Gunmage
Chapter 115: Of fires, stars and debt

Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Of fires, stars and debt

"To gather the gods is not to worship them—but to bind them to law. And if law fails, let silence be the leash."

It sounded more than a little bit ominous. But Lugh, unfortunately, didn’t understand what the message was trying to convey.

He flipped through the pages, hoping to find more information. He did, but he wasn’t sure if it was good or bad.

Next, in chilling and cryptic words, he saw a list of names scrawled among the first few pages.

There were nine in total, most of them scratched out or blurred beyond recognition. Only three remained legible.

The scribe who wrote the first fire.

The weaver of stars.

Then—

The beast crowned in glass.

For the first time in a long while, Lugh’s mind went completely numb. His body was eerily still.

He stared at the name, then stared some more.

After a while, Lugh turned the pages again. What he saw there was strange. An impossible, shifting map danced across the parchment, displaying settlements and landmasses that no longer existed.

Black streaks ran across entire regions like deep, angry scars.

A single line was scribbled beneath the image, almost like a cruel joke.

"What happens when the debt returns with interest?"

Lugh didn’t know what he was looking at. A map? A warning? Or maybe something worse?

He turned the pages again, only to find them blank.

Huh?

He flipped and flipped. Nothing. Each page was either erased or perhaps had never been written on in the first place.

A slight, almost imperceptible tremor ran through the room.

Five minutes was almost up. Lugh was sure he wouldn’t be able to escape without blowing up the entire manor.

"We’re running out of time"

He told Aveline, and both of them left the chamber, emerging into the dimly lit hallway of the mansion.

"That was exciting"

Aveline said, bright-eyed.

"Can we do this again?"

"Not anytime soon"

Lugh replied flatly.

"Oh... okay."

She sounded somewhat dejected.

"I’ll see you later"

She mumbled, then ran up the stairs with her chessboard, likely to slip into her room unnoticed.

Lugh began a careful walk toward his own.

The Gathering of Gods, huh?

He wondered why the Von Heims even possessed such a book. It felt too... dangerous for human hands.

Too aware. Too old.

Lirienne’s words lingered in his mind. She had once told him that whenever she tried to use magic as a child, she sensed a presence, something similar to what he now exuded.

But that didn’t make sense. He had only received the Mawglass recently, its boons and its curses. So how could that presence have always been there?

Unless... the Mawglass wasn’t a gift. Maybe it was an awakening.

Another detail struck him. One he’d had no explanation for until now. During the voyage across the Devil Sea, the monsters always targeted and chased him.

Most of the misfortunes that struck the crew seemed to be exclusively drawn by him.

But why?

He hadn’t even known humans could use magic back then. He certainly didn’t have any magic of his own.

Countless theories began to form in his head.

He had an inkling that if Lirienne had been on the Devil Sea instead of him, the same thing likely would have happened. The monsters would have chosen her.

Which meant—

The problem wasn’t Lugh, he was not special.

The problem wasn’t even magical ability.

The problem... was the Von Heim family.

Their bloodline, perhaps. Or something even more sinister.

He sighed as he opened his bedroom door, only to find Lirienne sitting on his bed, sniffling, a rough manuscript clutched in her hands.

She turned to him while wiping her tears and flipping the pages.

"Did you write this?"

Lugh hesitated.

"Some of me did"

He finally replied.

She jumped to her feet.

"I want to take it with me. I want to finish the story."

"It’s not finished yet"

He said blandly.

"Well, finish it!"

Lugh sighed again, snatching the manuscript from her hands.

"Ah!"

She exclaimed, but didn’t resist.

"Lirienne, why are you still here? You should be in your room."

"Oh, right"

She mumbled, suddenly remembering why she’d stayed behind.

"We need to talk more. About what you taught me."

"What is there to talk about?"

"The magic, of course!"

She began eagerly.

"I can lift heavier things steadily. I skipped two levels! I’m in the third rank of Surge now!"

"You’re not at the rank of Surge"

Lugh replied simply.

"What?! I am! I don’t even need the incantation anymore!"

Lugh stayed calm.

"Yes, you can lift heavier things. But can you use them in combat?"

"Uh..."

She faltered.

"There’s nothing special about what I taught you. It’s just regular Force Control. The only difference is the way you manifest it."

She fell silent, thinking. Lugh decided to cut the conversation short.

"As you are now, you can’t even defeat either of your sisters."

"...Not even the youngest? Aveline?"

Especially not Aveline, Lugh thought, but in reality, he just nodded.

"So... what should I do?"

"When you go to meet your mother, float a book"

He advised.

"Don’t forget to chant the incantations. Even if you don’t need to. It’s best you don’t give them any grand expectations"

"Okay then... that’s what I will do!"

"It’s late. You should go."

"I’ll be back tomorrow"

She said, turning to leave.

But she paused, turned back, and gave him a hug.

She held it for ten seconds before letting go.

"Bye!"

She said quickly, then scurried out of the room with an awkward smile.

"...Strange"

Lugh muttered, turning back to his work.

’Argghhh! What did I do that for?!’

Once outside, Lirienne felt the overwhelming urge to bang her head against the wall. She didn’t know what had gotten into her, but now the embarrassment hit, and it hit hard.

As she shuffled to her room with clenched teeth, a shadow suddenly flicked past.

She froze, pressing herself against the wall. Her heart pounding.

Something moved.

She peeked cautiously from around the corner.

What was that?