Chapter 405 - Isabella (1)
Airships departing Gargant decorated the sky one after another, one of them bearing the symbol of the Bohemirn Magic Tower.
Rovellin had left.
Without knowing anything about Rayshen, she returned to the Western Continent, carrying the dragon keel in her arms.
She had left behind an unregistered magic tome, but it was not an urgent matter, so deciding which attribute to choose could be considered later.
Verden called for Cain and Unia.
To the twin siblings standing side by side, he handed over a card imbued with magical technology.
"Come to think of it, I told you to rest but didn't give you any allowance for expenses. Use this to at least enjoy sightseeing around Gargant."
"How much is in there?"
"2.5 billion Elk."
A staggering sum in the billions.
Cain recoiled in shock.
"That's too much money…"
"Thanks!"
Unia snatched the card at once.
"Can we really spend all of this?"
"If you somehow manage to use up 2.5 billion Elk just on sightseeing, that would be a feat in itself. Of course, I won't refill it if you do, so spend reasonably. And make sure to treat others properly as well."
"Of course. Even like this, I'm here as the one responsible for the Society."
Unia grinned slyly.
"I didn't expect you to toss tens of billions of Elk like pocket money. Well, I suppose for someone like you, it's only natural to be rich—you can just beat up and rob all those wealthy bastards."
"It's not pocket money, it's expenses. And I've never given anyone a beating just because they had money."
Of course, in [Raindia]'s subspace, the inheritance left behind by Grond, the former king of the underworld, was piled high, but that was an entirely different matter.
"Eh, I'm just saying! Anyway, who's going to look after that woman while I'm gone?"
"I'll take care of Isabella. So don't worry, just rest."
"Alright. I'll go and have the time of my life with proper respect for my senior. Let's go, Cain!"
"Senior, thank y—urk."
Unia grabbed Cain by the collar and dragged him off, practically kidnapping him.
She had once said that this was the first time she had walked the world so freely, without the protection of a sage or guardian, since leaving the Society's island.
She looked excited like a child.
Having given the Society a holiday, Verden periodically checked on Isabella's condition. The rest of his time, he spent deep in thought.
Each day passed quietly.
Over dinner, Adrian asked from across the table.
"How is Isabella?"
"Not well."
In a private space where sound and presence were cut off by a magic circle, Verden and Adrian sat together in conversation.
"Upon inspection, I found an unknown substance embedded in Isabella's body. Thanks to it, she gained an abnormal regenerative ability. Her wounds healed unbelievably fast… but the key issue is Coercion."
Verden rubbed the corner of his mouth with one hand.
"The forced magic circle, and that foreign substance, have fused together."
It seemed that during the inscription of Coercion, some alien thing had flowed into her body, triggering an unknown mutation.
That was the primary reason why she, unlike others, had been able to resist the compulsive power of the magic circle.
The problem arose afterward.
"Even though Coercion includes a restriction forbidding the use of magic, Isabella has repeatedly ignored it and left traces of having cast spells. Naturally, she must have suffered unbearable agony each time, and indeed, her body was damaged to the point of leaving disabilities."
"But then her twisted regeneration restored her."
"Exactly. In that process, Coercion and the foreign substance entwined and eventually became one. Because of this, Isabella can resist the magic circle even more strongly now… but as a consequence, it's become far harder to remove."
Verden continued.
"Of course, with enough time, it would be possible to separate Coercion alone. But in doing so, the foreign substance would directly merge with Isabella. There's no way to stop it. And if we tried to erase both together, Isabella would die."
At present, Coercion and the foreign substance opposed one another within the same frame, suppressing each other.
If either one were eliminated, upsetting the balance… without doubt, Isabella's fate would result in one of three outcomes.
First, she might retain her self and become a new being.
Second, she might lose herself and become a monster.
Third, she might die.
The odds overwhelmingly favored the third, then the second.
To expect the first outcome, no matter how positively one thought, was as foolishly optimistic as praying for a divine miracle.
Adrian groaned.
"Then there's no way to save her? Other than leaving her as she is?"
"No, there is."
Verden tapped the armrest with his finger, slowly.
"…Yes, there is a way."
If Isabella's body and the foreign substance could not harmonize, then simply put, all he had to do was find the points of conflict and eliminate them.
Reconstruction of the flesh—Defying the Heavens.
A solution only Verden could attempt.
Blue sky, white clouds, a refined garden, a peaceful mansion… with family members each living their lives against that backdrop.
Like a painting.
Every time she saw it, she felt an impulse to join them. Fearing she might lose it if she hesitated, she would rush forward.
But now, she would no longer approach.
She would no longer yearn for the past she had so desperately desired.
No matter how much she longed for it, those moments would never return.
In the end, it was a dream.
That was reality.
Isabella opened her eyes.
"…I'm hungry."
***
The first words Isabella spoke were of a bountiful meal.
She had not eaten proper food while unconscious. One might have thought to feed her something light on the stomach, but it was an unnecessary worry.
Soup, bread, meat, salad—various fine dishes, one after another, were emptied.
Her pace was unhurried, her portions modest.
Maintaining a composed posture all throughout, her dining etiquette resembled that of a noblewoman, at least in part.
Before long, the meal was finished.
"That was good."
Heras, who had volunteered as attendant, used magic to clear away the dishes, then stirred the air with low-tier wind to refresh the room.
Tak.
Verden and Isabella.
Only the two remained in the chamber, seated across an old table.
It was Isabella who spoke first.
"Should I call you Verden?"
"Outside, I use the alias Asher, but here you may call me however you like. No one else is listening."
Asher.
She had heard the name.
As a renowned musician, Isabella had often read the newspapers.
It was impossible not to know of the Holy One of the Eastern Continent.
"After you killed Rayshen, you told me, didn't you? That you were not my enemy."
"I did."
"What did you mean by that?"
"Merely what I said."
Vengeance toward the Bohemirn Magic Tower.
Even if Isabella's grudge was directed not at the tower itself but at Crodon, it was all the same. There was no need to distinguish.
To kill Crodon Olentia, was to kill the heir of the Bohemirn Magic Tower.
But such self-evident truths were not the answer she sought.
'What she needs is not logic.'
Isabella needed someone who could understand.
Someone who could listen to the words she could not bring herself to speak.
First, he had to give trust. Just as he had done with Adrian.
"Isabella, do you know what the Bohemirn Magic Tower's unofficial experiments are?"
"Unofficial?"
Isabella mouthed the word. She had heard it many times in the underground caverns.
What could it be? No need to think deeply.
Verden's and Rayshen's conversation had been enough to infer.
'Human experimentation.'
The taboo of the magic world.
Without doubt, that was it.
Rayshen had even openly declared that he would make Isabella his test subject.
"Then, that number 77…"
"It's the number given to a human used for human experimentation. That was me."
Verden explained, along with the circumstances of becoming a test subject, a selection of the countless unofficial experiments he had suffered over seven years.
Amputations, shortened lifespan, drug trials.
Even hearing of them evoked instinctive disgust—they were that cruel.
Nevertheless, Verden quietly recounted the past.
His tone was calm, as if speaking of someone else's life. Strangely, it was Isabella who felt discomfort.
Without realizing it, she clenched her fists.
"That, that man named number 89, Adrian Chambers?"
"The purpose and process of the experiment were different, but the result was similar to mine. I won't say more. I have no intention of turning Adrian's past into conversation fodder."
Verden folded his arms.
"Anyway, this is why we stand against the Bohemirn Magic Tower. It's also why I killed Rayshen."
Isabella recalled Rayshen's final moments.
Hatred and vengeance.
The trap, built upon them, carefully laid out through meticulous planning, swallowed Rayshen whole.
Perfectly, without even giving him a chance to escape.
The second disciple of the Bohemirn tower master had been slain in secret, by no one's knowledge.
"…It's different."
Isabella propped her chin up with a powerless hand.
"Unlike me, who couldn't even die when I wanted to, who ended up captured alive by Rayshen when I only wished to drag Crodon to the grave with me. No, worse, since I overreached beyond my place and ended up hindering you instead, isn't that even more pathetic?"
"Does that matter?"
"Then what does?"
"Rayshen is dead, and you are alive here in front of me. That's the reality."
Reality.
For Isabella, who had lived only by looking to the past, those words were a curse.
For now, at least.
"Verden."
"Speak."
"So what is it that you want from me? Even if saving me was just something you did in passing while dealing with Rayshen… the fact that you've taken care of me this much, it can't simply be out of pity."
"There was a genuine desire to save you. There still is. Of course, that's not all, but…"
Verden's gaze fixed firmly on Isabella.
Her reflection shone in his blue eyes. A woman consumed by self-loathing stared back at her.
"Before I give you my answer, I think there's something you yourself want to say first."
His voice was steady.
The murderous aura that had filled him when killing Rayshen was nowhere to be found.
He seemed like a completely different man.
Isabella scratched at her fingernails.
Biting her lip, lowering her gaze, she slowly opened her mouth.
"It's going to be a little long. Is that alright?"
"We have plenty of time."
"..."
Though Isabella had spent much of her life as a fugitive, this was the first time she found herself in such a place.
To speak of her past tied to the Bohemirn Magic Tower to someone else—was no different than cutting off her own breath.
Even during the years she had lived under the guise of the Melodist of Fortune's coachman, she had never revealed even her name.
"I am."
It was awkward. She wanted to avoid it.
But Isabella did not step back. Steeling her heart, she pressed forward.
"My true name is Isabella Argyle. I am the current head of the Argyle family, once among the high-ranking nobility of the ancient Mado Kingdom… and its last surviving member."
She began her story.
***
Around 500 years ago, when the Mado Kingdom was founded and the first Demon King still walked the land, countless dangers abounded.
It is said that even dragons, now regarded as little more than legend, ran rampant in those days.
And the first head of the noble house of Argyle willingly threw himself into the front lines.
"Whether it was to gain merit, or from a sense of justice, I don't know. He left no memoirs, so his descendants have no way of knowing."
However.
"One fact was recorded in the history of the Mado Kingdom—that he stopped a special entity, alone."
A special entity, Endless Denial.
A being that destroyed two cities of a neighboring nation, wiped out entire villages in its path, and devoured tens of thousands of lives.
At that time, the Demon King was absent.
Without accepting massive losses, there was no way to stall for time, and so everyone hesitated.
In that moment, Isabella's ancestor silently departed the kingdom alone.
Thus began a two-day battle.
A head-on clash held no chance of victory.
Recognizing this, her ancestor focused only on stalling the creature, and even while losing three fingers and one leg, managed to halt Endless Denial.
"And when the Demon King returned, Endless Denial was subjugated. The sacrifice of our ancestor became widely known. Not only did the Demon King personally bestow a higher title, he even awarded him the spoils of the special entity."
[Eye of Replication]
[Nucleus of Multiplication]
[Blood of Resurrection]
Three byproducts born from Endless Denial.
Isabella's ancestor kept them as family heirlooms.
Hoping that one day, a descendant with great talent in alchemy would be born and study them.
The mage's wish still lingered.
But time was cruel.
Over the following 300 years, the first Demon King disappeared, and the glory of the Argyle family—once respected by all—faded away.
A faction war broke out in the Mado Kingdom.
In the end, the Argyle family was defeated and expelled.
"Normally, that should have been the end… but the nobles of the Mado Kingdom didn't stop there. They fabricated endless charges and executed family members one after another. Why do you think?"
"To seize the heirlooms."
"Yes, the spoils of Endless Denial were unique. But contrary to expectation, the Argyle family wasn't completely exterminated. The youngest child of the family barely survived, fled the kingdom with all the heirlooms, and in hiding, rebuilt the family in a distant land."
Of course, the name of Argyle was completely concealed.
Nor did the youngest seek revenge.
To attempt reprisal against the Mado Kingdom itself was absurd.
He accepted reality, built a mansion in a tiny territory, and lived a quiet life.
"Then another 200 years passed."
With the magic tower gaining its infinite power source, the Age of Magic began.
The name of Argyle was forgotten.
All they were considered was a respected mage family within a small territory.
Their descendants helped neighbors, lived in good relations with the baron who ruled the land, and lived peacefully.
"I entered the Academy. Since my parents died young, I thought to remain at home, but… the retainers and my younger siblings opposed it. They said they would protect the house, so I should go and study the alchemy I loved to my heart's content."
Thus Isabella arrived in Gargant.
She passed the exam with ease.
At the entrance ceremony, she confidently took second place and stood on the platform.
It was an unforgettable sight.
"Hundreds of new students were looking at me."
Isabella gazed into her past.
"…All except one."
At the far end of the seats, determined by entrance exam scores, a boy sat so timid he could not even raise his head.
Unlike the others, he had barely managed to enter through special admission as a commoner.
The Academy's failure, and the one who would one day become heir to the Bohemirn Magic Tower—'Crodon Olentia'—was there.
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