2025-03-11 02:14:56Silence pierces the morning. The fog locks the gaze. The cold seeps into the pores, piercing down to the bone. The smell of fish and blood wafts into the nose. Mixed with a faint rotten smell began to smell faintly. The open field is now so crowded with hundreds of corpses. They are curled up in bags made of ruminant stomachs.
Anthonius's white horse kept whinnying every time the cold wind blew against its long, unkempt mane. His hooves clashed with the ground and stones. Creating a discordant melody. The horse was terrified. He could sense the miasma emanating from every corpse around his master. At the same time, Anthonius was staring far ahead. Examining each body that has been collected. Just to ensure that they are fully prepared for burial.
Anthonius Mareq is a mixed-blood S-rank sorcerer who specializes in magic swords. Anthonius is the Crimson Knights' leader. The young general, who is actually 357 years old, but looks to be about 18 years old. Anthonius is also the only elf race in Terra that looks identical to a human. One feature that separates Anthonius from humans is a pair of dark emeralds that can only be obtained by elves from special clans.
"Is this all?" Anthonius asked one of the guards who was carrying a corpse.
“There are still two left, sir. We will get it out of the carriage right away," explained the guard, who then hurriedly ran towards the dog sledding that was parked quite far from the entrance of the cemetery.
Anthonius walked among the expanse of corpses. Some of which had begun to rot, turning into a lump of liquid due to exposure to miasma. Leather shoes occasionally stepped into puddles of blood seeping from the animal's stomach, which was used to wrap the bodies as a substitute for body bags. The inhabitants of Terra, the stomach of ruminants, is a symbol of pure purity. life that reflects local wise wisdom. The Terra community believes that those who have died will return pure. Just like a small baby curled up in womb. That's why the people of Terra will wrap corpses using the stomach of an animal before burial. This represents the condition of humans before birth.
"How many?" Anthonius asked Gistara. The head of the investigative team was assigned to the Malang City area.
"473…" Gistara replied quickly. Gistara suddenly fell silent. Both of her eyes widened, staring straight at one of the corpses that suddenly moved. In her heart, Gistara hoped so much that one of them was still alive. Her legs reflexively stepped quickly. It brought her closer to the body, but Anthonius stopped her.
Anthonius stared at Gistara sharply with his cold emerald eyes. He then said curtly,"Do you want to die?!"
Gistara suddenly became aware. The corpse did not come back to life, but rather the entire skeleton of the corpse that might have suddenly shattered due to prolonged exposure to miasma. "Sorry!" Gistara quickly said with full regret.
The gray ushanka that Anthonius wore slowly transformed into a pair of plump raccoons. They climbed over the general's shoulder, holding onto the thick black fur cloak made from bear fur. Dima and Luca are the names of the two raccoons. As soon as they reached the bottom, both immediately bowed before their master as if greeting him. Anthonius respectfully acknowledged the greeting. He then handed a piece of paper to one of the raccoons with darker feathers while saying, "Go to the main lighthouse. Give this paper to the Romanov brothers, or Alyosha (Alexei)!”
Dima fell silent while staring at Anthonius with a puzzled expression.
"It's okay… This is just a search warrant. The situation is not that bad." As understanding Dima's fear, Anthonius told the raccoon that the current situation is not as bad as Dima might think.
The two raccoons then hurriedly rushed over the sea of snow. Anthonius watched them until they vanished in the distance. The general, known for being cold and cruel, actually has a soft and warm heart. Nevertheless, Anthonius was reluctant to show his true nature. After the pair of raccoons left, Anthonius and Gistara remained silent for quite a while, staring at the row of corpses in front of them.
Vorkuta is now in mourning. The city of coal miners may be crying in quiet. The layer of soil that had previously been covered in white ice crystals has abruptly turned maroon. The intense perfume of coal, which appeared to have been its identity, abruptly transformed to the stink of decomposing corpses.
"When are you leaving?" Anthonius went around to ask Gistara about the assignment he had assigned.
Gistara went silent. She gazed down, marveling at the pile of snow that had buried her feet. "I don't know." Gistara sighed with frustration. "I... feel desperate to convince Mr. Javier to return to Terra, especially to resume his duties in the City of Euhron."
Anthonius laughed sarcastically. As if ridiculing Javier indirectly in front of Gistara. "He is just too naive... he should know that elves are not allowed to fall in love with humans. The girl's heart already belongs to someone else, but she continues to search for it. Really a waste of time!"
Gistara went silent.
"I don't care how you persuade him. Whether you can or not, tomorrow morning I just want to hear that he arrived in Euhron!" Antonius gazed at Gistara. "If it can't be done with words... then drag that boy to Euhron with your own hands!" Anthonius said firmly.
"Alright," Gistara replied with a trembling voice.
After Gistara's departure, Antonius now stands alone in the middle of the field. Anthonius took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. Anthonius knew that what he and his team were currently dealing with was not a case they could solve easily. Anthonius might be able to deceive Dima and Luka, but he failed to convince himself that everything was alright.
"Ludmila Volkova. Fortunately, I still remember that girl's name." Anthonius looked up. Staring at the clump of gray clouds above his head that might be carrying grains of ice crystals.
"I am actually… curious about what kind of person is capable of locking my brother's heart. Even after 100 years of her dying," whispered Anthonius.
…
"Trying to conduct an independent investigation?" said Gistara, trying to break Javier's concentration.
"Damn…!" Javier cursed out of frustration. "Everything is moving so slowly. We, who are stationed outside Terra, are not even allowed to start investigating this case, while the victims keep falling." Javier expressed his disappointment with the Crimson Knight. Javier then threw a shard of crystal in front of Gistara.
"But this isn't the way to do it?" Gistara took the crystal that Javier had thrown at her, then returned it to him. "If the other groups find out about what you're doing now, we could all get into trouble!" Gistara warned Javier.
Javier glanced at Gistara. He was curious as to why Gistara had suddenly come to visit hhim."What's going oon?"Javier asked ccurtly.
Gistara fell silent. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. While controlling her emotions before saying something, that Javier needed to hear. “You know.., I have two younger sisters, right?! One of them got married and now lives in Jakarta. That's quite far from Malang.”
Javier remained silent, staring at Gistara suspiciously. Gistara then continued her story.
"Even during the Christmas celebration... we might not be able to meet. A bit different from my youngest sibling who is still studying in Malang. I can visit him anytime. Even if it's just giving a box of brownies."
"That's none of my business," Javier said nonchalantly.
"Yeah… you're right. That is none of your business. It's just that talking to each other and visiting one another, these are quite simple things to strengthen a relationship. Isn't that true...? This is at least what I can learn. What is your opinion?"
Javier looked at Gistara with a scrutinizing gaze. However, a moment later, his expression changed. Javier smiled. An apparently mocking smirk. "You don't need to ask me to fix the relationship between us. Even if I don't visit him for almost a century, our friendship will not suffer."
Gistara was at a loss for words.
"Just tell me where... and when. You do not need to teach me how to treat my brother. We are really different, I mean you and us. We elves are capable of surviving for centuries. So we have a totally different view opinion about time than you humans. I visited it 40 years ago, which may appear to you to be at odds, but we were not. For me, 40 years ago may have felt like only a month ago," said Javier.
"Sorry. I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to interfere in your personal matters." Gistara felt guilty about what she had just said to Jevier.
"No problem." Javier handed Gistara a key. "While I'm away, please take care of Senja for me!" Javier told her.
Gistara handed Javier a piece of paper. "Three days ago, Anthonius asked me to meet him in Vorkuta for the funeral procession of the victims' bodies. So far, five hundred corpses have been found, and it may continue to increase. The group from the City of Ein has conducted an initial investigation, and you are right… The amethyst crystals found at each incident location have characteristics very similar to antimatter magic, or more precisely, several antimatter shields that have been chained up together to resemble a crystal. The worst part is that humans or wizards who are exposed to the crystal's miasma for a long period of time can experience a process of bodily decay much faster than usual. So, this crystal caused the slow but permanent decaying of living things. This does not include any other effects that possibly caused it. Poisoning, bleeding, and even organ dysfunction are all possible outcomes.”
Javier just listened while reading the message that Anthonius had entrusted to Gistara. "I was invited to join the main investigative team that will be specifically assigned to handle the recent cases of witch murders, but he wants to meet with me first to discuss the case I handled 130 years ago. The investigation I once conducted with a soldier named Erel in Kruber Cave." Javier threw the paper in the trash can.
"Kruber Cave?" Gistara asked to confirm.
"The seal and magic barrier that was placed in the cave... that was our task at that time." Javier's explanation left Gistara speechless.
"Once again, he asked me to meet at Euhron...," Javier said. His expression turned so annoyed. "It seems like he wants to trap me."
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
Promise Wisteria
"The Crystal Cave of Kruber is the grave of the Zu land god," Gistara said, not taking her eyes off Javier.They both then fell silent for quite a while. They knew that the Kruber Crystal Cave was one of the most dangerous places in Terra, besides the slopes of Mount Damavand and the Moon Devil Castle. That place is even more dangerous than The Ruins of The Dark Dragon Temple."I have been assigned to that place once, with two of my teammates. But at the time, the Zu Fortress region and the Zu God Temple inside the cave were still far away from where we were on duty. Staying in that place for too long is just as dangerous as being exposed to miasma." Gistara tried to recall the memory of the mission she had undertaken 10 years ago when she was still part of Division III under the command of an S-rank defense specialist wizard named Dmitriy Borisov. Gistara and the three other people were sent to check out the mineral content of the rocks in the area of the Kruber Crystal Cave.Javier
Promise The Red Forest. Chernobyl.
The bushes block the road. The trees grow tall, reaching for the sky with their deep red trunks like blood, yet barren without a single leaf. People call it the Red Forest, but the place is actually just an area that has been exposed to radioactive waste due to the nuclear reactor explosion that occurred in April 1986.Amidst the dense bushes and branches of trees left to grow wild, the Romanov twins appeared to be engrossed in conversation while smoking cigarettes. They seemed indifferent to the exposure to radioactive waste that still enveloped the area, even after several decades had passed."Ugh… you're cheating!" Zirael said while handing a black-skinned frog to his sibling. "That was supposed to be mine, right?!" he complained. Because he felt dissatisfied with Kael's decision."Hey…Who is older here? I am your older brother!" said Kael curtly.The Romanov twins are fighting over the frog they caught. It seems that the poisoning they experienced a few days ago did not deter the R
Promise A cup of tea and biscuits
Wisteria invited Javier into her house."Sir.., consider it your own home!" said Wisteria while inviting Javier to sit in one of the chairs in the dining room. With a smile that never left her lips, Wisteria poured a cup of rose tea and served several jars of biscuits. Not to forget, Wisteria also prepared a slice of apple pie for Javier. Complete with honey on top.Javier feels happy because Wisteria accepted him well. That was in stark contrast to what he had thought before. Wisteria even served almost all of her baked goods, filling the dining table in front of them with jars of various types of cookies and biscuits. However, Javier could not taste any of those cakes. Elves only consume honey and a type of cake made from flower pollen mixed with nectar. Nevertheless, Javier can still drink the rose tea that Wisteria poured into his cup."Can you sit down and chat with me for a bit?! There's something I want to ask you," said Javier while sipping tea from his cup.After placing the l
Promise Kelana Field's Salt Traders' Camp
The meadows outside the City of Filanesia's main gate have turned white due to the first snowfall of the early winter. Along the road leading to the location of the old temple ruins, a number of salt traders' camps and rows of wooden barrels filled with the best salt Terra has to offer from the Black Sea were carefully arranged at the edge. Under Meuz's direction, a historical monument is immediately guarded with a barrier that is even comparable to Terra's guardian. It is the home of the black dragon, one of the ten harbingers of death that hundreds of years ago brought about a major disaster on Terra.The sun has not yet risen, and it is just now dawning. Anthonius stood by himself in the middle of the motionless, silent meadow, staring at the city's main entrance. Anthonius's expression was composed, but he could not fool himself. His heart was restless, and his mind was a mess. Anthonius kept his fear to himself. Even Anthonius was baffled by the recent loss of senior forensic phy
Promise Terra's first snowfall and two front guards
"Learn, creating... let alone destroying an antimatter shield is an impossibility for wizards in our time. Even today, very little is known about the antimatter magic we possess. Thus, instead of attempting to destroy the crystal, I would suggest that you stay away from it. Instead of attempting to destroy the amethyst crystal,” Anthonius advised the members of the investigating team to stay away from it."Moreover, we still do not know the specific side effects caused by the miasma produced by antimatter crystals. Therefore, for the time being, it would be wiser to concentrate on locating the individuals on the list and, if still feasible, helping them rather than wasting time on something that is impossible for us to accomplish. If it is still feasible,” Anthonius requested that the main investigating team concentrate only on locating and aiding the victims. In order to learn more about the murder case they are working on, they will also perform a preliminary examination of the scen
Promise Holy City Abandoned. The City of Winnei's Ruins
As soon as they were two kilometers from the shore of Lake Nyos, the elderly man ordered Anthonius and Omar to disembark from his boat. The old man left after being rewarded with a few silver coins in accordance with their earlier arrangement.Thick fog appeared, eroding the limits of visibility, and raindrops fell with grains of ice crystals. Omar touched the lake water gently beneath his shoes. "Blizzard...!" Omar whispered. "Even though this is just common magic, I think it's strong enough to support our bodies," Omar remarked as a layer of ice formed, slowly creeping from beneath his palm towards the edge of the lake, creating a path three meters wide.Anthonius seemed indifferent to what Omar had just said."Why?" asked Omar, who noticed Anthonius's change in attitude since they met the old man who had guided them across the lake."This is too quiet!" Anthonius exclaimed as he pulled the finest orichalcum blade from the sheath of his sword. "Too quiet…," he added."You are right!
Promise Banshee?
"Witch…!!" The creature seemed to ask in a faint voice. Almost resembling a whisper."Blood witch…?!" the creature said again."Is the creature asking us?" Omar asked Anthonius.Anthonius simply shook his head and told Omar to entice the creature to the spot beneath the crystal light, which was composed of sharp-tipped shards of perpetual ice crystal."Can you?" Anthonius whispered the question. "Leave it to me." Anthonius told Omar, "Just give me the protective magic barrier!"Omar became quiet for a while. given how risky Anthonius' strategy is for them both. Anthonius was referring to a crystal lamp that weighed several dozen tons. The second floor of the Dark Dragon Temple could be completely destroyed by the explosion that would result from the lamp falling from the ceiling height. At worst, the eternal ice crystal will be shattered into shards as sharp as mithril swords and thrown everywhere. Even though they were shielded by a two-layered magical barrier, the crystal shards cou
Promise The Death of the Dark Dragon
A whirlpool of ice crystals came toward the two as they were ready to exit the Dark Dragon Temple's second floor. Dima slowly emerged from the ice crystal vortex and approached Anthonius and Omar."Your manna detection is weakening. I came here at Alyosha's request to check on everyone." Dima became quiet for a while. Every scrape in the room caught his attention as he gazed about. Dima attempted to speculate as to Anthonius and Omar's fate. Dima then questioned, "You were attacked?"Omar grinned, perhaps making fun of what he and Anthonius had just gone through. "Almost died!" Omar muttered."Alyosha asked me to warn you about a creature resembling a banshee or something similar. That thing assaulted him a while back, but luckily Division II's Rudolf was on patrol close to where he passed out. I hope you don't go through what Alyosha did.""We just got it!" Anthonius exclaimed, shocking Dima at once.Anthonius handed Dima a crystal bottle that had been left by someone who had assiste
Latest Chapter
Who is sealed?
Just as he was aiming his bow at the target, an archer stumbled. He passed out a bit later. In addition to asking the other archers to halt their training and take a short break, Javier rushed to his aid right away."We need a medical wizard; maybe an alchemist who can make a potion to replenish the reagent's mana rate would be fine too." One of the archers remarked, "Even though this magic is simple, it can drain our manna in just two to three attacks.""Alright," Javier said in response.Javier met Vanity by coincidence when he carried the previous archer, who had fainted, to Filanesia Hospital with the assistance of an archer. After escorting the previously unconscious archer to the treatment room, Vanity asked Javier to wait for her in the hospital lobby when she arrived. Shortly after Javier had been waiting, Vanity rushed over to him."What happened?" Still sporting blood-stained latex gloves, Vanity asked. She appears to have recently undergone emergency surgery."One archer fa
That Impossible Magic
The entire office was astonished and perplexed when Javier Mareq arrived at the Crimson Knight headquarters in the city of Filanesia. Numerous Crimson Knights stationed in the city of Filanesia exchanged whispers and questions with one another. They wondered why their supreme general's younger brother had physically visited the headquarters.It has long been known by all Crimson Knight members that Javier's despair, brought on by the death of one of his subordinates and his close friend Erel, led to his assignment outside of Terra. Furthermore, the younger brother of the young general had twice turned down significant roles offered by Meuz in order to join his older brother in Crimson Knight as the deputy general and royal guard. Every time he was given a significant assignment, Javier would always tell his brother that he should be treated like any other soldier and sent to the Crimson Knight's outer guard outside of Terra. After Anthonius gave his approval, Javier Mareq was given a
The Sorcerer of a Thousand Years
Among the seven great witches who have lived for over a millennium is Meuz. Compared to other wizards in Terra, Meuz has a higher maximum quantity of mana points because he has lived for an excessive amount of time. However, Meuz's magical barriers and shields deteriorate with age because he is a defensive magic specialist. However, a lot of wizards wonder how Meuz has kept his body in good condition for nearly a millennium. Many witches are curious about Meuz's appearance underneath the heavy cloak that covers every part of his body and the Orichalcum mask he always wears. What is the true appearance of Meuz?"Javier Mareq..., The presence of those crystals greatly disrupts the activities of the residents. I command you to minimize the side effects of the Rain Arrow, then gather the best archers in Terra and teach them how to apply the Rain Arrow by changing the size of the arrows so they can destroy the crystal shards and expedite the crystal-clearing process throughout Terra. Those
The time thief, and the deceiver of death. Antonnie Xander
Many witches are still reluctant to interact with Tsabitha Youenha and Antonnie Xander, two alchemists who have been on the run in Terra for a long time. Although many rank S witches are reportedly close friends with both of them, these witches are unwilling to discuss their past. As they do with Tha's status, which is not all that different from Antonnie's, they act as though they are unaware of Antonnie's status as a Class 1 fugitive. The S-rank witches claim that dealing with Antonnie is equivalent to dealing with death; therefore, the problem with Zamman has nothing to do with their wish to avoid Tha or Antonnie.Children are frequently hired by Antonnie to labor for him. He used to do the same thing to Tha and Leah, who is currently Lazuardy Sword's highest general. Several decades ago, Leah and Tha were sold by Antonnie to Azalea to deal with a case. Azalea, the sole daughter of Naar, the king of hell, was even involved in this significant case. Azalea gave both orders to murder
Without any guidance, beginning from scratch
A guard came up to them. He said, "Excuse me, could you please show me your assignment letter and your identification cards?"Anthonius gave the officer their identification cards and duty letters right away, as did every member of the core investigating team. The gatekeeper ran to the guard position a bit later.Omar said, "Has something bad happened in the city?""Shut up, and stop asking me!" Dima's voice was sharp.Omar, who had been instructed to keep silent, simply pouted and gave Dima a displeased look. "This old man...!" complained Omar.Shortly afterward, the security guard who had asked for the witches' task permits and identity cards came back. As he gazed at the faces of every member of the core investigating team in front of him, his face appeared pale.As the guard handed Anthonius his duty permit, he said, "What has happened? Why has the city's security been tightened to this extent?" he continued."The Shadow-man was spotted roaming about the town square a few days ago
Short-term withdrawal
"Can we still continue this mission?" Anthonius was asked by Javier."We're going back to Filansia to have a face-to-face meeting with Meuz. We are waiting for more deaths to happen in order to gather bodies that we ought to have been able to save if we keep the current system in place. Because I cannot make a decision for this team, because the main investigative team has indeed been under the auspices of Meuz from the beginning." Anthonius made the choice to pull out and return the main investigating team to the City of Filanesia. They even disregarded a few of the victims' bodies that are currently waiting at the Charon River."Can I know what happened to the mithril mine?" Omar questioned, "Is what actually happened exactly like what we saw, or am I just having hallucinations? Did the mine collapse?""Isn't it obvious?!" Vanity answered. "The mine indeed will not last long. Since ten years ago, many people have anticipated that the mine would eventually be dismantled."Terra is al
Zamman's prohibited chant and Shadow-man
For a minute, Anthonius stopped and gazed at the young girl next to him. Abruptly, he recalled something. "Did you tell this child to hide his magical powers?" Anthonius said, turning to face Dima.With astonished looks on their faces, everyone turned to face Dima."That child? Hiding magical energy?" Dima returned the question to Anthonius. "Even before you all came, I was struggling to fight that creature on my own. How could I possibly have time to do that?!" Dima shot back at Anthonius.Anthonius was taken aback by Dima's response. Anthonius initially believed that Dima was the one requesting that the youngster they had saved conceal their magical abilities."Sweet little girl... who was with you before these two uncles arrived?" Vanity whispered. offering the girl a box of candy and encouraging her to share what she had gone through.The little girl was both afraid and perplexed. Without saying a word, she gazed at the faces of every member of the main investigation team before t
Initial assumption
Meuz had ordered Leah and Lazuardy Sword to create an illusion spell on the only mithril mine they had, but it seems that S-rank wizards are still quite difficult to deceive. They will soon know that the mine has actually been devastated. Of the 4 mines that existed, with 2 of them being the main mines, now only 1 mine is still operating. Anthonius even estimates that the last mine will not operate for long after the main mine is destroyed.After they arrived at the settlement located about 8 kilometers from Fort Solfini, Anthonius asked Alyosha to buy some travel supplies for them. At first, Alyosha was silent, as if he were dazed, even failing to respond to Anthonius's orders. The anxious Anthonius then invited Alyosha to rest at a simple eatery to regain their energy.…"How are you doing now?" Anthonius asked while handing a cup of warm tea to Alyosha. "You kept silent the whole journey. That makes me anxious. Let's take a break first!"Alyosha looked at Anthonius, but then he loo
Examination
The creature doesn't appear to be moving from its spot. Although the amethyst crystals that covered the creature's body were constantly eroding, the creature genuinely paid attention to Anthonius's Rain Arrow. Alyosha, who had successfully moved Anthonius's body away from their former battlefield, saw this but said nothing, staying hidden.Anthonius asked Alyosha, "Can you hide your magical power for as long as possible? The creature will target someone with the greatest magical power in this area.""I can." Alyosha instantly concealed his magic, though it might not last long."Even if you walk in front of it, as long as you don't have any magic, the creature won't be able to find you. We return to Fort Solfini right now. That is the nearest safe place we can reach." Anthonius advised Alyosha to go back to Fort Solfini."Are you sure?" Alyosha questioned doubtfully as he observed the creature that had only moments before attacked them. "I might not be able to face it. You and Dima hav
