Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 145 (Part 2)

The term “life vessel” was familiar to some, while others had no idea what it meant. Even those who knew of it had likely only encountered the term in stories about liches, without fully understanding its implications.

“What is a life vessel?”

“It’s easiest to think of it as a weakness. If it breaks, the soul contained within it will also disappear.”

“Ah!”

Rodin could have explained it in more detail, but he chose to summarize it as a “weakness” and leave it at that. Going into a long-winded explanation felt bothersome.

“Now, back to the main point. Do you see these statues here? The horse-shaped statue on the far left has a damaged magic circle inside. No matter whose soul is in there, there’s no way for it to come out. In other words, you can think of it as nothing more than a finely crafted model.”

Rodin casually kicked the horse-shaped statue.

The statue rolled forward a few times before stopping, its head awkwardly planted into the ground.

“As for the second statue, its soul has already escaped. Someone activated the statue, and the soul was released.”

“Does that mean it took over someone’s body?”

“That’s a possibility, but it’s not certain. As I mentioned earlier, if the person who activated the statue wasn’t a suitable match for the soul, the soul would have been left without a vessel and ultimately vanished. On the other hand, as the Marquis said, it could have taken over someone’s body and is now pretending to be them.”

It was a chilling thought, but Marquis Richmond quickly relaxed.

Rodin’s earlier comment about the statues’ weakness came to mind. No matter whose body the soul had taken over, breaking the statue would solve everything.

“The two statues on the right still have their souls intact. No one has activated them yet.”

“Aha! Objects containing souls, huh.”

“You handle them as you see fit.”

Rodin picked up the two intact statues and handed them to Harrison Richmond. Though the souls inside were still present, Rodin had no further interest in them.

“Are you not going to deal with them yourself?”

“Well, if they were mine, I’d destroy them. But they’re not, are they? It’s up to the owner to decide what to do.”

“Still, when it comes to black magic…”

“I’m not affiliated with the Magic Towers. Whether you hand them over to the Magic Tower or burn them to ashes is none of my concern.”

Though he had once joined the Landes Magic Tower after capturing a colossal magical beast, it had only been out of necessity. He felt no loyalty to the organization and bore no obligation to handle its responsibilities.

“Understood.”

“Earlier, I mentioned that Young Master Harrison was under a curse, didn’t I? Someone dulled his senses in order to achieve something.”

“And that ‘something’ is one of these statues?”

“It’s possible. Or… it could be this.”

Rodin pulled out a pendant from the cabinet. It was small enough that he had to hold it up with his fingers for everyone to see.

“That’s…”

“This is also an artifact from the Kingdom of Bolas. Young Master Harrison, where did you get this?”

“I was told it was found in the same ruins as the griffin statue, so I bought them together.”

Harrison Richmond looked unusually uneasy, as though he didn’t want the pendant to be publicly revealed.

“Activating this is extremely simple. Young Master Harrison, you know what this is, don’t you?”

“Well… uh… I mean…”

“It’s fine. I’m not going to force you to disclose anything. In any case, this might have been their true target. You probably know why, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do think it’s a possibility.”

Although Harrison Richmond didn’t reveal the pendant’s nature, his demeanor confirmed its significant value. That was enough for Rodin.

“Either way, it has to be one of the two.”

“Will destroying that rat-shaped statue over there solve everything?”

“No. You’ll also have to destroy the conduits planted across the territory. But before that… the healer isn’t here, is he?”

“No, he’s not.”

Marquis Richmond turned to Administrator Hamilton with a questioning look.

Hamilton responded by glancing at a Barclay standing in the distance. The Barclay stepped forward and bowed deeply.

“Healer Sagan mentioned he needed to gather herbs and headed to the commercial district. He said he wouldn’t be back until late afternoon.”

“I’ll send someone to fetch him.”

“Then let’s wait a moment.”

Rodin turned his gaze toward the distant sky. He could sense the curse’s energy evenly spread across the entire territory.

‘Ugh, getting rid of all that will probably take the entire day.’

It was exactly why he hadn’t wanted to get involved in this mess in the first place.

—

Barclay Richmond was shocked and confused by the situation. Especially when the subject of ancient souls was brought up—it felt like he had been struck on the head.

‘Could Sagan really be…?’

He swore to himself that he wasn’t an ancient soul. He had been born into the Richmond Marquisate and lived 80 years without ever being anyone else.

But the truth was, he had dabbled in black magic.

He simply wanted to live. He didn’t want to grow old and die like this. As he searched for ways to prolong his life, black magic caught his eye. One thing had led to another, and he eventually learned it.

‘But something about it feels suspicious.’

It had been 12 years since he started practicing black magic. Having started so late, his progress had been excruciatingly slow. He spent several years as a mere 1st-circle black magician. It was only last year that he finally advanced to the 2nd circle.

But at this pace, he felt he wouldn’t last much longer.

That’s when Sagan had approached him. The healer had promised him a faster way to grow stronger and had persuaded him. Richmond had given in to the temptation.

The problem was that the process had been odd.

At the time, Richmond was a 2nd-circle black magician, but Sagan had only been a 1st-circle black magician. Despite being lower in rank, Sagan seemed to know everything about black magic.

‘If that guy really is an ancient soul… what does he want from me? Could it have something to do with the Rotton Marquisate?’ (T/N: The marquisate that has a territorial war with the Richmond.)

Richmond doubted Sagan had helped him purely out of goodwill. He must have wanted something in return. The only thing that came to mind was the upcoming territorial war with the Rotton Marquisate.

‘The damage to the territory has been significant, but there’s no way our family would lose to a house as insignificant as Rotton.’

Sagan had explained that draining the vitality of the territory’s people would accelerate his growth. It had been an enticing offer.

Sacrificing the lives of those worse than livestock to extend his own lifespan—wasn’t that a good thing for the world?

So Richmond had readily agreed and granted Sagan various privileges.

Just as Sagan had promised, his growth had accelerated. In just one year, he had reached the 3rd circle. At this rate, even becoming a master didn’t seem impossible.

‘I haven’t been found out yet. I still have my aura.’

As a former 6th-grade swordsman, Barclay Richmond had become a grotesque hybrid of a magic swordsman after learning black magic.

It was a widely accepted belief that magic swordsmen were impossible without a special cultivation method. As long as he emphasized his aura, he could hide his identity as a black magician.

‘That Archmage is the problem.’

Rodin was an unpleasant figure. With his face completely hidden under a hood, he looked more sinister than a black magician.

And yet, he seemed to know everything—down to the details Richmond himself hadn’t been aware of.

Especially the curse on his nephew—Richmond hadn’t even noticed it himself.

The fact that the Archmage had identified a curse that even a black magician couldn’t detect was unnerving.

‘What kind of person is he…?’

Hyung_Otaku2

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