Chapter 774
Episode 190: The Legacy of Marliet Hister (4)
As Marliet spoke, the scenery suddenly shifted.
September 7, 1391.
Five months after Marliet had cast the curse on Honka, Jin and Valeria cautiously surveyed their surroundings once again.
Buildings were burning and collapsing everywhere, screams echoed through the air, and the stench of blood and ash filled their nostrils.
‘…This is a battlefield. Are those… phantoms?’
‘Looks like this is the moment when our ancestor and Ziphl are locked in combat.’
Boom!
An explosion erupted right before them, revealing Marliet’s figure.
She was just managing to block the phantoms’ magic with a protective shield.
“I didn’t expect you to show up here, Marliet Hister. How did you get in?”
Despite being surrounded by five phantoms, Marliet remained calm. She even smirked as she replied.
“How did I get in? I just came.”
The phantoms masked their surprise, but it was clear they were unsettled.
They were fighting on the outskirts of Drakka.
Though peripheral, this was the capital of the Lutero Magic Federation—and one of Ziphl’s most wanted was here.
“Do you think I don’t know your captain and clan head are both absent? The answer is yes, I do. Which means? There’s no force here in Drakka that can stop me. So, let’s not waste energy fighting. I just need to find one person and leave.”
Besides, there was a secret underground prison on the outskirts of Drakka.
Marliet had come to rescue Rock Hister, who was imprisoned there.
“You don’t want unnecessary casualties either, right? Consider this a win for today and just turn back. You almost always lose when you fight my family anyway.”
“Sure, considering your usual skill, that might be true. Rock Hister isn’t that important. But listen, we know your situation too. The blood of Kaian. We don’t know how you endure that pain, but the curse our captain placed on you is definitely still active.”
Those cursed by Kaian’s blood usually lasted no more than a month. Marliet had already survived two years.
She shrugged without answering.
“Well, if you want to die that badly, I can’t stop you.”
“Still full of bravado. If you were the old you, all five of us would be dead by now. Attack!”
At the captain’s command, the phantoms launched their assault again.
The scattered corpses of Ziphl’s mages were torn apart by their wild magic.
Marliet’s entire body burned with a painful heat from the curse, but she swung her staff, deflecting their spells.
Though the clan head and phantom captain were absent, if the battle dragged on much longer, survival was impossible.
This was Ziphl’s stronghold—endless reinforcements would flood in.
So Marliet decided to gamble.
Even if the curse intensified, she would draw on her magic to finish this quickly.
Hister’s Second Legacy Spell:
The Golden Spear
As Marliet finished chanting, a massive golden cloud of magic formed overhead.
Thousands of tiny golden spears rained down, along with one enormous spear.
Jin and Valeria were momentarily speechless at the sheer power.
The golden spears tore through the phantoms’ shields like rain.
The largest spear embedded itself in the center of the battlefield, endlessly radiating waves of magic.
The phantoms, trying to restore their shields, had to scatter to avoid the waves.
Marliet simultaneously unleashed other elemental spells, picking them off one by one.
“Ugh…!”
Marliet spat a mouthful of blood. The curse’s power was rapidly intensifying.
Only two phantoms survived, but both were too wounded to fight.
Instead of finishing them off, Marliet advanced, opening a record spell.
The record detailed the location of the underground prison where Rock Hister was held.
Breaking through the floor of a collapsed building revealed the prison entrance.
“W-who’s there? Please help!”
“Help us!”
The prisoners had been trapped underground, hearing the battle’s tremors and noise above.
A few guards raised swords and staves, but Marliet ignored them.
They dared not confront her and fled outside the prison.
“Rock! Where are you?”
Marliet smashed through the prison doors, calling out.
Those freed gave her brief thanks before fleeing hurriedly.
No answer came from Rock, so Marliet activated the record magic again.
With many records scattered nearby, it took a few minutes.
Five minutes later, the record revealed Rock Hister was already dead.
Marliet bit her lower lip and lowered her head.
Rock had been her lover.
But there was no time to mourn.
Noise was rising again from above.
“It’s the underground prison! Fire magic at the prison!”
Ziphl’s reinforcements bombarded the prison with magic, causing the ceiling to collapse entirely.
Marliet raised a shield, desperately searching for Rock’s body, but most of the prison was already engulfed in magical flames.
Just as she felt her insides twist in agony and prepared to escape—
She heard a voice. A child’s voice, crying out for help.
Opening the prison door where the sound came from, she found a child about eight years old.
Marliet flinched at the child’s hair color but reached out her hand.
“Let’s get out of here together.”
Taking the child with her, Marliet swept through Ziphl’s reinforcements.
It took two days to escape and reach a hideout.
The moment she arrived, her body collapsed like a stone.
When she regained consciousness, the first thing she saw was the child, clutching a dagger with trembling hands, looking down at her.
It was a dagger from the hideout.
“…Are you going to stab me with that?”
The child said nothing, gritting their teeth.
“I knew you were Ziphl’s child from the moment I saved you. Probably the clan head’s illegitimate child, or imprisoned for seeing something you shouldn’t have.”
Marliet understood the child held the dagger hoping to kill her and return to their clan.
“Put the dagger down. You haven’t sinned yet. I’ll give you a chance to live—not as Ziphl’s pawn or disposable tool, but as a person.”
The child hesitated, then crawled into Marliet’s arms still clutching the dagger.
Without magic, Marliet easily swatted the dagger away.
The child fell, bursting into tears.
“You didn’t stab me, so you’re still innocent. Let’s leave it at that. Once my body recovers, I’ll help you build a life. Forget the past and start anew.”
Marliet hated Ziphl more than anyone.
But she refused to harbor hatred even for children who had never taken part in the brutal clan wars.
A week later, once she could move, Marliet took the child to the beastmen’s land and disguised them.
She gave the child a new identity and forged official documents.
From now on, the child would live as a commoner named Ielo, not as Elgia Ziphl.
“Ielo, I’ve lost many family and lovers to Ziphl. Still, I saved you because, if you look closely, you and I share the same fate. You were born Ziphl but abandoned by them, losing your family.”
Ielo burst into tears and clung to Marliet.
“Break free from the cycle of hatred and live your own life. You have no siblings, so there’s no need for revenge. Our clans need more children like you—children who live their own lives instead of fighting.”
“Marliet… how can I ever repay you?”
“Live well. That’s the only way to repay me. And someday, when you’re able to reach out to someone else, do as I did. Grow up bright and strong, Ielo.”
Marliet never learned what became of Ielo.
But until Marliet met her destined death, Ziphl never came searching for them at the hideout.
Everything Jin and Valeria witnessed of Marliet’s life was like this.
She protected countless Histers from Ziphl, saved many lives, yet never looked burdened.
She didn’t seem lonely, nor did she fall into despair or become consumed by hatred.
She simply appeared to be someone who embraced life.
She believed every action she took was meaningful—not out of duty or obligation, but because she followed her own convictions.
Even the death curse of Kaian’s blood couldn’t darken her spirit.
Winter, December 20, 1393.
At last, Marliet completed a golem for her successor at the Honka Island legacy site.
“Luckily, I finished in time. Golem, I was going to name you myself, but now I think it’s better if my successor does that.”
[Understood, Master.]
“Your homeland, my legacy site, is dangerous—but if you have the skill, you won’t die. In fact, it’s designed so that anyone who makes it through will grow stronger. If someone ignores the traps and takes a shortcut, check their hair and magical power. If their hair is red and their magic is pure, they’re a successor—and you’ll have to give them an extra test.”
[Understood. If a shortcut user is a successor, all secret traps and self-destruct devices will activate, applying first-class hostility.]
“Good. Then I suppose I must be going… I’m sorry I couldn’t give you more memories with me.”
[I’m sorry too. But, Master, you must go. To the place you’ve chosen as the final destination of your life.]
Cursed to the extreme, Marliet no longer had the imposing figure she once did. Her frame was still impressive, but now gaunt and skeletal. Yet her eyes still sparkled with a mischievous life.
Marliet turned her gaze toward the empty space where Jin and Valeria stood.
“Descendant, this is the last story I, Marliet Hister, will tell you.”
One who bears only fate on their shoulders cannot change the world.
Even if they do, it will go astray somewhere. Like many of my family and comrades before me, they become monsters.
After saying this, Marliet took a heavy breath.
“You don’t have to become a monster just because you’re fighting the monster-infested G-Field clan. Fight when you must, and show love when it’s time to love. Sometimes, you have to forgive even the bloodline of your enemy. Don’t push your life into some bleak, barren place just because you have duties and missions to fulfill. Live brightly and bravely.”
Marliet smiled softly, staring into the empty space where Jin and Valeria observed.
Then she stepped outside and said her farewells to Honka.
[…You’re leaving?]
“Yes. I think I’ll die in about four or five hours. I debated whether to spend my last moments peacefully by your side… but I have to go. To Rock.”
[A farewell, then.]
“Yes, a farewell. Except for the uneasy feeling that you won’t leave this place even after I’m gone, I feel relieved.”
Honka said nothing and embraced Marliet—just like the first time she had held him. When her firm, dry body touched his, tears fell.
[We’ll meet again someday.]
“Yes, Honka. Oh, and until I’m ready to leave this island, keep a close eye on the successors who come looking for me. Watch if they properly fulfill the conditions I left behind. It’ll be a little fun.”
With that, Marliet headed toward the outskirts of Drakka, where she had failed to retrieve Rock’s remains.
And so, Marliet’s story came to an end.