novelraw Chapter 95 : Chapter 95
Chapter 95 : Chapter 95
Chapter 95: Fire Crow (1)
Consuming hearts was like a drug.
No, it was even more addictive.
‘This is more than I thought.’
The addiction was stronger than I had expected.
It was to the point where even my willpower struggled to resist it.
‘It’s enjoying this.’
The sun acted like an addict taking another dose before withdrawal symptoms could even set in.
That must have meant the consumption was that sweet.
‘No wonder Kubel from my past life ended up like that.’
If it’s like this now, I can only imagine what it would be like when withdrawal kicks in.
A heart addict who couldn't distinguish friend from foe.
I understood an addict's feelings, if only a little. If I had to say, Kubel was my senior in this.
In my past life, I hadn’t consumed hearts all that often.
-I believe I told you to stop eating those.
-Eating them makes me stronger, faster.
-I told you there's no need.
It was because Elaine hated it.
‘But I did do it back then. What’s the difference?’
The addiction hadn’t been this severe then.
‘Ingestion? No, that’s not it.’
Even in my past life, there had been times when I directly chewed and swallowed a Magical Beast’s heart.
‘It must be because it’s a mage’s heart.’
To be precise, a heart imbued with an Origin.
In my past life, I had never taken a mage's heart by mouth.
Psina’s heart had probably played a large role.
The heart of a 5th Rank. In terms of drugs, it was like administering a high-concentration dose in the most direct way possible.
“I didn't do something unnecessary, did I?”
“I told you, didn’t I? I liked it.”
Eating it right now wouldn’t make me as bad as the Kubel from my past life.
I would have to eat far more to get to that point.
‘I should refrain from ingesting them as well.’
Eating them directly was the most effective and most addictive method.
It was in the same vein as how the effect and addictiveness of a drug change depending on the method of administration.
I needed to abandon my complacency.
‘I can eat a heart anytime, but the orb is a different story.’
That moment just now was the first chance I’d had to fill the Moon’s orb.
If I started obsessing over hearts to the point of losing my priorities, that in itself was no different from addiction.
‘Just when I think things are going well, it always does something like this.’
I was newly reminded to be vigilant about my sun.
Things like Origins always pop up just when you’re about to forget them.
“How is it?”
I asked Ellen.
The Moon’s orb and the Asura’s heart were in her hands.
I felt it would be hard to resist if I held on to them any longer.
“I don’t think it’s charging anymore. It seems to be full.”
Nothing more could be felt from the Asura’s heart.
On the other hand, the once-transparent Moon’s orb had regained its silver color, just like when I first received it from the rabbit.
Ellen even wiped the blood off the orb before handing it to me. Indeed, just as she said, the silver magic was almost completely full.
‘The rabbit. And Cassion.’
This orb had saved my life twice.
When it restored me from a near-death state to my original condition, half of the silver magic had been consumed.
“I can use it twice more, at most.”
As long as I protected the orb well, it was like having two spare lives.
“That doesn’t mean you have permission to get hurt twice.”
Ellen warned me rather grimly.
If I did it on purpose once, she would probably make sure she was the one to use the remaining charge.
“Don’t worry. I won’t use it carelessly.”
“You’d better keep that promise.”
“Of course. Do you think I enjoy being in pain?”
* * *
The Moon’s orb.
The contents of that strange Magical Item, a gift from the rabbit, was silver magic.
I had tested all sorts of magic, but in the end, I had failed to fill the orb with silver magic.
‘It has to be the magic of an Origin related to the moon. Probably.’
Cassion had said so once.
It was because the rabbit had given me the orb.
That rabbit was the Divine Beast of the Moon. The Guardian of the Moon Tower.
Seeing the darkness left by the Asura, I had thought of the rabbit.
‘The Asura. No, the Origin of the mage who became an Asura was one related to the moon.’
The orb had absorbed the Asura’s heart.
It was one heart, but the amount it contained was not that of a single heart.
The Gray Asura had absorbed countless Asuras before it died.
‘So, he was a mage from the Moon Tower.’
The Asura had been a mage of the Moon Tower when he was alive.
At the conclusion I reached, I let out a low laugh.
For a long time, the Moon Tower and the Red Tower have coexisted.
The continental conquest.
The only towers that oppose the long-cherished desire of the Otherworld are the Red Tower and the Moon Tower.
The Red Tower wants their king to conquer the continent himself.
The Moon Tower, Cassion had said, was because they weren’t ready yet.
The Red Tower desires the sun.
Because that Origin is their king.
That is why they are searching for the woman born with the king according to the moon’s prophecy.
‘The sun is needed. By the Moon Tower as well.’
When the Watchtower of Fire was burned down, the Moon Tower sought to identify the fire mage who burned the watchtower.
‘Without the sun, Origins related to the moon die.’
The king of the Red Tower is also necessary for the Moon Tower.
That is the meaning of Coexistence.
‘Then it makes sense why the Moon Tower wasn’t prominent in my past life.’
In my past life.
During the war with the Otherworld, the Moon Tower’s notoriety was unknown.
It must have been because all the mages with Origins related to the moon had either died or become creatures like the Asura.
Because I, who possessed the sun, was still alive and hadn't joined the Otherworld.
‘Does it have to be the sun? The Gray Asura had regained some level of intelligence with the Fire Crow.’
This means the sun can be substituted with a powerful fire.
It likely wasn’t that significant.
Doesn’t my past life prove it? Fire is a rare Origin.
‘Rather than needing the sun specifically, they must need a powerful fire.’
Their position seemed to be quite different from the Red Tower’s.
Because a king cannot be replaced.
‘The Moon Tower needs the sun, or a powerful fire.’
Of course, this was a hypothesis.
The Asura might have just been a moon mage devoured by his Origin.
But I thought the hypothesis was quite plausible.
The rabbit’s favorable attitude was the basis for it. The creature had definitely reacted to the sun.
If I really wanted to verify it, I would have to poke Cassion.
If the spy’s usefulness disappeared, the Moon Tower would surely make a new move.
Or I could find a fire mage and bring them before the rabbit.
‘It’s not something I need to verify to that extent.’
There was no reason to dig into it first.
Whether the hypothesis was right or wrong, it didn't matter to me at all. In the end, it was the enemy’s problem.
I needed time to recover.
It was because the orb had taken the Asura’s heart from me, but I didn’t use the orb.
It wasn't a situation where I needed to recover urgently, and opportunities to charge the orb were rare.
I had only encountered an Asura once, even in my past life, and the only Moon Tower mage I knew was the useless Cassion.
“I can walk now.”
“Walking isn’t enough. This is the Boundary.”
Kalinos needed rest anyway.
His condition was worse than mine.
The wound on his back, in particular, was enormous. It was the result of charging forward while surrounded by Asuras, all in the name of valor.
“The road back will be more arduous than the way here. The darkness that hid us is gone.”
Battles with Magical Beasts on the way back would be unavoidable.
However, since I had checked the terrain and the Magical Beasts on the way here, it wouldn’t be too dangerous.
“Where are you going?”
“To relieve myself.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“……?”
That was something I couldn’t do in this life.
Actually, I didn’t even need to go. It was a joke.
“I’m going to see the traces of the Fire Crow, out of curiosity. You should stay and protect Sir Kalinos.”
I moved away without waiting for an answer.
The back of my head tingled, so Ellen was probably watching me. If something happened, she would come running immediately.
‘She is being a bit excessive.’
Since Psina, and the moon’s prophecy, Ellen had been openly overprotective of me.
Well, being excessive wasn’t all bad.
At least I was pleased.
The Fire Crow had been eaten without a trace, but the place where it was eaten stood out.
In this area of nothing but darkness, only that spot was gray.
It was a pile of white ash left after everything had been burned away.
‘It doesn’t eat the ash.’
The Fire Crow must have struggled until its body turned to ash, even as it was being torn apart by the Asuras.
I crouched down and quietly examined the ash.
I didn’t feel anything in particular. The same when I touched it. It was truly fine ash.
“Try lighting a fire.”
Ellen was next to me at some point.
“Kal… Ah. You brought him.”
Unable to contain her curiosity, Ellen had dragged Kalinos over.
He was lying face down, leaving a long trail on the ground. The face looking up at me somehow seemed pitiful.
“Why fire?”
“It might come back to life, you know.”
This ash?
I stared intently at Ellen.
“Then does it make sense that the Asura regained its Origin and reason after eating fire?”
“……You have a point.”
For a change, Ellen seemed smart to me.
She was quite persuasive. There were far more unknowns in the world than what I knew.
Whoosh! The fire that bloomed in my hand spread to the fine, white ash.
Its heat and concentration were immense. My eyes widened as I watched the flames spread out in a fan shape over the scattered ash.
The spreading flames were Crimson Flames.
That uniquely red and viscous 4th Rank fire took over the pile of ash.
It wasn't my intention.
I had planned to start a small, weak fire, slowly.
‘My magic was sucked away.’
The pile of ash had forcibly drawn out my magic.
And converted it into a stronger fire, at that.
The Crimson Flames that had spread out in a circle began to flow.
From the outside in, toward the center of the ash pile. The place where the ash had been piled highest. Before long, the Crimson Flames had gathered there as one.
The ash that had filled the area was no longer visible.
The Crimson Flames had taken it all to that center.
“Ellen. I think you were right.”
The ash in the center swelled up. Then it vanished within the Crimson Flames. No, I felt that it had become a part of the Crimson Flames.
The Crimson Flames were several times larger than when they were first manifested. The ash had been added to them.
The Crimson Flames, now one with the ash, began to shrink. It curled inward, transforming into the shape of a sphere.
This too was not my will.
The Crimson Flames were moving on their own, and soon, they turned into a small sphere. A sphere the size of a human head.
The sphere was made of Crimson Flames, but its shape remained distinct and smooth. It looked like an egg.
Crack. A crack appeared on the orb of Crimson Flames.
It looked even more like an egg now. An egg about to hatch.
-Peep!
A creature cried out from within the egg.
“Was it pregnant?”
“It is avian.”
“Ah.”
* * *
A bird.
What broke out of the egg of Crimson Flames was a bird.
“A Fire Crow……”
Kalinos muttered.
It was a chick, but it was definitely a Fire Crow. Its feathers were flames.
“……This is marvelous.”
I was genuinely in awe.
It was a birth that couldn't be anything but. That baby bird was born in fire, with the ash as its nourishment.
‘A resurrection? Or a real chick?’
It seemed to be the latter.
The eyes that drew closer seemed quite gentle.
It was a purity rarely seen in Magical Beasts that inhabit the Boundary.
-Peep?
The baby Fire Crow, having come right up to my nose, tilted its small head.
“……It’s quite cute.”
I agreed. As Ellen said, the Fire Crow was cuter than an actual crow.
“Is it because it’s still a chick?”
“It’s a little big for a chick.”
Despite being just born, the Fire Crow was the size of a person’s foot.
“Then it must have been born with good looks.”
“Can I touch it? It seems to be on your side.”
“I wouldn’t recommend it.”
It was then. The Fire Crow suddenly flew up.
It landed on Ellen’s flinching shoulder and nuzzled its head against her cheek.
“It understands words.”
-Peep!
The Fire Crow replied.
I was reminded of the rabbit. That creature also understood words.
“But why isn’t it attacking?”
-Peep! Peep!
The Fire Crow pointed at me with its beak, and then at Ellen.
“I see.”
“Why? What is it?”
“It seems to be because it can feel my warmth from you.”
The Fire Crow was born from my fire.
In a way, I was its mother.
-Peep!
The Fire Crow chirped shortly. It seemed to be an affirmation.
When I held out my hand, the Fire Crow immediately moved onto it.
“What are you? The rabbit was the Divine Beast of the Moon.”
The birth of the Fire Crow was marvelous.
No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t seem like an ordinary Magical Beast.
-Peep.
The Fire Crow chirped quietly.
I didn’t understand. It could understand words, but that didn’t mean we could have a conversation.
“Could it be the Divine Beast of the Sun? There’s a Divine Beast of the Moon, after all.”
So there must be a Divine Beast of the Sun as well.
It was a reasonable inference. I had been suspecting as much myself.
“Then I’m disappointed.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“It’s weak.”
The Fire Crow had lost to the horde of Asuras.
“It might not be fully grown.”
“The rabbit wasn’t either.”
That rabbit wasn’t a full adult either.
“The rabbit wouldn’t have lost.”
The Fire Crow squawked loudly.