How to Raise a Transcendent Archmage

Chapter 1: The Prelude to War

Crash—

The dish tray I was holding shattered into pieces on the floor, but I had no time to care as I sprinted with all my might toward the village center.

I cursed myself for standing there dumbfounded, unable to grasp the situation immediately.

From a distance, the glow of the burning village surged forward, staining the ground red.

The village was shrouded in pitch-black death and ash.

Soon, the screams of nearby residents pierced the air.

I pushed against the tide of villagers fleeing in all directions, racing toward the flames.

“Mother!”

The old hut where I used to play with friends as a child was engulfed in fire.

The village windows soon glowed red.

The dark crimson flames filled my eyes.

The villagers, overwhelmed by the fiery aura spreading across the sky like a red sunset, only wailed more desperately.

As night fell, the flames consuming the village cut through the darkness, spreading further in every direction.

Grab—

Suddenly, a village man seized me by the collar.

“That crazy woman caused this mess!”

“Sir, what are you talking about…?”

I quickly yanked his hand off my collar.

“Your mother summoned a monster and set the village ablaze!!”

“Daddy!! Hurry!!”

A young girl tugged at her father’s arm.

“Everyone, run!!”

Thud, thud, thud.

From a distance, the deafening sound of something crashing down echoed, accompanied by the horrific noise of flesh being crushed.

“Cough! Cough!”

Through the faint, blood-red smoke, I glimpsed the silhouette of a giant across from a collapsed wooden house. A massive creature wearing a silver mask came into view.

“Roarrr—!!”

The monster bellowed in an incomprehensible language, relentlessly pounding something hidden beneath a building with both fists.

Each time the massive creature moved, bright red blood splattered into the air from its fists.

…What is that?

A tragedy had struck this quiet, peaceful mountain village out of nowhere.

It was so sudden and brutal that I couldn’t tell if this was reality or a dream.

What was that monster, and what was it striking so ferociously?

I was too afraid to find out.

I didn’t have the courage to face the truth behind the blood spraying into the air.

I turned away from the monster and frantically scanned my surroundings.

“Where are you?!”

I gave up on helping the villagers or expecting their help.

After all, Mother and I had lived as outcasts, branded as a family of lunatics.

There was no way someone treated as a madman could help others, nor could I hope for help in this situation.

“No way.”

Boom—

A sudden realization hit me, and I dashed home, flinging open the door.

Unlike the chaos outside, the house seemed eerily calm at first glance.

Through the window, dark red flames rose as if they belonged to someone else’s world, and a creaking sound came from the hallway above.

“Mother?”

With only one thought in my mind—to find Mother and escape—I rushed up to my room.

“!@#%$^&!#@”

Someone was muttering harshly to themselves.

The voice grew louder, and the creaking sounds quickened.

Bang—

I pushed through my fear and threw the door open.

But there was no one inside.

The bedding was strewn about as if hit by a storm, and the old book of Father’s, which should have been tucked away in the corner of the bookshelf, was gone without a trace.

There was no one muttering incomprehensible words, nor were there any rampaging beasts inside.

“Here, you demon!!”

Mother’s voice rang out from outside at that moment.

“No! No! No!”

My heart pounded wildly.

I bolted out of the house.

Mother’s voice, as if coming from another dimension, echoed around me, and I didn’t slow my pace.

“Please…! Please…!”

I ran toward the sound, like someone chanting a spell.

“Mother!!”

My body froze.

Mother stood holding the old book, facing the monster across a pile of villagers’ corpses, so mangled it was impossible to tell who was who.

She looked dangerously unsteady.

“Demon! Claude! It’s a demon!”

I was stunned by Mother’s cracked voice.

There was even a hint of ecstasy in her tone, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“Roarrr—!!”

The monster in the silver mask let out a sharp cry.

It gazed down at Mother.

Blood streamed from the eye and mouth holes of its mask.

“Demons are always hungry for blood, Claude.”

Her words triggered an odd sense of déjà vu.

Mother had always spoken of scenarios like this, yet she had also feared them deeply.

She had been wary of their arrival but had never wished for it.

A horrific thought suddenly struck me.

That’s not Mother.

The flickering firelight danced across the dark face of the figure standing with its back to the monster.

“They’ve always been watching you, everywhere, at all times. To drink your blood and tear your flesh to swallow in one bite.”

“Moth…”

I barely managed to open my trembling mouth, clutching my shaking body.

“Let my mother go.”

Why did I say that?

I couldn’t believe or want to believe this situation.

I only instinctively knew I couldn’t turn away from this reality.

I couldn’t compare to the monsters before me, but I had to struggle.

“No can do. This woman’s body still has much to do.”

“Let my mother go!”

The demon wearing Mother’s face grinned widely.

As I shouted, it stared directly at me.

“Last heir of the great mage Jinred. You must have heard my voice from the past. So did this woman. I whispered in her ear constantly, lulling her with horrific, painful stories like a lullaby.”

A vile laugh spilled from Mother’s mouth.

“She was a woman with many cracks in her heart. Grief over losing her husband, anger and sorrow toward the villagers, and…”

The demon raised the old book, staring straight at me.

“Obsession and love for her son.”

I swallowed hard.

I didn’t know what to say in this situation.

Noticing my helplessness, the demon continued its rant.

“It was worth clinging to her so persistently. Your mother accepted us in your place. All of this is the result of her choice, a fair and reasonable contract.”

Mother’s face twisted into an ecstatic expression.

“Soon, our master will arrive. After eons, the power of the sealing stone has weakened, and the book that can break that seal is now in our hands. Your mother knew this and offered her body in advance.”

I bit my lip.

What should I do?

Fear swirled within me.

But I couldn’t just stand here doing nothing.

Father’s book.

If the stories Mother told me were true… that book was the only thing that could save us now.

I had to find a way to reclaim what they treated as a treasure.

If I can just take it—

Gulp—

The book I’d looked into as a child to forget the voices of monsters.

Perhaps I could use the spells written within it.

At that moment, a spell’s incantation flashed through my mind.

The Wail of the Banshee.

Until now, I thought they were just fanciful tales or something close to fiction, but now I had to believe in them somehow.

The screams of the dead are so terrifying they make souls tremble with fear, shaking the spirits of demons and awakening dormant souls.

The area was filled with the souls of villagers unjustly slaughtered.

I had never actually cast a spell before, but…

If Jinred, the mad mercenary, was truly a hero who fought demons, and that book was what he left for our family…

At least this time, I have to fight like Father.

I bit my lower lip.

Hesitating wouldn’t help in this situation.

I had to try something.

“Child, I’m debating what to do with you. Normally, I’d crush your head in an instant, but as Jinred’s heir…”

The demon cackled.

“I could corrupt you and make you use your latent power for us. Like your mother.”

“What are you going to do to her?”

“Well…”

Black claws sprouted from Mother’s right hand.

And then—

Stab—

“Argh!!”

Three deep red gashes were carved into Mother’s left arm.

“Ahh!!! Your mother’s soul is writhing in pain! The hero is dead, and his wife has fallen into our hands. What a delightful turn of events!!”

“No!!!”

A shrill scream burst from my mouth without me realizing.

“Kyaaaah—!!”

The horrific screams of the dead erupted from all directions.

They were the cries of those who lost loved ones, lamenting their own danger and pain in their final moments.

A fierce wind swirled suddenly.

Mother’s hair whipped around in the vortex.

An intangible force no one could stop.

The afterimages of souls writhing in sorrow and pain surged into Mother’s eyes like a massive wave.

“Arghhh—!!”

“Roarrr—!!”

The demon and the monster staggered simultaneously.

It worked!

The demon had dropped the book to the ground and was clutching its ears, while blood and foam bubbled from Mother’s eyes, nose, and mouth.

Now was my chance.

“Mother! Please, snap out of it!”

I grabbed the fallen book and shook Mother’s shoulders.

The demon staggered to its feet.

Blood streamed from its face, but it was still clearly not Mother.

“Heh…! Heh…! You’re still weak! Did you think… this would bring us down…?”

“Mother! Please!!!”

I shouted with all my might, clutching at straws.

It wasn’t visible, but I was certain after what I’d seen.

Mother was still alive inside it.

“You still don’t see it’s futile…”

“Shut up!!!”

I snapped my eyes open and raised my head.

That voice just now—it was different from before.

I’d never heard her shout like that, but there was a trace of Mother’s tone.

Though it used the same vocal cords as the demon and sounded weaker than usual, it carried a familiar ring.

“Arghhh!!”

The demon’s face contorted wildly.

For a brief moment, Mother’s face, looking at her son, surfaced on it.

“Claude!!!”

“Mother!!!”

The moment I realized, my hand was already grasping hers.

The fear of the demon and the dread of when the monster might recover didn’t matter.

All I had was the resolve to save Mother.

That one thought alone.

Embrace—

Mother, spitting blood, leaned her face on my shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Claude. It was my fault… for calling their names.”

“No, if I had accepted the truth sooner—”

“No, Claude.”

With a weary expression, she picked up the fallen book.

“Obsessed with stopping them, I ended up summoning them. I didn’t even notice the darkness eating away at my heart.”

As she murmured, a purple flash erupted from the book, hitting the silver-masked monster.

“You madwoman! What are you doing?! Stop it!!”

The demon within her screeched at Mother.

As the monster, its eyes glowing red from the light, charged toward us, Mother pushed me away.

She thrust Father’s book into my chest.

“Live, my son. I’m sorry.”

Whoosh—

A portal had appeared behind me as I was pushed back.

“Mother!! Wait…!!”

I stretched out my hand with all my strength, but it didn’t reach her.

My body was already being sucked into the glowing blue gate.

“The war has begun.”

Mother’s form and voice grew fainter.

“And the die has been cast. When all seems to crumble, the child of fate will rise to protect this land.”

Splat—

Mother’s blood trickled down my face.

Her collapsing figure faded into the distance.

The demons had returned to the continent,

devouring my village, Emberbane, and the only family I had left.

“Aaaargh—!!!”

An unbearable cry of anguish erupted from my throat,

like the wail of a banshee.