novelburst
Chapter 47
Chapter 47
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 47
Is It Like an Angel?
I feel like I’ve seen something like this before.
The color of the wings and the shape of the halo are different.
The wings had the form of an angel’s but were a murky gray.
And the halo floating above her head—formed of light—was not the usual circle but had a break in the front, where a golden rectangle occupied the gap.
Aside from the stars, everything was dyed black, with a faint mist drifting upwards like smoke.
Her body and limbs were tightly bound by numerous chains, restricting her movements.
"Welcome, a guest in my dream after such a long time. A most warm welcome indeed."
Her voice carried a mystical tone.
She kept her eyes closed as she looked back and forth between Melissa and me before gesturing with her hand.
With that, the maid standing beside us vanished silently.
"If you've made it to this space, it must be because that wish of yours was strong."
She spoke as if it didn’t matter.
"You two created a truly wonderful scene. As a result, I shall offer you an ornament as compensation. However, beyond that, I wished to meet and converse with you."
Melissa furrowed her brows at her words.
Seeing that, I spoke up instead.
"Who exactly are you?"
It was a simple and direct question, to which she merely shrugged.
"I am Luna Basilin Raphaelia."
"No, I don’t care about your name—what are you?"
Are you another useless type like the Librarian?
"Merely a prisoner."
She didn’t seem inclined to say anything more.
I couldn’t find a reason to press further, but Melissa repeated her name several times, tilting her head in thought.
"Raphaelia? That name sounds familiar…"
"So, what exactly was the meaning of what we did?"
"Nothing much. When you’re locked away for a long time, sometimes you crave a stimulating sight. Don't worry—I had no intent or reason to bring harm."
In other words, everything we performed was simply for her amusement.
"Originally, I wouldn’t have even spoken to you. Once you leave this place, all your memories here will vanish. Such conversations should be meaningless. But this time, things are quite different."
"Why does she talk… like that?"
Melissa whispered so that only I could hear.
Her speech certainly felt oddly unnatural.
Did she learn by imitating others?
"Different, how?"
"Normally, a monster like you should not be able to enter this space. This place is one that those who yearn may reach through dreams. Someone with your level of power should not be able to yearn for anything. How did you enter?"
"Is this thing crazy? Who are you calling a monster? You wanna die?"
Melissa furrowed her brows and lashed out on my behalf, but the girl paid no heed.
Instead, she fluttered a pair of grayish wings—similar in color to Melissa's and my hair.
The chains clinked as they pulled taut.
"I only spoke the truth. Carrying power that no human should possess, yet you want to call yourself normal?"
"That doesn't matter. The point is, you're the boss of this place, aren’t you?"
"Boss? I’m not sure, but this space exists for me."
At those words, I immediately drew my sword.
"Hey, hey! Are you trying to kill her?"
"Then what do you expect me to do? Have you forgotten that if we let her be, our entire mansion will be consumed? I broke the barrier, but if we don’t remove the root cause, it’ll just happen again."
Blocking it every time would be a massive hassle.
Hearing my words, Melissa seemed to recall the situation that led to this and fell silent.
"You were the one who brought that box… but still, let's try talking first. Maybe she can stop this phenomenon."
The girl, listening to our conversation, tilted her head.
"What are you talking about?"
"What do you mean, what? The mysterious barrier you created nearly swallowed our mansion whole—we had to stop it, and that’s how we ended up here."
Melissa snapped at her, but the girl's closed eyes twitched.
"That makes no sense. This place is not connected to reality. Therefore, it is impossible for my existence—or this space—to influence the real world. You are lying to me."
Annoyed, she rattled her chains and struggled.
Of course, Melissa had plenty to say in response, so she immediately flared up.
"The blue box! That damn blue box suddenly started acting up and spread a golden barrier everywhere!! When we broke it, a rift opened, and we came through it!"
At that, the girl froze.
"Say that again. What did you just say?"
"What’s with you? I said, the rift came from that damned blue box!"
Melissa, now thoroughly frustrated, seemed ready to draw her sword.
"That’s impossible. The prison that seals me cannot be undone by any means…"
Her head suddenly snapped in my direction.
She stared at me directly, her voice trembling as she asked,
"Don't tell me… you opened the box?"
"No. I knew there was some kind of life inside, but the box went berserk on its own and caused all this."
"That can’t be… Unless the warden of the seal lost its mind… No, even then, the seal shouldn’t have wavered."
She trailed off mid-sentence, then quietly observed me before asking,
"Did you do something near the box? Something like magic?"
"I set up a barrier. As you can see, I can use necromancy, so I covered it with aura."
"Aura? Ha… This is amusing."
She chuckled.
"They said it was perfect, but time caused a flaw to form in the barrier. They must not have expected a monster like you."
"So this wasn’t your doing?"
"No. I’m bound here, unable to exert any power."
She slumped against her throne, still chained.
"There must be a structural flaw in the seal. The warden of the prison must have lost its mind and abandoned its post."
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
In other words, that blue box was an object sealing this girl, and there was a guardian meant to maintain and protect it.
But when I covered the box in aura, the warden lost its mind, and this entire situation unfolded.
"Hey. So you were the cause of all this?"
Melissa nudged my side cautiously, speaking in a low voice.
I had been so sure back then that nothing would happen…
"Shut up. This is embarrassing."
"Oh, come on. If the seal was that easy to break, then it wasn’t much of a seal to begin with, was it?"
Melissa retorted as if she couldn't believe it.
"That can’t be right. It was just the presence of that handsome human over there that became a variable."
"Wh… What? Handsome? You must be blind if you think that."
She was probably referring to the Death Lord-level dominance imbued in my necromantic mana.
In other words, if it weren’t for me, the seal on the box would never have been broken.
"If that's the case, then this is no time to be having a conversation."
She smirked.
"What do you mean?"
"Based on everything we’ve said so far, I strongly recommend getting out of here immediately."
BOOOOM!!!
As soon as she said that, the massive walls of the great hall shattered, and something enormous revealed itself.
It was… a beast in the form of a massive armored tiger.
Its size easily surpassed five meters.
"Hm? Divine Beast Barva? How is that thing here?"
It was a divine beast I had seen often in the grand hall.
However, its appearance was twisted, and its colors had dulled into something murky.
"What the hell is that? Why is it so big? Do you even know what that thing is?!"
"Of course. It's called the Divine Beast Barva. Its specialty is handling Sacred Flame."
"Sacred Flame?"
"Hmm… Just think of it like this: if it touches you, you’re screwed. The fire doesn’t go out."
A memory suddenly surfaced.
There was a time when I had died, consumed by the searing agony of Sacred Flame clinging to my body.
Hearing my response, the girl on the throne let out a small exclamation.
"Oh? You know about Divine Beasts? To think that humans have managed to form a connection with them in the meantime—how surprising."
"I’ve never even heard of Divine Beasts before."
"Then how does that guy know?"
"Because Leon is weird."
Even in this situation, the girl remained as composed as ever.
Yet, Barva’s hostility was most directed toward her.
No—what I saw in her wasn’t composure, but something closer to resignation.
As if whether she lived or died didn’t matter to her at all.
"Barva is the guardian assigned to seal and watch over me."
KRRRRAAAAAAHHH!!!
With a deafening roar, the beast’s claws ignited in brilliant flames, and Melissa, who had been frozen in place, suddenly snapped back to reality and darted behind me.
"L-Leon! You can handle that, right?!"
"Of course…"
Her face lit up with hope.
"…Not."
"Be serious!"
"Be realistic. Divine Beast Barva is a monster that can rip through five Sword Masters on its own."
Even if I had the strength to fight a Sword Master and win, I was completely outmatched in terms of sheer power against that thing.
"No way… then we’re totally screwed, aren’t we?"
"Screw that. We’re running."
I immediately grabbed Melissa and hoisted her onto my back.
Then, I activated the aura within me.
My swordsmanship style involved suppressing my power like charging a battery, only to unleash it in an explosive burst when needed.
I’d be pushing myself too hard, but I needed that level of speed if we were going to escape from that thing.
"It was fun talking."
"You’re leaving? Take care. No matter how crazy Barva is, it can’t leave this space. That thing will kill me first, so use that chance to escape."
She wasn’t an ordinary human, so her life force was probably stronger than that of one.
She closed her eyes and casually rattled the chains wrapped around her arms as if she truly didn’t care.
"You’re okay with this?"
She let out a dry laugh at my question.
"It’s just a shame I never got to have a drink. But I have no regrets."
No matter what she was, I felt something stir within me.
Seeing her so resigned to her fate didn’t sit well with me.
But I wasn’t in a position to worry about her right now.
"Wait… Wait! Leon?!"
"If she dies, the rift will disappear anyway. We’re getting out of here."
I immediately unleashed the stored energy in my aura.
Like a cannonball, I shot away from that place at full speed.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]