KbEmM7Av

1Morey frowned as he watched the ruins. First Landing was positively crawling with people.
2
3He had not had the chance to inspect the ruined city the first time he was here. Right after the summoning's disaster, Amarante and her entourage had bundled him off to the capital.
4
5The broken down towers and weeds popping up in the cracked streets reminded Morey of post-apocalyptic art. Drainage along the roads with broken covers had turned into streams, their banks colonized with hardy plant life. Open gaps where windows used to be dotted the surface of each of the towers.
6
7Skyscrapers, Morey could recognize them, though the locals had no idea. Like the secure document room, the scope of a civilization that not only could build but also needed that level of population density or working places was beyond imagining.
8
9On the other hand, when the First civilization fell, the buildings left here would become a hazard without the expertise needed to maintain them. Streets had been blocked by collapsed towers, the surrounding ex-suburban land was bad for farming, the stone-like paved roads reduced water retention. No wonder this place had become abandoned ruins.
10
11There were differences to Earth's cities however. The primary building material appeared to be shaped and fused stone, not concrete. Weathered edifices of rock made each building seem like individual hollowed out mountains. The stone was light and strong, not like the normal rocks, resisting both crushing and tearing forces. And instead of shallow basements, the First dug deep into the ground.
12
13Morey's summoning had taken place in the chamber known as the Gate, as described by the First. Set into the most intact building remaining and in a central location, the place made for an obvious command center.
14
15And the Hero needed one.
16
17The arrival of the Hero and Companions spread through the supposedly abandoned city like wildfire. The searchers, questers and parties who had all descended on the place flocked to him. It was to Morey's annoyance to discover he had new titles now, beyond the ever popular Hero. Freedom's Torch wasn't too bad, but he really did not deserve Zombie Crusher, and Smasher of Forts really belonged to Ereli.
18
19Word of the location of the Legendary Sword had resulted in a rush like nothing before, all wanting to be the one to find it. None had in the month or so between the news and Morey's arrival. So now they turned to the Hero, the one foretold to discover the Sword.
20
21"It's interesting, these stones," Morey said, turning over a piece of broken building.
22
23The few adventurers gathered to follow the Hero just looked at each other uncertainly. Beside him, Ereli was in her starry-eyed mode, the same hero-worshipping attitude she displayed whenever Morey looked like he was about to do something strange and 'hero-like'.
24
25"Sir Hero, what are your commands?" asked one of the party leaders. The non-sequitur had made the atmosphere awkward, but none of them wanted to defy the Hero.
26
27Morey just fiddled with his rock and smiled, "there have been over a thousand adventurers combing these ruins more thoroughly than any archeological expedition in the last months. You have not found any trace of the Sword. There are no mysterious passwords, hidden passages or even any magic. You'd have found it after all. "
28
29The adventurers' unease merely became greater.
30
31"So, there's nothing I can do that you haven't done," the Hero said wryly, spreading his arms.
32
33"But you're the Hero!" The same party leader blurted out, his impatience getting the better of him.
34
35"And what can the Hero do that you cannot?" Morey shrugged, gesturing with his hand. The eyes of the watching adventurers were drawn to the rock still in his grasp.
36
37But though they heard his words, they did not listen. After all, he was the Hero, said to find the Sword.
38
39"Still, now you come to me to ask what I should tell you to do," Morey sighed dramatically, "very well. The Sword is in this city and if we do not have any clues, we simply have to do one thing. "
40
41He paused, looking at each of the party leaders.
42
43"Every rock, every wall. Anything that human hands have touched, we take it. Strip the city to the bedrock and we will find the Sword. "
44
45The storm of protests was furious as expected. Moving that much stone was impossible, not matter how light the building material of the First was, it was still stone. The ruins of First Landing was also far larger than any current city.
46
47The amount of manpower required to do this was beyond anything that the parties could afford. Even with a thousand strong adventurers working at it, they could take years to fully dismantle the ruins.
48
49Morey merely let their objections wash over him, fiddling with the rock in his hands as he met their protests with a serene confidence.
50
51"And what if I told you that this rock is worth quite a bit of money," Morey said, dumping the piece of building material in the hands of the nearest adventurer.
52
53The woman looked down at it, frowning.
54
55"It's a rock," she said eventually, "a light one, but you can't shape it to build new buildings. "
56
57"Yes, but we do know that rock is not light, and if it was made thin, cannot support weight like the buildings do. This is not a normal rock," Morey gestured Ereli, who had been standing in a corner. She trotted up to him and obediently placed a jar in his hands.
58
59The clear glass let everyone see its contents, courtesy of the new factory in the Ektal capital. The pile of metallic shavings inside looked almost like powder, but on closer examination, revealed themselves to be thin filaments.
60
61"This is the result of a great amount of ingenuity on the part of the University of Minmay," Morey explained. "I had a sample of the material sent to them beforehand and the results are surprising. When placed into a magically heated furnace that can melt rock, the material separates into two parts, one is the molten rock, the part left behind is this," he gestured at the jar, "and that is the secret as to why the stone can be made so porous and yet so strong. That... is crysteel.
62
63The filings cannot be forged by themselves, but when added to cast steel creates the strongest material we can yet make. And the one key ingredient is all around us. "
64
65Work proceeded rapidly after that. With Morey to organize the 'mining' operations, and smooth over logistical issues with his Hero title, the ruins were being dismantled at a great pace.
66
67Though many of the adventurers had left, their numbers were replaced with construction crews to dismantle buildings and ironworkers to manage the magic powered furnaces. The prodigious requirements of magic resulted in mana wells being drilled all along the outskirts.
68
69It took months. Buildings were knocked down with great care and the rubble fed to the furnaces' hungry maw. Furnaces controlled by summoners and spellstorms were raised hastily, exporting precious filings of crysteel. As the shorter buildings around the edge of the city were consumed, the operations moved inward.
70
71When starting his harvesting operation, Morey had not directed any sort of search pattern. The closest buildings were the first to go. But as time went on and the profitable operation became self-managing, Morey led teams into the center of the city, guessing which of the skyscrapers looked important enough to house a superweapon.
72
73In hindsight, the clues were obvious. The Summoning Circle was suspected to be the Gate, the time capsule records indicated the 'link' to the Sword was at the Gate.
74
75Morey never did find out how no one ever thought of dismantling the building with the Summoning Circle until he had demolished over fifty buildings around it and finally got around to digging up the Gate.
76
77They uncovered a sealed shaft concealed below a smooth floor near the summoning room, itself at the bottom of the six storeys deep basement of its building. This shaft, though lined with crysteel, had been plugged with solid building material through its entire length. The shaft had led somewhere once, but the First had later sealed it beyond reason.
78
79And down it went into the earth. The drilling and digging operation was helped by the straight open shaft, but the tough material was like rock and required powered tools to remove in any reasonable time.
80
81As they breached half a kilometer depth, scholars began to arrive. The University sent a delegation. The Academy, learning of their rival's actions, sent their own. The closest ruins to the Summoning Circle had turned into a semi-permanent camp as people waited for the breakthrough.
82
83So it was to much excitement when the bottom of the shaft was reached. There, only a single empty crysteel chamber lay at the bottom, with tiny runes carved so densely into the walls that from afar, they looked like a twisting random pattern. The runes were almost microscopic, requiring magnifying lenses to make out individual lines, and there were millions of them all over the walls.
84
85It was not the language of the First. Instead, the crysteel runes were the same language that made up the summoning circle. No one could read it.
86
87The disappointment of the scholars was palpable. There was, in fact, no Sword, down there.
88
89Morey examined the sheafs of runes on the table. Meticulous copies of the runes were being made and transported up by rotating teams of scholars. Or their apprentices at least. The actual scholars were trying to piece together the language or the function of the room. Morey had decided to take a look just in case being a Hero made him specially able to decipher it. No such luck.
90
91Here, the copies of the runes were stored in a tent just across the street from the Gate building. Once a day, the latest batch of copies were brought here to be filed and stored, sheltered from the rest of the demolition work going on around them.
92
93Outside the library tent, the sounds of demolishing and deconstruction continued unabated. After overlooking the shaft next to the Gate, Morey was not going to take the risk of further embarrassment if the Sword was in fact somewhere else. There was still a distinct lack of mysterious ruins or sharp pointy sticks however.
94
95The rustling of the tent flaps drew Morey's attention away from the runes.
96
97"Ah, Nal, did you need something?"
98
99The short spellstorm standing at the entrance to the tent just looked awkward.
100
101"You found the Sword. " She said eventually.
102
103Oh. They were going to have a Moment, weren't they? Morey strode three steps to the entrance and stuck his head outside. The bustle of people and rekis dragging carts down the street did not hide Ereli who was standing guard over the tent. She gave him a thumbs up and a cheeky grin.
104
105Morey shook his head and came back in, only to find Nal trying to burn a hole in the floor with her eyes.
106
107"Are you going to go home?" she asked, still not willing to meet his eyes.
108
109Morey gulped. To be frank, he didn't really know what to say. He hadn't made up his mind whether he wanted to stay if he had the option of returning to his life on Earth.
110
111He sat back on his chair. Nal had been circling him ever since they found the shaft to the Sword, and Morey still hadn't answered her pledge from Illastein. It made him feel bad for stringing her along. Was she now asking him to make his decision? Though Morey was sure she would continue to wait if he asked her to.
112
113One part of him was tempted to say yes. Being a Hero had got Morey into many dangerous situations, he had to fight, he had to kill. And even the greatest rewards that Morey could have asked for would pale beside a modern middle class living. Cato's efforts in the north might get there eventually, but to get the same comforts as modern Earth would be the work of generations.
114
115On the other hand, being a Hero gave Morey respect. Unearned in most cases, true, but Morey had to admit that having that respect felt nice. Plus not all of it was undeserving, Morey had made a difference for the slaves of Illastein.
116
117And there was the matter of Nal. She might be short and cute but the fiery girl had passion all out of size of her body. It was very flattering that she was attracted to him so strongly. Morey might not feel the same level of attraction, but he thought spending a life with her would not be unpleasant.
118
119Should he just don the mantle of the Hero, save the kingdom and marry the girl?
120
121He glanced down at the papers stacked around the tent. Nal was still fidgeting. The runes seemed to taunt him, the last secret of the Hero's Legend that was sealed behind a language barrier. A Sword that could both return him and destroy mankind's enemies.
122
123It made no sense, a weapon of mass destruction that Morey suspected it was could not possibly send someone between universes, unless its destructive potential was a side effect of inter-universe transport? That might be a thought worth considering.
124
125Or perhaps he could have his cake and eat it.
126
127The warning given to people who wanted to follow the First in their Migration was that the Gate led elsewhere. Maybe to hostile worlds. The implied out-of-universe Migration implied that it was possible to send large numbers of people through. Why would the Sword or the Gate only send Morey back? It was more plausible that the Summoning Circle in its current form was something like a search engine built on top of a transport mechanism.
128
129Wasn't it conceivable that if they could understand how the Sword worked, understand how Morey and Cato were summoned, then they could send people to and fro?
130
131As the Hero, Morey wielded enormous influence in the Inath Federation. Growing up on Earth, he understood his world and how to approach it.
132
133And just like that, it clicked. This was something Morey could do, a path he could dedicate himself to, if it was possible.
134
135"Nal," he ignored the way her shoulders jumped nervously, "if I was to find a way home, I will find a way to make sure you can come. If we can open a Gate to my world using the Sword, then we can do far more than just let me go home. Being a diplomat sounds like a fine job for a retired Hero, don't you think?"
136
137The flicker of incomprehension that passed across her face was overwhelmed with surprise a moment later.
138
139"And of course, I'd love to have a cute and deadly girl like you with me," he smiled, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
140
141Nal merely frowned however, "but what if that's not possible? What if the Sword really can only send the Hero home?"
142
143"I don't think so, but we'll cross that bridge if it happens. "
144
145With that, Nal seemed to be convinced. She hesitantly gave Morey a small hug. On his arm.
146
147They stood like that for a moment.
148
149"What does 'cross the bridge' mean?"
150
151The queen's arrival was not quite a surprise but still too fast to really make preparations. All the girls except Locoss managed to find some presentable clothing and pretty up the Hero's tent, and the camp of builders and adventurers was cleaner than it had been in its short life of a few months. But Morey just felt somewhat lost, no one really knew where Morey stood in relation to Queen Amarante.
152
153They hadn't believed him when Morey said that the queen didn't really care about these formalities. Even Locoss refused to participate on the grounds that she was not presentable due to her disability.
154
155He almost felt like saying 'told you so' when the queen and leader of the Inath Federation arrived with zero fanfare. Just her escort and a few servants, plus the hulking shadow of her general.
156
157"Sir Morey," the queen gave an elegant bow, if appropriately shallow, "I offer my congratulations at your find, none could have done this save the Hero. I hope that your journey is soon at its end and humanity's deliverance at hand. It is now that I shall explain further the circumstances behind the Sword and my confidence in you. "
158
159The Hero's party, as the four girls were being called now, were seated behind Morey, who sat across from the long meeting table to the Queen. At her right was General Vorril, looking slightly bored. No one else was allowed into the tent.
160
161The Queen smiled and nodded casually at Nal as the diminutive woman served her a cup of tea before pouring a cup for Morey and taking a seat beside him.
162
163"I am sure that throughout your journey you would have had doubts. And to be frank, so did I. There was a time in your reform of Illastein that I had thought my interpretations of the legends were in error and that you wouldn't find the Sword. But your find of the cache there and now what is most likely the Sword has validated the prophecy. I am certain you are the Hero, as only the Hero would find the Sword. "
164
165Morey politely refrained from commenting. The backwards criteria was obviously flawed but the queen was quite the lover of old stories and Morey wouldn't be able to discourage her belief in prophecies and legends.
166
167"There is one story that I did not tell you. Passed down the royal line of Inath from the troubled days before the Migration, this legend is known to the successors of the throne and those they deem fit to tell. It is said that the Royal Line of Inath descends from the Forgers of the Circle, all the way back to the Hero Legan who claimed this land for humans. And when the Hero returns from beyond this world, he will need our seal in order to save the kingdom. "
168
169The queen produced a slim leather box from a hidden pocket in her dress. Laying it open on the table, Morey could see a black rod lying in the soft velvet padding. It was a jet black cylinder no more than a handspan tall, about as wide as two fingers. For an artifact that supposed survived since the dawn of time, it was in excellent shape.
170
171The perfectly smooth surface was marred only by twisting lines of runes carved into the sides. The size and density of them reminded Morey of a certain troublesome chamber deep underground.
172
173"The seal of the monarchy is a mysterious thing. The legend of our line mentions that it was forged before the Great Wars, as a symbol of authority and power, meant to remind the ruler of the Kingdom of the weight of their responsibility. Though the Seal of Office is said to be the key to the Sword of the First, its function has been lost over time.
174
175And hence why I will now turn this over to you. When I had thought the Sword was an actual sword, I wondered if I had to awake its power by touching the seal to it. But given the revelation of the Sword's identity at the cache, I suspect now that this seal, in your hands, will be the key to awakening the Sword as a weapon once more. "
176
177With that, Amarante pushed the box containing the Inath seal of office to Morey.
178
179Morey looked down at the small black rod, feeling as if the weight of the world was now held in front of him. The Sword was a superweapon that could blow apart mountains. If her story was right, and the runes looked really authentic, this rod was analogous to the launch keys of a nuclear weapon.
180
181He wasn't even annoyed that Amarante had kept this from Morey. He wouldn't tell a Hero either if he was in her shoes.
182
183"Shall we head down then?" he asked, getting an enthusiastic nod from the queen. As if she was on a tour of a fascinating historical museum, instead of approaching a weapon of mass destruction.
184
185As the girls and Vorril left the tent first, Amarante brushed past Morey and whispered with a mischievous grin, "I'm willing to release Nal from her oaths, if she asks. I wish you both all the best. "
186
187"I still think you were lucky. There was no guarantee they would have established a relationship. Did you do something?"
188
189Amarante looked up at her husband. She could feel an irreverent grin on her face that would have made her etiquette teachers faint in horror.
190
191"I didn't need to do anything," she said, looking at Morey and the Hero's party walk together. The girls orbited the man in the middle, even though he obviously favoured the spellstorm.
192
193"The girls are young, pretty, have interesting personalities and are motivated and intelligent. Morey is the Hero, a nice person and if I may put it crudely, not bad looking either. They go off on years long adventurers all over the Federation, fight together in exciting battles and do a task valued by nearly everyone who they meet. A relationship with one of them was practically inevitable, I just picked varied personalities so that one of the girls would be a good fit. "
194
195Vorril just grunted, "and if your bet failed?"
196
197She just shrugged, "you can't win all the time. But I do know that when the Hero first came to this world, he was confused and lost. Just like anyone else would be in this unfamiliar country fighting an unknown war. He needed people who he could trust, so I was prepared to give him exactly that. I like to think I am good at figuring out what people want. "
198
199"It's one of the reasons the Federation still sticks together," Vorril noted.
200
201Amarante giggled and skipped forwards. Her actions might seem too childish for the queen of Inath but her dream of seeing the Hero's Sword would soon be fulfilled! Anyone would be in high spirits, her husband was just too straight laced to really understand.
202
203The Hero's party and the queen entered the Summoning building. In the open shaft, an elevator had been installed. Driven by a steam engine, the relatively new device was one of the proud achievements of Minmay's technical prowess, and actually surprisingly reliable for a new invention. That said, given the august bodies riding in it today, the safety checks were done in triplicate and an engineer was on standby at every part of the device.
204
205The shaft into the earth emphasized to Amarante just how seriously the First treated the Sword. Any weapon that could erase entire mountains and cities, redrawing maps, was a power beyond what humans could wield. If they wanted to stay safe of course.
206
207She still did not understand how anyone could comprehend the icy logic of mutually assured destruction and stay sane. Morey had explained the Cold War that had existed in his world. The reduction of lives into numbers, into victories and defeat, where mistakes could spiral out of control into disaster and nearly had multiple times; that was not a path Amarante wanted the Federation to go down.
208
209The First and Tsar had destroyed themselves with their weapons, after all. Individuals might be found that could be trusted with that heavy responsibility of deciding when to use such weapons. But never everyone, someone would be crazy enough to use one. No, humans could not be trusted with this power.
210
211So Amarante had made sure the Hero who would wield it was not crazy. That he wasn't alone in this world without anyone to understand him. That he had seen the Federation in all its flaws and greatness, and had ties to its people, so he wouldn't be tempted into using the Sword as a threat to all the rest of mankind.
212
213That the Hero actually understood the concept of a superweapon better than anyone else in Inath was just a welcome bonus.
214
215Her musings came to an end as the elevator reached the bottom of the shaft. They all piled out to the small platform just above the room.
216
217The metal ladder leading downwards into the room it was traversed.
218
219And now, here at the end of the Hero's Journey, Amarante and Vorril faced the Hero, two of his party flanking him on each side. She solemnly drew out the seal of the Inath Kingdom.
220
221"I grant this seal to you, Hero of the Kingdom, that you may wield the Sword in the defence of all. "
222
223She presented the open box with the key to the most dangerous weapon in existence lying inside.
224
225With a nod, Morey reached out to take it. The key and the Hero stood in the middle of the room that controlled the Sword.
226
227Nothing happened at all.
228
229The next day.
230
231“Thank you for cooperating with me late into the night yesterday.” [Guard]
232
233“Thank you too for letting me spend the night here.” [Ryouma]
234
235“It’s fine, don’t mention it. Here. The reward for those five bandits.” [Guard]
236
237“Thank you very much.” [Ryouma]
238
239After getting a small jute bag from the female guard, I walked away from the guard office at Kereban.
240
241It was still early, so there were only a few people out in the street. The morning wind’s caress was a gentle chill on my body.
242
243“Ha…” [Ryouma]
244
245I kind of feel exhausted.
246
247I had to go here and there last night… But thanks to that, I was able to find Pedro-san. I left him to the guards as soon as I got to Kereban, but his wounds were a lot less severe than I’d thought, and his life was no longer in danger when morning came. I’ve heard of the beast tribe’s strong vitality, but it’s a lot stronger than I’d expected.
248
249That being said, he does need to rest for the time being, and it will take some time for the pain on his hips to go away… Still, as long as he’s alive, he can start over again. Or at least that’s what I heard from someone who happened to be present there.
250
251As for me, I’m just glad that we were able to avoid the worst case scenario. He’ll probably struggle, but he has an acquaintance who would go out of his way to submit a search request, so I’m sure he’ll be fine.
252
253“Oops…” [Ryouma]
254
255I dropped the jute bag I had with me. As I grasped the fist-sized bag, the sound of silver coins resounded from inside.
256
257If you capture bandits alive and hand them over, the monetary reward is 2,000 suits per person. Part of the reason why the reward is so high is because it’s dangerous work, but more than that, the bigger reason is to encourage adventurers to actively seek out bandits.
258
259Speaking of which, the bandits will be made to undergo penal servitude and penal labor, so this reward is actually paid off by them. In other words, those guys I caught will be taken somewhere and made to live that sort of lifestyle.
260
261They might have regretted their actions after finding out that Pedro-san is alive and is currently unable to move, thoug. Since they were awfully docile at the end there… I pray they’ll bee able to serve their prison term and make a successful return to society.
262
263“…Hmm?” [Ryouma]
264
265As I walked aimlessly, I passed by a building that resembled a church. It was about as big as the church in Gimuru, but it had a magnificent gate and had many decorations, such as curtains. Inside the lot was an old man dressed in clergy clothing. He was accompanied by five younger people who also seemed to be a part of the clergy. They were sweeping the premises. Yeah, this is probably a church.
266
267…Come to think of it, the first time I came here, the guards told me that there’s a World-Creation Denomination and a God-of-Light Denomination here. Two different churches that worship the same gods.
268
269I never paid much attention to it, but the church I went to in Gimuru was really simple. That church is probably a part of the World-Creation Denomination whose doctrines revolve around honorable poverty.
270
271“Hey, you. Are you a lost child?” [Old Priest]
272
273Oops.
274
275Because I stared too long at the building, the old man started approaching me.
276
277“Sorry, I’m not a lost child… Is this a church?” [Ryouma]
278
279“Exactly. A church of the God-of-Light Denomination.” [Old Priest]
280
281“Really? It’s my first time seeing such a spectacular church, so I was a bit taken aback.” [Ryouma]
282
283“I see. I see. A church like this is strange, huh? …I know, if you don’t mind, why don’t you visit the chapel?” [Old Priest]
284
285“The chapel?　But I’m a believer of the World-Creation Denomination.” [Ryouma]
286
287“We both worship the same gods. The difference between sects is a trifle thing. The gods love us without distinction. You should pray if you have the time.” [Old Priest]
288
289“…In that case, I’ll take you up on your offer then.” [Ryouma]
290
291I don’t have anything urgent going on, and it’d be rude to refuse so firmly, so I decided to follow the guy.
292
293We walked up the impressive stone stairs and toward a building with deep crimson carpet.
294
295The church people we passed by greeted me with a smile.
296
297“This is the chapel. Come, enter.” [Old Priest]
298
299The door was opened. Polished brass candle-stands lined up in a row toward the altar of gods where their statues were. On either side of the path were long bench seats with unobtrusive coloring. That’s probably where the believers that come to visit the chapel are meant to sit.
300
301But there’s no one here just yet.
302
303“Come now. There’s no need to hold back. You may approach the altar.” [Old Priest]
304
305I did as I was told and offered a prayer to a statue from the place nearest to it.
306
307“…” [Ryouma]
308
309Oh, it works even here?
310
311It seems being a different denomination really didn’t matter.
312
313As soon as I offered a prayer, I felt light covering me. But I’m so used to it now that it just makes me feel at ease…
314
315“Welcome!” [Rurutia]
316
317“Uoo!?” [Ryouma]
318
319When I got to the divine realm, Rurutia immediately welcomed me. Moreover, the atmosphere suggested that they were expecting me. What’s going on? …To be honest, I just can’t keep up with the mood.
320
321“Look, you two! A special guest has arrived!” [Rurutia]
322
323“Two?” [Ryouma]
324
325I turned to the direction Rurutia called out to. There, were 2 goddesses I didn’t know.
326
327One was refined like a noble, a seemingly gentle middle-aged woman, while the other gave a sense of beauty, and yet at the same time, a sense of wildness. These two goddesses that gave completely different impressions from each other were seated around a table drinking tea.
328
329“Oh my, a new guest? Welcome. We’ll have to serve more tea and sweets then.” [Refined Goddess]
330
331“Ho… I heard the rumors, but I guess it is true that if you call him, he’ll appear.” [Wild Goddess]
332
333“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Ryouma Takebayashi.” [Ryouma]
334
335“So, I have heard. You’re the person who came from Earth some time ago, yes?　I am Willieris. The Goddess of Land and Harvest. Thank you for cooperating with us to protect the people of this world. Also, please do be at ease.　I see that you’re relaxed around Rurutia. I would be saddened if you couldn’t see us in the same light.” [Willieris]
336
337“R-Right… If you put it that way, then… I’ll do my best.” [Ryouma]
338
339I feel like she’s the most formal of the gods I’ve met. That aside, could this other goddess be…
340
341“I am Kirillel the Goddess of War and Judgment. It’s nice to meet you.” [Kirillel]
342
343“The pleasure is mine.” [Ryouma]
344
345So she really is the God of War.
346
347“Ryouma, you’re too stiff.” [Rurutia]
348
349“I may be used to you, but you can’t possibly expect me to be so relaxed with goddesses I’m meeting for the first time, can you? Besides, meeting two goddesses at the same time? …I’d appreciate it if you gave me some time to get used to their presence. But enough of that, what’s going on, Rurutia?” [Ryouma]
350
351They had a welcoming mood on them right from the start.
352
353“We tried out that Girls-Only Gathering from Earth, but we just couldn’t find a good topic to get things going.” [Rurutia]
354
355“Oh, right. I heard about that from Gayn and the others…” [Ryouma]
356
357Wait a moment.　Didn’t I hear about that yesterday? But, no. I pulled an all nighter searching for Pedro-san, so I guess that makes it two days ago.
358
359“If you keep it up for so long, of course you’d run out of topics.” [Ryouma]
360
361“She even dragged me out for that. I tried getting the conversation going, but…” [Kirillel]
362
363Kirillel-sama glared reproachfully at Rurutia.
364
365“But your topics are all too bloodthirsty… How are regional conflicts a suitable topic for a girls-only gathering!?” [Rurutia]
366
367“You’re the one who said we should talk about the recent happenings in the world!” [Kirillel]
368
369The goddesses started quarrelling.
370
371“Sorry about this. You didn’t get a proper explanation and now the two of them are like this. Please do treat yourself to some tea and sweets.” [Willieris]
372
373“Thank you very much.” [Ryouma]
374
375Willieris-sama just carried on at her own pace. I got a cup of tea and some sweets from her.
376
377“By the way, why are you at the church today?　Did you need something from someone?” [Willieris]
378
379“Oh, there’s no particular reason. I just happened to be passing in front of the church when a man of the clergy invited me inside… Did Rurutia do something?” [Ryouma]
380
381“?　Wait a moment.” [Willieris]
382
383As she said that, she closed her eyes. Gayn and the others do this a lot when they want to find something out.
384
385“Alright, I’ve got it. That child didn’t do anything in particular. The man just decided no his own to invite you after you appeared in front of the church. He seems to be planning on persuading you to join his denomination.” [Willieris]
386
387“So he wants to convert me.” [Ryouma]
388
389“That appears to be the case. Oh, but he’s not a bad person. He doesn’t have any intentions of soliciting donations from a child like you. He just wants to spread his faith.
390
391And besides, while it is true that the God-of-Light Denomination is proactive in gathering donations, that in turn allows them to have the monetary power to provide food in times of crisis and watch over orphans. There are many among them who are genuinely thinking about others, so please don’t misunderstand.” [Willieris]
392
393As expected, Willieris-sama is a peaceful person. She made sure to cover up for the man when she realized that I found him suspicious. Although he’s trying to convert me, it’s rude to be so suspicious. At the very least, I shouldn’t be so suspicious toward that person.
394
395“I understand. Thank you.” [Ryouma]
396
397“It’s fine. After all, the sort of clergymen that you’re so wary of do exist. Caution is important. Especially, since you received a divine protection not just from Rurutia, but also from Gayn and Kufo.” [Willieris]
398
399“Yes. In fact, I got one from Tekun too.” [Ryouma]
400
401“I see… Although there have been previous cases of a person receiving multiple divine protections. If word were to get out that you possess four divine protections, the people of the church will surely call out to you.
402
403Especially, since those of the God-of-Light Denomination see the possessors of the divine protections as ‘saints’. They see them as an object of worship similar to us. If word were to get out, the situation will probably develop in a direction you do not wish. Even I would not wish to see such a situation, so please do be careful.” [Willieris]
404
405“Thank you very much.” [Ryouma]
406
407“Can’t you give it a rest already? There’s no end to this…” [Kirillel]
408
409“Well, that’s true… Oh, my. What were the two of you talking about?” [Rurutia]
410
411Looks like the two goddesses finally stopped arguing.
412
413Day 16th of the month of Gloom. Early morning.
414
415With the clear winter skies behind them, the Crusaders appeared.
416
417“….So they have come.”
418
419I muttered reflexively.
420
421I was now on top of the Galahad fort’s castle walls, looking down on the white army squirming about.
422
423They still couldn’t be seen clearly due to the dense white smoke rising from the snow.
424
425According to Spada army’s research, that is due to the snow removal. While melting the thick layer of snow blocking the road with a fire magic called White Dordtsudanp or something, they slowly kept advancing.
426
427And like that, they had finally reached all the way here after a whole month. Unfortunately, it seems they didn’t get caught up in a avalanche or some kind of disaster on their way here. Is this what they call the God’s blessing? Seriously, to hell with it.
428
429“It can’t even be compared to that time in Alsace.”
430
431Fiona, who was standing on my left, said. She seems quite calm.
432
433“It will be fine, the number of allies we have this time is also incomparable.”
434To my right, Spada knights were orderly lined up in red armor. And to my left, the adventurers were disorderly gathered, wearing different types of equipment.
435
436The passage on top of the castle walls was quite wide as the walls were very thick. Even a large carriage could pass through here. All the stairs built were also spacious. The coming and going of people here along with goods transportation is very smooth.
437
438And the highlight of it all is probably the fact that this huge passage is 1 kilometer long. Although it would suffer a complete loss when paired up against the Great Wall of China in terms of length, it would easily win in terms of intensity, considering the fact that it’s 15 meters high.
439
440And when such a wide passage is packed with people as if it was a fireworks festival, one could easily guess how large the Spada army is. And in reality, about 40,000 soldiers have gathered here in Galahad fort.
441
442There are also 103 adventurers here who fought together with us in Alsace. About 400 times the difference.
443
444“The Crusaders surely have about 3 times the number of our soldiers. And in terms of strength, I would say it’s a tie.”
445
446“A tie is more than enough. This time, we have a chance to fight head on and win.”
447
448Although, among all these soldiers, we are probably the only ones who think that the win percentage is 50-50. No, even including the people in the capital, there probably isn’t anyone who doubts our victory.
449
450It’s worrying when ‘strength’ starts to become ‘self conceit’ and create leeway. However, it can’t be helped. Even the king would have difficulty changing the way he thinks.
451
452“Yawn”
453
454While I was kinda tense looking at the enemy’s large enemy in front of us, Lily let out a yawn beside me.
455
456If someone who didn’t know her saw her sitting on the edge of the 15 meter tall castle wall like that with her legs on the other side, they would surely be terrified. She was so far on the edge that it felt like she would fall anytime. But since Lily is a fairy, she would still safely land on her feet.
457
458“Aren’t you nervous, Lily?”
459
460“Mm? I am fine.”
461
462Translations by AsianHobbyist .com Website. Stop reading at pirate sites that steals translations. Check novelupdates. com for legit fan translations
463She answered with an innocent smile, as if she had no idea that a war will break out soon.
464
465“After all, Kurono is with us today. I’m not scared of anything.”
466
467“I see… right. I also don’t feel scared since you’re with me.”
468
469Although young, Lily looked divine as the wind blew from underneath, making her platinum blonde hair and velvet one piece dress flutter. She looked like an angel, flying down on the fort—or rather, a fairy, flying down on the fort.
470
471I could reach her if I extended my hands. And weirdly enough, I felt at ease stroking her head.
472
473“Yo, Kurono, I guess it is only natural for you to be this calm, huh?”
474
475I remember hearing this refreshing voice, which suddenly came from behind.
476
477As I turned around, I saw Spada’s gladiator, Farkius—close, too close!
478
479“Move a bit.”
480
481“Ah, sorry. I was just so happy finding you.”
482
483Why would you get that close to a guy if you’re happy? Give me a break.
484
485Farkius gave a big smile, without an ounce of shyness, and finally moved one step away.
486
487And it probably wasn’t just my imagination when I felt mana from Lily’s head just now. Yep, I’m also being cautious, Lily.
488
489“Is it okay for you to be here, Farkius?”
490
491“Rather, it’s okay for you to not faithfully stay true to your position as a gladiator, you know? If you want, I could even escort you to the middle where His Majesty the King Leonhart is at. It is your first time here in Galahad fort, right?”
492
493What escort do you mean in this one way path? It seems this guy can’t tell that I am implicitly telling him to leave me alone.
494
495Currently, we are only a step away from the beginning of the war and naturally, the positions we are supposed to be protecting are set.
496
497Translations by AsianHobbyist Website.
498The 1st squad, ‘Brave Heart’, led by the King Leonhart, is stationed at the middle of the castle walls.
499
500The 2nd squad, ‘Tempest’, led by general Emilia was stationed at the back as reinforcement. The main force, the cavalry squad, are to stand-by by the gate until the order to charge is given. However, a group of archers and magicians were stationed in defense towers to use long range abilities.
501
502The one leading the 3rd squad, ‘Rampage’, is the general called Gezenbul. I have absolutely no idea what kind of a person he is but this squad was here first, strengthening the defense of the fort. And like that, their positions were set to be the left and right sides of the castle walls.
503
504It seems this squad is formed with races other than human and elf. Their main force is infantry but seeing how most of the flying horse knights and griffin knights are assigned to Rampage, they are also in charge of protecting the skies.
505
506And then us, the 4th squad, ‘Gladiators’, are stationed at the edges. We were divided to defend the precipitous cliffs and I was at the north end.
507
508Once war breaks out, fierce fighting will take place at all the locations but the center will probably be the most chaotic. As such, the general rule in everyone’s head is—if you want to play an active role, go to the center.
509
510And since we, the ‘Element Masters’, have the authority to act on our own accord, we are free to move to a different location.
511
512Of course, the same goes for Farkius. In other words, it can also be said that this guy came here out of his own will.
513
514“We’re fine here.”
515
516It’s not like we are being particular about this place but I have decided that we would stay here for now. I thought we might get in the way of the perfectly ordered ‘Brave Heart’ if we were to go all out in the middle from the start. Of course, I do plan on going there if it looks rough but if it looks fine, I intend on leaving it to them. I don’t think that I have to protect everything.
517
518“Is that so? Then I wonder if I should stay here too.”
519“…Do as you please.”
520
521“Thanks, you’re kind, huh?”
522
523No, not really. Nell’s behavior is what you would call real kindness.
524
525Even such a cliche line sounds cool when he says it with that fresh smile. I feel kinda annoyed.
526
527“But do keep some distance when we’re fighting.”
528
529“I wanted to protect your back. Can’t I?”
530
531“Sorry but that’s already reserved.”
532
533I grabbed Lily and held her up like a kitten to block off Farkius’ alluring gaze. Lily was in intimidation mode and the effect was outstanding.
534
535“Mm, you can go fight over there.”
536
537“Ahaha, I guess this is my loss, little fairy.”
538
539That’s right. Since the day I’ve come to Pandora, it has been Lily’s role to protect my back. I feel nostalgic when I think back on those times when we subjugated cave goblins.
540“Besides, it’s dangerous for you to stay near me.”
541
542“I can fight even beside a mad warrior with a cursed weapon so it’s fine.”
543
544“Are you familiar with friendly fire?”
545
546We plan on fighting with the most fundamental formation of the Element Master. Lily and I will be the vanguard while Fiona is the rear guard.
547
548Although the strength of her flame magic is excellent, it also has a surprisingly high chance of misfires so it’s like a double-edged sword. Lily and I will be fine but I am not sure about anyone else.
549
550“You will be caught up by flames from behind.”
551
552“Yes, you will be caught up.”
553
554Fiona said with a straight face, as if she had no intention of being careful.
555
556“It’s dangerous so please stay away.”
557
558“Hmm, I see, I will be careful.”
559
560Even Farkius couldn’t deny this. Well, at least with this, he won’t be carelessly coming close.
561
562“Ah, right, Fiona, don’t go breaking the wall, alright?”
563
564“I will do my best.”
565
566“Also pay attention to your allies’ movements.”
567
568Translations by AsianHobbyist .com Website. Stop reading at pirate sites that steals translations. Check novelupdates. com for legit fan translations
569“I will take that into consideration.”
570
571Yep, I will just assume it will be fine.
572
573“However, is it really okay for Farkius to be here? I can’t see the other soldiers.”
574
575By the other soldiers, she means the other soldiers who have the authority to act independently.
576
577At the right side, there were soldiers from the Rampage squad. And on the left, none of the people who were given the authority could be spotted.
578
579“There’s no problem in terms of the allotment of strength. On the right side, there’s Aiku and I have also left my squad members there as well. And on this side, I am here.”
580
581I felt like he was indicating that he himself is as strong as his whole squad. Farkius was very casual in his behavior but it looks like he has absolute confidence in his ability.
582
583“And I have also heard the ‘Yomi’ and ‘Blade Ranger’ went to the middle at the start too. And I don’t really know about the people who went solo myself.”
584
585I guess he wouldn’t be aware of the movements of all the people who received the authority. Although one would stand out if they move in a party, they wouldn’t if they act alone.
586
587By the way, ‘Yomi’ and ‘Blade Ranger’ are two adventurer parties who received the authority together with us. Both are rank 5. In terms of adventurer history, they are decades older than us, making them our senpais.
588
589Yomi is a 4-man party consisting only swordswomen and they have received their name directly from one of the black Gods, “Master swordsman Yomi”. They are a group of capable swordswoman who are not really showy in appearance.
590
591The leader was an old woman with a long sword. The other 3 had full head helmets on. The only one I can definitely say is beautiful was the one wearing the Lamia helmet. She had dark brown skin and reddish brown scales which looked quite different from Aten. I felt that there can be many differences even in the same race all over again.
592
593And the other party, the ‘Blade Rangers’, was consisted of rangers, just as their name indicated. Yep, a squadron with 5 members of 5 different colors.
594
595The leader, Red Sword, was a young man with red hair and a red muffler on. I am sure he’s a passionate young man with a strong sense of justice.
596
597The sub-leader, Blue spear, was a young elf with blue hair and a blue muffler on. There’s no mistaking that he probably has a cool personality and is in-charge of holding down the passionate red.
598
599Although he didn’t have yellow hair, the 3rd member was a cyclops giant with a yellow muffler on and was called the Yellow Axe. I am not sure if he likes curry or not. I haven’t seen curry in this world to begin with. I am secretly wishing Red Wing can develop it.
600
601Translations by AsianHobbyist Website.
602Instead of green hair, the 4th member was a goblin with green body and was called the Green Knife. Of course, he also had a green muffler on. Although you can’t really tell a goblin’s age from their face, he’s probably the youngest. Thinking in terms of the setting.
603
604And the lone woman in the group, Pink Arrow’s race is unknown. One can tell she’s a woman from her assassin/bandit like full-body suit. However, because of her full-face helmet, her face couldn’t be seen. And of course, both the suit and the helmet were dazzlingly shocking pink.
605
606When they are all lined up, the pink one looks most like a hero. From Red to Green, they had different equipment on like adventurers and only had the same type of muffler.
607
608The Red feels like another foreigner like me but… while I am curious, I decided to look up on that after the war. After this war, I will be investigating on the Blade Rangers’ secrets.
609
610“Although, we don’t really know if the enemy will last by the time our turn comes up.”
611
612“Farkius, don’t underestimate the Crusaders.”
613
614“Fufu, you seem to be quite cautious. I am well aware of Spada army’s strength and most importantly, I believe in my strength. Especially now, when I have someone I love, I don’t feel like I will lose.”
615
616Rather than self-conciet, I felt Farkius’ eyes had this color which reflected his belligerent attitude—his desire to release all his overflowing strength from the bottom of his soul.
617
618But still, this guy has a lover? That is a relief. What a relief. His partner is probably some extraordinary beauty but even still, I can bless them from the bottom of my heart without any jealousy. Be happy forever.
619
620Then you should work even harder to protect that person, huh?”
621
622“Yep, I will definitely protect them.”
623I could finally think of Farkius’ smile as beautiful as he answered reassuringly. Fighting for love—that’s quite a cool motive.
624
625“Kurono, the Crusaders’ army has become visible.”
626
627As I quietly turned to face towards the direction Fiona had pointed, I could definitely spot the large white army closing in.
628
629Thinking that it’s finally time, I let Lily down and stood facing the enemy as they marched with momentum. And the Spada army lined up here was also making a small commotion seeing the enemy right in front.
630
631“…They really are removing the snow with Doltos.”
632
633After they came this close, finally the rumored Doltos could be seen.
634
635The Doltos looked like a white bulldozer. They were easily pushing aside the piled up snow on the mountain road and were slowly making their way here.
636
637With the help of modding, I could see their soldiers on top of mammoths even without a strengthening magic on my eyes.
638
639Their white robes with hoods on looked somewhat different from the Crusader soldiers I remember. They are probably the monster-users of the Crusader army. I guess calling them ‘tamer’ would be more appropriate, seeing how they are handling the monster as is without summoning.
640
641Behind the forceful Doltos squad was the fire magician squad, wearing red robes. Although they weren’t using powerful flame magic from their staff, they were probably using heat magic to melt the snow.
642
643Strangely enough, the snow pushed aside by the Doltos was not piling up. By melting the snow which was pushed aside, they were getting rid of the obstacle.
644And behind them were the unpleasant white troops which we faced half a year ago on Alsace’s river beach.
645
646Even today, they had numerous flags with the cross, fluttering in the strong wind. Underneath those flags were the troops wearing white surcoats, equipped with long spears. They looked like white ants from here, making me want to instantly crush them.
647
648“Hmm, that’s weird. This is different from what I heard.”
649
650While I glared at them with bloodlust, Farkius said in a somewhat stale voice.
651
652When I looked at him with a side glance, his beautiful face had a wry expression on, looking like he as if he was drafting up a plan or something. It doesn’t seem like he was overwhelmed by the Crusaders’ numbers.
653
654“What is it?”
655
656“I had heard that the Crusaders’ was formed with only humans but—”
657
658The source of that info is me. To be more precise, the Element Masters and Shimon—the survivors of Daidaros.
659
660Well, the Spada army has also researched on the Crusaders as they built a nest in Daidaros. And of course, naturally, all the Spada soldiers including the adventurers were told that the Crusaders consisted only of humans.
661
662“The ones lined up there aren’t human, no matter how I look at it.”
663
664Farkius was pointing at ‘them’.
665
666A squad line, similar to the familiar Crusader squad.
667
668They were wearing similar robes as the Tamers and when looked closely, their sizes differed from the human soldiers who were beside them.
669
670Especially the cyclops, golems, minotaurs’ big bodies stood out. If one pays attention, they can notice the goblins’ small bodies mixed with them as well.
671
672“….What, are they…”
673
674Even I, who had fought with the Crusaders before, could not understand right away.
675
676This is weird. To them, who believe in the Cross, think that any race other than human is demonic. There’s no way they can be joining the fight as fellow Crusaders. In the first place, there shouldn’t be any other races in Sinclair republic.
677
678However, it was Farkius himself who easily gave an answer to this rising doubt.
679
680“Hmm, there’s no doubt about it. They are people from Daidaros.”
681
682Before I could ask ‘what do you mean?’, Fiona answered this time.
683
684Translations by AsianHobbyist .com Website. Stop reading at pirate sites that steals translations. Check novelupdates. com for legit fan translations
685“Kurono-san, they are probably war slaves.”
686
687War slaves.
688
689“Don’t tell me, they are enlisting the people of Daidaros and are going to use them as meat shields?!”
690
691“If it was a priest, they would never walk alongside demons but… if they are lead by Sinclair’s nobles, then it is possible.”
692
693It is said the war slave system was frequently seen in use by the Sinclair republic when they were subjugating the west half of Ark continent.
694
695In short, it’s a system where they make the believers of a different religion into war slaves and use them as disposable force.
696
697Their logic is that they are doing what must be done to bring the heretics to the right religion.
698
699A shitty logic.
700
701And because of that, the heretics were called ‘second class citizens’ and were clearly treated as lower beings.
702
703“Even though they are demons, they can be understood. And so, they are probably using them in the same way as they used the heretics.”
704
705In other words, they are using the demons’ families or something as hostage to make them participate in the war. Although words have no meaning towards a wild monster, they do work against demons who understand human language. And so they can be threatened similarly as well.
706
707Fiona continued, saying that if it’s the Sinclair nobles who have fought against the heretics, they are probably well aware of that method.
708
709“Wait, then, we are—”
710
711“Yes, we will probably have to fight against the sacrificial war slaves—the Daidaros people who have become slaves.”
712
713A particularly strong wind blew across the valley. And with that sudden gust, the white robes of the war slaves were taken off.
714
715And what lied there was a strong-faced orc and a lizardman. And as I thought, the small shadows belonged to the goblins.
716
717Elf or dwarf—being which are more similar to humans couldn’t be seen. I can’t help but think that the races which are further away from humans were intentionally picked.
718
719“D-don’t joke around with me… I.. I have come this far, to kill the Crusaders…”
720
721Why do I have to fight against the people of Daidaros who have done nothing wrong? For what purpose am I dying my hand with blood then?
722
723“No, Kurono. They are also ‘Crusaders’.”
724
725Translations by AsianHobbyist Website.
726Fiona declared, looking into my face. There was no hesitation in her golden eyes.
727
728“….Kurono, here they come.”
729
730Lily said with an expressionless face, again standing on the castle wall edge. Sound of trumpets came along a gust of wind from underneath. In front of me, the Crusaders slowly marched forward, making high-pitched noises with their trumpets.
731
732Although it is quite a spectacle—seeing countless people wriggling just below, I felt a chill run down my spine as the war slaves were pushed forward.
733
734Their white robes looked like prison uniform. They are slaves, criminals who might rebel. And as such, they were probably not given any weapon. They didn’t have any sword or spear with them—not even a small knife.
735
736Instead, what they were given was a large ladder to climb the 15 meter castle wall. The reason why they were also carrying fat pillars and large boulders was probably to use them as a base for the ladder.
737
738The defenseless war slaves were put up against the impregnable Galahad fort.
739
740And then, suddenly, the trumpet was blown, indicating the signal to ‘charge’.
741
742“Damn it….”
743
744And like this, the fight had started.
745
746Month of Gloom, day 16. Early morning. 5th Galahad war—begins.
747
748Interrogation of the 4 assassin groups began at morning.
749Of course, we did it underground. They were probably trembling in fear since they weren’t able to tell the time there.
750
751It will probably reek of blood so I told Eli and Iris to stay upstairs.
752
753…..But… they still came.
754
755As such, I began the interrogation with the 3 of them, including Rahsa.
756
757“Now then, why are you assassins after Kururi again?”
758
759Iris was the first to ask a question. The 10 assassins were tied to chairs. None of them took the initiative to open their mouth.
760
761Again, eh? I have had assassins after me before too. And those guys had a splendid job turnover after failing to assassinate me. They are working as a chivalrous thief group at the capital now. In fact, they also have a fan club.
762
763“Oi, talk.”
764
765The eldest son in Spunky Diamonds smacked the assassin at left. And immediately, they started talking meekly, unlike when Iris asked.
766
767“I am sorry. We were hired by the Dartanel family.”
768
769To think he would even spill his employer’s name so easily, how obedient.
770“Again with the Dartanel?! It seems their fate with you is still continuing.”
771
772What fate? I don’t know what you’re talking about.
773
774Exactly what happened in the past for them to send assassins the moment I get back?
775
776Although it seemed like he had a stomach ache when he saw me at the capital… Was that the current head’s son?
777
778“We had kidnapped the current head of Dartanel family and took away all his belongings at hand the other day as an activity of the chivalrous thieves.”
779
780Seeing us perplexed hearing the Dartanel family’s name, the elder son of Spunkymond started explaining. Spunkymond…. I ended up shortening it. Will I end up getting close to them like this? It is worrying.
781
782“It seems there was proof of an illegal deal with him at that time. Thinking that it will be bad if that comes to light, they probably sent assassins right away.”
783
784“And that’s you three, eh?”
785
786I gazed at the 3 at the left. it seems they were more or less strong but not a match for the Spunkymond.
787
788“Even still, you’re being quite obedient, huh? What exactly happened last night?”
789
790“Well, it’s that.”
791
792The 2nd son of Spunkymond answered with a smile.
793
794“I am good at stuff like this, you see. I let them know, thoroughly. The difference between us, that is. And our position as the Spunkymonds. And at the end, about the person standing above us. Yes, about master Kururi. I courteously taught them these.”
795
796Where exactly am I standing then? Also you call yourselves Spunkymonds as well, eh?
797
798“Since humans are smart creatures, when we are done, they understand that they can’t really go against the top. These guys only understood that instinctively. The ones who stand above them are their noble employers at the capital. However, we, the Spunkymonds, can rampage without caring about their authority. Instead of the nobles at the capital, we are at the top of the pyramid. And it’s master Kururi who rules over us. They have a vivid image in their heads of who exactly is at the top of the food chain.”
799
800Stop it~ Don’t brainwash them~ Top of the food chain? I don’t go around eating people. I would just be getting diarrhea if I eat those fat nobles.
801
802“W-well, I guess that’s fine. Next. Who were the next 3 hired by?”
803
804“We have come from Ammirale kingdom. Our employer is the strong family, Salman, from the south.”
805
806Yep, there it is! The impossible other country threat!
807
808Ammirale kingdom is that one, isn’t it? The one where my former school friend princess Chrossy rules and whom Vain followed?
809
810Why a group of assassins from there?
811
812“Did you say Salman? Why would he send assassins after me?”
813
814“He did say something about having animosity towards you from before but he said the main reason is that your existence will become an obstacle when he advances onto Kudan kingdom. I am sorry, I do not know the details.”
815
816Yep, there it is again! Another enmity I have no recollection of! You can’t really clear off debts of the past easily, huh?”
817
818“Advance, you say?! This isn’t just a matter of Aniki anymore.”
819
820It had turned into something that the royalty Rahsa couldn’t ignore. Is an influential person of another country trying to pose threat to ours? Then it’s a serious matter.
821
822“It seems that also has a connection with the Dartanel family.”
823
824The three sons of Spunkymond said.
825
826“You had the proof of an important deal, was it? Did you bring that to Helan territory?”
827
828“We are bringing it here as we speak. You will be able to see something quite interesting later.”
829
830I keep getting surprised by the Spunkymond’s work. Aren’t you guys working a bit too much?
831
832“Dartanel family thinks I have gotten hold of a proof of an illegal deal. Salman thinks I will be an eyesore when he advances onto Kudan. On top of that, he seems to have a connection with Dartanel family.”
833
834For now, I tried summing it up.
835
836The eyesore part really irritates me. I have nothing to do with that, do I? I could have seen their point if they sent an assassin after an important person of the country, like prince Arch. Please send one.
837
838Translations by AsianHobbyist .com Website. Stop reading at pirate sites that steals translations. Check novelupdates. com for legit fan translations
839Well, putting that aside, as we have to wait for the Spunkymonds’ proof, let’s get on to the next two. Exactly who else is out there hating me?
840
841“Then, the next group. Who is your employer?”
842
843They promptly started answering my question. Glad the brainwashing is working so well.
844
845“We are assassins sent by the Talon family who govern the harbor city. It seems that there was an increase in pirates lately, causing them problems in business. While searching for the reason behind this, it seems your name popped up.”
846
847“No, no, no, I don’t have any connection with the pirates. Definitely not.”
848
849I glanced at Iris and Eli’s face and they too were in confusion. Rahsa also looked like he didn’t know what this guy was talking about.
850
851I have confidence in this. It’s not like I lost my memory or something. I am innocent!
852
853“It seems that is not the case. The pirate captain seems to have received a prophecy. ‘Kururi Helan is the source of power. Divide the assets taken from Talon family into three. Use one portion for yourselves. Use one for the citizen. And give the last to Kururi Helan when you meet him. If you protect these rules, everything will surely go well.’”
854
855Rahsa and Iris’ gaze was hurtful. I don’t know anything about this!
856
857I have no connection with the pirates.
858
859“They say that the pirates have stored up quite a lot already.”
860
861And that’s all for me?! No, no, no, I can’t accept it. Really. Really….
862
863“It seems the Talon family has decided to get rid of you, the cause of the problem, rather than fight with the pirates who have gotten stronger. Such was the setting behind sending us.”
864
865What a nuisance to people!
866
867I am completely innocent regarding this. What is this source of power? I don’t know of it!
868
869“Next! You’re the last. Why did you come here?”
870
871I closed in on the final assassin a little roughly than the others. It’s just me venting my anger.
872
873“I am an assassin from a different country. It’s a small country called Pursur where fortune-telling is very popular.”
874
875“Well? Why is such a country which I never heard of coming after me?!”
876
877“Ah, yes. Our country values the Kudan kingdom’s state of affairs very highly. And we have hugely relied on fortune telling to know of it but it has stopped working from a certain time.”
878
879“And that’s my fault?! Ehh?! What?! I don’t know anything about that. I have never even done any fortune telling!!”
880
881The interrogation continued. I am completely venting my anger at this point. I was so close to the guy that our foreheads would clash any moment.
882
883“Well, you could say you’re the source… From a certain point, when we tried predicting Kudan kingdom’s situation, your face started coming up. Your angry face, stupid face, and even sleeping face. Your grinning face has quite a bad reputation.”
884
885“What?! Is that really my fault?! Isn’t that the fortune teller’s fault?!”
886
887“No, no. Our country’s fortune telling is really amazing. There are a ton of amazing fortune tellers. However, no matter who does it, your face comes up. I am also somewhat good at it and your face comes up even when I do it. It was a close-up of your nostril but I could tell it was you from your hair color.
888
889“Stop getting close-ups of my nostril!!”
890
891That’s probably not where I should be biting into but oh well.
892
893I am definitely not at fault for the pirates and the fortune telling. Definitely not.
894
895“I mean, you did get rid of the hundreds of years long curse over Helan territory. Something weird might be happening to your body.”
896
897Translations by AsianHobbyist Website.
898Iris was weirdly convinced, for some reason. Stop it, stop it, please. Let me stay in the human side.
899
900“Ah, that reminds me, that other time, something interesting happened. Kururi was drinking water from a glass but before I knew it, the contents of the glass turned to grape juice. He himself didn’t notice and I wondered if I saw wrong as well. But it really was grape juice. This person is quite strange.”
901
902Here comes the assurance from Eli! Water turned to grape juice?! What kind of a miracle is that?!
903
904“The moment Aniki touched my shoulders, my stiffness in them…”
905
906That’s definitely a lie. Rahsa, you… you’re just piling it up now, aren’t you?
907
908“Ah—yes, that definitely happened!”
909
910“Me too!”
911
912Are you for real now?! Iris and Eli too?!
913
914“In other words, it is probably like this. As a result of you destroying the curse, you probably got a hold of inhumane powers. The people who try to cause harm to this country are bothered by your existence and the fortune telling of this country is blocked by your strange power. However, it is also probably your strange power’s characteristic to abuse it like with the pirates. What is this?! Aniki, are you okay?!”
915
916Rahsa said it himself but then was lost again. Now even I am confused.
917
918“I think I am okay…”
919
920“For now, try turning water into grape juice again!”
921
922Iris seems to be having fun too so I guess I am okay.
923
924And like that, when the interrogation ended in the afternoon, we performed an experiment to see if I can turn water into grape juice.
925
926They were more excited than I expected and I got goosebumps when it actually turned into grape juice. Wait a minute… I might be going down a very weird road.
927
928Ah, by the way, the 10 assassins became my new servants. I wonder if there are other nobles who have this many assassins under them? If they don’t, then their reputation isn’t really that high, is it? That’s what’s been bothering me these days.
929
930It’s within one of the second-floor rooms that a certain Count Malta was lost in thought. Due to the damages, the Bordeaux mansion suffered from the magic beasts, the man was forced to reside in this miserable place. Not only were the main clientele of this inn adventurers, merchants, and travellers; the damn place was a pig’s den in terms of standard.
931
932His current residence has only one bed, one table and a couple of chairs. There are no ornaments, no decorative furniture; not even a simple bed stand. Not to mention the excessive creaking from the damn floors from just walking! A hell hole like this wasn’t appropriate for someone of Malta’s prestige.
933
934Count Malta roars, griping the table in front of him and flipping it over. Empty bottles smash against the wooden floor. He turns to point at Charlotte who is still sitting in her chair.
935
936“Why is Helvetica still alive?” he yells. His hands are shaking with fury, his cheeks steaming with heat. “You had one job! Just one! And that was to make sure the skank was dead!”
937
938Charlotte growls. She crosses her arms defensively. “Don’t you start yelling at me! How was I supposed to know there were adventurers at the mansion?!”
939
940“Y-You damn—”
941
942Byaku calmly watches the argument between the two from across the room. Leaning against a wall, he yawns, slipping a hand into his pocket.
943
944“Shut up Malta,” the boy says, his tone bored and emotionless. “Or do you plan to yell your plan to the whole world?”
945
946“H-How dare you!” Malta fumed. He storms across the room and pokes his finger at the boy. “Do not forget your place boy! You both work for me! I demand that you both show some respect!”
947
948“‘Do not forget my place’ was it?” Byaku asks curiously, placing his hand on the Count’s shoulder. The boy’s cold and calculating crimson eyes pierce into Malta’s. “Is that how nobles talk to their business partners?”
949
950Malta freezes for what felt like an eternity. A cold shiver goes down his spine. Growling, he ignores the sensation, smacking Byaku’s hand away. He was after all dealing with a child.
951
952“Bah! What’s the use of being allied with Solomon? Each and every one of you is useless!”
953
954At his words, Charlotte’s face grew stormy. It takes all her will to sit still and remain silent. Count Malta starts to pace back and forth.
955
956“Sasha is incompetent when it comes to politics. Selen is smart and has potential, but right now she is too naive. Neither of them can replace Helvetica. She just needed to die…”
957
958It would have been so simple. The city in disarray, overrun and on the brink of being destroyed. Malta would save everyone and be welcomed as a hero. With poor Helvetica unfortunately killed by the magic beasts, the city would look to him for guidance. After that, he would benevolently give some power to his allies, and finally, the Bordeaux territory would be his. And if it was necessary:
959
960Selen and Sasha could be taken care off afterward.
961
962Getting rid of political enemies was the norm among the nobles of the Capital. If someone with power used the pretext of wanting to imprison or censor another person…well, accidents were bound to happen.
963
964But all his efforts were in vain. The nobles who support Malta cannot make their moves if Helvetica remains in power. Worst-case scenario, after the news gets out of her survival there’s a possibility that his allies will turn on him, and ally with the Bordeaux household.
965
966Count Malta curses aloud.
967
968“Damn it all! This can’t be happening! Not to me! You’re incompetent, the lot of you!”
969
970Byaku raises a questioning eyebrow. “We advised you to wait patiently. Without those S Rank adventurers, our plan would have been successful. So may I ask, who is incompetent again?”
971
972The Count’s face turns so red that it looks like it’s going to explode. He struggles to catch his breath, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Growling, the Count takes a bottle of wine by the door and chugs it down. Drops of the red liquid escape from the corner of his lips and trails down his neck.
973
974The fact that they have no choice but to cooperate with such a despicable man makes Byaku furious.
975
976“It’s not over yet,” Charlotte says, everyone turning to face her. They stare at her like she grew another head, to which the girl just sighs. “It’ll all work out if we kill Helvetica, won’t it?”
977
978Malta pauses. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.
979
980“That is…true.”
981
982It takes a while to click, but eventually, he sees what the girl is implying. He puts the bottle down, a grin slowly coming to life on his face.
983“Wouldn’t it be such a shame if Lady Helvetica is attacked again tonight,” His eyes gleam. A mad grin threatens to split his face.
984
985Byaku looks at Malta with a cold expression. The boy was disgusted by the absolute greed of the man. Much less his lack of ability to know when he is at fault. The boy lets Malta to his mad ramblings, leaving the room quietly. Charlotte follows suit.
986
987Outside, the inn is lively and noisy. The adventurers celebrate in the tavern on the first floor.
988
989“I’ll tell yah what. Those harmless looking girls? They truly live to their reputation as S-Rank alright!”
990
991A chorus of cheers and agreements soar through the air. “Damn right they are! So drink while you can lads…oh, and ladies, can’t forget about them now can—Oi! Stop throwing forks at me! I’m doing a speech here!”
992
993“Get off the stage yah drunken idiot!”
994
995A chorus of laughs erupt.
996
997Charlotte looks downtrodden as she listened from the shadow of the stairs. “…They should be talking about Solomon’s miracle.”
998
999Byaku halts. He turns around to look at the girl. “It’s useless to worry about that. These people have their own miracles and doctrines.”
1000
1001“You mean the Vienna Doctrine? Hmm…That’s stupid.”
1002
1003Charlotte grinds her teeth in annoyance. She remembers Helvetica’s face clearly, despite only having a short glance. Who could forget the attention she commanded when she appeared?
1004
1005“I. Hate. All of them.” the girl growls. Charlotte looks to Byaku, her eyes reflecting her will. “We need to create a scene. I’ll leave killing Helvetica to you, Byaku.”
1006
1007Byaku closes his eyes without saying anything.
1008
1009○
1010
1011The scene is almost unbearable. The carcasses of the undead, the strong odor of rottenness, and the fact that the corpses were originally human do not help much when cleaning the mansion.
1012
1013However, the servants and guards of Bordeaux were resilient and good people.
1014
1015They cleaned up the remains of the undead, gathered the bodies of the fallen guards in a suitable place and dedicate some prayers to them. They do all this in silence, in the span of one night.
1016
1017By now it was very late into the night.
1018
1019Helvetica and a few others are discussing some issues in another room.
1020
1021Angeline is fast asleep. The moment her body hits the bed the room is filled with snores.
1022
1023Anessa and Miriam brought a couple of chairs to the room to watch over their companion’s rest. But the late-night and the tiring events of the day soon catch up to the girls, as they soon found themselves in the land of dreams.
1024
1025Belgriff managed to recuperate in the same room. He lets out a sigh of relief. His whole body is sore, his joints creaking and muscles practically screaming at him to rest. Although it was an inevitable situation, he might have pushed himself just a bit too hard.
1026
1027If he decided to lay down in bed, he’s sure his body will refuse to get back up. That’s why he’s also afraid to fall asleep. He’s afraid that if he does, he won’t wake up again.
1028
1029Belgriff instead opts to sit by the window, looking out into the peaceful night. The moon was beautiful in the sky, a gentle smile graces the old adventurer’s lips.
1030
1031Then someone knocks on the door. The spell breaks for Belgriff, as his head snaps to the bedroom door. “Come in.”
1032
1033The door opens, and Ashcroft pokes his head in. “Ah…sorry to disturb you Mr. Belgriff.”
1034
1035He quickly shuffles in, closing the door quietly. Ashcroft looks at the girls asleep in bed.
1036
1037“How’s Angeline’s condition…?”
1038
1039“She’s just asleep. She’ll recover completely after a good night’s rest.”
1040
1041“I’m glad to hear that…you all fought to keep the Bordeaux territory safe. I can’t thank you enough.”
1042
1043“You’re giving us too much credit. The town adventurers also fought well.”
1044
1045“No Mr. Belgriff, you don’t understand. If you hadn’t returned to the mansion. Lady Helvetica, Lady Selen, everyone…we would all have…”
1046
1047Ashcroft is unable to say it. The thought alone scares him. Belgriff realises this and places a gentle hand on his shoulders. “It’s alright. I was glad to help.”
1048
1049The butler’s eyes widen. He gazed upon the older man’s peaceful expression, and a faint smile graces his lips.
1050
1051“R-Right,” Ashcroft nods. He pulls out a small bottle and offers it to Belgriff. “This…This is my way of saying thank you.”
1052
1053“Huh?”
1054
1055“This is an elixir from the Elves. There isn’t much, but it works very well on fatigue and wounds. It’s even better than the healing potions from the Capital.”
1056
1057Elven elixirs weren’t only just a rare sight everywhere. The price was almost unimaginable. Only a few high-ranking adventurers and nobles even know of its existence, let alone have seen one.
1058
1059Ashcroft had saved this elixir for a time of great crisis.
1060
1061Knowing the weight that the item carried, Belgriff shakes his head, clamping Ashcroft’s hand closed.
1062
1063“Something like this is too costly…my wounds will heal with a little rest. Please save it for an emergency.”
1064
1065“I can’t. I would like you to have it. I don’t think it’s enough to thank you for everything you have done. But it’s the most sincere way I can thank you.”
1066
1067Belgriff stops and thinks. This item was too much for him, let alone as just a thank you gift. But with Ashcroft being so sincere, it would be spitting him in the face if he didn’t accept his gift.
1068
1069“Is that so…” says Belgriff as he scratches his cheek. “Thank you, Sir Ashcroft. I’ll be honoured to accept your gift.”
1070
1071Ashcroft’s expression relaxes, and he lets out the breath he hadn’t realised he was holding. He had feared that the old adventurer would refuse his gift. A smile of relief appears on the butler’s face. Then he bows his head low and leaves the room.
1072
1073The room is quiet. Anessa and Miriam are completely asleep in bed. Angeline continues to snore loudly.
1074
1075Belgriff grabs the bottle and looks at the liquid it contains. It looks pretty thick and with the bottle being blue, it was quite difficult to see it’s colour. He opens the lid and smells the contents. The old adventurer expected the liquid to have a strong medicine like smell, but is relieved to actually find it refreshing and somewhat nostalgic. Its aroma was like the pleasant smell of the forest, and just by the smell, Belgriff already feels his fatigue dying away.
1076
1077At that moment, Angeline begins to murmur in her sleep. Curious, Belgriff approaches the bed. Angeline tosses and turns, her face distorts…like she was in pain.
1078
1079Belgriff slowly reaches out his hand and rests it at Angeline’s forehead.
1080
1081No fever.
1082
1083Like a spell, Angeline’s expression relaxes upon his touch. Belgriff looks at the elixir in his hand.
1084
1085“This is a precious thing…but….”
1086
1087Belgriff shakes his head. Gently he tilts the bottle and lets a drop of the elixir fall into Angeline’s mouth.
1088
1089Her eyebrows furrow, and a moan escapes. Belgriff wonders if the elixir has a bitter taste, but the effect is immediate. His daughter’s complexion improves visibly and her expression relaxes completely. She soon buries herself in the quilts, like a cocoon.
1090
1091‘The effect is incredible. Thank you Sir Ashcroft,’ Belgriff smiles, playfully ruffling Angeline’s hair.
1092
1093“…I don’t want to be bedridden either.”
1094
1095Belgriff drops an elixir drop on the back of his hand. The liquid is amber in color and its viscosity is similar to honey, but it is smoother than that. The old adventurer carries the back of his hand to his mouth and licks the drop. Contrary to what he imagined, the taste is insipid. But the delicate scent of grass reaches his nose.
1096
1097He immediately feels the pain and heaviness of his body disappear. It’s as if the elixir travels through his body with each beat of his heart. The heat returns to his hands and feet which until that moment have been very cold.
1098
1099A relieved sigh escapes the retired adventurer’s lips. “Ahhh…that feels great…”
1100
1101Belgriff places the bottle on the table, and leans completely on the chair and closes his eyes. It is as if the tiredness had waited for this moment. However, in a corner of his mind, there is something that has not yet calmed down. In this state of semi-consciousness, Belgriff slips into the world of dreams.
1102
1103It’s incredibly comfortable.
1104
1105○
1106
1107Sasha moves through the house without a sound. She throws on her brown cloak and secures her beloved sword tightly by her waist. The explicit orders from her sister were still clear and focussed in her head.
1108
1109Keep an eye on Count Malta.
1110
1111The Count is said to be on the second floor of a common inn. There is no way that man will deign to participate in the night watch.
1112
1113Sasha has no intention of forgiving the rapacious man. He who hates the Bordeaux Family and despises the common folk.
1114
1115She double checks that her scabbard was tight, and lets out a tired sigh. Her fingers hover around the hilt of her sword.
1116
1117‘I know I shouldn’t kill him. But I could probably get away with breaking an arm or two…or maybe three, right?’, Sasha thinks to herself. She pauses and tilts her head. “Wait… He doesn’t have three arms!”
1118
1119She snorts and giggles quietly to herself. Remembering she was alone, she blushes and clears her throat before leaving the room.
1120
1121The Bordeaux mansion is a short distance from the city. The house itself is a building worthy of a nobleman, but its surroundings look like the land of hardworking farmers.
1122
1123With a lamp in one hand, Sasha arrives at the barn on the outskirts of the garden. She makes her way to her horse, gently patting it. It nudges its head into hers and Sasha giggles. It doesn’t take her long to slip the saddle on, securing it tightly.
1124
1125“Hyah,” she gallops the horse into the night, lighting her way with her lantern.
1126
1127Above Sasha, a cloud looms, slowly covering the moon and stars. Sasha rides quickly, getting a sinking feeling in her stomach that something was wrong. It was halfway on her journey she crosses paths with two people.
1128
1129Sasha reigns in her horse immediately. “Halt!”
1130
1131With her lantern out, Sasha shines it on the two people, illuminating them.
1132
1133“My name is Sasha Bordeaux. State your…oh! Pardon me. You are the one who vanquished those dark creatures earlier, aren’t you?”
1134
1135Charlotte courtesies, letting out an adorable smile. “It’s an honor to be remembered by someone like you, my Lady.”
1136
1137Sasha smiles and waves it off. “There is no way I can forget the person who has helped us so much. If I may ask, what are you doing here so late?”
1138
1139“I thought I should visit Lady Helvetica. I overheard that the mansion was going to be attacked, and that worried me quite a bit. I hurried to come even though it was so late,” Charlotte says innocently.
1140
1141Sasha pauses. She peers at the girl’s companion, a boy roughly the same age as Charlotte. He was mostly hidden with his cloak, but he kept his head low and out of the light.
1142
1143“I see,” Sasha states. “Well, there seems to be a mistake. I just left the mansion and can assure you that no attack will come tonight, Miss…Charlotte, wasn’t it?”
1144
1145“Yup.”
1146
1147““Right…Miss Charlotte...So I’m sorry to have wasted your night like this, but you may return to town now. I’m just on my way there myself and can accompany you if you wish.”
1148
1149“I’m sorry Lady Sasha, I cannot do that,” Charlotte shakes her head. “There is still the possibility of an attack, so I must see Lady Helvetica.”
1150
1151Sasha’s eyes narrow. Why was the girl being so stubborn? Come to think of it, it’s true that she’s the one who killed the magic beasts. But it’s also a little unusual that she so happened to be working for Count Malta. Sasha slips off her horse without breaking her friendly attitude.
1152
1153“It’s a welcomed offer. However, our people are still very busy, and we haven’t finished cleaning the mansion. We are not in a position to be welcoming new guests.”
1154
1155“Don’t worry. I’m a traveler so I don’t mind a little dirt.”
1156
1157Sasha pauses. “I’m sorry, but the prestige of our Family is also at stake… Besides, it’s not long before dawn and it’s been a very long and tiring night for everybody. I hope you understand.”
1158
1159Smiling, Sasha’s fingers subconsciously slip to her sword hilt.
1160
1161Perhaps this girl was even more dangerous than Count Malta. The girl’s attitude and words are delicate and elegant. But it was far too buttery.
1162
1163Sasha may not be as intelligent or educated as Selen and Helvetica, but she has the intuition she has cultivated for years as an adventurer. She has seen her own share of fools that believe a few flowery words could get them anything they want.
1164
1165“Actually Miss Charlotte,” Sasha says, pulling out her sword. “I apologise, but I would like for both you and your companion to come with—”
1166
1167But the moment Sasha draws her sword, a cold chill runs down her spine.
1168
1169Sasha’s instincts scream at her to move. She rolls to the side just as a loud explosion is heard. The ground where the swordswoman was only a second ago was shattered and torn.
1170Sasha’s horse panics, turns around and flees at full speed.
1171
1172“Byaku!” shouts Charlotte. “That wasn’t part of the plan!”
1173
1174“She wasn’t falling for it,” Byaku says simply, lowering his finger. “I’ll kill her quickly. Just keep out of it and we’ll be on our way in no time.”
1175
1176The hood on his head is thrown back and the boy’s raven black hair is out in the open for the world to see. The boy’s gaze falls on Sasha, his intimidating red eyes hold her still.
1177
1178“I ask that you stand down or I’ll be forced to retaliate!” Sasha demands, readying her sword.
1179
1180She sees Byaku points his finger at her, and she dives away once more. The place where she was once again shattered. She skids a couple of feet, gracefully rolling to her feet.
1181
1182“Damn it. Have it your way.”
1183
1184This wasn’t a favourable situation for Sasha. She has seen Charlotte’s power, and now she can’t even see this boy’s magic. That only left one option to possibly tip the scales…
1185
1186Sasha throws the lantern in her hand. Byaku’s simply raises his hand and an invisible force bats it aside. The object shatters on the ground, and the surroundings immediately turn to darkness.
1187
1188A foggy breath escapes from Sasha’s lips, her chest rising and falling in overdrive. Her heart pounds when she scans her dark surroundings. The swordswoman closes her eyes, taking calming deep breaths. She surrenders herself to her other senses, trusting it to guide her after years of honing and experience.
1189
1190At first, she can only hear the wind caressing the trees, the absolute dead silence of the night. But then she hears it. Two sets of footsteps barely making a sound against the ground; one extremely nervous and shuffling, the other striding with confidence.
1191
1192Sasha feels the intense magical aura approaching. She breaks into a cold sweat, quietly regripping her hold on her sword. She licks her lip and waits patiently. Her first strike cannot be rushed. It’ll decide her next strike, the one after, and so on, ultimately deciding the fight.
1193
1194She raises her sword as the presence moves closer. Her body itches to lash out.
1195
1196‘Now!’
1197
1198She kicks off the ground, lunging forward with a deadly strike. Her sword flies true, but at the last moment, something repels her attack. Despite not being able to see it, Sasha knows it is a Magic Bullet. The deflection had caused a ripple-like mirage; the telltale signs of the spell.
1199
1200Her eyes narrow, just starting to finally adjust to the night. Sasha swings her sword once more, once again feeling it being parried. She continues forward relentlessly, keeping her opponent on the defense. She can’t have the boy go on the offensive without knowing what his capabilities are. She can’t afford to be distracted for even a second, or she will die.
1201
1202The next time Sasha is blocked by the boy, she is sent reeling backward from the force. Falling to her knees, she crouches to catch her breath. She keeps her head down, sword loosely gripped for the boy to see.
1203
1204To Byaku, her guard was down.
1205
1206‘Just another step…closer.’
1207
1208Sasha grins triumphantly, grabbing a handful of dirt and throwing it into the boy’s face, blinding him. Byaku mutters an inaudible curse.
1209
1210Sasha takes this opportunity to bursts forward. With all her strength, she’ll finish this fight in one clean strike.
1211
1212‘I got you now!’, Sasha thinks triumphantly.
1213
1214But the sword stops in the air before it reaches Byaku’s body. A golden geometric pattern erupts to life, shielding the boy protectively.
1215
1216Sasha’s eyes widen.
1217
1218“Wha—”
1219
1220“You think I’ll fall to a petty trick like that?” Byaku growls.
1221
1222Suddenly, Sasha is flung to the side like a ragdoll. The unexpected blow is so strong that it sends Sasha careening into the air. She crashes heavily into the ground, skidding a few metres.
1223
1224“Argh!!” she cries out in pain, a solid crack sounding.
1225
1226A sharp pain screams from her left arm. Sasha peers at it, seeing it bent in an unnatural direction. It refuses to move. Groaning, she carefully rolls onto her back, taking in a sharp intake of breath. Near her, Sasha hears a set of footsteps stroll towards her. 
1227
1228‘I have to get up!’ Her mind screams. 
1229
1230Although her mind understands what she has to do, her body does not respond.
1231
1232Byaku appears above her and stomps his foot onto Sasha’s right arm. The young woman screams. and releases her blade. In the darkness, Sasha can feel the boy points his finger towards her head..
1233
1234‘Is this really the end?’ Sasha thinks, grinding her teeth. ‘What an unfortunate mess I made…I’ve failed you master…I’m sorry my dear Selen…Helvetica.’
1235
1236“Goodbye, Lady Sasha.”
1237
1238Sasha closes her eyes…and a barrage of Magic Bullets erupt from the darkness.
1239
1240Byaku’s eyes widen as he raises both his hands to disperse and deflect the oncoming attack.
1241Sasha takes this opportunity to roll to her feet and dash away. Seeing her trying to flee, Byaku launches a magical attack in Sasha’s direction, but she barely manages to duck, shattering the treeline behind her.
1242
1243Another flurry of magical bullets causes Byaku to curse and focus on defending once more.
1244
1245“Lady Sasha!”
1246
1247Sasha sees Ashcroft and Elmore come running along with a group of soldiers with lanterns in their hands.
1248
1249“Ash…Elmore, why are you—” she suddenly feels her legs give way, and for Ashcroft to catch her gently in his arms.
1250
1251“Your horse returned to the mansion without you. I figured something was afoot,” the butler quickly explains. He turns to the soldiers. “You three! Take Lady Sasha back to the mansion as fast as possible, she needs medical attention!”
1252
1253Watching his injured mistress struggle to stand made Ashcroft feel a deep boiling anger rise from within. Never before had he seen Sasha in such a state. A stormy gaze turns to stare down Byaku, who is emotionlessly matching his stare.
1254
1255“You…Don’t think you’ll get away with this!” Ashcroft kicks off from the ground, charging forward.
1256
1257Byaku steps back from the strike, but panics as the blade comes back a couple more times at faster speeds. The boy growls.
1258
1259“Your presence is unwanted, butler.”
1260
1261The boy flays his hands forward. Ashcroft doesn’t know what struck him, but he feels a heavy blow to his gut sending him sliding backward. He manages to keep upright, but a cough of blood slips out from his lips. Surprised, he continues to cough into his sleeve, his ribs groaning.
1262
1263“Definitely a broken rib or two,” Ashcroft curses. “Careful Guild Master, he’s more dangerous than he looks.”
1264
1265“I see…but how peculiar. I’ve never seen this kind of magic before…” Elmore says with a puzzled expression.
1266
1267Seeing the old Guild Master lost in thought, Byaku charges. Elmore quickly points a finger at him and sends a flurry of Magic Bullets, but the golden translucent geometric pattern appears once more.
1268
1269Byaku leaps into the air, raising his fist upon Elmore. “If all you’re going to do is cheap tricks old man, you can just die!”
1270
1271The Guild Master raises a questioning eyebrow. “Old age may be catching up to me…but I am far more than cheap.”
1272
1273Elmore raises his hand into the sky, instantly an intricate blue pattern comes to life. Byaku’s fist collides with it, and an exploding shockwave erupts, shaking the earth. The barrier remains strong.
1274
1275Byaku leaps back. But Elmore doesn’t give him time to rest, he sends another volley of magic bullets. The boy bats them aside and charges forward again. The old Guild Master raises both his hands towards the sky, a ball of blue magic coming to life within his fingertips.
1276
1277He casts it at the charging boy causing a massive explosion. Everyone is thrown back by the force, the surrounding trees shake from its power. The ground tears, throwing dust clouds into the air.
1278
1279Satisfied with his work, Elmore turns around. “Alright, it’s been a long night. Let’s get Lady Sasha ba—”
1280
1281“Elmore!” Ashcroft yells.
1282
1283The Guild Master spins around quickly and instantly creates the blue defensive spell, barely blocking Byaku’s fist once more. Another shock wave erupts from the sheer force of the blow, but once again the spell remains strong.
1284
1285A maniacal gleam is in the boy’s eyes. But what’s more, his normal black hair has turned an ashen white.
1286
1287“Young man,” Elmore states. “I advise you to stand down.”
1288
1289Byaku ignores the Guild Master’s warning and continues to attack relentlessly. Punch after punch, each increasing with strength and power.
1290
1291Everyone watches as Elmore is soon forced to take a step back. Then another. The old Guild Master breaks into a cold sweat as he is forced to his knees, his barrier cracking.
1292
1293With one final punch, the defensive spell shatters. Elmore is struck and sent flying, careening into Ashcroft, sending both men flying back. They both collapse, no longer moving.
1294
1295Sasha, Ashcroft, and Elmore are all well known for their skills and unmatched prowess throughout the Bordeaux territory. It’s for this reason that the soldiers begin to panic when they see the three of them defeated by a single enemy.
1296
1297Byaku turns his maniacal glee to the soldiers. His red eyes reflect a madden flame.
1298
1299“And so the fodder remains. I can’t have you escaping from me now can I?” the boy says casually strolling towards the soldiers. He suddenly falters slightly, shaking his head, trying to maintain his normal emotionless expression. “No…I-I can’t…I mustn’t…let it…come out …ANYMORE!”
1300
1301With a yell, his hair slowly starts to turn back to its original black colour. The crazed smile has disappeared and he goes back to his cold emotionless expression. Byaku’s cold blood-red eyes however still continue to haunt the soldiers.
1302
1303The soldiers are rightfully scared. But they still raise their weapons with the intention of defending Sasha, ready to put their lives on the line for her.
1304
1305“You idiots! Don’t stand there! Run!” Sasha yells with the last of her strength.
1306
1307She can only watch in helplessness as Byaku extends his finger at her. The landscape distorts like a mirage and a huge mass of magical energy—much larger than any from before—hurls towards her.
1308
1309Sasha lowers her gaze, resigned and frightened. However, the impact never comes. Terrified, Sasha raises her gaze slowly and in front of her, she sees…
1310
1311A familiar sword.
1312
1313Angeline had arrived.
1314
1315“Sir!”, the scout said out loud, reporting the latest news to us. According to the reports, a war had broken out between the 2,000 soldier military led by Lethys Blouse and the 20,000 strong military led by Rozel.
1316
1317Lethys tried to avoid positional warfare and gradually retreated using guerrilla tactics. He seemed to have taken advantage of the terrain, however… “Without our support, he can’t win the war”, Raymond sighed.
1318
1319We may be in big trouble! 
1320It was obvious that we should save Bartolo first, it would be immoral to put him on our side, as it would ruin our reputation.
1321Besides, I was not willing to sacrifice an army of 2000; if possible, I wanted them to meet with our main forces.
1322
1323“My king, I believe that we should come to support them (Lethys). It is a good chance for us to cripple the enemy. The general of the enemy’s army is inferior to General Curiu, so we should take the opportunity to destroy this 20,000 soldier army. On the other hand, the more soldiers there are, the better. Including Carol’s fraction and the army belonging to Sir Lethys, we only have 4,000 soldiers. They don’t dare to fight against Rozel’s troops face to face, so their forces are dispersed. If we cannot gather them, it would be very hard to defeat the enemy. ”
1324
1325Emm, that sounds good. To defeat the enemy, it would be better to destroy them at their weakest spot. I took Bartolo’s advice and decided to save Lord Lethys first. “Move toward the Blouse Territory!”
1326
1327“Dear King Rosyth, we are grateful for the courage and support of your troops! How can I reward you?” Thanks to the smart guide sent by Lethys Blouse, we successfully met his army with ease. We chose a route that Cairus didn’t know, and we did it without any casualties. It was important to have complete knowledge of the terrain.
1328
1329“Never mind, Lord Lethys, now we are colleagues!” After greeting, we promptly held a military conference.
1330
1331“The enemy’s stationed on the forward basin with an army of 20,000, 1,000 of which are calvaries.”
1332“How about the downy monsters?”
1333“We can’t determine it.”
1334
1335Huh…
1336Was it so easy to destroy our army that they didn’t need to dispatch monsters and carlvalry?
1337Well, it’s true. Lethys’ army played a guerrilla role to attract their attention toward the mountainous area. Obviously, calvary was no use.
1338
1339“Well, we act at once after making sure everything is ready…in all 9,000 infantries and 4,500 calvaries, less in total but more in calvary.”
1340
1341“My King, Cairus, it seems that King Rosyth is going to meet with Lethys’ army,” said the adjutant, relaying their scouts’ information to King Cairus as he smiled with joy.
1342
1343“Great!” the king thought. Wiping out these ants was harder than he thought. Since the rivals always avoid fighting in open battle, he had to smash them gradually.
1344
1345“However, if the army of King Rosyth meet with Lethys they must fight with us in a battle. What a great chance for me to clean out all of them!” (Cairus)
1346
1347“Hahaha, I will get the head of King Rosyth!” Cairus and Curiu thought that King Rosyth would save their fellow citizens of Bartolo Pompeii first, but to their surprise, he chose to support Lethys, which seemed a little inefficient.
1348
1349“My King, Cairus, General Curiu said we should try to avoid fighting in an open battle.”
1350
1351“Silly! The enemies are there, but I should avoid fighting?! Curiu said it to take credit from me!”
1352
1353When Curiu left with Cairus he said, 
1354“Compared to us, King Rosyth has less military, but his soldiers are in higher quality and own more calvary. Remember, no battle! Ignore his provocations and try your best to protect the city. After breaking down his capital, I will gather all our 50,000 soldiers and eliminate them totally. Understand?”
1355
1356In Cairus’ view, Curiu just envied him. Well, people can only see what they want to see.
1357
1358“Prepare for battle! Hahaha, I will set the biggest record for this war!”
1359
1360The two armies were facing off in a big plain and the military of Rozel occupied the vantage point, the hill.
1361
1362Well, it’s not very difficult for us to deal with such a vantage point. Our equipment was different from the rival’s. Our rival, soldiers from Gallia, kept pants and used swords instead of spears. Compared to our hoplites, they were more flexible and had better maneuverability.
1363
1364“Almus, no problem?” Tetra looked at me and asked while being visibly upset.
1365
1366“No problem! It had been tested on the battlefield many times, take it easy!” 
1367I was the top leader of this war. Although I had conducted many battles, this is my first time directing such a large one. But I was confident, because Raymond and Alexios would give enough assistance to me.
1368
1369“Because we will also be here!”
1370“Actually, that’s what I was worried about…”
1371“Almus~!”
1372
1373Julia gave a wry smile, anyway, just a small joke. I was touched by it.
1374
1375“Julia has excellent anti-curse ability, which would get us very far!”
1376“Emm…my magic is as good as you said. Maybe inferior to Julia, it is still enough for the anti-ilusion plan. I heard that Rozel also has some good sorcerers.”
1377
1378Well, curse wasn’t particularly helpful on the battlefield.
1379Obviously illusions were still included in our strategy, but…
1380There were so many ways to resist a curse. Compared to the offensive effort to cast curses, it’s much easier to defend against them.
1381
1382“Well, it’s time to start. Let smash them with our absolute conviction to win!”
1383Rosyth’s light-infantry joined the battle first, and began to attack Rozel’s army with thrown spears and arrows.
1384
1385The Rozel also try to retaliating our air attack with his light infantry.
1386“Explosive spears… Release!”
1387On Gram’s command, explosive spears drew arcs through the sky and secured Rozel’s defeat.
1388The air was filled with the strong scent of gunpowder and herb stive, which was used as a medium for curses by the Sorcerers.
1389
1390“Shake the earth..”
1391“Spin the sky!”
1392Lulu and Soyon chanted these mantras, and broke the enemy’s sense of balance with the curse.
1393
1394“Let me deal with that”
1395Tetra held up her wand. A bolt of lightning materialized and shocked Rozel’s army.
1396“I can see nothing but smoke!”
1397“What happened?! Can anyone tell me what happened?!”
1398“The ground is shaking?!”
1399“What’s that light?”
1400“Lightning!! Are we fighting the God of thunder?!”
1401
1402Rozels forces entered a state of panic. However, their outstanding sorcerers immediately soothed them with pacifying magic.
1403And then the curse bounced back. Harm set, harm get. That’s the rule of curses.
1404Compared with casting, making a curse bounce back was much easier. This is why it’s very risky to use curses on the battlefield.
1405
1406“Idiot! You just cursed yourself!”
1407Cairus laughed and said:
1408“After all, too young too simple!”
1409But the curse was defended perfectly by a woman.
1410“Well, it’s no surprise the curse was bounced back.”
1411It’s Julia.
1412
1413She made it bounce back again all by herself.
1414In addition, Lulu and Soyon helped to make it even more powerful.
1415Rozel’s army continued to collapse.
1416
1417“Here’s our chance! Everyone, follow me!”
1418Almus lead the charge on his horse, Sakura, followed closely by his loyal elites.
1419Our cavalvies flanked around the army of Rozel and began to close in.
1420“Ron, look after my rear. Go!”
1421“Yes, sir!”
1422
1423Almus rushed into the battle, his dragon damascus sword glowing under the sunlight. After his path, mountains of bodies brought huge pressure to the enemies. Ron cleaned out every enemy who wanted to attack the rear of Alums.
1424
1425“My King, let me help you!”
1426Gram calmly loosed arrows towards Rozel’s squad leaders. Most of them were immediately struck down, and their formation began to collapse because they didn’t have a complete chain of command. It was a good chance for Almus to completely destroy the enemy’s defences.
1427
1428However, Rozel had twice as much infantry as Rosyth, and they started to advance toward Rosyth’s army.
1429“Go! Smash them!”
1430
1431Since Rozel’s army occupied the hill, they had the height advantage, which makes a huge impact on the tide of battle. They wanted to make use of this to destroy the rival forces.
1432
1433“This is pretty difficult…it’s very hard for us to deal with such a great amount of enemies.”
1434Almus tried his best to stop the enemies and encouraged his soldiers to keep formation at the same time.
1435
1436“Hold on! I’m the son of Mars! God is with us!”
1437“It is so! Hold on! Our King is fighting with us!”
1438
1439Almus shouted and motivated his troops fight till the end against an enemy double their size.
1440With their king fighting on the front line, as soldiers it was impossible for them to retreat..
1441However, the difference in numbers can’t be equaled by just morale.
1442Gradually, Rosyth’s army was being suppressed, but…
1443
1444“Everybody, loose arrows toward the enemy and break their formation!”
1445After shattering the rear of the enemy, Muzio gave orders to his cavalvy.
1446“Cavalry, go!…more heads, more money!”
1447Aiming at the right flank, Alexios ordered out to his men.
1448
1449“Come on guys! Don’t lose to those funking cavalvies!”
1450“Don’t disgrace your captain!”
1451
1452The cavalrymen led by Roswald and Virgar were closing in on the enemy’s left flank.
1453Front, ahead, right flank, left flank…
1454
1455The army of Rozel was surrounded perfectly by us.
1456“Shit! How do they have so much cavalry”
1457Because Rosyth’s army surrounded his troops on all sides, Cairus failed to regroup his army.
1458“Retreat!!”
1459
1460He set off to retreat from the battlefield, followed by his restless adjutant and guards. Retreat is also a viable military strategy. Usually, the commander should be the last one to evacuate from the warfare. However, Cairus was just trying to run away as fast as possible.
1461
1462“You fucking stop!!”
1463Hearing that, Cairus looked back hurriedly.”
1464
1465“I am Roswald Calpurnius. I will have your head!” Said Roswald, wielding his sword.
1466Cairus had to defend with his sword.
1467But…
1468Kiiiiin… With that sounds, Cairus’ sword was cut in two .
1469Rudimentary steelmaking technology VS Dragon Damascus steel
1470Greenhouse flowers VS Veteran knight
1471The result was clear.　
1472
1473“Cairus is dead!”
1474And so the tides of war began to favor Rozyth’s army.
1475
1476Chapter 1484: Revelation
1477Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
1478 
1479
1480The moment she spoke, the entire world seemed to quieten down.
1481
1482Anna could even hear her heart beating.
1483
1484She opened her mouth, but her voice didn’t seem to emit from her throat.
1485
1486“But where else can we go?”
1487
1488“…” The Guardian fell silent surprisingly.
1489
1490“It appears you are also aware of the answer. Apart from this place, we have nowhere else to go.” Anna pumped herself up and carefully observed the Guardian. She looked identical to a human, and she spoke in standard Kingdom Language. With her sudden appearance, it was easy to guess her origins. “I’ve heard from Joan that you are trapped here. Have you never thought of leaving?”
1491
1492“Miss Joan, is it…” The Guardian revealed a gentle smile. “It appears she has really brought the question back. But unfortunately, there is no true answer to the question.”
1493
1494“But there are still people attempting to seek the answer, and she’s also one of your kind.”
1495
1496“One of my kind?”
1497
1498“I know you belong to the Realm of Mind—and there, there’s an Oracle named Lan who attempted to change everything,” Anna quickly explained her intent for being here. “Achieving the goal requires two conditions. One of them has been fulfilled, and I’ve come here with the person who can solve the second problem. All that’s left is to open the bridge of light and send him into the Realm of Mind—”
1499
1500“I’m sorry. I do not know the Oracle you are talking about.” The Guardian shook her head and interrupted her. “In addition, to open the bridge, one has to insert a complete legacy into the bottomless platform before the Origin of Magic can be activated, allowing the bridge of light to appear. You do know a lot, but I’m unable to help you.”
1501
1502“Wait!” Anna’s expression finally changed as she hurriedly said, “Aren’t you a receiver?”
1503
1504“Yes, I am, but without the legacy, I’m helpless as well.” She walked to Anna’s side and gently touched her hair. “Leave this place, my child. Do it while you still have the time.”
1505
1506The Guardian’s figure started fading away like she was about to disappear into thin air.
1507
1508Anna reached out her hand in a bid to grab her, but she touched nothing.
1509
1510“Finally, forget whatever you have heard—if a betraying Oracle really exists.” When she fully dissipated, her soft murmur sounded in Anna’s ears. “The Battle of Divine Will is an attempt to seek the answer. In such a long and vast answer-seeking process, there hasn’t been a conclusion, so how can it be resolved by a person or two? Besides, if he really possesses such strength, he naturally doesn’t need the bridge or key.”
1511
1512Is this… the outcome of persisting to the end…
1513
1514Anna lowered her head to look at her empty palm, unable to stop herself from being rooted to the ground in shock.
1515
1516What was she to do next?
1517
1518…
1519
1520Nightingale felt that her actions were becoming smoother.
1521
1522It was as though something was different.
1523
1524She couldn’t exactly put it in words as to what the difference was, but she could sense the harmony within the Mist. The distorted lines in the past might have been usable by her, but they were like an extremely dangerous blade. She had to maintain intense focus to prevent herself from being injured.
1525
1526But at that moment, this black-and-white world seemed docile like a lamb. It seemed to answer to her every request, and the process gave her a fully delightful experience.
1527
1528In minutes, she had destroyed three Nest Mothers, but the enemies had failed to even touch the corner of her sleeves.
1529
1530In terms of her battle accomplishments, even Silent Disaster, who was considered a Transcendent, didn’t even perform as well as she did.
1531
1532This pleased Nightingale.
1533
1534The only thing that left her uncomfortable was the sticky liquid that clung onto her. She could avoid her opponents’ sharp claws and tentacles, but she was unable to isolate herself from the putrid organs. This was also the cost of going deep into the Nest Mothers to strike at their weaknesses.
1535
1536If it were Anna, she would have easily burnt these disgusting things clean, right?
1537
1538With this in mind, she couldn’t help but look towards where Anna was standing.
1539
1540But at that instant, she instantly shuddered in fear.
1541
1542She saw Anna facing the north in a motionless daze, as though something had fixed her in place. A few blade beasts were about to reach her from the direction of the sinkhole, and Phyllis had already clashed with one of them. Despite anxiously shouting at Anna, the latter didn’t seem to hear her at all.
1543
1544What’s she doing?
1545
1546From that angle, she should be able to clearly see Phyllis and the approaching enemies!
1547
1548Nightingale turned around abruptly and completely ignored her pursuit of the Sky-sea Realm monsters. She rushed towards Anna as quickly as she could.
1549
1550However, a blade beast had already opened the thin wings on it back!
1551
1552Darn it, I won’t make it in time—
1553
1554At that instant, she saw a white line clinging to the ground appear. It went from her feet all the way to Anna. It was likely a fissure in the ground, and although it was an outline that existed in the natural world, they were not shown by her abilities due to the overly complex and minute structures.
1555
1556If the outline of every slab of mud or every few beads of sand would appear, it would be useless for her to act on it—even if she focused fully.
1557
1558As for selectively combining a tiny fissure together and labeling it with a pure white line, this was Nightingale’s first.
1559
1560It looked like a bright guide, and she subconsciously reached out her hand to grab at it before pulling upwards with force!
1561
1562The magic power within her instantly poured out as the Mist world responded to her will—the line rose up suddenly, splitting everything in front of her into two.
1563
1564On one side stood Anna with everything remaining the same. However, on the other side, the ground had been elevated high into the sky, forming a height difference of nearly a meter.
1565
1566That wasn’t just a simple terrain transformation. In an instant, the blade beast which had pounced forward had been sliced apart. Its front half slid in midair while its back half continued rising. It was as though the two parts of the body wasn’t on the same plane!
1567
1568The enemy which was uniformly split apart plummeted to the ground, landing not far from Anna. The sliced edges of their bodies were as flat as a mirror.
1569
1570Meanwhile, Nightingale felt extreme fatigue overwhelm her. It made her find it difficult to even stand stably. It was a symptom of expending her magic power. Clearly, the series of changes that just happened was not a simple demonstration of her ability.
1571
1572However, she was no longer considering any of those.
1573
1574Anna still stood there in a daze, as though everything that was happening around her didn’t involve her.
1575
1576Nightingale gritted her teeth and walked to her back with an exhausted body. She grabbed her shoulders and turned her around.
1577
1578What are you doing!? Everyone is fighting to fulfill your goal. Yet, you easily place yourself in danger. Are you trying to make all the efforts put in by others to be in vain? Nightingale wanted to berate her loudly when she stopped those words from coming out. She knew Anna, better than even Roland did. Anna would never give up until the final moment. There was probably only one reason why she would appear in a daze—she had already found the Guardian and received a negative response.
1579
1580The tirade she was planning for instantly vanished. To shoulder such tremendous pressure without asking for anything in return required immense courage for her to stand here.
1581
1582“You met the Guardian?” Nightingale asked softly.
1583
1584“Yeah.” Anna nodded slowly.
1585
1586As expected.
1587
1588Looking at her dazed expression, she immediately felt pangs of sorrow and grief. Despite all the work everyone had put in, they had ultimately failed to reverse their preordained destinies.
1589
1590She could not help but gently pull her into an embrace.
1591
1592“It’s fine. It’s fine even if we fail. We will accompany you to the end.”
1593
1594“Fail? Why do you say that?” Anna’s reaction exceeded her expectations.
1595
1596“Uh…” Nightingale was momentarily left shocked. “Did the Guardian agree to your request?”
1597
1598“No, she rejected me. Without the legacy, the Bottomless Land will not open. Even she is helpless against that.” Anna shook her head.
1599
1600“Then why do you—”
1601
1602“But she gave me a revelation.” Anna looked up, her insipid eyes now glowing. “Be it Oracles or the Guardian, they are unable to violate the laws set by God. But if one really has the strength to change everything, one can reach the other end of the bridge even without their help!”
1603
1604…” So that’s why she was in a daze. Was she pondering over this question? Nightingale touched her beating chest, and retracted her hand in a rather peeved manner before flicking Anna’s forehead. “Next time, please find a safe place to do the thinking, alright? So, what’s your conclusion? Please explain it in the simplest of words.”
1605
1606By this point in time, Phyllis and company had rushed over. Seeing that the both of them were fine, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
1607
1608Anna was feeling a little unconfident as she held her forehead and whispered, “Jump down.”
1609
1610Nightingale was taken aback. After making sure that she hadn’t heard wrong, she sighed. “I take that back; it’s best you explain in detail what happened from the beginning to the end.”
1611
1612“Yes…” She turned to look in the direction of the Bottomless Land. “In fact, it’s not difficult to explain. Since the Oracles and Guardian come from the Realm of Mind, it’s impossible that Lan doesn’t know the rule of requiring a legacy as a key. Regardless of how much truth or fallacy is contained in her words, it’s quite unlikely she would forget the most basic problem after painstakingly putting all of this in motion.
1613
1614“That seems to make sense.” Nightingale thought and said, “So do you think Roland himself is able to open the column of light that leads to heaven?”
1615
1616“No, the column of light probably doesn’t lead us to where we would like to go.” Anna shook her head. “Only the victor of the Battle of Divine Will would pass through that bridge to reach the other end. Besides, we aren’t victors, nor do we have other legacy shards. Similarly, Lan had never mentioned this from the beginning. Furthermore, retrieving the legacy shards of other races to end the Battle of Divine Will is in itself contradictory. If it’s a critical step in actualizing the plan, wouldn’t it appear too illogical?”
1617
1618“Then… where shall we go?” Nightingale realized that she was unable to keep up with Anna’s train of thought.
1619
1620“‘The truth is always what you understand.’” Anna repeated Lan’s original words. “If she had predicted that God would stop her from divulging critical information, then the scenes in the astrolabe would be suspect. Now, thinking back to it, which scene left the greatest impression on you?”
1621
1622“Uh… something about gravity?”
1623
1624“That’s right. In the second scene Roland saw, the core that forms this world should be located in the middle of the planet. Therefore, we should be heading down instead of up. The Bottomless Land appears unreachable, but don’t forget—” Anna paused having said that. “‘Gravity is no longer the force which is most deserving of reverence in this world.’”
1625
1626“Wait!” Phyllis spent quite a while before realizing what Anna meant by “jump down.”
1627
1628“Are you sure? That’s too risky! If it’s safe to jump, there should have been people who have reached the bottom. You have also seen the murals left behind by the Radiation People. They had even built towers and staircases, but from the replay of the scenes, they quickly gave up on similar attempts. It tells us that it’s not a workable solution!”
1629
1630“Being able to go down and up are two completely different matters.” Anna shook her head. “This is probably what the Guardian truly means by “the person who has the strength.” Heading down doesn’t require any keys, but if we are unable to activate the bridge of light, we might never be able to return to the ground.”
1631
1632“There is no limit heading down, while heading up requires the bridge that leads to heaven…”
1633
1634“That’s right. As to the question of how entry to the Bottomless Land is gained, I had thought of several possibilities prior to this,” she continued. “And the fact is that only until I spoke with the Guardian was I able to confirm a point. Or perhaps, this is the only way to explain why Lan never mentioned of a Guardian. It’s because what Roland needs to do has nothing to do with a Guardian from the very beginning!”
1635
1636“So you plan on throwing Roland down the sinkhole?” Sky Lord revealed a look of surprise.
1637
1638“No, I will accompany him,” Anna said categorically. “The retreat will be handed to all of you. There’s no need to stay here. Return to the floating island as quickly as possible.”
1639
1640There was an instant silence. Although no one was willing to abandon Anna, everyone knew her character. Once she had decided on something, even His Majesty was unable to change it.
1641
1642Seeing everyone silent, Hackzord knew the answer. He nodded and opened a teleportation door above the sinkhole. “Young lady, your performance is enough to prove the extraordinariness of a race. Even in failure, there is still glory in it.”
1643
1644Anna conjured Blackfire to raise up the unconscious Roland and walked into the door.
1645
1646And the next moment, Nightingale vanished from her spot.
1647
1648When everyone realized what was happening, it was already too late to stop her—
1649
1650The last person to walk towards the Distortion Door was Silent Disaster.
1651
1652“What, you are going with them?” Hackzord said with a frown.
1653
1654“I’ve said it before. When they head to the Bottomless Land, I will accompany them,” Serakkas said without turning her head as she crossed through the door, “regardless of where it is.”
1655
1656…
1657
1658When the light returned to silence and darkness occupied everything, Roland heard a familiar voice in his ears.
1659
1660“Where people come from and where they head to has always been a profound and interesting question.”
1661
1662He turned his head and saw a gray, hazy figure. A faint light was coruscating in its interior, and it was the only “beacon” in the space he was in.
1663
1664“It has been discussed for ten thousand years, and each generation has a completely different answer. But regardless of the answer, it’s filled with wisdom. It will lead them towards continuous progress so as to probe the unknown.
1665
1666“But after ten thousand years, this question suddenly changed, turning meaningless. In the tens of thousands of years that followed, no one cared about where they came from or where they were going… because the answer is clear. Vanishing is the eternal point of refuge.”
1667
1668It let out a sigh.
1669
1670“This world wasn’t specially prepared for life.
1671
1672“From the moment it appeared six quadrillion years ago, the stars have entered a stage of decline, burning to the end to become dwarf stars or black holes. The universe would turn a swath of blacknesses.
1673
1674“Under the guidance of gravity, dwarf stars might reignite from collisions to become new stars again, but that is merely their final brilliance, just like a rare oasis in a desert.
1675
1676“A powerful civilization occupies a lit oasis, while other civilizations rely on the aging dwarf stars to survive, until the large sliver of energy is drained dry. This would also be the scene after two octillion years.
1677
1678“Gravity will become the only ruler of the world. The dead stars will continuously be absorbed into black holes and the immense amount of radiation will allow them to produce the most blinding light, even brighter than the stars. But that would be the only possible source of energy at that time.”
1679
1680The gray figure’s voice gradually turned heavy.
1681
1682“Even further into the future, at ten decillion years, the dwarf stars would evaporate, and the universe would no longer have any material planets or matter. Energy would be uniformly spread across every corner of the universe, and every spot in the universe would be dead. Darkness, coldness, and emptiness would be its everything. Yet, compared to the age of the universe, it would be equivalent to a newborn.
1683
1684“In what follows, the universe will go through even longer adolescence, adulthood, and its advanced years. But that period of time would be meaningless because there is no life involved in it. Our existence is but an extremely brief instant, a manifestation of an anomaly, the outcome of a correction the universe needs.”
1685
1686The light within its body gradually darkened and weakened.
1687
1688“… We won’t be able to go anywhere.”
1689
1690Chapter 1486: Project Door
1691Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
1692 
1693
1694“But you do not wish to head towards such an end.”
1695
1696Suddenly, another voice sounded, and two blobs of golden light appeared simultaneously—they looked like eyes.
1697
1698“Life… has a common flaw. The more ahead it is, the more they believe themselves to be extraordinary.” The faint glow inside the gray figure stopped coruscating and turned stable. “People stop asking about where they are heading in the future, but what needs to be done to go someplace—it’s no longer a question filled with a myriad of possibilities, but a goal.
1699
1700“Binding this world together is gravity. Civilization can continue only with it, but it also becomes the most fundamental law of the universe, limiting other possibilities from happening. After dwarf stars evaporate, smaller black holes will be swallowed by bigger black holes. The latter’s size will be on the order of galaxy clusters. They would be evenly spread across every corner of the universe. Under gravity’s influence, they would form an equilibrium. Do you know what it looks like?
1701
1702“A bunch of tiny balls pressing down on a table cloth,” the gray figure answered its own question.* “They will restrain each other, and be of no use towards the universe’s accelerating expansion, until it evaporates by itself into nothingness. And when that happens, entropy would reach a peak, and the universe would turn silent and stable. There would not be any change, and to it, that instant will be when it reaches adulthood. But that isn’t the outcome we wish to see.*
1703
1704“That’s right. Our existence is nothing to the universe, like a drop in the ocean. Even without life, the universe remains the universe. Or it can be said that our existence itself is a fluke. But since we have appeared, we are destined not to stay silent. Regardless of how soft we are, we have to produce a shout that belongs to us!”
1705
1706They gray figure lit up again.
1707
1708“Just like how we escape gravity, to leap from the ground to the skies, this time, we will escape our cages once again, to head to brand new territories.”
1709
1710“And your method is to use gravity.” The voice of the eyes was extremely staid, without any perturbations from hearing what the other had said.
1711
1712“That’s right. Gravity will make depress space, and this is the only chance. When the balls on the table cloth are gathered at one point, and not allowed to naturally distribute themselves, gravity will definitely bring about a different kind of change—it will conflict with entropy via an artificial form of order, which is also a unique mark of life!
1713
1714“When this bit of gravity becomes stronger, the distortion of the surrounding space will gradually increase, just like how the tiny balls pressing down on the table cloth are—but it will not increase without end. Once it exceeds a certain threshold, either the balls will become a new singularity and explode, or… an opening will be torn through the universe.”
1715
1716When this was said, Roland felt like he was hearing a heavy thud of a drum. That was the sound of the universe being drummed. Extreme distorted space when penetrated would result in a violent springback, and the immense force that resulted was sufficient to create a gravitational wave that would shake the world.
1717
1718“This opening will be a new lease of life. It will be connected to a region beyond the universe. No one knows what’s there, but at least, the dead, silent equilibrium would no longer exist. Energy would also continue flowing for extended periods of time.
1719
1720“That… is the path we choose.
1721
1722“And today—
1723
1724“Is the day when life will take that brand new stride!”
1725
1726Once the gray figure finished speaking, light suddenly beamed out of its body, illuminating the entire space, revealing stars, galaxies, and nebulae. The darkness instantly turned into a rich, colorful, and brilliant scene.
1727
1728Then, Roland saw an even more incredible scene.
1729
1730Amid this countless starry space were rows of armadas—their shapes and sizes were all different. Some were even bigger than the stars. These artificial objects were arranged in a matrix, nearly reaching to the ends of his vision.
1731
1732As he took in this magnificent scene, he felt an indescribable sense of shock.
1733
1734Without needing more words to describe them, these armadas that were neatly lined up were a form of order by themselves—a representation of entropy decrease. Only lifeforms could violate the universe’s fundamentals, to challenge the world with bodies of Red Mist.
1735
1736Or it should be said that to live was a defiance of the heavens!
1737
1738“176,425 civilizations came to a unanimous agreement, to complete this historically unprecedented program. We will move more than a trillion galaxies, gathering ten-thousandth of the universe’s matter together to create an artificial gravity fissure. Upon success, the world will proceed towards a complete change. And this program is known as the Project Door!”
1739
1740*”This plan exists risks,” *warned the eyes.
1741
1742*”On the one hand, there is risk, and on the other hand, there is an eternal silence of hopelessness. With such choices, is there a need to consider?” *The gray figure’s light was gentle and firm. “I’ve said that life always thinks of itself as extraordinary. But this alone isn’t enough to complete Project Door. It needs someone who can oversee the entire situation to move around resources and allocate tasks. And this will remain the same even after billions of years. I need your help to achieve this goal.”
1743
1744“Of course.” The eyes blinked. “That is the purpose for my existence.”
1745
1746…
1747
1748The fall fell extremely long.
1749
1750It was so long that Anna even began to doubt her judgment.
1751
1752The sky above had already vanished. Even if she ignited sparks of fire at her fingertips, she was still unable to see beyond the endless darkness.
1753
1754The Bottomless Land’s depth had exceeded her imagination.
1755
1756She even believed that she was traveling right through the core of the earth.
1757
1758The tremendous speed made her hear nothing but the sound of wind.
1759
1760If she had made a wrong guess, she would probably be reduced to a pancake the instant she hit the ground.
1761
1762The only good thing about this was that there was no pain throughout the process. Everything would be over before she could even react.
1763
1764With this in mind, Anna could not help but hug Roland even tighter.
1765
1766After an unknown period of time, she suddenly felt the flow of air brushing against her cheeks weaken.
1767
1768This change instantly jolted her!
1769
1770After a few more minutes, the “abyss” below transmitted a faint light. But soon, she determined that she wasn’t mistaken. The light was becoming brighter as the distance narrowed.
1771
1772And it was at this moment that she felt like she had fallen into a thick layer of the atmosphere. Her plummeting speed began reducing to the point of causing her to feel dizzy.
1773
1774And when Anna’s feet landed, her speed returned to the instant when she had just made the jump.
1775
1776She nearly didn’t experience much of an impact.
1777
1778“Tap.” She heard a light sound behind her.
1779
1780Anna turned towards the sound in surprise, only to discover it was Nightingale. “Why did you—”
1781
1782“This time, I’m not hesitating or lagging behind.” Nightingale patted her trousers and stood up. She said openly, “And how could I feel at ease letting you do it all alone?”
1783
1784“Thud!” A third landing sound was heard. It was none other than Silent Disaster.
1785
1786“Uh…” Nightingale immediately stood in front of Anna.
1787
1788Anna was a lot more calm. “Don’t worry. She’s here for Nightmare Lord.”
1789
1790“I’m only abiding to our agreement,” Serakkas said before she started looking around. “It looks like you got it right.”
1791
1792“Yes, this is the true body of the Realm of Mind.” Anna nodded.
1793
1794They were not standing on rock or mud, but a metallic surface. It looked extremely smooth and shiny, and it also emitted a very clean luster. It was solid and also translucent, looking nothing like an object of this world.