“The concept of white magic here is different from what I know.”

Eruhaben crossed his legs as he spoke in a low voice.

After the issue with the Wall of Purification, they followed the Pope into a study or office.

Cale’s group members were either sitting on couches and chairs around the room or standing and looking at the map on the table at the center of the room. Their gazes turned toward Eruhaben.

“Usually, white magic is a term given to magic using regular mana and not dead mana in order to differentiate it from black magic. The term is not used very often.”

The ancient Dragon then looked at the Pope who gulped.

‘Why did I not notice it?’

The Pope had not felt the ancient Dragon’s presence earlier. However, the ancient Dragon gave off such a large presence once they came into the room and he took off his hood.

‘It is highly likely that he is a Dragon.’

There might be another Dragon in addition to that small and cute black Dragon. This one seemed like a proper adult Dragon as well. The moment the Pope had this hypothesis that was more of a certainty…

She couldn’t help but speak formally to the individual who was speaking informally to her.

“Yes, sir, that is true. The basic magic that is used is also called white magic.”

Cale, who was seated next to Eruhaben, was thinking about how the youngest young lady Orsena had shouted, ‘white magic.’

‘Which white magic was she talking about?’

Was the seven-year-old talking about white magic using regular mana or was she talking about black magic that gave off a holy light?

The Pope continued to speak.

“Even now, that white magic, mm, I will just call white magic using regular mana just ‘magic’ in order to differentiate.”

Cale looked at the map.

The three continents of the Xiaolen World… Most of it was dyed black. The ocean was dyed black as well.

To be more specific, 81.29 percent of it was black as the world informed Cale earlier.

There was less than 20 percent that was maintaining its original color.

“Magic is still surviving through the named mage families. It is a symbol of a family’s history and long-standing legitimacy.”

The Pope smiled awkwardly and continued to speak.

“Of course, magic is still used quite often, as 20 percent of the lands maintain their functions.”

“How did the world end up like this?”

The Pope stopped talking for a moment at Eruhaben’s question. She then let out a short sigh.

“…The land started to become dyed black about 300 years ago.”

“Mm.”

Choi Han groaned.

300 years.

That meant that the world was slowly taken over by dead mana starting quite a long time ago.

“The cause?”

The ancient Dragon calmly asked while observing Cale who seemed to be deep in thought. He also looked at the Beast named Sui Khan, who seemed to be just as deep in thought.

However, the ancient Dragon couldn’t help but look at the Pope after hearing her response.

“The start was the extinction of the Dragons.”

Boom!

The Pope turned her head after hearing a loud noise. The black Dragon, who was with the two Kittens, had slammed the ground with both front paws.

Crack.

The temple floor crumbled.

“Extinction?!”

Raon looked at Cale in shock and Cale shook his head.

“Please explain in detail, Pope-nim.”

“Of course, esteemed purifier.”

The Pope continued to speak in a more devoted voice.

“All of the Dragons on the three continents and the oceans died. The humans did not know about this at first. It was rare for humans to ever see Dragons.”

She was right.

Cale was a peculiar case but most humans would usually have no Dragon sightings throughout their lives.

“But one day, there was a sudden incident where a mountain at the center of a continent suddenly sank down.”

“A mountain crumbled?”

“No, sir. It didn’t crumble, it sank down. It sank underground.”

“Mm.”

Eruhaben suddenly groaned and uncrossed his legs.

The Pope continued in a shaky voice as Cale’s eyes clouded over while looking at Eruhaben’s movements.

“The Elves came to find the humans at that time and informed the humans about the extinction of the Dragons.”

This was written in the records of the church.

It described the incident.

The Elves had looked desperate while some of them were even crying when they came to find the humans.

“ ‘The World Tree has died.’ ”

Eruhaben let out a deep sigh.

The Pope looked into the purifier’s firm gaze as she spoke.

“That is what the Elves said and the world started to become dyed black after that.”

“Excuse me.”

Cale raised his hand to stop her for a moment.

“Isn’t the World Tree an immortal?”

‘Wouldn’t it come back to life as itself even if it died? Isn’t that why it continues its life nonstop?’

“I’m not sure about that, oh esteemed purifier. Based on the records that were left behind, the Elves said a mysterious existence killed the World Tree and that the representatives of the different races went to confirm it was true.”

“Cale-nim.”

Choi Han, who had been quietly listening, started to speak.

“It is the same. It is the same as the White Star’s methods.”

Cale silently nodded his head.

‘Choi Han is right. The pattern is similar.’

The only difference was that the White Star had failed.

He tried to kill the Dragons as well and went to a village of the Elves to get the branch of the World Tree. This might have been just one step in eventually killing the World Tree.

‘Those bastards even made a fake World Tree to- Ah!’

Cale looked down at a badge on his shirt.

The fake tree was in that badge.

It was a black World Tree at that.

‘Mm.’

There was an odd look on his face and his long-time friends, who recognized it, looked at him wondering what was going on, but… Cale waved them off and motioned for the Pope to continue.

“There is nothing special after that.”

The Pope’s expression was quite dark for saying there was nothing special.

“The land became taken over by dead mana and the number of creatures dying rose exponentially. A new power started to rise and the power relations were reorganized. I will organize details about that in a document and explain at a later time.”

Cale nodded his head.

‘I can basically figure out the power relations without explanation.’

The approximately 20 percent of land that wasn’t dyed in dead mana yet…

Those places would be the center of power.

“But excuse me…”

Shawn spoke for the first time since coming into this room.

“Dead mana would naturally appear more abundantly as a lot of creatures would die once a decent amount of the land was taken over by dead mana, but, ah, never mind.”

He looked at the children averaging nine-years-old and stopped talking. He looked at the others instead.

‘They already know.’

They were already thinking about what Shawn was about to say or had quickly realized the situation from what he said.

This was what Shawn was about to say.

– Cale, that Dark Elf is right.

Eruhaben shared his thoughts in Cale’s mind.

– In order to first create enough dead mana to dye the land, they would have had to kill a lot of living creatures. It would have been similar to how the White Star was using the Mogoru Empire and creating a large amount of dead mana underneath the Alchemists’ Bell Tower.

The underground plaza of the Mogoru Empire’s Alchemists’ Bell Tower had been full of bones and dead mana.

“First.”

Everybody looked at Cale once he started to speak. Cale was still organizing his thoughts.

‘The Hunters messed with the Roan Kingdom.’

He was almost certain about it.

‘And youngest young lady Orsena mentioned white magic.’

So, the top priority right now…

“It looks like I’ll need to visit the Black Bloods Household.”

Raon tilted his head in confusion. Hong’s ears twitched as he tilted his head to the side as well.

“Human! Why visit instead of destroy?”

“That’s right, nya! That’s weird, nya! It’s weird that you are not destroying it, nya!”

The Pope flinched but Cale was calm.

“Have I ever been someone who only destroyed things?”

Smile.

The corners of Cale’s lips curled up and the children averaging nine-years-old nodded their heads as if this was expected while some of the others slowly avoided the Pope’s wandering gaze.

Of course, Choi Han smiled innocently like Cale while Mary slowly nodded her head. Choi Han responded.

“Then I guess we need to go where the Black Bloods reside.”

His gaze naturally headed toward the Iska Empire on the map.

The Pope must have noticed his gaze as she pointed to the Empire’s capital.

“The Black Bloods are called the House of Huayans here and they hold the title of Duke.”

“Our human’s family is a Duke’s family too!”

“That’s right, nya! It’s a great family, nya!”

The Pope stopped for a moment as Raon commented and Hong chimed in.

‘…The esteemed purifier is a Duke of another world?’

She pushed aside that question for now.

“The House of Huayans has held the position of the Imperial Crown Prince’s instructor since about 400 years ago without ever missing it.”

“For 400 years? Others just let that be?”

The Pope smiled bitterly at Eruhaben’s question.

“The House of Huayans has been the Emperor’s instructor, but they had never sought out any other positions of power. Furthermore, they have the image of trying to delay the erosion of dead mana more than anybody else. Of course, we have discovered that that is not the case.”

The Pope’s gaze that became vicious along with the bitter smile made it seem as if there was some story behind it. However, the Pope seemed to have no desire to explain it.

“Anyway, The House of Huayans is located in the Iska Empire’s capital. They are right next to the Imperial Palace.”

Shawn quietly mumbled as if he was uncertain about this plan.

“It looks difficult to approach.”

Someone who had been quiet this whole time looked at Cale and spoke.

It was Sui Khan.

“If you’re okay with it, I can search it on my own.”

Shawn, who didn’t really know about Sui Khan, looked at him as if he found this to be odd, but he held back his questions after seeing Choi Han nod his head as if he thought it would be fine.

Cale looked at Sui Khan’s tired smile as if he wasn’t okay with it before asking the Pope a question.

“The Black Bloods. Have you ever been to the House of Huayans?”

Cale was thinking about finding the most efficient and easiest route after using as much information as foundation.

“Yes, sir. I have.”

“Then you should be able to guide us?”

Choi Han spoke with a bright expression on his face, but the Pope’s expression did not look so good.

“It is possible… I am always able to go with you if the esteemed purifier wishes for it, however…”

“However?”

Eruhaben looked at her in confusion.

The Pope smiled while receiving the gazes of Cale’s group. The way she smiled with a tired look on her face made her seem extremely weary.

“There is something you must know.”

She spoke with that weary look on her face.

“We are a cult.”

“Excuse me?”

Choi Han subconsciously asked.

The Pope smiled even brighter. However, it was still a smile on a tired face so it looked quite sorrowful.

“Our Church was originally a proper church accepted throughout the continent, but we have been denigrated as a cult since about 100 years ago. Now they can kill us without even a trial if they find out we are a priest of the church! Hahahaha! Hahahaha-”

The Pope’s bright laugh filled the office.

‘Haaaa.’

Cale sighed internally.

This was their helper organization, but they were a cult on this continent.

Furthermore, what kind of position must they have for people to be able to kill them immediately if they were found as a priest of the church?

Of course, Cale already figured out the answer to his question.

‘Either the Black Bloods or the people in power right now must have found out about their power of purification.’

Although this world was on its way to ruin, there were bound to be people who accepted this world and wanted to hold power.

It was highly likely that this Church of the Fire of Purification and its purification powers would be a thorn in their eyes.

“Then will it be difficult for you to go with us?”

The Pope shook her head at Shawn’s question.

“No. It would be possible as long as we hid our identities. Well, normally it would be.”

‘Hmm? Normally?’

Cale looked at the Pope because he thought her choice of words was odd. The Pope picked up a calendar next to her.

“The security around the Empire is quite severe right now.”

“Why is that?”

The Pope pushed the calendar toward Cale at his question.

“They are currently recruiting candidates for the position of the next heir of the Iska Empire. There will be a competition between the candidates as soon as the recruitment finishes. That is why the security around the Empire is more thorough than ever.”

‘Hmm?’

Cale had a questioning gaze on his face. Eruhaben started to speak at the same time.

“The position of Imperial Crown Prince is not selected from the Imperial family? Why are they recruiting?”

“In the end, the heir is usually someone from the Imperial family. However, they started this recruitment about 300 years ago when the necessary requirement became that the heir had to be a necromancer.”

“Why?”

The Pope’s gaze slowly moved to one side.

Cale’s gaze moved as well.

He could see the person in a black robe who was sitting up straight and looking down at the table.

It was Mary.

‘Perhaps?’

Cale looked at Sui Khan. He recalled what the team leader had said.

‘For reference, the Emperor of the strongest Empire in that world must have a certain ability. They will only earn the qualification to challenge for the position of imperial crown prince by having that ability.’

‘Yes, only those with the power of a necromancer will earn the title of heir in that place. It doesn’t matter whether they are from the main family or a collateral line.’

Sui Khan was also frowning while looking at Cale. It seemed as if he didn’t know about this part.

The two of them had a pretty good idea about what the Pope would say after looking at her gaze.

“The Emperor must have the strongest necromancer abilities. Basically, anybody with the necromancer ability is qualified to be the Emperor.”

Mary slowly raised her head. Her purple eyes looked into Cale’s eyes.

The quiet Raon hit the ground one more time with his chubby front paw as if he realized something and shouted.

“Is good little Mary going to be the Empress?! Mary is the best of the necromancers! She is the strongest!”

Of course, Mary was the only necromancer that Raon knew.

—
Translator’s Comments

Good Mary is definitely stronk.

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