The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 751

Episode 751: What a Curious Being. (3)

Giselle slyly interjected and asked,

“Is it really something like a spirit king?”

It wasn’t so much sincere as just asking in passing. She naturally figured it wasn’t.

Still, if by chance it was something like a spirit king… wouldn’t that be really cool.

Iraniel looked at Giselle with a baffled expression.

“How could that be?”

“…Right?”

“How did you come to know this spirit… thing?”

Giselle shrugged as she answered,

“I just came across it by chance, and it’s actually living in my consciousness rather than the spirit realm. It uses its powers much like a spirit. This guy has lost its memory and doesn’t know what it is, either.”

Iraniel carefully examined Dark. Dark, after having a staring match with her, quietly turned its head.

“Lost its memory? That is truly strange. I’ll take a look.”

Iraniel accepted Dark and held it in one hand. Dark still turned its head away with a sullen expression.

“Such insolence… Lifting me as if I were a mere ornament.”

Dark grumbled deliberately so they could hear, but no one paid attention.

Iraniel placed a hand on Dark’s head and softly chanted,

“Spirits of sleep and dreams, hear my call. Open the doors to the hidden world and move between eternity and the moment.”

Paaaah….

A sparkling light lingered around Iraniel’s hand for a moment, then seeped into Dark’s body.

Dark fiercely resisted the force digging into its consciousness.

As Dark was a being of only will, its powers related to the mind were quite strong.

It could even shatter the illusion magic of a 7th circle mage.

“How dare you try to peer into me!”

Even though they lived inside Giselle, the two were entirely different beings. Just as Giselle could block off her own consciousness so Dark could not see, Dark could do the same.

Unless granted permission, they could not peer into each other, and even if permitted, it would only be a fleeting glimpse at most.

Entirely different beings could never become completely one. If they did, it would no longer be their original selves.

“Hoo…”

Iraniel made an intrigued expression. The opponent’s mental barrier was extremely strong. Forcing through could cause both sides great harm.

Iraniel spoke gently.

“You don’t know what you are, either, do you? If you permit, I will take a brief look into your subconscious.”

“Hmph…”

Dark turned its head bashfully. That meant permission. Truthfully, Dark was also curious about what sort of being it was.

Paaa….

Only then did the spirit of dreams enter deep into Dark’s consciousness. It was the same method used when Erenes looked into Giselle’s fallen consciousness.

The difference was, Iraniel had gone deep down into Dark’s subconscious.

The subconscious typically holds the being’s own ‘world’.

Giselle had once shown her world to Dark as well.

Though it was a barren wasteland tainted with blood, at least it was a landscape held only by Giselle.

But.

‘This can’t be…’

Iraniel furrowed her brow.

There was nothing within Dark.

A complete void where even stillness had disappeared.

No light, no color, no memories, no emotions—literally nothing, just emptiness.

Iraniel looked around again and again. Even a beast would not be this empty.

Even with memory loss, the subconscious should retain a world.

But this subconscious space was closed off. A completely isolated world.

Not only the outside, but even its owner could not enter it.

Iraniel finally realized.

‘Its memories have been sealed. And… extremely skillfully and firmly at that.’

A subtle wariness appeared in Iraniel’s eyes.

Just who, and for what, went this far to hide something?

Crack!

The spirits of dreams summoned by Iraniel struck the barrier of darkness. But it was much stronger than expected.

It was like a perfectly sealed door, letting not even a single ray of light through.

Iraniel narrowed her eyes and focused power into her fingertips.

Boom!

For an instant, the darkness twisted and a minute crack formed, and through that gap a faint light shone.

“Keeeeek!”

Dark’s eyes shot open and it let out a sharp shriek.

“Damn…”

Iraniel immediately withdrew her hand. Had she pressed further, Dark’s consciousness could have been in danger.

“…To think it would be like this.”

She let out a small sigh and closed her eyes. Still, she had learned a few things.

Though only for a very brief moment, she detected the faint scent of a spirit. And within it…

A colossal sadness and pain that could not be put into words was present.

Iraniel opened her eyes and spoke.

“This child… Unbelievable as it is, is indeed a spirit.”

Giselle also showed a surprised expression.

“Really? It’s a spirit?”

She had only called it a spirit for lack of a better term, but hadn’t actually believed it.

She had just thought it was a strange, spirit-like being.

But Iraniel had formally recognized Dark as a spirit.

“Yes, I don’t know what kind, but I definitely sensed the faint yet unique scent a spirit has. Moreover… the scent of countless spirits.”

“Countless…? What do you mean?”

“It was as if the spirits of all elements were mixed together. Fire and water, wind and earth, light and darkness—all overlapped in layers.”

“But there’s only one Dark.”

“And that’s why it’s so hard to understand. It must be a spirit that’s either been tainted or transformed. The wall of its consciousness is too thick to figure out any more than that.”

Iraniel slightly shook her head and continued,

“What it is, it’s hard to tell right now. Its memories seem to have been sealed.”

“Hmmm…”

“For a moment, I felt a very deep sadness and pain. Something unpleasant must have happened.”

Giselle looked at Dark and asked,

“Do you have some sad memory?”

“Nope.”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Not hurt.”

“…”

Giselle sighed. As expected, feelings like sadness didn’t suit Dark. Still, who knows what might come out if the sealed subconscious is revealed.

Iraniel smiled at Dark.

“If this child regains its memories, it could become quite an incredible being. There’s no way it’s mere coincidence that it holds the energies of countless spirits.”

At those words, Dark spread its wings and shouted proudly,

“See! That proves I’m the spirit king! Once I get my memories back, everyone will be doomed!”

Iraniel quietly added,

“Of course… once the memories return, it could turn out to be nothing special. Like, say, just a random remnant cast off by a mighty spirit.”

“…”

At this new hypothesis, Dark fell silent. Being a spirit king was great, but being some discarded, filthy leftovers was a bit much.

Dark didn’t accept that hypothesis.

“I definitely must have been something amazing. I must have been the king of spirits with all attributes!”

Giselle asked Iraniel cautiously,

“Are there really spirits like that? A spirit with all the attributes?”

“To my knowledge, there isn’t. Still, you never know. There may be a mysterious being that hasn’t been discovered yet. Even I can’t claim to know the spirit realm perfectly.”

“I see. Still, you are sure it’s a spirit, right?”

“Yes, at least… by its essence, it is certainly a spirit.”

Giselle nodded. When it comes to spirits, Iraniel is the continent’s top authority.

If she says so with such certainty, there’s no reason to doubt further.

‘If only I could see Dark’s original energy, could I guess more?’

Unlike future Erenes, Iraniel didn’t react sensitively to Dark’s energy.

Right now, the energy sustaining Dark’s form was not its original but Asteon’s magic.

It meant Iraniel couldn’t distinguish that Dark’s energy was similar yet different to that of the Salvation Church.

While Giselle was pondering, the spirits near Julian quietly approached Dark.

The spirits looked Dark over carefully with interest. Their interest was different from what they showed others.

It was as if they wanted to become one, coming even closer and trying to mingle their powers.

This somehow made Dark feel annoyed, so it shouted,

“Go away! How dare lowly spirits cozy up to the spirit king!”The spirits were startled by Dark’s shout and quickly hid behind Yulien. Still, they couldn’t overcome their curiosity and kept glancing at Dark.

Giselle felt that Dark was much more on edge than usual.

“Why are you like this? Why are you so sensitive today?”

“Ah, I don’t know. It’s uncomfortable. I’m going in.”

Even Dark didn’t know why.

It seemed like this forest, the elves, and the spirits were making Dark feel depressed. Especially when the spirits came closer, the feeling of melancholy grew stronger.

So, just like running away, Dark retreated into Giselle’s consciousness.

Ilaniel, who watched this, spoke up.

“For a spirit, that’s a rather peculiar personality. Usually, spirits take after their summoner’s personality, but…”

“…It’s been like that since the beginning.”

“Sealed memories can’t be forcibly awakened, but perhaps, someday, given the right trigger, the seal may break. All we can do is wait for that time. Do you need anything else or have any more questions?”

“This is enough. Thanks to your kindness, I got a spirit stone and my friend gained a spirit. I’ve cleared up most of what I was curious about, too. Thank you so much.”

Giselle bowed deeply to express gratitude.

Having gained all they could, Giselle’s group took a full day to rest.

The elves offered them rare fruits and herbs from the forest. Even though the mercenaries preferred meat and the food didn’t exactly match their tastes, everyone still had a pleasant time.

The next day, as Giselle’s group packed up to leave, all the elves came out to see them off.

Ilaniel smiled at Giselle.

“I hope your journey will be a success.”

“Thank you. I’ll come visit again soon.”

Seeing Giselle treat this place like a friend’s house, Ilaniel smiled fondly.

Of all the humans she had met, none were as genuine and confident as Giselle.

Unlike other humans, there wasn’t a trace of slyness or cunning. That’s why Ilaniel couldn’t help but like Giselle.

Ilaniel turned her gaze to Deneb.

“You really have great potential. I hope you use that power for good. I entrusted you with the Guardian Stone because I trust you.”

“Yes! I’ll do my best so the chief won’t be disappointed!”

Deneb replied energetically. Although her holy power had returned to normal, she had gained a bit of confidence from this experience.

As they were about to leave, Giselle noticed Erenes looking glum.

‘Hm, just when did she start traveling with us?’

They had definitely fought side by side in the Great War—she’d seen it clearly in her dream.

But she had no idea when Erenes had first joined the hero’s party.

So Giselle simply spoke from the heart.

“Erenes, do you want to come with us?”

“Huh, me? You mean me too?”

“Yeah, didn’t you want to go out into the world? Since the chief gave us the Guardian Stone, you have plenty of reason to come along, right?”

At those words, Erenes glanced at Ilaniel. She couldn’t leave without Ilaniel’s permission.

Ilaniel shot Giselle a look. Even knowing what Erenes was feeling, she dared to make such a suggestion.

With a wry smile, Ilaniel shook her head and said,

“Erenes, you should go with them.”

“N-no, I…”

“It’s fine. I know how you feel. I can’t just keep you cooped up in this narrow forest anymore.”

“Ilaniel…”

“Go see the world, learn as much as you can. Those friends will guide you well.”

In truth, Ilaniel already knew.

Erenes would have left the forest someday, even if it meant sneaking out.

If so, it was much better for her to go with the trustworthy Yulien Mercenary Corps.

Tears welling up, Erenes bowed her head.

“I’ll come back stronger than I am now, so I can help in the war against the Demon Realm.”

Hearing that, Ilaniel gave her a slightly sad smile.

“Yes, I’m sure you will.”

In the end, the Demon Realm had risen again in this era. In other words, they needed strong elves now more than ever.

And the one most suited to that role was Erenes, whose talent in battle was second to none.

Giselle beamed at Ilaniel’s permission.

“Welcome to the mercenary corps, rookie.”

“Hmph, I know what that means when humans say ‘rookie’. As a noble elf, I won’t be doing any menial work.”

So different from the Erenes of the future—proud and spirited. Giselle found it so amusing.

With a shrug, Giselle replied,

“I’m sure you won’t. Well, shall we head out to find the next spirit stone?”

With Erenes joining, the Yulien Mercenary Corps set out once again toward their next destination.

Ilaniel watched the departing Yulien Mercenary Corps for a long, long time.

Once they were out of sight, she looked down at her hands.

They were much more wrinkled than just a short time ago.

Ilaniel murmured quietly.

“I suppose it’s time to pass the World Tree on to the next generation.”

And the elf to shoulder that heavy burden…

She had a feeling it would be that child—who would return, stronger than anyone else, after enduring all the trials of the world.