Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A child who had only just lost his entire family said he wanted enough power to change the entire world.

At that moment, Eldarin felt a thrill almost sinful in nature bloom inside her inner world.

All I did was press him down once with refined mana.

That was all...

Yet the child before her had quickly understood the situation and brought the destructive energy inside himself back under control.

An ordinary child would have fainted.

Or gone completely mad.

My eyes weren't wrong.

This child definitely has talent.

Eldarin found herself greatly pleased by the cold determination in Kaian's eyes and the burning desire hidden beneath it.

One corner of her lips rose.

"Then make a contract with me."

She continued calmly.

"I will hide you inside Eldargrove. I will feed you, give you a place to sleep, and personally teach you magic."

That was exactly what Kaian wanted.

Still, he could not help asking why.

He swallowed once, then spoke boldly.

"My father told me to be careful when strangers show me kindness."

Eldarin shook her head.

"I am not showing you kindness."

"Then what is it?"

"Hmm. Yes. I suppose you should know."

She looked at him directly.

"Recently, the mana balance of the world has begun to collapse."

"The mana balance...?"

Kaian's eyes widened.

"If the mana balance collapses... rifts appear!"

Kaian remembered the stories from the books he always begged his mother to read.

According to those books, there were five types of mana that formed the world.

Wood.

Fire.

Earth.

Metal.

Water.

As long as those five types of mana remained balanced, the world could stay peaceful.

But around seven hundred years ago...

Wars between the Magic Towers became increasingly common.

For the first time, the world's mana balance became unstable.

And eventually...

Rifts appeared.

Eldarin nodded.

"You know quite a lot."

She continued.

"They are areas of abnormal mana containing power from other dimensions. Gates. The term most commonly used today is 'Void Zones.'"

Kaian searched through the knowledge in his memory before answering carefully.

"But after the first five heroes carried out the Great Sealing seven hundred years ago, I heard Void Zones almost completely stopped appearing."

He frowned in concentration.

"And even when they do appear, they're usually only the lowest E-rank or F-rank zones. I heard the United Guilds can handle those easily."

Eldarin looked at him with some surprise.

"Where did you hear all of that?"

"Mostly..."

Kaian hesitated.

"I read it in books."

"You like books?"

Kaian quietly nodded.

In truth, saying he merely liked them was an understatement.

He was always reading something.

He had already read nearly every children's book available throughout the Empire.

Recently, he had even started secretly entering his father's study.

For House Valentin, that was completely natural.

After all, it was their family that had led the project to build libraries throughout the Empire.

Everyone in the family enjoyed reading.

Because of that, Kaian had naturally grown close to books from a young age.

His mother often proudly told others that out of her three sons, the youngest loved books the most.

Eldarin also failed to hide her satisfaction.

"Good. Very good."

She seemed genuinely pleased.

"Then explaining this should be easier."

After that, she began using increasingly difficult words, as though testing how much Kaian could understand.

"In reality, the appearance of Void Zones dropped dramatically after the Great Sealing. Scholars also worked hard. They discovered patterns behind the appearance of Void Zones and developed methods of supplying the necessary mana through Mana Crystals."

She paused.

"But when peaceful life continues for too long..."

"Everyone becomes careless."

Her blue eyes narrowed slightly.

"And comfortable."

Then Eldarin spoke with complete certainty.

"The Great Sealing performed by the five heroes was incomplete."

Kaian froze.

"Before long, another Age of Chaos will come to this world."

Kaian frowned.

After carefully putting together all the difficult words she had used, he understood the basic meaning.

A great danger was coming to the world.

And yet Eldarin's voice still carried almost no emotion.

"Countless people will die."

"Contaminants will pour out of the Void Zones."

"Creatures will run wild everywhere."

She calmly continued.

"But the world has become drunk on peace."

"It has spent too long in the Golden Age."

"At this rate, people won't even be able to survive, much less fight back."

"Urgh..."

Even to eight-year-old Kaian, that clearly sounded terrible.

But what did any of this have to do with letting him live inside Eldargrove?

Eldarin seemed to notice the question before he asked it.

A strange smile appeared on her face.

Kaian suddenly felt a bad feeling crawl down his back.

"Don't tell me...?"

Eldarin nodded.

"Correct. I intend to raise you into a hero for the Age of Chaos that is coming."

Kaian was speechless.

It sounded completely ridiculous.

As if giving him one last chance to think about it, Eldarin continued.

"So this is not kindness. It is an investment."

Her eyes remained fixed on him.

"When that day comes... when the Age of Chaos arrives, you must give your time, your strength, your heart, and everything else you possess to this world."

Then she asked,

"Can you do that?"

At that moment...

Kaian remembered the backs of his family members standing in front of him.

They had acted so naturally.

As if their lives had always existed only for that day.

Kaian had survived simply because he was the youngest.

Because he was the weakest.

And only then did he faintly understand something.

Ah...

Maybe I've found a path I can walk without being ashamed before my family.

Justice and revenge did not have to oppose each other.

That was the conclusion eight-year-old Kaian reached.

With determination mixed with a strange feeling of relief, he answered.

"I can."

His turquoise eyes were clear.

"House Valentin has always acted for the sake of those who are weakest."

Eldarin quietly stared into his eyes.

Then she asked,

"Your name?"

"Kaian. Kaian Belore Valentin."

Eldarin stood and held out her left hand.

"My name is Eldarin Alcanes. I am an Elderkin of the Ancient Race."

Her voice grew solemn.

"I, Eldarin, shall make a contract with you upon our souls."

Kaian hurried to push himself up from the floor.

But his legs refused to work properly, leaving him stumbling several times.

Eldarin did not rush him.

She simply waited.

In the end, Kaian managed to stand on his own and take Eldarin's left hand.

And at that moment, for some reason...

His chin rose.

His back straightened.

His mind became sharply awake.

Right...!

I'm the only survivor using the name Valentin now.

I have to stay strong enough for my entire family...!

Kaian's expression became so firm that it was difficult to believe he was only eight years old.

Without letting him notice, Eldarin quietly sent some of her energy into him.

Then she smiled.

Once again, she felt certain that she had made the right choice.

"...Mana is spinning an interesting thread."

"Huh?"

"Concentrate."

"Oh! Yes!"

Turquoise mana flowed out from Eldarin's left hand.

Fwoooosh...

As though pulled by a powerful force, mana of the same color began flowing from Kaian's hand.

The turquoise light quickly wrapped around both of them.

Eldarin began chanting in a voice more beautiful than anything Kaian had heard from her before.

"[O name remembered by the mana of the beginning. I gather the fate that would scatter and bind it within the gaps of my time. Your breath shall exist by my permission, and your steps shall follow my will. Until the day the life you owe reaches its end, carry this shining burden. O vow of the soul, bind us for eternity.]"

BOOM!

A powerful vibration echoed through both of their inner worlds.

Then the light slowly disappeared.

Kaian soon noticed a strange pattern on his left wrist.

"What is this?"

"It's the symbol of an ancient contract."

Eldarin looked at his wrist.

"A pattern related to the source of your mana should have appeared."

Kaian stared at it.

"A... butterfly?"

The moment he said that, his vision suddenly shook.

Wobble!

Eldarin quickly caught Kaian as he lost consciousness.

Just as he had said, a sideways butterfly pattern had appeared on the inside of his wrist.

The lower tips of the butterfly's wings and its antennae stretched outward, wrapping around his wrist to form a band.

At first glance, it almost looked like a carefully crafted bracelet.

"This butterfly will show you the correct path."

Eldarin's voice remained as emotionless as always.

But the fingers brushing over the pattern were strangely careful.

"It seems I'll be busy for a while."

Dawn arrived.

The ruined Valentin estate stood beneath the growing light.

Only its frame remained.

The rest had burned away into a terrible ruin.

Fragments of scrolls lay scattered everywhere.

The dirt was stained with the red traces left behind by [Crimson Bombs].

Morden desperately tried not to look at the destruction around him.

The blood spilled today would allow his son Damian to breathe tomorrow.

That alone was enough.

"...The head of the family, his wife, and the children have all been dealt with."

"Good work."

The man receiving Morden's report wore a black robe embroidered with the symbol of the <Noble Alliance> in silver thread.

His voice sounded like metal scraping against metal.

"I heard there were three sons."

The man's gaze moved over the bodies.

"But I only see two."

Morden desperately hid his nervousness.

"There seems to have been an accident during the pursuit."

"The surrounding forest burned down."

"We still haven't found the body."

Fifteen mages had also disappeared during that incident.

Morden decided there was no need to mention that.

The man tapped the body of the head of House Valentin with his foot and clicked his tongue.

"Tsk, tsk."

"So you tried to send your youngest away."

He spoke to the corpse almost fondly.

"That certainly sounds like you."

"If you'd escaped by yourself, you might have been able to plan for the future."

"But you've always been foolish."

His tone sounded almost like that of an old friend.

The man remained silent for a moment.

Then his voice suddenly became cold.

"Can the youngest one be found?"

"The heat was extremely intense."

Morden lowered his head.

"If we're lucky, we may find some remains."

In other words...

There was almost no chance the child was alive.

The man waved his hand through the air.

"Forget it."

"It seems some unfinished products were mixed in."

Then he looked over the ruined border region.

"Still..."

There was admiration in his voice.

"To think they forced us to use up that many magic tools."

He smiled faintly.

"As expected, House Valentin has terrible cost efficiency."

He sounded as though he were complaining.

But a faint smile remained on his face.

Only after enjoying the sight for a long time did he finally look back at Morden, who stood nearby with his head lowered.

"The remaining payment we promised has been sent to your home."

"...!"

Those were the words Morden had been waiting desperately to hear.

He bowed deeply.

"Thank you...! Thank you very much!"

Now he could continue Damian's treatment.

Filled with excitement, Morden turned to return home.

Then the man called after him.

"Where are you going?"

The man slowly removed his hood.

At the same time, more presences began crawling out from the forest.

Morden's eyes shook violently.

Without realizing it, he raised his head and looked at the man's face.

Red eyes.

Eyes that seemed to represent power itself.

Dark red malice moved inside them.

Only then did Morden realize he had walked into a trap.

The man's horrible voice echoed across the ruins.

"Morden Ashborn, criminal responsible for destroying House Valentin!"

"You are hereby executed on the spot for treason!"

Morden shouted as though screaming.

"That wasn't our agreement! You clearly said that once this was over...!"

But Morden never finished.

WHOOSH!

The man thrust his staff against Morden's throat.

A dark red Mana Stone, the same color as his eyes, was embedded in the staff.

"Urgh...!"

The man smiled.

"If you're worried about the treatment we promised your son, don't be."

His smile widened.

"I'll make certain arrangements personally. So you may leave without worry."

A cruel grin spread across his face.

It was unmistakable mockery.

The mockery of a man looking at a hunting dog that had been used and was now being thrown away.

At last, Morden understood what the "remaining payment" really meant.

It wasn't money for Damian's medicine.

Soldiers carrying staffs had surely gone to his family as well.

"You bastards...!"

Morden screamed and reached for one of his remaining scrolls.

But it was too late.

One of the soldiers who had emerged from the forest pierced Morden's heart from behind.

"Ugh...!"

Morden's knees collapsed.

As he fell...

The body of the head of House Valentin filled his vision.

The scraping voice stabbed into the back of his head like a knife.

"Good work."

"Thanks to you, the Emperor's sharpest sword has been broken."

As his consciousness faded, Morden searched his pocket.

His fingers found the medicine bottle he had carefully protected.

Every evil thing he had willingly done last night...

He had done for this one small bottle.

But now that he looked back...

It had all been nothing more than the meaningless movements of a puppet.

Damian...

I have to give this to Damian...

But Morden no longer knew where he should reach his hand.

Ah...

I see.

I betrayed Heaven's will.

A person who turned their back on Heaven had nowhere to seek help in their final moment.

It was an obvious truth.

But Morden understood it only as he died.

His body collapsed.

The red-eyed man pressed his staff against Morden's corpse and shouted loudly.

"Morden Ashborn plotted rebellion!"

"From this moment onward, his family and relatives are to be exiled to an A-rank Void Zone region!"

That day...

The bodies of the heads of House Valentin and House Ashborn lay fallen beside each other, facing opposite directions.

An unnatural silence descended over the border of the Empire.

But it would be many years before the world understood that those deaths had left marks upon the loom of fate that could never be erased.