Chapter 446 – Even if you breathe quietly (5)

– That bastard who does shit like this with people need to get shitted on at least once! Ow! I was watching because I thought we could smack him in the back properly this time!

Cale wanted to focus on what the White Star was saying, however, his mind was like the middle of a busy marketplace right now.

– Is that bastard looking down on our Cale? Huh? Why the hell would you put a good and pitiful kid like Choi Han under an illusion? Huh? Huh? Hey White Star bastard, respond to my questions!

'Excuse me, Miss Sky Eating Water… How can the White Star respond to you?'

– Cale, go! Save him from that bastard who is worse than a rotten pile of mud! Ow! I need to XXX and XX that bastard up!
– Calm down.
– Super Rock! Would you be calm in a situation like this? It's an illusion, an illuuuuuusion! That terrible thing returned to the world again! How can there be such a XX like XXX situation?!

'Aigoo. She's no joke.'

Cale's mind blanked out at the Sky Eating Water's speech that was getting worse.

'She always controlled herself decently, so why is it so bad this time?'

The only difference than before was the existence of the Illusionist. Had the Sky Eating Water fought against an Illusionist in the past?
Cale felt his mind going blank as he listened to her swearing that was getting worse and raised his head.
He made eye contact with the White Star who pointed the fire sword toward him and started to speak.

"What's wrong? You can't think of a way out? Is your mind in a chaotic mess?"

'Yes. My mind is complicated and quite loud right now.'

"It won't be easy for even you this time."

'No, my mind isn't a complicated mess because of you-'

– Not easy my ass! A fire like that is nothing. A natural disaster? I can bring forth all sorts of natural disasters if Cale is willing to faint three times! Huh? If Cale's willing to be unconscious for about three months, hmm? I can cause a real natural disaster if he's willing to be unconscious for a season!

'Wait, why do I have to faint three times? Why do I have to be unconscious for three months? Who knows what the White Star would do during that time?'

Cale had a headache.

"Let go of my neck."

Cale reached his hand out the moment he heard the Illusionist's voice.

Baaaaang!

The fire rammed into the silver shield.

Shhhhhhhhh.

Cale's body was pushed back. The Illusionist's neck was already out of Cale's hand. Cale felt his palms that cast the shield tingle.

Craaaaaackle.

The fire coming out of the White Star's fire sword was easily destroying Cale's silver shield.

"It's different than before, isn't it?"

The White Star was relaxed. The Illusionist and Sayeru moved next to him. An odd sensation filled Cale's mind.
Had he ever faced the White Star and his subordinates on his own before?

"The sword of disasters now also has fire. Your shield alone is not enough to defeat this fire sword. You'll probably need to use multiple powers too."

He was right.
Cale needed to use multiple powers as the White Star mentioned.

"You'll need to use at least three ancient powers to get rid of the pillar of fire and fight against Sayeru and me. Then you'll probably faint very quickly."
"Ha."

Cale let out a gasp-like scoff and the White Star nodded his head as if he understood.

"It's because you have no friends to help you this time."

That was correct as well.
Raon, Choi Han, and the others were all not able to help Cale right now. Cale needed to use more ancient powers than normal but there was nobody to protect him once he fainted.

"I found it very odd that you faint so easily even though you have all five attributes of ancient powers. Your body should be in balance. I found the answer after debating it for a while."

The White Star had thought about a lot of things prior to coming to the Caro Kingdom this time.
It was important to get the final earth attribute power, but he was someone with the patience to wait 1,000 years.

"Your plate is weak. No matter how much your plate has grown because you created a balance of attributes, your plate itself is too weak that it breaks so easily."

His physique itself was okay, but Cale Henituse's complexion was getting paler as time went on. The White Star who noticed that had made up his mind about two things.
One of them was to capture Choi Han…

"The second of my goals was to destroy your plate."

The other was to destroy Cale Henituse when he was left alone.

"The others seem to rely on you, but it looked like you were the one who would die without them. Especially in the middle of the battlefield."

The White Star started to laugh and Cale had to admit this was true.

"…It looks like I looked down on you too much this time."

The White Star was thinking one step ahead this time.

– That rotten bastard is saying his goal was Choi Han and Cale and not the final earth attribute power, right?
– It seems that way.

The Super Rock warned Cale.

– Run away.

The White Star said the same thing.

"Try to run away. You'll be able to at least meet up with the Dark Elves if you leave through the window."

The pillars of fire shooting up from the north, south, east, and west. He could see the anxious Dark Elves between the pillars of fire. Things would be much easier for Cale if he met up with them.

However, he could not escape.

Boom! Boom, boom.

Cale turned his head after feeling the banquet hall shake again. He could see a dome filled with red smoke.
Choi Han was inside this red dome.

Boom, boom!

He could feel Choi Han stomping his feet inside. His flailing was turned into rumbling for the people inside the hall.

"As expected, you cannot run away."

The White Star smiled before pointing the tip of his sword toward the red smoke dome.

"Lately, I've felt that you were many steps ahead of me. Then I figured out that Choi Han knew 'that language.' "

It was at that moment.

Boom!

A rumbling stronger than before came bursting out of the red dome. Cale could see the Illusionist start to sign with her hands again.

Shhhhhhh-

The red smoke intertwined to turn into chains. Tens of chains charged into the dome.

"Tie him up."

She was probably telling it to tie Choi Han up. The Illusionist touched the back of her neck as she smiled toward Choi Han.

"Mr. Cale, Mr. Choi Han will go 'ow' if you try any funny business."

Cale could not move rashly after seeing the chains cover the dome even after hearing her sneer-filled teasing.
The White Star continued to look at Cale.

"Just stay there unable to do anything."

Cale's limit was being unable to move because of one subordinate. The White Star who had waited for 1,000 years had to make Cale fight even more at his limit until the point he had no choice but to break his plate.
He couldn't let Cale die as there was something Cale needed to do in his place.

Swooooooosh-

The wind wall appeared under the White Star's foot like stepping stones. The White Star kicked off the terrace railing and walked out of the Lord's Castle.

"F*ck!"

The White Star scoffed at Cale's swearing as he looked down from the sky outside the Lord's Castle. He could see the Dark Elves who were nervous while looking at him as well as the residents of the territory who were running away from the pillars of fire.

"It looks like hell."

It was the site of a disaster as he mentioned.
People were running away in fear without anything on them.

"That must be the one card Cale Henituse played."

The White Star could see crown prince Valentino and the Knights Brigade staring at him. They could not approach the Lord's Castle and were anxious as they looked around at the pillars of fire and the residents.

"The crown prince would have been quite a hand to play but it looks like the worst hand to play at this moment."

It would not be weird for crown prince Valentino and the Knights Brigade to die at any moment after being caught in the White Star's trap.
The White Star looked back toward Cale who was inside the terrace. He could see the bloodshot gaze glaring at him.

'Yes, glare at me like that until you can't hold it in anymore and attack me.'
Attack me if he wants to save the residents, the Caro Kingdom's crown prince, the Knights Brigade, and the Dark Elves.
Use your ancient powers until you destroy your plate.'

The White Star's sword pointed to the sky. He could feel the fire surrounding him. He could feel the pillars of fire that were flowing like magma.
The White Star felt the power of the fire in all four directions surrounding the Dubori territory and started to speak.

"Come to me."

The escaping residents plopped down on the ground at that moment.

"T, the fire!"
"…Ah…it's a d…disaster."

The ground underneath the four pillars started to crack. Four rivers were created as the ground cracked. There was fire or magma or whatever this was flowing inside those rivers.
Actually, it was not flowing. That red liquid was destroying the ground and ferociously creating its own path. It then quickly headed toward the White Star.

"Come out! Hurry up and come out! Material things aren't the issue right now!"
"But, ah, ah-, our house!"

Baaaaang!

A house in the path of the red liquid turned into nothing. The people escaping could only drop to the ground with pale expressions.

"T, that person is the White Star..."

Crown prince Valentino couldn't say anything. He felt suffocated. It was not because he was near the hot fire.
It was because the White Star did not feel human.
No, he didn't seem to be from this world.

The things he was doing felt like a sight you would read about in mythologies.

"Your highness."
"…Miss Dark Elf."

A familiar Dark Elf approached him. Tasha who was familiar with the crown prince after seeing him a few times stood in front of him.

"Are you here to deliver a message from young master Cale?"
"No, your highness."

Valentino bit down on his lips after seeing her shake her head.

'True, what could even young master Cale do in this situation?'

Tasha looked next to Valentino at that moment.

"I came to hear young master Cale-nim's message."
"…You came to hear it?"

Valentino looked next to him as well. Shaman Gashan was looking at the Lord's Castle.

Caw. Caw.

Valentino recalled how he continued to hear the crows through this chaotic moment.

'No.'

He did not simply hear them.
The cawing had slowly increased as time progressed. Valentino raised his head. In the dark night sky where the burning pillars of fire had not reached yet…

Gashan started to speak.
The eyes of a crow that was looking inside the Lord's Castle's terrace with a rat in its mouth sparkled. Those eyes were looking at Cale's lips.

"…Wait."

Bear King Sayeru approached Cale with light surrounding his body.

"Wait for what? Are you talking to our liege right now? Kekeke, you think he'll wait because you asked him to wait?"

He scoffed at Cale who was looking at the spot outside the terrace where the White Star had been with a blank expression.

"Wait..."
"Why do you keep talking to yourself? Hmm? Are you trying to think of something while making it look like you're trying to talk? It won't matter."

It was at that moment.

"What did you show him?"

Cale's gaze headed toward the Illusionist.

Boom, boom, boom!

Choi Han was still flailing inside the dome. However, the flailing was slowly dying down.

"Who knows?"

The Illusionist approached the dome covered in red chains and caressed it.

"I just recreated his most painful and desperate moment? Something that would make him want to die?"

The Illusionist gently caressed the red chains.

Bang, bang!

She could feel the flailing inside the red dome.

"How pitiful. How painful must the illusion inside here be? Who cares if he is a sword master? Humans are bound to fall before despair."

She smiled brightly after seeing Cale's frown.

"I have some negative feelings toward you, Mr. Cale."
"Why?"
"I was going to put out the fire in the Jungle while pretending to be a shaman. Then I was going to control the Jungle and make it mine. That was my first plan to conquer the Western continent."

The Illusionist's smile brightened the more Cale started to frown. Cale started to speak at that moment.
It was something the Wind Elementals told him earlier in the day.

'The Bear King called the Illusionist by the name, Elisneh!'
'That's right! But doesn't that name sound familiar?'

That was the case. He had heard this name before.
Actually, he had seen this name before.
It looked different, but he had definitely seen it before.

"Conquer it, huh? Is that why the Monarch of the Molden Kingdom is here?"
"Oh, you know who I am?"

One of the strong kingdoms of the Eastern continent. Young Monarch Elisneh the First who rose to the highest position in the Molden Kingdom in her thirties looked toward Cale as if he was a cute little boy.

"Well, you're going to die today anyway. I'll let it go that you know about my identity."

Plop.

Cale undid another button at that moment. The Mercenaries Guild's Directory quickly flew by inside his head. He opened his mouth to speak.

"…Just wait."
"Hmm? Did you say something?"

The Illusionist who was scoffing at Cale moved her hands away from the chains and started to make signs toward Cale.

"Should I toy with you using illusions as well? Hurry up and use your ancient powers. Hmm? What's wrong with your face?"

The Illusionist saw Sayeru start to frown at that moment.

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing- Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing-

The alarms surrounding the Lord's Castle suddenly started to sound. The Illusionist's eyes opened wide. This alarm would only go off for one reason.

'…The mana disturbance tools!'

The alarms would sound if something happened to the mana disturbance tools.
The dye magic was removed and Cale's hair turned red again at that moment.
Raon cast a different spell around Cale instead.
He could hear Raon's voice.

– Human! I came with Goldie gramps!

An extremely angry Raon was shouting in his mind.
Raon had gone to the Forest of Darkness and then the Eastern continent after bringing Gashan over.

– Gramps is nagging that I am great and mighty but can't even deal with something like this! Human, please tell gramps that I am great and mighty later!

However, he also sounded excited.

– Just wait! The great and mighty Raon Miru will soon be inside the Dubori territory! Hehehe!

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing- Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing-

Cale was listening to the alarm while standing tall. He could see the Illusionist's frowning face.
The corners of Cale's lips crept up as he looked.

"Why do you have such an expression on your face? This alarm sounds like the alarm for a mana disturbance tool-"

However, Cale could not finish his sentence.

"Hahahahahaha-!"

Loud laughter echoed inside the hall. The laughter that mixed with the alarms sounded too much like a shriek at the same time.
Cale gaze headed toward a spot in the hall.

"…Choi Han?"

The laughter was coming from the dome covered in red chains.
Noise that sounded more like shouting than laughing was coming out of the dome.

* * *

Choi Han faced a day in the past once the darkness suddenly enveloped him.

Rustle. Rustle.

He lowered his head while walking.
He could see the hands of a young person even though the hands had some calluses on it. He could also see a school uniform.

He could see his breath when he breathed out.

"Is it an illusion?"

Choi Han looked at the sight he had seen on the day he first fell into the Forest of Darkness. He put his hand inside his uniform pocket.
He had ended up in this place with nothing but his school uniform.
However, the uniform had pockets.

He quickly took out the thin wallet he felt inside it. This was originally something he had lost on the first day while cluelessly wandering around.
Choi Han realized it at that moment.

"It is an illusion."

He looked at his family picture inside the wallet.

This was an illusion.
Choi Han was sure of it.
How?
It was because the faces on the family picture were not clearly visible.
Illusions could not overcome forgotten memories.

Choi Han who remembered the first day he fell into the Forest of Darkness but did not remember his family members' faces started to frown.

"Damn it."

The young boy's eyes looked old.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]