A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special - Chapter 60

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 60. Summer Vacation (1)

Book 13. Summer Vacation

Alteaia, the heart of magical engineering.
Once, Alteaia had been the capital of Kuma Merilson, a magical kingdom at the pinnacle of arcane civilization, but when the kingdom fell, it lost countless mages and entered a period of rapid decline.
However, with the establishment of the Magic Tower, it flourished again, and in the present day it had regained its lost sovereignty through considerable continental technical prowess, earning recognition as a self-governing city-state.
There was only one reason why it was called the heart of magical engineering: the headquarters of the Magic Tower was located there.
The Magic Tower.
A multinational corporation that led cutting-edge magical engineering with its advanced technological capabilities, commanding the highest positions across diverse fields from military supplies to household goods.
Among enterprises selling products made from Mana Stones, its position was uniquely dominant—so far ahead that neither the Western Kingdom Alliance nor the Hebrion Empire could compare.
The Magic Tower’s headquarters had a structure befitting its name: a colossal tower.
Various departments occupied each floor, and mages belonging to the Magic Tower freely exercised their talents there, contributing to technological advancement.
Magic Tower mages moved freely throughout the tower’s interior regardless of their department, sharing knowledge with one another, yet there was one workshop where no one was permitted entry.
Should anyone engaged in magical engineering ever set foot in that place, they would surely gasp in wonder.
For a magical engineer, it was a space of dreams—every piece of equipment related to magical engineering existed there, from massive heavy machinery to the sophisticated apparatus used in intricate Enchant processes.
Hummmmm.
That workshop belonged to Jord, the Tower Master.
Jord was working, having placed a Mana Stone on his desk.
A woman’s clear voice emanated from a Communication Device resting on the desktop.
—I thought you would never work in that workshop again.
Jord’s hands, as he worked with the Mana Stone, were extraordinarily precise. His skilled fingers carved and polished the stone’s surface.
“I’ve recently learned an interesting technique.”
—I honestly can’t fathom what could be interesting about such things.
“Complex mechanisms, logic flowing through circuits. The laws by which all things take form. Whenever new technology is developed, the world advances and refines itself. Don’t you find it exhilarating just to think about it?”
—My, but for an ordinary person like myself, it seems nothing but dreadful.
Crackle.
Sparks flew from the Mana Stone.
The voice coming through the Communication Device rose in pitch.
—Grandfather, would you please focus on our conversation? We haven’t spoken in months.
“You and I can meet anytime. Technology comes first for me.”
—I doubt anyone else would say such a thing to the Holy Priestess herself.
The Holy Priestess, pure as fresh snow—Priscilla.
The woman who led the Artemis Church, whose influence extended across the entire continent.
She held a position so high that she was sometimes called the sixth king of the five nations comprising the Western Kingdom Alliance, rivaling even the Tower Master in status.
—Then I suppose you won’t be attending the Grand Conference this time either?
Every summer, the Western Kingdom Alliance held a conference, inviting various friendly organizations to discuss major matters together.
The Grand Conference was the largest annual event within the Western Kingdom Alliance.
“Actually, I will attend this time.”
—Has some wind blown you in a new direction suddenly?
“The Magic Tower’s new technical consultant wants to participate.”
—A technical consultant? Who is it? The Deputy Tower Master Hepatos? Or the Western Sage, Ilianos? Hmm, among those I know, no name particularly stands out. Did you perhaps discover some hidden mage of whom I’m unaware?
“A First Circle mage. Dezir Armang.”
—Ha ha ha!
Laughter burst from the Communication Device.
—Grandfather, have you finally slipped into senility?
“He has more than sufficient qualifications.”
—Well, I have nothing to say about the hiring decisions of the organization you lead. But that name sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before?
“You’ve likely heard it. He’s a Single Ranker at Hebrion Academy.”
—Grandfather? Surely you don’t mean you’re having someone from Hebrion Academy attend the Grand Conference?
“He’s attending as a member of the Magic Tower, not as a member of the Hebrion Empire.”
—It is concerning, though…
The Hebrion Empire and the Western Kingdom Alliance had long been bitter rivals.
Before the Shadow World emerged, war between them had been constant, but once the Shadow World appeared and threatened all humanity, they were forced into an uneasy truce.
But that ceasefire crumbled the moment the Enchant Technique was developed.
Once Mana Stones—obtained by conquering the Shadow World—began to prove their worth, the Hebrion Empire and the Western Kingdom Alliance launched into fierce competition, each desperate to Clear more Shadow Worlds than the other.
The number of Mana Stones that could be harvested from Shadow Worlds each year was finite, and whoever claimed more would gain a decisive advantage in national power.
“You’ve heard about the Shadow World that appeared recently, haven’t you?”
—Of course. I was thrilled about it. We’ve been short on funding lately.
“That’s not what I mean. It seems Dezir’s party learned some hidden history about the Fall of the Holy Nation while they were conquering that Shadow World.”
—The Fall of the Holy Nation!? Truly!?
“Yes. The very subject you’ve been investigating so intently.”
—How on earth!?
“You’ll find out eventually anyway, but don’t you think it’d be worthwhile to hear the account directly from him?”
Priscilla spoke with a tone of resigned inevitability.
—I suppose we should meet with him, then.

* * *

A world crumbling to dust.
Everything shatters.
Boom!
Crash!
The violent din of the battlefield marked the passage of time.
Screams, battle cries, the clang of weapons.
The sound of waves breaking reached his ears faintly, and the distant shore was stained ash-gray.
A briny sea-salt tang seemed to prick his nostrils for a moment before vanishing, replaced by a suffocating, searing heat that drained the will from every breath.
Beneath an ash-colored sky, the battlefield sprawled in shades of crimson.
…….
Thousands of corpses lay scattered across the ground.
Artillery fire erupted again and again, and with each blast, countless people fell, their screams torn from their throats.
Among this slaughter, one figure stood out—a girl with only her upper body remaining, convulsing sporadically.
The moment her eyes met Dezir’s, her mouth opened as if to speak, but instead of words, a clot of blood gurgled from her lips.
Dezir memorized the shape of her mouth.
‘I don’t want to die, Dezir.’
Then focus drained from her eyes.
At that instant, Dezir’s body went limp, like a puppet with its strings cut.
All he could do for her was close her eyes.
The name tag, smeared with dirt, bore a name…….

Romantica Eru.

No tears fell.
His heart, laid waste and hollow, had no room left for sorrow in its despair.
Dezir raised his head. At the end of that gaze loomed something vast.
The root cause of all this calamity.
A nightmare from the dark ages, known only from legend.
Ten meters tall, rune-marks etched into tusks, hellfire coiled like a mane around its neck—a malevolent slaughterer.
Dezir stared at it with a hollow, incredulous expression and mechanically spoke the name he knew.
“The Demon of Ruin, Dadenyuph.”
Hundreds of spells erupted skyward, all hurled against that demon alone.
Heavy, sonorous detonations.
Yet none found their mark. If anything, stimulated by the assault, Dadenyuph let loose a deafening roar.
Roooooaaaarrrr!
Surrounded by defensive magic, the humans still trembled before such transcendent power.
Mages throughout the region wept blood from their eyes and ears, crying out in agony.
Truly, this was a creature that deserved the name of calamity.
The very earth quaked beneath its feet.
Dark clouds erupted skyward as if a volcano were exploding. The ground shattered. A massive meteor bore down.
Its size vast enough to eclipse the entire horizon.
Boom!

……!
He tried to scream, but only a hoarse wheeze escaped his parched throat.
Dezir Armang’s eyes flew open. He pushed himself up from the bed and swept his gaze around the room.
Pale rose wallpaper, as though cream had been spread and cut away; furniture arranged with meticulous care; the scent of dawn drifting through the open window.
He pressed both hands against his face.
“A dream… was it?”
An unpleasant, clammy heat clung to his palms. His entire body was drenched in sweat.
The brutal memory lingered like a scar, tormenting him.
It was a scar that would never fade.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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