Shepherd Wizard (Novel) - Chapter 171
Chapter 171
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Thanks to the information Turan had shared from Lesion and the other half-elves, Solif also roughly knew what kind of person the head of Ruban was.
Someone obsessed with excessive muscles and masculinity?
Calais’s body being so overdeveloped was probably also influenced by his intentions.
The more similar they were physically and mentally, the smoother the assimilation would be.
When the raft reached the Baraha side of the riverbank, Calais gestured to his subordinates behind him to stay put, then approached Solif.
As the head of a great family, and one specialized in close combat at that—making him one of the most powerful fighters in the world in melee—everyone tensed up as he approached.
“What’s with that expression?”
“How could I feel good knowing that someone I knew, even if we weren’t that close, is dead?”
At Solif’s answer, Calais grinned and said:
“Dead? How rude, when I’m standing here alive and breathing.”
“Only your kind would think that counts as being alive.”
How could you call it living when your spirit was being devoured from within, unable to do anything unless the other occasionally relinquished control when they found activity bothersome?
Since it would be meaningless to engage in moral debates with these ancient body snatchers who had lived for thousands of years, Solif shook his head and changed the subject.
“More importantly, I hadn’t heard that Ruban’s head was at death’s door?”
“This one’s in much better condition than what I used before. Look at this, this body… isn’t it beautiful? I tried my best with the previous body too, but the basic frame itself was poor. Having magical power means no muscle loss, which is good, but in the end, talent is important here too.”
Flexing his biceps with a grin, Calais’s face certainly didn’t show the tired feeling characteristic of other body snatchers—those like the heads of Arabion and Zahar who had occupied bodies for a long time.
The period when the bonds between body and soul were most vivid, not long after they had been connected…
Considering that their spirits were probably half white elf, while not as much as Solif himself, they would still be in a state where they could use skills quite freely.
In other words, anticipating a fight, they had switched from a body used merely for survival to one better suited for combat.
“Are you alone? I thought your friend would come too.”
“Turan? He’s somewhere around. When that guy decides to hide, I don’t have any way to find him either, so I don’t know.”
“As expected, I thought so, but he’s not here. The other guys are going to have some headaches.”
Calais declared as if he wouldn’t accept any rebuttal.
He wasn’t as skilled an actor as his friend, but he thought he had covered it up well enough, yet perhaps it wasn’t sufficient to fool an old monster who had lived for thousands of years.
Come to think of it, the fact that he had come here alone like this already suggested he had guessed Turan wouldn’t be here.
If that hadn’t been the case—if Baraha’s forces were fully in place and Turan had come as support—they could have captured and killed Calais right there…
Still, perhaps feeling he needed confirmation despite his words, Calais suddenly pulled out a small staff-shaped magical device and activated it.
Solif was wary, wondering what it was, but it was just a light-type magical device that brightly illuminated the surroundings.
“Since we’re talking alone like this, I have a proposal I’d like to make.”
“What damn proposal?”
“I understand why you and your friends are causing all this trouble. You’re not the first to learn our identity and try to bring us down. Probably won’t be the last either.”
That was precisely why these fallen gods kept their immortality secret.
In a situation where they couldn’t maintain superiority over human mages except for some privileges like soul magic and skills, if it became known that they arbitrarily chose talented individuals among the numerous mages and took over their bodies, there would inevitably be backlash.
“But you don’t want to just grow old and die like this either, do you? Three or four hundred years might seem long at first glance, but when you actually live it, it’s not as much as you’d think. Even if this world seems somewhat boring, if you live in it, there are quite a few things to enjoy.”
Grinning as he spoke, when Solif remained silent instead of answering, Calais brought up his real business.
“Join our side. Then I’ll teach you the secret of refining souls to become immortal. Just like the Mechanic’s gang did before, you can choose a few close people and rule Baraha together. When you actually try it, it won’t be as difficult as you think.”
Mechanic was the nickname the fallen gods used for Lesion.
Calais was proposing that Solif replace his position, to reign behind the scenes in Baraha like the fallen former gods.
“You’re telling me to betray Turan?”
“Think about it carefully. How long do you think this god-killing game you’re enjoying with your friend will continue? After killing all of us, do you think that guy will allow you immortality too? Similar-level colleagues are just competitors once you’ve defeated your enemies.”
Having once ruled the world as colleagues, the gods were now in opposition—it could be called his personal experience.
In the process, he even stimulated the inferiority complex Solif might feel toward Turan, the feeling commonly experienced toward a colleague more outstanding than oneself.
Listening quietly to this, Solif nodded and approached.
“I’d like to hear more details. What exactly are you talking about?”
“So, first—ugh!”
Briefly smiling at the positive response, Calais groaned softly as a flash silently extended from Solif’s hand and immediately reached out to block it.
The metal gauntlets covering his hands blocked the awl-like sharp mass of light, which then transformed into a cloak and attached itself to Solif’s back.
“Tsk.”
Having launched a surprise attack, Solif clicked his tongue upon realizing his opponent had already been prepared for an assault.
Without pre-combining symbols through soul magic, such quick response would have been impossible.
“Not very interested? I thought it was a pretty good proposal.”
“How can you teach a method you don’t even know, you half-non-human b*st*rd?”
“Oh my, was there a survivor from the Mechanic’s gang? I thought we had completely swept them all away.”
Not thinking that they had captured and interrogated them in a soul prison to extract information, Calais clicked his tongue regretfully and slammed his two fists together.
The shockwave from the impact immediately pushed back the river water behind him and swept over the Ruban family’s camp hundreds of meters away.
“Ugh—”
“Fall back!”
Faint sounds of panic could be heard from the distance.
In contrast, there was no particular reaction from the Baraha side, because Solif, anticipating such a situation just before coming here, had ordered the camp to withdraw.
If they had been watching from not far away, the commoners would have been seriously injured or killed by just that shockwave.
“And… even if that weren’t the case, I don’t like you. I only work with people I like.”
Though they had only met directly twice, Solif had definitely received goodwill from Calais.
And that Calais had been sacrificed to the monster before his eyes.
Even if Turan’s words about Calais harboring feelings beyond friendship for him were true, he couldn’t reciprocate those feelings, but at least he should provide some revenge, shouldn’t he?
As Solif’s consciousness turned inward, the three symbols he possessed harmonized.
The sun where Illusion and Pyromaniac merged, and the shield of the Guardian.
Though it didn’t reach the “Silver Sun” that included the Healer, the “Punisher” formed by combining these three was still much more powerful than ordinary two-bloodline combinations.
Looking at Solif’s appearance with pure white flames rising all over his body, Calais licked his lips and said:
“Good, let’s see your skills.”
* * *
Baraha’s capital, Helio City, Temple of the Sun.
Having roughly finished internal arrangements and visiting his friend’s house after several days, Turan hurried to his quarters upon hearing that Solif was seriously injured.
Before long, what Turan saw was Solif lying on a bed, his entire body wrapped in bandages.
Seeing Turan, he waved his hand, which looked like it was wearing thick gloves, and said:
“You came.”
“How badly were you hurt to be in this state?”
“Everyone’s making a fuss, so they made it this dramatic. And I’m not the only one who got hurt. I gave that b*st*rd a few good hits too.”
Speaking boastfully, Solif soon screamed “Argh!” due to the pain in his ribs.
Turan looked at him with a pitying expression, then immediately used healing magic to check his condition.
“Your right arm is completely crushed, your left arm is cleanly broken but all the fingers are gone. Five ribs, one side of the collarbone is also broken, left ankle and right shin too…”
Besides that, from cheekbones to nose and jaw, it would be faster to find uninjured parts than injured ones.
The scary thing was that even this was the result of all Baraha’s healers putting their heart and soul into treating Solif upon his return.
Of course, with their much weaker magical power, meaningful treatment was impossible, so it was just slightly boosting natural healing.
In contrast, Turan’s power had definite effects.
When he seriously put power into recovery magic, broken bones returned to their places and mended with crackling sounds.
Even the parts where sharp fragments had pierced through flesh and protruded went back in and healed perfectly, looking almost like time reversal.
“To do this efficiently, I’d normally have to cut here and there for surgery, but I’ll just use a bit more magical power. You’ve probably hurt enough already.”
“It’s convenient having a good friend.”
“I never imagined you’d fight Ruban’s head. If I’d known, I would have come to heal you sooner… no, would it have been okay to fight together?”
If Solif hadn’t been sufficiently skilled at using skills in actual combat, it could have been dangerous.
Calais Ruban, or more precisely the “Drug Addict” who had taken over his body, had reigned as the leader of Ruban’s gods for ages and would have mastered using that body.
“The other guys didn’t interfere there?”
“Probably deployed elsewhere to be wary of you, or maybe they died before.”
“Could be.”
Last time when Ruban attacked Baraha and was repelled, Turan hadn’t harvested the souls of the enemy’s vessels.
This was because he had sniped from too great a distance even with spiritual perception activated to recognize and draw in souls.
Generally, considering the time it takes to find and merge a new body suitable for a vessel, some of Ruban family’s vessels might still not have obtained usable bodies.
Or like Ymir, they might just be using temporary bodies to be discarded.
“Heave-ho, resurrection!”
A moment later, fully recovered Solif lightly ignited fire to burn away the bandages and stood up.
Seeing the naked body thus revealed, Turan grimaced and said:
“Put away that dangling thing…”
“Jealous?”
“Nonsense.”
“Is it finished?”
Then, Berit entered through the door and looked at Solif standing proudly with his shoulders squared.
Seeing green eyes scanning down his naked body, Solif coughed and looked for clothes to put on.
“Ahem, where are the clothes?”
A moment later, when the awkward atmosphere had somewhat returned to normal, Berit tapped Solif’s body and said:
“You really are completely healed…”
“I told you. Once Turan comes, everything will be resolved. But Turan, shouldn’t we share with Berit now too? I think this is enough.”
When Solif was seriously injured and returned, if Berit had immediately informed Turan of this fact, he would have come within half a day and healed all the injuries.
The reason this couldn’t happen was because she didn’t even know where the Jade Mirror was, let alone its existence.
The Jade Mirror, being connected to Armani who was a merman royal, was known to very few even within Parsha regarding its existence and location.
At most, a few key figures from the former Berk family like Asiz and his brother Melo, Haram, and others.
In contrast, on the Baraha side where trust hadn’t been built, only Solif knew everything, so when he was injured like this, situation resolution became difficult.
Like what happened this time.
“Mm, I suppose so. I also think Berit has become someone trustworthy now.”
Though Berit was a Zahar noble from their potential enemy, her contributions so far had been significant.
From leaking internal family information to spreading disinformation to lure enemy attacks this time, maintaining the secrecy of the fake army, and rescuing the injured Solif.
If she wanted to stab them in the back, there had already been several opportunities to do so.
Just like Meisa had gained trust when Turan saw her vulnerable state in the past and left her alone.
Since they had dismissed other people anyway, Turan sat at the table beside the bed and told Berit several secrets she hadn’t known.
Starting from the identity and location of the Jade Mirror to the hidden gods ruling this world.
Initially surprised by the story that the Parsha family was cooperating with merfolk, a different species, and using their treasure, when it came to the story about gods, Berit forgot even her characteristic pretense and gaped.
“No, that’s completely absurd…”
“I know it’s hard to accept, but it’s all true, Berit. This power I use isn’t some secret technique of Baraha’s head, but really the power that gods used.”
The shocked woman soon closed her mouth and nodded after seeing a few skills Solif demonstrated as examples.
A moment later, Berit’s gaze turned to Turan.
“Then… is Zahar the same?”
“For now, I only know of two: Head Harun and my grandfather Talis. But there are probably more.”
Seeing that there was one among the Zahar nobles who followed Alma, it wasn’t necessarily only those with strong magical power and high status who became vessels.
Of course, vessels were basically better the stronger their fundamental abilities, but compatibility with the soul was equally important.
“Then my father will also be possessed someday. Since he’s the heir.”
“Not immediately, but someday it will happen.”
Harun Zahar’s physical age was around sixty.
If he were a commoner elder, he might suddenly die from various ailments, but the only thing that weakened powerful nobles was the natural aging that came with the passage of time.
Turan quietly watched Berit covering her face with a distressed expression and said:
“You don’t need to pretend to be sad. You’re not really sad.”
“You, I really hate you.”
Her apparent sadness was probably calculated to make Solif like her for showing such emotion.
Seeing the two of them, Solif laughed incredulously.
“You two are always so similar whenever I see you.”
“That’s not something I want to hear.”
“Me neither.”
After glaring at each other briefly, Turan shook his head to express that they should stop talking about that topic.
Anyway, whether Berit had affection for her father or not, as long as she liked Solif, it didn’t matter.
After chatting briefly like this, Turan noticed that Solif’s eyes had been getting drowsy for a while.
“Sleepy?”
“Uh… damn, why am I suddenly like this?”
“Probably because you couldn’t sleep properly due to the broken bones. Rest for now. Head of Parsha, shall we go out?”
“Let’s do that.”
“Ah, wait.”
Nodding at Berit’s words and about to get up, Solif stopped Turan and said to Berit:
“Sorry, but could we talk alone for a moment? It’s not really a secret, just personal talk.”
“Of course. I’ll go out first.”
Despite the blatant attitude of wanting to talk secretly, which could be hurtful, Berit smiled brightly, bowed, and left the room.
Watching her quietly, Turan said to Solif:
“She’s sad, so comfort her separately later.”
“I can tell that much even without a nose like yours.”
“So, why did you call me aside?”
“Just a moment…”
Perhaps his head wasn’t working properly due to fatigue, Solif muttered something incoherent for a moment, then organized his words.
“Calais… he proposed that I betray you. To become like the gods and live forever… is that possible?”
“It is possible.”
The souls of the ancient Freya gods and modern mages had no major differences except for the size and types of symbols in their spirit forms.
In other words, humans who cultivated sufficiently powerful spirits through soul magic were no different from gods.
“Then, after everything is over… what happens to us?”
What Solif was asking was simple.
If they drove out all the old gods from this land and then a long time passed, when their physical lifespan ended.
Whether they would transfer bodies like those fallen gods, or peacefully accept death.
Looking at Solif who first brought up a question that many might have thought about but couldn’t voice, Turan honestly shared his thoughts.
“I want to live long. Until I feel sick and tired of living.”
To him, the world was fierce and harsh beyond measure, but also enjoyable.
Material happiness fulfilled by good clothes, houses, and delicious food.
Emotional satisfaction from traveling to new lands and seeing unseen things, reading books and learning unknown things.
And even friendship and love obtained through interactions with others, the joy of protecting those under him.
The thought that all of this would disappear with death was unbearably sad just to imagine.
“But I won’t sacrifice innocent people for that. The way they live now is the way I despise most.”
Unless he found a method like permanently maintaining soul chain bonds based on Ravitas’s Holy Relic, he wouldn’t rely on magic that extracted souls en masse for reincarnation.
At Turan’s words, Solif smiled dimly.
“Yeah, that’s the answer I wanted to hear…”
That his fight to the death with that drug addict who had taken over Calais’s body hadn’t been in vain.
Solif muttered quietly and fell into sleep as deep as death.