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chapter 60
Galtan had exceptional hearing.
It was his specialty. Ever since his days in the Galtan Knights, his sensory abilities had surpassed those of ordinary people. Like adjusting the focus on a telescope, he could pinpoint the exact sound he wanted to detect.
He had fully utilized this acute hearing in battle. Whether facing wild monsters or being chased by dragons’ rare breeds and draconian beasts, he relied on his auditory perception to protect himself multiple times. Even when monsters appeared whose weaknesses were unknown, he could keenly detect the sound of a beating heart and pierce it with precision.
Even after retreating to the cabin, drowning in regret and self-blame, his ears remained alert. He could always hear: the murmur of the city’s citizens, the thud of golems against the walls, the footsteps of Konas bringing food or news, and the anger and contempt directed at him.
Yet, that made leaving even more impossible. He might have been able to in his prime. But now, exhausted in both body and mind, outside stimuli were no longer something he could easily ignore.
When a person shuts themselves off, they are buried. They sink into the swamp without even struggling, even though survival is a fundamental instinct. And yet, people sometimes destroy themselves simply because they can, repeating the cycle endlessly like a wheel with no end.
Self-destruction. Self-destruction. Galtan’s ears only sought out the sound of pain.
Since confining himself to the cabin, his physical strength and combat ability had significantly declined. Yet in this isolated place, listening to the outside world sharpened his hearing more than ever. He opened his ears wide during every golem defense, storing the voices of citizens who blamed him for not participating.
But this time, the sounds were different.
“…!”
Words of near-death experiences. Words of fear.
Tales of golems peering over the city walls. Complaints of never being able to live in this city again.
“If it weren’t for the priest, we’d all be dead. What if the protective barrier disappears? Dad, can’t we not fight? Why am I living in a place like this? Trapped inside the walls with no way out…”
Amidst the chaos came a dreamlike, despairing cry from the mighty proxy, Lister.
From that moment, Galtan desperately expanded his hearing.
He searched for Konas’ voice. Even if dozens of people walked simultaneously, he could identify Konas’ footsteps with precision. Konas would come again, as he always did after the battles, standing outside the cabin to report on the day’s events.
But no matter how intently he listened, Konas could not be found. Even with his supernatural hearing, from a cabin in the middle of the city, he couldn’t catch every sound up to the walls. Not hearing him was natural.
He became even more frantic. Even after hearing that no one had died, he anxiously searched for Konas’ footsteps, voice, and breathing.
Yet he did not step outside.
He knew himself that if he left the cabin, his supernatural hearing would be amplified far beyond its current range.
And still, he remained inside.
The dragon’s roar and the memories of past failures continued to bind him. Much remained lacking before those shackles could be broken.
He didn’t expect to find what he was searching for.
And no one else would have expected it of him either.
After Evan comforted Lister and walked toward the city walls,
Riz set down the crate of potions she had brought from the church and perched atop it.
Most of the potions had already been distributed to guilds and knights according to need, giving Riz a moment to rest.
She sat on the crate, watching Isabel shoot beams of light toward the sky with a detached expression.
“Isabel.”
Isabel did not respond. Riz chuckled and asked:
“You heard everything, didn’t you?”
Though Isabel still kept her mouth closed, the corner of her lips twitched.
Of course, even while maintaining the divine protective barrier, Isabel must have heard Lister’s sobbing in front of her.
Riz knew well that Isabel might be tired, but she was far from collapsing from exhaustion.
“You did well not showing it, but what will you do now? If we meet that big guy again after this, can you keep your expression in check? Ah, I’m not asking for an answer. Just be prepared.”
Isabel murmured “prepared” quietly with her lips, making Riz chuckle. But her expression soon hardened.
Watching Isabel fend off the massive golems, it was impossible to keep laughing.
“This is absurd. I’ve fought wild golems before, sure, a few times in winter at rat holes, but these… these are on a whole other level. What a messy creature.”
“They’re smaller than a mountain, sister.”
“Don’t answer, just focus.”
Isabel immediately fell silent. Riz sighed and flopped down on the crate.
“When I looked outside from the rat hole, the outside was tiny… but the world is really big. There are creatures like that, and even seeing those monsters cry…”
Isabel furrowed her brows, realizing that Riz was referring to Lister, not the golems.
She paused and thought.
Just as Smiel had said, for herself.
This and that.
Here and there.
Fortunately, her slight distraction didn’t thin the protective barrier. But seeing Isabel’s brows furrowed as she deliberated, Riz wondered if she had inadvertently caused unnecessary strain.
If she lost focus and the golems broke through, it would be disastrous.
“Please… just hold on well…”
Riz muttered.
Her worry, however, proved unnecessary.
Because…
“Ughhh…”
Tio, the one who had created a massive golem capable of destroying Castle Tina, was suffering more than ever.
It wouldn’t break. Not at all.
No matter what he did, a giant golem alone couldn’t breach that wall.
Those trapped inside could not possibly understand. From Tio’s perspective, who had to break the protective barrier from the outside, it was a wall of wailing despair.
“Isabel must have made that. How…? The power of a unique angel?”
Tio did not yet know Isabel possessed a sacred mark, so he assumed the enormous divine wall was entirely due to the unique angel’s power.
This misconception would soon lead to the worst possible conclusion for him.
“But there’s another proxy inside…!”
If someone other than Isabel could maintain such a barrier, Tio could not possibly capture Castle Tina by any means.
Tio was the ultimate undead. He had never failed any mission given to him.
But now… he truly felt he could not succeed.
“What… should I do…”
At that moment, Tio sensed a familiar presence behind him.
No—it was not exactly a presence. What appeared was not human.
“Greetings, Tio.”
A voice, sounding like wood snapping, spoke respectfully to him.
Tio turned to face it.
It was an undead, one of Dorothea’s creations like himself.
They were born from Dorothea’s failed attempts while creating the ultimate undead. Rejected as failures, they nonetheless retained loyalty to their master.
The undead before Tio was the eldest of the three failures. Covered in rotting branches and straw, dressed in tattered leather, a one-legged undead—Brain, the first undead mage.
“Did you teleport?”
“Yes. It seems Tio is struggling.”
Brain’s calm words gritted Tio’s teeth. Struggling? That insulted his pride.
“Why are you here?”
“Dorothea sent me to check if you had encountered the sword’s master. But… this is unexpected.”
Brain raised a decaying root-hand, pointing at the massive barrier radiating divine power.
“Is the sword’s master inside?”
“Yes.”
“Then this is troublesome. Breaking that will be no easy task. Tio, you won’t die, but if I approach too closely, that divine power will kill me.”
Tio gritted his teeth. Brain, unlike Tio, could not withstand the divine power.
“Is that all you want to say? That you’re useless? Then why even come?”
“If the barrier is removed, can you handle the rest yourself?”
Tio flinched.
He considered it for a moment and answered:
“Yes. Without it, I can enter the city. The original plan was to destroy Castle Tina with golems, but if that’s impossible, I’ll at least achieve the primary goal.”
Tio deliberately did not reveal that Isabel, not Dyke, was the sword’s master. The prophecy of Elia had already been wrong, but perhaps it was still unfolding. On the day Tio completed his mission, Isabel might die, and Dyke could become the true master.
More importantly, Tio did not want Brain to know he had lost control of the situation. So he continued explaining calmly.
“First, I’ll become a shadow and enter the walls, then take the sword’s master and leave Castle Tina. After that, the city’s fate doesn’t concern me. But you’re more vulnerable than I am to that barrier. What will you do?”
“I’ll use magic. Since Tio prepared the groundwork, I only need to assist.”
Tio crossed his arms. Brain was the only undead capable of using human-level magic. If Tio, with no magical power, could create giant golems using the Mage Tools of Wiktina, Brain could likely perform even greater feats.
“My power alone cannot break the barrier… but mana exists everywhere. This place is ideal for creating golems, so with my modest skill, I can cast magic from inside the barrier.”
Tio’s eyes widened.
If Brain, outside the barrier, cast magic from inside it, the city could suffer enormous damage. Even mages at the magic tower could barely do such a thing.
“When did you become this strong? Your siblings would be amazed.”
“They aren’t. My siblings have achieved more than I have.”
Tio was astonished. Brain’s magic was impressive, yet his siblings had surpassed him? The ones born as mere byproducts from creating Tio were now greater than him?
No, that couldn’t be. Tio had an immortal body even dragons could not achieve.
Yet it annoyed him. Those he assumed couldn’t keep pace had now overtaken him step by step.
Brain slowly extended his arm, branches sprouting grotesquely from his decaying limb.
“I cannot stay here long. I must return home. I will take only necessary measures and leave. The rest…”
“I’ll handle it.”
“Thank you, Tio. Now step back. I need to cast magic.”
Tio stepped back. Brain dispelled the levitation spell keeping him slightly above the ground. His single leg thudded onto the floor.
Standing still, Brain extended his right hand, the five fingers elongating into decaying branches. The branches writhed and twisted together, forming a long staff.
Like a mage using a staff, Brain drew a line in the air. Thick, black, viscous paint-like substance stretched across the air, using it as a canvas.
Tio held his breath, watching Brain unleash his magic.
