Make Dark Fantasy Great Again
Chapter 74: The Unfathomable

Chapter 74: The Unfathomable

0% After returning to the lodging with Risir, Katria felt as if she were drifting through the depths of the ocean.

Suddenly, she thought of the pond she had gazed upon with him. Would sinking to the very bottom of its waters feel like this?

As she tried to hold on to their final moment, everything around her—be it sights or sounds—grew hazy. Ironically, it was because she was painfully aware that it had been their last.

At some point, when Katria finally came to her senses, she found herself huddled in the dark corner of her room.

Oh, I see. It’s all over.

Regret crashed over her like a wave. Couldn’t she have done better?

Of course, she knew such thoughts were meaningless. From the moment she had driven his life to complete ruin, every action related to him had been nothing but self-deception and empty justification.

She felt as if she now understood the meaning of despair. A hollow void stretched through her chest, as though her heart had been carved out whole.

Katria knew. She couldn’t let this despair consume her, as there was still too much left to do. She had to take responsibility, to clean up the mess she had made and...

She forced herself to calmly plan her next steps. Or at least tried to.

“...”

But when she came to her senses again, she was once more staring blankly at the wall, lying on the bed this time.

How much time had passed?

I don’t know.

This isn’t right.

I know.

So...

...

...

...

Chirp, chirp. The faint sound of birdsong reached her ears.

Morning had already come.

“...Ah!”

Katria shot up instinctively. A bright smile lit up her face, wiping away the dull haze that had settled there.

It was almost time for him to wake up. She had to prepare breakfast and get ready to—

“...Oh.”

Right.

Her daily routine as a maid. She didn’t have to do that anymore.

Katria froze, her expression and posture locked in place. The schedule that had dictated her recent lifestyle until now had lost all meaning in an instant.

But it was fine. Being a maid was only ever a temporary role. There were still other things she needed to do.

For example—

“...”

By the time she came back to herself, she was once again lying in bed, staring blankly at the wall.

She couldn’t move. Couldn’t think.

Katria knew she couldn’t stay like this. But that was all it was—a thought and nothing more.

Wouldn’t anyone who saw her now think she was nothing but an empty shell?

...A shell?

Katria sat up and made her way to the storage cabinet in the corner of the room. From deep within, she retrieved a small pouch.

Reaching into the spatial storage artifact, she pulled out two vials of Clouded Truth.

One was the vial she had struggled to analyze, only for its contents to become harmless for some unknown reason.

The other remained sealed, untouched.

She had gone to Kieran for another vial of Clouded Truth in hopes of uncovering the mysterious factor that had purified the first. But now, that purpose no longer mattered.

Katria simply stared at the bottle in silence.

“...”

A certain method of atonement surfaced in her mind. If she were thinking clearly, she would have known it was the wrong choice. If nothing else, had she not spent the night in this wretched state, the thought would never have even occurred to her.

But right now, Katria’s mind was hollow, riddled with the same emptiness as her emotions. And so, the moment Katria’s fingers brushed against the vial of poison...

Knock-knock.

A voice accompanied the sound of knocking from beyond the door.

Katria let out a bitter smile. She knew she wasn’t in a normal state, but to think it was this bad.

“Wake up, Tia. It’s time to go see Bondalles.”

“...”

A voice that couldn’t possibly be real was saying exactly what she wanted to hear the most.

For a fleeting moment, she wondered—had he come to greet her into the afterlife?

The thought solidified her resolve, and Katria picked up the vial of Clouded Truth.

“...Tia? Is there something wrong? I’m coming in, alright?”

And then, the door opened.

Risir stepped inside, tilting his head at the sight of Katria standing in front of the storage cabinet.

“Huh, you were awake? Then why...”

“...”

“Wait. Don’t tell me you were faking sleep to avoid getting scolded for skipping breakfast prep? Well damn, this is awkward. What do I do? Should I just close the door and walk out like nothing happened? Go back to my room and lie down in bed?”

Was this another illusion?

No. Her imagination wasn’t capable of conjuring something this absurdly vivid and long-winded.

Katria murmured his name in a daze.

“...Risir?”

“Not ‘Master’? Don’t tell me I just got demoted? Darn it. Getting fired by my own maid...I’m such a failure of a master. I’ve been stripped of my title, so I’m no longer a master...”

Risir muttered nonsense with a gravely serious expression. But then, his gaze landed on the Clouded Truth in Katria’s hand.

Instinctively, she tried to hide it. But—was it just her imagination? The poison’s characteristic violet hue, a symbol of its toxicity, seemed fainter than before.

Katria lifted the bottle, scrutinizing it more closely. And then, she saw it—before her eyes, the Clouded Truth’s distinct purple glow was fading, moment by moment.

And beyond the glass, Risir was watching her.

“What is that?”

Risir joined in the observation, walking over and leaning in to inspect the bottle.

The lethal Clouded Truth...turned into clear water.

“?”

Katria turned the Clouded Truth over in her hands, inspecting it from every angle. She even gave it a shake for good measure before examining it again.

The lethal Clouded Truth had unmistakably become water.

Katria set the vial down and stared blankly at Risir, utterly dumbfounded.

“What’s with you? You’re acting strange today. Something wrong?”

“...No. It’s just that I’m...a little...no, very...extremely confused.”

“Oh no. If you’re just a little, very, extremely confused, then how confused is that exactly? Might need to do some calculations here. Anyway, are you good? Can you still come to Bondalles?”

“...”

Even in the midst of her confusion, Katria found herself nodding without thinking.

***“Oh, right. Tia, if you don’t mind, could we make a quick stop somewhere before heading out to explore Bondalles?”

The place Risir led Katria to was the Alchemy Wing, specifically the laboratory of Master Didoa.

“I heard you were looking for me, Miss Didoa?”

“Mhm. I’m sorry if that offended you. Naturally, I didn’t mean to bother you for any personal reason but you know about that thing you asked me before? I think I figured it out so I ended up calling you over.

Sorry if you were busy. Also, nice to see you. Good morning. Seeing you first thing in the morning really puts me in a good mood. By the way, have you eaten?

Actually-I-recently-discovered-a-new-sandwich-combination-and-I-was-hoping-you-could-try-it-and-give-some-feedback-oh-not-that-I’m-forcing-you-or-anything-honestly-the-feedback-is-just-an-excuse-I-really-just-wanted-to-share-my-favorite-food-with—”

“Breathe, Miss Iron Lungs Didoa. You’re going to suffocate—suffocate me, that is.”

“Oh, sorry. I got too excited seeing you again. I’m sorry if that was offensive.”

“Not offensive at all, thank you for your concern. Oh, and about that new sandwich combination—would it be all right if I tried it? As luck would have it, my household maid here lost sleep over today’s little outing and ended up oversleeping, so I starved through breakfast time.”

“Really? That’s great. I didn’t actually think you’d eat it. Here you go.”

Didoa handed Risir a plate, and Risir tilted his head back.

A majestic tower of sandwiches loomed over him.

“Your hands are quite generous.”

“Sorry if that offends you.”

“Tia, you heard her, right? If we don’t finish this, Master Didoa is going to feel bad. So let’s brace ourselves. Think of it like visiting your grandma’s house.”

“...”

Risir and Katria took their seats and began clearing out the sandwich tower, layer by layer.

As they ate, Didoa continued speaking.

“Please listen while you eat.”

In her gloved hand, she held a rough, unpolished gemstone. A mana stone that was infused with Risir’s mana.

One day, Risir had suddenly consulted Didoa after noticing that his mana had begun exhibiting fiery properties, hoping to uncover the cause.

“I’ll get straight to the point so you don’t lose your appetite. Back then, you mentioned that, for some unknown reason, your mana started carrying the essence of fire. But that’s not fire.”

“Ib burmf bfth fnnntho? (It burned just fine, though?)”

Risir mumbled around a mouthful of sandwich.

“It’s a more fundamental force than fire, should I say? It’s heat itself. More specifically, it’s what southern alchemists call the Mirage of the Firmament. It means the power of the sun.”

“Hnn bwrr ommd fnn? (The power of the sun?)”

“It’s an extremely rare occurrence to gain solar energy after birth. Risir. Have you by any chance ingested any refined medicinal herbs recently?”

“Myob? (Nope?)”

“The reason I ask is that there are only a few known ways to acquire the power of the sun. The most common is consuming highly rare herbs like Desert White Lotus, Magma Grass, or Mandalian Blossom. Putting aside the fact that there are only a handful of people on the entire continent capable of refining them properly...”

Gulp.

“So, does that mean I somehow ate one of those without realizing it?”

“I would say that’s unlikely. The herbs I mentioned only grow in the deepest, most isolated regions, where energy converges so densely that they bloom once every few decades. Most of them are thoroughly guarded by the rulers of those regions, so they almost never make it to the outside world. To use a bit of exaggeration, we’d probably live our entire lives without ever laying eyes on one.”

“Then why did this power of the sun suddenly decide to move into my body? I mean, I have been sunbathing a lot lately...”

Katria, who had been busy chewing her sandwich, suddenly gaped in shock.

The toxic Desert White Lotus had been refined within Risir’s stomach.

***After leaving Didoa’s laboratory, the two made their way to the Magic Wing, where Master Meltas’ research chamber was located.

“Risir. Are you certain the name you mentioned was Verdandes?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“And where exactly did you hear that name?”

“I coughed.”

“...?”

“And some black orb came out of me.”

“...?”

“That turned out to be the remnants of Verdandes.”

“I see. I understand perfectly. It happens all the time.”

“Really?”

“Oh. For your reference, when I say ‘happens all the time’, I mean you pulling off ridiculous nonsense.”

“Ahaha. So, regarding this Verdandes. What exactly was it?”

“A powerful devil who ruled the ancient southern desert for centuries.”

“And why was something like that inside my body?”

“That’s what I’m dying to know myself. Dear lad, what on earth have you done? As far as I know, Verdandes should still be sealed away by the Sahila family, who rule the South.”

“Oh. Actually, I might have a lead.”

“What is it?! Speak!”

“Master Didoa mentioned something about me having the essence of the sun. Uh, so maybe my body’s climate just happened to be similar to the desert’s—A-actually, no. Forget I said anything.”

“Well thought.”

“...”

Katria felt her eye twitch as she listened from the side.

The devil Verdandes...was digested.

She quickly ran through all the information she had gathered so far. And then—

“Huh? Tia? What’s wrong?”

It was probably due to her lack of sleep...but when her gaze met that of the unfathomable man before her, Katria ended up fainting.

***“Is she all right? That maid girl.”

“Yes. I’m not sure what happened, but she looks like she barely got any sleep last night. It’s definitely not because she found your story boring, Sir Meltas, so please don’t mind.”

“I hadn’t even considered that until now, but thanks for planting the ridiculous thought.”

“Huh?”

Risir tilted his head as he tucked Tia into the research lab’s sofa, draping a blanket over her.

“What’s the matter?”

“Someone just...spoke to me.”

“Oh, has the maid missy woken up already?”

“No, not her.”

“Mm? Then who? Speak clearly, boy.”

“Verdandes. That fellow.”

“...Fwot?”

***Verdandes, the Sand Mountain That Shrouds the Sun.

With a mere gesture, the colossal entity could summon storms of sand, its towering form eclipsing the desert sun and summoning the night. As the ruler of the desert, he enslaved all life within his domain.

But the great hero Sahila rose up and freed them from the devil’s tyranny. In the process, the bodies of the fallen piled as high as the dunes themselves.

It was a tragedy never to be repeated.

Sahila sealed him away at great cost, and in the end, Verdandes could do nothing but hurl words of contempt at the man who had failed to find a way to truly destroy him.

-Pitiful mortals. The moment I am freed from this seal, night shall return to your desert once more.

***“...So, what exactly does this Verdandes want?”

“...It wants to form a contract, apparently.”

“And what did you say?”

“...I said no. Then it asked if we could talk.”

“What did you reply?”

“...I said no again. Then it begged me to listen.”

The devil Verdandes...was trapped inside a human.

“...”

Despite bracing himself for shock, Meltas couldn’t help but be stunned.

“A devil, pleading with a human...?”

Not even his vast knowledge as a tower master had ever led him to encounter such a thing.