Chapter 149.2

After the post-war cleanup, the recognition of achievements and allocation of spoils naturally followed.

This was especially crucial in battles between humans.

Because one could grow stronger by absorbing the magic power of fellow wizards.

As per custom, the remains of allied casualties were collected by their own houses, while in the case of enemies, if the one who had definitively killed them was known, that person claimed the magic; if not, it was distributed according to individual merit.

Turan also made sure to report the share of one noble from House Ruvan whose power he had urgently absorbed during the battle, deducting it from Parsha's share.

Disputes over identifying who took what were a hassle, and besides, the Lavitas side had been rather generous anyway.

“Thank you for your concession, Osel.”

“There’s no need to thank me. You came all the way out here to help us; this is the least we can do. Without Parsha’s aid, we surely would’ve been doomed.”

Osel said with a shake of his head in response to Turan’s gratitude.

Just as he said, the hidden blade, reinforcements from House Ruvan, concealed by Varaha, had been exceedingly sharp.

If only Solif had been dispatched as originally planned, they would have been lucky to escape with a devastating defeat; otherwise, it might have ended in total annihilation.

Considering that they avoided such a fate and succeeded in exacting revenge, this level of benefit was well-deserved.

Once the magic power had been distributed from knights to high-ranking nobles, the last prize, the corpse of the Varaha family head, was brought out.

The value of the magic power contained within was comparable to that of an entire region.

In truth, a family head of a great noble house could wield such transcendent power precisely because that overwhelming magic was inherited from one family head to the next, making it no exaggeration to call it the essence of a great noble house itself.

"Like this, among four people?"

"Yes, thanks to your consideration."

To absorb Reshion’s magic, three people from Parsha who had participated directly in battle and one girl from Lavitas, a relative of Osel, were chosen.

Osel himself had already inherited the previous family head’s magic and had reached his limit, so they selected a promising child from within the house.

“Begin.”

At someone’s signal, the four of them began absorbing Reshion’s magic at once.

After a long period of stagnation since devouring the Great Sea Serpent, Turan’s magical growth suddenly surged again.

A stronger body, sharper senses, the wave-like surge of power rippling within.

Turan realized that his pure magic had ascended one step further and that even someone like Osel standing beside him could now be considered his equal.

‘Finally……’

He was still a bit weaker than Badal, but now he truly possessed the strength befitting the title of a great noble house’s family head.

Just then, a small sigh escaped from beside him.

The magic being absorbed into Solif’s body began to disperse, having lost its recipient.

“Tch, looks like this is my limit.”

The phenomenon of reaching one’s limit.

It was something that inevitably came to wizards who continually absorbed magic over time, and now it had come for Solif.

Unlike a certain noble from Aravion that Turan had seen in the past, Solif didn’t appear deeply disappointed. He just let out a short sigh and shook his head, as if he had expected this.

“Don’t look at me like that. Well, I won’t say I hadn’t hoped for more… but even this is a lot.”

In truth, Turan had hoped that once Meisa or Solif accumulated a certain amount of magic, they too would blossom into a fourth bloodline as he had.

He had thought Solif, a descendant of the Silver Sun, would awaken the Healer Bloodline, and Meisa, the Fighter Bloodline.

Of course, even as he was now, Solif had gained power equal to the late Reshion’s, so it wasn’t like this was something to complain about.

“Enough already, just get someone to fill my spot.”

“Bije. Let Bije take it.”

Meisa, who had been absorbing magic nearby, spoke up softly.

In any case, since the nobles of Parsha were all single-bloodline holders, most had already reached or were nearing their limits in magic capacity, so absorbing Reshion’s power would have little effect.

-Can I do it from here?

-Yes!

Following Turan’s instruction, Bije, who had been inside his body, also began absorbing the magic.

By the time most of the magic power had already been absorbed, what remained was little more than scraps, but even that was a significant benefit for the current Bije.

Originally among the lowest of the top-tier in terms of magic power, Bije's strength instantly rose to the mid-level of the top-tier, comparable to Solif from some time ago.

Had Bije absorbed the full amount, she likely would have surpassed even that.

After completing the absorption, Turan organized the magic power within his body and checked the progress of the others.

Meisa had now grown even stronger than ordinary family heads like Osel or Reshion. Turan followed next, while Solif, who had hit his limit during the process, ranked last, roughly on par with Osel and Reshion.

"Looks like it’s over."

"Yes, thanks to your consideration."

Nodding at Turan’s words of gratitude, Osel turned to the Lavitas girl and asked,

"Alu, how about you?"

"Thank you, Family Head! I will never forget this kindness!"

The Lavitas girl who had absorbed magic power with them, too, had rapidly ascended from a mid-tier to top-tier magic holder.

It was said she was born with lower noble-level magic power from an early age, one of the most promising talents in Lavitas history.

Osel himself was still young, so perhaps in the future, two family-head-level powerhouses might rise from House Lavitas.

Finally, after even the magic artifacts were distributed, the allied forces began their official march toward Helio, the capital of Varaha.

Because they had passed through villages and towns near the capital, even commoners could now witness the result of the war.

“Look at that.”

“Oh my God, could it be……?”

“Should we run?”

“Stay put. Whether those high-and-mighty people change or not, it makes no difference to lowly workers like us.”

The news that wizards wearing garments bearing the Varaha emblem were marching behind in disarray would soon spread across the entire Land of Five Lakes.

After about three hours of marching, the allied army finally reached Helio.

The wizards from Lavitas gasped in admiration as they beheld the high walls and well-constructed buildings of Helio.

“So this is the capital of Varaha?”

“It’s magnificent.”

"The buildings are certainly tall because the ground is firm and not soft."

“That must be the Temple of the Sun!”

Their awestruck reactions were so provincial that one of the high-ranking nobles snapped at them to shut their mouths, and only then did the commotion die down.

Upon arriving in the capital, the allied forces divided into three major groups.

One group began occupying key institutions that affected civilians, starting with City Hall and the police stations.

Another group monitored the prisoners restrained outside the city walls.

The final group occupied the Temple of the Sun, Varaha’s main stronghold, and wiped out the remaining stragglers.

“We lost!? Don’t be ridiculous!”

“That’s a lie! They’re just an advance party. The main force is still fighting! Don’t be shaken and stand your ground!”

A few remaining nobles in the main house shouted in defiance at the arrival of the allied forces, but none joined their cries.

And even if they had, what could they have done?

Just like Varaha, the bulk of their forces had already been committed to the battle on the plains, and those who remained at the Temple of the Sun were either elders on the brink of death or children who had only just awakened their magic.

“Surrender peacefully and your lives will be spared.”

“Solif, you traitorous bastard……”

The aged Varaha noble growled, but went silent upon seeing the size and intensity of the halo erupting from Solif’s back.

It was like witnessing a small sun rise, so overwhelming that it evoked the image of the former head of Varaha.

“Did you… devour the magic of the family head?”

“Yes. I am now the head of House Varaha. Accept it or die. The choice is yours.”

There was not a trace of pride or intimidation in Solif’s voice.

It was a calm tone, as though he were merely stating a fact.

Perhaps because of that, the words struck more deeply. The few remaining survivors exchanged glances, then let out heavy sighs and lowered the flag hanging from the peak of the Temple of the Sun.

It was the first time in the 1,800-year history of House Varaha.

***

"Ugh, I'm dying of exhaustion."

“Seriously, right?”

That evening, Turan and his group gathered in the family head’s residence that Reshion had used.

It was the place within the Temple of the Sun where they could meet smoothly without being disturbed by others.

Technically, it was against etiquette for Solif, originally a guest of House Parsha, to take the highest seat, but since he was now the confirmed next head of House Varaha, it was allowable.

As a bonus, Solif had agreed to take responsibility for the recent ambush as the head of Varaha and to relinquish a considerable amount of property and rights.

Once everyone had gathered, Turan carefully placed the jewel box onto the desk.

“Should we check it tomorrow if everyone’s tired?”

“No, let’s do it now. I’m dying of curiosity for a lot of reasons. Besides, starting tomorrow, we’ll all be busy with other matters.”

“Exactly. Turan, you also have to return to Parsha, don’t you?”

“It doesn’t take long to get there.”

“That’s true!”

After the battle had ended and they entered the Temple of the Sun, Turan had Armania reinstall the mirror that led to Kalamaf inside the inner cave of the prison where Solif’s parents had once been confined.

The plan for the time being was to maintain this setup so that either Parsha or Varaha could respond proactively in case of an attack from the opposing side.

“Hopefully, this time, we’ll actually get some proper answers.”

“It won’t be like with Cadrum, will it?”

"If it is, I'm planning to get rid of both and investigate from the fragments. That would be better than letting them keep their mouths shut."

There were truly many things they wanted to ask Reshion.

What exactly were the spiritual thorns embedded in Solif’s and Meisa’s heads? Why did his own spiritual form look the way it did? Why had he suddenly launched an assault on Lavitas?

It was time to open the jewel box and discover the truth.

*****