landbeastnovel Chapter 203 - 177: Severance
Chapter 203 - 177: Severance
Chapter 203: Chapter 177: Severance"Bring the Great Runes here." Arnold didn't answer her.
"....." Tanaera quickly did as he said. She handed it over to him.
Arnold looked at her face.
Her dead eyes seemed as if they were staring into his soul.
Arnold decided to just take the runes and ignore Tanaera's hostile expression.
What's going on with her, he had a fleeting thought.
He placed all four paper sheets on Kalda's body.
Rafaela poured more holy water over the body, dampening the paper as well. The runes glowed in all sorts of lights for a few seconds.
The light meant that the runes reacted positively to the divine properties of the water. Godworm silk also has divine properties since the worm it comes from is the larvae of a Divine Beast insect-type.
'It's a relief that it works. It would've been a pain in the ass to fight a divine beast just to kidnap one of its kids.'
He could also raid an old nest of one of those divine beasts. The larvae tend to excrete a lot during their infant stage. The excretion was known as Godworm silk since it looks and feels like regular silk despite smelling horrible.
"Did you learn the proper incantation?" he asked Tanaera, "If not then I can recite it for you."
The runes had the incantation written inside of them which would be easy to spot if the user is an experienced mage. It's only short phrases and words bundled together so an inexperienced magician would have a hard time deciphering it.
"I know it."
"Oh? That's good then," he stood up, "Do what needs to be done."
Tanaera approached Kalda's body. She surrounded her hands in black mana. Afterwards, she placed her hands on two of the four runes.
This would've been faster with two people since Tanaera only has two hands.
That was what Arnold thought before two black, shadowy arms spawned out of Tanaera's back.
He was taken aback at first.
'...So she can use her dark magic to cast other forms of magic... I guess I shouldn't be surprised after seeing her multicast several high ranking spells at once.'
"We'll have to leave the room once Tanaera begins," said Arnold, "You'll see a lot of things appear out of nowhere trying to break the sealing barrier."
"What do you mean?" asked Sceptim.
"Vengeful spirits—basically people who died in this palace—will manifest."
"Can they harm the living?"
"Yeah. Using these great runes causes them to physically manifest in the real world. There's no way to stop it if you try to confine a soul. Of course, they can't escape these walls," he looked down at Siana, "While the barrier will prevent the spirits from trying to take Kalda's soul, whoever is trapped within the barrier will also materialize as a vengeful spirits. Meaning that you'll meet Kalda again if you stay."
Siana visibly trembled when Arnold said that.
"Then it's best if we leave before Miss Tanaera begins. Come, Lady Siana." Sceptim helped Siana stand up.
The two quickly left the bathroom. Rafaela alternated her gaze between Arnold and Tanaera before deciding to leave as well.
Arnold stood in silence.
He suddenly recalled what he did.
Caerwyn didn't seem affected by what happened.
Why was Tanaera acting different?
"—What did you see?" Arnold suddenly spoke.
"...."
"You were inside my head. What did you see? No, the better question is how far did you go inside my memories?"
"...I'm busy. Do you not want me to create the sealing barrier?"
"All you're doing now is pouring mana into the runes. They'll glow once they're ready for the incantation. Surely someone like you can talk while pouring mana into the runes."
It's easy to multitask if you're experienced enough in magic, especially for Tanaera.
Plus, Arnold knows how long it'll take for the runes to activate.
"....What makes you think I was lying back when I said that I didn't go that far into your memories?"
"That's too vague of an explanation. It's like you want me to guess at which point you stopped. You're playing mind games with me that way. What went through your head when my sword almost cut you down? What made you fear me in that moment?"
What's she scared of? She should've known that Kalda was controlling Arnold to do her bidding. Luckily he managed to stop himself from carrying out Kalda's order. Things should've ended right there but now Tanaera is acting so distant, which he never expected from an extrovert like her.
Tanaera turned her head to look at him.
"I've started studying mind control magic the past few years. It's part of my plan to learn every single dark magic spell known throughout the Nine Realms."
"What does that have anything to do with this?"
"...I remember reading a re
"What do you mean?"
"You must've read books of great wars that took place in your world. The books should've mentioned leading figures in the wars, right? They don't even have to be warriors to be regarded as such."
"Come to think of it, you're right."
There were many people who are "named figures" in the history books. They were alive during the harshest of times on Diacree continent.
The third leader of the Murim Martial Alliance, Isshin - The Martial Demon.
Fairy Queen of Plant and Essence - Resellalia(The first Fairy Millennium).
Dark Moon Spear Master - Asdek.
Sword Saint of the Thousand Blades - Obekaria.
Oracles of Melis - Gwylowin.
These were just some of the many figures who influenced war on a massive scale.
Of course, Resellalia being a fairy and all means that she shouldn't have involved herself in wars. Her people and Elves alike despise wars. However, she couldn't sit back and watch thousands die.
Her mastery of Druid Magic could buff and heal an entire army at once(just like the oracles). Of course, the oracle of her time couldn't assist everyone in war—since war was happening in every nation back then—so Resellalia had to step in.
Then there's Isshin, one of the prominent founders of a great organization that passes on the martial arts of the martial gods of old. He stood next to the Hero Promethius in battle. He even sacrificed one of his arms and his eyes just to let Promethius deal a final blow to a demon lord. Of course, all this was in vain since Arsnoria survived and was able to resurrect all three demon lords who perished in the war.
Dark Moon Spear Master, Asdek defended his nation—Republic of Zrek—against an army alone. It took four days for him to exhaust every ounce of energy in his body. With his efforts, his people could assemble an army strong enough to deliver a powerful blow to their enemies, thus winning in the process.
The Sword Saint of the Thousand Blades was one of the first users of the forbidden arts "Sword Tribulation". She could control any weapon, even the weapons of her enemies, during battle. This allowed her to slaughter thousands just by walking amongst them.
Not only was she one of the first users to use the forbidden art, she was also the first to perfect it.
Despite her valiant deeds of putting herself right in the middle of enemy armies numerous times, she was wrongfully executed by her own people.
She died with a smile on her face.
Her last words were:
-"You fear me for my strength, this is why you're doing this. But I forgive you."
In retaliation for what he did to their "hero" the king was murdered by his people.
Next is the Oracle, Gwylowin who saved millions with her miracles. She was travelling with the Black Dragon Lord at the time.
He fights and she heals—It was a code the two lived by as companions of war. This code allowed them to save all those people.
"What do they have in common?" Sceptim asked.
"...Some of them sacrificed themselves for the greater good. Others put their lives on the line for the same reason."
"No, that's not the right answer. They did what had to be done. If it's as simple as sacrificing themselves then their resolve would've been meaningless. Does war end just from the death or sacrifice of a single individual?"
Resolve...
"No."
"People don't give up their lives or bear difficult situations just because they want others to live happy lives. It's much more than that. They understand what it means to have the power to do something. They are just opening the doors for others to find their own happiness."
"Is that how you break the severance of mind and body?"
"I said earlier that there's no single solution to everything. One person's resolve could be making important decisions in battle by ignoring their lack of determination—oftentimes called 'false confidence'. Another could be helping the needy because they've set their mind to it. And another person's resolve could be to steal food to feed their family despite the consequences. One can even kill if you set your mind to it. All of this stems from doing the right thing. Whichever morals society imposed on you don't matter."
'Then...!'
"....." Arnold looked at Sceptim in expectation.
'Is that the answer I've been looking—'
His thoughts were interrupted by what Sceptim said next.
"But a resolve can also be the reason for the severance between mind and body."
Sceptim turned towards him and smiled meaningfully.
"....."
"Come now, Lord Arnold. Allow me to show you the treasury and armoury." Sceptim began walking away, "I'm sure there will be something you'll fancy!"
"...."
Arnold stood still for a moment before scoffing.
I see, it won't be that easy to find an answer, thought Arnold.
Still, somehow he feels that speaking with Sceptim brought him one step closer to that answer.