Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 349

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

Suddenly, my mind fell silent.
The enemies that the Ancient Power Owners I possessed had to fight against. I had asked about them, but no one had answered yet.

Whoooosh… whoooosh…
The sound of wind drifted in from outside the Temple.

In contrast, the Temple corridor was utterly silent and dark. Not a single light was visible.

‘Friend, there are no special traps inside that Temple. Just walk straight along the dark corridor. I’ll give you a fireball magic scroll to use.’
‘Human! You don’t need the Mercenary King’s! I’ll make one for you! Use the great Raon Mir’s!’
‘Ignore the brat and use mine.’

Pfft.
Despite the gravity of the situation, laughter escaped me. I pulled a magic scroll from my spatial pocket.

Crackle.
The scroll tore, and a fireball materialized in the air.

‘Golden Dragon Grandpa! The human must use mine!’
‘Ah, such is my fate.’

In the end, Raon Mir was the victor.
I saw the glowing fireball hovering above his head. And I froze.

‘My drinking buddy, there are carvings on the ceiling of the Temple’s dark corridor, but they’re nothing special so you can ignore them.’

Ignore them? Those carvings on the ceiling?
But I couldn’t help but pay attention.
The first scene carved into the nearest ceiling.

“…Jungle?”

It resembled the Jungle of the Western Continent far too closely.
That was the moment.

-The Past.

Ancient times.

-There was a human who wanted to become a god.

The Thief’s voice reached me.

“Someone who wanted to become a god?”

When Kale asked back, The Thief spoke again.

-No, that wasn’t it. He didn’t want to become a god.

Kale gazed up at the ceiling.
A temple stood in a landscape similar to the Jungle.

-He wanted to become nature itself.

Kale took a step forward.

-And there was a group that followed him.

The Jungle.
A temple.
A group that followed one who sought to become nature.
Kale’s mouth opened.

“…The Dark Forest?”

I recalled what the Glutton Goddess of the unbreakable shield had said.

‘I was born in the Jungle.’
‘Back then, the Jungle was dark. Because the trees were black. That’s why this place was called the Dark Forest.’

-That’s right. That group’s name was the Dark Forest.

Her voice continued.

-The Glutton Goddess was one of those captured as a candidate priestess in that place.

Kale recalled what the Glutton Goddess had said.

‘Those who always served the gods, yet what the Dark Forest bastards gave me was tasteless.’
‘Of course, I was driven out from that place.’

Tap. Tap.
As I moved forward, new images came into view.

A jungle turned black.
Land turned black.
And upon it stood massive golems and creatures of peculiar forms.
My mouth opened.

“The Dark Forest. Those bastards were Black Mages?”

A hollow laugh escaped me.

Mercenary King Burd Illis.
The images from the Temple passage he said I didn’t need to worry about.
His words weren’t wrong. For Burd, for most people now, the true meaning of these images likely hadn’t been properly conveyed.

-That’s right. Those bastards were Black Mages.

The Dark Forest group were Black Mages.

I recalled Destructive Fire and Cale’s Power.
What was said about Cale’s Power, who had set fires across the Northern Western Continent before.

‘The one who eliminated the most black despair and golems in the Western Continent was Cale’s Power. So he was at least a hero to us.’

Even Destructive Fire had ultimately fought against those called the ‘Dark Forest’.

As I moved deeper into the black passage without hesitation, my expression grew increasingly distorted.

Most of the images were black.
More and more land and earth turned black.
Yet conversely, there also existed lands that grew more verdant and beautiful. The two created a stark contrast.

My mouth opened.

“Who was the one trying to become nature?”
-That person was-

Before The Thief could answer, my lips parted first.

“Was it someone who possessed the Sky attribute?”

The one you all said had to be stopped like that.
The one who said Sky-Devouring Water would stop them this time instead? Was it that person?

The Thief’s voice reached me.

-That’s right.

Her calm voice continued.

-Because he possessed the Sky attribute, he knew how to manipulate the heavens. So he controlled not just rain and wind, but even clouds and sunlight.

Before my eyes appeared fields overflowing with ripe grain and trees laden with succulent fruit. Below them, I could see people rejoicing.

-Thanks to that, the land he chose became increasingly fertile and abundant. The crops achieved endless harvests, and the fruits, blessed with controlled sunlight and rain, were exceptionally sweet and delicious.

My face twisted in disgust.

-So that bastard ensured that the land he chose and the people he selected could live in prosperity and happiness.

My mouth opened.

“This guy is completely insane.”

In the end, what The Thief said was correct.
He was someone trying to become nature. That person with the Sky attribute sought to become nature itself and control the people of the Western Continent.
But there was one thing that puzzled me.

“…Why.”

Tap.
My footsteps came to a halt.

“Why would the Black Mages follow someone with the Sky attribute?”

Black Mages were beings who wielded dead mana.
And then there was someone who wielded the Sky.
At first glance, it seemed questionable whether the two could coexist.

‘But the White Star and the Alchemy Tower also had a master-servant relationship.’

Bernhard, the Tower Master of the Alchemy Tower, had demonstrated an almost absolute loyalty to the White Star.

If the Dark Forest had existed in ancient times, the Alchemy Tower could be seen as that kind of entity now.
I waited for the Thief’s answer.
It felt like this mystery needed to be solved before the puzzle in my head could come together.

And that answer came soon enough.

-The one with the Sky attribute periodically absorbed dead mana.

What?

-In ancient times, those Dark Forest bastards created dead mana and offered it to that Sky-attributed creature.

My gaze shifted upward to the ceiling. I took another step forward.

-This dead mana storage on Wind Island was also a sacrifice for that creature.

Ha.
A hollow laugh escaped me.

“Why would someone with the Sky attribute need dead mana?”

I couldn’t understand it at all.
I possessed quite a few Ancient Powers, but none of them required dead mana.

-I don’t know that much either. I’ve tried to find out a few times, but failed.

I recalled the White Star.
Though a reincarnator, he had not learned black magic, nor did he carry the scent of dead mana. If he had learned black magic or carried that scent, the Ancient Dragon and Raon would have noticed immediately.

Kale suddenly recalled a conversation he had with Adin.
What Crown Prince Adin had said while observing the dead mana filling the massive cylinders located beneath the Alchemy Tower Underground.

‘This dead mana belongs to me?’

To him, Kale had asked a question.

‘Then does it belong to the Black Mages? Does the Tower Master possess it?’
‘Ha! No, this is a tribute. These are things the Imperial Palace and the Tower Master must present.’

He had laughed as if exasperated, calling it a ‘tribute.’
At that answer, Kale had asked again.

‘The White Star?’

At that question, Adin had stared at Kale as if asking why he was asking something so obvious.

For a very long time, the Empire had been subordinate to, or ruled by, the White Star, and in cooperation with the Alchemy Tower, had periodically presented dead mana to the White Star.
And the White Star possessed an Ancient Power with the ‘Sky’ attribute.

Piece by piece, the puzzle was coming together.
Kale’s mouth opened.

“I need to find out why someone with the Sky attribute needs dead mana.”
-That’s right.

Another task had been added to his list.
Kale lifted his head.

That point was where the ceiling’s mural finally ended its cycle and began again with the entrance’s jungle scene.
The final mural was an ancient map of the Western Continent.

He had now seen every single mural carved into the Temple.

‘…Why is it like this?’

In that moment, a question arose in Kale’s mind as he observed these murals.
So he was about to ask about this.

“But why-”

But his question could not continue.

Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart pounded fiercely.

“Gasp!”

Kale drew a sharp breath. My palm pressed against the corridor wall. My heart, which had calmed slightly, began to beat violently once more.

I pressed down on my chest.
The deeper I ventured into the Temple corridor, the more acutely my heart and entire body reacted.
The cold voice of Destructive Fire reached me.

-Dead mana has been stored here for far too long.

A repository of dead mana maintained since ancient times, untouched by any hand.

-We must purify it as quickly as possible.

I removed my hand from the wall and straightened my body.
Mercenary King Burd Illis had said so. Traversing this corridor would take considerable time.

‘I should postpone my questions for now.’

At the latest, three days.
Burd Illis had said that, but I had to hurry. This time was not only my own, but also that of my waiting companions and Erhafen.

Whoosh— Whoosh—
The Voice of Wind began to settle at my feet.

-My spinning top is with the artifact.

My body shot forward rapidly.
Moving through the dark corridor without hesitation, my form was propelled forward as if being pulled in. Above my head, the fireball that Raon had created illuminated the surroundings.

* * *

Less than a day had passed.

I reached the end of the black passage.
The passage wasn’t a straight line.
It curved, had stairs, and alternated between ascending and descending.

“Vicross’s cooking really is delicious, after all.”

Thanks to the vitality of my heart that came with the Unbreakable Shield, I didn’t need sleep.
Because of this, unlike the Mercenary King, I reached the end of the passage much faster.

-…That looks delicious.

Ignoring the Glutton Goddess’s words, I stuffed the blueberry pie into my mouth.
And I stepped out of the passage.

‘Friend, once you exit the passage, you’ll find yourself in a space with the Temple’s altar.’

My lips twisted into a grimace.

A black altar came into view.
And upon it sat a white jar with cracks running through it.

‘Take the cracked jar with you. It’s an artifact.’

I had asked Burd about his instruction.

‘Can I just take that jar? It’s an artifact?’
‘Yeah.’

After that, the Mercenary King had spoken with quite a serious expression.

‘Just bring it back within three days.’

Bringing it back wasn’t the problem.
But it was an artifact with limitations.
His instruction to bring it back ultimately meant I couldn’t break it.

‘…So even when using it for Erhafen, I shouldn’t break it?’
‘Right.’
‘Why?’

Burd Illis’s eyes grew dim.

‘The curse of the wind blades that blanket Wind Island will pursue anyone who takes or destroys the artifact.’

Apparently, a gatekeeper from the Mercenary King’s household had once tried to steal this artifact and flee.
But three days later, that gatekeeper was sliced to death by wind blades, just like the other corpses on Wind Island. Of course, only one successor from the gatekeeper’s family was left alive while the rest were killed. And this happened even though they were outside Wind Island.
The wind pursued them wherever they went. And the artifact, wrapped in a whirlwind, returned to its original place.

‘After that, no one dared covet that artifact carelessly. Many gatekeepers were so afraid of the curse that they never even entered the Temple.’

Fear of greed taking hold and stealing the artifact to escape. Or fear of it breaking after using it to heal someone and exhausting its limit.
Various fears shackled the gatekeepers’ ankles.

‘Burd, you’re a gatekeeper who actually entered the Temple and used it?’
‘That’s right. I’m rather brave, you see. Thanks to that, I was able to estimate roughly how many times it could be used and what its limits were. So, what do you think, friend? Doesn’t it seem like I won’t lose this bet?’

Kale erased the Mercenary King’s final nonsense from his mind and reached out his hand.
A cool touch.
A black altar touched his palm.

Kale then grasped the vessel with his other hand.
It was about the size of a very small liquor bottle.

And at this moment, the Thief’s voice reached Kale’s ears.

-Three days. Plus one more day.

Kale lifted the vessel.
Though it had quite a few cracks on the surface, it remained intact.

-That’s the time the dead mana liquid existing throughout this entire Black Mountain can endure without the artifact before it explodes.

Kale paused at information he was hearing for the first time.

Three days.
The reason the relic had to be placed within that timeframe was to prevent the Black Mountain from erupting.
Like lava from a volcano bursting forth—a grace period to contain the dead mana flowing from the rupturing Black Mountain.

-This relic is both a tool for healing and a means to pacify dead mana.

When The Thief finished speaking, I uttered a single word.

“Damn it.”

One misfortune after another in this life.
Yet my lips curved upward.

Not healing people, but restoring the dragon’s vitality and extending its lifespan. Clearly, the relic’s power would be heavily depleted.

-Fire upon the sea! A true sea of flames!

I ignored Cale’s Power’s voice crying out in madness.
My hand, which had been touching the altar, moved.

“Destroy it.”

A massive stone spear slammed into the black altar.

Crash!
Dust erupted with the explosion.
The altar shattered.

There was no longer anywhere to place the urn.

Whoooosh—whoooosh—
Outside the Temple, the winds surged violently, but I was unaware of it.
Within the Temple, I lowered my silver shield and moved toward the destroyed black altar.

-My spinning top!

The Thief’s excited voice reached me.
At the center of the shattered black altar.
There lay the spinning top.

A spinning top gleaming with golden light.
Once I secured this, I would have everything I needed.

Kale Heniatus opened his mouth as he gazed at the spinning top.

“But there’s something…”

Now he finally had the chance to ask what had been puzzling him.

“Why is it that in the Temple ceiling murals…”

The ceiling murals that had been repeated endlessly as I made my way here, as if attempting some form of indoctrination.
Among the murals depicting a single narrative, one contained a map of the Western Continent. Though ancient, it bore considerable resemblance to the present day.

The terrains located on that map were each separately expressed as massive illustrations.
The Jungle turned to blackened earth, the Northern Region, and the fertile lands chosen by that one who possessed the Sky attribute.
Though ancient, all the landscapes of the Western Continent had been carved into the murals.

Observing this, Kale Heniatus contemplated.

“Why is Rowan not depicted there?”

The ancient Northeast Region of the Western Continent as drawn in one of the murals—the map itself.
The place where Rowan now stood.

Yet there was no mural depicting that location.

Neither a land abandoned by that one with the Sky attribute like the Jungle and Northern Region, nor a land blessed with abundance through selection like the others.
Rowan was represented by nothing at all.

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