Chapter 817: The Curse that Plagues the City [2]

"What do you think?"

I sat on the floor near the end of the room, with Evelyn quietly settling beside me. Her gaze drifted toward the others, who were huddled together, eating the food I’d given them. None of them spoke, their attention fixed entirely on the meal. However, upon closer examination, it was clear that something was wrong.

Their movements were somewhat stiff, and the face of each person was pale.

Taking out a snack bar for myself, I took a bite before responding, "I’m not sure myself. I don’t see why they’d have a reason to lie to us."

"I’m not talking about that."

Evelyn shook her head.

"...I’m talking about the so-called curse. Are we also affected by it?"

Are we...?

I closed my eyes and felt the inner parts of my body. Regardless of how hard I tried, I couldn’t feel anything at all.

In the end, I could only shake my head.

"I don’t think so."

"But why?"

"I’d like to know that myself."

Leon, Kiera, An’as, Aoife, and Anne had all been afflicted by it. The goal at the moment was to figure out a way to freedom from it, but thinking back to the previous conversation, it didn’t seem like they knew it.

’This is really problematic.’

I couldn’t say everything had been flowing smoothly ever since entering the Mirror Dimension once more, from the incident with Panthea to this.

It was one trouble after another.

’...It also seems like Delilah’s situation is a lot more dire than I expected.’

From the description that I had just heard, she wasn’t like the Delilah that I knew. She was more like... the version that I’d caught in the past.

’I need to hurry up and find her before it’s too late.’

I could tell her bloodline was beginning to consume her. It had always tried to, slowly gnawing at her from within, but it was after she absorbed Xa’hurl’s blood that the process accelerated.

She was starting to lose control, and I could feel it.

A quiet sense of urgency settled in my chest as I tried my best to remain calm.

"What should we do?"

Evelyn’s voice shook me out of my thoughts.

Looking at her, I didn’t answer immediately. I didn’t know myself.

"The goal... is to figure out a way to stop this curse. It’s only that way that we can get Leon and the others back to normal."

"But how do we do that?"

"I... don’t know."

"Cough—!!"

"....!"

"....!"

A sudden cough caught our attention, and everyone’s head turned in the direction of the sound.

"Ol’Sal!"

"Old man!"

Everyone rushed to the old man as he held onto his chest, his already pale face turning pale as he started coughing several more times.

"Cough! Cough!"

The coughs grew louder with each progressive one, and the old man dropped the snacks in his hands as he knelt on the ground, his hand curling at his shirt.

"Cough—!"

"Stop. Move back."

It was a calm voice that brought calm back into the room.

Stepping forward, Velar approached the old man, brushing his long blue hair behind his ear as he lowered his body to take a look at the old man.

"Velar? How is the situation?"

"Can he...?"

"Okay, calm down."

With a gentle smile, Velar placed his hand over the old man’s chest. A faint white glow spread from his palm, washing over the man’s frail body. The coughing ceased almost instantly, replaced by steady, shallow breaths. When I looked back at Velar, that same calm smile lingered on his face for a moment before he quietly let it fade.

"You should be fine. I managed to suppress the frost building up within you, but it’s getting worse. You should take some time to rest."

He spoke without any effort. Almost as if what he’d done was nothing trivial.

However, I was fully aware of the complexity behind his actions. His control over the frost was unlike anything I’d ever witnessed, precise and almost graceful. Despite myself, I felt a faint twinge of admiration.

’...His control is even better than my control over my Emotive Magic. Certainly, it’s better than my Curse Magic. Of this, I’m sure.’

I suddenly became curious about Velar’s identity. Someone this strong and with such fine control over the ice element... There was no way he was a normal person.

I started wondering about his past.

"Velar, can you check me too?"

"Same for me. Do it for Ilyen too."

The two children and the burly man each extended their hands toward Velar. Without a moment’s hesitation, Velar took their hands one by one, repeating the same gesture, his palm glowing softly as the faint white light passed between them.

The process was quick, barely taking a minute before he turned towards us.

"Do you two want to give it a try?"

"That’s alright."

I politely refused the offer.

To be honest, I did not feel comfortable letting someone I barely knew touch me and send their mana into my body. Velar seemed like a kind person, but I had met plenty of people before who looked just like him and turned out to be anything but.

There was nothing wrong with exercising a little bit of caution.

"I understand."

Valer appeared to read my thoughts as he no longer asked.

Evelyn also didn’t appear to be interested.

"It’s getting late. Everyone should take some time to rest. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow."

Velar moved away, walking toward the corner of the room where a small metal table stood. He sat down on the metal chair and closed his eyes, likely trying to recover some of the mana he had spent. I glanced at Evelyn, and together we returned to the spot where we had been sitting before.

I turned to face Evelyn, but the moment I did, I realized that she’d already closed her eyes, her breathing growing softer.

’She’s asleep.’

But it made sense. Considering the situation, it wouldn’t have been strange for her to be tired.

I was also tired, and after a brief moment of hesitation, I too allowed myself to relax and sleep.

Or at least, I pretended to.

I had no idea how much time had passed, but it must have been several hours. The moment I heard a faint creaking sound, my eyes snapped open. Almost immediately, my head lifted, despite the darkness that stretched over the room. I could still see the door slowly coming to a close as someone stepped out.

Looking around, I slowly rose to my feet and followed after them, slipping through the wall as my domain allowed me to pass seamlessly through the solid surface.

I didn’t want to make any sound to alert the person and the people in the room.

Step. Step—!

The quiet echo of footsteps carried through the air, steadily and in an orderly manner.

They weren’t mine.

But eventually, such steps stopped as light began to spill not long after, the large doors of the building opened to reveal a thin fog.

A figure stood by the doorway, his azure hair stirring faintly in the still air as he gazed into the fog, watching the vague outlines shifting beyond its veil.

I stood completely still, suppressing my presence as much as possible, not daring to make a sound.

And then—

"Cough! Cough!"

I heard it.

The sound of his coughs.

They were violent, far worse than the old man’s had been earlier. As the fit overtook him, he braced a hand against the doorframe, struggling to steady himself between each harsh cough.

"Cough!"

That was when I knew...

’He’s not fine. He’s been faking it from the start.’

"Ahh."

The fit didn’t last long, with Velar eventually letting a relieved, almost embarrassed noise before his head slowly turned in my direction. I didn’t even bother hiding myself any longer, as I stepped out of the darkness and stared at him.

His smile turned awkward.

"You saw that, didn’t you?"

"....."

I didn’t reply.

I didn’t feel the need to reply.

The answer was obvious.

"That’s a little embarrassing. I never wanted to show myself in this state."

"...I can understand."

As the strongest person, he had to show composure. These were the traits of a leader, and the more I stared at him, the more I was certain of the fact that he was not a simple nobody.

"Ah, heeew."

Rubbing his hands together, Velar turned to face the fog once more.

It hadn’t thickened a little bit, but it was still far better than the previous day.

Was this a morning thing?

"Since you’re here, why don’t you come with me? I’ve got something to tend to while the fog is thin."

He didn’t wait for me to answer, directly stepping out into the cold.

I stood still for just the briefest of moments before following him from behind.

"It hasn’t been very long since the Goddess died. The Curse has settled deep into the city, and not many of us were able to run away. The weaker ones were affected the fastest, their bodies turning into statues first. Slowly, the curse started to eat away at even the stronger ones who chose to remain behind to help the weaker ones."

His body drifted slowly alongside the snow, his hair fluttering in the silence as we walked past the part and towards the central area.

"I was one of those people. I stayed behind in order to help the weaker citizens escape the curse, but you can’t escape it. You can only delay it. I’ve tried to research and understand it, but it’s been to no avail. This curse..."

He wore long, white garments that were light and flowing, and amidst the falling snow, he carried an air of elegance, his every step leaving no trace within the snow.

"...There’s no cure for it."

All of a sudden, numerous statues appeared in the distance, their entire bodies covered in a thin layer of snow as Velar headed towards the nearest one.

"This is what I feel is the greatest pity."

Velar stopped and gazed at the statue before him. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small towel and gently began wiping the snow from the statue’s surface.

"This city is all I have ever known. It is the place that gave me life and accepted me for who I am. To see it fall into what it has become... I cannot bear it. That is why I will do everything I can before I let go. Maybe, someday, the ice will melt, and life will return. But until that day comes, I will stay here, watching over them all."

A faint smile tugged Velar’s lips.

"I will be the warmth within the cold that has consumed this place. The last trembling ember of a dying fire, holding on, waiting for the moment it can burn bright again."

He polished in silence, moving onto the next statue as he finished.

"I’ll be here until my body breaks down," he whispered, his voice barely carried by the wind. "Even if no one remembers my name, even if the world forgets this city, even if my body breaks down, I’ll remain... until I watch it breathe again."

His last words whispered in the air, his focus shifting to another statue.

Standing within the wind, only one thought crossed my mind.

’He’s crazy.’

The entire world had turned to ice.

The people. The buildings. The city itself.

Only a few had survived.

Yet even as the people froze, the structures glazed over, and the city collapsed under the weight of frost, one final ember endured, flickering faintly amid the endless cold, waiting for the impossible moment it could ignite once more.

Even if the world shattered before his eyes, he would not fall.

For he...

...was mad enough to believe it could still be saved.

Such was the man who stood before me.

The last ember of Eisylra, the city of Ice.