TYND 69

TL: Motokare

—I trust you, Archduke Falsen. Show him thoroughly what happens when one torments innocent children for power.

Even if the emperor had said nothing, Theon had already planned to make Ken Bane understand what happened when someone even had the intention to lay a hand on Rothy. Though whether he lived or died would be decided by Yilaine Reina Bane. But if Yilaine chose to let him live, he’d make sure that Ken Bane lived a life worse than death. 

This was to send a message to those wannabes out there because when Rothy’s existence eventually became known across Araxys, there could be a second or a third Ken Bane. It was a cruel and necessary decision. 

But despite the cruelty, the name of the operation was ‘Children Rescue Operation’. 

In the mansion’s conference room, maps of the Givarche royal capital and internal blueprints of The Mandate were spread out, and the strategy meeting began… but in all honesty, the meeting meant little. 

“Summon the Black Lions Squad One and Two.”

The Squad One had five members and the Second had four, which might seem insufficient for infiltrating the headquarters of Givarche’s most powerful assassin guild, but considering their combat prowess, it was essentially the same as summoning the first and second corps of the continent’s elite forces.

And additionally.

“Once Squad One establishes a temporary portal at The Mandate’s headquarters, Rothy and I will step through ourselves.”

Both Theon and Rothy would personally enter the field. There was a reason why Aura Masters and seventh-grade archmages were called transcendents—they were beings that’d already surpassed human limits. The only ones who could face them were other transcendents or the race called the fallen among Maton’s offspring. In the past, there were even religions that worshipped transcendents as gods. 

That was why the meeting was meaningless. 

“Are you really taking Lord Rothy with you?”

“Wouldn’t it be better if Your Grace went alone… Isn’t that sufficient?”

Instead of objecting to Rothy’s presence, Theon’s subordinates were pushing for him to go alone rather than exposing Rothy to danger. But the person most reluctant to involve Rothy was actually Theon himself. 

“I’ve to bring him. It’s what he wants.”

“Those children were taken because of me… I knew something like this would happen… Your Grace, please let me go rescue them. I must save those children. This happened because of me, so I’m the one who has to make it right…”

Rothy blamed himself for the children’s plight. As he cried and pleaded, Theon had no choice but to abide. His subordinates too, who knew how much Rothy had suffered these past few days, reluctantly agreed.  

“You may kill Avindior and Depley Rose, but Ken Bane must be captured alive. We’ve agreed to hand him over to Lady Yilaine.”

“Capturing him will be easier than killing him since dealing with a dark mage’s quite troublesome.”

“Dark mages are still human. Cutting their throats should kill them.”

“While that’s true, the problem’s that the moment their head is severed, a curse activates against the one who cut it.”

“……”

“Of course, Lord Rothy might be able to dispel it, but, er, it pains me to say this. While Your Grace and Lord Rothy have much experience dealing with Maton’s offspring, both of you have little experience dealing with fellow humans, correct? Dark mages, conversely, primarily deal with humans. While both of you were fighting fiends, they were researching ways to curse, torment, and kill people. Dispelling won’t be simple.”

Chungnip’s advice made sense. 

Theon drummed his fingers on the table. Killing them was complicated but letting them live wasn’t a solution either. As long as the enemy was a dark mage, even by locking them away in a deep underground cell sealed by suppression magic wouldn’t guarantee safety. The threat would hang over them forever because curse magic could be cast with just a small trace of magic power, no larger than a dandelion seed. 

“Technically, the best counter to dark magic is holy magic. So the divine power granted by Seará would be the best…”

“We can’t involve the temple. It’s out of the question. The risk Lord Rothy’s too great if his identity is exposed.”

Zey’s face hardened as she spoke. In response, Chungnip made a new suggestion. 

“I agree wholeheartedly, which is why I propose we use another dark mage organisation.”

Dark magic was best countered with holy magic, but when that wasn’t an option, using the same kind of magic was the next logical strategy.

“We’ll have to use ‘Bleutri’.”

“Yes, that’d be perfect. I was about to suggest the same.”

Most assassin guilds relied on dark magic, but the northern branch of the Empire’s assassin guild leaned more heavily on poisons than curses. As one travels south from the north, guilds that primarily use dark magic become more common, especially ‘Bleutri’, the assassin guild that nearly monopolises the southern assassination market, was openly called a ‘dark mage guild’.

“Send a communication to His Imperial Majesty.”

“Yes, Your Grace. But PLEIN will strongly oppose this. How shall we persuade them?”

“We ignore them.”

Using dark magic required imperial approval. When Theon reached out, the emperor responded immediately. 

—Yes, I suppose dark mages are essential when fighting other dark mages. This rescue must happen as soon as possible, so contact them without delay. Ah, and keep in mind that Bluetri’s guildmaster, Tsudeyfa, has a deep distrust of swordsmen. Make sure Chungnip’s with you for any detailed discussions.”

Emperor Dierm gave the permission to join hands with Bluetri.

The problem was PLEIN, whose members with their enormous pride in their magic and refused to even consider dark mages as real mages. But surprisingly, they raised no objections. Perhaps they felt responsible for revealing Rothy’s existence to Givarche.

“We’ll handle communications with Bluetri. We’ll prepare the routes too. Your Grace should return now.”

“Very well.”

Theon stood up as if he’d been waiting for this. He needed to hurry back to comfort Rothy who was still curled under the blankets crying. He was even suffering from a fever—likely caused by his emotional distress—and groaning in discomfort. 

“Ah, Your Grace.”

Chungnip followed Theon as he flung open the meeting room door, ready to leave immediately. The two spoke quietly in the corridor.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

“I’ve a question as well.”

Theon went first, his voice low.

“You said transformation magic’s something out of the legends?”

“Ah… yes. It’s considered something out of a fairy tale, a fantasy. I’m still having a hard time believing it. It’s like the nonsensical, unrealistic rubbish about treasure being buried at the end of a rainbow becoming reality.”

Theon had wondered how Yolone Sirin had managed to fool everyone and bring such a conspicuous child onto the battlefield. This was the answer: Transformation magic. 

Rothy had fought close by, transformed as an ordinary mage. Perhaps they’d even spoken to each other many times. They must’ve passed each other frequently as well and might’ve even saved each other’s lives. Theon realised now that it made perfect sense why Rothy felt so close to him.

“What other magic are considered the stuff of legends?”

“Invisibility magic… cloning magic, spatial movement magic…”

Theon frowned. Every single one of them rubbed him the wrong way. 

“But they are really, really, really, really impossible. Transformation magic was theoretically possible, but these magics aren’t even viable in theory. They’re basically fantasies. Especially spatial movement magic. So you needn’t worry about Lord Rothy suddenly disappearing before your eyes.”

“Perhaps. But I don’t want to be surprised again if Rothy manages one of those ‘impossible’ spells someday. Investigate thoroughly whether these magics are beyond even an archmage who possesses a living magic stone.”

“Oh my… our poor archduke’s got himself a trauma. What shall we do?”

“……”

“Yes, understood. I’ll follow your orders, Your Grace.”

“What is it you wanted to tell me?”

Chungnip’s expression turned grim. 

“Lord Rothy’s fever will continue to worsen gradually.”

“……”

“His young body can endure for another three or four years. But after that, the heat generated by the living magic stone will intensify… and in such a young state, it could be genuinely dangerous. If his physical body were to mature, he might develop the strength to withstand the high fever, but…”

“The magic stone prevents his body from growing.”

“Yes. If he grows, he’ll survive the heat. But the stone stops him from growing. It’s a paradoxical situation…”

Theon thought of Rothy as he had appeared in the dream. If that dream was a vision of the future, Rothy would grow. His body had been mature, unmarred by any scars. That meant the key to growth could lie within that dream. After finishing his conversation with Chungnip, Theon moved quickly towards the bedroom. From a distance, he extended his aura and already picked up the sound of soft sobbing. When he reached the door, no one was standing guard outside. It was wide open. 

“Please don’t cry, Lord Rothy. His Grace will rescue the children.”

“Lord Rothy, His Grace’s already drawing up a plan to save them.”

“You’re already running a fever. Burying yourself under the covers will make it worse. Won’t you poke your head out, just a little?”

Even Ultje and the knights who should’ve been standing guard outside, were all crowded beside the bed, trying to comfort Rothy. But the boy only continued to sniffle while hiding under the blankets. The knights who had been anxiously staring at the small mound of blankets spotted Theon and rushed over to him. 

“He’s been sniffling nonstop for a while now.”

“It’s been nearly two hours.”

There was a hint of reproach in the knights’ tone and expressions, as if silently asking him where had he been and why had he taken so long to get here. 

“Lord Rothy, His Grace’s here. Ask him how he’s planning to save the children. We’ll take our leave now.”

Ultje gave the lump in the blanket a regretful look, then stood up. Once he and the knights left, Theon stood alone, gazing at the small, round bundle of blankets on the bed and let out a heavy sigh.