Episode 165: The North #5
It was no ordinary beast.
Dark energy surged, covering the snow-capped mountains. As the entity moved, the clouds in the sky were torn apart. A massive shadow loomed. The sunlight vanished, and a blizzard raged.
Larger than the imperial capital?
There was no comparison.
Its size was beyond comprehension. It was, quite literally, a mountain. So vast and towering that even birds would have to risk their lives to fly over it.
The spreading dark energy sent chills across the skin. It was suffocating. Even from a distance, its presence was overwhelming. Truly a beast worthy of a celestial mage.
Yohan steadied his gathered mana. He had to escape quickly.
“I need to regroup with the officers first.”
Holding Francia in his arms, Yohan soared into the sky. It was a technique that combined mana manipulation with distortion orbs. His body lifted into the air.
A piercingly cold wind howled around him, feeling as if it could tear his skin apart. From this height, he could see that the dark energy was being drawn into the snowy mountains.
Boom—!!
The mountain beast took a step forward. Even from high above, Yohan could feel the ground tremble. Even the air and mana seemed to shudder.
“The realm of the celestial.”
Now he understood why that insane master of the magic tower had yearned for the celestial realm. It was simply overwhelming. The domain of creation itself—there was no other way to describe it.
Yohan bit his lower lip. There was no time to waste. He accelerated, slicing through the sky. Manipulating mana, he minimized air resistance.
Boom—!!
The mountain beast continued moving. Its sheer size made it seem slow, yet it was heading somewhere. But not toward them.
“…No way.”
Yohan checked the direction the beast was looking. The Fervache territory. It was moving there. That massive creature intended to unleash a massacre.
No, it was the celestial mage’s intention.
“I have to stop it here.”
Could he destroy it? He didn’t know.
But he had to try. It was the only way to survive.
“Damn it.”
Yohan pushed his speed to the limit. He adjusted his mana manipulation to ensure Francia wasn’t shaken.
Then, he unleashed his magic.
Boom—!!
A burst of red mana exploded like fireworks. A signal to the officers that he was here.
Boom—!! Boom—!!
Signal flares erupted from different locations. It seemed everyone was safe and nearby.
“Director!!”
As Yohan descended, the officers rushed toward him, their bodies covered in snow.
“Were you caught in an avalanche?”
“Yes, but we’re unharmed.”
“Good.”
A weight lifted from his shoulders.
“But… what is that?”
One of the officers pointed at the mountain beast, which continued to move.
“A beast summoned by the celestial mage.”
“…The celestial mage?”
“I’ll explain later. Take care of Francia.”
“Y-yes!”
Yohan entrusted the unconscious Francia to them. He had to act alone. No one else could handle that beast.
“Join forces with the Fervache knights and set up a defensive line. That beast is heading for Fervache.”
“Understood!”
The officer’s face was filled with questions, but he did not ask. Following orders came first.
“I don’t know if I can defeat the celestial mage.”
But he had to try.
***
She descended as light.
She brought hope to the desperate.
Hedeia.
Though her power came from the abyss, she used it for the people. She dreamed of prosperity. She became a beacon of strength for all.
Hedeia, the Savior.
At some point, people began to call her that.
When she walked, her jet-black hair flowed like silk. Her enchanting golden eyes had the power to stop people in their tracks. A soft scent of freshly plucked roses lingered at her fingertips and feet.
Revered by many, she split the sky to bring rain. She divided the seasons into four to delay the cold. ─ Bountiful harvests followed.
She split the unyielding land. Barren soil, where nothing could grow, turned fertile. ─ Humanity thrived.
She united fragmented lands into a single continent, allowing people to come together. ─ The concept of nations was born.
She studied magic, shaped it into form, and expressed it in a way that humans could understand—thus, magic advanced.
The first Transcendent.
—“I want to build an ideal nation with you.”
One day, a man said this to her. His dark, deep blue hair shimmered as it flowed, and his face was as exquisite as a masterpiece.
Though she had forged civilizations and achieved countless feats, at her core, she was still human. A woman.
Hedeia fell in love with him.
His name was Edgard Rozino.
She realized something—humans, inevitably, were desperate for love.
If he wanted something, she would grant it. She would give him the world.
—“I’m sorry. I can’t accept your feelings.”
But he had a wife. A woman he cherished above all else.
—“I’m jealous.”
I could have treated you better.
I could have given you anything you desired.
But Edgard Rozino never wavered. His gaze remained solely on his wife.
What was the problem? Her appearance? Her heart? The time they had spent together? She didn’t know.
—“I want to be with him.”
So she created a spell—one that twisted causality and reversed time. A magic of defiance against the heavens.
—“Let’s go back.”
She rewound time.
Then, she approached him and confessed her heart.
—“Edgard, I like you.”
She got what she wanted. She won his love. She felt as if she had gained the world. Everything seemed to go well—at first.
—“Actually…”
When she revealed the truth, Edgard began to recall faint memories from the vanished timeline.
A side effect of the time-reversal magic? Or was it the influence of her own power?
—“Hedeia, you deceived me.”
He resented her. He realized he could never meet his beloved wife again and was consumed by sorrow. No words of comfort could reach him. He only grieved.
—“You ruined me. Because of you, my emptiness can never be filled.”
Words became wounds.
People don’t realize the pain they inflict when they cannot see the scars.
Or perhaps, he could see them—that’s why he said those words.
Her longing could never be fulfilled.
So Hedeia killed him.
Cruelly, mercilessly. She tortured him until he said he loved her. She even kidnapped and tormented the woman he loved.
—“I will never love you. Not in this lifetime.”
Yet, he never once uttered the words of love she so desperately desired.
She turned back time.
Again and again.
But nothing changed. The same future repeated itself.
Even when she concealed the truth, once their magic intertwined, he would remember.
—“You have erased my very existence.”
She wept. She grieved endlessly.
Hoping to ease her despair, she burned the world.
People’s gazes shifted. No longer reverence—only terror. Madness.
She burned everything. And then, she burned herself.
Her tangled memories faded.
She loved him.
He rejected her.
She turned back time.
He took his own life.
She turned back time again.
The only thing that increased was the number of times he died.
That memory repeated endlessly.
—“Ah… I could never obtain what I truly desired.”
She had no reason to live anymore.
So she put herself to sleep.
—“May I never awaken again.”
And now, only the lingering resentment of her heart remained, wandering through this world.
***
Boom—!!
The ground trembled. The air shook. The dense aura of dark magic and the massive tremors were enough to send even monstrous beasts fleeing.
“The defensive line?”
“It has been established.”
“Good. Then let’s meet the Duke.”
Yohan stiffened his expression and stepped forward.
Following him as his aide, Rudbeckia asked,
“Can that thing really be dealt with?”
Yohan looked at her. There was much he wanted to say. But now was not the time.
“Who knows? But we have to try. There’s no other choice.”
“Shouldn’t we request support from the central forces?”
“The central forces won’t be of much help either.”
At this point, he couldn’t even tell if he could handle that beast himself. Even with their support, eliminating that creature was uncertain.
“And I doubt we can even stall for time while waiting for their reinforcements.”
The biggest problem was time.
“Ah…”
Rudbeckia sighed, realizing there were no viable alternatives. A purification operation was supposed to be their last task, yet now this was happening. It was exhausting.
“The Duke is waiting inside.”
The forward base.
They arrived at the tent where Duke Fervache resided.
Yohan and Rudbeckia stepped inside. The Duke sat in the main seat, and the commander and deputy-commander of the Fervache Knights were present.
“You’re here.”
The Duke gestured toward the chairs in front of him, signaling them to sit. Yohan took a seat.
“So, do you know what that beast is?”
“It was created by the Celestial Mage.”
“The Celestial Mage?”
The Duke’s eyes narrowed.
“Yes. It was closer to a lingering wraith filled with resentment… but after reverse-engineering its magic, I confirmed that it was indeed the Celestial Mage. They acknowledged it themselves.”
Everyone in the room grew tense. If Yohan’s words were true, their chances of victory were close to nonexistent. What could they possibly do against a mythical sorcerer?
BOOOOM—!!
Even as they spoke, the mountain beast continued moving toward the Fervache territory. It was slow, but its massive size meant its strides covered great distances. Time was running out.
“Minister Lahart, can you take it down?”
“I can’t say for sure.”
It was better to be honest than to give false assurances. Deceiving himself about his abilities could cloud his judgment when it mattered most.
“I see…”
The Duke pressed his fingers against his temples, as if trying to ease a headache. No wonder—facing an enormous creature exuding such thick dark energy, larger than most fortresses, was enough to make anyone’s head spin.
“We don’t have time. We proceed with the operation immediately. We’ll prepare a joint magic formation. The rest is up to Minister Lahart’s judgment.”
“Understood.”
The plan was simple.
Yohan would launch the first strike, followed by another round of attacks from the mages forming the joint magic circle behind him. They would repeat this process.
Failure meant death for everyone.
Yohan stepped out of the tent and looked at the distant, approaching mountain beast. Slowly, he gathered his mana and took a deep breath.
“Hoo…”
Even just looking at it was overwhelming.
But he couldn’t let it come any closer.
—Heaven’s Ruin.
He aimed his most powerful attack at the creature.
This was the only move he could make right now.
Yohan stretched out his fingers, pointing directly at the beast.