Chapter 130 : Chapter 130

Translator: AkazaTL

Pr/Ed: Sol IX

***

Chapter 130 – The Elder (3)

“Explain something to me—how did you use magic? I thought spellcasting was impossible within Cherville’s city limits.”

“That damned pointy-eared fossil made it possible. When he broke in, he wrecked the western-gate guards and punched a hole in the city’s barrier. Someone of my level doesn’t miss gaps like that. Though, I’ll admit—casting magic inside an anti-magic field has my head spinning.”

“Then we were lucky.”

“If this is what you call lucky, I’d hate to see unlucky. I swear, ever since I started tagging along with you, every miserable thing in the world finds us.”

Audrey wasn’t wrong. I pretended not to hear, scanning the surroundings instead.

We weren’t in Cherville’s center anymore—the buildings still had the Blade City style, but this was the outer district, near the walls.

“Where are we exactly?”

“Outskirts. Almost at the wall.”

“Do you know which gate?”

“No idea. I just ran. And before you start blaming anyone, it wasn’t even me in front—it was that old man. So if we’re lost, don’t look at me. I did my part.”

“Why do you sound guilty, then?”

I turned from her to Tom, who calmly reported,

“We’re headed for the East Gate.”

“The east one? Wouldn’t the west be smarter if we want to slip out? You said the guards there were mauled—security must be weak. We could walk right through.”

“Perhaps. But we don’t need to sneak out, do we? We’ve followed every proper procedure. With Sir Vermartin’s endorsement, the city watch isn’t our enemy—they’re our allies. Reliable ones.”

“Ah.”

He was right.

“Also, through the East Gate we can immediately meet the people I hired in advance. The west would mean a long detour, wasting time we don’t have.”

“Good point.”

I nodded. As the group moved, another thought crossed my mind.

“Lady Audrey.”

“Mm?”

“Do you know the old elf who attacked the city?”

“Of course. High Elf Nadin.”

So she knew of him too.

“One of the oldest beings on the continent. And the most troublesome.”

“Powerful?”

“Extremely. But that isn’t what makes him terrifying.”

“Then what?”

“Nadin is immortal. As long as the World Tree stands, he’ll revive again and again—from the purest spring in the oldest forest.”

“……”

“That’s why no one wants to fight him. He never forgets a grudge. Not after centuries, not after millennia.”

An undying being who never forgets hatred. Just hearing it was dreadful.

“But why ask?”

“I heard his reason for attacking Cherville.”

“Oh?”

“He said he knows Ian Cherville is the one stirring chaos across the continent. That even the elves were dragged into his vortex—and he came to judge the guilty.”

Right. That old elf had come all this way to demand retribution. And his fury had sounded sincere.

“Could we use him?”

“Use him?”

“Yes. The enemy of my enemy, as they say.”

Audrey snorted.

“Forget it.”

“Why?”

“To that pointy-eared fossil, the only things that matter are the forest and his kin. Every other emotion has been eroded by eternity. If he could protect the elves by doing it, he’d feed the entire continent to the World Tree. He’d do it without blinking.”

“……”

“Didn’t I tell you?”

She gave me a sharp look.

“Every transcendent being on this continent is broken somehow. Remember that when you step beyond the Iron Kingdom—forget it, and you won’t last long.”

Broken. That word landed heavy.

I nodded solemnly. “So you’re a transcendent too, Lady Audrey. That explains why you’re so—”

“Shut up.”

She cut me off flatly. Fair enough.

With that warning ringing in my ears, I abandoned the half-formed plan. You can’t ally with someone who sees all non-elves as compost. No way in hell.

Audrey’s tone turned uneasy.

“Still, something about this worries me.”

“Why?”

Worried? Why now? Everything seemed under control. She rested her chin on one hand.

“This attack was a message. A warning to Ian Cherville for touching an elf’s reverse scale. Nadin was saying, I can walk right into your capital if I wish. My sisters told me High Elves do that a lot—they don’t die, so they make their point dramatically.”

“……”

“But it won’t end there. Nadin didn’t just warn Ian Cherville. He wanted every nation to know he’s moving. To show the world that the true evil behind the chaos is Ian Cherville—to declare that the wrath of the forest has awakened.”

She frowned in thought.

That alone said how serious it was. Her performance earlier—saving us with impossible magic inside the anti-magic city—had been nothing short of a miracle. She’d earned the right to gloat, yet she only looked anxious.

And honestly, I understood.

“Yeah… it won’t stop here. That old elf’s the most relentless creature my sisters ever spoke of. He won’t end it with one visit. Something else will—”

Because it always did.

“—happen, right…?”

Nothing in my life ever stayed simple. Never.

“……”

Our group froze. Ahead of us stood the East Gate. Or rather—what was left of it.

“Steel heir.”

“Yes.”

“I knew it. With you around, every cursed thing in the world shows up.”

“…Fair point.”

The gate guards lay sprawled across the ground, their bodies crushed into paste. Around them were the shredded remains of Iron Legion soldiers. And amid the carnage loomed a monster— a moving mountain of stone and vines.

“You,” Audrey muttered, “have the worst luck of any human I’ve met.”

“Thank you. But perhaps instead of repeating what everyone already knows, you could tell me what that thing is?”

Behind the creature, the mighty anti-magic wall had collapsed into rubble. The sight was absurdly hopeless.

Audrey’s voice was grim.

“It’s a Spirit King.”

“A… what?”

“The Earth Spirit King—Gaia. A being only the chosen elves can summon.”

The monster’s eight obsidian eyes shifted toward us, gleaming like black gemstones.

“It’s also called…”

Those eyes locked on me.

“…the Incarnation of Destruction.”

***

Sherizik knelt, pressing a hand to the soil.

“It isn’t just here. You said the western gate had a breach? Looks like every gate except the north has been destroyed. The spirits’ energy is everywhere.”

Of course. Sherizik could feel such things—she was more than an orc warrior; she carried the blood of Sherdik, a legendary shaman. When she’d said she could serve as our ‘guide,’ it hadn’t been a bluff.

With Audrey’s magic flickering from exhaustion, Sherizik’s shamanic senses were our only compass inside the anti-magic field.

“Damn it,” Audrey hissed. “I knew it. That old elf wouldn’t stop at a warning. He showed himself in the capital and flattened the walls just to make a point.”

“Understandable,” Tom said. “The Iron Kingdom won’t take this lightly.”

“Because of pride?” I asked.

“Partly. But there’s a far greater concern.”

Tom’s tone sharpened.

“The Iron Kingdom is at war—against the Machine Empire. Without Cherville’s anti-magic wall, the Empire could strike the capital at any time. Their magitech is the most advanced in the world—warp-gate assaults are their specialty. They could appear right in the city center.”

“Ah.”

“They won’t invade immediately, of course. But the mere possibility will pressure the kingdom. Everyone knows their feud runs deep.”

He was right.

The Iron Kingdom and the Machine Empire were bitter enemies—it was common knowledge.

Sherizik looked up at me.

“Even if we turn back, every other gate’s in a similar shape.”

“So it wasn’t just my bad luck, then. This would’ve happened no matter which way—”

“That’s incorrect. The other gates have elemental spirits, yes—but not a Spirit King. Only the east has one. So this really is your terrible luck.”

She said it so flatly that I couldn’t even argue. I sighed.

“How long would it take to circle around?”

“At least twenty minutes, young master.”

“Perfect amount of time to get caught in whatever chaos is erupting downtown.”

One path was faster but deadly. The other is safer but slow. We had to choose.

Then Audrey said,

“No choice.”

“What do you mean?”

“That old elf summoned the World Tree. That’s the strongest threat a High Elf can unleash. Soon, the Iron Kingdom’s top forces will come to suppress him. The window before they clash is the most dangerous moment. If we want to live, we need to get outside the walls now. The World Tree is too dangerous to be near.”

I thought for a moment, then asked,

“How strong is the Earth Spirit King?”