Kays Translations

Chapter 14 – Ragna’s Explanation and the Dead Mithril

“Ren is that kind of man. He is honest, earnest, and pleasant to be around.”

“I can see that. He’s dazzling—especially to a man like me who spends most of his time buried in ruins.”

Ragna spoke teasingly, but because Radius himself had introduced Ren, he did not end the conversation there.

After a deep sigh, he took two sips of the tea Ren had prepared.

“My fields are archaeology and ancient magic. I know a fair amount about Sacred Magic, but as far as Sacred Magic itself is concerned, its powers are limited to those you already mentioned.”

“Then…”

“Yes. Its sacred power is remarkable, but it possesses no other defining characteristics. That is all.”

He did not mean that Sacred Magic was worthless or weak.

Only that it held no hidden quality beyond what Ren already knew.

(So Sacred Magic itself probably isn’t the cause.)

(Perhaps I should be thinking about the White Saint rather than Sacred Magic.)

(Still, I want to hear a little more.)

Ren looked down upon Eupheim through the enormous window and reached his own conclusion without allowing anyone to see his expression.

“Changing the subject…”

He turned around.

“I have fought the Demon King cult several times.”

“I know. Radius has consulted me repeatedly and asked for my help analyzing their powers.”

That was convenient. Ren added a small amount of embellishment as he continued.

“Those affected by the Demon King cult’s marks gained enhanced physical abilities and magic. I believe there were also cases in which they lost their sense of self. What do you make of that?”

“The power they call the Demon King’s is being distributed among them. That is probably the root of it. Those who receive it cannot withstand the bestowed power running out of control and eventually die. The physical changes along the way vary by individual.”

“And the cases in which they lost themselves?”

“Who knows? Perhaps it resembles a change in the nature of a magic stone.”

“A change in a magic stone?”

Because Licia possessed a magic stone inside her body, Ren listened to every word with complete attention.

“When a monster evolves, its magic stone undergoes a major transformation. Once it ceases to be the same kind of monster, changes in personality or selfhood are not uncommon. Its previous memories do not simply vanish, but its nature changes to some degree.”

“But Demon King cultists don’t have magic stones inside their bodies.”

“Exactly. That is the important point.”

Ragna continued without hesitation.

“My hypothesis is that their marks serve the same purpose as a monster’s magic stone. They are engraved upon the body as vessels for power.”

“Wait, Ragna!” Radius exclaimed. “You never told me that.”

“Because this is the first time I’ve said it. I formed the hypothesis recently while pursuing romance. I thought I might as well explain it today.”

“…So that is why.”

The small Shelgadian returned to the subject.

Radius and Ren were both surprised by the unexpected theory, but first they needed to hear the rest.

“The difference between a Demon King mark and a monster’s evolution is that the mark forcibly corrodes its host in order to strengthen them. They are not accepting a transformation produced by their own power. An external force is imposing the transformation upon them. Whether the host can endure it naturally depends upon the individual’s strength.”

The word forcibly caught Ren’s attention.

It sounded disconcertingly similar to what had happened to Licia.

“Is there no way to prevent it?”

“I don’t understand the question. At which stage? Do you mean refusing the forced strengthening, or preventing the body from being corroded?”

“At the most fundamental level, is there a way to avoid a phenomenon that affects the person’s sense of self?”

“Die.”

Ragna answered without hesitation.

“The mark is probably something like a parasite that feeds on its host’s mana. When the host dies, the mark disappears.”

If the objective were merely to erase the mark, that counted as one solution.

It was not the answer Ren wanted.

“Then is there a way to escape its coercive force without dying?”

“What would accomplishing that achieve?”

Ragna sounded sincerely puzzled.

“Is there a Demon King cultist you want to save?”

“No. I want the information for the future. Even when Radius and I capture cultists, many of them die before we can question them properly.”

“So you want to squeeze every last scrap of information from them. Cruel words from such a cute face.”

Ragna laughed with evident amusement. Ren saw no reason to object.

This time Ragna paused to think and chose his words more carefully.

“The coercive force you describe is a latent power capable of influencing the self. Put another way, it occurs because the owner cannot fully restrain the power inside them.”

“Like the Corroding Princess,” Radius said thoughtfully.

Whether because he had once taught the Third Prince or simply because he loved romantic old tales, Ragna knew the story.

“She was different. The Corroding Princess retained her will because she controlled her power.”

“Then what separated her from those whose powers ran wild?”

“The Corroding Princess is only an old story, so I will not pretend we can establish a definitive answer. But in my view, she controlled what she possessed.”

“Then why did she corrode everything around her?” Radius asked.

“A person breathes in and then breathes out. What was ordinary and natural for her merely harmed everything around her. She corroded her surroundings simply by existing. From her perspective, everyone except herself was the abnormal one.”

As Ragna had said, the story contained too many uncertainties to establish the truth.

It was only one example—one researcher’s personal interpretation.

“Back to the question.”

Ragna returned to Ren’s true concern, whose answer mattered far beyond the Demon King cult’s marks.

“The effective response is to keep resisting the coercive force while preserving the self. If you lose, your identity collapses and the power runs wild. Simple, isn’t it?”

“If someone endures it once, is there any guarantee it will not happen a second time?”

“If they continue resisting without losing, every element that constitutes that person adapts and grows. That is probably the answer closest to what you are seeking.”

“Closest… Perhaps. But their body adapts?”

“The phenomenon in your example occurs because a power the body cannot withstand takes control of it. If the body grows capable of enduring that force, the same power will not cause a second runaway. After all, the person can now control it.”

“Is that truly the case? Then how can you tell whether they endured it?”

Ren’s voice rose despite himself.

Licia had once resisted an incomprehensible coercive power and returned to Ren.

He could not say with certainty that her experience belonged in the same category as a Demon King mark or a monster’s evolution, but this was exactly the kind of information he had wanted.

“If the person can subsequently use the power they had once failed to control, then they survived the runaway. In magical terms, their body has adapted to the power.”

That would include the extraordinary Sacred Magic Licia had used during the latter half of the battle against the Sword Demon.

Past events surfaced in Ren’s mind.

(Perhaps ‘resisting’ isn’t quite the same in every case.)

(The two who appeared in the Baldor Mountains could control their marks.)

One of them had been Kai, the man distinguished by his violent manner of speech.

Fiona’s Black Shrine Maiden power had amplified the Demon King’s power inside him until he could no longer control it and collapsed.

That was probably another manifestation of the same principle: an external force affecting the mark’s coercive power.

Ren continued organizing the memories.

(That’s right. Roses Caitas was the same.)

Roses Caitas and the Cage of Time.

Inside that place, filled with the Goddess of Time’s power, Licia’s own strength had run wild against her will. If that incident belonged to the same broad category as what happened in the Baldor Mountains, then the divine force had caused some kind of transformation within her.

Licia resisted it and returned in answer to Ren’s voice.

That was why she remained beside him now.

After sorting the information, Ren slowly exhaled.

For the moment, he could allow himself relief.

During the final stages of the Sword Demon battle, the Sacred Magic Licia used had become dramatically more refined than before. She had avoided using it recently because of the aversion she now felt, but that very improvement lent weight to Ragna’s explanation.

Licia had endured the mysterious power and unquestionably grown capable of bearing it.

“…Thank goodness.”

A relieved sigh escaped him.

“If we restrict the discussion to Demon King cultists,” Ragna warned, “everything changes if the Demon King himself returns. According to the legends, his power might drive every one of them mad.”

“Ah… Now that you mention it…”

“But Ragna,” Radius said, “the stronger cultists could withstand the Demon King’s power and act by their own will.”

“Could they? If the Demon King’s full power is overwhelming enough, there may be no second chance. They might all become mindless soldiers—even those executives and the Cult Leader you told me about.”

“So we cannot know until events reach that stage.”

“Exactly. The Demon King’s story overflows with romance, but it lacks decisive information.”

“What a troublesome age.”

“It cannot be helped. The Demon King’s power was immense. He alone possessed a sword capable of opposing the Divine Sword.”

Ragna’s next words came like an irritated curse.

He dismissed the Elfen Church with obvious boredom.

“If those priests had protected their sacred relic, matters might have been much simpler.”

“Which sacred relic?” Radius asked.

“The one stolen from a temple. What was it called…? Ah, yes. Elfen’s Tears. Leomel possesses many sacred relics, both in temples and in the hands of nobles throughout the country. I don’t know why the Demon King cult keeps targeting Leomel, but those relics may be part of the reason.”

Elfen’s Tears was the liquid said to possess the special power to purify anything.

The Cult Leader himself had stolen it during an attack on an Elfen Church temple.

“If the liquid truly has the divine purification described in the stories, it might cleanse the cultists together with their marks.”

“The relic has already been stolen, so that does not help us now,” Radius said. “Still, I have wondered before whether it was dangerous to the cult. Did they steal it to protect themselves?”

“I do not know whether Elfen’s Tears genuinely possesses the rumored power.”

“What is this, Ragna? Are you criticizing sacred relics now?”

“Don’t be irritating. I am speaking as a researcher. Elfen’s Tears is undoubtedly a sacred relic, and its divine power appears genuine. The uncertainty lies in how that purification affects living beings. We cannot assume its effectiveness is flawless.”

“You realize your claims contradict one another. If its divine power is flawless, should it not overcome any human limitation?”

“Contradiction? The world cannot exist without contradictions. That is why they suit me.”

Ragna delivered the sarcasm without hesitation.

Ren stared, Radius chuckled, and Ragna continued.

“Even the gods contradict themselves. A Shelgadian can therefore possess one or two contradictions without being wrong.”

Ragna displayed a fearlessness that not even gods could intimidate.

He did not appear to harbor any personal grievance against Main God Elfen. He was simply a relentless realist.

For better or worse, he disliked convenient stories dressed as truth.

“They tell us the gods possess no flaws. But if a god were truly flawless and omnipotent, why would Main God Elfen need to create a Hero? Wouldn’t he have acted before the Demon King ever appeared?”

“You dislike the convenient explanation that it was a trial granted to humanity.”

“I despise it. That is merely a manufactured story—a false romance with no appeal. The only interesting conclusion would be that a malicious god watched it all with a grin. I enjoy attending the theater, but I have no intention of becoming an actor.”

“If a god created humanity, is it wise to speak that way?”

“If I am wrong, an omnipotent god may correct me.”

He did not stop there.

“Though correction is unnecessary. If the god cannot correct me, that proves the god is not omnipotent. Either way, one more piece of my curiosity is satisfied.”

Any devout follower of Elfen might have struck him for saying so.

The Third Prince seemed unconcerned, while Ren could do nothing but listen with a strained smile.

“Ren, you are beginning to understand this man, aren’t you?” Radius asked.

“Ha ha… I would prefer to refrain from answering.”

“Please do not use that response. Troublesome nobles say the same thing in council meetings.”

Radius sighed, and fatigue showed on his face.

It was not fatigue that had begun only after entering the Bureau.

Ren had noticed more than once recently that Radius appeared tired.

“Changing the subject,” Ragna said, “you have been unusually busy lately, Radius.”

“…Is that a problem?”

“No. Nothing at all. At most, I sense that history is approaching a significant change.”

Radius did not answer the suggestive remark.

When he next spoke, he redirected the subject.

“You, on the other hand, have been spending a great deal of time in Eupheim.”

“Something intriguing was excavated.”

“For an object to intrigue you, it must be remarkable.”

“Very much so. Would you like to see it?”

“Certainly.”

Ragna crossed the room and placed a hand upon its largest cabinet.

Glowing patterns appeared across the doors, and he murmured what sounded like a spell.

The two doors opened outward. At the same time, a glass-covered display case slid forward from within.

A single circlet rested inside.

“Come here.”

Ren and Radius joined him before the case.

“Before I show you what was excavated recently, look at this. It is a circlet discovered in the Old Town several decades ago.”

The circlet was made of mithril.

Mithril possessed corrosion resistance greater than gold, and in the hands of a skilled craftsman it could become an alloy superior even to far more expensive materials.

Most of the world’s mithril had been mined on the Demon Continent, where the Demon King’s castle stood.

This circlet, however, was unlike ordinary mithril.

Its entire surface had been invaded by blackness.

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