Chapter 76
“Wow, really? Then can I practice at home now?”
“If you do it safely with the posture I taught you. Don’t forget — you only put your finger on the trigger when you’re ready to shoot.”
“Yes! I’ll practice super hard! Until I can do it just like you, Teacher!”
Lavinia beamed brightly, her eyes sparkling.
If she had known how difficult Lillietta’s standards were for a beginner, she might have made a sad face, but since she didn’t, Lavinia was simply thrilled.
Rita smiled and said,
“Then let’s practice a few more times until you’re used to the basic posture. Lower the gun, sit, then stand up and regain your stance.”
“Yes, Teacher!”
Lavinia was more enthusiastic than expected, so Lillietta ended up teaching her for quite a while.
That’s why it wasn’t until after Lavinia had gone home and Rita had finished dinner with her family that she finally opened Pascal’s History, which Ollie had lent her.
Lillietta leaned against her bed and examined the leather-bound book.
‘There’s a magic circle engraved on the inside of the cover. Must’ve been Ollie’s doing. He made sure no one could just open and read it.’
After briefly skimming the table of contents, she quickly flipped through the pages.
‘They said they returned four years ago, but there are records from 1766 up to this year.’
The past years not listed in the contents were labeled “Modified” and added to the very back of the book. It seemed each year’s chapter had been removed and magically bound to the end of the book as time passed.
‘I’m curious about that too. What Beacon has changed so far.’
But she decided to check the past history later. For now, Rita went back to the front of the book to find what she was looking for. Since it was an important event, it had been marked in red and was easy to spot.
…The Beginning of the Catastrophe. The Emergence of Mana Contamination and Appearance of Mana Beasts.
May 1773.
About three years from now, the monsters of the White Mountains and the Black Forest begin to run rampant. All kinds of creatures leave their habitats and recklessly attack civilian areas.
There was a memo attached like a tag to that section.
The first part was in Ollie’s handwriting:
“Canary? Must be referring to the bird used in mines to detect poisonous gas. Are monsters acting as canaries warning of mana contamination?”
The middle handwriting was Gideon’s, and the rounded script at the end, saying they would keep watching, belonged to Beacon’s youngest, Luca.
Rita kept reading that section of history.
While the Empire was focusing all its strength on the so-called “Great Monster Rampage,” a mysterious plague appeared in the western part of the continent. The disease spread faster than the messengers sent to report it and wiped out the West in a flash.
“It wasn’t actually a disease. Non-oathbound people either died from mana contamination or turned into beasts.”
The great river called the Hindel in the North, and the Meroje in the Central region, divides the western and eastern Empire. At the Meroje, the plague momentarily halts. In that window of time, the Empire sends an investigation team west — but no one returns.
Soon after, unfamiliar monsters — not ordinary ones — begin pouring out of the silent West. Human-to-monster transformations are observed. This is the first appearance of the term mana contamination.
And then… the sun goes out.
Year 1 of the Catastrophe.
The Empire builds fortifications along the Meroje River and begins a war against the monsters emerging from the contaminated West. In the North, Laskail builds defenses along the Hindel River, while in the South, Duyrevog sets up its own line.
These defenses are collectively called the Barrier Line — the earliest form of the “Last Defense Line” 200 years later.
As the war continues, the barrier retreats further and further. The area of mana contamination expands uncontrollably, and existing knights and mages are no match for the beasts.
Year 3: Surrounding kingdoms collapse. Refugees pour into the Empire, while mana contamination and beasts thrive in the abandoned lands.
Year 4: The Great Invasion.
Overrun with beasts from the contaminated zones, a massive assault is launched on the Empire’s defenses. The barrier collapses, Laskail in the North is isolated, and the capital, Ramkard, becomes contaminated.
The fleeing Emperor dies. The Crown Prince ascends the throne and relocates the capital to the uncontaminated southern city of Duyrevog.
Year 5: “Ode” is discovered. The new Emperor gathers Ode-users and forms a beast defense force.
The brutal war continues…
Year 18: The Emperor dies defending the barrier. The barely surviving Empire collapses, and the true age of anarchy begins…
Rita let out a long sigh and closed her eyes.
“If the catastrophe begins, it’ll be too late. I need to find the cause and stop the mana contamination within three years.”
And she’d need to start training oathbound forces in advance to prepare for what’s coming.
“They’re probably already doing that. Those talents the Crown Prince raised — they must be the oathbound.”
Upon closer inspection, she noticed a memo in the corner.
It was Gideon’s handwriting:
“As expected, they’re preparing for everything. The ‘ruined relic’ must be the place where we found the star, right? At this point in time, it might still be a proper castle. Hm… I’ll ask about the details at the Salon…”
The mana beast Kraken appearing now was strange — the contamination was supposed to start three years later.
“Gideon seemed to have some idea. I’ll ask him at the Salon too.”
She reread the passage to memorize it. While the impending doom made her feel suffocated, a strange feeling also stirred in her.
“Now I understand why Gideon is a hero even without a legendary tale.”
A leader who held the Empire together for 18 years while every other kingdom collapsed within three under the unprecedented disaster of mana contamination.
A monarch who pushed on with research on Ode in extreme conditions, founded the primitive beast defense corps — the prototype for the Final Defense Line and Command — and rebuilt military structure from scratch.
The last king and emperor remembered in history. At the start of the catastrophe, he had only been Crown Prince, and some theorize that if he had taken the throne earlier, the Empire might’ve lasted longer.
He is said to have died, and with his death, the Empire and the Old World died too — he was the line dividing the splendid age of kingdoms from the desperate survival of the New Age.
That was Gideon El Ledert Kairam.
“And this emperor is my squad leader and classmate.”
She knew he was exceptional, but not this exceptional. Rita looked at the familiar name as if seeing it for the first time.
“I shoved him from behind with my bare foot…”
Was that a mistake? Should she show a bit more respect next time they met? If he was remembered this much in history, he was quite literally the hope of humanity.
“First, I have to get our family to support Gideon as soon as possible. I’ll talk to Leon tomorrow.”
Deciding not to be too casual with Gideon from now on, Rita flipped to the Heroic Records section.
“Let’s start with what I’m curious about.”
First, she looked up her own entry.
It was exactly as Olivia had said earlier that day. From the start, Lillietta del Nysa Laskail’s life had been so short in Pascal’s History that there wasn’t much written about her.
“At least I had a unique constitution, so something got recorded… and because of this…”
December 1766. Laskail’s noble daughter, Lillietta, dies of sudden pneumonia at age 16. As a result, the engagement talks with the Crown Prince are naturally canceled.
“So this entry only remains because of that engagement talk. And that Crown Prince was…”
Gideon.
In the Ashes Era, Gideon was the same age as her, but the returned Gideon was two years older. So when she was 16, he was 18.
It felt strange.
“Who else could be Crown Princess material but Lady Laskail?”
That line Gideon had said.
To her — as his long-time friend — it sounded like a joke. But in Pascal’s History, it wasn’t.
“Of course. In that version of history, it was just a standard noble lady and the Crown Prince… With Adicle tied to Duyrevog, it would’ve made sense for the Crown Prince to choose Laskail.”
Rita imagined the 16-year-old noble girl meeting the 18-year-old Crown Prince for a political marriage. But it made her feel weird, so she stopped.
“So in this history… who did Gideon end up marrying?”
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