Shepherd Wizard (Novel) - Chapter 163
Chapter 163
Read it only at Utoon.net!
Discord
Turan gazed silently at Harun for a moment upon hearing the word “love” come from his lips.
It was already clear from their earlier conversation that the elderly male appearance before him was not Harun’s true essence.
No, upon further thought, it wasn’t even certain that Harun’s essence was female.
While the Freya faith rejected same-sex love to promote the proliferation of noble bloodlines, there were still those who harbored such passions.
Perhaps Otas, the Night Hunter, had a female essence.
Thanks to absorbing Kadram’s memories, Turan had a vague understanding that the game characters embodying the gods and the players behind them might not align in essence.
Just because the Night Hunter’s body was male didn’t mean the person behind the monitor was necessarily male as well.
Like the Lame Goddess, who with her beautiful appearance and girlish tone seduced others for money, only to be exposed as male and subsequently beaten…
“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s written all over your face. I’m sorry, but I’ll refrain from speaking on that matter as it’s personal.”
“…Understood. However, there’s something I find hard to comprehend. What is it that you desire from the resurrected Night Hunter?”
If Turan truly was the reincarnation of the Night Hunter, even if Harun sought affection from him, Turan couldn’t reciprocate.
His passion was already given to Meisa, and even if it weren’t, feeling romantic attachment to an old man was difficult.
“You must still be young and unaware. Love doesn’t always seek reciprocation. Sometimes, simply giving it can bring joy.”
It was hard to reconcile the warm smile on Harun’s face, as if speaking to a child, with the ruthless figure who had calmly admitted to sacrificing hundreds of thousands of souls for Turan’s creation just moments ago.
Truly, the old man before him was the most dual-natured being Turan had ever encountered.
In some aspects, utterly cruel, and in others, exuding an almost innocent devotion…
As if sensing Turan’s inner conflict, Harun suddenly posed a question.
“Do you hate me? For sacrificing hundreds of thousands to create you, for separating your parents?”
Turan didn’t answer immediately, instead carefully choosing his words.
Judging by the content of the question, it seemed Harun was unaware that Turan knew the truth about his father’s death.
To conceal that without lying required skillful phrasing.
“Well, I think you’re a horrific villain… but in a way, I could also say I’m indebted to you, so honestly, I’m not sure how to treat you.”
As he spoke, Turan suddenly recalled the nobles of the Baltas family from Orem City in the west, whom he had met long ago.
He had inwardly despised them for using knights as shields against attacks that weren’t even lethal, yet they had treated him generously as a guest and opened their library to him.
Though it was for the purpose of enlisting him in a magical beast hunt, nonetheless.
While the scale of their misdeeds couldn’t compare to the old man before him, the notion of someone whose actions were distasteful yet personally kind to him felt similar in essence.
“Moreover, I wonder if I even deserve such favor. Even after hearing your explanation, I’m not convinced that I am the reincarnation of the Night Hunter. I have no memories of a past life, and my bloodline differs from his.”
In truth, even if an opportunity to gain such memories arose, Turan would decline it.
Just absorbing a fragment of Kadram’s memories had caused him to harbor unconscious hatred toward a family he had never met or lived alongside in the same world.
If he were to fully acquire the Night Hunter’s memories, could he still define himself as himself?
Hearing this, Harun smiled and nodded.
“Well, it doesn’t matter how you think of it. I’ve seen you with my own eyes and gained my certainty. That’s enough for me, that’s enough.”
As he murmured, a single tear rolled down Harun’s wrinkled face.
Startled, Turan noticed that the Zahar nobles nearby were even more shaken than he was.
Though the sound-blocking magical device prevented their conversation from being heard, their actions were visible to all, so seeing their family head suddenly shed a tear during the discussion naturally caused alarm.
Some even attempted to enter the sound-blocked area, only to be restrained.
“Ah, my apologies… If I were in a younger body, it might have been fine, but at this age, I seem to have become overly sentimental. Shall we end the personal talk here? It must be tiresome for a young man to listen to an old man’s ramblings. Is there anything you desire from me? As long as it’s not too grand, I’ll grant it.”
At Harun’s words, Turan briefly entertained the thought of asking him to eliminate all the Zahar nobles behind him, especially the god vessels, and then take his own life, but he quickly dismissed it.
Even if the old man before him regarded Turan as something akin to a past lover, there was no way he would fulfill such a request.
In fact, it was likely because he anticipated such thoughts that he specified not to ask for anything too grand.
If he claimed he would grant anything despite knowing he couldn’t, that would be a lie.
Ultimately, after some deliberation, Turan made a request that, as Harun had said, wasn’t particularly grand.
“That rod you mentioned earlier, could you tell me what it’s used for?”
Pointing at the rod on Harun’s back, Turan prompted a hearty laugh from the old man.
“Of course, I’ll tell you! Why not see it in action as well? Experience it firsthand.”
“A spar, or a duel?”
“A spar, naturally. If it were a duel, even I would struggle to restrain our side. Besides, you need to learn how to use the ability you just acquired. Showing you in practice will make it easier, won’t it?”
If they fought seriously and Turan sustained a severe injury, the Zahar gods would likely seize the opportunity to push for an all-out attack.
In that case, even Harun would find it difficult to hold them back.
Even as powerful god vessels, they became vulnerable during the process of transferring bodies, requiring assistance from others.
The reason gods formed groups rather than living alone was to facilitate smooth body transfers; becoming isolated could mean failing to secure a new body and being cast out.
Turan, through the half-elves, had some understanding of this subtle dynamic among the gods.
“I will absolutely refrain from any attack that could be fatal to you during the spar. If our side causes any trouble, I will intervene. How about it?”
“Very well.”
After a moment of consideration, Turan accepted his proposal.
Since activating the Eye of Truth, Harun hadn’t uttered a single lie.
If his words were true, sparring with the head of Zahar would undoubtedly be a valuable experience.
“Then, shall we have a light bout as an after-meal exercise!”
As Harun loudly declared this after deactivating the sound-blocking magical device, those around them wore puzzled expressions.
Just moments ago, he had been shedding tears, and now he was proposing a spar?
Wasn’t this too abrupt a shift?
While Harun spoke to the Zahar nobles, Turan also informed Osel and the other Parsha nobles of his decision to spar with Harun.
Hearing this, Osel frowned with his youthful face and said, “Are you sure about this? It might be a ploy to prevent the head of Parsha from joining forces with me…”
If it were a straightforward fight, Turan and Osel would naturally team up to pressure Harun, but under the guise of a spar, it would be a one-on-one encounter.
If Harun suddenly launched a surprise attack causing a fatal injury, it would effectively become a divide-and-conquer strategy in a two-against-one scenario.
“Your concern is valid, but I don’t believe he harbors such intentions.”
“Understood. If anything seems off, I’ll join in immediately, so signal me.”
* * *
The spar took place in the middle of a barren wasteland beside the temporary meeting area.
Even if it was described as a light exchange, the clash between the heads of two great families was significant enough that other mages kept a distance of at least several hundred meters.
The only one standing relatively close was Osel, who, as a powerful mage himself, had little risk of dying easily.
Standing about thirty meters apart, Harun adjusted his hat with a few taps and spoke to Turan.
“To be honest, I proposed this, but I didn’t expect you to accept so readily. I thought you’d test the waters a bit before answering.”
“You spoke the truth, after all.”
“Charging in with such certainty, you do resemble him.”
Was it called confirmation bias, the tendency to interpret everything in a certain light?
Turan mentally repeated the term that suddenly came to mind before pulling a sling from his pocket.
Since it was a light spar, he had no intention of using advanced techniques like Fire Soul or the railgun.
The skills he used back when he was a more ordinary mage, known publicly, would suffice.
Since Harun already knew about the Mimic Holy Relic, Turan could use it without reservation.
“Then… shall we begin?”
With a low murmur, Harun’s form vanished from the spot.
It was the signature invisibility ability of the Zahar bloodline.
Turan had wondered if it might be different for a family-head-level mage, but fortunately, the Mimic Holy Relic could detect even this.
Instead of immediately throwing the stone he had prepared, Turan, as his past opponents had done, instantly created an orb of light.
In an instant, the surrounding area of several kilometers was brightly illuminated-
“…Oh.”
Surprisingly, Harun didn’t dispel his invisibility but countered by enveloping himself in a pitch-black mist.
Naturally, this wasn’t ordinary magic but a skill.
In response, Turan hurled the stone he had been spinning into the mist.
After all, it was obvious who was inside.
With a bang, the stone, not aided by a wind path, tore through the air at supersonic speed with a sonic boom, striking the target precisely.
No, it would be more accurate to say that Harun deflected the incoming stone with the rod he held.
“That doesn’t seem like a very useful technique.”
Turan remarked to Harun, who had dispelled his invisibility.
Of course, hitting the target accurately was thanks to the detection ability of the Holy Relic, but even without it, attacking the black mist as a target would have sufficed to resolve the issue.
In response to Turan, Harun let out a hearty laugh and said, “I wanted to show you that such a method exists. Besides, it’s not entirely useless. Creating a situation where the opponent can’t tell how much damage they’ve inflicted, or even if their attack was effective, exerts considerable psychological pressure.”
Indeed, so it was a technique used for such a purpose.
Turan briefly explored the handles within his inner self before employing the same technique Harun had just used.
As the black mist, which should have only existed as a symbol within him, enveloped his entire body, he could easily remain hidden even under bright light.
“Then it’s my turn.”
At that moment, Harun murmured softly and aimed the rod he held at Turan, unwrapping the cloth around it.
From that action alone, it wasn’t hard to guess the purpose of the object.
It resembled the steam rifles used by the mountain dwarves Turan had fought long ago.
Though smaller and simpler in form, the structure was too similar to be mistaken.
The moment a light flickered beyond the black barrel, Turan crossed his arms over his chest and switched the Holy Relic to the Ruban bloodline.
A metal projectile shot from the barrel at a speed nearly impossible to perceive, tearing toward Turan’s arms.
“Ugh…!”
Even with the defensive power of the Guardian from the Ruban bloodline, combined with the inherent Guardian magical device and the protective clothing Meisa had made, Turan’s forearms still throbbed.
He surmised that if he had taken the hit with bare flesh, without the aid of the Holy Relic and magical device, it would have pierced through both arms and even his heart.
Such was the power, only possible because the gun itself was a Holy Relic of immense strength, as he had sensed earlier through the Holy Relic’s perception.
Turan, having been knocked back dozens of meters, glared sharply at Harun, who let out a hearty laugh.
“I trusted you could withstand that much. By the same logic, if I had taken your stone throw directly, it would have hurt quite a bit, wouldn’t it?”
As before, the old man had a knack for making anyone attempting to argue with him feel foolish.
“Judging by your reaction, it seems you’ve seen a gun before. How did you know? Did Kadram or Lesion tell you?”
“I saw the ones used by the mountain dwarves. They operated with steam.”
“Oh ho.”
“More importantly, how did you know I have Kadram and Lesion with me?”
“I heard it from that friend in the northwest. He said someone stole the Soul Labyrinth. If it was you, naturally, you would have interrogated the souls of the opponents you defeated.”
It was somewhat surprising that the Biologist had openly admitted to Harun that an item was stolen, but upon reflection, it made sense.
He likely wanted Zahar to become wary of Turan and deal with him without getting his own hands dirty.
While taken aback by this unexpected revelation, Turan focused on the spar, exploring the handles within his inner self.
Among the abilities he had seen earlier, there was one he wanted to test in combat.
It was a type that imbued attacks with specific properties, likely…
“Oh!”
Harun, who had been deflecting the incoming stone as before, let out a surprised exclamation.
The stone he had knocked away veered back mid-flight and came hurtling toward him again.
The principle was similar to the tracking magic Turan often used even as an ordinary mage, but the angle of redirection and the magical power consumption were on a completely different level.
Normally, compensating for the overwhelming loss of force from ignoring inertia with magical power would lead to self-destruction, but this ability allowed easy tracking of the enemy without such drawbacks.
Likely, the ancient Night Hunter had used this ability to shoot down enemies from great distances.
Otherwise, there was no way a projectile could travel over a hundred kilometers without the target moving.
‘I should test if I can add a tracking function to the railgun later.’
If possible, it would further refine that terrifying weapon.
Though he had a hunch it might weaken the power somewhat.
While Turan entertained such thoughts, Harun caused pitch-black tentacle-like forms to surge from the shadow beneath his feet, swallowing the stone Turan had thrown.
Presumably, it was an ability of the Shadow bloodline.
“Don’t think of this as a demonstration. You won’t be able to replicate it.”
“Indeed. This is just out of curiosity, and you don’t have to answer, but wasn’t the Shadow bloodline supposed to have gone extinct long ago?”
Even as they conversed, Turan cloaked himself in invisibility without light to evade the incoming attack.
To counter this, Harun would likely need to create light as Turan had done.
However, contrary to expectations, Harun didn’t create light but instead stomped the ground as if casting an earth manipulation spell.
With that, violet-black tentacles erupted simultaneously across a radius of several hundred meters around him, piercing upward.
Naturally, the area where Turan stood was no exception, so he used flight magic to soar upward while invisible to avoid the attack.
The moment a tentacle grazed him, Harun’s gaze locked onto him.
“There you are.”
Bang, the sound of a gunshot, which Turan hadn’t clearly heard earlier, rang out, but it had no effect.
Unlike before, instead of blocking with his body, Turan detonated Fire Soul around himself to evade with a maneuver.
Landing back on the ground, Turan dispelled his invisibility, and Harun retracted the shadow tentacles covering the terrain.
“The Shadow bloodline is something we’ve secretly preserved. However, we ensure it only manifests as a faint power difficult to awaken in mages, and if someone with excessive strength is born, we prune them.”
“Because of bloodline management regulations?”
“Exactly. Moreover, the Shadow bloodline is somewhat… dangerous. Not as much as the Alchemist bloodline, but still.”
“Is that why you eradicated those two bloodlines?”
“Indeed. If they had remained, the world would be far more miserable than it is now. I can assure you of that.”
As they conversed, Turan closed the distance and threw a punch, to which Harun unexpectedly responded with aggressive close combat.
Even with the Ruban bloodline’s power activated, Turan wasn’t easily overpowering him; in fact, it felt as if Harun was the stronger one.
It was clear that, just as Turan used a Guardian magical device, Harun possessed a magical device granting monstrous strength akin to the History bloodline.
After exchanging several blows, Turan stepped back a few paces, rubbing his aching jaw, while Harun slung the gun over his shoulder.
“I suppose we should stop here. I’m starting to feel tired.”
It didn’t seem like an empty remark; Harun’s face visibly showed more fatigue than before.
Just as Badal had shown in the past.
Back then, Turan hadn’t understood why, but now he did.
Unlike Turan and his companions, whose souls and bodies were in complete harmony, the god vessels suffered from a lack of harmony between soul and body, causing the soul chains binding them to tire easily.
In cases like the half-elves, where the soul and body’s species were mismatched, as with Lesion, they struggled even to use skills properly.
If Turan were to fight them in the future, he would need to exploit this to the fullest.
Should he seize the moment of their fatigue to finish them off?
Tempted briefly by the thought, Turan shook his head.
Morality aside, launching a surprise attack during a spar between host and guest would earn contempt not only from his subordinates but also from his ally, Osel.
“It was a good spar.”
As the two bowed respectfully to each other, signaling the end of the spar, cheers erupted from the surroundings.