Chapter 60
The Mausoleum of Moonshadow (2)
The Mausoleum of Moonshadow revealed itself before Mapheltan’s eyes.
A dead and desiccated forest of ash-gray trees stretched beneath a pitch-black void. The lifeless, ruined land swallowed the horizon.
The sprawling vegetation was stained grayish-white, as though coated in ash, while the earth that had once been green was now shriveled and dry, devoid of even the faintest trace of vitality.
The stench of death filled the surroundings. The very space itself rejected life.
This was the cradle of the dead and the sanctuary of those who had been forgotten.
The god they once worshiped had been reduced to a solitary stump, yet its weakened roots continued to support the sanctuary.
Grayish-white roots extended from the mausoleum’s ceiling all the way to the ground—the World Tree’s final, desperate struggle.
Mapheltan descended into the mausoleum along the World Tree’s roots.
When his feet touched the ground, gray-white dust billowed into the air.
A withered flower crumbled, turning into ashen powder.
It had already been dead and hollow long before he stepped on it.
Everything before him was the same.
Though the surroundings had barely retained their shapes, not a trace of life force existed anywhere.
Only one thing truly existed here.
Blind malice.
Deep-seated hatred blanketed the entire mausoleum.
—Ah! Ah! The full moon has returned again!
—Someone, please drag that moon down!
—I cannot bear to look at it! Remove that detestable light from my sight at once!
—Mother is shedding tears. Another intruder has entered!
Faint moonlight seeped into the snow-white forest.
Beneath the moonlight, the grayish-white vegetation cast sinister shadows. Black silhouettes darted swiftly between them.
They’re coming.
The dead had detected the intruders and were rushing toward them.
White dust billowed behind them as though they were sprinting across a field of snow.
All manner of horrifying cries erupted from every direction. Screams and wails shook the entire mausoleum.
The noise was deadly to humans.
Raguel descended into panic. Instinctive terror consumed him.
Clutching his head, he began to convulse.
“D-Don’t come any closer! Get out of my head, please!”
Chilling echoes spread through the folds of his brain.
Raguel’s entire body contorted. Twisting and squirming, he limped away.
He was unconsciously fleeing from the source of his fear.
Zalkarin sneered.
“What a fool. You may as well perform a ritual begging them to make you their target. Stop doing such pointless things and come back.”
Mapheltan calmly spoke.
“Leave him alone.”
Confusion filled Zalkarin’s face.
“But, O Great End, the brat will die if we leave him like that.”
As far as Zalkarin could tell, Raguel was important to Mapheltan. Raguel was needed whenever they opened the forbidden library, and he would undoubtedly have a purpose within this mausoleum as well.
Yet Mapheltan was telling him to let Raguel wander into danger. Zalkarin found it difficult to understand his intentions.
Mapheltan said,
“Remain silent and watch.”
Raguel was still wandering aimlessly, moving farther away from them.
By now, a considerable distance had opened between them.
“Please stop! Go away!”
The blind boy flailed his arms and fell facedown into the ashen undergrowth.
The withered blades of grass crumbled and scattered like dust.
Black silhouettes moved nimbly through the drifting particles.
—A child of the moon!
—One of the red-blooded race!
—How dare you come here without knowing what manner of place this is!
One pair of jade-colored eyes after another began to glow.
Gazes steeped in hatred gathered around Raguel.
—Tear out his heart and offer it to Mother!
—His red blood shall soothe our resentment!
Breaths laden with malice slowly dispersed the dust.
At last, the dead revealed themselves.
Ashen monstrosities.
Pale-gray demons surrounded Raguel.
Their dry skin was cracked like earth in a drought, while their emaciated bodies resembled those of starving beasts.
Their mouths ceaselessly spewed hatred. The two ears that had once risen to sharp points now drooped lifelessly.
Only their jade-colored eyes bore witness to the innocent beings they had once been.
Once dearly beloved by nature, the members of the forgotten ancient race known as the elves now filled Mapheltan’s vision.
They infested the forest like a swarm of termites.
What a horrific curse.
It was difficult to find even a trace of their former glory in the demons they had become.
Only their parched resentment remained.
Zalkarin murmured,
“It appears this is where we bid farewell to the brat.”
The corrupted elves had reached Raguel.
No human could survive amid such dreadful malice.
Countless demonic hands reached for Raguel simultaneously.
Mapheltan spoke.
“He still has plenty of uses. It would be a waste to discard him like this.”
“But…”
At that very moment, the demons stopped.
Every hand reaching for Raguel froze in place.
The corners of Mapheltan’s mouth rose.
“Just as I expected.”
The ashen monstrosities cried out in unison.
“Watcher of the Abyss—! You carry the stench of those hateful creatures—!”
Their roaring screams shook the entire mausoleum.
The elves were deeply agitated.
They could not kill Raguel because of the restriction placed upon them by the moon.
『The prisoners of the First Territory shall not dare evade the moon’s gaze.』
The moon’s gaze referred to the Myatro bloodline.
If they killed one of its members, they would escape the moon’s gaze.
That would violate the restriction.
Such a thing was impossible for mere mortals.
Although they had a hated human standing before them and were unable to kill him, the elves did not rage or gnash their teeth.
Instead, they became overwhelmed with joy.
Some even danced with delight.
Zalkarin stared at them incredulously.
“O Great End, please grant this ignorant servant an answer! Why are they convulsing with happiness?”
Mapheltan answered,
“The elves yearn for the birth of a new World Tree. They’ve already prepared its seed. One of the finest fertilizers for that seed is a member of the Myatro bloodline. From their perspective, a blessing named Raguel has just walked straight into their hands.”
Zalkarin said,
“So the brat will ultimately be dragged away and killed.”
Mapheltan shook his head.
“The elves cannot kill Raguel because of the restriction. They’ll probably keep him alive while draining only his vital essence.”
An eerie gleam appeared in Zalkarin’s eyes.
“Now I understand. While the brat buys us time, there is another objective we must accomplish, is there not?”
“The World Tree’s seed. That is our first objective.”
“You intend to steal their treasure?!”
“More or less.”
Zalkarin exclaimed in admiration.
“If we simply follow them, they will naturally reveal where the seed is hidden!”
“Exactly. The elves will guide us to their sanctuary themselves.”
The heart of the World Tree was carefully concealed. It would be difficult to pinpoint its location through ordinary means.
But using Raguel changed matters. With their attention entirely focused on him, the elves would lead Mapheltan straight to the seed’s cradle.
Zalkarin exclaimed in admiration.
“Your boundless wisdom and magnificent schemes never cease to amaze me!”
Mapheltan clicked his tongue.
“I have no need for an incompetent fool who knows only how to flatter me. You will have to prove your usefulness eventually, so don’t squander an opportunity to grow like this one.”
The Abyss overflowed with intensely toxic demonic energy and malice. An imp could grow stronger here simply by breathing properly.
Somewhat chastened, Zalkarin replied,
“I… swear that I shall live up to your expectations.”
Mapheltan began walking.
“I’ll trust you for now.”
The elves lifted Raguel and began carrying him away.
Mapheltan immediately followed them.
***
It felt as though he had been imprisoned inside a cramped iron cage.
No matter how hard he struggled, he could not move even his little finger.
Amid absolute terror and darkness, Raguel could do nothing.
He could only crumble beneath the blind malice directed at him.
In a way, it was familiar to him.
Before Johan appeared, Raguel’s life had closely resembled his current situation.
He had always suffered beneath his father’s resentment and violence, endlessly trembling while trapped alone in the darkness just as he was now.
He had never once put up any meaningful resistance.
This helplessness was his life itself.
Thanks to Johan, he had managed to forget it for a while, but his fundamental nature had not changed.
A weak and worthless cripple.
A coward unable to stand up for himself.
A frightened child who knew only how to wipe away his tears.
That was the kind of person he had always been.
Once he acknowledged it, his heart felt slightly more at ease.
Cowering suited him better than desperately resisting.
Raguel stopped screaming.
He no longer struggled.
Just as he had in the past, he began submitting to his fate.
He surrendered himself to his fear.
He grew isolated within the darkness.
A twisted sense of security came over him.
At that moment, a sharp voice rang in his ears.
“Resist!”
The blind boy slowly raised his head.
Two bloodred eyes stared at him from within the darkness.
It was a familiar gaze.
A faint glimmer that had once pulled him out when he was drowning in darkness.
“J-Johan?”
The red light gradually approached him. A fairy-like figure flickered before the blind boy’s eyes.
It was a dream demon.
“Struggle! Fight with everything you have! Don’t give up! This time, seize your destiny with your own hands!”
His voice drowned out the screams and wails of the dead.
Raguel’s consciousness, which had been sinking into isolation within the darkness, gradually began to rise again.
“Johan! Are you there?! Please get me out of here! Please, please!”
The black fairy fluttered its wings.
“Stop relying on me and stand up by yourself!”
“B-But…!”
“Move your body! Struggle until you collapse from exhaustion!”
Raguel became upset.
“I tried! But I can’t! Do you have any idea what my body is like?!”
The dream demon snickered.
“No, I don’t. But if it were me, I would resist until the moment I died! Don’t you at least want to tell this miserable world to go fuck itself?! Let’s keep struggling together until we’re on the verge of death!”
Raguel bit down hard on his lip.
He gradually tried to put strength into his arms and legs.
They still would not budge.
“They won’t move. I really can’t do it.”
“If your arms and legs won’t cooperate, use your hands and feet! If even that is impossible, bite with your teeth! I’ll remove your Demonic Concealment Mask for you.”
“W-What in the world are you—”
“I’ll give you a little assistance.”
The black fairy’s form gradually began to change.
It transformed into a familiar figure.
Raguel swallowed dryly.
“F-Father?”
Grian’s spiteful face appeared before him.
“Bite down and tear his nose apart! Show him that even a worm will writhe when stepped on!”
“But…”
Grian shouted.
“You unfilial bastard who devoured his own mother to be born! As if that weren’t enough, you’re human refuse riddled with disabilities! Completely useless garbage!”
Raguel’s voice trembled.
“Sh-Shut up. Don’t say that.”
Mapheltan’s voice seeped into his ears.
“Resist! Bite his face and flatten that nose of his!”
Grian shouted,
“You worthless, crippled idiot! Someone like you should never have been born!”
“No! It wasn’t my fault!”
Mapheltan’s voice rang out once more.
“That’s right! Deny it! Show him who you are!”
Grian sneered.
“You can’t do anything! At best, you’ll bury yourself beneath your blankets and cry like you used to! Just like your stupid mother!”
Raguel screamed in fury.
“I told you to stop!”
Mapheltan’s voice burrowed into his mind.
“Yes, now! Bite him!”
Grian opened his mouth again.
Just as he was about to unleash another stream of abuse, Raguel lunged forward.
His small mouth clamped down on the blunt nose before him.
A squeal like a slaughtered pig’s rang out.
Raguel’s mouth filled with a tangy liquid.
The unidentified fluid began circulating throughout the boy’s body.
His joints twisted, and his blood flowed backward. His vision flickered wildly.
Excruciating pain consumed both his spirit and flesh.
He could not even scream.
“Ghh… Haaagh!”
Every element composing his body ran rampant.
It felt as though he were shedding his skin.
Amid the bone-carving, flesh-rending agony, the surroundings slowly began to brighten.
Countless clusters of light flooded into his dilated pupils.
Unfamiliar signals ravaged his brain cells.
Bundles of optic nerves convulsed.
His vision flashed in and out.
A familiar voice seeped into his ears.
“You see? You could do it after all. Well done.”
Something came to rest gently atop Raguel’s head.
At the same moment, his surroundings burst into view.
“How does it feel, High Elf? What do you think of being born anew?”
A vicious being stood there smiling—
within the blind boy’s new world.