The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

51 – EP4. The Crossroads of Life and Death

Angel felt as if her breath was being stifled. It was different from her encounter with Seinda. While Seinda’s physical pain had been terrifying, with Peria, there seemed to be no straightforward solution, leaving her only feeling frustrated.

Peria, too, couldn’t fathom the reason for the attack on herself, so she shifted her attention to the catalyst’s side. That meant they intended to destroy such a dangerous object rather than leave it unattended.

Angel briefly glanced at Caven Theodore’s research journal. The minuscule amount of catalyst, which had been with Caven Theodore’s research journal, was covered in dust to the extent that even magic couldn’t penetrate it. This raised the question of just how much magical power a proper catalyst demanded.

Angel turned her gaze away from the catalyst and started to scan through another book. It was a book about the ancient language of the northern tribes, and though it didn’t seem particularly useful, she was reading it absentmindedly.

And then, Angel’s eyes widened.

“…Huh?”

The word “Tekamuel” was written in the book.

“Peria, come here!”

Angel called out to Peria, who approached, and Angel read the passage to her.

“‘Tekamuel means a shrine or palace, used as a synonym because the northern tribes had a tradition of enshrining the spirits of great warriors in the homes of their leaders, meaning the chieftains…'”

“Wait a moment!”

Peria unfolded an imperial document she had brought with her. The passage she revealed was about the time when the northern tribes had migrated to the Firebird Empire in the past.

“So, does that mean the ring was made shortly after that time…?”

“Yes. It was the language of the northern tribes… So, in the end, what does ‘Tekamuel’ mean?”

“It probably means a shrine. According to your assumption, it was an item of the leaders of the Mausoleum, chased away by the saint. They blessed the successor of the magic in the shrine of the great magicians… It might have meant something like that.”

“But why would that be a reason to attack you…?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they wanted to eliminate the dangerous heir of magic in advance.”

“Does the imperial family, who wants to use the catalyst, target you for just a dangerous kind of magic?”

“Well… I did manage to find the hiding place of the catalyst.”

“What?”

“It’s encrypted, so it might take some time to decipher… But, well, I’m not sure either.”

Peria leafed through Caven Theodore’s research records.

“Wait, isn’t this another northern script?”

“What?”

Peria looked back and forth between the book on the ancient language of the northern tribes and the cipher.

“Really?”

Peria looked at Angel.

Peria translated the characters written in the ancient language of the northern tribe according to the book.

“I hid the catalyst in the palace of Amenthes. It is a place where criminals are imprisoned and abandoned, so no one would expect it. I also prepared an excuse to meet Mervus, who caused chaos in the tower. However, just in case someone discovers it, I also placed a code there. There won’t be many who can solve it if it’s not me.”

The palace of Amenthes was once used in ancient times but now it has been abandoned, becoming a prison that confines those trapped in the most sinister and important location. I didn’t know what Amenthes meant.

Peria stiffened her face.

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“…If it’s hidden in Amenthes’ palace, it’s a big problem.”

“Why?”

“Because there are often criminals hiding in Amenthes’ palace, they installed a magic sensor. It can’t identify people, of course, but… It detects the flow of magic, so it’s something that intruders will somehow notice.”

Angel spoke after hearing those words.

“Then why don’t we just not go in?”

“That’s not the problem because it detects the flow of magic, so the existence of the catalyst might have already been detected!”

“Well then… we should hurry and somehow retrieve the catalyst.”

“Yes, let’s go quickly.”

Peria said with determined eyes.

They stood right in front of Amenthes’ palace.

“Find it as quickly as possible and leave before we get caught. Got it?”

“…The problem is that as soon as we enter Amenthes’ palace, the royal family will become aware of our presence.”

“That’s true, but… we can’t help it. There’s a hint, at least.”

-When the sky burns. Three steps forward from the black spot. Two steps back where it reflects the black spot.-

“Do you think we can trust the hint?”

Angel said nervously. What does it mean when the sky burns and where is the black spot, the place that reflects it? There wasn’t even a clue.

“Well, it’s probably a phrase that only the person themselves would know and wrote as a code.”

“…Let’s just go in. We have no choice.”

They began to enter Amenthes’ palace.

The old palace had lost its past magnificent grandeur and was left neglected. From the sight filled with cobwebs and dust, one could somehow imagine the current empire trying to erase everything from the past.

And in that moment when they gazed at the scenery of Amenthes’ palace like that, the alarm started to sound.

“Split up for now! Since we can detect magic, split up and search while running away!”

Angel and Peria split up and started running. Unfortunately or fortunately, the palace of Amenthes was spacious enough to escape but also too wide to find the catalyst.

Angel felt a sense of frustration as he ran.

He felt that one or two soldiers were chasing after him. It seemed like they had assigned soldiers who were strong enough but not too strong because they didn’t know that it was Angel and Peria.

Even though Angel could have easily defeated them, he chose to run. There was no time to fight them.

“Jegiral!”

Even as Angel ran, he meticulously scoured the palace, but the increasing number of guards began to catch his eye. They were probably planning to deploy more guards gradually, realizing it would take some time to capture him.

Angel eventually killed one guard blocking his path. He knew that his actions would alert the enemy to his presence, but he couldn’t afford to worry about that.

With clenched lips, Angel searched the palace and grew increasingly anxious as he saw reinforcements coming, stronger and numerous.

And then, Angel finally met Feria.

It was right at the stairs to the top floor.

Both Angel and Feria were in a situation where only the top floor remained.

“Hurry!”

Angel followed Feria as they began to ascend to the top floor.

As they climbed the top floor, he could feel it.

The presence of a catalyst hidden here.

Feria felt the same way. While they couldn’t pinpoint the exact location, the nearly depleted magical energy was abnormal no matter where they looked.

Angel began to explore the top floor, feeling a damp sensation. Numerous tools suitable for mages were visible, all covered in thick layers of dust.

“…What is this place?”

“Amutenas Palace was the residence of the Crown Prince… The top floor was famous for housing the workshops of various mages.”

Feria explained.

“…I see. The problem is we don’t have much time to search this place…”

Angel said, and Feria added,

“For now, I’ve erected a magical barrier on the stairs. It should hold until my magical energy is depleted. Despite having little magic left, I can probably hold it for a few hours.”

Angel began searching everywhere, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find the catalyst.

He heard the soldiers’ voices in front of the stairs.

“They went up to the top floor!”

“The magical barrier will be breached soon; request reinforcements until then!”

There was no time to spare, no matter how he thought about it.

Angel looked out of the window at the top of the palace.

It was an attempt to alleviate his frustration, even if only for a moment.

The evening sky was ablaze, as if setting the heavens on fire.

As he left that thought in his mind, he realized something.

The sky was burning right now. This palace’s windows were designed to shine wherever evening occurred, regardless of the actual time.

He glanced around.

There were plaques stacked with the names of those who had once occupied the heart of Matop.

He recognized them as the black stains that Carven Theodore had spoken of.

So, right here…

Angel tapped the floor at the location Carven Theodore had mentioned.

When a hollow sound reverberated, he became certain.

He began to pry open the floor.

Peria approached him, and Angel saw the cipher emerge.

-Who is the owner of this Tekamuel?-

What? Tekamuel?

Why was this word appearing here now?

Angel couldn’t shake the feeling that this word was coming up wherever he went.

The word “Tekamuel” suddenly appeared in the palace of Amutenas, referring to it as “this place.”

For some reason, Angel was seized by a powerful intuition.

“… Young Phoenix?”

Suddenly, a brilliant light burst forth, and Angel looked at the object at its center.

“Katal, List…”

A catalyst. The symbol of power, desire, and fear was now in his hands.

Angel felt his head go blank with confusion, and the problem was that the object with a hard, realistic texture in his hand was too convincing to be lost in such confusion.

“And at that moment, the sound of the magical barrier breaking could be heard.”