**#260. The Watchmen (2)**
—
A vortex of green and yellow mana, spiraling together
âthis was Rayâs whirlwind.
Compared to the enormous whirlpool of spirits that soared up to the ceiling of Acrassium, it was minuscule in size.
But when the two phenomena collidedâ
**Kwa-jikââ!**
The twin spirals, spinning in reverse directions, sank their fangs into the giant enemyâs flesh.
**Kwa-ji-jikââ!**
They burrowed in, tore through, and surged upward.
The dual currents spiraled and ascended, coiling like snakes.
And as they followed that path upward, the spiritsâ massive whirlpool began to unravel.
**Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwaâââ!**
Like threads unraveling one by oneâ
In an instant, with a deafening roar.
Then the twin spirals that reached the ceiling, having devoured the enemyâs bodyâ
**Flash!**
They flooded the surroundings in light and triggered a massive mana storm in the area.
Objects on the shelves were swept away and crashed down like thunder.
The ferocious wind whipped clothing wildly in the air.
Amid the chaos, the only figure left standing unharmedâ
Was the boy.
ââŠâŠâ
Ray stood alone, gazing impassively at the hundred or so spirits lying motionless in the corridor.
They werenât dead.
Spirits couldnât be destroyed unless their core was struck.
Ray *could* have done thatâbut he held back on purpose. There were still things he needed to ask.
The spirits, oscillating between physical form and mana bodies, panted for breath.
> \[Too⊠strongâŠ.]
> \[Humans really are⊠violent.]
> \[Unbelievable.]
> \[Heâs probably a thief who came to steal from the vault.]
It seemed their hostility wasnât just because he was an intruder.
Their words revealed a deeper resentment toward humans as a whole.
> \[Iâm not a thief. I mean, I didnât come in with permission, but thereâs something I came to retrieveâŠ.]
As he spoke, he realizedâhe *did* sound like a thief.
> \[I was going to return it after using it.]
Only groans came from the spiritsâno replies.
Ray gathered the mana from the gems into small orbs and scattered them.
> \[�]
> \[What is this�]
The spirits, sensing the orbs landing before them, eyed them with suspicion and confusion.
> \[Recover your strength. You donât even seem to have enough energy left to absorb mana from the atmosphere.]
> \[Whatâs your scheme, human?]
> \[We canât trust you.]
> \[Youâre trying to trick us again.]
The spirits spokeâeven as they crunched into the orbs.
> \[Weâre already eating them.]
> \[âŠâŠ]
They were clearly flustered.
Their minds screamed that the mana came from an enemyâbut their bodies ignored it.
Then their eyes widened.
> \[This is�]
> \[Itâs *Primordial Mana*!]
> \[How did you even get this kind of mana?]
The mana forming the spiritsâ bodies instantly became vivid and clear.
Reinvigorated, the spirits rose and instinctively approached Rayâthen stopped, startled.
Extreme joy and deep caution.
The clash of emotions left them deeply confused.
Then Ray asked,
> \[Primordial Mana?]
> \[Yes. The first mana that existed before the world was tainted by war.]
The spirits grew visibly agitated, murmuring among themselves.
> \[Has the environment outside Acrassium finally been restored?]
> \[Then maybe this small human is a guide sent to retrieve us.]
> \[But heâs human. That means the outside is still controlled by RedranâŠ.]
Ray caught a few familiar words here and there, but couldnât fully follow the conversation.
He summoned the two gems onto his palm and spoke.
> \[I donât know if âPrimordial Manaâ means what I think it does, but the mana I gave you came from these.]
> \[The *Shards of the Rainbow*!]
> \[My goodness! Theyâre the Shards of the Rainbow!]
> \[And *two* of them, no less!]
Ray, facing the now wildly excited spirits, once again scattered more mana with a knowing gesture.
Exactly five minutes laterâ
Seated, with spirits climbing his knees, shoulders, and head, Ray was finally able to hear their full story.
> \[Yes, right there. Your hands are warmer than I expected. Originally, there was no mana in the world. It came after the Rainbow descended.]
> \[I like my neck. Even when other races cast magic or we devoured all we could, mana was never scarce.]
> \[Pet my back. Thatâs because the mana kept pouring out of the shards left behind by the Rainbow.]
The spirits let out soft, contented cries, fully disarmed.
And Ray realizedâhis old theory had been right.
The origin of mana lay in the gems.
And the low-quality mana now floating in the atmosphere was the corroded, degraded remnant of that gem mana, weathered by ages.
Ray kept asking questions, guiding the story.
> \[So the shards of the Rainbow that supplied mana to the world were scattered because of the war?]
> \[They were originally one gem, shining with seven colors. When the war began, the guardians divided it among themselves.]
So they were once a single entity.
Perhaps that explained the gemsâ strong resonance toward each other.
But once the shards were divided, they could no longer fulfill their purpose.
And the mana remaining in the atmosphere rapidly became polluted by the war.
The spirits, who could only survive by constantly absorbing high-quality mana, gradually lost their place in the world.
> \[Some managed to make homes in the sky, Iâve heard, but not all spirits could do that.]
> \[Most had to live on the ground. They discovered forests could purify manaâbut by then, most forests were already destroyed.]
And it was around that timeâ
That humans, elves, and other races invented the concept of âCircles.â
> \[They say it was modeled after the image of the Rainbow passed down in records.]
> \[A device to purify ambient mana and store it. You canât use magic with polluted mana, so it was a workaround.]
> \[It was first invented in the Red Citadel.]
> \[Basically, you could say humans invented itâmost of the Red Citadel’s inhabitants were human.]
Spirits, unable to create Circles themselves, began forming contracts with the humans of the Red Citadel.
In exchange for lending their powerâ
They received purified mana from the Circles.
They knew the truth: that the Red Citadel’s people were followers of Redran, who incited the second war by turning guardians against one another.
But for survival, they had no choice.
> \[Then what about you?]
> \[We made a contract with *Rael*.]
The spirits nestled deeper into the boyâs body as they spoke, their movements tinged with a profound longing for the Primordial Mana.
> \[Rael sought someone to manage the warehouse for the Rainbow. We volunteered.]
> \[Acrassium functions somewhat like a Circle, too. It purifies outside mana and supplies it inside, endlessly.]
When Ray looked up, the spirits on his head slid down.
The white ceiling of Acrassium changed colors at intervalsâ
And with each shift, mana of the corresponding color flowed inside.
A question rose.
> \[Where exactly *is* Acrassium?]
> \[We donât know either.]
> \[We only know itâs in a place so far away that Redran could never find it.]
The spirits, as if making up for centuries of silence, continued pouring out their story.
> \[Also, Rael gave us a procedure to extend our lifespans.]
> \[The contract lasts⊠until the Rainbow returns.]
> \[If the Rainbow has come back, the outside world mustâve been restored too. We wouldnât need to stay here anymore.]
Listening quietly, Ray finally spoke softly.
> \[It mustâve been hard.]
To endure such a long time.
A brief silence followed.
Then the spirits replied.
> \[Not really. Spirits perceive time very differently from humans.]
> \[You care about us.]
> \[The humans I know arenât like this.]
> \[So⊠how is the outside world? Has the Rainbow returned?]
Ray shook his head.
A small motionâbut enough to convey everything.
> \[I see. I guess itâs still far off.]
> \[Do you know any way to recognize the Rainbow?]
> \[I donât. I think Rael mentioned something, butâŠ]
> \[Any spirit remember?]
> \[I canât recall.]
> \[Me neither. It was so long ago.]
As the spirits murmured over Rayâs question, one of them raised a forgotten thought.
> \[By the way, who *are* you?]
> \[You donât *seem* like a bad human.]
Ray explained the situation.
The Red Guardian, a figure likely to be Redran, called âthe Doctor.â
The organization “Azure Dawn” that seemed connected to him, and their ambition to consume the world.
Andâ
> \[I came here to find a way to stop them. And like you, I hope for the Rainbowâs return.]
The murmuring among the spirits resumed.
> \[So the world outside is still full of conflict.]
> \[Conflict never ends. One ends, two more begin.]
> \[But wasnât the White Card supposed to only work for the Rainbow?]
> \[Maybe Rael made a mistake when designing it?]
After some awkward glances, the spirits climbed down from Rayâs body.
They lined up in front of him and asked solemnly,
> \[Are you⊠the Rainbow?]
> \[âŠâŠ]
Ray wasâif not shocked, utterly baffled.
It was a question he had never heard beforeânever even *considered*.
*âAm I the Rainbow?â*
His first thought was that there was no way he was some grand reincarnation of such a being.
He was just a boy, a little gifted in handling mana.
Even when he retraced everything that had happened, there was no evidence to support the idea.
You *could* twist the facts to fit, butâ
*âThatâs just forcing it.â*
The probability that he *was* the reincarnation of the Rainbow?
The probability that he *wasnât*?
The latter was overwhelmingly higher.
Like the odds of Grine ignoring a piece of jerky on the ground.
> \[Iâm not the Rainbow.]
He said it firmly.
But Ray didnât realizeâ
That deep in his unconscious, a small shard called âpossibilityâ had already embedded itself and was quietly glowing.
*Maybe⊠I really amâŠ*
Despite Rayâs blunt response, the spirits still looked uncertain.
> \[He says heâs not.]
> \[Is he really not?]
> \[I feel like he is.]
> \[Raelâs system probably has a bug. It *is* ancient.]
> \[I donât know either.]
Their opinions varied, but one thing was unanimous:
> \[You donât seem like a bad human.]
> \[Youâre⊠different.]
> \[Sorry for the misunderstanding.]
Because Ray had been chosen by both the green and yellow shards.
And because, by the spiritsâ unique senses, he was someone they could trust.
\[Is the doctor really Redran?]
\[How is he still alive?]
\[We can’t rule out the possibility.]
Since the current situation wasnât covered by Raelâs protocols, the spirits decided, at their own discretion, to permit the release of the stored items.
Ray was guided to the place where the magical equipment was stored.
As they moved, the spirits bombarded Ray with endless questions.
They also engaged in a clumsy debate about whether Ray could be the Rainbow.
Before long, they arrived at Shelf 152, which wouldâve been difficult to locate without help.
Ray identified and tested the functions of the equipment through the spiritsâ explanations.
ââŠThis is incredible.â
Some equipment increased mana output.
Others enhanced the compatibility of elemental fusion.
Some accelerated spellcasting speed.
Others granted permanent enhancements such as physical reinforcement or magical protection.
Gloves, staves, crystal orbs, boots, and more.
A variety of equipment, all of which could increase combat capability just by being worn, were lined up on the shelves.
Their performance far exceeded that of anything currently circulating on the market.
There were so many, it wouldâve been reasonable to assume they were supplies prepared for an army.
\[What does this glove do?]
\[We donât remember that one.]
\[We donât recall everything about every item.]
When Ray put on a pair of black silk gloves, they immediately turned invisible.
He instinctively understood their function.
*Ziiikâââ!*
He pulled out a knife and slashed hard, but not a drop of blood came from his palm.
âThisâll let me save the mana I usually spend on Metallization.â
And thenâ
*Whoosh!*
Even though he used the same amount of mana as before, the fireball he conjured was over twice as large.
âŠThe equipment from the old era far exceeded expectations.
At this level, it seemed possible to stand against the Dawn Society.
\[Could you also tell me how to use the metal dolls on Shelf 8?]
But Ray wasnât satisfied yet.
He moved quickly and arrived at Shelf 8.
\[Iâve fought the same type of dolls at a ruin before. They were immune to magic, bypassed defenses, and alsoâŠ.]
After listening to Rayâs description, the spirits shook their heads.
\[Those are a different model. These need to be directly controlled. You have to register as the user, inject mana, and manipulate them manually.]
\[The older versions had a malfunction risk and were supposedly all scrapped, but I guess a few remained.]
The dolls currently on Shelf 8 were said to be all new models.
Though they had the drawback of requiring manual control, their functions had been greatly improved.
\[They’re really hard to operate. Usually, one mage can only handle one doll.]
\[Raelâs limit was five at once, right?]
\[As far as I recall, it was four.]
Following the spiritsâ instructions, Ray closed his eyes and focused his senses on his mana.
And before longâ
*Flash!*
A vivid light lit up in the eye sockets of the doll closest to him.
\[Yeah, thatâs how you control them, one at a tiâ]
The spiritâs sentence was never finished.
Because the light was spreadingâsideways, upward, in all directions.
