RHRH 4

Chapter 4

The child, who had just lost his family, spoke. He said he wanted power strong enough to completely turn the world upside down.

At that moment, Eldarín felt a thrill bordering on depravity blooming within her mental world.

‘I merely suppressed his refined mana for a moment. That was all…’

The child before her quickly grasped the situation and reined in the destructive energy within him. Any ordinary child would have merely fainted or gone even more berserk.

‘My eye truly did not deceive me. This child definitely has talent.’

Eldarín was quite satisfied with the cool-headed malice lingering in Kain’s eyes and the fervent desire resting beyond it. She curved one corner of her lips into a smile.

“Then let us make a contract. I will hide you in Eldergrove. I will feed you, give you a place to sleep, and teach you magic myself.”

This was exactly what Kain had hoped for, but he could not help asking for the reason. Swallowing hard, he spoke in a bold voice.

“My father told me to be wary of strangers bearing hospitality.”

Eldarín shook her head.

“I am not trying to offer hospitality.”

“Then what is it?”

“Hmm, well. You ought to know. Lately, the mana balance of the world has broken.”

“The mana balance…? If the mana balance breaks… a rift forms!”

Kain remembered the stories from the fairy tale books he used to beg his mother to read to him every day. According to the fairy tales, the mana making up the world consisted of five elements: Wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.

When these five manas achieved balance, the world could maintain peace. However, about 700 years ago from the present, as wars between magic towers became frequent, the mana balance became unstable for the first time. And what eventually appeared as a result was a rift.

Eldarín nodded.

“You know well. An abnormal mana domain, a gate containing the power of another dimension. Most commonly known as a ‘Void Zone’.”

Kain rummaged through his knowledge and asked calmly.

“However, I was told that ever since the first five heroes performed the Great Sealing Ritual 700 years ago, Void Zones barely occur anymore. Even if they do, it’s nothing more than the lowest E-class or F-class… and I heard the Union Guilds can sufficiently deal with that level.”

Eldarín looked at Kain with a sense of wonder, as he knew far more than she expected.

“Where did you hear such things?”

“Mostly… I read them in books.”

“Do you like books?”

Kain quietly nodded. In fact, it wasn’t just a matter of simply liking them. He was always reading something.

Thanks to that, he had long since perused all the fairy tales in the empire, and recently he had even been sneaking into his father’s study. This was a very natural occurrence in the Valentin family, as their household had spearheaded the business of building libraries throughout the entire empire in the first place.

The whole family enjoyed reading, and thanks to that, Kain naturally grew close to books from an early age. However, his mother would often boast to those around her that among her three sons, the youngest especially loved books the most.

Eldarín, too, could not hide her pleased expression at Kain’s answer.

“Good, good. Then we shall communicate even better.”

Then, as if to see how much of the content Kain understood, she began rattling off difficult terms:

“In reality, the occurrence of Void Zones has drastically decreased since the Great Sealing. Scholars have also put in a lot of effort. They figured out the rules of Void Zone generation and devised countermeasures, such as filling and supplying the mana needed for magic crystals. However, when a stable life goes on for too long… anyone naturally becomes a bit complacent and cozy.”

Eldarín asserted.

“The Great Sealing by the five heroes was not complete. Before long, a chaotic era will descend upon the world once more.”

Kain frowned.

Judging from his earnest attempts to piece together the difficult words, it meant that a great danger was indeed approaching the world. Yet, Eldarín’s voice still lacked any particular emotion.

“Countless people will die. Pollutants will flow out of the Void Zones, and creatures will run amok everywhere. But… the world is already soaked in peace. It has indulged too much in a golden age. At this rate, far from fighting back, even surviving will be difficult.”

“Ugh…”

For an eight-year-old Kain, this was undeniably desperate news even to comprehend. Yet, what did that have to do with bringing him into Eldergrove?

Eldarín, having noticed Kain’s doubt beforehand, gave a crooked smile. An ominous premonition swept down Kain’s spine.

“Surely…?”

“Indeed. I will raise you into the hero of the coming chaotic era.”

At such an absurd story, Kain was left speechless. Eldarín spoke to him, as if giving him a chance to reconsider once more.

“So this is not hospitality, but an investment. When that day comes… when the chaotic era arrives, you must give your time, your strength, your heart, everything to the world. Can you do it?”

At that moment, Kain suddenly recalled the backs of his family members as they stood before him to block the danger. Those natural and matter-of-fact attitudes, as if their lives had been sustained solely for this very day. He had survived simply because he was the youngest and the weakest.

Only then did Kain realize it faintly.

‘Ah, yes. Perhaps I have encountered a path that will not bring shame to my family.’

Justice and revenge would not conflict. The eight-year-old Kain judged so.

He answered with a mix of determination and a sense of release.

“I can do it. The Valentin family always moves for the weakest ones.”

Eldarín gazed quietly into Kain’s spotlessly clear turquoise eyes and asked.

“Your name?”

“Kain. I am Kain Bellore Valentin.”

Eldarín stood up and held out her left hand.

“My name is Eldarín Alkanes. I am of the ancient race, Elderkin. I, Eldarín, shall forge a contract with you, staking my soul.”

Kain hurriedly tried to push himself up from the floor. But his legs refused to function properly, leaving him stumbling. Eldarín did not rush Kain; she simply waited quietly.

In the end, Kain stood up under his own power and clasped Eldarín’s left hand. At that moment, for some reason, his chin lifted rigidly of its own accord, and his waist straightened. His mind seemed to snap wide awake as well.

‘Right…! Right now, I am using the Valentin name as the sole survivor of the family. I must pull myself together for the sake of my family’s share…!’

By now, Kain had a set of lips pressed together so firmly that it was hard to believe he was eight years old.

Eldarín, who had passed on her vital energy so that the party involved wouldn’t notice, smiled. She felt reaffirmed that her choice was right.

“…Mana spins fascinating threads.”

“Pardon?”

“Focus.”

“Ah, yes!”

Turquoise mana stretched out from Eldarín’s left hand.

Fwoosh—!

As if drawn by a strong magnetic force, mana of the same color flowed out from Kain’s left hand as well. A shroud of turquoise light instantly enveloped both of their bodies.

Eldarín chanted in a voice more beautiful than ever before.

“[O name remembered by the primal mana. I gather up the destiny to scatter and bind it within the crevices of my time. Your breath is my permission, and your steps are my will. Bear the shining yoke until the day the life you owe is spent. O pact of the soul, bind us for eternity.]”

Thud!

Ending with a massive vibration echoing through both of their mental worlds, the light gradually subsided. Kain soon discovered that an unfamiliar pattern had been left on his left wrist.

“What is this?”

“It is the symbol of an ancient contract. A pattern related to the source of your mana must have been engraved.”

“A butterfly…?”

Along with those words, Kain’s vision violently wavered.

Stagger!

Eldarín swiftly caught Kain as he lost consciousness and collapsed. Sure enough, just as he had said, a pattern of a butterfly lying on its side was engraved on the inner side of his wrist.

The pattern featured the ends of the butterfly’s lower wings and its antennae extending long to form a band-like shape wrapping around his wrist, which at a glance could also be mistaken for a well-crafted bracelet.

“This butterfly will show you the right path.”

It was Eldarín’s characteristic emotionless tone, but only the touch stroking the pattern was subtly careful.

“I shall be busy for a while.”

Dawn broke, and the surroundings grew bright. The mansion of the Valentin family was grotesquely burned, leaving only its skeletal frame.

Pieces of scrolls rolled about amidst the debris everywhere, and the dirt floor was cluttered with the red lingering traces characteristic of [Crimson Balm]. Morden forced himself to turn away from the horrific sight before him.

With the blood shed today, his son Damian could draw breath tomorrow. That single fact was enough.

“…The head of the household, the mistress, and even the children have all been dealt with.”

“Good work.”

The man who received Morden’s report was draped in a black robe embroidered with the crest of the ⟨Noble Union⟩ in silver thread. The man asked in a bizarre voice, sounding like metal scraping against metal.

“I heard there were three sons… but I only see two.”

Morden answered, desperately hiding his tension.

“It seems there was an accident during the pursuit. The forest area burned down, but we haven’t found the body yet.”

Fifteen wizards had gone missing together in the process, but Morden did not bother to add that fact.

The man poked the body of the Valentin head of household carelessly with his foot and clicked his tongue.

“Tsk tsk, you tried to smuggle away the youngest one. Truly, just like you. If he had run off alone, he might have plotted for the future. You are consistently foolish, now as then.”

It was a tone as familiar as if he were treating an old friend. The man was silent for a moment, then abruptly retorted in a chilling tone.

“Can that youngest one be found?”

“Because the heat was so intense… with luck, we might find some debris.”

In other words, the probability of him being alive was zero.

The man waved his hand through the air.

“Very well. It seems there was still an imperfect product mixed in. Anyway…”

The man looked around the ruined border area and admired it.

“To make them consume all those numerous magic tools. As expected, the cost-effectiveness is poor, these Valentins.”

Though he seemed to grumble, a faint smile hovered across the man’s face. Only after savoring the scenery before him for a long time did he shift his gaze to Morden, who was bowing his head beside him.

“The remaining balance we promised has been sent to your house.”

“…!”

It was the word Morden had been longing and yearning for. He bowed his head deeply.

“Thank you…! Thank you so much!”

Now he would be able to continue his son Damian’s treatment. As Morden tried to return home with a fluttering heart, the man called out to him, stopping him.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

The man slowly took off the hood of his robe. Then, other presences began to creep out stealthily from the forest.

Morden’s gaze shook wildly. And before he knew it, he looked up at the man’s face.

Red eyes resembling power. Dark red malice was swirling within them. Only then did Morden realize he had walked into a trap.

The man’s horrific voice echoed through the ruins.

“Morden Ashborn, the sinner who destroyed the Valentin family! I hereby summarily execute you for treason!”

Morden cried out like a single parting scream.

“Is the promise not different?! You surely said when this business was done…!”

However, Morden’s cry could not even reach its end.

Whoosh!

The man had thrust the staff he was holding straight into Morden’s neck. It was a staff embedded with a dark red magic stone, just like his eyes.

“Ghk…!”

“As for your promised son’s treatment, do not worry. I shall give strict orders and take care of it. You may depart in peace.”

A cynical smirk spread across the man’s entire face. It was clear mockery toward a hunting dog meant to be used and thrown away, one he never intended to keep alive in the first place.

Only then did Morden realize what the remaining balance the man had spoken of truly was.

It was not money to buy his son’s cure. Soldiers gripping staves must have surely gone to his family as well.

“You bastard dogs…!”

He wailed and grabbed a remaining scroll, but it was already too late. One of the soldiers who emerged from the forest pierced straight through Morden’s heart from behind.

“Ghk…!”

Morden’s knees buckled. Then, his vision filled completely with the corpse of the Valentin head of household, the very sight he had so desperately wanted to turn away from.

A bizarre voice, like metal scraping, drove into the back of his head like a dagger.

“Thanks for the hard work. Thanks to you, the Emperor’s sharpest sword has been broken.”

Amidst his fading consciousness, Morden fumbled at his pocket. His hand caught the medicine bottle he had so carefully tucked away. All the evil deeds he had willingly committed last night had been solely for this single medicine bottle. Now that he saw it, it was nothing more than the meaningless gestures of a puppet doll.

‘Damian… I need to hand this over to Damian…’

Yet Morden did not know where to extend his hand that clutched the medicine bottle.

‘Ah, is that so. I am the one who forsook the Mandate of Heaven.’

The self-evident truth that those who forsake the heavens have nowhere to seek help at the final moment—he realized it only in the face of death.

Morden’s body collapsed limply.

The red-eyed man trampled his corpse with his staff and shouted in a loud voice.

“Morden Ashborn plotted a rebellion! Therefore, as of this hour, his family and relatives are banished to the A-class Void Zone region!”

On the day the corpses of the two heads of household, Valentin and Ashborn, fell side by side in opposite directions, an unprecedented silence settled over the empire’s border.

However, it would be much later in the distant future that all people realized they had left an indelible mark on the loom of fate.