[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 470

Just as Isna borrowed the power of the blue sphere at the end of the Heavenly Crystal to sever the connection of the foreign god, I too drew upon that power to push my body and soul to their absolute limits in order to break past my own boundaries.

What I was attempting now was akin to destroying a dam filled to the brim with water.

Throughout the process, the Librarian’s warning messages rose without pause.

[Massive torrent of power detected due to collapse of balance. Changes in the body are being detected.]

[Adaptation initiated.]

Up to that point, it was as intended.

However,

I clearly recognized that things were proceeding in a slightly different direction from the method I knew.

[Warning. External power is erasing the boundary between body and soul.]

[The power engraved upon the subject’s soul is synchronizing.]

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

The original plan had been to break the current balance—one with extremely high stability—shatter the limits of my body and soul, and then move beyond that.

But the Librarian’s messages were warning of something other than what I had anticipated.

[Warning. Movement detected from the Hall of the Martial God.]

And now even the Hall of the Martial God, which had been quiet, began rampaging on its own, attempting to devour the unanchored power within me.

Thinking about it, the result was only natural.

The power accepted by the Hall does not stabilize immediately and instead runs wild at first.

The Hall of the Martial God embedded deep within me devoured it.

Then what if I broke the previously stable balance of my original power?

From the Hall’s perspective, even the power I originally possessed was no different from newly introduced, uncontrollable energy.

[Adaptation initiated.]

[Attempting to prevent absorption by the Hall of the Martial God.]

[Adapting.]

[Failed.]

[Adapting.]

[Failed.]

The same phrases repeated, appearing and disappearing until my vision spun.

Just as I moved to break through my limits, the Librarian stood in opposition, preventing even the power I currently possessed from being taken by the Hall of the Martial God.

How long did that subtle struggle of power continue?

Surprisingly, the one that retreated first was that brutish predator within me.

[New change detected. The Hall of the Martial God has fallen silent.]

With that, the predator that had been lying in wait, coveting the rampaging power, vanished.

At this point, I couldn’t help but wonder.

I already knew that reaching the extreme alone wasn’t enough, but that massive force called the Hall of the Martial God—whose side was it even on?

It devours the power I painstakingly gather, yet gives nothing in return.

It was infuriating, but there was nothing I could do.

I couldn’t touch it, nor could I extract it.

Especially now that it had been determined to be tied to my very origin, there was clearly a part of it that I couldn’t recklessly interfere with.

“Stop. That’s enough.”

Michael, who had been pressing me with far greater power than before, withdrew his spear and spoke.

“No. Let’s continue.”

“What matters to you right now isn’t that, is it?”

At his words, I closed my mouth.

The reason I was so immersed in this situation was, in truth, because of Elpiria.

The report about Elpiria that Uriel, the Archangel of Knowledge, had submitted.

It concerned how her body temperature had risen far above that of a normal child.

Michael had said it was because an ordinary body could not accept such immense power.

And Uriel, based on the knowledge he had gathered, delivered somewhat startling news.

That Elpiria would one day fall gravely ill, as if suffering from measles.

Though it was something most children experienced at least once, from a father’s perspective, it felt incredibly unsettling.

If it were simply an illness, Luna could at least treat it.

But in this case, even she had no way to help.

At least the elixirs offered by the archangels under the pretense of prayer had strengthened her body, lowering the threshold somewhat.

But there was no way to avoid the situation itself.

“Go down. A signal will come from Lady Elpiria soon.”

As if unwilling to hear anything more, Michael left.

Then Isna, looking exhausted, approached me as I remained in the heavens.

“How did it go?”

“It’s almost completely separated now. Let’s go down. I feel like I’m going to die from exhaustion.”

Taking the hand she extended, I rose to my feet, and we returned from the heavens to Cascadia.

The moment I returned, the one who greeted me was Merkavalt.

“Leon! This is terrible! The child is burning up with fever!”

At her frantic words, I hurriedly ran toward where Elpiria was.

There, I saw Elpiria lying in her cradle, breathing in ragged gasps.

Beside her, Luna stood guard with tears welling in her eyes, while the others remained nearby with complicated expressions.

They say it takes a village to raise a child.

Looking at it now, it felt as though everyone staying in Cascadia had become involved in raising Elpiria.

“What’s her condition?”

“The fever’s risen more. 39.9 degrees.”

A temperature at which, for a human, it wouldn’t be strange if the brain were cooked.

“But… it’s not healing….”

I slowly reached out and placed my hand on Elpiria’s forehead as she gasped for breath.

Her forehead, astonishingly hot from the fever—I closed my eyes.

The archangels had said the best we could do was hope the child would endure and pass through it.

In reality, even Lispa and Luna had no means of doing anything for Elpiria.

Unless that power was removed.

Aside from her temperature exceeding 39 degrees, Elpiria’s body was still only in a severe cold-like state.

Nothing beyond that.

“It can’t be treated at all.”

“It’s beyond the scope of understanding. If it were a normal lifeform, it wouldn’t be strange for something to go wrong. Yet aside from expressing pain, her life isn’t in danger.”

I fell into thought.

Elpiria’s current condition was due to the power within her suddenly growing too strong for her body to handle.

That discrepancy caused the high fever.

Her suffering stemmed from that fever.

I briefly wondered if simply applying cold might suppress the heat, but this wasn’t an ordinary fever, and the method differed.

Even famed eastern continent remedies like millennia ice crystals or thousand-year snow ginseng wouldn’t solve it.

At worst, giving such things improperly could cause side effects in the child’s body.

Then, there were only two solutions.

Extract that power.

Or temporarily make Elpiria’s body stronger.

I mobilized all the knowledge I had accumulated in the Hall of Sages.

But nothing suitable came to mind.

“Leon… what do we do?”

At her tearful words, I couldn’t answer.

Because it meant that, as Uriel had foreseen, we would have to endure this hellish situation of the child gasping for months.

My mouth felt dry.

After struggling for a long time without even being able to sleep, Elpiria finally fell asleep.

Luna did not leave her side, continuing to watch over her, while the others eventually dispersed, observing with troubled expressions.

And I stood beneath the darkened night sky, deep in thought.

“Librarian.”

[Acknowledged.]

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“In this case, is there a solution without side effects?”

[The best course is to hope she endures it.]

Right.

If it were something bad, that would be different—but this was the kind of problem that would pass if endured.

Still, I didn’t feel like simply standing by and watching.

At that moment, Marian, the princess of nightmares who currently resided in R’lyeh, came to find me.

“Young master.”

“Marian?”

“Well… there’s something I’d like to tell you, just in case.”

“What is it?”

“When I showed dreams to a noble guest visiting Cascadia, I learned something. There’s said to be a legendary elixir called Nectar.”

“Nectar?”

“Yes. That Nectar mentioned only in the scriptures. The one called the drink of the gods.”

I felt as if sparks flew in my mind.

Nectar!

Why had I forgotten that?

Nectar was an elixir known as the drink of the gods.

To ordinary beings, it was closer to poison.

But for those of high rank—demigods and above—there was no better elixir.

However, I could guess why the archangels had never mentioned it.

Regardless of whether it truly existed, it might as well not exist in the current world.

And yet, I learned of it from a mere noble who came to Cascadia as a tourist?

It was likely nothing more than a rumor.

Or close to boasting.

Even so, I thought—

I had to do something.

“Where did you learn about it?”

At my question, Marian smiled gently.

“Well, they said that recently, a heretic was captured in the Holy Kingdom. And… among the ancient texts he possessed, there was mention of a forgotten god’s temple—”

Mid-sentence, Marian suddenly staggered and collapsed, losing consciousness.

“What are you trying to pull, Lucifer?”

I muttered coldly.

—Do not go. Will you disturb the rest of one who has fallen?

“So it exists, then?”

—I warned you. If you truly go there, I won’t just sit still either.

I didn’t think I had ever seen Lucifer warn me this strongly before.

“Were there really other gods besides the chief god?”

—You seem to be mistaken. The ancient gods are also a type of god. Though they are degraded, fallen vermin now.

Come to think of it, there was much we didn’t know about the era Lucifer had existed in.

For him to show this much resistance—was it really right to pursue this?

I swallowed my breath.

“Lucifer. Forget the forgotten god. Is there any way to obtain Nectar separately?”

—I’m sorry, but why are you so certain Nectar would be there? It’s something that has already disappeared from the world.

I nodded.

So the probability was low.

With a complicated feeling, I asked,

“Do you know that god well?”

—I do. It’s a god I personally annihilated.

Normally, he would have said it cheerfully.

But strangely, Lucifer’s voice was subdued.

Perhaps… in the past, he had been forced to kill that god against his will.

I had long thought Lucifer wasn’t simply insane.

And I knew he still had many secrets.

Still, if the rumor had spread this far, someone else would likely investigate it even if I didn’t.

Just as I was thinking that, Lucifer spoke again.

—Are you confident you can take only the Nectar and leave?

“What?”

—Can you take only the Nectar without disturbing his eternal rest?

“Will you help me?”

At my question, Lucifer fell silent for a moment before answering.

—Leaving such an item behind would only increase the risk of grave robbers. Perhaps it would be better to leave no trace so that no one else ever learns of it.

Having made his decision, he continued.

—If you promise to keep that, I’ll tell you a way to go around. You’ll need a few items.

“Items?”

—You’ll need something called the Celestial Sphere of Sacred Engraving. It originally belonged to him.

The Celestial Sphere of Sacred Engraving…

I immediately went to Melissa and asked her to find out who possessed such an item.

At that, Melissa tilted her head.

“The Celestial Sphere of Sacred Engraving? Oh, I’ve seen it. That’s an antique owned by Count Basilid of the Empire.”

“An antique?”

“Yeah. That man’s hobby is collecting antiques. If you go to his estate, there are all sorts of them. He had ties with father, so I once visited the Basilid estate before. I remember hearing the countess explain it.”

Damn.

If he had ties with my father, it wouldn’t be easy to just take it.

As I pondered, she spoke again.

“Come to think of it, Count Basilid seems to have changed hobbies recently. He’s collected enough antiques, so now he’s started collecting fine swords.”

Collecting?

That wasn’t something one could do with ordinary wealth.

Yet he was doing it.

At my puzzled look, she smirked.

“That man owns three mines in his territory. His political standing is low, but his financial power is among the top in the Empire.”

At those words, my eyes sharpened.

Commissioning a sword?

That was something I could easily handle.

So I asked Melissa to send word, and though she found it strange, upon hearing that it might improve Elpiria’s condition, she quickly sent a letter to the Basilid household.

And then—

Not long after, a reply arrived from the count’s house.

If I could introduce the finest blacksmith, they would give the Celestial Sphere of Sacred Engraving without hesitation.

“By the way, didn’t he already commission Dragon Forge?”

At my question, Merkavalt suddenly appeared, as if she had been listening all along.

“Ah, Count Basilid. I’ve heard of him. He did commission Dragon Forge before!”

“And it didn’t work out?”

“It worked quite well. But as I hear, he’s a collector, isn’t he? A collector wouldn’t be satisfied with just one item.”

Ah.

That made sense.

Only then did it feel like a path had finally opened.

I immediately gathered what I needed and set out for the Empire.

And as soon as I arrived at the Basilid estate, a stout man with a generous appearance welcomed me.

“Welcome. I heard from Duke Melissa. Hah… I was deeply saddened to hear of Count Cascadia’s passing, but to see his children grown like this. The count and his wife, embraced by the gods, would surely be pleased.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Count. I am Leon Cascadia.”

At my words, he smiled kindly and patted my back.

“Did you eat on the way here? You must be hungry. At least have a meal. While I may not be of much political help, I can offer this much hospitality.”

At a glance, he seemed almost excessively kind.

But according to Melissa, he had treated my father the same way, which was how their connection had formed.

A nouveau riche with abundant wealth, living with plenty of leisure.

Not bad.

“Thank you for your consideration, but I have urgent business. May I get straight to the point?”

At my words, his eyes widened.

“I see. If it’s something like that, it can’t be helped. But I heard you would bring a blacksmith…”

“Right here.”

I pointed at myself with a grin, and he tilted his head in confusion.

“You… have you perhaps learned the craft of forging? Well… given your connection to the former Count Cascadia, I have no intention of objecting, but… what I seek is a masterpiece from a true expert…”

“Don’t worry. You won’t regret it.”

Because the man standing before you is, for all intents and purposes, the greatest blacksmith on the continent.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]