Chapter 63

The Mausoleum of Moonshadow (5)

“Show me that you were worth the investment, Raguel.”

Leaning against a withered ancient tree, Mapheltan spoke in a voice laced with groans.

He was clearly smiling, but he did not look particularly composed.

His entire body was covered in wounds. His wings resembled torn rags, and the carapace encasing his skin was shattered in several places.

Utterly flustered, Raguel began to babble.

“W-Worth? What do you mean by that…? More importantly, are you really Johan—no, Mapheltan? And what happened to you? What in the world is going on right now?!”

The situation was far too confusing for him. Every piece of information entering his vision was overwhelming his mind.

The strange ashen forest and the vicious demon before him—the reality now spread before his eyes was far more fantastical than anything he had imagined while blind.

The world he saw for the first time in months seemed to have completely abandoned common sense.

Mapheltan forced himself to speak.

“I don’t have time to explain this twice, so listen carefully. You’ve probably already guessed as much, but you’re no longer human. You’ve become a member of a race known as elves—and a high elf at that. You have been reborn as the only being of your kind in this world.”

Raguel murmured quietly.

“An… elf.”

“Yes, an elf. The term is probably unfamiliar to you.”

For five hundred years, the Order had systematically erased all information concerning the thirteen forgotten races. By the current era, virtually no records of them remained.

Only the race known as “witches” continued to circulate in the form of legends and rumors.

“I’ve never heard the word before. But somehow…”

“You feel as though you know what they are?”

“Yes. Until just a moment ago, I was dreaming about the elves.”

A sorrowful look briefly crossed Raguel’s face.

Mapheltan opened his mouth.

“Good. That will make this conversation easier.”

Just as in the original novel, consuming a seed of the World Tree apparently caused one to absorb the elves’ memories and emotions along with it.

In the original story, it had been a member of a collateral branch of the Myatro family who swallowed the seed, but the resulting transformation had been identical.

Tension appeared on Raguel’s face.

“It seems there’s something you want me to do.”

Mapheltan nodded.

“If you agree, you and I will undertake countless tasks together from now on. For the moment, however, we should deal with the immediate crisis first.”

Raguel looked at Mapheltan with a remarkably serious expression. His jade-colored eyes shone with a pure, natural radiance.

“Do those tasks involve destroying humanity?”

He had learned of the countless atrocities humanity had committed against the elves.

Burning forests. Elves dragged away as slaves. Endless abuse and exploitation. After witnessing such scenes, it was impossible not to feel hatred toward humanity.

Mapheltan spoke solemnly.

“Raguel, do you wish for every human to disappear?”

Raguel lowered his head.

“…No, I don’t.”

Although he had directly witnessed humanity’s cruelty, he had not become consumed by such an extreme thought.

Not every human was evil.

Many among them still pursued goodness.

Through his books, Raguel had encountered plenty of stories about noble and virtuous people.

“Neither do I,” Mapheltan said. “I have no intention of killing every human.”

“Then what are we going to do together? An elf who despises humanity and an Apostle of the End?”

A familiar voice abruptly interrupted them.

“Do not forget me—the Hellfire of the Abyss!”

Zalkarin suddenly popped out from Mapheltan’s arms.

Raguel’s eyes widened.

“D-Don’t tell me you’re Zalkarin?”

It was Raguel’s first time seeing him.

The red, furry imp puffed himself up proudly.

“Are you surprised? Well, then? What do you think now that you have witnessed my exalted form?”

With innocent admiration, Raguel replied,

“You’re much smaller than I imagined. So insignificant and adorable.”

Zalkarin’s face turned bright red.

“W-What?! Insignificant?! How dare you!”

Mapheltan scowled.

“Is this really the time to exchange idle chatter?”

His voice had grown icy.

Zalkarin immediately fell silent.

“M-My apologies. I was thoughtless.”

Raguel scratched his head.

“I was just so fascinated that I couldn’t help myself… I’m sorry.”

Mapheltan clicked his tongue.

“Let us finish our conversation. Raguel, you asked what we would be doing together from now on?”

“Yes. If we’re not going to destroy humanity, what will an elf and an Apostle do together?”

The elves yearned for vengeance against humanity. Raguel had not completely assimilated their emotions, but even he now felt deeply disillusioned with humanity.

An Apostle, meanwhile, was a being born to proclaim humanity’s end.

If those two joined forces, there seemed to be only one possible objective.

The annihilation of humankind.

Yet Mapheltan continued to deny it.

“We will preserve humanity and, beyond that, prevent the end of the world. That is what you and I will do from now on.”

Confusion spread across Raguel’s face.

“I don’t understand. You’re a demon, Mapheltan.”

A demon protecting the world—there could hardly be a greater contradiction.

“Have you forgotten? Red blood flows through my veins as well.”

He was a half-demon.

“…That’s true.”

Raguel still did not look entirely convinced.

“You are the first step in my plan, Raguel. Beginning with you, I intend to restore all the other races as well. I need your power and theirs. I know it must sound vague right now, but I would like you to trust me and follow my lead.”

In short, he was asking for blind support.

Raguel’s expression grew calm.

“As I told you before, I don’t have any other choice. Now that I’ve even become an elf, living an ordinary life will be more impossible than ever. Somehow, the path you offered me has become my life. I’ll trust you and follow it, so please don’t betray that trust.”

He had already been ensnared by the demon.

There was no turning back now.

Mapheltan answered with equal seriousness.

“I promise. I will not do anything that brings harm to this world. So take my hand. Within an eternal covenant, we will forge a new destiny together.”

Pitch-black demonic energy gathered around his hand.

Raguel swallowed dryly.

“D-Don’t tell me…”

“A contract of servitude. Raguel, are you willing to serve me?”

A contract of servitude was completely different from an ordinary contract with a demon.

While a normal demonic contract took the form of a transaction in which both parties paid a price, a contract of servitude entailed one-sided devotion.

The moment Raguel accepted it, he would become Mapheltan’s servant.

Just like Grian and Zalkarin.

Conflict clouded Raguel’s face. Even if he trusted Mapheltan, a contract of servitude was not something he could easily accept.

Zalkarin, who had been listening, spoke up.

“Brat, you may not understand, but countless evil spirits are presently seeking our lives. To resolve this situation, we need a bond between you, a high elf, and the great Mapheltan, Apostle of the End. Enter the embrace of the End. I am his right arm, so I shall graciously allow you to become his left.”

Raguel glanced at Mapheltan, silently asking whether that was true.

Mapheltan shrugged.

“Well, he isn’t wrong, but I have no intention of forcing you. Whatever you choose, I will respect your decision.”

There was an alternative plan even if Raguel refused.

Still, Mapheltan wanted to use this opportunity to bind Raguel to him completely.

So that he could never escape.

Reading the mood, Zalkarin spoke again.

“The End clearly cherishes you greatly. Do you not wish to repay his kindness?”

Raguel lowered his head. His clenched fists began to tremble.

Only after a long while did he finally speak.

“…This is my choice.”

“I hope it proves to be a wise one,” Zalkarin said.

“This has nothing to do with you! I wasn’t swayed by anything you said.”

Raguel glared at Zalkarin.

The imp flinched.

“A-Ahem. And your decision is?”

At that moment, Raguel clasped Mapheltan’s hand.

“Mapheltan, I’ll go with you.”

The corners of Mapheltan’s lips rose.

The mass of demonic energy surged upward.

Black mist enveloped them both.

An inviolable law was being engraved upon Raguel’s soul.

Within the pitch-black darkness, an eerie voice echoed.

“Raguel, I demand blind faith and unconditional loyalty from you. Do you accept?”

Raguel answered in a trembling voice.

“…I accept.”

The surging demonic energy flowed into Raguel’s body all at once.

A demon’s brand began to appear upon the noble high elf.

A baleful figure wielding a scythe—Mapheltan’s emblem appeared within Raguel’s left eye.

He was now the Apostle’s servant.

“You will never regret this decision,” Mapheltan said. “Now, I will tell you what you must do.”

***

Within the dead and desolate land, there was only one being who still possessed vitality.

A boy walked through the ash-gray forest. His hair shimmered amber like ripe barley, and his eyes were purer than a clear, deep lake.

Life began breathing anew wherever he stepped.

Withered flowers and vegetation regained their verdant vitality.

The harsh environment soon caused that greenery to wither and return to nothingness, but nature was unmistakably responding to the high elf.

To Raguel, every part of the sight was both wondrous and heartbreaking.

“…They’re all crying.”

Every part of the mausoleum’s natural world was screaming.

To a high elf, their anguished cries sounded unbearably vivid.

“Now that you’re an elf, have you already become lost in sentimentality?”

Zalkarin poked his head out from Raguel’s clothes.

“You don’t understand anything.”

“Hmph. Nor do I care to. I am interested in only one thing—whether or not you can carry out your mission properly. That is all that matters to me.”

Raguel now had to carry out the first command Mapheltan had given him.

Anxiety showed on his face.

“…It’ll work.”

“Yes. All you need to do is exactly as the End instructed. Do not be so nervous.”

Raguel abruptly stopped walking.

A pure-white barrier stretched out before him.

It was the sacred barrier Mapheltan had erected to buy time. Cracks had spread across its surface.

It would soon shatter.

Cold sweat ran down Raguel’s face.

“They’re beyond that barrier, right?”

All manner of noises assailed him from the other side.

Scratching, pounding, and hammering sounds mingled with horrific screams to form a bizarre harmony.

“Yes. I shall hide again for the moment. I wish you good fortune.”

Zalkarin burrowed back into Raguel’s clothes.

“Y-You coward!”

Raguel felt as though he had been abandoned to face them alone.

He steadied his breathing and stared at the barrier.

Its surface had now become completely distorted.

Raguel stepped backward.

At that very moment, the barrier shattered with a deafening crash.

Horrific roars shook heaven and earth.

Countless monstrosities engulfed the surrounding area.

—Find him! Find the bastard!

—Where is he hiding?!

—We’ll tear him limb from limb and use him as fertilizer for Mother!

Resentment and fury toward Mapheltan reverberated throughout the entire mausoleum.

Every monstrosity began charging forward.

Raguel stood frozen in a daze.

From inside his clothes, Zalkarin shouted,

“You fool! Are you just going to stand there and watch?!”

Only then did Raguel come back to his senses.

He shouted with all his might.

“I’m the one who ate the fruit!”

Their menacing gazes all turned toward Raguel at once.

“S-So… let’s talk.”