Youngest 261
by CristaeEpisode 261
The Mage King harbored ambitions of conquering the continent, yet at every turn his plans were thwarted by Leviathan Zevert.
Harboring malice as a result, he devised a plan to steal Leviathan’s child.
He ambushed Rosetta Zevert with the help of a pregnant female mage.
Rosetta, heavy with child and struck in the abdomen, was unable to defend herself properly.
The remainder of her escort were all slaughtered by the one known as “the First,” who had been lying in wait nearby.
The Mage King upended her carriage, planning to make “the Third” and “the Fifth” pose as witnesses and arrange for her to give birth prematurely in a nearby village.
He intended to switch the newborn with another child who had already died…
But his plan was unexpectedly foiled by a sudden assault.
It was the intervention of Kal, in defense of the child, that turned the tide, making this moment the divergence between the past and the future.
Still, the Mage King saw it.
The light of a soul that slipped out from the carriage and vanished somewhere beyond.
.
.
After returning to the royal palace, the Mage King ordered “the Third” and “the Fifth,” who were present, to command magical beasts to attack the Zevert memorial.
A body is a vessel for the soul.
If that soul ever returned, it would surely return to this body.
He could not allow the potent power of that soul he had once witnessed to fall into Leviathan’s hands.
.
.
Around that same time, black magic was born, feeding on the malice that filled the world.
It was the worst possible form—a mixture of the Mage King’s malice and the despair and resentment of parents who, having lost a child, cursed the world.
The continent was engulfed in the flames of war.
.
.
Year 3 of the Human–Dark Beast War.
The departed soul returned to its rightful place not long after its departure.
The eyes of the child, opening fully under her own power for the first time, were vivid ruby red.
Unaware that Wizeria had placed protective measures over the child, the Mage King laughed madly at those blood-red eyes.
He had on occasion nurtured the child’s body with his own magical power.
How delightful it would be to raise her well and send her to Leviathan.
So he thought, as he stroked the child’s snow-white hair.
.
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Year 7 of the Human–Dark Beast War.
The child grew like a doll missing something essential.
Yet within her, a formidable power lay dormant.
The girl rendered every magic circle the Mage King desired.
Wizeria’s wisdom.
He tried to claim it for himself by branding her with a crest, but failed. In the end, he inscribed a slower, consuming crest instead.
.
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Year 8 of the Human–Dark Beast War.
The dark mages grew stronger still, and the Mage King grew anxious.
At this rate, it seemed it would be dark magic, not himself, that ruled the world.
Driven by desperation, he ordered the capture of a dark mage and sent the child to the battlefield.
He did not realize this would prove a grave mistake.
.
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Year 9 of the Human–Dark Beast War.
For the first time, the child gave herself a name.
At last, it was time…
Her power, writhing within her at intervals.
Rubian began to keenly observe the world with clear eyes.
Only when she left the Mage King’s side did she begin to develop a sense of self.
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Year 9 of the Human–Dark Beast War.
Wandering, lost, Rubian encountered Khalid.
It was Wizeria, intent on sparing Rubian from ending up as she had in her previous life, who led her to him.
At their first meeting, Rubian, almost unwittingly, broke her shackles and saved him.
Kal offered her an oath spell as if led by fate.
And he heard her name.
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Year 9 of the Human–Dark Beast War.
In response to Khalid’s magic, Rubian recovered the memories of her previous life in the modern age.
Wizeria had kept her promise with Khalid.
To protect the child, some memories from before their return had been transformed into “books,” with suitable embellishments.
So that the little girl would not be overwhelmed by heavy truths before she was ready.
Her memories would be given back, little by little, as she grew.
Once Rubian completely regained her sense of self, she resolved—unlike before—to escape the Mage Kingdom. With Kal at her side, she moved through the battlefields, secretly aiding Leviathan.
.
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Year 10 of the Human–Dark Beast War.
The long war ended.
Rubian returned home.
Ch. 28
The “hidden time” was revealed.
That is to say, it was the story of how I, who killed my father, wandered lost in the woods and met Khalid, and how he left the cave and returned in order to change everything.
From my perspective… it was practically the second part of Sword Planted on the Ruins.
What came to mind the moment I opened my eyes after witnessing that ending was—
‘Wow, the genre of my life…’
Not a reincarnation story…
‘But a return story…’
—such a foolish thought.
FWOOOOSH—
A violent wind blew.
People who had collapsed under the force of the Dragon Deity’s immense magic were now staggering to their feet.
It seemed only those connected to me had recovered memories from before the return, while the rest appeared to have merely lost consciousness for a time, stunned by the Dragon Deity’s power.
Propping myself up on the floor, I managed to get to my feet, when someone suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace from behind.
“Kal…?”
Khalid pressed his face into the nape of my neck and fell silent for a moment.
“I…”
Somehow, my eyes began to sting, and I couldn’t say another word.
Recalling all that he had endured for my sake felt like being swallowed by a great tidal wave. No words… could fully express this feeling.
So all I did was gently pat Khalid’s forearm where it circled me from behind. Like two wounded animals, we simply shared a moment of warmth.
“Ruby, just what is…”
Nearby, my mother and father were getting unsteadily to their feet, their faces deeply confused.
‘They must have seen their lives before the return as well…’
Ah… come to think of it.
‘That scene where the grown-up me sought out my father to kill him.’
Father must have seen all of that.
It hurt terribly…
But now, it was all from a world that no longer existed.
Even as a child, when I believed that was the truth of the original story, I lived perceiving myself not as the “Seventh,” but as Rubian Zevert.
‘This place where I stand—that’s what’s real.’
And perhaps Father felt the same; by now, his eyes, hardened, were watching me closely.
Did you recover the return spell’s magic circle?
At that moment, I heard an unfamiliar whisper.
Right in the heart of the royal palace.
The Dragon Deity’s power, swirling in a single mass.
Hurry and offer it to me. Turn back time!
With Khalid’s support, I slowly raised myself up.
“…”
What are you hesitating for? Quickly!
Kal positioned himself in front of me as if to shield me, but I stopped him instead.
“Ruby.”
“Kal, that power…”
“…”
“It’s already at its limit.”
At my words, Khalid quietly watched the dwindling power.
The Dragon Deity’s strength, fading away.
The power that had flowed out of Khalid no longer had any remaining purpose to linger in this world.
What’s more, by forcibly unlocking all our “hidden time,” its exhaustion had been hastened all the more.
I beg you. Send me back to when the goddess lived. Please.
Impossible as it seemed, the voice sounded almost pleading.
Let me tell her. Just once…
“…”
I watched the swirl of power in silence.
But…
That was the end of the voice.
The power shrank, and shrank, smaller still, until at last—
with a soft, sudden release, it dissipated into the air.
“…It’s gone.”
As my legs gave out and I was about to collapse, Khalid swiftly caught me.
“Haaah.”
A long, long breath escaped me.
For some reason, I felt wholly, utterly exhausted…
‘Huh?’
That was the moment I detected something amiss.
The heavy clouds still hung over the sky, and as I gazed around at the stillness, I suddenly lifted my head.
‘Wait.’
I narrowed my eyes.
‘Just as I glimpsed the past—’
Here too, someone else had glimpsed another past…
With that realization, a chill shot through me, as if I’d been doused with ice water.
“No!”
At that instant, the Mage King, who had been feigning unconsciousness, snapped his eyes open.