Chapter 281 |
TL: TangSanFan
ED/PR: Tanthus
『Side Story』 Pursuing the Butterfly (8)
“I am…”
Lucy Mayrill slowly opened her mouth. She couldn’t comprehend why the two people who had been watching her were now taking a hostile stance, but she had to start with an explanation.
“I am from another world. I’m not the ‘me’ that you know.”
Of course, that single statement couldn’t make them accept the truth and sheathe their swords.
Clevius clenched his teeth as he glared at Lucy. It was clear he couldn’t make heads or tails of what Lucy had just spilled out.
“You, what are you talking about…”
The whole area around the ruined Triss Hall started to shake as if an earthquake had struck, with dust rising into the air and a massive explosion erupting from where the epicenter seemed to be.
Boooom!
Whoosh!
The explosion was accompanied by a rising heat wave.
A gigantic beast, seemingly ablaze, rose to its feet. Its tremendous figure, revealed through the falling dust, was majestic.
“Damn it! That spirit reacted!”
“Gather your things quickly! If we don’t escape now, more will congregate!”
The heat was so intense that mirages started to rise in the area. The massive beast, resembling both a lion and a tiger, was none other than the Mid-tier Fire Spirit ‘Beltan’.
Destroying the almost-remaining outer walls of Triss Hall, it roared mightily.
However, beltan’s appearance was oddly different from what Lucy knew. Wrapped in a dark-red magical aura and covered in bizarre markings, it was clearly in a state of frenzy, further empowered by forcibly applied enhancement magic.
This was not the amount of magical power a typical Mid-tier Fire Spirit could unleash.
It was unmistakably in a forced state of rampage.
And… Clevius and Elvira, well aware of the aspects of such spirits, recognized this scene all too well.
Boooom!
A giant column of fire erupted around Beltan, spreading and engulfing the surroundings. At that moment, Clevius drew his sword to protect Elvira.
Whoosh!
Lucy’s unleashed magic engulfed them.
For Lucy, who did not know anything about this world, these two people she encountered were her only clue.
Typically, it wasn’t necessary to block an attack from a Mid-tier Spirit. However, currently, Lucy couldn’t fully control her magic.
Frowning, she dispersed the fire magic completely, revealing Beltan still standing intact with enmity towards humans clear in its posture.
And… down the hillside, numerous spirits approached with bizarre noises—none of them in their normal state, evidently under the influence of a frenzy spell.
Here, Lucy had a realization.
If someone in Acken Island had the power to command this number of spirits, then it must be――
“We need to flee! There is a stronghold in the secret library of the underground waterways!”
Regardless, Lucy had managed to protect Clevius and Elvira.
They weren’t enemies. Once that fact was established, Elvira quickly shouted out.
“If we don’t shake them off now, more spirits will gather, and we won’t be able to handle them!”
Lucy glanced at Elvira and Clevius, then quickly covered the area with her magic. It was a basic-level stealth spell, but it should be effective in hiding their magical trace to some extent.
To lose the spirits, the three of them hurried through the ruins of Triss Hall.
* * *
The detailed discussion would have to wait until they returned to the hideout.
Lucy had no choice but to nod at that. It seemed that the two of them couldn’t believe that Lucy had appeared in this place either. Nonetheless, it was best to resolve all questions after they became safe.
It took a run to reach the living quarters.
The once lively living quarters of the Sylvania Academy, now just filled with ruined buildings, were as if the whole world had perished.
Corpses rotten to the point of being skeletons were scattered around the square… Marble pavements shattered, and weeds grew everywhere.
Amidst them, Mid-tier Spirits roamed in a frenzied state. Clevius and Elvira, familiar with navigating these dangers, dodged between buildings, avoiding the spirits’ gaze.
Climbing up the half-destroyed outer wall of what was once Laplace’s Bakery, Clevius helped pull Elvira up. Lucy lightly bounced her magic and followed after them, advancing along the outer wall and then past a crumbled well in a low crouch.
They then entered the edge of the northern woods, where the massive entrance to the underground waterways became visible, concealed by a thicket of trees.
Squeezing through a gap, they entered the underground waterways, leading to Professor Glast’s secret laboratory. Farther along was the secret library that Ed Rothtaylor had used as a research room.
It was the same place where the original world’s Lucy had come with Ed to retrieve Glast’s phoenix ring.
By this time, this site had turned into a refuge for the survivors who had fled the rampaging spirits of Acken Island.
The students on lookout at the entrance of the library reacted upon seeing Clevius.
“Se… Senior, you’ve returned alive. What about the scouting… Oh…”
“Lu… Lucy… Mayrill…?!”
Upon seeing Lucy, everyone stiffened.
Clevius silently turned his head, indicating they should step aside for now.
The student on lookout gulped and moved aside. It seemed that Clevius held some recognition in this refuge.
Following Clevius and Elvira into the library, Lucy observed the area. The library’s facilities had been moved, and the inside was repurposed for survivors’ stay.
Campfires, tents, patients covered in blankets, some worn out by hunger, and others suffering from chronic diseases were visible. Most were students or faculty, with a few merchants from the living quarters also present.
As Lucy, followed by Clevius and Elvira, entered, the people buzzed from afar.
― ‘Look over there…’
― ‘This… this is insane…’
― ‘What’s happening? Isn’t that Lucy Mayrill…?’
― ‘She’s alive…? But I am sure Lucy Mayrill died three years ago…’
― ‘What’d you say? Lucy Mayrill’s here?’
― ‘The genius sorceress of our age… If it’s Lucy Mayrill, could she possibly break the magic barrier surrounding the island…?’
A hopeful atmosphere spread amidst the murmurings of the crowd.
People who had been clinging to survival in despair seemed to sense a new ray of hope.
Lucy took a deep breath and kept moving forward.
“Beyond here, there’s someone in charge of the hideout. They’ll explain more. You might know them already, but it’s probably different from what you remember.”
In the room designed for the librarians, now adapted for the leaders’ use, Lucy nodded and passed by Clevius and Elvira to open the door.
Creaking, the old wooden door opened, revealing a meeting table, chalkboards with information on the island strewn around, and amid papers detailing survivors and remaining resources, a woman sat atop the desk.
That familiar face, lifting her gaze from under the pulled-down robe hood, is wide-eyed for a moment upon seeing Lucy.
“You are…”
Strands of gray marred her auburn hair. A sign of hardships endured.
While she was astonished at the return of the presumed dead Lucy Mayrill, the young girl regained her composure after just a second of holding her breath.
The girl – no, Lortelle Keheln was someone who could remain rational and cool-headed in any situation.
“… Let’s hear an explanation.”
Three years after the death of Ed Rothtaylor.
Lortelle had been guarding Acken Island on her own, which had turned into a living hell for a reason yet to be explained.
* * *
“Yes, hard to believe as it might be…”
Lucy had explained her situation to Lortelle.
That she wasn’t a being tied to this world. That she came from a world where Ed Rothtaylor had not died.
But she left out the part about seeking a way to return.
The atmosphere didn’t permit such disclosure.
“This place is… “
“You’d like to ask why it’s come to this, wouldn’t you?”
Lortelle looked worn out.
In this extreme situation, she had been leading the group of survivors, managing the hideout for years.
Even for Lortelle, bearing such a mental weight must have been taxing.
“Yes… I’ll answer what I can within what I know.”
“…Ed Rothtaylor is…”
At that central question, Lortelle lowered her head for a moment before answering.
“Senior Ed died three years ago. During the subjugation of the ‘Sacred Dragon of the Citadel,’ Bellbrook…”
“He died by Bellbrook’s hand…?”
“… To be precise…”
Lortelle seemed to recall an unpleasant memory with a listless expression.
“In the course of heavily wounding Bellbrook during the battle, he fell victim to treachery by emerging forces within the Imperial Lindeon Faction. They executed him on charges as the primary perpetrator of the disaster caused by Bellbrook.”
Lucy could not grasp what Lortelle was telling her.
She thought Ed was directly killed by Bellbrook’s attack, but ….
“…What do you mean…?”
“The imperial bureaucrats, who were puppeteering Lindeon, needed a justification to wipe out the Rothtaylor family. They found it convenient to pin the blame for the disaster caused by Bellbrook’s inferno on the mainland. After all, senior Ed was aware of Bellbrook’s impending appearance….”
“…….”
“What a joke, right? The world burns due to Bellbrook, yet they were still waging their petty power struggles.”
Lortelle bitterly laughed. To her, this tale was already three years old.
Time had healed the wound, but the pain hadn’t disappeared entirely yet.
“…Did Emperor Clorel do nothing?”
“He died. On the day when Bellbrook descended….”
“…And Princess Phoenia… Princess Sella….”
“All those from the royal family who were on Acken Island are dead.”
It was strange even to find any survivors.
Bellbrook had the might to obliterate the entire island with a mere gesture.
It was practically a miracle that there were even enough survivors to fill this library.
“…What about the other class tops, the valedictorians…?”
“Lucy.”
Lortelle spoke in a weary voice.
Then, she continued with words that made Lucy fall silent.
“Right now… it would be quicker to ask who is still alive.”
The hell that Lortelle had gone through became palpably clear.
Then, an unavoidable question surfaced.
“What about the spirits that have taken over the island? What happened to Yenika Faelover…?”
Lortelle sighed and glanced towards a shabby sofa, suggesting a long story was about to unfold.
“…Yenika has already become a wanted criminal with a bounty on her from the empire.”
As Lucy moved towards the sofa and sat down, Lortelle reseated herself at the desk and lowered her gaze.
Then she began to unfold the story piece by piece, a tale Lucy was eager to hear.
* * *
The Sacred Dragon of the Citadel, Bellbrook, resurrected much earlier than Ed Rothtaylor had anticipated.
Though he had predicted an early revival, it came much faster than expected.
Nevertheless, the resurrection still occurred later than Lucy had known in her own world.
As far as Lucy knew, Bellbrook descended upon Acken Island during the Crestol Festival while fireworks exploded against the night sky; the catastrophe dragon breaking through the sea surface was etched firmly in her memory.
Yet in this world, things differed. The beast had risen only after the Crestol Festival had ended and near the completion of the academic term.
Ed here should have had considerably more time for preparatory measures than Ed from Lucy’s world. Despite all that, Ed of this world couldn’t stop Sacred Dragon Bellbrook.
Why?
What differences in approach between Ed of Lucy’s world and Ed of this world had led to this failure to contain Bellbrook?
But as Lucy learned more from Lortelle, she realized the issue wasn’t with Ed’s approach—it was something missing, a critical piece of the puzzle.
In this world… Grand Sage Sylvania had not interfered.
In Lucy’s world… Grand Sage Sylvania participated in the final battle.
It was Sylvania who earlier disrupted Bellbrook’s seal, summoning it prematurely.
Noticing the oddity, Headmaster Obel—the scent of unnatural intervention—could maintain the seal, albeit weakly.
Thus, the Bellbrook that Lucy had seen, was emerging, entwined with the chains of its seal, restrained by the fragments held by Obel.
So, the Bellbrook of this world was nowhere near as bound—this was due to the absence of interference from Grand Sage Sylvania.
He could not do it. But in this world… Sylvania had not intervened.
Naturally, the seal had completely reached its term, and the ‘Whole Bellbrook’ descended upon us.
There was a vast difference between Bellbrook, who was tightly bound in the chains of the seal, and Bellbrook, who could fully reveal all his power… it was likely immense.
Bellbrook in this world had resurrected a bit later, but… the fact that it happened earlier than Ed had anticipated didn’t change.
Moreover, here he managed to split the island in two upon his arrival, unleashing his full power without restraint.
That complete power of Bellbrook, once glimpsed amidst infinite cycles of time. Here, in this world… that power had fully blossomed.
However, miraculously, Ed Rothtaylor had managed to respond to such a Bellbrook.
Despite inadequate forces. Insufficient supplies. Within such lacking circumstances…
Rising above the sacrifice of numerous students… he ultimately succeeded in thrusting the Sword Saint Taely into the heart of Bellbrook.
In this process, class valedictorian Tyke Elfellan died, Wade Callamore met a horrible end, and Headmaster Obel perished buying time.
Emperor Cloyel died protecting his people, and Princess Sella died defending such an emperor.
Princess Phoenia, carrying the emperor’s will, led the soldiers until she perished by the hands of the demon tribe.
Zix Effelstein, riddled with wounds, bled out excessively while bringing his lover Elka to the hideout.
The Saintess Clarice too was swept away and perished as Bellbrook’s breath passed over the island.
In the course of opening a path for Taely to infiltrate Bellbrook’s body, Lucy Mayrill was hit straight by Bellbrook’s breath and vanished without a trace.
Yenika Faelover protected the survivors until she was critically wounded by the storm of scales.
And Ed Rothtaylor himself… was brought to the brink of death’s doorstep before losing consciousness.
But Taely failed to completely finish off the Saint Dragon.
As I mentioned, the Saint Dragon had resurrected too early. By a hair’s breadth, Taely’s specs fell short of delivering a one-hit kill.
But even if it wasn’t a one-hit kill… he managed to inflict a critical wound.
Sword Saint Taely lost his right arm to Bellbrook’s counterattack… but at least he managed to inflict a non-regenerable wound on Bellbrook.
Screaming in pain, Bellbrook then spread its wings and fled from Acken Island, heading inland.
It was a dying Bellbrook. Before finding a place to recuperate, it had to be pursued and exterminated.
But almost all the forces on Acken Island had been sacrificed, and the survivors too were in a state near death. They were in desperate need of external support.
And when… the academy asked the Cloyel Imperial Family for help… they made an unbelievable response.
“Human folly.”
Those blinded by lust for power… even in the face of the world’s crisis, they look after their own, indulging in political and power struggles.
Is this the essence of human nature?
When all forces on Acken Island had fallen near death… the imperial bureaucrats, rallied around an unassuming prince Lindon, came to the island and executed all heirs belonging to the Rothtaylor family.
With Emperor Cloyel dead and almost all his heirs gone… in these tumultuous times.
If you want to seize power using Prince Lindon as a puppet, you have to suppress the Rothtaylor family that holds the most influence amid post-disaster political chaos. Especially since Ed’s backers had all been neutralized by the disaster of the Saint Dragon.
For Ed Rothtaylor, and even Tanya Rothtaylor, this was their only chance in their critically weakened state. At this moment, they couldn’t resist. Now, or never.
So, by laying unfounded charges, they executed Ed Rothtaylor on Acken Island.
It was the beginning of all disasters.
Bellbrook was nearly at death’s door.
Causing turmoil on the mainland of the empire, seeking a hiding place, but there’s a limit. The imperial bureaucrats delude themselves with the fantasy that if they organize a subjugation force and finish off the dying monster, everything will be resolved. Even if it’s the calamity of the Saint Dragon, they thought it could be handled if it’s on the verge of death.
In doing so, they believed they could clutch the real power of this empire without any competitors.
On a drizzling rainy day.
Ed Rothtaylor, covered in blood, ends his life at the hands of the Lindon faction imperial bureaucrats.
And on the same day…
All the Lindon faction imperial bureaucrats who came to Acken Island, met their deaths.
At the hands of Elementalist Yenika Faelover, who had lost her sanity knowing all the truth.
“Senator Yenika is no longer the person you once knew, Lucy.”
High-ranking dark spirits feast and burrow into the darkness that blooms in a human heart.
The darkness inside Yenika Faelover, emptied by the loss of Ed Rothtaylor, was beyond comparison.
A madness greater than darkness consumed Yenika Faelover’s heart.
Hair bleached pale and eyes dyed red. Power gone berserk.
Adding insult to injury, the mad Yenika… atop the peak of Acken Island’s Mount Orten at ‘Altar of Sacrifice’… had obtained a fragment of Bellbrook’s heart that Taely had cut out.
The heart fragment of the Saint Dragon, brimming with endless magical power, still throbbing with a pulsing desire to survive.
Between the magical power rising from Bellbrook’s heart and the amplified magic of Glascan, it was only a matter of time before the island as a whole fell under Yenika Faelover’s dominion.
A magic circle far grander than the one used during the Glascan subjugation incident.
Ed Rothtaylor lived to save the world.
However, the world repaid him with death.
The empire he so desperately tried to save plunged a blade of betrayal into Ed Rothtaylor.
And the man who had always fulfilled his duty ended his life in futility.
Yenika Faelover could not forgive such a world.
She hated all the imperial elites who were blinded by power even in the face of the world’s crisis.
Engulfed in the madness of Glascan, she expressed her hatred toward the world with her entire being.
At least… on this island…
Acken Island, where Ed Rothtaylor’s beloved camp still stood.
She turned it into a sanctuary for the man she loved so deeply.
This island, where Ed lies, becomes a resting place for him. A sanctuary for the departed Ed to leave behind this immense archipelago.
No one could disturb his rest.
Any obstructions visible to the eye are to be eliminated.
As atonement for not being able to save him and out of vengeance against the world that ultimately abandoned him,
Yenika becomes a murderer who slaughtered everyone…
A devil who engulfed the Acken archipelago…
And as a young girl lost in despair.
On the altar at the peak of Acken Island’s Mount Orten, clutching the large staff that Ed Rothtaylor used in life…
She reigned as the queen of the rampaging spirits.
The girl at the Altar of Sacrifice, always clutching the staff, bows her head as usual.
Beneath the whitened hair, red eyes burn, still blazing with hatred for the world.
“Mortuary Maid” Yenika Faelover.
That was the name written on the wanted poster. It was found by a survivor drifting in the sea.
Yenika’s fiery red eyes on the portrait were eerie.
Below, an astounding amount of bounty was written.
Lucy gazed at the name and closed her eyes.
The absence of Ed Rothtaylor was, for her, like the end of the world.
“Lucy. I’ll be blunt. You… probably aim to return to your original place. But right now…”
Lortelle spoke in a low voice.
“At this point… it’s a sudden appearance of you, our last hope. If we’re to do something about the unhinged Yenika, we need to subdue her by force, as conversation is impossible now.”
Lucy… found it too painful to respond.
If it had been Lucy of her prime, maybe she could have done something. But the current Lucy was… too restricted in strength.
Even if somehow managing to deal with the deranged Yenika…
“Look.”
Listening quietly to Lortelle’s explanation, Lucy slowly began to speak.
“Your explanation lacks… a story about yourself…”
Lortelle Keheln.
She, too, was not an individual untouched by the death of Ed.
Though she’s responsible for this hideout as the representative of the survivors…
Did Ed Rothtaylor’s death really have no effect on her?
Although she was someone who always preserved her cool composure, embodying cold reason…
At least when it comes to Ed, she never maintained rationality.
Lucy knew this, albeit vaguely, and questioned her.
Lortelle’s sore spot was hit.
But, Lortelle’s voice remained calm.
“… You think?”
Once, there was a rumor about Ed’s death. It was during the student council president elections. A time when even Lucy couldn’t keep her composure.
Upon hearing the news of Ed’s death, Lortelle seemed fine on the surface.
But those who directly saw Lortelle at the time, like Zix Effelstein, would have felt it.
Lortelle never succumbed to madness. She never loses her reason.
Only calmly. Internally. She simply snaps, ever so quietly.
It’s never apparent on the surface.
But once in a while, that hidden madness would jolt the person she was conversing with. It suddenly becomes clear just how shattered she is inside.
Rather than Yenika, who openly seems dangerous, you could detect a threat.
But Lortelle… was a completely different kind of person.
“The Lindon faction bureaucrats are almost entirely deceased… but it doesn’t mean all resistance is gone…”
Lortelle, with her bowed head, remains unseen.
The soft and composed tone of her voice still lingers…
“To tear everything apart, I need to leave this island first.”
The content of her speech… betrays a completely broken inner self.
“Inspector Albeton, Knight Order Secretary Velorc, Count Bloruen, Premier Feloci, crown Prince Rindon, steward Delos, secretary Eilton…”
More names continue to follow. Too many to remember each one, one wonders how many times she must have repeated them.
The fact that she memorized all those names without missing a beat was already chilling.
“There’s still so many people left that need to be torn apart painfully… How long must I be trapped on this island?”
“… You…”
“I tell you Lucy, I am sickened by the fact that people who implicitly consented to use Ed as a sacrificial lamb are still alive. It makes me want to vomit.”
Lortelle, after lifting her head, was smiling refreshingly… chillingly so. It even felt invigorating.
“I’m busy, so I need to leave this island quickly. There’s so much to do.”
Although Lortelle explained the situation calmly…
She too was already… in a state of complete breakdown.
Ed Rothtaylor’s absence.
It turned Yenika Faelover and Lortelle Keheln into avenging spirits.
Truly, it was a dreadful world.
* * *
“Ready. Young man.”
It was late at night.
The ‘World Observation Device,’ now re-prepared for operation, was ready in front of Gluckt’s hut.
Ed, gathering the sovereign magic power, tried to activate the device again.
The clear principles of how Lucy was sucked into another world were still not fully understood, but everything possible had to be tried.
The rising magical power began to color the surroundings yet again.
“Young man. Be cautious.”
Then, Zellan spoke to Ed in a low voice.
“As I said, interference between worlds… it’s not supposed to happen. Magic operates on interaction, remember? But this kind of absurd interference has occurred…”
Ed turned to look at Zellan. Zellan quickly continued.
“… It means someone from that world was observing this one too.”
“… What?”
Zellan rose from his small frame to look straight at Ed.
“Someone… has observed us…”
Could there be someone else who could do such a thing?
It was hard to believe, but…
There was no choice but to proceed.
* * *
A butterfly flutters in.
Flitting about like the blowing wind, the butterfly finally settles in one corner of the plaza of the ruined living block.
Despite the emptiness, humans instinctively reach out to the butterfly, a creature aimlessly wandering the uncanny landscape.
The butterfly that frolicked in the wind heads towards a girl sitting atop the fountain in the desolate plaza living block.
Her oversized school uniform was torn and wrinkled in places.
The witch’s hat, thoroughly worn and tattered.
The girl’s face wasn’t visible, as the hat’s brim was too wide.
The butterfly paused briefly at the girl’s fingertips before flapping its wings and ascending skyward.
With vigorous flaps, it moves towards the distance… slowly departing.
Slowly, very slowly. It moves beyond reach.