101 – Land of Specters (7)
Through Umbra’s eyes as a commander, I looked at Praxe standing in front of me.
Since she could directly enter inside the specter and see the situation… she couldn’t escape from seeing everything happening in this place through Umbra’s eyes.
He, who led most of the ghost saints and maidens to rest, immediately looked at the commander.
In an instant, our eyes met. I could feel his surprise. Praxe wasn’t just looking at the commander, she saw someone beyond him.
Umbra was certain. The presence that made her feel a great flow was the young boy before her. Because she had lived for a long time, and existed and witnessed countless beings, she could feel it.
The fate that was embedded in that boy.
And who was behind that boy.
-There is a great presence behind him. If this feeling… it must be a high-level demon. The fact that such a presence is observing means there must be something about that boy. It was you who made me feel strange.
…If Praxe had heard it, it would have sounded like a misunderstanding worthy of laughter, but for Umbra, it was the most plausible guess. A powerful presence that could be presumed to be a high-level demon, why would it become his follower after seeing something in a human?
Clearly, there must be something that caught the attention of the high-level demon.
Normally, when an demon catches one’s attention, one would think of something evil… but Umbra was different. She knew that just because someone is called an angel doesn’t mean they are necessarily good, and just because someone is called a demon doesn’t mean they are necessarily evil.
Good beings are good, and evil beings are evil. There was no need to expand that concept using extremes.
She manipulated the commander and isolated the surroundings.
-It’s you.
* * *
– It’s you.
When my eyes met with the commander, I felt a burning pain in my eyes. This wasn’t simply a fire in my eyes… yeah. That’s right.
To the extent that the magical eye was responding as if crazy, it meant that the existence in front of me was a tremendous presence. That meant that the commander standing in front of me right now… is not simply a commander, but something else.
Insane. Have the specter queen…?
Insane. Why did the specter queen Umbra suddenly appear?
-You know me. Yeah, I’m certain. It’s you.
Why would she personally come forward for me? Originally, I was supposed to leave only the strongest ghosts and have Nea and Lina make contact with her.
And what exactly does it mean by being “correct”? Is there something that I don’t know?
I couldn’t understand the situation at all, and it truly felt like my brain was shutting down.
“What are you talking about? That it’s me?”
Originally, I didn’t know much about myself. However… You must have come here with a clear purpose. Otherwise, there would be no reason for you to be in a place full of holy maidens and priests, along with demons and warlocks.
The warlocks that Umbra is talking about are clearly Lina and Nael.
“…….”
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“What does ‘he’ mean by that?”
There is such an existence. When I was first born, there was an existence that told me to gather the power of the undead and forge a sword. Do you know what that sword is?
“……The Shackler’s Blade.”
“Indeed. You know it. Well, I also know it. I wouldn’t know the Shackler’s Blade.”
Again. This is happening again.
The world I meticulously spun together suddenly brought forth a setting to achieve perfection.
Now even the existence that ordered me to forge the Shackler’s Blade has appeared.
Grani? Who does he refer to?
“What does ‘he’ mean?”
Such an existence exists. When I was born, there was an existence that told me to gather the power of the undead and forge a sword. Do you know what that sword is?
-It is a place only spirits can enter. You just have to follow the spirits I send. Of course, the warlocks you bring with you will have to cast some kind of magic at that place.
“Some kind of magic?”
“Didn’t I tell you? It’s a place only spirits can enter. The living cannot reach that place.”
“Can’t you move yourself?”
“That is also impossible. If I move directly, the land of the spirits expands. As the one who stands above all spirits, even my presence alone is too much for the land of the living to withstand. This place became the land of the spirits because countless people called upon spirits to become like me. I also do not want the land of the spirits to expand any further, so… it’s inconvenient, but there is no other way.”
“What is this ‘some kind of magic’?”
“If you have highly skilled warlocks, they can temporarily separate the soul of a living being from their physical body. Luckily, the warlocks you brought seem to have that level of skill, so if they go through that process, they should be able to reach that place.”
“Okay. Let’s do that.”
“It could be dangerous. Can you agree so obediently?”
Umbrus said to me as if he was slightly concerned.
“I need the Keeper’s Sword no matter what. I must obtain it, even if it means risking danger.”
“For what reason?”
“Because there is something that needs to be done.”
“I’m quite curious about this ‘something that needs to be done’. You’ll know soon enough anyway. Fine. I think it’s about time I go.”
As soon as Umbrus said that, the form of the spirit warlock started to disperse. It looked like it was collapsing from the inside, unable to withstand the power.
And the barrier surrounding me and Umbrus was lifted.
“Are you okay?”
Asti looked at me with a worried expression.
“I’m okay.”
I replied like that, and Asti cautiously asked me with concern.
-The Queen of spirits, right? That presence just now, and that barrier. It was a barrier that I couldn’t break through in a short time.
-Yes. I will send the spirits soon, so you were told to chase after them. And if you need to prove your qualification to obtain the Keeper’s Sword.
-What? What is that supposed to mean?
I explained in detail to Asti what just happened. For some reason, Umbrus knew that I would obtain the Keeper’s Sword, and that there was someone who ordered it to be made.
-Do they await the owner of the sword?
-Perhaps.
-Then who could that ‘someone’ be?
-I don’t know. I can’t even guess. I told you, the future has been distorted too much that I can’t see it anymore. I can only collide with it.
-By the way, you said you need the help of Neah and Lina… You did well to bring them, really.
-That’s why I brought them in the first place. Luckily, they came from that side first, so we didn’t have to unnecessarily deal with the land of the spirits.
-How should I talk to the Saint?
-I need to come up with a suitable excuse.
-What excuse are you going to make?
-Well… I’ll have to think about that. I have to engage in independent activities in some way. In any case, information about the Enshrouded Sword of the Binding must not be known to the world.
-Then how about this? We can say that we’re conducting a task of extracting information about the ghosts’ past lives using Lina and Nea as an excuse. We can say that we’ll obtain clues to purify the ghosts’ land. We’ll split the investigation team into two units. One unit will directly purify the ghosts while the other unit will search for clues. Of course, the unit searching for clues doesn’t require many personnel, so if it’s just me, you, Lina, and Nea, it should be enough.
-Is that a good idea?
At Asti’s words, I smiled.