Chapter 26: Strange Ending (Part 2)

Sandru regained his balance and looked at Asa without saying a word or showing any expression.

Asa explained, "This wasn't my idea, nor do I have any clue about things like court mage..."

Sandru remained expressionless and silent. Instead, he slowly raised his right hand. All his fingers were clenched into a fist, except for the middle one, which was fully extended.

Asa turned his head away and rolled his eyes. In this situation, saying anything was pointless.

After a short silence between them, Asa finally broke it. "What do you plan to do about what's behind that wall?"

"What wall?" Sandru was startled.

"That one. The one with the faint crack and what looks like a lot of magical runes." Asa pointed to a wall in the far corner of the dungeon. It bore a shallow sword mark, likely left by Jarvis in his attempt to destroy it. From the moment they arrived, Asa had sensed an odd aura emanating from it and had a hunch that whatever Jarvis had been seeking was hidden behind that wall.

However, Sandru now looked surprised. "You can see the magical runes on it?"

"Of course, can't you? And the aura it gives off... isn't it obvious?" Asa was equally surprised. Although the runes flickered in and out of view, they were not mere illusions. The strange energy radiating from the wall had been constant. He couldn't understand how Jarvis, who had scouted the place beforehand, failed to notice such an obvious clue and instead pursued Asa for answers. Looking back, Asa couldn't fathom why he hadn't connected the dots earlier.

Sandru's expression turned uneasy as he lowered his head without a word. Then, suddenly, he grabbed Asa's wrist.

The old man's movement didn't seem particularly fast, yet Asa had no chance to react before he was caught. A powerful wave of magic surged through Asa's body, and Sandru muttered something cryptic: "I was wondering how you managed to erase those vampire markings all by yourself... so, you've truly grown up."

After that puzzling remark, Sandru fell into silence again. This time, his silence was deep and heavy, with his head bowed low enough to hide his expression entirely.

The only sound left in the dungeon was Jarvis's labored breathing, heavy and lifeless. Asa suddenly felt a strange chill, an unexplainable unease. The completely silent Sandru standing before him seemed oddly intimidating.

After what felt like an eternity, the old man finally straightened his back and exhaled deeply. He grabbed Asa's hand again and led him toward the wall. As they passed Jarvis, Sandru casually kicked him, sending his limp body rolling into the corner of a cell.

Standing before the wall, Sandru's gaze wandered across the surface and its cracks, shifting between solemnity and distraction. Finally, his expression settled, and he let out a long sigh. "These magical runes were inscribed by me and Ronis using water from the Sunwell. That water was one of the treasures I brought from Dehya Valley, said to be left behind by Lord Akibard... At the time, we believed this place would never need to be opened in our lifetimes, nor would anyone else ever have the chance to open it."

Since approaching the wall, Sandru hadn't looked at Asa once. His words carried the tone of someone talking to himself. After a brief pause, he finally raised his head to look at Asa. "But now, I've decided to let you see what's inside because you have the right to know."

"Wait, but I don't want to know..." Asa interjected. He had been curious about what Jarvis had been seeking and what Sandru and Ronis had sealed here, but now he felt an inexplicable pressure.

"You now have an obligation to know," Sandru replied, ignoring Asa's protest. He placed his hand on the wall and began chanting a spell.

The wall slowly parted down the middle, revealing countless magical runes that floated in the air and shimmered on the wall's surface. Behind the wall was a small space, but to Asa, it felt like he was standing before a black maw that could devour the world. It wasn't just darkness—it was a void so absolute that it seemed to consume even the concept of darkness itself.

In a distant corner, Jarvis' seemingly lifeless body trembled slightly, then fell still again.

When Asa emerged from the cathedral, the sun was already setting, casting the square in a warm golden hue. Priests and mages bustled about the area.

For now, the Magic Academy had not descended into chaos. The high priests had managed to maintain order, but a sense of unease hung in the air. The sudden disappearance of the cardinal, the heavy lockdown of the cathedral, and the closure of the teleportation arrays were enough to make people nervous. Fortunately, the full truth had not been revealed, so panic hadn't spiraled out of control. The royal capital also remained relatively calm. The storm that had shaken the palace had not spread outside, and no one was eager to publicize the bizarre events that had unfolded.

People have their limits when it comes to accepting certain truths. The revelation that the cardinal was a necromancer, and that another even more powerful necromancer had saved the emperor and Commander Roland, all while working with the murderer of Bishop Ronis to thwart a grand conspiracy... such a tale was beyond the comprehension of most.

Fortunately, the witnesses of these events were not "most people." With a mix of truth and obfuscation, Commander Roland and the prime minister managed to explain the situation to the senior ministers, who gradually came to terms with the seemingly incredible story. As for the knights and mages of the Holy Knights Order, a single command from Roland was enough to ensure their silence.

The real challenge now was determining how to handle the aftermath.

This wasn't an easy task. The captured cardinal had been dispatched by the pope himself. Publicly revealing his identity as a necromancer from Dehya Valley would be akin to dumping filth over the very symbol of Glory Fortress. It was bound to sever ties with Celeste, but how to convey this without further damage required careful consideration.

Asa, however, was not too concerned about these matters. Others would handle them. He had his own responsibilities to attend to.

He arrived at the cremation platform in a corner of the Magic Academy, where priests and mages awaited him.

"Dust to dust, ashes to ashes..."

Flames erupted from the hands of three fire mages, engulfing Jessica's body in radiant light. Two priests cast white magic over the pyre, ensuring that there was no odor of burning flesh—this was the combined effect of holy and fire magic, a privilege typically reserved for the most devout believers or clergy.

Asa stood silently, watching the flames. Even with his sharp vision, he couldn't see how her body was consumed, only that the dark, graceful figure that had once accompanied him was now gone forever. When she was alive, he hadn't paid much attention to her presence. But now that she was gone, he realized she had been his sole source of warmth in recent times.

It wasn't the kind of fierce, all-consuming affection that moves one to self-sacrifice. That kind of love belonged to the naive fantasies of youth. What they had was a quiet bond, so subtle it was easy to overlook, yet it had quietly become a part of his life. Losing it now felt like losing a piece of himself.

The flames dissipated, and the black elf's once-beautiful body was reduced to ashes. The priests gathered her remains into a jar and handed it to Asa.

One of the priests found something among the ashes—a small black gemstone, smooth and translucent, with faint magical energy emanating from it. It must have been hidden inside Jessica's body, a secret she either couldn't or wouldn't share.

Asa took the gemstone and the jar of ashes, unsure of what to do with them. A black elf who had defected from Nigen had no place to call home on this continent.

After some thought, he decided to keep them with him. That seemed like the only fitting choice.

As he left the cremation platform, the last rays of sunset were fading into the night. A sharp screech pierced the twilight—one of the wyverns from Orford had arrived. After Asa had sent someone to report to Theodorus using a teleportation scroll, reinforcements had finally come.