to even match the power of Nartania alone.]
A concern surfaced within Vera.
It was a brief calculation of pros and cons.
In the end, Veras conclusion was negative.
That wont work. Leaving everything else aside, I dont know what effect the traces of blasphemy under that lake could have on armies that are out of sight.
Blasphemy did not simply mean that they should run away.
It was, in itself, a concentration of impurities that became a Providence and corrupted its surroundings.
As such, it was better to keep the army that was already here within sight, just in case.
We dont even know if people affected by the blasphemy would rummage throughout the continent while we are stuck here.
[That is also a problem.]
Gorgans voice was strained.
At that moment, Renee, who had been listening to their conversation, spoke up.
I have a good idea, though.
[Huh?]
Nartania. She cant move during the day.
Veras gaze turned to Renee.
Gorgan also began to listen intently to what Renee was saying.
We have more than a hundred spellcasters here, right? We can artificially create a daylight environment.
[True, but if you do that, it would only anger Nartania. Knowing her personality, shell seek revenge somehow if we exclude her from this battle.]
Cant we just not exclude her?
[How?]
We can create nighttime only around the castle. Keep the outside of the lake bright and the inside dark. That way, Nartania might understand.
Veras eyes shone.
Indeed
It was a reasonably plausible plan.
Renee smiled somewhat awkwardly as he nodded his head in admiration.
Vera briefly looked at her and Gorgan before turning away.
Lets discuss that issue later.
[Where are you going?]
Im going to the spellcasters. Enough time has passed and they should have found out something about the castle by now.
[Ill go, too.]
What?
[I said Im coming with you.]
Gorgan gently tugged on Hyrias ear, and Hyria promptly raised her head.
Kyu!
[Sorry for waking you up. Lets go.]
Kyuu
Hyria shook her head.
Then she stretched, jumped down from Renee, and toddled over to Veras feet.
Vera felt troubled.
This.
How should I explain this to the others?
Those thoughts came to his mind.
***
The castles influence only extends to the water of the lake.
El Claire, the Imperial Wizard, continued his explanation.
His eyes were focused on Hyria, who was sitting at Veras feet.
No, it wasnt just El Claire; all the sorcerers in the room had their eyes fixed on Hyria.
It couldnt be helped.
Hyria looked quite unusual.
They were spellcasters, and all of them were fundamentally scholars.
It would be strange for a scholar not to be curious about an unusual creature like Hyria.
Vera consciously ignored the sharp pull on his back.
Its fortunate that they havent noticed that its Gorgan.
Apparently, their imaginations werent vivid enough to connect a small, fluffy dog with a massive beast.
Vera inwardly sighed in relief and asked El Claire.
Have you found a way to enter the castle?
Ah, since its a phenomenon caused by the lake spirits, turning the ground upside down seems to be the simplest option.
Vera involuntarily let out a sarcastic laugh at the vast difference between the words turning the ground upside down and simple.
Simple, you say.
El Claires body trembled greatly at Veras reaction.
His pupils shook uncontrollably.
Please hear me out first!
El Claires outcry shut Veras mouth.
He gave the wizard a look as if telling him to continue speaking.
Feeling sorry at his own inability to resist that gaze, the elderly wizard El Claire began to speak.
We plan to use a large-scale teleportation spell. Well distort space with sorcery to lift the castle, and the elementalists will fill in the space below it with soil. Then, us wizards will stabilize the distorted space.
Whats the success rate?
We cant be certain since theres never been such a large-scale spell, but
El Claire swallowed dryly.
His eyes hardened, forming a more determined appearance.
we are confident that its over 90%. Moreover, the castle being alive helped a lot.
What do you mean?
Since space distortion tries to preserve living things as a whole, lifting the castle itself will have fewer variables.
Vera nodded.
It was a clear form of affirmation.
Just as El Claires expression started to brighten, Vera asked.
Let me ask you this first: I assume you know what that castle is for?
El Claire flinched.
Not just him, but all the other sorcerers present had the same reaction.
Of course, they did.
Who stood before them currently was an Apostle of God.
And what they were about to report was blasphemy that they were too afraid to even utter.
Sensing their hesitation, Vera exhaled softly.
You seem to have a rough idea. Yes, its blasphemy. One wrong move, and theres a possibility that youll be exposed to corruption. Have you thought about that?
Yes, we have actually, we have a favor to ask you
El Claire bowed.
He seemed reluctant to ask.
Vera tilted his head, and El Claires hesitation deepened.
Miller, unable to bear the stifling atmosphere, stepped forward.
We need the Saints help.
Veras gaze turned towards Miller.
Facing Veras narrowed eyes directly, Miller added nervously.
We cant handle the corruption with spells. Theres only one way, and that is through divinity, which has the opposite nature of corruption and the certain miracle it manifests.
While the request might have seemed obvious, Millers tension did not easily dissipate.
He knew that Vera could be even more strict than an interrogator when it came to Renee.
Please!
In such a moment, he hoped for an easy agreement.
As he waited with this thought, Vera finally spoke up.
Fortunately, he was more agreeable than Miller had anticipated.
Yes, I agree. Ill talk to the Saint regarding this.
Millers face brightened.
Its done!
His words were practically a permission.
Both Miller and Vera knew that.
Renee was not someone who would step back from something like this to save herself.
Miller erased the dozens of persuasive arguments he had prepared in his mind and let out a deep sigh of relief.
His legs wobbled, and his tensed muscles finally started to relax.
And then, something caught his eye.
Kyu
Hyria.
The very beast that Gorgan had been living off of.
However, there was one thing that Miller could not understand.
He contemplated.
A baby Karel?
Has Gorgan begun to produce more Karels after leaving for the West?
Can this Karel be a gift sent by Gorgan to Elia while he was away?
Curiosity and a desire to investigate constantly stimulated Miller.
Um, Sir Vera, what is that creature?
He ended up asking the question.
The words drew the attention of all those in the room.
Vera swallowed his panic.
Just when he thought he had gotten away with it, the sudden question temporarily dazed his thoughts, and a ridiculous answer came out of Vera.
Its the Saints pet.
The Wave of Despair, Gorgan, was instantly downgraded to being Renees pet due to Veras slip of the tongue.
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