Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 23 In the distant, ancient past, the Frea Divine Clan descended upon the earth. They liberated humanity—who had been nothing more than livestock and slaves to other races—and founded the Old Empire.
Though the empire eventually collapsed for reasons lost to time, leaving a world where various mage families vied for supremacy, humanity still worshipped the Divine Clan as gods.
The very first chapter of the scriptures dedicated to them defined the fundamental relationship between mages and commoners:
Humans shall serve mages; mages shall reign over humans while also caring for them.
Whether the emphasis lay on "reigning" or "caring" varied by family and individual, but that remained the general framework of the world.
If the Fire-burner's ramblings held any truth, many mage families would find themselves torn between divine scripture and a grim new reality.
On the way back to the scorched village, Visen's group debated this very topic.
"No matter how I look at it, it makes no sense. Honestly, if such a thing were possible, someone would have tried it by now."
"Exactly. It's not like the world is short on lunatics."
"But divine bloodlines have been spreading through the world for thousands of years. Unless they're a different race entirely, wouldn't everyone have at least a little mana? It's just that most can't control it."
"I suppose... if you go far enough back in anyone's family tree, there's bound to be at least one mage..."
If it truly became possible to obtain mana by slaughtering ordinary people, the world would become infinitely more cruel. In every war, armies would massacre the commoners of rival families to fuel their power. Those driven into a corner would slaughter their own subjects just to gain the strength for a final, desperate counterattack.
Of course, if such a method existed, it likely would have been common knowledge long ago. Even the superstition that an ordinary person could become a mage by slaying a magical beast had already produced countless obsessed monster hunters.
Eventually, Visen's group split into two camps.
Two argued they should kill the culprit immediately without prying into what was clearly a baseless rumor. The other two suggested they should subdue and question him, arguing that the information—true or not—wouldn't hurt to have.
As they debated whether such knowledge could be tested on high-profile criminals, one of them turned to Turan.
"What do you think, Turan?"
"Let's attack with the intent to kill first. If we can subdue him, we'll do it then."
Turan had no intention of using a method that required human sacrifice, but he believed it was better to be informed. Closing one's eyes to an unpleasant truth didn't make it disappear.
By the time their discussion ended, the ruins of the scorched village came into view.
"Ah, we're here."
"Shall we begin the pursuit? Asha?"
"Yes!"
"You take the lead and scout. I'll be right behind you. Gil and Kebek in the middle, and Turan, please take the rear."
"Understood."
Responding to Visen's request, Turan glanced at Gil, the man who had accidentally fired a flame spear earlier.
Gil possessed the Tamer bloodline, which granted the ability to command magical beasts, but because he lacked sufficient mana, he didn't have any useful beasts with him. Furthermore, as evidenced by his accidental discharge, he was the youngest and most inexperienced of the four.
"I'll... start looking now."
Asha widened her eyes, scanning the surroundings.
The immediate search criteria were simple: a man's footprints or traces of red fabric. Turan figured the former would be too common within the village, while the latter wouldn't leave much of a trail unless his clothes had snagged on something.
"How is it?"
"I think I need to look around a bit more."
"Alright, let's move. Which way?"
Turan followed silently from the rear. He was curious about the tracking skills of a half-Zahar, and he also wanted to preserve his mana in case of an emergency.
Fortunately, despite her small stature and youthful appearance, Asha proved to be a cautious and experienced hunter. She first led the group down one path, but after seeing it lead to the main road, she shook her head and returned to the village.
By the time this process had repeated three times, Turan spoke up.
"How exactly are you searching right now?"
"After finding a man's footprints, I look for the scent of ash once they reach the main road. Unless he changed his clothes, there would be ash on them..."
Her tracking method was professional.
Why hadn't they been able to find him before? Thinking about it, the fact that they hadn't known the culprit's gender must have been a major hurdle. While men generally roamed outside more than women, not knowing the gender effectively doubled the number of potential targets. Moreover, they said this was the first time they had reached a crime scene so quickly.
They tracked for a long time, stopping a few times to rest when their mana ran low.
As dusk began to fall, Asha, who was following the thirteenth trail, let out a cry of excitement.
"Found it!"
"Wait, Asha! Don't run so fast!"
Following behind her as she bolted ahead, they arrived in front of a natural cave. It was barely large enough for a small animal to enter—certainly not a place for a human to live.
"Here?"
"I don't think anything larger than a cat could fit in there."
"Move aside for a moment."
Turan stepped through the whispering group and pushed aside a boulder resting against one side of the cave. As he applied mana, the rock—the size of two men—tilted with a heavy thud, revealing a hidden entrance.
"This must be how he went in and out."
"Whoa..."
"The sound of the rolling stone was too loud. It would have been heard inside."
"Even so, we can't just stay out here. Let's go in."
With combat imminent, they changed formation. Turan and Visen took the lead, with the other three following closely behind.
Creating a small luminous sphere to light the way, Visen asked Asha, "Is there someone inside?"
"Yes. One person..."
"That must be him. There's no reason for anyone but a criminal to be alone in a place like this."
Using the night vision characteristic of the Zahar bloodline, Turan carefully observed the interior where the light didn't reach. It was a desolate place, showing no signs of human modification. Even for a noble, living here for a long time would be incredibly uncomfortable.
Was the murder he committed so important that he was willing to endure such conditions?
A short while later, they discovered a clearing at the deepest part of the cave. There was a small hole in the ceiling for ventilation, and in a corner lay a primitive bed made of blankets and logs, along with a pot containing several unknown solutions. A few torches burned on the walls, illuminating the area.
In the center of this makeshift shelter, a man stared at them as if he had been waiting.
"What brings guests to such a remote place?"
He wore a hooded red robe—which the child had likely mistaken for a cloak—and had a rugged, bearded face, exactly as the girl had described. The faint scent of ash, not yet fully washed away, drifted from his body.
Asha confirmed it in a low whisper. "I smell it. It's him."
At that moment, Turan felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Those unnervingly clear eyes... They were strikingly similar to the eyes of Midan, the monster hunter he had remembered recently. If not for the facial features, he might have thought it was the same person.
While Turan puzzled over this, Visen nocked an arrow to an ice bow she had conjured. "I'm fairly certain, but I'll ask just in case. Are you the murderer who has been burning villagers in the nearby towns?"
The Fire-burner, Orvil, tilted his head as if he didn't understand.
"I'm not sure what you're—"
Seeing the man's hand thrust forward, Turan immediately activated both his Thought Acceleration and his Guardian Magic Tool.
Simultaneously, explosions erupted from both sides of the tunnel.
"Aaargh!"
"What—!?"
The source of the explosions was sacks in the corners of the cave filled with a mysterious black powder.
Turan, protected by his magic tool, and Visen, who had been shielded by Turan's quick reaction, were fine. However, the three behind them were thrown to the ground, bearing the full brunt of the pressure and heat.
It was an absurdly powerful trap to neutralize three nobles in an instant, even if they were novices.
What was that?
As Turan spun his sling, Visen beat him to the draw and fired an ice arrow. Her arrow flew faster than sound, piercing the man's thigh and freezing the wound instantly.
"Gah!"
Despite being pinned, the Fire-burner didn't give up. He slammed his palm against the ground, and the surrounding rocks distorted, lunging at Visen and Turan in the shape of giant hands.
Earth Manipulation. At this distance, and with this speed and scale, it was a high-level spell.
This is...?
Because he had burned people to death, Turan had assumed he possessed the Pyromaniac bloodline. But with this level of skill, it was more likely he belonged to the Earthkeeper bloodline, specialized in manipulating the ground.
"Kyaaa!"
While Visen was caught off guard and seized by a stone hand, Turan used his accelerated thoughts to dive away from the grasping fingers. He immediately unleashed his prepared sling stone. With a familiar cracking sound, the Fire-burner's right hand, which had been aiming at Turan, was pulverized.
"Aaaaaaaagh!"
Turan approached the screaming man and rubbed his left hands together twice. It was electric magic, created by amplifying a tiny amount of static electricity. While precise aiming was difficult, hitting a target at this range was easy.
A crackling bolt of lightning struck the Fire-burner's chest. He shuddered violently and collapsed. Lightning spells were the most effective technique for subduing an opponent—though they could easily become lethal if the power was over-tuned.
"Did... did you get him?"
"Probably."
Turan gave a short answer to Visen. After confirming the Fire-burner was still breathing, he proceeded to fully restrain him. He scattered a few vine seeds on the floor and accelerated their growth, binding the man's arms behind his back and wrapping another vine around his eyes to blindfold him.
Without sight to gauge the direction of a spell or arms to help with targeting, meaningful resistance was impossible. If he tried to concentrate mana to break free, Turan would feel the vibration through the plants and kill him instantly.
The only downside was that maintaining the reinforcement and control of the plants consumed Turan's mana, so he couldn't keep it up indefinitely.
"He's subdued. Please look after those three first."
"...Thank you."
As expected, if Turan hadn't come along, the four of them would surely have departed for the Celestial Palace by now. This man had been thoroughly prepared for intruders.
While Visen woke the healer, Kebek, to treat the injured, Turan tapped the Fire-burner's cheek with the flat of his dagger.
"Hey. Wake up."
"Ugh..."
"Stop. If you stir up any more mana, I'll kill you instantly."
The Fire-burner, waking with a groan, instinctively tried to use mana to clear the vines. Turan immediately pressed the blade to his throat. The man went still.
"Who... who are you people? How did you find this place...?"
"We have our ways. So, you're the Fire-burner, right?"
"That's—"
Seeing the man hesitate, Turan plunged his dagger into his thigh. A raw scream echoed through the cave.
"Answer quickly."
There was no reason to show mercy to a butcher who had burned hundreds of innocent people. At Turan's cold voice, the Fire-burner nodded, tears streaming from beneath his blindfold.
Just then, Visen's group approached from behind.
"You subdued him with vines?"
"I didn't know a noble of the Guardian bloodline could do something like this..."
"Let's ask what we need to ask first," Turan interrupted.
He didn't mention that he couldn't maintain the restraint for long. If the Fire-burner heard that, he might try to stall. Fortunately, the man wasn't particularly strong-willed, and the interrogation proceeded quickly.
His name was Orvil Kraf, 78 years old, a noble of the Kraf family from the far south. He was currently a wanderer, having been disowned by his older brother, the family head.
"So, why has a wandering noble been burning villagers to death here?"
"God... God told me. He said that if I burn the souls and flesh of the sinful, I can grow closer to them..."
"What?"
"You shouldn't treat me like this! I am destined to become the progenitor of a great family!"
According to the rambling Orvil, a "god" had appeared to him and revealed several secrets for obtaining the powers of other bloodlines. He claimed he had already seen several other nobles gain new abilities through these methods.
The ritual Orvil was performing was the secret to obtaining the Pyromaniac bloodline. It required burning a large number of humans at once and covering oneself in their ashes. He pleaded and writhed, claiming he only needed to do it a few more times and begging them to let him go.
"...Is he just insane?"
"Seems like it."
Visen's group scoffed at Orvil, finding his story utterly absurd.
But Turan couldn't laugh.
'Even an ordinary person can gain power by killing a magical beast! I've already seen several mages like that!'
A suspicious superstition, the claim that there were already several other cases... It wasn't just that their eyes were similar; Orvil's claim followed a chillingly similar pattern to what Midan had said in the past.
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