BTCATL 56

Chapter 56

“…Such a foolish younger brother.”

The words were spat out harshly by Callios as the door opened, revealing Emperor Cantana lying on the bed.

[Horrifying.]

[Who could possibly infuse a human with this kind of energy? If not a demon, it’s almost impossible.]

[Whoever did it, they clearly defied the natural order.]

[Those who disrupt nature deserve death.]

The butterflies’ grim voices rang in my mind, yet I stood frozen at the doorway.

No, it would be more accurate to say I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t speak a word. I couldn’t even breathe properly.

His skin was so darkened that it had lost all trace of its original color, and the veins bulged as if the body itself were instinctively resisting.

The blackened skin, decaying and crumbling like a rotting animal carcass, shed dust whenever the Emperor moved.

If it weren’t for the Emperor’s chest heaving with labored breaths, I might have mistaken him for dead.

And the worst of it was the stench—a choking, almost suffocating odor emanating from his body.

It was far more potent than the smell I had sensed outside the door.

If this were a forest rather than the Imperial Palace, and I had sensed this energy there, I would have summoned spirits without hesitation.

The stench from the Emperor’s body was almost on par with that of a monster.

No, it might even have been worse.

“Asilla.”

I slowly raised my head at Callios’s call, still staring blankly at the Emperor’s body.

When our eyes met—his glowing red eyes shimmering unnaturally—my mind snapped back from the haze caused by the stench.

Callios’s eyes burned with clear, undeniable anger. I didn’t even need words to know who it was directed at.

The one who had inflicted this horror on the Emperor under the guise of disease… whoever they were, they were the culprit.

Even to me, someone unrelated to the Emperor, the sight was terrifying. For Callios, his brother, the thought of it was unbearable.

I approached the Emperor slowly.

It felt instinctively wrong, like approaching a monster, but I had no other choice.

Callios’s gaze never left the Emperor.

From up close, the Emperor’s condition was indescribably terrible.

My mouth went dry.

“…Can… this be done?”

Half to me, half to the butterflies, I asked the question.

The spirits, which had previously vanished as if refusing to witness the scene, reappeared. They fluttered near the Emperor, unwilling to sit directly on him.

[…I don’t know.]

These were spirits who usually gave definite answers, but after some time, the only response was ambiguous.

[We’ve never seen anything like this.]
[We have no idea how someone could do this to a human.]
[We can’t even sense the faintest trace.]

When one butterfly alighted on the Emperor’s darkened skin, a faint resistance sparked, accompanied by a sizzling sound.

Callios, standing silently like a statue nearby, flinched.

[Ugh.]

The butterfly quickly flew into my hands, unharmed.

[His entire body is engulfed in dark magic.]

The butterflies’ words stiffened my expression: the Emperor’s body, already halfway to that of a monster, had clearly been altered unnaturally.

As I’d said many times before, this could not be a natural phenomenon.

The butterflies whispered, perching on my shoulders and head:

[If we don’t know the cause, we can’t reverse time partially.]

“…Then…”

[We’ll have to reverse the entire body’s time.]

Time would be rewound to the state before this inexplicable illness—or curse, whatever it was.

Yesterday, it would revert to yesterday’s body; two days ago, two days ago; a month ago, a month ago.

Could that even be possible?

I’d seen miracles before when healing Crown Prince Lrdin—wounds disappearing before our eyes—but that had been localized.

This… was different.

Rewinding an entire person’s time.

[It’s not impossible… Asilla.]

The spirits seemed to sense my doubt.

[Yes, not impossible. We can do it, within the limits of the power we know.]
[It’s our innate ability, to even reverse time on a world scale, Asilla.]
[However…]

The butterflies paused, fluttering their wings, letting dark-red dust fall faintly. The next words were obvious:

It depends on my capability.

I looked down at my hands and clenched my fists.

I was aware I had more mana than other spirit masters. Even Lrdin had acknowledged it.

But this power, tied to the butterflies, consumed a tremendous amount of mana.

Even accounting for the Crown Prince’s deep and widespread injuries, my mana drained quickly.

And probably for this reason:

[It’s a power that defies the natural order. It depends entirely on you, Asilla.]

The butterflies whispered.

This was a power that opposed the laws governed by gods, and thus, the cost was enormous.

I inhaled deeply and took a step toward the Emperor, whose body exuded a truly horrifying stench.

–Crackle!

Just like before, a dark-purple reaction sparked when a butterfly landed.

“Ugh.”

Pain seared as if my hands were being burned. I stopped Callios, who was about to rush forward.

“…Nyx.”

[Asilla, once you start, you may not be able to stop.]
[You might expend your life force. We haven’t fully adapted to this power.]
[Yes. If you lose control midway…]
[The Emperor’s condition is severe, but you come first.]
[Are you sure?]

The butterflies asked again, even though they could already sense my firm resolve.

I felt their concern clearly.

I nodded slightly.

I would not retreat, even though it was possible to do so.

And then…

“…Asilla.”

Callios, my older brother.

“I can do it.”

He rarely smiled seriously or cared deeply about anything, yet his face now reflected something else.

Entering this room, seeing the Emperor, Callios’s features had changed from when he encountered the servants and knights earlier.

He might have called me foolish, but his expression revealed his care.

Worry, anger, concern—all swirling in his crimson eyes.

• I’ll help.

• Not like that, like this.

• Controlling spirits takes time, don’t rush.

• Can you feel the mana?

Callios, along with Lrdin, had been a great support in getting me here, helping me control the spirits and stay in the western tower.

Now, it was my turn to help him.

–Crackle, sizzle.

The intense, burning pain struck my hands. Callios’s eyes flashed anxiously, as if ready to rush forward.

Clenching my teeth against the pain, I summoned the butterflies.

[…I’m starting.]

With that, the dormant flood of mana in my body began to move.

The few butterflies in the air multiplied rapidly, filling the space.

–Crackle, crackle, sizzle, crackle.

One by one, the butterflies landed on the Emperor, their dark-purple sparks colliding with red light.

Then…

“Inhale.”

I drew in my breath.

Time seemed to slow, almost as if flowing sluggishly.

The burning pain in my hands lessened slightly.

Everything but the blackened man’s body blurred, as if soaked in water.

I tried closing my eyes, but it was useless.

My body was bound by intangible forces. I could not move a muscle.

Only the Emperor’s body remained in focus.

The dark magic surrounding him writhed, its roots probing and invading his flesh.

Even now, the roots twisted within him.

Though my senses were dulled, I could feel the energy draining.

After some time, a bright red light began piercing through the dark magic like smoke through fog.

The red light consumed the dark magic, expanding until the Emperor’s body glowed completely red.

Then, the time engulfed by the dark magic began to rewind.

The roots that had invaded his body shriveled back to their source.

The dark magic resisted, flickering, but time rapidly reversed.

Unable to resist, the dark magic faded, swept away by the flow of reversed time.

Finally, as the last wisp of black smoke disappeared from the Emperor’s body…

–Tick.

The faint sound of a clock echoed as time returned to normal.

Eyes resembling Callios’s sharp gaze flickered open, revealing the hidden violet irises.

“…What… is this?”

Before the strange, cracked voice reached my ears, my vision spun.

My legs buckled.

It felt as if all energy had been drained from my body.

“Asilla!!”

With kallios’s shout, I felt my consciousness slipping into the darkness below, and I closed my eyes.