<Episode 88>
“Are you okay?!”
I was dazed for a moment by the completely unexpected appearance of this person, but quickly nodded my head to let him know that I was not hurt.
Then Riat smiled slightly, whispering that he was glad.
No, the problem right now wasn’t whether I was hurt or not!
“!”
I quickly got up, grabbed the hem of Riat’s clothes, and tried to ask him what was happening, but my voice was blocked by the spell and wouldn’t come out.
Riat looked down at me, as I grasped my neck in frustration, and took out a small round case from his pocket.
“Wait a moment.”
It had black dye inside it.
He put his finger in the dye, traced the magic symbol on my neck, and gestured for me to speak.
“Ah…, my voice!”
“I have neutralized the spell on you, so you can speak now….wait, Edith!”
I grabbed Riat by the collar and shouted urgently.
“What is going on? Why are there so many dark spirits that there seem to be hundreds of them, and where are Meinhardt and Chairman Mekaila…..kyah!”
“……I’m sorry, but I’ll answer your question later.”
At that moment, Riat picked me up, wrapped my face with the hem of his black clothes, held me in his arms and started running quickly.
Because my vision was blocked by the hem of Riat’s cloak, I couldn’t see any more terrible scenes, but I could still hear the thunder that felt like the sky was being torn apart and the agonising screams were continuously ringing in my ears.
The shouting, screaming, and sobbing made me feel like I was going out of my mind.
How much time had passed?
As if he had finally succeeded in getting where he wanted, Riat put me down and removed the hem of his cloak that covered my face.
I frowned at the bright light that suddenly entered my field of vision, and then realized that the place Riat had taken me to was the Temple of Wisdom, so I stared blankly ahead.
“Even the Chairman’s office is not safe. Those who are unable to fight or who survived are taking refuge in this temple.”
Just as he said, there were a lot of people around, and everyone was either crying in fear or standing blankly staring at the doorway with pale faces.
“How did this happen?”
I asked blankly.
I really couldn’t understand what was going on.
Riat brushed away my disheveled hair and began to explain the circumstances of the incident in a complex tone.
“The Dark Spirit King has sent hundreds of his descendants to Litera to attack. The Chairman and the man who came with you are on the front lines, giving response.”
“What? No, why?”
I was shocked and asked for the reason, but Riat shook his head gently with a stern look on his face and said that he also did not know why it happened.
At that moment, the person that came to my mind was none other than Ashmed.
“…Riat, have you seen Ashmed by any chance?”
I hurriedly grabbed Riat’s wrist and asked.
However, Riat only shook his head and replied that he did not see him.
“There is no need to worry too much even if his whereabouts have not been confirmed. You must have seen the situation outside on the way there earlier. Everyone was being attacked by the dark spirits.”
When I was so depressed that I couldn’t even stand up from where I was sitting, Riat brought up this reason, perhaps to comfort me.
“Dark spirits are not powerful in themselves, but they are often treated as the most feared beings because they trample on the human ‘spirit’ and destroy it cruelly. However, elementalists blessed by the darkness are naturally immune from their powers and do not have to worry about the risk of their minds being manipulated. Therefore, the Second Prince of Roshan will not be helpless like the other spiritists, and it’s not like he does not have any abilities, he will be able to protect himself sufficiently.”
“……Wait a minute, then what about Meinhardt and Chairman? Those two aren’t in danger…?”
Riat sighed slightly and said.
“Don’t you know why I’m not on the front line, although illusion magic doesn’t work on me? It’s because my main attribute is darkness. Darkness can’t oppose the same darkness.”
There is one special type of person who can fight against dark spirits
A spiritist with the attribute of light.
“Chairman Mekaila is a great spiritist who cannot even be compared to other spiritists, but she has no way to neutralize mental magic. Meinhardt though is different. Although he is not blessed by the spirits of light, he has the attribute of electricity and emits a bright, scorching light that pours down from the sky, making it ideal for fighting against the spirits of darkness.”
Because of that, it was said that in the old days, when the Great Spiritists were fighting against disaster, the Great Spiritist of Light and the Great Spiritist of Electricity were the most important.
Fire also should work, but since the Great Spiritist of Fire did not exist, it is currently an unknown area.
I realized that what Riat said was not wrong.
At the same time, I understood why it had been raining thunder non-stop during my journey to Litera.
It was clear that he continued to cause lightning strikes to resist mental magic inflicted by dark spirits
I managed to let go of the fear that was paralyzing my rationality and consuming me, but soon I became lost in worry about finding a way to solve the current situation.
“Wouldn’t it be a great help to this situation if I summoned Oried and Naiad? Now that I can use my voice, summoning them is also possible.”
“……Have you seen any spirits other than the dark spirits on your way here?”
Oh, I froze and looked up at Riat.
Now that I think about it, it’s strange that I didn’t see them.
The situation was so dire and urgent that there was no way to think about it deeply before.
Even if all of Litera’s spiritists were to constant summoning at all times, in times of trouble like this, isn’t there a way to summon spirits directly to fight together with them……?
“That is why the Dark Spirit King is the most feared. He encroaches upon the place where he personally descends to make it his territory, so that no one can set foot there without his permission. Even if that one is another Spirit King.”
“But…….”
The moment I wanted to question it further, I recalled memories of the past and fell into despair.
At that time, when I was trapped in the illusion of the Kandel family, didn’t Oried awaken the dangerous personality of Yuhirian because he couldn’t even come in with his own strength?
“Arkane is the oldest among the primordial Spirit Kings. I guess that’s why he is so different from others.”
My God, was there really no way to overcome this crisis?
I bit my lip in nervousness.
“We need a light elementalist!”
At that moment, someone rushed through the entrance of the Temple of Wisdom and shouted.
It was someone I knew too.
He was a spiritist who served as a test proctor.
The middle-aged spiritist was panting heavily and desperately looking for a spiritist with the attribute of light.
“The Chairman and the Electric Elemental Master are fighting together, but the number of mid- to low-level dark spirits continues to increase! Because of that, the people remaining outside are unable to evacuate, so please join forces we need at least one more person!”
About ten young people in the large crowd hesitantly stepped forward.
The spirit master quickly left the temple with them.
Such an urgent situation represented the crisis that Litera was facing right now.
“………Do you have any ability that make you able to create a barrier in the Temple of Wisdom or something like that?”
It was a question asked as a last hope, but Riat answered by lowering his eyes.
“If there was such a thing, the Chairman would have used it a long time ago. The Spirit King of Wisdom is a spiritual spirit, so a physical use is almost impossible here.”
I remembered the history lesson that Count Juppes had taught me. Telling me that the royal family that ruled the Empire of Light was my ancestor.
Until now, I had never once regretted not being blessed by the Spirit King of Light.
“……..”
But being driven into a situation where I was completely helpless, I couldn’t have been more distressed by that fact.
***
In a dark sky without a single star.
An elderly woman was standing upright with her white clothes fluttering high above.
Mekaila rolled her eyes and stared at the young man who was constantly striking down lightning from his high spire, and looked down at the chaos below, people immersed in confusion and pain, even though the ‘real’ disaster had not yet struck.
[What do you plan to do now?]
At that moment, a noble voice spoke like a jade bead ringing.
Mekaila looked back at them.
The jewelry on his ears made a clear sound and gave off a dazzling light.
“Ariel.”
[Arkane will soon send his shadow here.]
His delicately decorated light blue hair fluttered in the faint breeze.
Ariel raised his head and stared at the black sky.
Mekaila continued to contemplate Ariel’s words, as if reflecting on his feelings.
She patted the hem of her clothes, which had been disheveled by the wind, taming the ruly wind that was both calm and vicious with a couple of hand patts, and answered.
“What’s the point? All passages to the outside are already blocked by the greedy darkness.”
[Lie.]
Ariel dismissed Mekaila’s words at once and then looked back at her.
The sky-blue eyes, which were always clear that one couldn’t see through them, were distorted with passion.
[You know. If you borrow my power, you, your disciple, the young man blessed by Astrape and Ilipia’s beloved girl can escape from here safely.]
“Then what about the countless people who will remain where we left them?”
Mekaila stared at Ariel and spoke in a calm tone.
Ariel responded sharply.
[You know that you are the most important to me. Your disciple, that young man and Ilipia’s beloved girl are being favored by the other Spirit Kings, so I can take them with us. As for the others, they are none of my concern.]
Ariel glances down below where there was screaming and madness.
He then looked back at Mekaila and muttered softly.
[Ignis wishes for peace and ignores all tragedies, while Lore is stubborn and no one can change his mind. In the meantime, I have tried to remain neutral between the two……but now I can’t do that.]
His blue eyes were filled with anger as he looked back at Mekaila.
[In the flow of fate, I have been robbed of all the beings I have loved since time immemorial. And you are the last one left in this world. The only person I sincerely hope not to lose is now you.]
***
TL:
I wonder how she (Ariel) could be there…
