Episode 75. A New Path
“Huh? Hey! Brother. Don’t do this. Hurry up and hug Sister. Hurry up!”
Groovy stamped his feet, growing impatient. His heart pounded, terrified that Lacrahan might abandon Bercheria and leave her to die.
Kroong! Groong.
Mu, too, was barking repeatedly, tugging at Lacrahan’s pants.
“Haa.”
Lacrahan stood motionless, clutching his head.
Bercheria, lying on the floor, was now breathing thinly.
Inside her, terrifyingly pale and exhausted, a power outage was raging.
The uncontrolled power of the goddess was coursing through her fragile human body, sapping her life, one by one.
“Brother. Please. Sob. Please save Sister.”
Groovy sobbed like a child and then began to lift Bercheria onto his back.
“Sob.”
Even though he had been so exhausted from what had just happened that he could barely stand on his own.
Even though his legs were wobbly, he struggled to carry Bercheria without giving up.
“Groovy.”
Lacrahan, who had been covering his face, called out to him in a low voice.
“Sob.”
Groovy was so focused on Bercheria that he didn’t respond to Lacrahan.
“Groovy.”
Only after Lacrahan called him a second time did Groovy scream out.
“Why?”
“Get up.”
“Sob. No. I won’t leave her behind.”
Lacrahan grabbed the stubborn Groovy by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up to eye level.
“Let go! Let go of me!”
Lacrahan spoke in a heavy voice to Groovy, who was dangling in the air, struggling with his limbs.
“How much mana can you draw out?”
“...Suddenly, sob, what do you mean?”
Lacrahan’s eyes were deeply sunken.
“You're drawing out all the mana you can and sending it to me. Do you think you can do it?”
“Mana?”
“Yes, in my body.”
Groovy frowned, recalling the portal he and Gerard had crossed.
The feeling of touching the portal and infusing mana into it was still vivid in his fingertips.
“Ha, I think I can do it.”
“Yes. Then do it.”
Lacrahan took off his cloak and wrapped Bercheria, who was lying on the floor.
He wrapped her tightly and held her in his arms.
“Groovy.”
“Yes, Grand Duke.”
“I’m going to open the portal now.”
“...Huh?”
Kelita stood by the window, staring at the distant north, obscured by the rain.
Pyuyo-o—
Beneath the rain-sprinkling dark clouds, a giant eagle was flying in circles.
“I feel...”
Something about it felt unsettling.
For a moment, she turned around.
With every step she took, Kelita’s once gentle expression grew colder. As Kelita emerged from the room, the maids rushed over, as if they had been waiting.
“Princess. Did you meet that woman?”
“What kind of woman is she?”
Kelita clicked her shoes under the hem of her dress.
“How dare she act weak in front of me, her fiancée, and seduce the Grand Duke?”
“Oh my.”
“My goodness. How cunning.”
Kelita lifted her chin as she listened to the maids’ scolding.
“There’s no need to fuss. She just doesn’t know her place yet.”
The maids, who had been nodding along at Kelita’s changed mood, soon followed her and left in a group.
Wyatt walked outside with a dark face.
Timothy followed him, his expression sullen.
“Where on earth is the Grand Duke?”
Wyatt gazed at the distant sky with a worried expression.
“That’s right. I’ve searched for him, but he's nowhere to be found. This has never happened before.”
“I’ll tell him everything as soon as the Grand Duke returns. The Emperor would do anything. Why didn’t he hurry and start a fuss today?”
"Commander, you mustn't act rashly. It could put all of our Northern family in danger."
"I know!"
Wyatt shouted, swearing at himself for not being able to control his emotions.
"I will endure it. I will endure it now. But when the Grand Duke returns, I will not endure it then."
Wyatt turned around, his cloak billowing, and trudged away.
"Ha."
Timothy, unable to control his emotions, swayed weakly and leaned back against the wall.
"My Lord."
Everything was being ruined by Gerard's self-will.
Lacrahan recalled the diary of the wizard who had first created the portal.
It was a rambling mess of thoughts and ideas, complaints and hopes, all written in a disorganized manner. Among them was a description of a simple portal.
This didn't apply to others, but rather a method of creating it by utilizing his own ice properties.
When Lacrahan first read it, he had thought his ancestor was a serious eccentric. It was absurd.
But recently, he had seen a woman named Bercheria's mother create a portal alone in the forest.
It wasn't impossible.
Lacrahan met Groovy's gaze.
"But you could die."
"..."
“I’ve never done it before, so I can’t guarantee what it’ll be like. If I go through the portal, I might lose my mind and live the rest of my life like a lunatic, or I might not be able to pass and be trapped somewhere in between. I don’t know. These are all possibilities, and I think it’s fair to say I don’t know what will happen.”
Groovy couldn’t even answer, sniffing and gulping.
“So, you don’t come in. If we go back the way we came, you’ll see the northern castle in about a day. Just follow it. Go and ask Wyatt to help you escape. Wyatt has helped me and the mages escape to Der'Ansis many times. I’m sure he can send you too.”
“...Grand Duke.”
“Please.”
Lacrahan turned away from Groovy and reviewed the notes in his notebook.
He told himself that if he could follow them correctly, there would be a chance.
Lacrahan never forgets what he sees, so he can’t make a mistake.
Please.
Please.
Lacrahan tightened his grip on Bercheria.
“Groovy.”
“Yes!”
Groovy closed his eyes and placed both palms on Lacrahan’s broad back.
“I’ll pour all the mana I have into it.”
He had a secret he kept from anyone: Groovy had never used all his mana in his life. Not even in prison, not even when he powered the portal.
Groovy knew exactly what he possessed and how much.
If he wanted to draw mana, he could blow away the imperial family in an instant.
Groovy.
The ground beneath Groovy began to shake.
Lacrahan watched the axis tremble and exhaled in disbelief.
Then, feeling the energy of mana seeping into him, he closed his eyes.
The method was simple.
He simply cut the spacetime between where he wanted to go and here, then reconnected them as if creating a new path.
Then, he gathered the condensed mana and cut through the air.
Towards the newly connected passage.
Whoosh.
The air parted before Lacrahan, and a space overflowing with deep blue flames opened.
“Whew.”
Lacrahan held Bercheria tightly in his arms and stepped inside.
It didn’t matter if this wasn’t a small village in the border region.
If Bercheria was going to die anyway, Lacrahan had no reason to live.
If there was even a slight chance of saving her, he wouldn’t mind dying while walking in that direction.
Bercheria had become his regret in a life he’d previously had no regrets about, and that alone made it a worthwhile ending.
And the people he’d protected.
Lacrahan had no regrets about dying now.
“Hold on, Bercheria.”
Pressing her wheezing face against his chest, Lacrahan took each step carefully.
It felt completely different from when he’d passed through the portal with the royal family’s permission.
Back then, it felt like cutting through gentle currents; now, it felt like the arduous struggle of slogging through rough waters.
“Ugh!”
The mana energy was so intense that his vision was completely obscured.
Moving toward the portal's entrance was crucial when passing through, as leaving it would leave him trapped in an unknown space-time.
Lacrahan's feet, constantly losing their balance due to holding Bercheria, stretched out to the side, covered in pitch-black darkness, instead of the entrance.
And just as he was about to step down.
Growl. Wang wang!
Mu grabbed Lacrahan's foot and hung on.
Growl. Woof woof!
His feet, which had been in the darkness, were back on the path.
Wang!
Lacrahan let out a short breath, enduring the rough current.
And he stepped forward in the direction Mu was guiding him.
"Ugh!"
The resistance was so strong that it was hard to move forward.
Just a little more, just a little more.
When he took another step, he felt a force pushing him from behind.
"Hurry. We can do it!"
Groovy, who had come in at some point, was pushing the exhausted man.
With all his might.
Lacrahan gritted his already dry lips and took one step, then another.
He was moving towards the place that would save Bercheria.
“Huh? Hey! Brother. Don’t do this. Hurry up and hug Sister. Hurry up!”
Groovy stamped his feet, growing impatient. His heart pounded, terrified that Lacrahan might abandon Bercheria and leave her to die.
Kroong! Groong.
Mu, too, was barking repeatedly, tugging at Lacrahan’s pants.
“Haa.”
Lacrahan stood motionless, clutching his head.
Bercheria, lying on the floor, was now breathing thinly.
Inside her, terrifyingly pale and exhausted, a power outage was raging.
The uncontrolled power of the goddess was coursing through her fragile human body, sapping her life, one by one.
“Brother. Please. Sob. Please save Sister.”
Groovy sobbed like a child and then began to lift Bercheria onto his back.
“Sob.”
Even though he had been so exhausted from what had just happened that he could barely stand on his own.
Even though his legs were wobbly, he struggled to carry Bercheria without giving up.
“Groovy.”
Lacrahan, who had been covering his face, called out to him in a low voice.
“Sob.”
Groovy was so focused on Bercheria that he didn’t respond to Lacrahan.
“Groovy.”
Only after Lacrahan called him a second time did Groovy scream out.
“Why?”
“Get up.”
“Sob. No. I won’t leave her behind.”
Lacrahan grabbed the stubborn Groovy by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up to eye level.
“Let go! Let go of me!”
Lacrahan spoke in a heavy voice to Groovy, who was dangling in the air, struggling with his limbs.
“How much mana can you draw out?”
“...Suddenly, sob, what do you mean?”
Lacrahan’s eyes were deeply sunken.
“You're drawing out all the mana you can and sending it to me. Do you think you can do it?”
“Mana?”
“Yes, in my body.”
Groovy frowned, recalling the portal he and Gerard had crossed.
The feeling of touching the portal and infusing mana into it was still vivid in his fingertips.
“Ha, I think I can do it.”
“Yes. Then do it.”
Lacrahan took off his cloak and wrapped Bercheria, who was lying on the floor.
He wrapped her tightly and held her in his arms.
“Groovy.”
“Yes, Grand Duke.”
“I’m going to open the portal now.”
“...Huh?”
***
Kelita stood by the window, staring at the distant north, obscured by the rain.
Pyuyo-o—
Beneath the rain-sprinkling dark clouds, a giant eagle was flying in circles.
“I feel...”
Something about it felt unsettling.
For a moment, she turned around.
With every step she took, Kelita’s once gentle expression grew colder. As Kelita emerged from the room, the maids rushed over, as if they had been waiting.
“Princess. Did you meet that woman?”
“What kind of woman is she?”
Kelita clicked her shoes under the hem of her dress.
“How dare she act weak in front of me, her fiancée, and seduce the Grand Duke?”
“Oh my.”
“My goodness. How cunning.”
Kelita lifted her chin as she listened to the maids’ scolding.
“There’s no need to fuss. She just doesn’t know her place yet.”
The maids, who had been nodding along at Kelita’s changed mood, soon followed her and left in a group.
***
Wyatt walked outside with a dark face.
Timothy followed him, his expression sullen.
“Where on earth is the Grand Duke?”
Wyatt gazed at the distant sky with a worried expression.
“That’s right. I’ve searched for him, but he's nowhere to be found. This has never happened before.”
“I’ll tell him everything as soon as the Grand Duke returns. The Emperor would do anything. Why didn’t he hurry and start a fuss today?”
"Commander, you mustn't act rashly. It could put all of our Northern family in danger."
"I know!"
Wyatt shouted, swearing at himself for not being able to control his emotions.
"I will endure it. I will endure it now. But when the Grand Duke returns, I will not endure it then."
Wyatt turned around, his cloak billowing, and trudged away.
"Ha."
Timothy, unable to control his emotions, swayed weakly and leaned back against the wall.
"My Lord."
Everything was being ruined by Gerard's self-will.
***
Lacrahan recalled the diary of the wizard who had first created the portal.
It was a rambling mess of thoughts and ideas, complaints and hopes, all written in a disorganized manner. Among them was a description of a simple portal.
This didn't apply to others, but rather a method of creating it by utilizing his own ice properties.
When Lacrahan first read it, he had thought his ancestor was a serious eccentric. It was absurd.
But recently, he had seen a woman named Bercheria's mother create a portal alone in the forest.
It wasn't impossible.
Lacrahan met Groovy's gaze.
"But you could die."
"..."
“I’ve never done it before, so I can’t guarantee what it’ll be like. If I go through the portal, I might lose my mind and live the rest of my life like a lunatic, or I might not be able to pass and be trapped somewhere in between. I don’t know. These are all possibilities, and I think it’s fair to say I don’t know what will happen.”
Groovy couldn’t even answer, sniffing and gulping.
“So, you don’t come in. If we go back the way we came, you’ll see the northern castle in about a day. Just follow it. Go and ask Wyatt to help you escape. Wyatt has helped me and the mages escape to Der'Ansis many times. I’m sure he can send you too.”
“...Grand Duke.”
“Please.”
Lacrahan turned away from Groovy and reviewed the notes in his notebook.
He told himself that if he could follow them correctly, there would be a chance.
Lacrahan never forgets what he sees, so he can’t make a mistake.
Please.
Please.
Lacrahan tightened his grip on Bercheria.
“Groovy.”
“Yes!”
Groovy closed his eyes and placed both palms on Lacrahan’s broad back.
“I’ll pour all the mana I have into it.”
He had a secret he kept from anyone: Groovy had never used all his mana in his life. Not even in prison, not even when he powered the portal.
Groovy knew exactly what he possessed and how much.
If he wanted to draw mana, he could blow away the imperial family in an instant.
Groovy.
The ground beneath Groovy began to shake.
Lacrahan watched the axis tremble and exhaled in disbelief.
Then, feeling the energy of mana seeping into him, he closed his eyes.
The method was simple.
He simply cut the spacetime between where he wanted to go and here, then reconnected them as if creating a new path.
Then, he gathered the condensed mana and cut through the air.
Towards the newly connected passage.
Whoosh.
The air parted before Lacrahan, and a space overflowing with deep blue flames opened.
“Whew.”
Lacrahan held Bercheria tightly in his arms and stepped inside.
It didn’t matter if this wasn’t a small village in the border region.
If Bercheria was going to die anyway, Lacrahan had no reason to live.
If there was even a slight chance of saving her, he wouldn’t mind dying while walking in that direction.
Bercheria had become his regret in a life he’d previously had no regrets about, and that alone made it a worthwhile ending.
And the people he’d protected.
Lacrahan had no regrets about dying now.
“Hold on, Bercheria.”
Pressing her wheezing face against his chest, Lacrahan took each step carefully.
It felt completely different from when he’d passed through the portal with the royal family’s permission.
Back then, it felt like cutting through gentle currents; now, it felt like the arduous struggle of slogging through rough waters.
“Ugh!”
The mana energy was so intense that his vision was completely obscured.
Moving toward the portal's entrance was crucial when passing through, as leaving it would leave him trapped in an unknown space-time.
Lacrahan's feet, constantly losing their balance due to holding Bercheria, stretched out to the side, covered in pitch-black darkness, instead of the entrance.
And just as he was about to step down.
Growl. Wang wang!
Mu grabbed Lacrahan's foot and hung on.
Growl. Woof woof!
His feet, which had been in the darkness, were back on the path.
Wang!
Lacrahan let out a short breath, enduring the rough current.
And he stepped forward in the direction Mu was guiding him.
"Ugh!"
The resistance was so strong that it was hard to move forward.
Just a little more, just a little more.
When he took another step, he felt a force pushing him from behind.
"Hurry. We can do it!"
Groovy, who had come in at some point, was pushing the exhausted man.
With all his might.
Lacrahan gritted his already dry lips and took one step, then another.
He was moving towards the place that would save Bercheria.
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