Chapter. 21. Into the Storm (5)
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The road to Wuthering Heights is a walk through small valleys.
When you walk up a steep hill between the rocks that line up like sloping walls on both sides, the view that had been blocked suddenly becomes clear, and you can see the vast rocky valley lined up beneath your feet and the steep cliff leading towards it
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“Uh… Hyde?”
“On the cliff… Felix Holm should appear.”
“Is that certain information?”
“Uh… maybe.”
The moment I set foot on the uphill slope, it struck me like a thunderbolt. A chattering mixture of anticipation and excitement and anxiety about the unknown. The group is similar to the present, and even Otman’s face was left behind at sea.
Certainly, the Wuthering Hill in my memory was so majestic that it made me sigh.
“Geuuu. “Contrary to its name, it is a fairly neat place.”
“I should say it’s neat, but there’s nothing left.”
The moment I got to the top of the hill, what unfolded before my eyes was a basin so smooth that there was an eerie silence.
It looks as if obsidian has been melted and flowed out. When I heard that this place was a fierce battleground in the imperial war, I imagined it to be somewhat destroyed.
“This…there’s no way.”
….This was far beyond the limit of ‘destruction’ I imagined.
It was clearly a place where jagged rocks formed numerous valleys and the wind passing through them constantly sang.
Where did the numerous rocky valleys go? The Storm Hill seen from above was a smooth basin with no corners anywhere.
A sharp basin of black light that rustles as it melts and carbonizes.
“This… It’s as if the entire valley has melted.”
“The robber knights said earlier that this was the worst battlefield during the Imperial War. “It is clear that the fierce battles of the Golden Age were firefights of a level unimaginable to today’s generation.”
“….An information center responsible for exchanges across the entire empire. Borderland facing the Blue Line Mountains. A facility in charge of the roots of the Wind Wizard, one of the major powers. Even if I were an enemy of the Western Empire, I would have attacked from here. “There are so many benefits that can be gained from a single victory.”
I knew very well what types of attacks leave traces like this. If you look at the spot where the wall of the fortress city had fallen, you can see the melted, blackened rock shining like this. It was difficult to clearly imagine how many artillery fires, how many airships, and how many magical energies were poured into this place to get to this point.
Sniff Sniff-
“Well, it’s faint, but I think I smell someone over there. “The smell of sweat, the smell of fire, the smell of old, dewy cloth.”
“Green robes. “Are you a wizard?”
The green robe was easily visible on the black ground.
As I moved toward the Robe, I noticed that his location corresponded to the entrance to Felix Hall in Wuthering Heights in my memory.
“…I thought a strange wind was blowing and I never thought I would meet a new relationship in this dry land.”
“Are you a wind wizard?”
“Unless there’s another group in the world wearing green robes and carrying perforated wooden staffs, wouldn’t that be correct?”
The wizard, who looked like he had been camping here for a long time and had a very scruffy appearance, wiped his hand on his robe and held it out.
“It’s a wind stout that goes over the castle wall. “Somehow I ended up being carried away by the wind and ended up here.”
“Oh yeah. Likewise, I somehow ended up here… This is Hyde. “This is my group, Tarimus and Eggwill Isena.”
Awkward greetings and handshakes. A leather seat and a glass of boiled water.
“What did you come here looking for?”
“yes. “I feel like there was something I needed to find… but somehow there’s nothing left.”
Slurp –
The weather had already become quite cool, so a glass of boiled water helped calm my stomach.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-
My heart was still pounding as if this was the right place. But no matter how much I looked around, all I saw were my group and a wizard we had never seen before. Just his camp.
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‘….Thank you for asking me to come with you, but I have to stay here.’
‘Someone has to keep Felix Home’s wishes.’
‘—-? —-….!’
‘haha. It really reminds me of the old days. Even then, he left and I stayed here, suppressing my desire to follow him.’
‘War… It’s too late to stop it. ‘The roaring engine sound of the airship is mixed in with the distant wind.’
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‘Do not worry. At least I will guard this place until you come back. Mr. Hyde.’
‘I have to give back what I received.’
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“….Astrad.”
flinch!
“I came to visit Astrad.”
A blurry memory came to mind as I saw the melted basin and the hills of the past overlap. Astrad. A wizard who looked somewhat like a boy despite his countless wrinkles and graying hair.
The wizard who introduced himself as Stout seemed surprised for a moment, then filled my empty glass and opened his mouth.
“Astrad. If you have come to Astrad of Great Origins, you have come to the right place.”
“Do you know him?”
“Wouldn’t it be more difficult to find one of those who have entered the path of the wind who does not know his name? He is the one who left behind a trace, a place for us to return to. By the way, where did you hear the name Astrad?”
“yes?”
“Although his name is considered as precious to wind wizards as the great Felix Drixiel, his name is not well known to the outside world. “He didn’t do much outside work.”
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‘— – —-? —-?’
‘You mean outside? Oh, of course I want to go out too. ‘I want to look back on the journey I took with my teacher one more time.’
‘Unfortunately, not now. The imbalance in the groove has already reached a dangerous level and my wishes are firmly intertwined with this place. Isn’t this something that might explode if I leave? Ha ha ha ha ha!’
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A little younger appearance this time. Astrad, facing me and an old troll who looked like a shaman, was waving his hands as if there was nothing he could do.
My heart ached.
“…We decided to meet here.”
“Are you talking about Astrad?”
“Yeah well… in a dream. That’s roughly the story.”
I couldn’t explain it, so I just gave it a vague explanation, but the wizard seemed to agree.
“It could be because His will was scattered by the wind.”
“It was scattered by the wind…?”
“yes. That is why even those who have been caught up in the wind without any teachings or knowledge can come to this place. He disappeared along with the groove, but he clearly exists somewhere. “His will can be felt anywhere, whether in a light wind, a fierce storm, or a dry wind.”
Stout, the wind wizard, told a story as old as the wind here.
The person I was supposed to meet here.
It was a story about Astrad, the wizard of the Great Origins and Goimwind.
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crackle. Tadak….
The sun has set.
“…That’s how it happened.”
The wizard’s story also went down with the sun.
The story of a young wizard entangled in the last spell of the Archmage Felix Drixiel and the wizard Gauman Dylan Delhast.
The story of Astrad, which became part of the legend, continued even after the bookshelf was closed. Unfortunately, it doesn’t end well.
“Ultimately, Astrad and Wuthering Heights have disappeared from the center of the battle.”
“Dozens of airships would crash and reappear in the skies above Home every day. Airship No. 1, which became the center of saint worship, even withstood the breath of the Blue Dragon Aldarshax, and its scattered breath melted rocks and burned the ground.”
Airship No. 1 and Aldarshaks. These are also names I recently encountered, and this means that all these stories are continuing.
Wuthering Heights could not survive the aftermath of the war between the two great empires.
“In fact, even before the war, Home was falling apart little by little. Although it was the last spell of an archmage, it was flawed because it was a spell that contained the true nature of a mage. “Magicians are people too.”
Tiny, tiny blemishes. Since there are no exceptions to letter magic, it is a magical error in which letters with an unknown addressee do not leave Felix Home.
The letters that failed to find their owner steadily piled up in Felix Home’s magic space, and the remnants of magic that were forever ‘in progress’ accumulated and slowly and surely became a burden on Felix Home.
Countless magical bombardments from airships rained down on Storm Hill and Felix Home, which were barely holding on.
“So… how did it go?”
“I do not know.”
….huh?
What are you talking about? I don’t know.
I can’t believe there’s no conclusion to this long story!
“Everyone agrees that the unstable anti-magic system has passed a critical point, but no one knows what happened to Felix Holm and his master, Astrad, who took the last hit. “Because he disappeared without a trace.”
“Live?”
“yes. As you can see.”
Wizard Stout said, pointing to an empty basin.
“The collapsing Felix Home, the wizard Astrad, and all the winds blowing in Wuthering Heights all disappeared in an instant. Thanks to this, this place has become a windless area where no wind blows. “It really disappeared without a trace, leaving no trace of wind, so even we who belong to the wind couldn’t find it.”
“Then why is everyone coming here? If there really was nothing left, there would be no need to gather here like people possessed by something. A lot of people die, right? “By coming this far.”
“I’m coming because I don’t have anything. “If we have one, the wind here won’t stop.”
With those words, Stout waved his wand. A small wind rose in the quiet basin.
“There is nothing left, but you can definitely feel it. Even though it may look different, our only hometown remains. “Isn’t it because the old magic still lives on that we hear old whispers and memories through the wind and know that our only resting place remains?”
“It looks different somehow…”
“At least that’s what we believe. So, it stays here like this and remains as the wind of this windless area until another wind arrives. “To ensure that this place is not left a windless area so that the will of Felix Home and the wizard Astrad can be connected to the winds of the world.”
Stout said that since there is no magic left as powerful as in the past, they cannot stay here for years like they did in the past, and once they leave, they cannot return.
“That’s why I leave my name behind when I leave here. It’s the only place we’ll return to, so the moment we leave, all that’s left is wandering and death. It is the act of leaving a tombstone in advance in one’s hometown. “There are many names floating around in the wind here of wind wizards who passed through it first.”
“That’s why it got the name catacombs and pilgrimage site.”
“It’s a notoriety created by a slightly unpleasant misunderstanding. Of course, it is not wrong to say that resting here is in some way the final rest.”
As I quietly listened to the story, my dazed head seemed to clear up. It seems that he was soaked in old memories that seeped out.
“Well… it must have been sudden, but thank you for your kind words.”
“ha ha ha. What. It’s just like the rules of the wind wizard who protects this ‘home site’. “Before you go, you can just write your name here.”
“name?”
“This is a guestbook. This position was originally the position of the gatekeeper guarding the entrance to Felix Home. It is said that visitors must obtain permission from the gatekeeper and enter their name on the register before entering.”
“Oh, that’s about it.”
Swish swish-
“….Thank you. This…. “Sorry, but it’s in a language I don’t know.”
“HIDE. It is read as Hyde. “I don’t even know where this is coming from.”
“aha.”
At a glance, I wrote down the names of my companions and I in the blank spaces on a thick, old wad of paper. I don’t know what this means, but wizards are naturally that kind of people. Also, because they showed me kindness first.
Chuck chuck chuck chuck!
While I was writing down my name, I heard orderly footsteps coming from the beginning of the hill on the other side.
‘So you suddenly pushed me into the guestbook.’
I already had doubts about the wizard’s words [Before you go…]. It seems like their movements were read by something like the wind.
“Boo. Hyde, that…”
“Oh, okay. “Seeing as it was later than expected, it looks like they prepared a pretty grand welcome party.”
Judging by the sound of armor coming from afar, it seems that the Lord of Wind Hall took my suggestion more seriously than I thought.
“Then, since we have a prior engagement, we’ll just leave.”
“I hope your wishes reach where you want. Please take a look, Mr. Hyde.”
“yep. “Well… rest in peace, Mr. Stout.”
chuck. chuck. chuck. chuck!
Hearing the sound of footsteps getting closer, he gave a quick hello and left the wizard’s camp. From what I could see, he seemed like a semi-detached person, but if he was with us for no reason, sparks might fly.
“Whoa. “There are a lot of people.”
“and. It’s a real knighthood. “Is this why we call it the Western Empire?”
The Windhall troops we encountered up close were truly elite.
All of them are Orunite, and their armor flashes with a strange light as if it were not made of ordinary metal.
I straightened up my mind, which was drenched in memories. I took it lightly and thought that if things went wrong, at least two of the four of us would have to die to escape.
Coo!
“Hyde. From the Teldrat region. “Is this the person who was shipwrecked on the coast this morning and came to the city with salvage ship parts?”
A knight steps forward at the head of the ranks and pulls out the war hammer hanging from his back menacingly.
“What if it’s true?”
“There has been an accusation that you and your group are spies for the Warlord Army. “If there are no charges, you will be released safely, so please be arrested calmly.”
….Jerbuk.
“Of course, there is no right to veto.”
A knight growling as he presses down on a man as big as the weapon he uses.
‘If you kill, it’s 40%. Suppression is 10%. Doju… can I hit 80%?’
There is a tension that feels as if it will break if pulled.
After properly assessing the opponent, I raised my hand, and just as the knight’s hand was about to raise the war hammer…
Swoosh!
“Take me with you.”
“….hmm.”
“why? Not the reaction you were expecting? “Are you going to give me a hand and pull out a knife?”
“….no. “You have a good cooperative attitude.”
He held out both hands as if asking them to tie him up.
“Do the rest have the same opinion as this guy named Hyde?”
“Uuuuu…. That’s right.”
“I will gladly… accept the invitation of Lord Wind Hall.”
“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”
Contrary to my expression of accepting it as if it were natural, three people held out their hands with faces as if they were being dragged off to die somewhere.
After a while, we, one by one wearing purple handcuffs, were heading back the way we came with the lord’s knights.
“What are the charges?”
“Espionage.”
“What if it’s real?”
“It is the death penalty.”
“and. So where are we going now?”
“….the front yard of Yeongju Castle. “You will see your lord.”
“rice is? “You haven’t eaten yet?”
“….”
The road on the way was clear and sunny, unlike most of the drivers expected.
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Palak. Palak. Palak.
After the somewhat noisy suspects and drivers left. The wizard, left alone in the black molten basin, was flipping through the sheaf of paper left in his hands.
“Here here. Oh, it’s here too.”
Felix Home has disappeared, but the tradition of the wizard who guards it has been preserved as strongly as the longing for what has disappeared.
The wizard took out dozens of guest books from his tent and smiled faintly as he found an unusual name that was repeated several times.
[HIDE Notum]
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[HIDE]
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[HIDE]
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[HIDE Eggwill Tarimus Isena.]
“…Are you watching, Astrad?”
The wizard Stout whispered to their windless hometown as he carefully gathered the crumbly papers.
“Your wind is still blowing.”
Any wind wizard could feel it. A faint but clear feeling. The will of someone who gritted his teeth and persevered, hoping to leave a place to rest for those who were destined to wander forever.
Many wizards say: It is said that Astrad was like a father to all wind wizards.
The wind that stays. A wizard who always remained as a pillar of his hometown, crumbling on their hill.
The wizard prayed, filling the wand with wind. May he be freed. May the winds that were tied together with their hometown for future generations regain their freedom.
I hope they are not too late.
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