Chapter 136 - The Borderlands (4)

Red eyes appeared across the little cat’s body, contrasting with the blue moonlight. Its tail lengthened, flowing down the marquis’s right hand. Coiling around his hand like a snake, it reached the ground in an instant and seeped into the shadow cast by the blue moon.

Then, the instant the monsters reached the marquis—

CRUNCH!

Black branches erupted from his shadow and pierced them: the body of a goblin carrying a rusty dagger, the head of an orc charging with a glaive, the torso of a gnoll rushing in with a long halberd. The other monsters that had lunged at the marquis were impaled just as swiftly, their bodies hanging limp.

It happened without warning—a manifestation so close to instantaneous that it scarcely seemed like a mage’s spell.

The branches that had pierced and swept away the monsters in a single stroke moved again.

“—”

As Marquis Pallatio murmured something once more, they immediately attacked every monster around him.

It was utter pandemonium. Amid the uproar that shook the earth, a soldier who had been swinging his weapon in terror froze. A knight grimacing as he cut down the oncoming monsters likewise stared blankly into the air.

■■■■■■■!!!

When the attacking monsters began screaming in terror and fleeing back around the wall they had stormed, the knights and soldiers beheld it: an enormous tree of shadow, grown by taking countless monsters’ lives and absorbing the blue moonlight, and Marquis Pallatio standing beneath it.

“...”

The moment all the monsters fled, the shadow tree vanished. The monsters impaled on its branches fell to the ground, forming a mountain of corpses.

‘So this is the mage who defeated an Outer God...’

Watching Marquis Pallatio stroke Blackie, who had already returned to the form of an adorable cat, Kyriana could only feel an immeasurable awe.

Meanwhile, Alon, the man who had actually cast the spell, faced a question.

“... You suddenly disappeared, then came back a few hours later. How did you learn to use magic like that?”

“It just worked out that way.”

He shrugged lightly, then looked at Blackie.

“Blackie...”

[“Mew?”]

“Next time, I’d appreciate it if you took my mana into account when casting magic.”

[“Mew...”]

Blackie looked crestfallen.

“Still, you did well.”

[“Mew!”]

Apparently cheered by the praise that followed, Blackie nodded eagerly.

‘... I nearly died.’

He had survived yet another brush with death.

####

Alon had been able to use Unification of Shadows because he had ultimately learned how from Rainicius. As expected, using the Death Shadow Dragon required more than reciting the sentence. A special process had to come first: establishing a mana link with it. Only then could he use the Death Shadow Dragon’s technique, Shadow Tree.

The Shadow Tree Alon had just demonstrated was not created solely through the Death Shadow Dragon’s power. It was a joint product of that power and the Multiple Manifestation he had acquired. Although the Death Shadow Dragon used Shadow Tree, the person who manifested the magic was ultimately Alon, whose mana was linked to it. Thus, his Multiple Manifestation had also activated normally. The result was the enormous shadow tree they had just seen.

Alon looked down at the Death Shadow Dragon, which was now rubbing against his chest.

‘... And this is only stage one.’

Rainicius had explained the Death Shadow Dragon’s stages to him. It grew through five stages in all, gradually developing as Alon’s stature rose or as it was fed shadow stones. In other words, Blackie would grow along with him. Moreover, Rainicius had said that with each successive stage, a Shadow Dragon became incomparably stronger than before—eventually reaching the point where it could freely use its abilities on its own, without its master’s power.

‘... Should I look for some shadow stones?’

For now, Alon planned to raise Blackie by feeding it shadow stones rather than pursuing the somewhat vague method of raising his own stature.

‘If it grows well enough to pull out those spears—’

Alon recalled the proposal Rainicius had made.

[“As I told you, the Unification of Shadows you asked me about is a sentence used by the dear friend who sealed me. In other words, this seal was also imposed by the Death Shadow Dragon my friend commanded.”]

[“Only a Shadow Dragon can undo a seal imposed by a Shadow Dragon. That is why I had given up until now. When my dear friend died, the sentence was forgotten, and the Death Shadow Dragon vanished as well.”]

[“But you, who can now use that sentence, should be able to do it.”]

[“So let us make a bargain, Magus. If you raise your Death Shadow Dragon and save me, I will gladly become your servant.”]

[“I, Rainicius the Golden Dragon.”]

It was an excellent offer, one Alon had no particular reason to refuse. And so—

‘... If I can have a gold dragon as my servant, wouldn’t that practically guarantee a secure retirement?’

Even now, there would have been no problem if the Five Great Sins were not going to appear...

In any case, Blackie might also prove to be the key to securing his retirement.

[“Still, it is a shame. As far as I know, Kailas would be far better at raising a Death Shadow Dragon and handling it in various ways. But he must already be gone from this world.”]

‘Kailas...’

Alon knew that name well. In fact, there was no way he could not know it. He had seen Kailas many times while playing Psychedelia, and after entering this world, he had encountered him in Lartania’s labyrinth.

‘... That goblin was the Magus who created Unification of Shadows?’

To be honest, several things did not make sense. The Kailas Alon knew had recited phrases, but they were for wind magic, not Unification of Shadows. Above all, his appearance was different. He had unmistakably looked like a goblin, not a human. Moreover, Alon had known Kailas as an Outer God rather than a human or a Magus, and as expected, he had appeared as a manifestation.

Alon had asked Rainicius about that as well.

[“... I do not know whether the goblin you speak of is my dear friend. After all, I know nothing of what happened after I was sealed.”]

Even the Golden Dragon could not be certain on that point.

Nevertheless, it continued to trouble Alon. Although the time had not yet come, he knew a way to meet Kailas again, even though Kailas had already been annihilated by this point.

‘If he really is the one who created the sentence...’

Then surely Alon could learn magic from him, along with any additional methods there might be for strengthening the Death Shadow Dragon.

While he was lost in thought, Kyriana approached.

“Thank you very much, my lord. I find myself in your debt yet again.”

She bowed politely, and Alon waved a hand in an easy gesture.

“I merely did what needed to be done.”

... In truth, if the monsters had not fled in fear of the Death Shadow Dragon’s stature, he might have been in some danger himself. But he chose not to let that show. A short while into their conversation, he asked,

“... The wall, you say?”

“Yes. It was certainly being protected by magic all along.”

Following Kyriana’s gaze, Alon looked at the wall. It had never once been broken in the original story, yet now it lay in ruins. After studying the sight for a while, he noticed black slime dripping from it.

“...!”

His eyes widened involuntarily as he approached, but the black slime began slowly disappearing, as though evaporating.

“...”

Soon, it was completely gone.

Only then did Alon realize why the supposedly indestructible wall had been destroyed. No—he could not help but realize it. He knew the being that had spat out that black slime.

‘Why on earth is it here?’

There was something puzzling about this, but it was actually a welcome development. Now that Alon knew for certain the Five Great Sins would descend, this was a being he needed to deal with before leaving the border.

“... What is the matter?”

Kyriana had followed him when he abruptly moved away. Slowly surveying the wall, Alon answered,

“I think I know who did this.”

The next day, Alon gathered Kyriana and Yuman and Yutia, who had returned after finishing repairs to the gate.

“We must slay Rikrakhamur.”

He spoke the name of the abomination dwelling north of the border, which possessed a discarded remnant of the Five Great Sins.

####

Gillan Merkillan was curious about Deus Makalian and Philian Merkillan. More precisely, he wanted to know what they were talking about. His secretary, Kulan, had told him that the two had enjoyed a conversation in front of the marquis’s statue for six whole hours. Apparently, they had been so engrossed that Kulan had not even been able to call them to dinner. How could that fail to arouse his curiosity?

Besides, had Deus and his older brother Philian not been on rather poor terms since the allied kingdoms’ meeting? Gillan invited the two to dinner, belatedly, and soon had his question answered.

“That brings back memories. His lordship was truly majestic that day. He actually created light in the gray sky, then brought low the tribal god that had been receiving human sacrifices in the jungle. Ah... I still shiver when I remember the sight.”

“Oh! I see. It truly pains me that I did not witness it myself...”

“But you saw something I did not, didn’t you?”

“That is true... Ah... Even now, thinking of that day makes my whole body tingle. The sight of his lordship appearing as those monstrous Outer Gods rushed in to destroy the territory was truly—”

As though they had planned it together, they began praising Marquis Pallatio the moment they sat down after exchanging brief greetings. Once his initial bewilderment passed, Gillan smiled as he watched their friendly conversation. After all, nothing good could come of being on bad terms with Deus Makalian, Callivan’s First Sword.

And so Gillan enjoyed dinner, occasionally joining their conversation—until, at some point, he realized something.

He had made a mistake. A very serious mistake.

“... Ah... I wish I could have seen it too. What a shame.”

“Indeed. The sight that day... I truly wished I could show it to the entire world.”

Dinner had ended long ago. Yet they were still singing Marquis Pallatio’s praises.

For more than three hours now.

‘... How long are they going to keep this up?’

Gillan stared at Philian and Deus with an expression of utter exhaustion, but neither seemed to have any intention of ending the conversation. No, they did not even seem interested in his expression in the first place.

“...”

Of course, he too was grateful to Marquis Pallatio. Without him, House Merkillan would have vanished into the annals of this world’s history, and Gillan would have lost his beloved older brother as well.

But even so—

‘Isn’t this a little... excessive?’

After entertaining that cautious thought, Gillan finally gave up and rose.

“... I believe I shall retire first.”

It was impolite to leave before an invited guest, so he had endured it as long as he could. But he could bear no more.

His head was spinning. After listening for hours to stories that had been embellished over and over inside Deus’s and Philian’s heads, he had reached the point where he could almost mistake Marquis Pallatio for a god.

And so Gillan had finally chosen to flee, collapsing into bed to sleep. That had been yesterday.

Yes, yesterday.

Yesterday.

In other words, one night ago.

That was certainly how it should have been.

“... What did you say?”

“The two gentlemen are still talking, even now.”

The following morning, hearing Kulan’s report as soon as he woke, Gillan began to feel genuinely afraid of the pair.

‘... Are they insane?’

A reasonable suspicion crossed his mind.

... It had been exactly seventeen hours since Deus met Philian.