By Zephyria 
I had never spent much time pondering the Demonic Cult’s internal energy cultivation methods.
Their martial arts were founded on wicked deeds. Rumors abounded of them bathing in blood or accumulating internal energy by harming the lives of children. More than half of those cruel tales were true, and more than half of the remaining half were close to the truth. Their actions deserved condemnation, and their martial arts should have been burned and eradicated from this world.
So, why would I, a martial artist of the great Namgung Family, ever get my hands on the Demonic Cult’s mind arts? They wouldn’t all be using the same mind arts, so I had no idea what kind of mind arts the monsters had learned or used.
We had only one thing in common. Gathering energy in the Dantian.
“You said if this grows into a tree, it draws in surrounding contaminated mana and purifies it. It would be good to plant one in the city if possible.”
“Yes. But why…? The mana concentration around here isn’t that high. Even Lord Ernhardt could grow it to about 70cm. It’s just that those mutants…. Ah.”
Andy Spooner, who had been about to say something, closed her mouth with a troubled expression.
That’s right. I had been frequently Circulating Qi all along.
I had done so since I was young, and I didn’t bother hiding my actions even at the Academy. I had even been named in a thesis for it. And most of the Knights accompanying me here have never spoken with me. All they know of me is that I am a relative of Valentia, listed in the Nobility Yearbook, and one of the founders of the Hip-Circlet.
How many of them have seen a monster Circulating Qi? How many were bewildered when the Source of the Waterproof Forest was thrown into the carcasses of mutated monsters? …And what thoughts would they naturally have, looking at me?
Andy Spooner was my peer. She had watched me from afar throughout our time at the Academy. She had boldly demanded an explanation from me, and just my expression was enough to reassure her.
But the other Knights, aside from her, would likely harbor their doubts without ever voicing them. It was because I was the only one who could prove their identities right now.
I didn’t know what might happen in the future. I couldn’t drag the seeds of discord into Ruben’s Empire. I absolutely had to avoid the misunderstanding that I was in league with those monsters.
The only fortunate thing was that the energy, presumed to be a Demonic Art, couldn’t sprout the Source of the Waterproof Forest.
The mana used when employing the Freezing Magic Formula and the internal energy in my Dantian were different in application but identical in essence. Therefore, I was confident that my power would react normally with Artifacts.
What could be more certain than what is visible?
To leave the old city, over four hundred Knights lined up in an orderly fashion.
In front of their eyes, I pulled the safety pin of the Artifact without any explanation.
Thunk.
It fell at my feet and rolled away. After the Source of the Waterproof Forest stopped rolling, I drew my sword. The Artifact, with no mana to absorb, simply rested on the dry ground like a dried peach pit.
There wasn’t a single Knight in the royal guard who didn’t know the Source of the Waterproof Forest. From among them, a surprised sigh escaped. What is she doing now? While hearing the murmurs, I touched the tip of my sword to the Source of the Waterproof Forest.
Just in case, I didn’t even draw in natural energy. The gazes of the Sword Masters, sensitive to energy, converged on me. The Sword energy, forged solely with pure internal energy and originating from my body, was rapidly absorbed. The small seed-like object split open and put down roots. It shot upwards, almost piercing my chin, so I tilted my head back and took half a step back.
Still, I didn’t remove my sword.
The tree, which grew like bamboo, became as thick as a pine tree, and then swelled to the girth of a mature ginkgo tree. Its branches, reaching to cover the sky, bore shimmering leaves. Standing in the shade beneath the tree, draped with its lush foliage, I gazed up, momentarily lost in thought.
Before I knew it, cheerful Sylphs clung to the branches and shook them. Swish, the sound of leaves rustling tickled my ears. You said it purifies contaminated mana, but more than that…
“…A new creation formula…. Is it perhaps magic based on Divine Power?”
“How could it be? This is just proof that Lord Ernhardt’s internal energy is a force close to Divine Power. It’s been a while since I could breathe comfortably. This will become a national treasure after we reclaim the land. Wow, it looks good, it has a great color. Even five Clerics wouldn’t be able to create something like this. Lord Ernhardt is truly amazing. Is it because she sucked the god dry…?”
No one dared to speak carelessly, except for Boulder.
The towering tree was, by rough estimation, half an ogre in height. Perhaps a little over two stories tall. Andy Spooner, who had been standing by my side as recompense for our acquaintance, let out a hollow laugh.
“You were trying to prove you’re not a Black magician…. You ended up demonstrating your power?”
“…Doesn’t it normally grow this large?”
“It does. Even with the mana of one ogre, it can’t grow even half of half this size. It absorbs monster carcasses for a certain period, purifies the surrounding environment, and then sprouts leaves and becomes lush.”
“Hmm.”
“…Huh. No way.”
“Ah, yes. I’ve become a Grand Sword Master. It’s been a while.”
“Wow…. I had a feeling, but I didn’t expect it. Congratulations.”
Hugh Benson, who had been watching the spectacle with the Knights lined up nearby, smirked and pulled at the corner of his lips, then urged the God of Records to examine the Knights. Seeing the tension in the Knights’ shoulders as they looked at me, I felt relieved that there wouldn’t be any room for unnecessary misunderstandings.
But it was too early to be at ease.
Monsters who learned the Demonic Cult’s mind arts, zombies that arose from the Demonic Cult’s techniques.
And Owen, who seemed to have already been taken, and Floyd, whom they were targeting.
How would these be interpreted as a signal to Ruben? I was worried about various things.
❖ ❖ ❖
After the God of Records confirmed the Knights’ bodies twice or thrice and found no particular abnormalities, we led the Knights and set off towards the Sierren-Grimsvein front line. We arranged the formation so that those who walked slowly were at the front and those who walked fast were at the back, ensuring no one was left behind.
Since they were all martial artists, I wondered if they could reach it within two days if they hurried. When I said that, I saw many Knights blanch, but there was no benefit in delaying. We agreed to roughly match the schedule.
The fragmented souls embedded in the Knights’ bodies were taken by the God of Records. Just as Oasis had stored my soul fragments in the Oasis, the God of Records said he could capture and confine soul fragments within the Ebony Wood statuettes.
He showed me an Ebony Wood statuette shaped like a fierce, large-horned bull. It was a statuette we had found together in the mine. Now it was only about a handspan in size, dangling in the God of Records’ hand, but in the mine, that statuette had been enormous, far taller than me. Just like the one I saw at the King’s palace in Bivan.
Curiosity struck me, and I asked.
“Why is this statuette hollow inside?”
“Huh?”
“I saw similar ones several times in Bivan…. I couldn’t understand why it was carved hollow. There’s no opening mechanism, and it’s not like they only carved the outside…”
“What was originally put inside was a wish.”
“…A wish?”
“Yes. Most of these Ebony Wood statuettes shaped like this are offerings made to me. Since I am the god of abundance, children often offered dead animals to me. Since I don’t eat raw food, and seeing blood too often became a waste, I issued a divine revelation that they should offer beautiful carvings instead.”
“Carvings, specifically?”
“A carving is art. Not everything that is recorded is written.”
It was a plausible explanation. As I quietly accepted it, Gano Paquin stroked the bull’s head with his index fingertip and murmured sadly. His steps, which had been walking with a steady rhythm, now lacked energy.
“As the custom of offering statuettes to esteemed individuals arose, some people also placed valuables inside. On festival days, they would heavily oil giant carvings and burn them whole…. The smell of burning straw during the autumn harvest festival was so fragrant.”
“….”
“Are my children still praying the same way as before? It’s lonely because I can’t hear them.”
“What a pathetic display…”
Spiritus, who had been following silently all this time, snatched the statuette from Gano Paquin’s hand.
Gano Paquin glared back, but she paid him no mind, cradling the statuette in both hands and examining it as she rolled it around. I felt a chill when I witnessed the moment the dragon’s pupils, which were similar to humans’, split vertically.
“Even if you beg me to take it, I won’t. Don’t worry.”
“….”
“…This is for four hundred people. I can’t believe it.”
Thump, the dragon returned the statuette to Gano Paquin’s hand and clicked her tongue. Benjamin, who had been walking quietly beside her, quickly picked up on her words.
“What is for 400 people?”
“The humans up ahead are roughly that many. Looking at this, it can’t even be considered soul fragments. It’s just… dust? Grains? It seems like they just picked up random things from outside this world and stuffed them in. It’s impressive that they gathered them with matching colors, but it’s so useless, I wonder why they bothered using it in a ritual.”
“When you say useless…?”
“Souls of this magnitude, even if they escape, can’t tear apart the world. Of course, they left it as is because it poses no threat… but I’m impressed they managed to scrape together this much.”
As before, wasn’t she quite responsive for someone who looked down on humans?
“Have you seen much of this kind of thing?”
“Well…”
The dragon narrowed her brows, as if unsure how much she should tell me. Looking at her, the vertical wrinkles seemed deeper than the horizontal ones. I could roughly guess how often she must have scowled. The dragon, after agonizing, asked me a question instead of answering.
“You. Haven’t you seen it?”
“…Pardon?”
“Aside from you and the Ninth’s two vassals, I thought the rest were reasonably mixed. Even if they shattered from the shock of crossing worlds, unless they were truly pathetic beings, they would have been born as humans. They would have merged into the laws of this continent, even if they lost their memories.”
Suddenly, one figure flashed in my mind. Bill Brown, who was born with a damaged Dantian. Come to think of it, what has he been up to lately? He wouldn’t have climbed the Yuil Mountains, would he? With the Sierran Empire being so chaotic…
As I pondered further, more children came to mind.
Could it be that Michael and Asdel are also from the Central Plains? I had often found it strange that both of them were so bold and intelligent from such a young age. Perhaps the souls of the Jegal Family had seeped into them. Yes, that would make sense.
Michael is now fourteen. He’s about to enter the Academy. No, he might have already been admitted early. I’d like to see him in his school uniform at least once.
“…Why did she suddenly get in such a good mood?”
“Perhaps she’s thinking of someone she likes. She gets like this sometimes. Please don’t mind her.”
Benjamin replied politely to the dragon’s petulance. No matter how much she liked dragons, was there a need to serve her so devotedly? Watching Benjamin, who was always quiet and reserved, chatter incessantly, a smile involuntarily bloomed on my lips.
Even amidst such troubled days, there was something to smile about once a day.
And,
Something to be surprised by.