Volume 1 Chapter 49 Quest：Obsidian To Roses IV
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
A swarm of ghosts glowing with green phosphorescence surged like a cloud of scales.
A lantern lit with phosphorescence hung from a tattered white cloth.
A jagged blade gripped in a withered hand.
It was grotesque and terrifying, yet the sight of them all rushing together was almost fantastical.
”…, …, …!”
Kian gathered his magic power and unleashed Absorb Essence at the 3 approaching Rain Wraiths.
The technique of stealing magic power worked well against ghosts.
After all, since they had no physical bodies, it was easy to cause them to collapse and disappear with just a little magic power taken away.
On Kian’s opposite side, Serena, who had borrowed a dagger and staff from Aliona, was processing the ghosts at more than 3 times the speed.
It was impossible to count how many times the dagger was swung in a second, and the number of magic bullets fired from the white staff exceeded recognition.
To an untrained eye, it would only appear that dozens of white bullets were automatically shot out at the end of her slashes, skewering the ghosts.
Protected by the two vanguard swordsmen, Aliona was preparing the ritual site to stop the rain pouring down on the ‘Labyrinth of Roses.’
She spread a mat in front of a wall blooming with black Roses and seated Esther in the center.
From her backpack, she took out a foldable, simple ritual platform and placed it in front of the mat.
”I will let the evil spirit know that we have come. At the same time, I will deploy the ritual magic to stop the rain pouring down on the spirit.”
”Esther! Sit in the center of the mat as instructed! Hurry!”
Robert was driving long torches into the 4 corners surrounding the mat.
The tips of the torches were wrapped in cloth soaked in oil.
Aliona snapped her fingers, and the torches ignited with orange flames.
The ghosts screamed and scattered into the sky.
They were weak against fire and silver.
”Esther!? What are you doing!? Over here!”
”Ah…, y-yes!”
A terrifying Rain Wraith──a massive swarm that covered the sky──left Esther in a daze until Robert’s voice snapped her back to reality as she stepped onto the mat.
”Over here, in the center. …Kian!”
”…!”
Kian focused his magic power and directed it toward the simple altar.
Five Rain Wraiths dove down from the sky, only to be drained of their magic power by Kian, vanishing without a sound.
Without saying a word, Kian glanced back.
He felt multiple ghostly hands touching his back.
He released a surge of magic power, forcefully stealing life force from the Rain Wraiths that were pressing down on him.
(Tch, I lost a bit of power.)
Feeling a sharp pain in his back, Kian clicked his tongue.
It seemed as if all the souls that had died in the Labyrinth of Roses were now rising as ghosts, as Rain Wraiths crawled out of the darkness one after another.
”I’m starting the ritual! From now on, I can’t participate in the battle. Ms. Esther, close your eyes and focus! I’ll need a bit of your hair, but don’t make a sound!”
”Okay!”
”Alright! Come on! I won’t let a single one of those ghosts touch Esther!”
Robert’s spirited voice echoed.
He lit his torch from the flames of the 4 corner torches on the simple altar and began waving it to ward off the ghosts attacking from above.
As the rain fell steadily, Aliona’s clear singing voice began to resonate through the dark night.
Her song was sometimes high, sometimes strong, and at times, melancholic.
As she sang, the ghosts returned to dust, and despite not understanding the ancient elven words she used, Esther felt a strange sense of nostalgia wash over her.
Amidst the quiet sound of rain, images of the familiar town streets of Azrael came to mind.
That beautiful town made of desert and rocks.
(────. I’m…)
It was the magic power of the song.
Aliona’s singing brought back memories of Kian’s childhood.
Before he was exiled.
There were tough times, but thanks to Sarah, those distant days were somehow enjoyable.
He wanted to rise up.
To become wealthy.
To eat his fill and have beautiful women by his side.
Amidst such materialistic wishes, a single pure desire bubbled up like a candle’s flame.
He wanted to go home──
Back to the hometown he was exiled from.
Even if no one was waiting for him anymore.
He wanted to reach out to those gem-like days floating in the darkness.
But there was no response.
The town of Azrael faded like a mirage.
…His arms cut through the empty air.
’Kian’
The voice of ‘glasses’ whispered, pulling him back to reality.
’Are you crying?’
”…….It’s just the rain.”
As he swatted away the ghosts, Kian murmured.
The sound of rain hitting the grass and flowers grew louder.
”It’s rain.”
’……’
”…It’s rain.”
’I see. I hope that your adventures lead you to happiness.’
Robert, swinging a torch behind him, shouted toward Kian.
”Alright! The rain is letting up!”
”…Serena.”
”Yeah! Just a little more!”
With a flash of white light from her staff piercing through the ghosts, the Wolfmen girl shouted to encourage everyone.
Aliona continued her prayer while pulling out a knife, cutting a small piece of hair from Esther’s ponytail, who was also kneeling and praying.
The old elven words transformed into the common tongue of the West.
”O mother who bore this girl! Her name is Lumidra! Fulfill your wish! Here comes your daughter!”
She drew a long staff adorned with jewels from her back, pointing it toward the altar.
Esther’s brown hair was scattered on the altar, and the flames of the torches lit there flared up with intensity.
The rain falling from the sky suddenly intensified, then gradually began to lose its strength.
The movements of the Rain Wraiths, which had been rushing in from the sky, slowed down, and their forms began to blur.
The processing became overwhelmingly easier, and the number of ghosts surrounding the group quickly decreased.
And then──.
”My curse was broken by who?”
Suddenly, in front of the Roses’ Wall, the brown-haired woman appeared.
* * *
The cold rain that had been falling steadily stopped.
If Robert was right, the rain that had been falling for 17 years had finally ceased.
The thick clouds covering the sky were scattered by the wind, and a white moon peeked through the gaps.
The sound of raindrops falling from the leaves of the bushes into puddles echoed around them, creating a soft “plop” sound.
”‘Leanan sídhe’, it’s you, isn’t it…”
As the ghosts vanished, Robert, holding up his torch, whispered in astonishment at the long brown-haired woman who appeared in front of the Roses’ Wall.
The ‘Leanan sídhe’ he had seen a few hours ago in the ‘Labyrinth of Roses’ was dressed.
She wore a plain, moss-colored outfit.
He had heard she was originally called here as a servant and was tasked with the job of a gardener by her summoner.
The plain appearance was likely a remnant of that.
The brown-haired woman’s Evil spirit approached, barefoot, making a soft “thud, thud” sound.
”…!”
”Step back!”
Kian and Serena readied their weapons and stepped forward.
However, Robert’s strong arm rested on Kian’s shoulder.
”Let me talk to her.”
”It’s dangerous. You should stop.”
”Even so… I did this much. If we’re going to defeat her, I want to talk to her first and apologize.”
Robert pleaded earnestly.
Kian looked at his face for a moment, seeing his determination, and decided to step aside for now.
He kept his hand on his wooden sword, though.
Serena, standing opposite Robert, also lowered her drawn knife, showing that she wasn’t planning to strike immediately.
”───”
A low sound came from behind as Aliona finished setting up a barrier.
Now, Esther wouldn’t die from Absorb Essence.
But Robert──who knew what would happen to him?
”It’s okay. I just want to talk for a bit. After that, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
The bear man said this and stepped in front of ‘Leanan sídhe’.
”…Robert.”
”Hey, you can talk. Even after I stabbed your throat so many times.”
”Why?”
Leanan sídhe looked at the bear man with her brown eyes peeking through her long bangs.
”Why did you kill me? It hurt, it was cold… I was sad.”
”I’m sorry. But I was about to be killed by you. I had no choice but to do that to survive. Or would you have listened if I said, ‘Don’t come near me because you drain my life force’?”
”Robert loved me. But wasn’t it the other way around for you?”
”Of course I loved you too. From a certain point on. But… I couldn’t trade my life for yours. Please understand. You, who unconsciously activated Absorb Essence, and me, just a human, couldn’t live together.”
”That’s a lie. We spent so much time together. You were smiling. You said you needed me. …Or was that all a lie too?”
”I’m not lying. I just didn’t want to die. How many times do I have to say it? I want your love, but I also value my life. I was just weighing the two.”
”Why didn’t you choose me? Why did you do something so terrible?”
”I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
”That’s not an answer. Why did you kill me?”
The female Evil spirit stared at Robert, who was shrinking back in fear with icy cold eyes.
The Evil spirit ‘Leanan sídhe’, who loved songs and art, certainly had intelligence.
But it seemed that a real conversation between Robert and her was impossible.
Perhaps ‘Leanan sídhe’ couldn’t truly understand the fear and desire to live that Robert felt.
To her, the bear man was just a hated human who betrayed her love.
Despite her efforts every day, he suddenly changed one day and became the crazy person who brutally killed her.
’Leanan sídhe’ couldn’t grasp Robert’s feelings──
She was pure, fleeting, and unaware of the structure of human malice.
So, no matter how intelligent she was or how well she could use words, she was still just an Evil spirit.
”Robert. You killed me.”
’Leanan sídhe’ whispered lowly, her eyes wide open, not blinking.
”That’s why I will kill you too.”
”────!? Ggggh!?”
Suddenly, a hand reached for Robert’s thick neck.
The pale, branch-like hand smoothly wrapped around the bear man’s neck and began to drain his life force.
”Dammit…!”
Kian’s eyes widened as he raised his wooden sword.
But before he could take a step forward, Serena quickly restrained him with her hand.
”…?”
”────”
Serena shook her head at Kian, who was wide-eyed.
The grip of ‘Leanan sídhe’ around Robert’s neck loosened.
”‘L-Leanan sídhe’…?”
Robert trembled, sweat beading on his forehead.
In front of him, ‘Leanan sídhe’ was staring at the brown-haired girl watching her from within Aliona’s barrier.
Strangely, they had the same face and height.
While Esther was a bit plump, ‘Leanan sídhe’ had a delicate and frail impression, yet they looked almost identical.
Like looking at her own reflection in a mirror, ‘Leanan sídhe’ had her mouth slightly open in surprise.
However, that vacant expression was soon replaced by tears welling up in her eyes.
’Leanan sídhe’ gazed at Esther, letting the tears roll down her cheeks.
”Es…ther? Is that you, my cute Esther?”
”……”
Esther seemed unsure of how to respond.
”You mustn’t answer her call. There’s a chance she could connect with you.”
Aliona said quietly.
As a result, Esther only managed to awkwardly smile at her mother.
But that alone seemed to be enough for ‘Leanan sídhe’.
”I’ve been searching for so long… ever since that day I was killed and Esther was taken from me. There were others with similar hair and faces. But to me, human faces look almost the same, like paintings on a canvas. If it were a little bird’s face, I could tell them apart…?”
’Leanan sídhe’ had transformed from the woman’s face to her mother’s face. She smiled at Esther while wiping her tears with her fingers.
”You’ve been alive and well. I’m so glad. You weren’t killed like me.”
Kian stepped forward beside Robert.
He looked down at ‘Leanan sídhe’ and spoke quietly.
”Esther still needs Robert (this man). If he gets killed here now, it will be hard for her to survive in human society.”
”────”
”You can’t raise Esther. Unlike you, most of her body is human. If she spends time with you, just like Robert, she will be drained of life and eventually weaken and die.”
”…She won’t die.”
”I’m sorry, but sheu will die. Don’t you understand yet? You are an Evil spirit. If you want to live among other races, you can’t help but take their lives. Robert and Esther are nothing more than prey to you. They’re no different from a deer steak.”
”……”
”‘Leanan sídhe.’ I apologize for what I did to you. But I have a duty to raise Esther. I might drop dead in ten years or so, but until then, I plan to prepare her to live on her own. So, I can’t die just yet. Sorry for being selfish.”
”────”
Leanan sídhe silently stared at Esther.
It seemed like she was thinking about something.
Robert nervously swallowed and pulled an axe from his back.
Kian slowly backed away from Leanan sídhe alongside him.
”…I understand.”
Just when it seemed like a fight was about to break out, Leanan sídhe quietly said that one line, like a fish blowing bubbles.
She turned her back to them.
Her moss-colored dress and long brown hair fluttered in the breeze after the rain.
”Go home, Robert. Never show your face again.”
”‘Leanan sídhe,’ I──”
”The corruption of your spirit will disappear tonight. Live quietly in East End town while protecting Esther.”
”……I’m sorry…”
”Esther.”
Leanan sídhe turned her face slightly toward them and looked at the girl inside the barrier.
”……”
Esther, forbidden from answering by Aliona, gazed at her mother, who looked just like her.
Leanan sídhe smiled gently at her daughter and began walking toward the Roses’ Wall.
”Grow up healthy and beautiful, just like these Roses. That is all a mother wishes for.”
”…Mom…”
”And… you got lucky, human wearing the skin of Remi Cain.”
She bared her fangs at Kian as she spoke.
”Your smell is unpleasant. Next time I find you, I will kill you. Don’t ever come near here again.”
* * *
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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