Chapter 328 – Champs Elysées (1)

The standoff with Flower had been ongoing for 40 minutes.

‘Just look at this.’

On the mountainside, a bright yellow specter was rapidly pursuing Gu-seul’s orb.

“Stay there.”
“Why would I?”

Sansuyu, her long hair flowing, donned armor that concealed her ample breasts and brandished a sword. She was well-acquainted with Si-heon, as they were both from the same academy. She knew that his actual abilities were not like this, but he had cast some sort of spell.

-Tarrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Gunfire rained down like a torrential downpour.

Submachine gun. KRISS Vector. M.

A third-generation firearm encompassing all disciplines, so formidable it was dubbed ‘the end of the Hunter era.’

The overheated barrel glowed a fiery red, and spent shell casings flew out. Though it was a prosthetic body, she had meticulously prepared, even utilizing magic stones. The cadets of El Academy had readied themselves to face Lee Si-heon with unwavering resolve.

– Puong!

The sound of an explosion accompanied by a burst of sparks.

Sansuyu’s eyes focused on a single point as her arm, wielding the sword, swept across horizontally.

– Twang!

A bright yellow flash of sword energy passed by, splitting the bullet in its path.

Each of the tiny sparks that leaped up possessed firepower comparable to B-class magic, but the magical energy enveloping Sansuyu’s body shielded her.

The unique strength of golden magical power is a bane to mages.

No matter how much one attacks it with an artifact, not a single scratch appears.

“…Insane.”

A spontaneous exclamation escaped her lips.

“You move quite well with that fierce face.”

Having evaded the bullet, Sansuyu’s sword energy approached, seeming as if it would cleave Gu-seul’s body in two.

– Kwajik!

The tree she had climbed shattered into pieces, collapsing beneath her. Gu-seul, who had created a foothold on the ground, chose to flee once more.

‘…Lee Si-heon and the Cornus family, these deranged bastards. What on earth did they create?’

A monster.

As soon as the magical energy contained in the fired bullets touched Sansuyu’s sword and skin, it was immediately absorbed into her body. At first, Gu-seul thought she had managed to block the attack by sheer luck. However, when she realized that her own magical energy had unintentionally strengthened Sansuyu, her astonishment could not be concealed.

“Fine… Let’s see you withstand this. Try enduring it just once.”

Mana surged in the air, and in an instant, a massive anti-materiel sniper rifle emerged. It was an anti-materiel sniper rifle, not a 30x173mm caliber anti-tank gun. Despite Gu-seul’s vast knowledge and technical prowess, she could only shrink it down to this size. Her artifact was considered to be a century ahead of conventional science and technology.

It was a gun designed to eliminate high-value targets—loaded with a single shot that concentrated all its firepower, suitable only for S-class assassination missions.

*Click.*

‘Towards the thigh.’

All she needed was to incapacitate Sansuyu. Gu-seul’s hand moved, and soon an immense roar shook the surrounding mountains.

*Squawk!*

A sound akin to lightning striking.
As the barrel of the long, outstretched sniper rifle burst apart, the artifact itself exploded.

A bullet that flew out at a speed no one could react to.

It pierced through Sansuyu’s thigh as she ran, seemingly tearing it open—

“…!”

The magic coursing through her entire body twisted the bullet’s path completely.
A massive explosion erupted behind Sansuyu’s back.

– Kwaaaaang!

A conflagration on the mountain. Sansuyu approached with a ferocity far greater than before.
Gu-seul screamed, feeling as if she were witnessing a colossal living weapon.

“…Crazy bitch!”

While biting into a pill condensed with the highest grade magic stone, Gu-seseul thought to herself.

It seemed she had finally met her match.

* * * * * * *

“I wonder if I’m doing this correctly.”

– Swish swish.

Marronnier’s thighs and hands, which tightly clung to my body, trembled.

“Cornus is indeed well-suited to face off against Guseul. But who knows what she’s hiding.”

The right talent in the right place.

After learning about the peculiarities of Cornus’s magic from the sage, I investigated it once again.

‘…Although experiments are hard to accept.’

At least at this point, if the conditions are met, Cornus’s power could be stronger than anyone else’s.

Though her energy center is shattered, her completed body possesses the property of attempting to absorb all the magic power around her.

This is a bane to Guseul, who relies on artifacts to compete.

– Shiver.

Marronnier’s hot thighs wrapped around my hand are slippery due to sweat. There’s a bit of flesh, so it feels as if I might lose my grip if I’m not careful.

“Here we go.”
“…!?”

As I adjusted my hold, Marronnier was startled, nearly removing her hand from my shoulder in surprise.

“Just lean back comfortably. We’ll be there soon.”

After a moment of hesitation at my words, he wraps his arms around my neck. A cat-like chin rests on my shoulder, and Marronnier’s right ear rubs against my left ear. It was warm to share the warmth.

“Have you calmed down now?”
“…Yes.”
“That’s a relief, then. Now I have to get ready.”

– Nodding.

“Can I do it?”
“There’s something only you can do.”
“What’s the only thing I can do?”
“How many wizards has the sage recognized? Not many.”

It’s hard to say if Hwangdo’s sister would be present at a place like this. But that doesn’t mean she’s a low-level Zodiac.

Even Zodiac cannot read other people’s thoughts.

In fact, Marronnier’s power itself possesses an unexpectedness that cannot be ignored.

“….”

Marronnier, who embraced me, did not speak for a long time. An ambiguous demeanor, as if something was still unresolved.

Without hesitation, I asked Marronnier.

“What are you thinking?”
“Oh, nothing.”
“Tell me.”

Although the wind muffled the sound, Marronnier’s delicate voice could be recognized anytime, anywhere.

Marronnier murmured,

“…I found out. That you are King Mokryeong.”
“Yes.”

It was a fact that would eventually be discovered.

“Why did… How did it happen?”
“I don’t know either. Suddenly, they’re saying I’m a descendant of King Mokryeong… How could I have known?”
“Is it that power that brainwashed me?”

There was no answer. Nonetheless, the meaning was conveyed.

“…I see.”

Marronnier seemed to have more questions brewing. She posed another query to me.

“So…”

The arm gripping my neck tightened.
Her azure hair still fluttered beautifully in the wind.

Marronnier, with one eye closed due to the wind, rested her head on my cheek, whether it was because of the atmosphere or the strong gusts.

“…King Mokryeong. Why are you trying to save people?”

There was no specific reason. After a long silence, Marronnier ventured her own guess.

“Because the sage asked you to?”
“You could think that way.”

There were requests from the stars too. Moreover, if it had been Heaven’s capital, and if they had been people I knew, I would have acted this way.

“Then, why did you go to the trouble of releasing me from my brainwashing? If you had just made up your mind… you could have done as you pleased.”

She had many questions, and rightfully so. From Marronnier’s perspective, there were more than just one or two curiosities.

“Umm, I don’t know.”
“…As King Mokryeong, wouldn’t you have faced a lot of discrimination? Wasn’t that why you were hiding it?”
“Not many people know. I wasn’t discriminated against as much as I thought.”

It’s only been half a year since I arrived here.
After laughing at Marronnier’s stumble, I mulled over my thoughts for a long time before letting my words trail off.

“I just did what I wanted to. Overthinking things just gives me a headache.”
“…Is that all?”
“If I had to give a reason, albeit a flimsy one, there is one.”

It’s not much of a reason.

“Because you’re a good person.”

Although he became a national leader belatedly, he earnestly tried to fulfill his duties, even to the point of stressing himself out.

For someone like him, the dream is to live an ordinary life. Through our conversations, I knew he was someone who would never go astray.

“In conclusion, that’s why.”

It means he’s not the type of person I should be with.

Marronnier was at a loss for words. Clutching at my clothes, I hid my face behind my back where he couldn’t see it. My shoulders grew damp.

“I have nothing to say from my perspective. I was just going to scold you a bit and let you go. But things have gotten complicated. Of all the places, I was trapped in a dungeon, and that particular dungeon, tsk.”

“……”
“Feeling better now?”
“Earlier… If you had left me behind, you could have caught them, right?”
“Is a person’s life worth it?”

I touched down on a towering spire.

I set Marronnier down on the hotel rooftop, with a view of the massive mountains encircling us. A translucent magic platform supported her, creating a natural vantage point – the highest lookout on this island.

A breathtaking panorama unfolded beneath our gaze.

The hotel windows flickered one after another, a small city teetering on the edge of a power outage. Even with a single sigh, the worries were scattered by the gust of wind that blew in an instant, leaving a sense of openness.

Flames and smoke billowed around us. The sight of the burning mountain, usually hidden from view, left a lasting impression.

– Whooosh!

Ash carried by the wind brushed against Marronnier’s cheek. She lowered her head, seemingly hiding her reddened eyes, and looked down below.

“Can you see it?”

A nod.

Countless monsters were advancing from a great distance.
This was due to the dungeon’s control having fallen into Flower’s grasp.
It had been a long time since the civilian facilities were destroyed in a gate crisis, the likes of which could only be seen in Africa.

The worth of being a sorcerer.
I gestured towards the spot right next to the hotel nestled within the mountains.

“It’s right there.”

A component of Marronnier’s plan.
On the schematically drawn map of the plan, only that location was emphasized in red.

It was the most effective place to stave off the oncoming tide of Flower and the monsters that swarmed the hotel.

If we controlled that area, it was safe to say that there would be virtually no way for the monsters to return to the hotel.

The monsters seemed to fly as they crested the hill, drawing closer.
Marronnier swallowed hard and tightened his grip on the staff he was holding.

“…Let’s go.”

We sprang into action.

I leaped broadly, and as I relinquished myself to gravity, my body descended rapidly.

Marronnier, having activated her wind magic, gracefully floated through the air, swiftly arriving at the location.

I, too, landed nearby to keep watch over the area.

– Krrrr.

We were surrounded on all sides as if under siege. Red, blazing eyes surged towards us like waves.

It felt as if a dam, built up and brimming, was about to burst. We were not too late. Having assessed the situation, I expanded my magical senses and scanned our surroundings.

“Found it.”
“Really? Thank goodness…”

Relieved by my words, Prajna clutched her chest and bit her lip.

Prajna, as far as I knew, was one of the few remaining sorcerers in the world.

The enigmatic symbols etched onto the monster’s forehead, as well as the exotic magic radiating from it, were strikingly similar to what I had sensed before.

I picked up a half-broken but still functional walkie-talkie to call Aori.

“Aori.”
“Can I proceed?”
“Yes.”

Since we had discussed the plan beforehand, our conversation was brief and to the point.

It was acceptable for me to search for Prajna on my own, but the magic was dispersed so sparsely that pinpointing the precise location proved challenging.

Just before Marronnier was prepared, I fashioned the mistletoe into the shape of a staff and extended it forward.

“Krreurreuk!”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

One step at a time.

The arrows launched from behind pierced the monster’s mouth, hitting the ground and exploding. Blades of wind, sprung from the ground, swept through the area, tearing the demons apart.

The nearby demons were reduced to ashes and vanished in the blink of an eye.

After organizing the surroundings, I gave Marronnier a final tap on the back.

“I’ll trust you.”

“…Yes.”

Marronnier, who had gathered her mana, replied.

A smile blooming beneath a stern face. Marronnier’s magic struck the earth.

When I was engrossed in developing my magic, Marronnier, who had locked herself within the lab, created magic through endless discussions with the sage.

Marronnier, as a magician, believed that from that day onward, she would ascend to a much higher realm.

Marronnier closed her eyes.

“…Liberation.”

Tree roots sprouted from the ground beneath her feet, entwining her body as they slowly spread.

The tree roots, coiling around her, halted at the edge of Marronnier’s chest. Marronnier, appearing as though she wore an immense dress, gently lifted one eyelid.

“Champs-Élysées.”
[Fields of Elysion]

She was suddenly reminded of a street composed of long, thorny horse chestnut trees.

The resonating blue eyes took in the entire mountain.

A figure garbed in a dress made of tree roots. The branches that extended from within her hair seemed as if they were gazing upon Shiba, her own child.

The blooming white flower buds were undoubtedly those of the horse chestnut tree. Magic seeped into her dress, enhancing its inherent blue hue.

Heightened stature. Additional growth.

The once diminutive Marronnier gazed at me softly from a slightly higher vantage point, tilting her head.

Upon seeing me, the flower buds blossoming at her temple bloomed radiantly.

“Thank you.”

A voice that emerges from her lips. Strangely enough, Marronnier’s liberation didn’t give rise to the bizarre voice characteristic of other woodkin. The voice of the woodkin I had heard was a horrifyingly raspy tone that could incite fear in those who listened.

“…”

In contrast, Marronnier’s voice was difficult to articulate.

It echoed in my ears, swirling around and embedding itself so deeply in my mind that it seemed it would never fade for the rest of my life. No matter how well adjusted an artificial voice might be, it appeared incapable of surpassing the current sentiment.

“…Is this your first time seeing this? It might seem peculiar to humans.”
“No, not really.”
“I haven’t shown it to anyone yet. To be honest, I’m a bit embarrassed too.”

His manner of speech had become exceedingly elegant.
So much so that it left me momentarily taken aback.

Her hand gestured toward the mountainside.
The gathered magical energy slowly coalesced, forming a massive orb.

In due course, the orb burst, giving way to blossoming petals. Manifesting her will, an array of tiny, pristine-white petals dispersed throughout the mountain.

It resembled a thick layer of snow accumulating on a sidewalk block in the heart of winter.

– Hwaaak!

I observed the musical score unfurling from her hand and silently took my leave.
Everyone had found their parts, and all that remained was to press on.