102 – The Crimson Sage
Lwellyn Elcid.
A member of the 7 Heroes of the Continent called the ‘Crimson Sage’ and the current owner of the Imperial Mage Tower.
A powerful wizard who earned the title of ‘Great Wizard’, one of only two people on the continent.
My impression of him….
“That voice must be malevolent, isn’t it? Hey, it’s been a really long time. Then, the woman over here must be Sylvia? It’s only been three days, but I’m still happy. It’s really fortunate that the magic jamming facility I wanted was properly implemented here. If it wasn’t for that, I would have had to either go for it myself, or risk eavesdropping and use a common communication tool! What? Two minutes? Why don’t you have a word? Hmmm, that’s weird. Because the eyeball is a ball of fire, 87% of the visual information is distorted, but the auditory information is quite intact. Chest voice? Sylvia? Can you hear me?”
“… ….”
He was a terribly talkative talker.
I let out a short sigh and opened my mouth.
“… The tongue is still greased. Anyone can see that it is you.”
“hahahaha! What a boring joke. If I had oiled my tongue, it would have been burned to the root. And you still have the rude nicknames. Didn’t someone tell you to call me Llewellyn? Hey, since you didn’t tell me your name, it’s become a habit to call you by nickname, but I remember introducing my name from the beginning!”
Llewellyn’s talkativeness was still the same. I once thought that his long tongue might be the secret to his magic casting speed.
During this short period of time, his expression and tone of voice changed constantly, and a stranger might have thought he was crazy.
Actually, that idea wasn’t completely wrong. Llewellyn Elcid was a madman mad with magic.
I never thought the expert Sylvia was talking about was a crimson sage. He basically doesn’t show any interest in areas he doesn’t care about. If that kind of person was bothersome enough to send a question about his alter ego like this, then he must have been quite interested.
Sylvia clapped her hands and said as if to evoke her atmosphere.
“Saddam, let’s go there. Isn’t it the same as having no time?”
“It is an undeniable fact. Actually, I only had 14 minutes and 20 seconds left. If this time passes, the elders of the Mage Tower will notice that I am secretly communicating with someone, and the news will be immediately conveyed to the Imperial Intelligence Agency and the Inquisition Center of the Court, right? Man, I’m really afraid of my fame all over again.”
I said in a timid tone.
“… Are you being watched all the time?”
“Surveillance is a bit off-putting, so I’ll describe it as having a lot of eyes. A lot of people are wondering where I am and what I do. I didn’t want to show today’s conversation to others, so I wrote it in a cumbersome way.”
Llewellyn continued in a pleasant tone.
“Let’s get to the point. Regarding the ritual performed by the Immortal Corps commander, I have been watching closely for a long time. What did he do that turned a kingdom into a land of the dead? Originally, magic tends to disappear when the caster dies, but how powerful was the magic that the undead still roam the land after the death of the caster? Such intellectual curiosity has been in my head ever since the end of the war-“
“Didn’t you say you didn’t have time? Just say the conclusion.”
If left undisturbed, it would make endless noise.
Llewellyn paused for a moment and smiled shyly.
“To begin with, it is because it is not magic.”
“Isn’t it magic?”
“To be precise, it is the power of lineage. As far as I know, haven’t you been through it already? The power to connect with the existence of the other world that only the orthodox royalty of Ionia possesses.”
I remember.
A huge evil spirit summoned by Daisy to the island sky.
Even during the war, I had never seen a summoner who could summon such a powerful being without any consciousness and at such speed.
At that time, he just didn’t think deeply about defeating the evil spirit in front of his eyes, but looking back, it was clearly not a power permitted by humans.
“Most members of the Ionian Dynasty were content to make ends meet as moderately good summoners. However, as a result of examining old texts, I found a record that in the age of mythology, the Ionian clan often opened the door to the other world. The divine world, the spirit world, the dark world… To a new world belonging to a completely different place from this world… !”
Llewellyn said in an excited voice, unable to hide her interest.
“Isn’t that great? It is a rumor that has not yet been confirmed, but there is also a hypothesis that Filion the Great came to this world through a gate to the other world opened by the Ionian royal family hundreds of years ago. Of course, the Empire strongly denies it, but-“
“… ….”
Llewellyn’s mouth was really restless. I was tired of listening to it.
Sylvia seemed to have the same thoughts as me, and from the moment Llewelyn started talking about her, she had been leaning back in her chair with a bored expression on her face.
Sensing the crowd’s boredom, Llewellyn calmed her excitement and spoke again.
“It was a very interesting topic to me, but it doesn’t seem like it to you two, so I’ll stop here.”
“Yes. Please, would you do that for me?”
Anyway with Sylvia’s tired voice, I decided to ask the most important question.
“So… Are you saying Ella is alive?”
I don’t know much about Ionian bloodlines or rituals. He wasn’t even an expert on magic, and he wasn’t even interested.
What I wanted to know most was whether or not Ella was alive.
“It is important to me. So let me know…. Request.”
My voice contained a different kind of earnestness that even I felt unfamiliar with.
A brief silence filled the basement.
Llewellyn replied in an embarrassing tone.
“I never thought you would ask me for a favor in my life. It’s unfamiliar, but it doesn’t feel bad.”
“… ….”
“Kuhm! I was going to tell you now. Is it so. The young Ionian royalty used as ceremonial sacrifices?”
Llewellyn nodded, speaking in a rare serious voice.
“Yes. She will be alive.”
I unknowingly clenched her fists.
But I tried to calm her down and asked calmly.
“Why?”
“It is proof that the lands of Ionia are still haunts of the undead. This is just my personal guess… The commander of the immortal corps must have used her child named Ella to open the door to the underworld. They must have summoned an army of undead from there. Otherwise, it would make no sense that the capital was destroyed overnight.”
I have been thinking about that for a long time.
Even if they summoned undead from cemeteries across the kingdom and slaughtered people to turn their corpses into new undead, the number was too great.
Not even low-level zombies or skeletons created in a day or two, but mostly high-level undead like Banshee or Death Knight.
In the end, he died by my hand anyway, but I often wondered if the immortal corps commander was a great necromancer, whether that was possible with the power of just one person.
From noble mtl dot com
“The land of the old Ionian kingdom is full of morale. That’s why even though their owner died, the undead are still alive and moving. Even the power of the saintess could only temporarily purify the place. What could be the reason?”
Llewellyn nodded her head.
“The door is still open. And to keep the door open, the medium must be alive. The child you are looking for is sure to be alive. Even at this moment, somewhere must be supplying power to the door to the other world.”
“… Right.”
I took a deep breath.
It was difficult to control emotions, but it is a bright spot for times like this.
The emotions that were complicated and dizzy sank to the bottom of the deep sleep, and only the cool-headed reason ruled my head.
Sylvia spoke cautiously.
“Honey, are you okay? I’m sorry to say this, but… A child caught in the hands of the immortal corps leader. No matter how you find it, it can be very different from the state we commonly say is alive.”
“That’s right. Only the brain and spinal cord could have been removed and preserved, or the heart could have been removed and made into a biological item. Wizards usually prefer that way-“
“You, little! Please! Shut up!”
Sparks flew in all directions as Sylvia drew her dagger from her thigh and swung it at Llewellyn several times. His form made of fire trembled greatly.
“Don’t you have a human heart? You madman with only magic in your head!”
“Oh, it hurts! It’s not the body, but I can’t feel the pain! My heart aches!”
Ahead of the two skits, I spoke in a calm manner.
“… Okay.”
Sylvia’s knife action stopped.
The two looked at me quietly.
“Any state… If you are alive, there must be a way.”
As a child, I was helpless. I couldn’t do anything because I had no strength.
It’s different now. Compared to when I was younger, I have become so strong that I can’t even recognize it.
I couldn’t save Ella back then….
If he is alive, he will definitely save it this time.
Fillion really was an Isekai protagonist lol