At that moment, Lisel’s voice could be heard.
“Revora. Tyle. Gozear. Fame.”
Neril tilted her head in confusion.
“What is she saying?”
“It’s Spirit Language.”
“You can understand that?”
“Magna Neros used to command spirits in their language too. Since Lisel is Magna herself, it makes sense.”
Then it happened.
Lisel’s voice suddenly started to sound a bit urgent.
“Draen! Become!”“……”
“Ashirar Boiem Kermani!”
Something was off.
Before the regression, Lisel’s voice had been relatively calm when commanding spirits.
Sometimes it even sounded gentle.
But now, her tone was completely different.
Adiyn must have sensed the same, as his eyes darted around nervously.
“Uh, that person’s soul. It’s extremely flustered right now.”
“You don’t even have to see her soul to tell that.”
“Neril noona only hates me.”
“It’s not that, don’t misunderstand. I hate everyone.”
“That’s a very unique way to comfort someone.”
Offense spoke up.
“Mide. This is…?”
“Yeah.”
There was no doubt—she had lost control.
And sure enough, just as expected—
Crack. Kwooooom!
A tremor strong enough to rattle our very bones shook the ground.
Even after all the rolling and tumbling I’d done before and after regression, I had never felt anything quite like it.
“Ugh!”
“Watch out!”
The ground split open and trees collapsed helplessly.
It felt like the sky and earth had flipped upside down.
Even I lost my balance—imagine how the others must be doing.
“Damn it.”
Neril quickly moved her hands and cast a defensive spell.
Wiiing.
A wall of mana formed on all sides around us.
She let out a sigh of relief and shouted at Lisel.
“Hey! Get a grip, will you?”
“Shut your mouth!”
For Lisel to use such harsh words—that meant something had really gone wrong.
Compared to Xenia’s spellwork, Neril’s magic was rather shabby.
And while it did block the physical force coming at us, it didn’t provide any of the warmth Xenia’s spells did.
“Sorry, Mide. I’m not that great with defense magic…”
“It’s fine. You’re doing well enough.”
“Why’s she suddenly acting like that? She held it together just fine during the day.”
I tried to calm her down.
“Don’t worry. Xenia will be back soon. Then we’ll ride Agrel and—”
“She’s not coming back.”
“What?”
“This quake is way stronger than the one earlier. It’s powerful enough to reach the shelters.”
“……”
“If it’s Xenia, she’ll trust us to handle the quake. She’ll focus entirely on protecting the people in the territory with her spellwork.”
Now that she mentioned it, I had no doubt that’s exactly what Xenia would do.
Neril understood Xenia’s personality better than I did.
I said, almost in surprise,
“You two have gotten a lot closer than I thought.”
“And that’s what you come up with in a situation like this?”
“Anyway, can I ask you for a flying spell at least?”
“If I take down the mana barrier, we’ll all be smashed to bits.”
Fair point.
Adwin covered his mouth and spoke weakly.
“Whatever happens, I think we need to get off the ground. I mean, it’s dangerous but also—I think I’m gonna puke.”
“If you’re gonna puke, aim it at Offense.”
Offense spoke with an incredulous tone.
“Why me?”
“I can’t just let him puke on me or Mide, can I?”
“There is the ground, you know… Well, forget it. Anyway, yeah, we definitely need to move.”
“What? Ah—”
Suddenly, our bodies started sinking into the ground.
To be precise, into our own shadows.
When our vision returned, we were at the top of the Spire.
The very place where Kaeld once posed dramatically to stop an earthquake.
I stood there, mouth agape.
“Are you even allowed to use that on us?”
“You already know everything, don’t you? Let’s just hope Lisel doesn’t rat me out to Kaeld.”
Fortunately for Offense, Lisel wasn’t in any state to pay attention to that right now.
“Why? Why. Guys, what’s wrong?”
“……”
“Why won’t you listen to me? This has never happened before.”
Was she pretending to fail just to mess with me?
‘No. That can’t be it.’
Lisel wasn’t that malicious.
That hadn’t changed, even after the regression.
I hurriedly asked her,
“Was there anything different than usual?”
“No! Of course not.”
“I’m not asking about the spirits.”
“……”
“I’m asking if you, Lisel, were different from usual.”
She bit her lip tightly.
She looked like something had clicked.
Offense, always good at reading faces, saw right through her.
“I doubt you messed up the Spirit Language… You must’ve lost your focus?”
“Offense, were you always this annoying?”
“Why does it feel like everyone’s been saying awful things to me lately…”
Well, it was true.
I quickly spoke.
“Please be honest. This is not the time to play coy.”
“…I got distracted for just a moment.”
“What kind of thought distracted you?”
“I wondered what it would’ve been like if I had never met the spirits.”
That unexpected answer made me tilt my head.
Tears were welling in Lisel’s eyes.
She continued, nearly shouting.
“I wouldn’t have become a hero. I wouldn’t have been able to help Lord Grade.”
“……”
“But instead, I could’ve lived and died in the same era as him. Instead of standing here, 1,500 years later, torn between two heroes… Ah!”
She quickly covered her mouth.
Ah.
‘So she was wondering if I might be the other hero.’
Two heroes, meeting again after many generations had passed.
Both Kaeld and I had promised to turn her human.
Who should she trust?
Who is the true hero?
Those doubts and confusion had led her to that thought.
—If only I had never known the spirits.
I clicked my tongue.
“There was a record left by Magna. It said the spirits are incredibly jealous beings.”
“…That’s true. This is entirely my fault.”
Perhaps having calmed down, Lisel quickly wiped her tears away.
Then she turned her back to us.
“I’ll try to appease them somehow.”
She began reciting the Spirit Language again.
“Alderaman. Gabra. Bris…”
Tick.
Suddenly, a popping sound echoed.
I could smell a faint trace of blood in the air.
I rushed over to check her face—thick tears of blood were streaming from her eyes.
[What’s wrong with her?]
‘I don’t know exactly, but I think the spirits are doing something to her.’
[But she’s their queen, right?]
‘You can’t think of spirits using human logic. They aren’t truly sentient.’
[So, are you just going to let her be? She’s going to go blind at this rate.]
I had no answer to that.
Kwooooom. Crackle!
Even now, the quake showed no signs of stopping.
I was starting to feel seriously anxious when suddenly, Adwin’s voice called out.
“Hyung, wait a second.”
“Huh?”
“Just a moment.”
He glanced at Lisel, then signalled me over and whispered in my ear.
“Lord Grade says to call him one more time.”
“What? How do you know that?”
“I heard his voice… faint and broken, but definitely there.”
“Wait, isn’t he in the underworld right now? The soul of someone from the underworld called a necromancer first? Not the other way around?”
Adwin nodded, as if he already knew what was about to be said.
“That’s exactly what I mean. This is a first for me too. Even Lady Lepia wouldn’t be able to do this.”
“So it really is the soul of the First Hero.”
“So… what should we do?”
“Call him. We’ve got to try something.”
“Alright. Oh, by the way, I told him to possess your body. I’ll start now.”
“What? Hey, wait a sec—”
But Adwin was already chanting the spell.
His arm lit up brightly, and soon after, a voice echoed in my mind.
[Hey! From now on, repeat everything I say to Lisel.]
[Whoa—what the hell!]
[And who are you? What the hell, this guy’s hilarious. You’re not even a necromancer—why the hell are you dragging around some weird spirit?]
[Ah, well… I’ll leave you two to it. I’ll be stepping out now.]
I could practically picture Trail scampering away in a flustered panic.
I spoke.
‘What brings you here? As you can see, I’m a little busy right now.’
[That’s why I came, dumbass.]
‘Forgive me for saying this, but I’m not sure how much a message from a 1,500-year-old connection will help Lisel.’
[If you were my subject, I’d have chopped your head off by now.]
Suddenly, his voice deepened.
[If the woman I love has become a Spirit King, then I need to do my research too.]
‘……Excuse me?’
[Spirits, Magna… Before Lisel, they were completely unknown to mankind. At least that’s what history will say now. But that’s not true.]
He continued slowly.
[Before the Empire existed, there was a time when small kingdoms filled the land. And before even that era—there was a time when spirits were familiar to humanity.]
‘That’s the first I’ve heard of it.’
[I only discovered it after extensive research, wielding my reputation as the Hero who defeated the Demon King. Back then, spirits were closer to humans than even the lofty Celestial Gods. Or rather…]
I swallowed hard without meaning to.
[The Celestial Gods weren’t known to humanity at all back then.]
‘……’
[In those days, people who communed with spirits were called naturalists. They did the same as spirit mages. But once the Celestial Gods became known, naturalists vanished, and the spirits too disappeared from the world.]
I forgot the current situation, entirely drawn into his tale.
[In fact, I figured it out even before Lisel did. That the spirits had already chosen her long ago—and that she was no longer human.]
‘……’
[So, after defeating the Demon King, I searched the continent in secret. I didn’t want to worry her unnecessarily.]
‘……’
[And in the end, I found the language that could soothe the spirits.]
He let out a quiet sigh.
[I was afraid. That one day, as a half-spirit, Lisel would suddenly leave me. There were cases where naturalists just vanished without a trace.]
‘……’
[The spirit tongue I found is like a spell. It prevents spirits from harming their mage, and strengthens the mage’s voice when dealing with spirits. That spell should be able to stop the earthquake too.]
I swallowed again and asked,
‘Sir Grade. You once said you’d make Lisel human again.’
[That’s right.]
‘What did you mean by that…?’
[Heh.]
He laughed, half in self-mockery.
[It was a double meaning. I meant freeing her from slavery… and also—]
‘And also making her not a spirit.’
[Yeah. But I only succeeded halfway. And now she’s suffering because of it.]
No.
Who else could’ve done what Grade did?
Who else would dig through a forgotten era’s knowledge and uncover a lost spirit tongue—for the woman he loved?
He gave Lisel everything.
If he did anything wrong, it was this: he gave up.
He had spent too many years trying to make her human again.
He grew old. And in the end, Grade gave up.
He decided to let Lisel go.
[Enough gloomy reminiscing. Hurry up and tell Lisel this: Koeadar. Gabrea. Ohisaa. Ge’ar. Beirat. Geriarche.]
‘Why not say it yourself? Use my body—I’ll lend it to you.’
[No thanks. What am I gonna do, take over some dark-haired dude’s body?]
‘You’re afraid. Afraid of how Lisel will react.’
[Watch your mouth. Just a reminder, since you seem to forget—I’m the First Hero and Emperor, got it?]
‘Understood. As you command, Your Majesty.’
At my slightly cheeky tone, Grade burst out laughing.
[Alright then. Get to it. That’s an imperial order.]
Lisel was barely herself.
‘Why, why… Guys, please! Listen to me!’
The spirit language slipped from her lips as if by reflex.
Her mind was exhausted and fading.
‘Sir Grade. I knew it—I can’t do it.’
She was neither a slave nor a human.
She wasn’t even a Spirit King.
How could someone struggling to manage such unruly children be called a king?
‘Maybe I should just give up.’
Forget about being human.
What if I just let myself become a spirit too?
At first it was just a passing thought—but soon it consumed her.
‘Yeah. I wasn’t human to begin with. I was a slave.’
Wishing to be human now was meaningless…
Swish.
Then, someone appeared beside her.
She opened her eyes—but the blood vessels burst by the spirits left her vision dyed red.
“Repeat after me. Koeadar. Gabrea. Ohisaa.”
“Wh-who are you?”
“Ge’ar. Beirat. Geriarche.”
Lisel immediately recognized the language.
And the meaning and power behind it.
“How…? How do you know a language I didn’t even know? Don’t tell me…”
“……”
“Sir Grade…? Is it you?”
“No, it’s Mide. But it’s true—Sir Grade just borrowed my body.”
“Sir Grade…”
“He taught me the chant too. Please, trust me and calm the spirits.”
Lisel nodded.
“Yes… Of course. I’m sorry for losing control.”
She began chanting the spirit tongue again.
“Koeadar. Gabrea. Ohisaa!”
Wooooom.
The earthquake that had overturned the land and brought buildings down began to subside.
“Ge’ar. Beirat. Geriarche!”
No—it didn’t just stop.
The land began to revert.
It wasn’t just that the earthquake ended—it was as if it had never happened.
Just five minutes.
That was all it took for all the devastation to vanish.
And two things remained.
One: the domain, now so peaceful it was hard to believe there had ever been an earthquake.
The other: Lisel, holding the necklace in both hands, gazing up at the sky.
“…1,500 years have passed, and still—I’m only ever on the receiving end of your help.”
She missed him.
She had thought that chapter of her life was over.
But this reunion—however indirect—proved otherwise.
‘Kaeld can never replace Sir Grade. No one can.’
She turned her head.
And through her blurred, injured vision, she looked toward Mide.
“Thank you, truly, for everything you’ve done… Huh?”
“What is it?”
She could just barely make out Mide’s face.
And on it was an expression she knew very well.
The satisfaction of having protected someone.
The relief that everyone had made it through safely.
And that unmistakable sense of duty—the kind only a Hero, carrying the fate of the continent, could wear.
It was the exact same expression Grade used to have after completing a quest.
Swish.
Without thinking, Lisel rubbed her eyes.
Then shouted—
“OW!”
Read advance chapter on Patreon. Click here.
And review the novel on Novel Updates. Click here.