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At Mount Guren, Where the Beloved Child Plays - Episode 6
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Oz: This is an odd state of affairs.
Cain: Murr showed us all the specimens he’d collected earlier.
Ore samples, some grass, flowers — those were all fine, but he also showed us animal bone fragments that look identical to the ones here.
Snow: Judging from the way the bones are strewn all over this place… This must be something of a feeding ground.
Mithra, dear. You said you’ve visited this place countless times, didn’t you? Have you any guesses as to what’s behind this?
Mithra, who was poking around the scattered bones, took a good, hard look at the bone fragment in his palm. Then he tossed it aside.
He didn’t lift his gaze nor his face. He spoke, in his usual timbre:
Mithra: Suppose there’s a large meat-eating beast around. After eating all this, it won’t be hungry again for a while.
But as long as that creature lives, it has to eat.
Murr: A sound conclusion. If this predator were to attack again, it would be because it’s hungry again.
For instance, what if a creature in a long hibernation awoke for whatever reason? In its hunger, it would have to devour all the animals that walk this land…
Murr was crouched down near the bones. He reached down and touched the rocky ground with his hand.
The ground in front of him was cleaved deeply apart, with ridges that were thicker and longer than Murr’s arm.
Murr: This mark is that of a large claw.
Now accompany me in this leap of faith: this claw mark looks just like a prehistoric—
[ No BGM ]
The wind whistled, and with it, there was the soft but distinct sound of a rumbling earth beneath us.
Cain: That’s… not a volcanic eruption. Footsteps?
Oz: The wind’s current has shifted. There is something strange that walks this mountain.
Snow: It’s something unnatural, something twisted. I can sense it ahead of us, up the mountain.
Owen: For some reason, it reeks of a beast.
Murr: The plot thickens! Let’s go check it out!
Cain: Kenja sama, stay close to me.
Akira: G-Got it…
Rustica: Chloe, you must be careful too. The ground is uneven and craggy.
Chloe: Okay…
Cautiously, we went up the mountain, trailing behind the other wizards with Murr taking point.
We tried to move as soundlessly as possible, to conceal our presence. When we got to a large, looming boulder, Murr stopped in his tracks.
Murr: There you are.
[ BGM starts ]
Murr pointed straight at a rock formation that was the size of a small hill.
Over the rock, a gigantic shadow writhed.
Chloe: W-what on earth is that thing…
It was much, much bigger than the trees and rocks around it. It looked just like a creature out of ancient mythology.
No real animal could even begin to compare to it.
It had whorled horns like a bull and brutish, sinewy wings that made me think of dinosaurs.
Its arms were long and lithe; its two legs were strong and stout; all four limbs ended in long claws.
Mithra: … Tiletta?
As if picking up on something, from right beside me, Mithra murmured that name.
Oz & Snow: ………
The name that fell from his lips was that of his teacher from long ago.
It was like the word had slipped free of him, like the breeze had come and stolen it away. Maybe it’d been said so softly that the other wizards hadn’t heard it.
Yet, before us, stood that extremely grotesque, warped—
Oz: Djalgr.
Akira: …!
Oz’s voice was low and deeply resonant.
Cain: The djalgr… Even I can see it. You don’t get to see a monster as big as that brute on just any day.
Murr: Well, of course? That’s a prehistoric magical creature right there. It ought to be extinct by now.
But there’s no mistaking it for what it is.
I could hear the brimming excitement in the timbre of Murr’s voice. His eyes gleamed intensely as he intently drank in the sight of the gargantuan figure that loomed over all of us.
Snow: The land’s spirits have such an imposing presence that I didn’t notice the djalgr, but…
This may be one of the Calamity’s effects upon the land. Perhaps it was resurrected from the depths of hell.
Murr: If that’s the case, then all the data falls into place.
The influence of the Calamity resurrected this brute, and thus it must satisfy the depths of its hunger. That’s why it attacked the animals that live here. The result is what we see before us: the aftermath of its feeding frenzy.
Most likely, it ventured down from the mountaintop, devouring everything and anything in its path, from mid-sized animals to large animals, or even entire herds.
That’s why the only animals that remain are the little speedy ones that aren’t worth eating, and then some of the large animals that live at the base of the mountain too.
Rustica: Wouldn’t that mean that the animals at the base of the mountain are only living peacefully because the fiend has yet to arrive…?
Oz: That may have been true once, but the time of its arrival draws near. Perhaps the dialgr was roused by the presence of us wizards, for it has already begun its descent from the mountain.
It hungers.
Djalgr: …… ʀᴀ, ……
ᴍᴇᴇTHra……
Mithra: ………
Akira: (Did it just… speak?)
Owen: Hey, you over there!
[ No BGM ]
Akira: !?
Snow: Owen?!
Owen’s voice cut right through the icy cold tension that had frozen all of us still.
Speaking loudly, he caught the djalgr’s attention. It turned to face us.
From its shadowy form, its eyes were dimly luminescent. Suddenly, its eyes opened wide…
Without warning, an ear-splitting cry rattled my eardrums.
[ BGM starts ]
Snow: This is bad! Everyone, scatter into the skies!
At Snow’s orders, all the wizards summoned their brooms and kicked off, taking flight across many directions in the air.
Cain, who was near me, gripped me by the arm and urged me onto his broom. We soared together into the sky.
[ Open Skies ]
Snow: Owen! There is such a thing as a bad time to grab attention!
Owen: Well, it was staring straight at us. I couldn’t help myself.
Why was it there? What was it doing? It’s much faster to ask it directly, isn’t it?
Though I guess it’s gone off the deep end, so there’s no reason to bother talking to it at all.
Chloe: Man, that gave me a fright…
Rustica: It made such a mighty noise. My ears are still tingling from it.
Murr: I know, right!
Cain: Are you guys really chit-chatting right now?! We definitely pissed that thing off, right?!
From behind us came a resoundingly loud roar that tore through the air.
When I glanced up, I saw that the djalgr had spread its large wings. With a single, powerful flap, its massive body took into the air.
It was an ominous yet somehow spectacular display. I couldn’t help but sigh in awe. At the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of red hair.
It was Mithra, with his magical tool primed to strike.
Snow: No, Mithra! Strong magic is—!
Mithra: « arsim »
Snow’s admonishment was cut short by a brilliant flash of light from the crystal skull.
The flash enveloped the djalgr and sealed it into a cage of light.
Oz: The spirits grow agitated.
Snow: You must keep your power in check!
Mithra: I know. I am doing just that.
The djalgr shrieked and howled. It used its enormous horns to wrench the cage open.
Like a shooting star, it cut across the sky and barrelled straight for Mithra.
Mithra: Well, well, look at you. You are cool.
Mithra remained composed. Effortlessly cool, his thin lips curved into a smile. Once again, he raised his magical tool.
Djalgr: …… ʀᴀ, ……
But when the djalgr swooped in and uttered that syllable, Mithra froze.
Akira: Mithra?!
Mithra: « arsim »
Mithra waved his slender arm through the air. Following that movement, a chain took form, flames burning along each link.
Burning bright and red, the chain snaked itself around the djalgr.
Djalgr: …… ᴍɪ, thra……
Mithra…!
This time, its voice was crystal clear.
A creature like this shouldn’t have been able to speak that word. The younger wizards all exchanged a glance with each other.
Cain: Did that thing just—
Chloe: ‘Mithra’… that’s what it said, right?
Like the mountain’s namesake, the crimson flames of the chain bound itself tightly around the snarling djalgr.
Like tugging on reins, Mithra pulled the creature closer to him by the chains. He peered into the fiend’s eyes.
Mithra: You…
Haha, it’s been a while.
Owen: « cur memini »
As if he wanted to break apart this unnatural scene, Owen’s magic shot straight into the djalgr’s wings.
The brute was thrown off balance in the air and began spiralling down towards the black rock ground below.
Mithra: Owen…
Owen: What? You’re pathetic.
Don’t just stand there stupidly like that. Hurry up and take out the trash. Or do you prefer being ripped limb from limb?
Mithra: … No, of course not. But that did make me remember.
The ground below shook from the impact of the djalgr’s landing, spraying dust and rubble upward.
Mithra looked down at the writhing fiend. His gaze was nostalgic, and there was a hint of a smile in his eyes..
Mithra: It’s faint, but there’s traces of magic on it.
That’s the same djalgr that Tiletta sealed away long, long ago.
[ In the past… ]
[ Mount Guren - Summit ]
Mithra: Guh, urgh…! Haagh…
Tiletta: Mithra, are you alright?
Mithra: (panting) …… Hah…
Heh, haha……
Tiletta: Oh, that’s no good. You’ve had a rush of blood to the head.
Regulate your breathing. Here, I’ll make you some sugar.
[ Screech! ]
Tiletta: « scintilla » !
Tiletta: I’ve been keeping an eye on you for the past few days, so I think enough’s enough.
This fiend here’s a regular old ravager in these parts. Because of it, the air’s so smoggy and a pain to fly around in, and all that ash the wind carries in gets in the way. You must’ve gotten so fed up.
The fiend ate all the hornbunnies that I loved so much, so I was hoping you could take it down while we were here, but…
I guess it’s a little too much for you, Mithra.
Djalgr: ʀᴀ, ……
ᴍɪTHra……?
Tiletta: Ooh, you’re a smart one. Did you pick it up because I called this little boy by his name?
Mithra: Tch, Tiletta… Don’t get in my way.
I’ll defeat it. That beast is mere— urgh.
Tiletta: I already told you, it’s out of your league. We’re done here. Go cool your head.
Hmmm. Well, I suppose this _is_ a rare and powerful magical creature, so it’d be a waste to just kill it right away.
I’ll seal this thing away for you, Mithra.
When you’re much stronger than you are now, when there comes a day that you’ll be able to go head-to-head with this brute…
That’ll be the time you can fight it again, okay?
Mithra: …… (huff) ……
Tiletta: « scintilla »
[ Present day ]
What Mithra told us was a recounting of that day.
Owen audibly sneered with contempt from atop his broom, where he sat cross-legged.
Owen: You lost? And to that kind of beast, too.
Mithra: Shut up. I was still a kid back then.
Murr: Are you saying that the djalgr, an otherwise extinct species, has managed to survive to this day because one had been sealed away?
Fascinating…! If we simply sealed away a mating pair of every living creature, then even if the Calamity managed to fully descend and destroy the entire world, we could just revive all life and start again!
Chloe: Tiletta’s like, Rutile and Mitile’s mother, right?
Rustica: To think she was capable of sealing away such a massive magical creature for hundreds of years…
I’ve only heard stories of her exploits, but she must’ve been a very strong witch.
Snow: No wonder I thought I felt something familiar… Who would’ve expected her to seal away a prehistoric magical creature just like stowing away a child’s toy?
Oz: Moreover, the spellcraft had been transformed.
Akira: ‘Transformed’...? Are you talking about the seal that Tiletta had put on the fiend?
Mithra: That seems to be the case. Under the influence of the Calamity, the sealing spell she cast onto the creature became twisted and warped…
I think the djalgr, as it is now, has in turn been strengthened by Tiletta’s magic.
Snow: What a sticky situation to find ourselves in. The original djalgr was already such a vicious fiend.
Since we now know that it was revived and strengthened, it stands to reason that it won’t stop at merely ravaging this land.
Cain: So, was that cry just now also due to Tiletta’s magic?
It’s like, it was calling out to Mithra…
Murr: Nah, that’s just a djalgr thing. It mimicks voices and sounds it’s repeatedly exposed to.
Akira: Mimicry…?
next episode →
Oz: This is an odd state of affairs.
Cain: Murr showed us all the specimens he’d collected earlier.
Ore samples, some grass, flowers — those were all fine, but he also showed us animal bone fragments that look identical to the ones here.
Snow: Judging from the way the bones are strewn all over this place… This must be something of a feeding ground.
Mithra, dear. You said you’ve visited this place countless times, didn’t you? Have you any guesses as to what’s behind this?
Mithra, who was poking around the scattered bones, took a good, hard look at the bone fragment in his palm. Then he tossed it aside.
He didn’t lift his gaze nor his face. He spoke, in his usual timbre:
Mithra: Suppose there’s a large meat-eating beast around. After eating all this, it won’t be hungry again for a while.
But as long as that creature lives, it has to eat.
Murr: A sound conclusion. If this predator were to attack again, it would be because it’s hungry again.
For instance, what if a creature in a long hibernation awoke for whatever reason? In its hunger, it would have to devour all the animals that walk this land…
Murr was crouched down near the bones. He reached down and touched the rocky ground with his hand.
The ground in front of him was cleaved deeply apart, with ridges that were thicker and longer than Murr’s arm.
Murr: This mark is that of a large claw.
Now accompany me in this leap of faith: this claw mark looks just like a prehistoric—
[ No BGM ]
The wind whistled, and with it, there was the soft but distinct sound of a rumbling earth beneath us.
Cain: That’s… not a volcanic eruption. Footsteps?
Oz: The wind’s current has shifted. There is something strange that walks this mountain.
Snow: It’s something unnatural, something twisted. I can sense it ahead of us, up the mountain.
Owen: For some reason, it reeks of a beast.
Murr: The plot thickens! Let’s go check it out!
Cain: Kenja sama, stay close to me.
Akira: G-Got it…
Rustica: Chloe, you must be careful too. The ground is uneven and craggy.
Chloe: Okay…
Cautiously, we went up the mountain, trailing behind the other wizards with Murr taking point.
We tried to move as soundlessly as possible, to conceal our presence. When we got to a large, looming boulder, Murr stopped in his tracks.
Murr: There you are.
[ BGM starts ]
Murr pointed straight at a rock formation that was the size of a small hill.
Over the rock, a gigantic shadow writhed.
Chloe: W-what on earth is that thing…
It was much, much bigger than the trees and rocks around it. It looked just like a creature out of ancient mythology.
No real animal could even begin to compare to it.
It had whorled horns like a bull and brutish, sinewy wings that made me think of dinosaurs.
Its arms were long and lithe; its two legs were strong and stout; all four limbs ended in long claws.
Mithra: … Tiletta?
As if picking up on something, from right beside me, Mithra murmured that name.
Oz & Snow: ………
The name that fell from his lips was that of his teacher from long ago.
It was like the word had slipped free of him, like the breeze had come and stolen it away. Maybe it’d been said so softly that the other wizards hadn’t heard it.
Yet, before us, stood that extremely grotesque, warped—
Oz: Djalgr.
Akira: …!
Oz’s voice was low and deeply resonant.
Cain: The djalgr… Even I can see it. You don’t get to see a monster as big as that brute on just any day.
Murr: Well, of course? That’s a prehistoric magical creature right there. It ought to be extinct by now.
But there’s no mistaking it for what it is.
I could hear the brimming excitement in the timbre of Murr’s voice. His eyes gleamed intensely as he intently drank in the sight of the gargantuan figure that loomed over all of us.
Snow: The land’s spirits have such an imposing presence that I didn’t notice the djalgr, but…
This may be one of the Calamity’s effects upon the land. Perhaps it was resurrected from the depths of hell.
Murr: If that’s the case, then all the data falls into place.
The influence of the Calamity resurrected this brute, and thus it must satisfy the depths of its hunger. That’s why it attacked the animals that live here. The result is what we see before us: the aftermath of its feeding frenzy.
Most likely, it ventured down from the mountaintop, devouring everything and anything in its path, from mid-sized animals to large animals, or even entire herds.
That’s why the only animals that remain are the little speedy ones that aren’t worth eating, and then some of the large animals that live at the base of the mountain too.
Rustica: Wouldn’t that mean that the animals at the base of the mountain are only living peacefully because the fiend has yet to arrive…?
Oz: That may have been true once, but the time of its arrival draws near. Perhaps the dialgr was roused by the presence of us wizards, for it has already begun its descent from the mountain.
It hungers.
Djalgr: …… ʀᴀ, ……
ᴍᴇᴇTHra……
Mithra: ………
Akira: (Did it just… speak?)
Owen: Hey, you over there!
[ No BGM ]
Akira: !?
Snow: Owen?!
Owen’s voice cut right through the icy cold tension that had frozen all of us still.
Speaking loudly, he caught the djalgr’s attention. It turned to face us.
From its shadowy form, its eyes were dimly luminescent. Suddenly, its eyes opened wide…
Without warning, an ear-splitting cry rattled my eardrums.
[ BGM starts ]
Snow: This is bad! Everyone, scatter into the skies!
At Snow’s orders, all the wizards summoned their brooms and kicked off, taking flight across many directions in the air.
Cain, who was near me, gripped me by the arm and urged me onto his broom. We soared together into the sky.
[ Open Skies ]
Snow: Owen! There is such a thing as a bad time to grab attention!
Owen: Well, it was staring straight at us. I couldn’t help myself.
Why was it there? What was it doing? It’s much faster to ask it directly, isn’t it?
Though I guess it’s gone off the deep end, so there’s no reason to bother talking to it at all.
Chloe: Man, that gave me a fright…
Rustica: It made such a mighty noise. My ears are still tingling from it.
Murr: I know, right!
Cain: Are you guys really chit-chatting right now?! We definitely pissed that thing off, right?!
From behind us came a resoundingly loud roar that tore through the air.
When I glanced up, I saw that the djalgr had spread its large wings. With a single, powerful flap, its massive body took into the air.
It was an ominous yet somehow spectacular display. I couldn’t help but sigh in awe. At the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of red hair.
It was Mithra, with his magical tool primed to strike.
Snow: No, Mithra! Strong magic is—!
Mithra: « arsim »
Snow’s admonishment was cut short by a brilliant flash of light from the crystal skull.
The flash enveloped the djalgr and sealed it into a cage of light.
Oz: The spirits grow agitated.
Snow: You must keep your power in check!
Mithra: I know. I am doing just that.
The djalgr shrieked and howled. It used its enormous horns to wrench the cage open.
Like a shooting star, it cut across the sky and barrelled straight for Mithra.
Mithra: Well, well, look at you. You are cool.
Mithra remained composed. Effortlessly cool, his thin lips curved into a smile. Once again, he raised his magical tool.
Djalgr: …… ʀᴀ, ……
But when the djalgr swooped in and uttered that syllable, Mithra froze.
Akira: Mithra?!
Mithra: « arsim »
Mithra waved his slender arm through the air. Following that movement, a chain took form, flames burning along each link.
Burning bright and red, the chain snaked itself around the djalgr.
Djalgr: …… ᴍɪ, thra……
Mithra…!
This time, its voice was crystal clear.
A creature like this shouldn’t have been able to speak that word. The younger wizards all exchanged a glance with each other.
Cain: Did that thing just—
Chloe: ‘Mithra’… that’s what it said, right?
Like the mountain’s namesake, the crimson flames of the chain bound itself tightly around the snarling djalgr.
Like tugging on reins, Mithra pulled the creature closer to him by the chains. He peered into the fiend’s eyes.
Mithra: You…
Haha, it’s been a while.
Owen: « cur memini »
As if he wanted to break apart this unnatural scene, Owen’s magic shot straight into the djalgr’s wings.
The brute was thrown off balance in the air and began spiralling down towards the black rock ground below.
Mithra: Owen…
Owen: What? You’re pathetic.
Don’t just stand there stupidly like that. Hurry up and take out the trash. Or do you prefer being ripped limb from limb?
Mithra: … No, of course not. But that did make me remember.
The ground below shook from the impact of the djalgr’s landing, spraying dust and rubble upward.
Mithra looked down at the writhing fiend. His gaze was nostalgic, and there was a hint of a smile in his eyes..
Mithra: It’s faint, but there’s traces of magic on it.
That’s the same djalgr that Tiletta sealed away long, long ago.
[ In the past… ]
[ Mount Guren - Summit ]
Mithra: Guh, urgh…! Haagh…
Tiletta: Mithra, are you alright?
Mithra: (panting) …… Hah…
Heh, haha……
Tiletta: Oh, that’s no good. You’ve had a rush of blood to the head.
Regulate your breathing. Here, I’ll make you some sugar.
[ Screech! ]
Tiletta: « scintilla » !
Tiletta: I’ve been keeping an eye on you for the past few days, so I think enough’s enough.
This fiend here’s a regular old ravager in these parts. Because of it, the air’s so smoggy and a pain to fly around in, and all that ash the wind carries in gets in the way. You must’ve gotten so fed up.
The fiend ate all the hornbunnies that I loved so much, so I was hoping you could take it down while we were here, but…
I guess it’s a little too much for you, Mithra.
Djalgr: ʀᴀ, ……
ᴍɪTHra……?
Tiletta: Ooh, you’re a smart one. Did you pick it up because I called this little boy by his name?
Mithra: Tch, Tiletta… Don’t get in my way.
I’ll defeat it. That beast is mere— urgh.
Tiletta: I already told you, it’s out of your league. We’re done here. Go cool your head.
Hmmm. Well, I suppose this _is_ a rare and powerful magical creature, so it’d be a waste to just kill it right away.
I’ll seal this thing away for you, Mithra.
When you’re much stronger than you are now, when there comes a day that you’ll be able to go head-to-head with this brute…
That’ll be the time you can fight it again, okay?
Mithra: …… (huff) ……
Tiletta: « scintilla »
[ Present day ]
What Mithra told us was a recounting of that day.
Owen audibly sneered with contempt from atop his broom, where he sat cross-legged.
Owen: You lost? And to that kind of beast, too.
Mithra: Shut up. I was still a kid back then.
Murr: Are you saying that the djalgr, an otherwise extinct species, has managed to survive to this day because one had been sealed away?
Fascinating…! If we simply sealed away a mating pair of every living creature, then even if the Calamity managed to fully descend and destroy the entire world, we could just revive all life and start again!
Chloe: Tiletta’s like, Rutile and Mitile’s mother, right?
Rustica: To think she was capable of sealing away such a massive magical creature for hundreds of years…
I’ve only heard stories of her exploits, but she must’ve been a very strong witch.
Snow: No wonder I thought I felt something familiar… Who would’ve expected her to seal away a prehistoric magical creature just like stowing away a child’s toy?
Oz: Moreover, the spellcraft had been transformed.
Akira: ‘Transformed’...? Are you talking about the seal that Tiletta had put on the fiend?
Mithra: That seems to be the case. Under the influence of the Calamity, the sealing spell she cast onto the creature became twisted and warped…
I think the djalgr, as it is now, has in turn been strengthened by Tiletta’s magic.
Snow: What a sticky situation to find ourselves in. The original djalgr was already such a vicious fiend.
Since we now know that it was revived and strengthened, it stands to reason that it won’t stop at merely ravaging this land.
Cain: So, was that cry just now also due to Tiletta’s magic?
It’s like, it was calling out to Mithra…
Murr: Nah, that’s just a djalgr thing. It mimicks voices and sounds it’s repeatedly exposed to.
Akira: Mimicry…?
next episode →