Kays Translations

Chapter 34 – The Crimson Greatsword

Ren also explained the Nature Magic that had surprised Licia earlier, withholding nothing about the evolution of his magic swords.

The explanation itself was not difficult. Licia found the power unusual, but that was the extent of it.

“So that was why.”

Licia recalled what had happened after their battle with Yelquq, when she and Ren returned to Clausel together.

Now she understood why Ren had suddenly asked whether she possessed a magic stone.

“Do you remember asking whether I had a magic stone? You startled me so badly back then.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t understand the Light Magic Sword either.”

“It’s fine now. So, do you understand that Light Magic Sword?”

“No, not at all. I haven’t been able to summon it since then, so unlike the other magic swords, it remains a complete mystery.”

He knew that the power of Licia’s magic stone had been used.

It went without saying that forcing it would place a burden on her body.

“Do you understand why I said it was dangerous?”

“Yes. I understand.”

Before she could dwell on the surprise or happiness of learning about Ren’s power, she accepted the reason he had kept silent.

She had expected him to reject the idea outright, so that answer was enough.

“Then, as promised, testing the power of my magic stone will be our last resort.”

“What!? I thought you had let me off!”

“No. I said ‘for now.’”

“Wow… I suppose it’s my fault for missing that, but that’s unfair.”

Licia began walking with a quiet giggle.

Standing still would change nothing, so they decided to think about what to do next as they moved.

They watched their surroundings and waited for rescue, but even after one hour, then two, the Cage of Time showed no change.

Should they keep relying on rescue, or try something else?

One look at each other was enough for them to decide.

“Chronois said there was a magic circle and a magic tool that produced the seal.”

“You want to investigate whether something has gone wrong with them.”

“Yes. If waiting here changes nothing, then we have to do what we can. We don’t have any water or food either.”

What Licia left unsaid was obvious: if rescue took too long, they would die.

“Ren, let’s go.”

For the first time in many years, footsteps climbed the stone stairway leading toward the center of Roses Caitas.

No one could have predicted this situation, yet Ren and Licia moved forward without hesitation.

Their destination was the heart of Roses Caitas, beyond the stone steps where enormous statues stood in rows.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

After they climbed for some time, the view ahead became clearer.

The fog was no longer thick enough to block their way. Compared with the forest early that morning, their field of vision was relatively open.

The switchback mountain path was long enough to make a lone traveler feel helpless. Together, however, neither of them felt that way.

As they talked while climbing, they noticed a small shrine beneath the trees beside the stairs.

Its ravaged state made them stop and kneel before it.

“Scars from the battle.”

“Are those relics from that time?”

“Yes. I think so.”

Most of the stone shrine had collapsed.

No bloodstains remained, but Ren found an ancient sword beneath the altar. Nearby lay a white staff that appeared to have belonged to a member of the clergy. Their gesture could do nothing for those long dead, but Ren and Licia knelt, joined their hands, and closed their eyes in prayer.

Afterward, they resumed climbing.

“These stairs are in terrible condition too,” Licia observed.

The Demon King’s army and all who had fought it had long since been purified, leaving no bodies behind.

Only the wounds of war remained in that silent place, stirring emotions neither of them could put into words.

Eventually, the center of Roses Caitas came into view, built into a hollow carved from the mountainside.

After another ten minutes, they climbed the final step. Visibility in the plaza before them was clearer than anywhere else they had passed.

Countless colossal statues stood in a fan along the mountain wall, every one of them half destroyed or reduced to ruins. At the plaza’s edge, fallen stone heads had gouged craters into the pavement. One statue towered above all the others. It had surely depicted Main God Elfen.

Ren and Licia advanced cautiously. Several dozen seconds later, they stood at the center of the magic circle.

Licia stared at the necklace before them.

“If it comes to it, we can break this—”

That was rather bold language for the White Saint, but they had been dragged into the seal without warning.

Ren gave a strained laugh.

“Whether we have enough power to break it is another question, but yes, that would be our last resort.”

“Perhaps we could move it away from the magic circle instead. It must be an extraordinary magic tool—no, a sacred relic. I would rather not destroy it.”

“Wouldn’t breaking the seal amount to much the same thing?”

“…Perhaps, but it feels different.”

Licia looked up at him with a pout.

A moment later, the necklace suddenly released a dazzling flash. The particles of light flowing from it vanished, and the necklace dropped onto the stone pavement. The magic circle’s radiance weakened until only a faint glow remained beneath their feet.

“R-Ren!”

Startled, Licia turned to him with a brilliant smile.

“Does this mean we can finally get outside—”

Somewhere nearby, rubble shifted with a clatter.

Ren noticed first and tensed. Before he could answer Licia’s smile, instinct made him pull her into his arms and leap away from the necklace.

A crimson greatsword fell from the sky.

The silver necklace shattered into countless fragments.

As Ren carried Licia toward the edge of the magic circle, another greatsword descended—then a third.

A fourth crimson greatsword plunged down to impale them both.

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