Is That My Alter Ego - Chapter 98



Chapter 98 – After That Day

Time flows, and the once gentle weather turns oppressively hot. Yet, the North remains cold, battered by blizzards.

And in some remote corner of the North lies a small village. There, where dark sorcerers have taken hold, a one-sided massacre unfolds.

“Hi… Hiiik-!”

Swish-!

The neck of the dark sorcerer, who had been staring at something while seated, is severed. The cut is so precise and clean it could serve as a table.

“You… what are you…! What in the world is happening-!”

Colson, the high priest of the dark sorcerers, could not grasp the bizarre scene unfolding before him.

For whenever someone in a black robe and a raven mask gestured, another figure standing beside him was sliced away.

The severed parts were unpredictable. Some lost an arm, others a leg, and some were cleaved into thirty-six pieces.

What in the world is happening? Surely, the dark sorcerers had gathered around him, completely occupying this village.

Then suddenly, like the wind—no, lighter and faster than the wind—this person appeared and turned everything awry.

…No. Could they even be called human?

No matter how eccentric or strong a person may be, they should display some semblance of emotion. Yet, this person reveals none.

As if… born to kill us, a machine of murder. Unendingly cruel, devoid of emotion, precise and succinct.

Swish-!

Thud, thud.

—

“……….”

Dozens of dark sorcerers lay motionless, unable to stir a finger, flailing like ants severed before a colossal beast.

As someone cloaked in dark robes and masked raised a small gesture, countless heads disassembled from their bodies.

Surely, I am the high priest of the dark sorcerers. This means I hold a rather elevated position among those of a clearly defined hierarchy.

With that came a confidence in myself, a certainty that I could harm the common folk, drain their vitality before others could even blink.

This was the same for this operation. No, it had to be.

“Sa…save me—”

Thud—

The neck of another dark sorcerer following me vanishes.

They would not even realize they were dead. The time to comprehend death was eclipsed by the swiftness of the severing magic.

…Is it truly magic? Traditionally, magic is conjured, then a spell circle is constructed through incantation to activate it.

Even Colson, who knew nothing of magic, understood this; it would not be an exaggeration to say that all citizens of the Empire were aware of this fact.

“Hi…hiie—”

Rustle—

“I…I don’t want to die—”

Thud.

It was merely a small gesture. No spell circle was constructed, no mana gathered, and not once had a word been uttered until now.

Yet… so easily, so simply, it pierced through the regeneration of the dark sorcerer and brought death.

Could that be… not a human, but a dragon?

As Colson gazed at that bizarre figure, memories of a fairy tale he had read in his childhood, before his fall into dark sorcery, suddenly resurfaced.

“Sometimes, among the highly intelligent dragons, some use magic to transform into humans and masquerade as one.”

“Dragons can be said to reign over the world. They construct spell circles with astonishing ease, and mana follows them like a shadow.”

Even in his youth, when he felt no emotion towards magic, the tales of dragons were enough to make his heart race with their beauty and grandeur.

Squish-squish.

“…………”

“Ha…ha ha…”

Colson sat down, chuckling in the face of impending death.

…A dragon? That human… no. ‘That’ is a being beyond any comparison to such things.

Even the dragons of legend must use spell circles to wield magic.

Have I… encountered a fictional being known as a god? Could it be that gods truly exist—

Rustle.

Before Colson’s thoughts could fully form, his neck had already departed from his wretched body. He would be trapped in the eternal cycle of thought.

Thud.

— I… I’m alive… I’m alive…!

— Thank you… Thank you…!

— Huh… Huh…

As the last remaining dark sorcerer fell away like a leaf caught in the wind, the villagers, who had been holding their breath, began to wail.

In relief at having survived, or perhaps in gratitude for being spared.

To those who had nearly lost their home and their very lives to the dark sorcerer overnight, that unknowable being was akin to a savior.

Snap—!

With a mere flick of a finger, the bindings that had ensnared the villagers were severed in an instant.

Among those who embraced each other in joy at their survival, a woman stepped forward toward the robed figure.

“Um… um… thank you for saving us… Hiiik!”

As she attempted to express her gratitude, the moment her gaze met the eyes beyond the robe, she froze in place.

“……….”

The violet eyes shining through the tattered and broken mask revealed nothing but an emptiness devoid of light.

Suddenly, a madman’s claim, once pondered in the depths of her mind, resurfaced.

Beyond that endless sky, which looked down upon us, there existed a space of darkness so deep and unfathomable that we could never comprehend it.

Surely, there could be no such thing as a void of nothingness. Such an empty space could not exist, and the madman had only earned scorn for his words, his claims dismissed without a second thought.

“Ugh… Huh… Ugh…”

“………”

No. The void did exist. Those eyes… those eyes that held nothing, that contained not even a hint of emotion.

The abyss of the being’s heart was akin to that void. The woman, paralyzed by an overwhelming fear, could do nothing but sit and gaze up at him, breath caught in her throat.

“What’s wrong?”

“Um… um… that person’s eyes…”

“….Oh? Where did they go?”

“….Huh?”

Moments later, as a young man rushed toward her, their eyes met, and she wore a blank expression, bewildered by the presence that had vanished without a trace, without sound or sign.

As if it had never existed at all. The pure white snow bore no footprints, nor any lingering traces of magic.

In the nameless little village, bewildered faces stared back, surrounded only by the bodies of the dark sorcerers, each missing some part of themselves, and all sharing the common fate of lost necks.

“….Venice. I have come.”

A small hill lies just behind the Frost Fortress.

In that place, where the beautiful moonlight always bathes, Ariel sits down, placing a white flower upon a small gravestone.

The coldness of the snow seems to spread a chill across her skin, yet she pays it no mind.

“…Today, I caught many insects.”

Ariel sinks to her knees before the gravestone, beginning to speak to the one buried beneath it.

It was the day Venice had departed. For a full two months, she had locked herself away in her room, doing nothing.

Each moment was filled with self-reproach, self-loathing, and attempts to end her own life. Yet, she had never succeeded even once.

Instead, with each passing day, the guilt over Venice and the pain that felt like a hole being carved into her heart only grew.

Every day was hell. From the moment Venice left until now.

The crunching snow beneath her feet felt like a thorny path, and the once comforting northern winds now seemed to tear at her very soul.

Day after day, she cursed herself, apologized to Venice, and repeated the cycle of trying to kill herself.

Then one day, voices of maids drifted in from beyond the door.

“…Another village has vanished because of the dark sorcerers.”

“Really? They’ve been particularly rampant lately…”

The chatter of newly arrived maids, following the departure of the weeping, trembling ones.

In that moment, upon hearing their words, she halted the self-destructive spiral that had consumed her for months.

Dark sorcerers. The very insects she had dealt with alongside Venice.

Her self-reproach and apologies to Venice, along with all the moments they had shared, began to resurface, thoughts that she had pushed aside.

“Dark… sorcerers.”

For the first time in months, she uttered a coherent word, amidst the howls and curses she had directed at herself.

….The dark sorcerers were the ones who had created the direct cause of Venice’s sacrifice, though she herself had failed to recognize it.

If it weren’t for those wretched, dog-like insects, Venice would not have had to suffer and die.

If it weren’t for those b*stards… if those vermin had never been born…!

Her target of anger began to shift. In her hollow, violet eyes, only hatred ignited, not life.

That day, Ariel donned the attire of the Night Crow once more. A black robe, and a mask of a crow, now tattered and slightly broken.

….The moments she had shared with Venice flooded back, causing her to writhe in anguish for a brief time.

“I must… eradicate all the dark sorcerers.”

Without Venice, she began to hunt down and kill the dark sorcerers alone. Whether it was crossing walls or something else, it became a task far simpler and easier than before.

—

It was, rather, an all too easy thing, and thus the anguish only grew. That Venice had come to die because of such trivial, wretched children.

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For I realized that it was these insects that had driven away my sole ally, my steward.

…If only I had realized a moment sooner. If I had strived to prevent it, before he had to step forth.

Each day, I drowned in self-reproach, consumed by rage as I hunted down the dark sorcerers.

Since the day Venice and I ceased our endeavors, the dark sorcerers had not dwindled but multiplied, their numbers staggering.

Thus, I devoted every hour from dawn till dusk to seeking and slaying these sorcerers.

Though there was but a single one, the dark sorcerers began to dwindle at a pace unseen before.

“….I will ensure your sacrifice is not in vain. I shall slay every last one of those b*stards. Not a single one shall escape…”

With trembling hands, I caressed the gravestone. The cold stone, not his warm presence, brought forth a pain so deep, so sorrowful, so agonizing.

….I must see this through. For Venice…

A drop or two fell upon the cold stone, and then the droplets began to fall in earnest.

“….I will return. You must be well, my love…”

In the place where Ariel had departed, the remaining white flower brushed against the wind, fluttering away into the air.

*

“My daughter. Are you truly… going?”

“Yes.”

“….Take care of yourself.”

“….Yes.”

Facing her father, Ariel left behind a resolute answer and departed.

“….Hoo.”

It felt as though my heart was being torn apart by the hollow gaze of my broken daughter. Yet, it was precisely because of this that I could not hinder her actions.

Seated at the desk, Breid Frost wore an expression of deep thought, before him lay a refined piece of parchment.

– Royal Commission Order.

Content: A powerful dark magic signal has been detected at the abandoned castle at the northernmost tip of the North. The danger level of the signal, identified as an artifact, appears to rival that of a 5-star monstrosity, surpassing even a 4-star.

Request for the extermination of the dark sorcerer to be made to a mercenary group or individual who has vanquished 4-star or higher monstrosities.