Chapter 335
Chapter 335. Taboo and Realization
――Charlotte is no more.
After the Evaroti conquest, when I summoned Barbara to join our team, I tried to call Charlotte too, but she didn’t respond.
“…………”
But how am I supposed to say this to him, this man with such a pained expression?
‘――I thought I’d bring her back after killing her, but she didn’t respond at all. Her soul must be gone!!’
There’s no way I could say that…!!
“……A priest with light attributes and necromancy just don’t mix well.”
I forced the words out, sounding rather excuse-laden.
“I use dark magic to envelop the soul and summon it to this world. For someone with a soul of the opposite light attribute, it would be akin to torment…”
I recalled Faravgi. I had suggested preserving his soul so he could be with Leila, but he refused, choosing to pass on all his memories to Leila and disappear instead, rejecting the pain of being shackled here by necromancy and out of pride as a dragon…
“And it’s been over four months since the Evaroti conquest.”
Edgar flinched slightly.
“The souls of the dead taken to the spirit world start to erode over time and eventually vanish. If you wish, you can try, but likely, her soul is already…”
“…………I see.”
Prompted by my words that seemed to nudge him toward resignation, Edgar lowered his gaze.
“You know a lot, don’t you?”
I felt a hint of mockery in his tone, and I couldn’t tell if it was just my imagination.
“I’m a specialist, after all.”
I responded with a self-deprecating tone, as I couldn’t find any other words to say.
“! No, I’m sorry.”
But when Edgar turned around, his face looked pitifully close to tears.
It was as if he was shocked by his own words and actions.
“I didn’t mean to be sarcastic! I’m truly sorry!”
He seemed to realize his earlier mocking words and appeared ashamed of his behavior.
…But it can’t be helped. He probably unloaded his unmanageable sadness onto me, right?
“It’s fine. I understand your feelings well.”
I truly do. There’s no need for him to apologize.
After all, I was the one who killed Charlotte.
Edgar has every right to blame me; it’s only natural.
“……It’s not like you had a choice, did you?”
Edgar mumbled. What does that mean? Does he mean that since I was born with dark attributes, I could only ever train them? Or perhaps—
“I’ve been puzzling over something. About Alex’s magical power.”
Walking straight ahead, Edgar continued.
“Despite having immense magical power, he identified himself as a hero rather than a priest, and I found it a bit off. Even if he entered the Holy Church as a hero, with that much power at his young age, it wouldn’t be strange if he was thrown into a priest’s training course. …Is it that those born with inherent dark attributes can never gain light attributes even through training?”
“……I don’t know. I think it’s probably impossible.”
Normal humans can adapt, but then again, I’m not even human.
But I wonder what would happen if I kept training in my human form? Would I eventually awaken a light attribute…?
‘In theory, it seems possible. It might be worth a try.’
No… If I stopped being purely dark attribute, my necromancy and teleportation spell might become dull.
A half-baked light attribute wouldn’t work against a Demon Lord anyway. Offensive spells would barely singe the Demon Lord’s skin, and if it’s healing I seek, I already have teleportation. If gaining a light attribute weakens my teleportation spell, it’d be better to just stick with the dark specialization.
“――Wait a minute.”
At that moment, Edgar suddenly stopped.
What now? What did he just realize?
“…What about a dark magic user believing in the light deities…? Also, why did the holy attribute awaken? Isn’t the holy attribute a special power granted to us humans by the light deities…?”
With a glimmer of silver light igniting at his fingertips, Edgar cast a meaningful glance at me.
“Or… is this not a blessing at all?”
Ah~~~. Did he figure it out?
No.
He must have suspected it all along.
The true nature of the holy attribute.
