Isekai Mahou wa Okureteru! (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter Pr

Prologue: That Memory 

“Dragons, you say?” 

On that fateful evening, modern magician Yakagi Suimei heard the name of those infamous beings for the first time from the mouth of his father, Yakagi Kazamitsu. 

Dragons—in the contemporary world of fiction and fantasy novels, they were creatures commonly understood to have reptilian bodies, wings on their backs, and the ability to breathe fire. Eastern dragons were considered a symbol of virtue, while in the West, they were terrible beings of destruction akin to the devil. They were malignancy incarnate. An evil opposed by God and all the angels. 

Their reptilian nature came from what many consider to be the original monster—the snake. In biblical lore, it was a serpent that tempted Adam and Eve. Back in ancient times, religions of the book came into conflict with the indigenous religions of Egypt, which revered and worshipped snakes. Ever after, the serpent was seen in the eyes of Western religion as a symbol of evil, if not outright the devil himself. Dragons were a manifestation of that, and universally reviled as an enemy of both good and mankind. 

Needless to say, Suimei was quite surprised to hear his father casually ask out of nowhere: “Do you know about dragons?” Suimei had heard of them, certainly, but he was nowhere near as knowledgeable as his father. After confirming he’d heard him correctly, Suimei shook his head as he sat on the couch to encourage his father to explain. 

“Evidence of dragons has been left behind in history books and literature from all around the world, but their actual existence is not recognized. It is something that we magicians conceal.” 

“Conceal?” 

“In other words...” 

Suimei frowned at his father stopping midsentence. Kazamitsu, meanwhile, tapped the armrest of his wheelchair with his index finger to prompt Suimei to figure out the rest for himself. 

“They really do exist, right?” 

“Though it’s all old history now.” 

Like usual, his father was gazing out the window at the cloudy sky as he spoke. Suimei waited to hear what he would say next, but it wasn’t quite what he expected. 

“Suimei, make some coffee,” Kazamitsu said, turning to his son. 

“Right in the middle of this talk?” 

“I suddenly wanted some. Now help an old man out. It’s a parent’s privilege to have your children make coffee for you every now and then.” 

“What kind of privilege is that...? Is it fine if it’s instant?” 

“I don’t mind, but...” 

“Black, right? Got it.” 

“Are you also having some?” 

“With milk and sugar.” 

“Get used to drinking it black already.” 

“All in due time.” 

Suimei flashed a small smile at his father, whose expression hadn’t changed at all. His father’s face was always stony, though it wasn’t for lack of emotion; he’d simply lost the ability to express it outwardly. It was evident from his words that he still had a good sense of humor and knew how to joke around lightheartedly, though only anyone close to him would ever be able to tell. 

“So, what’s this about dragons? You said magicians are hiding their existence, right?” 

“That’s right. The fewer who know about them, the better. That was the idea, but things have changed.” After pausing there to take a sip of his coffee, Kazamitsu continued, “The Akashic Seer indicates that a dragon will appear in Europe. It will be a mystical calamity on a scale larger than any known to history.” 

The Akashic Seer was a vessel used by the Thousand Nights Association to predict phenomena around the world. It could foresee anything from the inconsequential to the cataclysmic. In simple terms, it was an instrument for seeing the future... though its true nature was more complex than that. 

“A mystical calamity on a scale larger than any known to history...?” 

“Heh, it’s a vague way of describing it, isn’t it? But the scale is the important part—it’s only a matter of time before it’s known to all magicians. So at this point, keeping it hidden is rather pointless. Because the last survivors of the dragons were wiped out thirty years ago, dragons will not ever be born into this world again.” 

“Then how is it that one is going to appear?” 

“The answer to that... is twilight syndrome. An unexpected outbreak of instability at a certain location in Spain will become an A-grade disturbance on a grand scale. From there, a beast will manifest, and the prediction is that it will likely take the form of a dragon.” 

“A beast...” 

A beast—short for a beast of the apocalypse. It was a manifestation of twilight syndrome. An apparition. Suimei still wasn’t clear on all the details, but he knew that they were entities that appeared to accelerate the world towards its end by annihilating all living beings. They were concepts that took the form of monsters in order to bring about the apocalypse. 

Most of them manifested as C-grade beings that were something like a mix of a dog and wolf. In the much rarer case that an A-grade being appeared, it would naturally manifest in the form of something deeply feared by all. In Europe, it was easy to imagine one taking the form of what was considered to be the ultimate evil: a dragon. 

“But if that gets out into the world...” 

“There would be tremendous casualties in Europe. No, it probably wouldn’t just stop there.” 

A calamity the likes of which the world had never known. And on top of that, it would take the form of a dragon. It would take nothing short of a hero of legend to defeat it. But alas, the modern world was without a Saint George or Saint Sylvester to come to its aid. If they made a blunder in dealing with it, it very well may spell the end of the world. 

“Then you must have...” Suimei said, looking at his father. 

“Indeed. I was called for the gathering. This time around, twenty magicians were chosen to take part in the dragon subjugation, and an elite few are going in to defeat it.” 

“Who’s leading the operation?” 

“The Thousand Nights Association. The group is unified under the eldest daughter of the Cattleya family, representative of the Enforcers of the Thousand Nights Association, Formelkress. Aiding her will be her younger sister, Zealkis.” 

“The two strongest Enforcers in history are leading...?” 

“On paper. In truth, the duty of leading all the magicians on-site will be left to someone else. Though those two girls will be extremely helpful in the battle against the dragon...” 

Kazamitsu quietly trailed off at the end. He’d mentioned the Cattleya sisters, who were the current powerhouses of the Thousand Nights Association’s Enforcement Agency. They both used magicka that manipulated time, and were said to have strength unequaled in battle. But because they were still only in their early twenties, even if they were given charge of the operation, they would end up handing over command to the more experienced magicians on-site. For Suimei, who was still as lowly ranked as a mere philosopher, this entire conversation was simply in another dimension. 

“A dragon, the best of the best of the Enforcement Agency... It’s all quite an amazing story. I’ve been to Europe plenty of times, but it still feels so far away...” 

“No. You can’t think of this like it’s not your problem too.” 

Confused at the meaning behind his father’s words, Suimei raised a befuddled eyebrow. 

“Huh? What do you mean by—” 

“In the prediction, the Akashic Seer revealed several possibilities. Including the outbreak of a dragon, Europe’s destruction, countless deaths, and the world ultimately racing towards the apocalypse. Naturally, because those are only possibilities, that means it’s possible to prevent them.” 

After skirting the heart of the matter, Suimei’s father finally revealed why he’d started this conversation. 

“And in order to do that, the final piece of guidance given to us by the vessel was you, Suimei. You are to be brought along without fail.” 

Suimei stared blankly into his father’s keen eyes, then, after a long moment’s pause, let out a shrill yelp. 

“M-ME?!” 

“That’s right. The actual reason for that has not been made clear yet, but it likely means that your power will become the key to fighting the dragon.” 

Yakagi Kazamitsu spoke of this most serious matter with his usual stoic, unchanging expression. Nevertheless, though it was just a flash, Suimei was able to catch a glimpse of the proud emotions welling up inside him. His son’s power would be integral in the battle to come. He was happy about that, but as expected, all of this was a bolt out of the blue for Suimei. 

“To be honest, I can’t help but think I’ll be completely useless. As a magician, I’m pretty low-ranking...” 

“You simply have not been bestowed a proper rank yet. I’m certain that I’ve trained you to be capable. You’re also confident in your own abilities, are you not?” 

“I can fight as a magician, for sure. I’ve followed along with all your battles, after all. You’ve even taught me about dealing with mystical calamities and such. But when it comes to fighting alongside high-ranking magicians, I’m still anxious...” 

Suimei’s voice quietly trailed off at the end. Really, it was perfectly natural for him to feel pressure under such circumstances. Regardless of whether they were foes or allies, there was a magic law known as “rank disparity extinction” that came into play when low-ranking and high-ranking magicians shared the battlefield. Low-ranking magicka would always be shut down by high-ranking magicka. Effectively, it was made extinct within the domain of a high-ranking magician. 

Such a phenomenon, however, would not occur unless there was a particularly remarkable discrepancy between the ranks of the magickas involved. And because the conditions for it to occur were so specific, it generally wasn’t anything to be worried about. But knowing that he would be in a group with some of the most powerful magicians there were, it would inevitably be an issue. 

If they made concessions for Suimei and purposefully kept from using high-ranking magicka so as not to trigger rank disparity extinction, it would be a serious problem. They would be facing a dragon, after all. Everyone involved would need to give it everything they had. Certainly the high-ranking magicians present shouldn’t waste their time worrying about a low-ranking magician like Suimei. It would be one thing if he could use support magicka where there would be no risk of triggering rank disparity extinction, but Suimei didn’t think the support magicka he could use would even be of any help to high-ranking magicians of this caliber. So it wasn’t like he could just smile, nod, and agree to going. 

Kazamitsu shut his eyes and sighed before answering Suimei’s anxieties. 

“The reason you’re doubting yourself right now might be the fault of how I raised you. Kiyoshiro has told me I’m quite guilty in that regard.” 

“...What do you mean?” 

“Frankly speaking, it means I’ve been overly strict. Short of the truly spectacular, I’ve never really praised you, have I?” 

“Um... Well... No, not really...” 

Kazamitsu had taught Suimei magic himself. But even when Suimei had shown remarkable potential and progress, Kazamitsu never offered much in the way of praise. That was fact. But Suimei had never thought much of it, and had simply chalked it up to his father’s taciturn disposition. Which was why he didn’t understand what his father was getting at now. 

“Suimei. You can use large-scale magicka, can’t you?” 

“Huh? Yes, of course. You were the one that told me any self-respecting modern magician had to be able to use at least one large-scale spell. Although, taking into account the chanting speed, it would be rather difficult to use in actual battles...” 

In order to keep up with his father’s training, Suimei had worked out a few such spells. Following along with his father’s intense battles, he’d even developed them to the point he could use them recently. But putting that into practice in actual combat was a completely different story. 

“For the fight in Spain, the number of magicians who’ll have the ability to use large-scale magicka independently without a major ritual will total five at most—both you and I included.” 

“So other than those two from the Enforcement Agency, there aren’t all that many strong magicians coming? Even though we’re talking a beast that could destroy all of Europe?” 

“Aah, no, that’s not what I meant... Hmph, to think that my faults as a teacher would be so glaring after all this time...” 

Suimei generally felt like he understood his father fairly well, despite his inscrutable demeanor. But right now, he felt like nothing short of a mystery. But the simple fact that Suimei was so stumped as to what Kazamitsu really meant only highlighted the problem further. 

Currently, even compared to other high-ranking magicians, Suimei was more than equipped enough to join the fight against the dragon. However, since Kazamitsu had always hated the idea of Suimei becoming a magician filled with self-conceit, he’d been especially hard on him as his teacher. 

Kazamitsu had never properly explained to Suimei that he was following in the footsteps of an exceptionally skilled magician. In short, that he was being held to a near impossible standard. Suimei’s father had originally wanted him to live a normal life. Like a normal boy, completely ignorant to the world of magicka. But once he crossed that line, his father took his training very seriously. Perhaps too seriously. And that was now the source of Suimei’s confusion. He thought all of that had been normal. 

But nevertheless, he had gained great strength from it. Kazamitsu was proud of him—both as his father and as a magician. Any of the magicka organizations would have gladly welcomed someone of Suimei’s talent. The only problem was that Suimei had no idea. 

It could be said that Kazamitsu had gone too far in trying to quash all self-conceit in his blossoming magician of a son. Nearly the opposite had grown in its place. Suimei was now victim to a critical lack of self-awareness. How exactly that would affect him in the future would be up to him to handle. But for now... 

“You’ll understand everything if you go,” said Kazamitsu. “That being said, don’t lose your focus. This battle will likely be the greatest challenge you ever face.” 

“...Yes, sir.” 

Suimei nodded to his father, and after the two of them were finished with their coffee, he stood up and took their mugs to the sink. As he stared at the water rushing out of the faucet, he realized a sense of discomfort was washing over him. 

“A dragon, huh...?” 

He could feel an ominous tingling on the back of his neck like it was being singed. It grew into a burning, pulsating sensation as it assailed him. From what his father had told him, it was a power that he’d inherited from his mother. Though Suimei had no way of knowing what it meant at the time. 

It could be said this was the day magician Yakagi Suimei’s battle truly started.