by EldrynMage
Chapter 1 - The End of Fire and Ice
"...I used to believe that fire magic was the only answer. That was before I met you, Eldryn."
At those words, Eldryn Vael replied calmly.
"You sure talk a lot."
He wasn't being sarcastic; he meant it sincerely.
Because even now, from the mouth of Harman Flameforce—the head of the Flameforce family, the prestigious lineage of fire mages—blood was pouring in a steady stream.
Harman's lower body had already rotted away, collapsing into the soil and staining the ground black.
Where his organs should have been, there was nothing but an empty hollow.
The fact that he could remain conscious at all was proof of how immense his mental strength was.
"...Eldryn."
He spoke Eldryn's name.
The man who had mastered ice magic—a discipline long scorned as troublesome to learn, low in destructive power relative to the effort and complexity required—and earned the title of Archmage.
The one who had elevated the Vael family to the ranks of the Empire's four great houses.
That was Eldryn Vael.
"Speak."
Of course, even now, the number of ice magic households remained far fewer than the fire magic lineages, and their influence was that much more limited.
But by personally resolving countless unsolved incidents across the continent, and by dedicating himself to training students, he had proven the potential of ice magic and led the Vael family to where it stood today.
Those accomplishments alone were enough to ensure his name would remain in history.
But Eldryn had no intention of flaunting his achievements or demanding anyone's recognition.
Recognition came naturally when you produced results.
And those who were incapable of gratitude would never appreciate him no matter what good he did.
Better to spend that time researching magic a little further, seeking higher mastery, and finding ways to pass on that knowledge to descendants and disciples.
Yet—
"Thank you."
He had never imagined that he would hear words of gratitude—not from anyone, but from this man, Harman Flameforce.
"Eldryn, if it weren't for you, that bastard's hand would have brought the continent to ruin."
Harman's gaze passed Eldryn and fixed beyond him.
Even as he was dying, his crimson eyes were clearer than ever.
Like flames burning brighter in their final moments.
[...Khuhuhu.]
The sound came from atop the mountain of decaying corpses.
In this vast plain covered in immaculate white ice, it was the only place tainted black.
A single man sat there, exhaling black light from his eyes.
He called himself the Incarnation of the Demon King—
the one who had dragged the continent into a nightmare of catastrophe.
"Desmond..."
It had been an all-out war.
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Anyone with the power to so much as wound Desmond had gathered here, on the Heran Plain.
The rest were scattered across the continent, fighting Desmond's followers.
But the result lay before them in brutal clarity.
On account of that one man's hand, the continent's most renowned knights and the mages of its greatest houses had fallen.
"If I'd known it would come to this, I would have endured the opposition and...supported your house."
"Don't waste your breath. No matter who you were, you couldn't unilaterally decide matters between our families. You, of all people, know best what lies between the houses of fire and ice."
"All just empty posturing."
"And I'm already aware you were meddling needlessly. You'd been secretly funneling aid to the Vael vassal families in the outer provinces."
"So you knew."
"If the rest of the Flameforce clan found out, not even you would be spared."
"...Haha. Spared, you say. "Cough."
Harman fell silent.
Even now, desperate battles were raging across the continent.
How many were still alive to hold him accountable?
No—would he even live long enough to be judged?
He swallowed the words.
By now, he understood that Eldryn's ever-barbed, cold remarks often carried a hidden meaning—
"Stay alive long enough to be held responsible."
"I'm sorry, Eldryn. I..."
Harman felt it instinctively.
The wick of life he had kept burning with sheer willpower had almost completely guttered out.
Perhaps Eldryn sensed it too. He spoke evenly.
"Since I've come this far, I'll see this through to the end."
Eldryn took a step toward Desmond, dragging his body, ruined by wounds.
It was just a single step.
But agony surged through every fiber of him.
"Crack—"
From somewhere in his body—held together only by ice to keep it from collapsing—came the sound of something splitting apart.
[Heh heh...Truly remarkable. That you can still move in that state.]
Desmond grinned.
"I'll take at least one more step than you, so save your concern."
Countless lives had been lost.
Eldryn and Harman both had suffered mortal injuries.
But Desmond was not unscathed either.
All he could do was sit precariously atop the mountain of corpses, struggling for breath.
One of his arms had burned away to nothing.
A massive ice spear was buried in his chest.
[Yes...that's how it should be. Khuhuhu...]
The next moment, mana began to billow from Desmond's body.
Not the four elemental manas—fire, water, earth, wind—but black mana, darkness and malice given form.
"Still...that much power left..."
Harman's gaze wavered as he forced himself to keep watching.
"Eldryn, it's—danger..."
"BOOM—"
"...!"
Harman's eyes widened.
He could no longer speak—
the pressure of the mana pouring from Eldryn's wounded form crushed the air from his lungs.
Though the first torrent soon subsided, leaving only a faint tremor in the air, all Harman could do was laugh in disbelief.
"Haha...Eldryn...truly, you..."
He remembered it then—
the shiver that had run through him the day he first met Eldryn.
The memory washed over him.
—Eldryn. You're a genius. I admit it.
—And?
—Harman Flameforce, heir of the Flameforce family, is telling you he acknowledges you.
—Is that so? If you're finished talking, get out of my way.
—...
Eldryn was the only genius Harman had ever recognized.
He, who had been hailed endlessly as a prodigy himself—
the eldest son of the Flameforce line, the greatest house of fire magic on the continent, the heir without dispute—
had acknowledged only this one man.
—Why, with such talent, did you waste yourself on ice magic?
—I don't understand the purpose of that question. If you mean to insult the Vael family, I'll drive an ice spike through your heart.
If only Eldryn had not learned that inefficient, scorned ice magic—
If only, from the start, he had studied fire magic with that brilliance—
Harman always believed Eldryn would have reached far greater heights as a mage.