Make Dark Fantasy Great Again-Chapter 43: The Ancient Grimoire (3)

Upon learning the grimoire’s true nature, Gadena had feared the human would succumb to the corrupting influence of that ancient artifact.

<Stop!!!>

But instead, he found himself witnessing the grimoire screaming, trapped in the human’s hand.

It was almost comical. How could the situation be so perfectly inverted?

The elf took a moment to contemplate the world around him.

Finally, regaining his senses, he cried out in warning.

“...I don’t know what’s happening, but first stop! I sense a corrupting aura from the grimoire!”

According to Gadena’s recent discovery, the ancient grimoire was the work of mages from the Ra-Diman sect of Dallatzan. An extremist group who employed any means necessary to achieve their goals, their magic was a dangerous cocktail of black magic, blood magic, and other dangerous practices.

The power within the grimoire was far beyond what a 4th-rank mage could handle...Though for some reason, the human was now bordering on the 5th rank.

<Do you think that I, I would just stand for this?!!!>

FLRRRRR-

The grimoire’s pages flipped rapidly. Like a cornered beast making its last stand, its aura intensified.

“Ugh...!”

On average, elves were more sensitive to the nature of mana and elementals. Gadena recoiled from the grimoire’s foul, corrupting energy.

Even indirect contact at this distance is this painful...!

What would happen with direct exposure? Even a human, with their relative insensitivity to mana, wouldn’t escape mana overload.

Gadena cried out louder, feeling faint with fear

“Can’t you hear me?! The grimoire is radiating malevolent energy! Stop for now!”

Afraid that the human was being hampered by that dark power, Gadena drew his wooden staff and approached the grimoire, preparing to intervene.

“Wait, Gadena!”

Meltas’ urgent call stopped him.

Despite the interruption, a sense of calm settled on Gadena’s face. If there was any human whose opinion Gadena couldn’t help but respect—despite his blind disregard for the species—it would be those like Meltas.

A master of the Gray Tower and a mage on the brink of the 6th rank, Meltas was someone Gadena believed might offer an insight even he had overlooked.

“Meltas, speak your mind! How should we proceed?!”

“I don’t know what’s happening, but let us observe for the moment! I sense an evil power from the grimoire!”

“Yes, an evil...Wait what?”

He senses evil power, yet we’re supposed to wait?

Gadena felt as if the screws of reality were coming loose.

An ancient grimoire, brimming with malevolent energy, was being held hostage by a 4th-rank mage, screaming in protest...while the master mage he had trusted was treating this incredibly dangerous situation as if it were a windfall.

The world felt upside down.

“Meltas! Are you planning to satisfy your intellectual curiosity at the cost of this human’s life?! If this continues, he’ll more than likely become a cripple!”

“Such harsh words! Calm yourself, and observe a little more closely! See what’s happening to them!”

“What nonsense are you—?!”

Though rarely emotional, the elf was about to lose composure.

Then suddenly, his eyes went wide—the grimoire was pouring its mana into the human.

Gadena shuddered. What could be more effective use of such malevolent, tainted energy than this? Most mages would lose control of their mana the moment they were exposed to this attack, becoming puppets of the grimoire.

Yet, this human was different. The moment the grimoire’s mana entered Risir, its corrupt nature vanished. The foul aura, and the grimoire’s will controlling it, were all gone.

What remained was pure mana. The grimoire was essentially giving its magic to the human.

“What is...”

For all the absurdity of the situation, Gadena couldn’t laugh. Transmuting or purifying mana wasn’t something that could be done on the fly. Especially not when dealing with the corrupt, intermingled mana of ancient mages!

Even with proper equipment and procedures, it would take days.

“Huh...”

Gadena finally understood why the others had stood by, silently watching.

No, not watching. Spectating. Any mage witnessing this rare phenomenon would be captivated.

His staff lowered, the elf joined the captivated audience.

<I—I am...! The great legacy of Ra-Diman, and yet!!!>

The grimoire eventually realized its mistake. Trying to overwhelm this human with its mana wasn’t a good idea.

Like an insect retracting its stinger, it tried to withdraw the conduit it had established within Risir’s hand. It tried to stop the flow.

But it was too late. Risir’s energy had already infiltrated the conduit, reaching the grimoire’s core.

Malevolence forged from mana was the nature of the grimoire’s consciousness, which was why...

<Ah, aah...AAAAH!!!>

It was directly affected by Risir’s energy. The grimoire lost the power to control itself.

Meanwhile, the flow of mana continued.

<Please...please...>

The grimoire’s voice weakened, like a dying flame.

...And so, it poured even the mana that formed its consciousness into Risir, and ceased to exist.

The grimoire, now nothing but a hollow shell, fell to the ground with a pitiful thud.

“M-Mana Drain...!”

Meltas inadvertently uttered the name of a high-tier black magic spell.

“Are you mad?”

As someone who’d simply taken what was given, Risir immediately corrected him with a deadpan look.

***“...So you’re saying this human, Risir, has an Intrinsic Color that purifies corrupt energy?”

Most elves were cynical about anything human-related. A typical elven response here would have been, “You think Intrinsic Color is almighty?” or, “A mere 4th-rank human mage couldn’t possibly have such power.”

Indeed, that’s what Gadena would have said.

But he couldn’t.

“As you just witnessed, yes.”

Unfortunately, he’d seen it all with his own eyes.

“How perplexing.”

Gadena had lived far longer than most humans, but even he had never encountered any human as bizarre as this Risir. He’d never even imagined such an existence.

He felt his entire worldview crumbling.

To collect himself, the elf shifted his attention away from Risir. He picked up (what used to be) the grimoire.

Gadena quickly flipped through the pages. It took less than ten seconds to grasp its contents.

The grimoire was now a blank notebook.

“...”

Gadena crossed his arms, rubbing his brow.

“Oi Meltas.”

The old mage flinched at the elf’s icy tone.

“Do you remember why I let you and those uninvited humans into my lab?”

“...Because of the ancient grimoire.”

Flip.

“The knowledge within the ancient grimoire. That was the price you implicitly promised me.”

Flip.

“And yet...”

Flip.

“All I have left is...”

Flip.

“A worthless, blank notebook.”

Flip.

“And uninvited humans.”

Flip.

“Meltas.”

“A-ahem. Yes, Gadena. Speak.”

“You know what this place is.”

“...Your lab, and a space designed to attract a certain elemental, if I recall correctly.”

“Yet it has been contaminated by human presence.”

Despite their appearances, Gadena was actually at least decades older than Meltas. Furthermore, he held a high position within elven society, akin to elven nobility.

If Meltas were to visit their lands, he would have to show Gadena the utmost respect.

All these factors combined led every human present to gather their hands and lower their heads submissively.

“...”

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

After a long, silent stare at the lot of them, the elf sighed.

“Very well. I can’t blame you all. This is my fault. Entirely my fault for involving myself with humans.”

He eyed the door meaningfully.

Risir and the others immediately left the lab.

***“Ah.”

Just outside the lab, Risir realized his magic power had increased and subtly remarked on it.

“Dear oh dear. Miss Henya, I seem to have unknowingly stolen your opportunity.”

“Opportunity? What are you on about?”

“This.”

“Oh.”

Henya looked at (what used to be) the grimoire and nodded in understanding. A conflicted chuckle escaped her lips.

Marina, equally amused, raised an eyebrow.

“An opportunity. Was it really?”

“Sorry?”

“Risir, you’re the only person in the world who would call that an opportunity.”

Upon realizing the sudden proliferation(?) of Risir’s mana, now almost at the 5th-rank, they let out a series of hollow chuckles.

“What in the...”

At this point, Henya was too weary to react to every surprise Risir gave them. She wanted to declare, “I’ll avenge this humiliation! Just you wait!”

But...

...Maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow and see him at the 5th rank?

No, surely not.

Henya shook her head, struggling to deny the terrifying possibility.

“Just you wait! I swear to catch up to you!”

She practically fled the scene.

“I’ll be going as well. Risir, let’s meet again sometime.”

Marina followed her disciple.

“Sir Meltas.”

Now alone with Meltas, Risir voiced a lingering concern.

“Remember what Gadena said earlier about the lab? How it’s been contaminated by human presence.”

“Oh...”

“I didn’t mean it, but I ended up causing him trouble. Will he be alright?”

“It’s true that elementals generally favor elves over humans. However...”

Calling it contaminated was harsh...

Meltas tried to shake off the sting of the word.

“Well, everything aside, I admit this is my fault. I barged into his lab unannounced. My plan was to appease him by commissioning the grimoire’s translation, but with the state it ended up in...I’ll apologize to him later, so don’t worry about it.”

“But didn’t it all happen because of me? I’d like to apologize to him personally, if there’s a chance.”

“...Don’t you think anything of being treated like a contaminant and whatnot?”

“Oh, was his lab not really contaminated then?”

“There might be some minor influence, but I can assure you it’s not as extreme as he made it sound. I could understand him saying that to me, but to you as well...”

“Thank you. I didn’t think you’d be so concerned for me.”

“...Ahem. Isn’t it only natural when my disciple is involved?”

“Don’t try that on me.”

“Tch. A man shouldn’t play so hard to get. Anyway, while we’re at it, tell me. Who is your master that you’re so loyal to? It seems they haven’t taught you much.”

“My master?”

Risir hesitated whether to reveal his extraordinary master’s identity.

I guess it’s alright to tell this person.

“By chance, have you ever heard the name of Pamon?”

“Pamon? Pamon...”

Meltas’ eyes turned round.

“...Ahem! No! I know nothing of that dark elf!”

“?”

Then how’d you know she’s a dark elf?

Avoiding Risir’s gaze, Meltas continued speaking.

“A word of advice, Risir. I think it best not to carelessly mention your master’s name to anyone else!”

“Do you even know who my master is?”

“Oh just take my word for it!”

Meltas hastily added that he would contact Risir regarding his mage tower Supporter status and the reward for resolving the Didoa incident, then bolted away.

***“Gadena.”

Not long after his uninvited guests had left, new visitors arrived at the elf’s lab.

It was a woman and a large man, both cloaked in black. They, too, arrived unannounced.

“Welcome.”

But Gadena greeted them courteously.

The woman was an elf, one of his primary patrons, and above all, someone he couldn’t afford to offend.

“I came to check on the progress.”

As part of her patronage, Gadena was carrying out a request for her: to locate an elemental that had vanished from Bondalles. Or rather, to lure it out.

The elemental in question was timid and easily frightened. If it realized it was being pursued, it would flee to an even more secluded location. That was why Gadena had relocated and remodeled his lab.

What with the excessively well-maintained garden, and the building constructed with magically treated wood, Gadena’s workshop was designed to entice the elemental.

“...”

Gadena’s expression darkened.

“There’s something I must tell you regarding that.”

It wasn’t long since uninvited humans had barged in and tainted his workshop. He would need time to assess the damage.

But while Gadena struggled to break the news to his patron, she spoke first.

“You mean the chair placed outside?”

“Pardon me? By the chair outside, do you...Ah.”

Gadena remembered the chair he’d moved out. Risir had wrestled with the grimoire right beside it.

In other words, that chair was a contaminant saturated with human essence.

He tried to explain.

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s fascinating. The elementals seem to love it.”

“...What?”

“Look.”

Gadena followed the woman outside to see.

He had tossed the chair out on the street to avoid further contamination to his yard...yet it was surrounded by the yard’s elementals.

“...”

Gadena realized this contaminant was more elemental-friendly than the environment he had painstakingly cultivated over years.

He fell into anguished contemplation.