novelraw Chapter 176 : Chapter 176
Chapter 176 : Chapter 176
Chapter 176: Embers (4)
“Just because the rank is the same doesn't mean the level is the same. Knowledge is the same way.”
Manoa seemed to have her pride hurt by being compared to Cassion of Gu Poison.
It was true though.
Just because the rank is the same doesn't mean the level is the same.
There are quite a few 5th Rank Mages who cannot manifest, and even among those who can, a hierarchy is divided.
“I heard the Sun’s Divine Beast has three legs. Ah, I heard this from a Red Tower Mage.”
“That is correct information.”
The Fireball had two legs.
“Comparing it to a human, it would be around infancy or growth period. It still lacks fire.”
“What fire?”
“The Sun’s fire.”
Manoa blamed the Fireball’s growth on Harad.
In fact, Harad felt it too.
The Fireball was born from Crimson Flames.
If it had been born from White Flames, it would have been stronger.
“If my Origin grows, this guy will naturally grow too.”
“That is correct. The Sun’s Divine Beast eats the Sun’s fire.”
“That would be food too.”
When Harad pointed to the Shrine, Manoa flinched.
“It’s a joke.”
“…….”
Harad looked down at the Fireball.
Its body was composed of Crimson Flames. A 4th Rank fire.
‘This is infancy or growth period.’
If Manoa was right, it deserved to be called a Divine Beast.
Perhaps it wouldn't be lacking even compared to the Rabbit.
“What happens when it grows up?”
“If you mean an adult, they say it commands fire.”
It was a vague explanation.
“When it grows to a certain extent?”
“They say it scatters fire around.”
This was also vague.
Harad felt Manoa was quoting some ancient record.
It meant she hadn't actually seen one.
Divine Beasts are rare, and adults would be even more so.
“Scatters?”
“Yes. The scattered fire is said to be equal to the owner’s. Also, it does not extinguish.”
“Until when?”
“Until the Divine Beast dies.”
Manoa, who was explaining, chuckled softly to herself.
“So in reality, it would be close to eternity. Although conditional.”
“Why?”
“Isn't it the Sun’s Divine Beast? As long as the Sun is alive, its servant does not die.”
If Harad doesn't die, the Fireball doesn't die either.
Harad recalled the Fire Crow eaten by Asura.
The Fireball was born from that carcass, using Crimson Flames as a medium.
“This guy’s mother died though.”
And it was weak.
It was a shabby death for a Divine Beast.
“Then that mother was not born from the Sun.”
It merely preserved the species while waiting for the Sun.
Manoa was saying that.
-BEEP!
The Fireball cried briefly.
Crimson Flames. The Fireball composed of Harad’s fire seemed to know its lifespan instinctively.
“Absurd.”
“That is why it is a Divine Beast.”
Immortal if the owner is safe.
Harad let out a hollow laugh. It was a Magical Beast as vague as magic itself.
“Is the Moon’s Divine Beast like that too?”
“No.”
Immortality seemed to be a characteristic unique to the Sun’s Divine Beast.
“I like that.”
Only then could Harad stop comparing the Fireball and the Rabbit.
-BEEP!
Acknowledged, the Fireball rubbed its head against him.
“You know a lot.”
“It is antiquated knowledge.”
“No, the era is not important. The present is built upon the past, after all.”
Manoa looked at him with strange eyes.
“I retract the word ‘end of the world’ from earlier. You are indeed a Mage.”
“I am honored.”
Unlike the praise from the Otherworld, it wasn't unpleasant.
Dignity could be glimpsed in the Witch Manoa.
“As an antiquated Mage, I advise you, do not mind it.”
“Mind what?”
“Your Origin and rank, and the growth of the Divine Beast.”
Manoa said implicitly.
“Your curiosity and inquisitive spirit befit a Mage.”
“Indeed.”
“Also, 4th Rank at a young age. You are a very excellent and special Mage.”
Just very occasionally, a 4th Rank like a 5th Rank.
Harad introduced himself like that, but Manoa seemed not to have believed it.
“However, that will be it.”
Because her expectation for the Mage named Harad wasn't high.
“Sounds like you're telling me to be satisfied here.”
“That is correct. Do not be obsessed with rank. The growth of the Divine Beast is also not your share.”
Manoa pointed to Harad’s chest.
“It will be comfortable if you consider it a fate decided from birth. That Origin is not your share.”
“…….”
“If you want to live even a little longer, leave the Boundary as soon as possible. Serzila is not allowed either.”
If it was criticism, it was criticism; if advice, advice.
“Do not be complacent in the continent either. Go down south if possible. If it were me, I would have done so.”
“Is it because of the Moon’s prophecy?”
“That is correct.”
The Sun belongs to a woman.
Manoa was treating Harad’s death as an established fact.
“Couldn't the prophecy be wrong?”
“It cannot be wrong.”
Manoa said emphatically.
“I will live for another 19 years. My rank will become at least 5th Rank. I am confident.”
Manoa’s eyebrows twitched.
She was skeptical.
“Still, can’t it be wrong?”
“No.”
“What is the basis?”
“The Moon has never been wrong.”
The Moon was a concept of similar size to the Sun.
Just as the Red Tower worships the Sun, Manoa, who is from the Moon Tower, does not doubt the Moon.
“Did you perhaps hear it directly?”
“I heard it passed down. Also, I heard it directly.”
Harad’s eyes widened.
“The Sun belongs to a woman. I heard that prophecy was given by the Moon of long ago.”
“That is correct.”
But she heard it directly.
“You, were you that old?”
“What kind of rudeness is that?”
The Witch crumpled her face.
“Long ago. Isn't it at least hundreds of years ago? When the Sun died, or when the Moon existed for the last time?”
Long ago.
Cassion had said so.
“There is no Moon now.”
In the current era, there is no Moon.
Harad was certain.
The Magic Tower’s name borrows the name of the greatest Origin among the past Tower Masters.
The Moon means the greatest and most powerful Origin in the history of the Moon Tower.
If such a Mage existed, the Moon Tower wouldn't have been quiet in his past life.
“What nonsense is that.”
But the Witch became serious.
“The Moon has mostly existed.”
“What?”
Harad frowned.
“Do you perhaps not know? Fire is rare in the Otherworld.”
“I heard. Because the sun is not in the actual sky either.”
There is no sun in the Otherworld.
What remains in that polar region is only the embers left by the King.
Avery Aquins had once said that was the reason fire is rare in the Otherworld.
“That is correct. Origin is born nearby.”
The Otherworld is an infinitely cold polar region.
Therefore, the Origin called fire is rarely born.
“That fire is rare means chill is common.”
The Sun was born on the continent.
Through the vessel named Harad.
“The Moon is born amidst the chill.”
The Moon was born in the Otherworld.
“And the Otherworld is the coldest land in the world.”
Periodically.
“……Gu Poison didn't tell me that.”
“That is why he is Gu Poison.”
Cassion laughed stupidly in his head.
‘This useless bastard.’
* * *
“Does the Sun also get born periodically, frequently?”
“If so, the Moon would not have left a prophecy.”
The Sun is rarer than the Moon.
Manoa said so.
The history of the Otherworld was the evidence.
“I heard the Moon’s prophecy passed down. And I heard it directly from the Moon of that time.”
That the newly enthroned Moon recited that prophecy again.
Manoa spoke like an old person reminiscing about the past.
‘There is a Moon.’
But Harad was half in doubt.
Because he regressed.
It might be true when Manoa was in the Otherworld, but it was vague now.
Manoa said mostly, not always.
There was enough possibility that there wasn't one.
‘In my past life, there was no Moon.’
None, or disappeared.
One of the two.
‘Should I be conscious of it?’
Based on the past life, there is no need.
But it was a foolish question.
‘I should.’
This world was already flowing differently from the past life.
There was no knowing how the Moon Tower would change either.
As Harad, he had to find out and assume as much as possible.
“You wouldn't know about the current Moon. Since you are old.”
“…….”
The Witch’s eyes narrowed.
“It is a compliment.”
“…….”
“I mean it. Is there anything to be ashamed of? Experience and knowledge are better the more they accumulate.”
Manoa stared into the empty air as if embarrassed.
After doing so for a while, she suddenly tilted her head.
“By the way, about that prophecy.”
“The Sun belongs to a woman?”
“Yes. That passage…….”
The Witch trailed off.
“That passage, is it correct?”
The eyes looking into the empty air seemed somehow vacant.
It was very brief.
The Witch’s gaze soon became clear.
“No, it is correct. I was mistaken for a moment.”
Harad felt a sense of incongruity.
It was a very small incongruity, so small he didn't know what caused it.
“It would be better to return as quickly as possible.”
Manoa wanted Harad to leave.
Not for the village, but out of worry for Harad who gave up the Embers for the village.
“I should.”
“……Are you not believing my words?”
“I believe. I'm keeping it all in mind.”
Harad was smiling pointlessly.
“Do you have any more advice?”
“Your dream.”
Manoa answered even while snorting.
“And the appearance of the woman who appeared in the dream of the woman named Ellen matched.”
She is talking about Elaine of the past life.
“Sorry. I can’t tell you that.”
“It is fine. I am not curious. I am simply trying to advise because you seemed to want advice.”
“I am listening.”
Manoa met Harad’s eyes, then glanced toward his heart.
Then she carefully opened her mouth.
“Beware of that woman.”
“Why?”
“She is dangerous. This is the intuition of an old Mage, me.”
Manoa seemed humble yet arrogant.
Harad felt a strange wisdom in her words.
That must be why the Otherworld calls a 6th Rank Mage a Sage.
Although Manoa was 5th Rank, she must have contemplated for a time no less than a Sage.
‘Dangerous.’
But considering who the opponent was.
Harad answered roughly.
“I will be careful.”
As if noticing, Manoa snorted again this time.
“Whatever, since believing is up to you.”
“Are you sulking?”
“Would I be?”
When people get old, they sulk more easily than expected.
Harad knew through Wimar. Manoa seemed similar in age to or older than Wimar.
It was then.
Suddenly, Manoa lifted her head sharply. Her gaze headed toward the village.
“Is something wrong?”
“A festival has started.”
Manoa’s words were true.
Balbebron’s voice got louder when he was drunk. His laughter could be heard all the way here.
“It is a common occurrence. If one person raises a glass, the whole village soon follows.”
“It is a good phenomenon.”
“Because there aren't many things to enjoy.”
It is a village isolated in the Boundary.
Things to play are ultimately limited.
“Have you not thought about wanting to go out?”
“Where would we go?”
The Witch clicked her tongue.
They were rejected by the continent and even the Otherworld.
“Well, they say dreams are free.”
“Not something a Mage should say.”
“Doesn’t seem like an attitude a Mage whose Origin is Dream should have either.”
“…….”
The Witch walked silently.
“That’s not the village?”
Harad called out to stop the Witch.
She was trying to enter the forest, not the village.
“I know.”
“You said it’s a festival. Aren’t you going?”
“You go. I have work to do.”
The Witch said so and entered the forest.
* * *
If one person raises a glass, the whole village soon raises glasses.
Balbebron and Ellen’s drinking party had expanded into a village festival.
Perhaps because of that, Ellen and Balbebron were at the center of the village.
The location was the center, and the atmosphere was central too.
It was a scene where the villagers gathered around Ellen and Balbebron. The two were sitting on the street in the middle, clinking glasses.
“More!”
The glasses clinked increased with every drink.
Come to think of it, Ellen had good affinity.
While pretending to be solemn as Elaine, Ellen, who wandered bars every night, played freely.
That was her true nature.
That must be why she hit it off with Bahav, who was taking a shit, in the past life.
‘Complacent.’
Intoxication and atmosphere make people lax and complacent.
But it was also one of the few outlets.
It wasn't for Harad to interfere.
The only one who can stop it is Manoa.
Because it is a festival possible because that Witch’s Origin surrounds the village.
‘Is she leaving to not spoil the mood?’
Harad recalled Manoa who entered the forest and laughed hollowly.
She was too soft a woman to be called a Witch.
‘The atmosphere is good though.’
It seemed fine even if the Witch was there.
Wherever a group forms, there's bound to be some bad apples, but this place didn't seem so.
It must mean it is a lifeline found with difficulty.
“Harad!”
Ellen, who was giggling with the villagers, discovered him and raised her hand high.
People’s gazes focused on Harad.
Harad tried to ignore it.
If he got swept up in that atmosphere, he felt like he would drink alcohol unwittingly.
“Haraaaaad!”
Ellen called like a drunkard.
Harad immediately noticed it was pretending to be drunk.
‘How cunning.’
Pretending to be drunk to call him and make him drink.
Ellen was curious about Harad’s drinking habits.
That woman was like that from the past life.
If she was curious about something, she had to satisfy it to be content. So she forcefully fed him alcohol to check his drinking habits.
Harad moved at an angle where Ellen couldn't see.
As a result, the place he arrived at was the empty lot where children played during the day.
He intended to sit on a bench and watch the festival, but there was a prior guest.
It was an old man with grayish hair and beard.
“Burp!”
The old man was sitting in the middle of the bench drinking alcohol.
He was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
“Tsk. No one comes? How pathetic.”
The old man drank alcohol with an unintelligible sound.
He only turned his head to the side and gulped down the alcohol, and looking now, his spine seemed twisted.
“A nasty Origin.”
One more sip.
Only then did Harad realize that what was inside that unique bottle wasn't alcohol.
The hunchbacked old man was drinking fire.
‘Ah.’
Harad realized then.
Why Manoa went into the forest.
“Oh my. Ran out already?”
The old man shook the bottle over his tongue.
One or two drops of fire fell and then stopped.
“Is it insufficient?”
Harad approached the old man with a smile.
“Huh?”
“Here it is.”
Harad rubbed his eye with his left hand and extended his right hand. White fire flowed down like water from that palm.
“Ho?”
Watching the stream of white fire filling the bottle, the old man’s eyes shone peculiarly.
In the meantime, Harad kept rubbing around his eye with his left hand. The bloody tears were wiped away as soon as they flowed.
“Is this enough?”
Harad said after filling the bottle.
Only then did the old man look up at Harad.
“Are you okay? Your face is white.”
“My skin tends to be white originally.”
“Suits this fire. I will eat well.”
The old man abruptly shoved the bottle into his mouth.
His Adam's apple moved quickly. His head tilted further, and the bottle stood completely upside down.
“Ack!”
The old man, who emptied the bottle, shouted like a scream.
“Hot! I almost melted slightly!”
Slightly, he said.
‘White Flames.’
Harad clicked his tongue inwardly.
“Isn’t it good if it’s hot?”
“I don’t need too hot!”
Because then he would melt completely.
Like this, that guy hates fire yet likes it.
“I like your fire.”
For the old man, it was a compliment, but for Harad, it was mockery.
‘Right, meaning he’s not an easy guy even now.’
Indeed.
He couldn't die this easily.
“Do you live here?”
“No. I am a guest.”
“Same situation. Good!”
The old man clapped his hands.
It was a roar as if boulders collided.
“Leave now. I will spare you.”
“What about this place?”
“Have to get rid of it.”
The old man raised his body.
He was clearly a hunchback, but when he stood up, it felt like facing a wall.
“Then I decline, Tower Master of Meteoric Iron.”
Tower Master of Meteoric Iron.
Harad looked down at the King of that tower and smiled brightly.