The wizard is reincarnated last Time

Chapter 7

Perhaps because of the emotional turmoil, my condition worsened.

I tried hard to appear fine, but my father, Luwen, and even Laillin and Joel noticed that I wasn’t well.

I spent the entire journey to Prion asleep inside the carriage.

Whenever I briefly woke, my father would stop the carriage and feed me easily digestible food.

Luwen reassured my father, saying it was better for me to sleep.

My father was always filled with worry, but whenever our eyes met, he forced a smile.

“We’ll be in Prion after we pass through one more city.  Just a little further.”

“…What city?”

I wasn’t particularly curious, but I wanted to ask something to divert my father’s attention.

My father was pleased that I, who usually just listened quietly, had asked a question.  He even opened the carriage window and curtains to show me the view outside.

“It’s called Romella.  It’s one of Prion’s supply cities, three or four hours away.”

In the darkening landscape outside, I saw a cluster of small, yellow lights.

That’s Romella…

The surrounding area seemed to be a forest, as the scent of trees was strong.

My father quickly closed the curtains as the cold air rushed in.

“We’ll spend the night in Romella and leave early tomorrow morning. Then we should arrive in Prion around lunchtime tomorrow.”

“I hope we get there soon.”

“Me too.”

My father smiled, seemingly in better spirits, and patted my head.

I was asleep when we entered the city of Romella.

When I opened my eyes again, feeling the warmth of the air, I was in a completely unfamiliar place.

In a bed, in a large, simple room.

I wriggled out of the blankets and managed to sit up.

Nothing looked familiar, except for my father, who was hanging his coat and cloak on a hanger.

“Liv. You’re awake.”

My father came over and smoothed my messy hair.

My hair was slightly damp from a cold sweat.

“Where are we?”

“This is the Knights’ Quarters in Romella.  We’ll be staying here tonight.”

“Knights’ Quarters?”

“It’s lodging specifically for members of Prius.  Wait here; I’ll bring you something to eat.”

I nodded silently.

After my father left, I tried to stay as alert as possible.

I got out of bed, shedding the blanket. Even just putting my feet on the floor made me dizzy.

I paused for a moment to catch my breath.

The room was furnished with simple furniture.

A desk and bookshelf were against one wall, a red carpet covered the floor, and a full-length mirror stood near the door.

A decorative shield hanging on the wall caught my eye.

A small shield bearing the emblem of two crossed swords.

The symbol of the Prius Knights, the same one embroidered on the edge of the cloak of my father’s uniform.

Instinctively, I went to the bookshelf and craned my neck to look up.

Perhaps because it was lodging for knights, most of the books were about the history of the order or research on magical beasts.

If I could just read something, I might be able to stay conscious until my father returned…

I stood on tiptoe and stretched my arm.  Unfortunately, my fingertips only grazed the dusty edges of the books.

The bookshelf was designed for adults, far too high for me to reach.

“Ugh…”

I stretched as far as I could, my shoulder aching.

I might be able to reach it. Just a little further…

For a moment, I forgot about the pain in my body.

Then, my fingers touched a book spine.

“Ah.”

Startled, I looked up at the bookshelf.

‘It’ moved.

It pushed the book I was trying to reach slightly forward, then dropped it on my head.

*Thud.*

Hit on the head by the book, I tumbled onto the carpet. The fallen book lay open at my feet.

What just happened?

I sat up, bewildered.

A transparent mass slowly circled around me.

‘Mana.’

I knew better than anyone what this mass of energy was.

But this…  I had never seen it in this form before.

The mana was transparent, and the air shimmered and rippled as it moved.

I reached out to grab the mass swirling around me, but it slipped effortlessly through my fingers.

I couldn’t catch it.  Of course.  Then…

I tried to control the mana with my will.

I focused on stopping the mana’s movement above my palm, and the transparent mass, obeying my will, came to a halt above my hand.

“Gasp.”

I let out an involuntary gasp.

At the same moment, the mana disappeared. I had abruptly expended my energy.

Dizzy, I lay back down on the carpet.

I had always been able to see the shimmering, shifting movements of mana.

But that was all.

This was the first time mana had manifested in such a concrete form.

Even using the most basic magic, ‘moving mana with my will,’ had exhausted me.

I pushed myself up from the floor, my body weary.

I gave up on reading and decided to go back to bed and rest.

For some reason, my father hadn’t returned…

Feeling uneasy, I climbed back into bed and clutched the blanket.

I looked down at the transparent Melgram around my neck.  The gentle pulsing of mana calmed me.

I didn’t understand why I could see the flow of mana.

Even in my past lives, even as an imperial mage, while I had been acutely sensitive to mana, I had never seen it with my own eyes.

Something was wrong.  Just like how I had played with a dead child for years.

The thought of Selina made my heart ache.

She had been the only friend I could truly confide in… but now that image was horribly tainted.

The demon, disguised as Selina, had tried to steal my soul, my life force, my mana, to gain power…

Curled up in bed, I drifted off to sleep.

“…Liv, Liv.”

A familiar, longed-for voice tickled my ears. Warm fingertips brushed against my cheek.

“Liv, wake up.”

I forced my heavy eyelids open and was startled by the person before me.

My mother, her light golden hair flowing softly, was smiling at me.

I was so surprised I couldn’t speak.

The sparkling green eyes and the gentle smile that seemed to embrace everything, it was definitely my mother.

“M-Mother?  How…?”

“I hurried here because I was worried about you. I finally caught up.”

Really? This isn’t a dream?

I couldn’t believe it. Even after sitting up, I stared at my mother’s face.

She brushed the sweat-dampened hair from my forehead.

“The butler and Mrs. Amara are downstairs.  Do you want to go down?”

“Brother Shuren too?”

“Of course.”

Shuren was here too.  The thought made me feel lighter.

I quickly got out of bed.

My mother tried to hug me, but I shook my head.  I wanted to show her that I was alright, so she wouldn’t worry.

“Everyone was so worried about you. I’m so glad you seem to be okay. Shuren was especially worried.”

I took my mother’s hand and left the room.

“Are we all going to Prion together?”

“Yes. We’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

Shuren had always wanted to go to Prion. He would be so happy…

The thought of Shuren’s joy brought a smile to my face.

I looked up and saw the large mirror next to the door.

My mind went blank.

In the mirror, I was wearing the blackened Melgram and holding a hand covered in hideous scales.

I stopped.  My legs froze, refusing to move.

‘Mother,’ still wearing a gentle smile, looked at me quizzically.

“Liv?”

Unable to speak, I clutched the Melgram. The Melgram in my hand was also stained a dark, ominous color.

Terror consumed me…

“What a strange thing you’re wearing. Isn’t it heavy?”

‘Mother’ bent down towards me, frozen and trembling.  She reached behind my neck and unclasped the Melgram necklace.

The Melgram’s cord was the one my mother had replaced.

I felt an icy breath against the back of my neck.

I have to run.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, I pushed ‘her’ away and lunged for the door.

“Father!  Father—!”

Before I could even turn the doorknob, which was higher than my head, I was flung back into the room by a terrifying force.

*Thud!*

My back slammed against the foot of the bed.

The pain radiating through my back, shoulder, and heart made it difficult to breathe.

“Shh. You need to be quiet.”

‘It’ was no longer my mother.

The fingertip she brought to her lips turned jet black, covered in dark blue scales.

Her green eyes had turned crimson, and hideous teeth protruded from her mouth.

My whole body trembled, and tears welled up.  I desperately tried to scramble away, towards the back of the bed.

But a rough hand grabbed my ankle and pulled me back.

Frozen in terror, I couldn’t even scream as I looked up at the demon, still partially resembling my mother’s face.

Just as the demon opened its massive jaws to devour me…

*Clang!*

A sword pierced through its mouth, and black blood gushed out.

“Gah!”

The demon turned around, its face contorted in pain.

My father had plunged his sword into the back of the demon’s head.  Erner entered the room behind him.

“Erner, take him downstairs!”

“Yes, sir!”

Erner rushed towards me and scooped up my trembling form.

“No…!”

A scaled, black arm reached out for me.

With a fearsomely grim expression, my father drove his sword deeper into the demon’s head and flung it away.  The demon let out a grotesque shriek and crashed to the floor.

I couldn’t see any more.

Erner buried my face in his chest, covering my ears so I couldn’t hear anything.

He whispered repeatedly in my ear that I was safe.

I clung tightly to his clothes.

I felt him lift me and run.

The smell of blood and terror gradually faded, replaced by the sound of running footsteps, the commotion of people, and the blare of warning alarms.

After running for a while, Erner tried to put me down, but I held onto his clothes with both hands, refusing to let go.

“Liv, it’s alright now.”

Tears streamed down my face, and my whole body trembled.

The image of my mother transforming into a demon was seared into my mind.

As the fear of death subsided, the worry for my demonized mother filled my mind, making it blank.

Erner tried to comfort me, but the tears wouldn’t stop.

Selina had been a long-dead child, and she had transformed into a demon before my eyes.

…Then what about my mother?

“Mother, Mother… *cough*.”

Once I started coughing, I couldn’t stop.

Strength rapidly drained from my body.  Pain surged from within, spreading throughout my limbs, and the smell of blood returned.

My vision blurred, and my consciousness faded.

“Liv? Liv!”

I saw a splatter of my own blood on Erner’s clothes.

“Laillin, get the Instructor…”

Those were the last words I heard before I lost consciousness.