Chapter 197 - How to Use It (3)

After asking about divine stature, Alon immediately moved on to his next question: the words he had heard from the mysterious man in the mirror inside the World Tree.

“... A spell formula is defiance of heaven.”

“Do you know anything about that?”

Despite Alon's question, Kailas continued talking to himself, seemingly deep in thought.

“Contemplate the foreign thing.”

“Recognize it.”

“Face it directly.”

“Do not run away... was it?”

He slowly murmured the words Alon had relayed, as though savoring them, then lowered the hand stroking his chin and looked at Alon.

“These... seem to be instructions.”

“Is this how Magi teach spell formulas and Mourning of the Heart?”

“What are you talking about? Of course not.”

“Hm? Didn't you just call them instructions? Didn't you mean instructions on spell formulas?”

“... Good grief. Even with that power, you're still a greenhorn.”

Kailas let out a sigh.

“I told you this before. Every Magus possesses Mourning of the Heart, but it takes a different form in each. Thus, both its varieties and the ways of attaining it differ.”

“Hmm.”

“In other words, the practices used to attain Mourning of the Heart almost never overlap.”

Kailas continued his explanation.

“Nevertheless, I judged these to be instructions because I believe those words contain hidden meaning of their own.”

“Then can't you tell me what it is?”

“... Let me ask, just in case. Do you think you'll attain Mourning of the Heart if I unpack those words for you?”

“... Wouldn't I?”

Kailas didn't answer. Instead, Alon learned what it meant to curse someone with your eyes.

After a brief silence, Kailas spoke.

“Whether you need that spell formula—no, before that, I would ask whether it's even a spell formula you can learn.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why do you think the man in the mirror left his instructions in such an incomprehensible form? Do you think he deliberately twisted his words just to fuck with whoever tried to learn?”

“That—probably not.”

“Then? Why do you think he conveyed his meaning in such a roundabout way?”

Alon thought for a moment before answering.

“... If those really are instructions, as you say, is it because I have to reach the understanding myself?”

“I'm relieved you're not a complete greenhorn.”

“...”

“But remember one thing: what matters in attaining Mourning of the Heart is not merely understanding, but the process of reaching that understanding.”

“You're saying the process of reaching the result matters more than the result itself?”

“Yes. Mourning of the Heart is built from the ground up. The goal is not to obtain understanding as an outcome; the process itself matters. Ultimately, Mourning of the Heart is formed through the ‘process’ of understanding, and understanding simply follows naturally as its result.”

“So I can't get your help after all.”

“Correct. However—”

Kailas hummed thoughtfully, then added,

“It's a little strange.”

“Which part?”

“The part about defiance of heaven. That is certainly—”

Kailas mulled it over repeatedly, as though the pieces didn't fit.

“Greenhorn, if you truly wish to attain Mourning of the Heart related to defiance of heaven, go north.”

“... North?”

He offered a new piece of advice.

“Yes. To the heart of the coldest place in the north. You may find something there to help you along your path.”

“Do you know about defiance of heaven?”

“Not properly. I've only heard of it myself,” he added.

“Now, greenhorn, if you're done with your questions, let's begin the lesson.”

He rose and stood before Alon, who turned to face him.

“All right. But—what form will the lesson take?”

“Combat, of course.”

“... Combat?”

“Yes. You will fight me now.”

“Wait, you haven't taught me anything ye—”

“You'll learn now. By seeing it for yourself.”

With that, Kailas suddenly formed a seal. Despite his expressionless face, Alon was deeply flustered, but he immediately formed a seal in response.

“From this moment, I intend to kill you. Come at me with the same single-minded intent to kill.”

“... What if I actually die?”

“Don't worry. This is an inner world. Even if you die, you won't truly die. You'll merely be ejected.”

Kailas formed the distinctive hand seal he had shown Alon before.

“So grit your teeth and face me. Seize what is mine and make it yours to survive.”

Then he uttered,

“Shadow Faith.”

Shadows suddenly appeared, writhing as they crawled upward and began to coil around Kailas's body. In an instant, darkness engulfed him as though he had been sucked into the shadows.

A moment later, Kailas emerged looking entirely different.

He wore a mask of black shadow covering only the lower half of his face. His white garments flared, turning black as they billowed. They fluttered like flames, obscuring the ruined world as though blanketing it.

A paradoxical dark radiance gathered in his eyes, their colors inverted.

“!”

In that instant, Alon sensed danger. His opponent hadn't made a single move. He was merely standing there, yet that alone overwhelmed Alon's entire body.

Then—

“...! Shadow Tree—”

Belatedly coming to his senses, Alon uttered the phrase and tried to think—

“?”

—but couldn't.

In the next instant, he was back in reality.

What the hell—

[“Don't worry. This is an inner world. Even if you die, you won't truly die. You'll merely be ejected.”]

Kailas's voice surfaced in his mind.

“Ha—”

Alon gave an involuntary, hollow laugh and looked down at The Foot That Runs Through the Past as its light slowly faded.

He had returned to reality. That meant he had died in there.

The sense of futility passing through his mind lasted only a moment. Alon calmly sighed and reviewed the fight—

No, the futile death that couldn't even be called a fight.

'Right after Kailas put on that dragon mask covering his lower face, I recited the phrase—and my memory cut off at that instant.'

All he could remember of that final moment was the shadow spreading wide beneath Kailas's feet.

“Ha.”

Alon gave another hollow laugh.

'I did expect I wouldn't last very long.'

Ever since Kailas said the training would take the form of sparring, Alon had more or less foreseen this outcome. He was clearly weaker than Kailas.

But even so, he hadn't expected to be killed quite so helplessly. It wasn't as though he had spent the past ten years doing nothing.

“Whew—”

Alon exhaled deeply. It was time to shake off those thoughts. He replaced the emptiness in his mind with motivation.

This wasn't a battle, but training. Winning or losing didn't matter.

What mattered now was—

'Using the same magic Kailas used. If I can absorb all his methods for wielding the Death Shadow Dragon that way—'

The image of Kailas in the inner world remained vivid: standing imperiously in his black half-mask, radiating a pressure that raised goosebumps all over Alon's body simply by standing there.

'—I should be able to become like that.'

Alon quietly clenched his fist.

####

A week later, Alon left the Pallatio estate to keep his promise to Penia.

'Hmm. First the magic symposium, then the Principality of Luxible to visit the Thunder Serpent tribe, and then north?'

As he organized the itinerary for this journey, feeling the weather grow noticeably colder, Penia's cheerful voice reached him from ahead.

“♬—♪”

Penia was so excited she was even humming. Sitting beside her, Pelin watched his older sister with an expression half understanding and half discomfort at having to witness her behavior.

Then Evan spoke to him.

“My lord, this trip looks like it'll be a long one. Am I right?”

“Yes. Even moving quickly, it will take at least four months.”

“... Huh? Four whole months? I thought three would be enough.”

Alon elaborated.

“There are another place or two I need to visit.”

“Where?”

“There is something I need to find.”

Alon thought of The Foot That Runs Through the Past tucked inside his coat.

'It takes far too long to charge.'

It had always taken a long time to charge, but until now that hadn't particularly inconvenienced him. Entering the inner world about once a month had been enough.

Now that he had begun training, however, it was a serious annoyance. It meant waiting a month for a single training session.

That was why he needed an artifact to shorten that interval, allowing him to use The Foot That Runs Through the Past at least once a day.

'I don't know whether it'll work as I hope.'

Still, he had to try. Alon continued pondering it for some time.

Exactly one week after their departure, Alon arrived at the symposium and headed straight for the library, without even having time to properly greet the mages.

He had actually wanted to greet them and hear more about the rather peculiar rumors he had caught wind of first, but—

“Heh—”

Penia's eyes were sparkling like a puppy with a treat set before it.

Under the mages' curious gazes, Alon went up to the library with Penia and encountered Heinkel. She gave a slight start, then smoothly greeted him.

[“Hm? It's been a while.”]

“H-hello!”

Rigid with nerves, Penia stiffly bowed her head low.

Seeing the sheer admiration in her eyes, so unlike the way she looked at him, Alon went straight to the point.

“I've come to ask a favor.”

[“You want me to teach you magic, like last time?”]

“Yes. And could you teach someone else alongside me this time?”

[“Someone else—ah.”]

Heinkel tipped her head toward Penia.

[“You mean your sweetheart?”]

Penia's face, brimming with excitement just a moment ago, froze. She began watching Alon for his reaction.

Of course, Penia had already confessed everything to Alon, so he broadly understood Heinkel's misunderstanding(?) and wasn't flustered. Even so, Penia seemed to feel guilty, her eyes darting as she looked at him.

Alon gave a small shrug.

“Ahem. First, let me correct one thing: she is not my sweetheart.”

[“... Hm?”]

After setting the record straight, he explained the circumstances.

A little later, Heinkel said,

[“Hmm, so that's what happened?”]

“Yes. So if you grant this favor, I'll also teach you my magic, as you wished.”

Heinkel looked at Penia.

“...”

Penia subtly averted her gaze, working her mouth until—

“Eghk—”

Tears welled in her eyes, perhaps from accidentally biting her tongue. Yet the anticipation in her gaze was unmistakable.

However—

[“I'd rather not.”]

“... Pardon?”

[“I said no. It might be different if this had been the arrangement from the start, but I don't much care for liars.”]

At that unexpected answer—

“Huh...?”

Penia shattered.

####

Penia had turned white, as though her soul had left her body. Watching her, Heinkel smiled secretly.

In truth, this was exactly the situation Heinkel had been hoping for. Her goal, of course, was to investigate Alon's magic.

The reason she nevertheless played hard to get with his offer was that Penia had lied to her. She disliked lies.

But Penia's lie was really no more than a pretext. In her heart, she had refused for the thoroughly mercenary purpose of squeezing something more out of him or gaining the upper hand in this bargain.

'... That eye attached behind him doesn't seem inclined to do much harm anyway. It seems not to move at all unless I ask him directly about his magic.'

When she had taught Alon magic last time, Heinkel had realized that as long as she wasn't hostile toward him, that ‘Pupil’ wasn't particularly threatening either.

And so—

'Now, what else should I ask for—'

As she considered how to reasonably extract a little more from him—

[“...?”]

Alon's brooch suddenly caught her eye. A brooch set with a red gem.

It wasn't particularly ornate, something she would ordinarily have paid no attention to. Yet Heinkel's gaze was drawn to it ‘instinctively.’

At that moment, a chill ran through her.

She came face-to-face with a ‘red eye’ staring directly at her.

Then she heard it.

[“Wraith—”]

[“You'd be wise not to push your luck, wouldn't you?”]

An exceedingly alluring, chilling voice.