Metal thinks.
And yet, it maintains order.
The transparent fortress of the Aqua Empire swayed gently along the ocean currents.
Aqua had once again received an unexpected guest.
They were Oruma, Emperor of the Metalum Empire, and his retainers.
Oruma and his party faced Nereia, the ruler of the Aqua Empire.
“Is your business, by any chance, the same as last time?”
Nereia asked him.
“Of course. Our purpose is clear.”
Oruma’s voice was low and firm.
“Now that Ignis has created the Golden Core, we must band together, even if only among ourselves. We have yet to confirm the capabilities of that Golden Core, but that is precisely why we must strive all the harder. Even if you hold the advantage in your opposing relationship with Ignis, you must not overlook their power.”
Nereia looked at him with an expressionless face.
“Do you want a Wave Core from us again?”
“I do. Naturally, we are willing to exchange an equal quantity of our Metal Cores. This is not merely technological cooperation. It is a safeguard in preparation for chaos.”
At Oruma’s words, Nereia gave a small shake of her head.
“We are making preparations in our own way. And I believe the terms of exchange were already presented last time. Did we not say we would exchange them if you could prove that you possess strength worthy of trust?”
Oruma’s eyes narrowed.
“The only beings threatening to you are Terra and Ignis. Terra is pretending to be genteel, claiming it will maintain the balance of the world, while Ignis, after being pushed back by us once, is now choosing only easy opponents and expanding its power. What exactly do you want us to do? Do you intend to accept negotiations only after we drive Ignis out by our own strength?”
A brief silence passed.
The currents around Aqua’s fortress began to ripple faintly.
Nereia’s tone did not change.
“Whether to accept negotiations is a matter of freedom, not compulsion. We have presented our conditions, and our promise to accept your request if those conditions are met remains unchanged. The flow of our decision cannot be altered by external forces.”
Oruma slowly turned his head as if resigned.
His armor gave off a faint metallic sound.
“The flow cannot be altered… I understand your words well.”
He turned away as he spoke.
“I shall seek a method in my own way. We shall see whether your alliance with Silva truly continues smoothly.”
Oruma quietly withdrew from Aqua’s fortress with his retainers.
Oruma’s negotiations had ended in failure once again.
Yet within the waves, some unforeseen tremor was spreading.
At the heart of the Metalum Empire, in the metal plaza of Oruka.
The walls and floor were woven from gray iron plates, the wind barely entered, and the air lay heavily sunken.
There, the citizens of Metalum had gathered here and there, passing through.
It was not as though grand conversations were being exchanged among them.
Yet their whispers echoed through the plaza as heavily as lumps of iron.
“I hear Emperor Oruma went to negotiate again. Toward Aqua.”
“Indeed. He says he’s going to coordinate things again, but… honestly, I don’t expect much.”
Someone spoke indifferently.
“We were in the middle of training when Ignis came charging in, and everything was chaos. So I know they’ve been working hard to train new troop types, but even so, there’s no sign of us counterattacking. That Golden Core must be that frightening.”
“Ha! Golden? What gold could Ignis possibly make? I guarantee the core those bastards made is fake. How could they create gold? There’s no way some fake substance like that could be frightening.”
Another quietly let a sigh resonate within his body.
“But are we doing core research too? Everywhere else seems to be making something or other.”
At those words, an old veteran opened his mouth.
“Hmph. We have no need for anything else. We alone are enough. All other substances are nothing but impurities.”
The younger citizens fell silent at his words.
One among them carefully spoke up.
“Honestly, I do think you are right, but… even in the current situation, well. More than anything, Emperor Oruma seems to be making moves to do something together with Aqua…”
“Hrm… Mixing with others will only increase confusion.”
Another citizen spoke again.
“Yes, he’s right. The iron arms we possess are enough. Perhaps the problem is direction.”
“What direction?”
“Why, the direction toward possessing gold.”
“Mm…”
The conversation sank as heavily as metal, and that weight quietly made the upper floors of the unanswered fortress tremble.
Someone gazed at the top of the fortress from afar and muttered.
“We are solid, but whether that solidity can last is another question.”
Just then, Oruma and his retainers came into the citizens’ view.
They were entering the fortress, making the iron floor ring beneath their steps.
“His Majesty has returned. His footsteps look heavy.”
“When have they ever not been heavy? In any case, whatever the result with Aqua was, change will come to our country.”
The meeting room of the Metalum fortress.
The double metal doors slowly opened, and Oruma entered the meeting room.
Inside, Agnon, Belkar, Peron, and Kraso had already arrived and were waiting.
“I was refused again.”
Oruma said as he took his seat.
Belkar answered his words.
“To be honest, the chances were low. Has Aqua not already taken Silva as an ally?”
Oruma’s tone grew grave.
“It seems our position is not very good. Is the cause a lack of trust? For them to reject us instead—our dignity is in tatters.”
Agnon spoke cautiously.
“In truth, there is some basis for understanding Aqua’s position. To Silva, whom Aqua has as an ally, we could become a threat, could we not? To us, Silva is not a place worth much attention, but for Aqua, it would mean allying with two empires in an opposing relationship at the same time. That would surely be difficult.”
“You mean they are watching Silva’s mood? That possibility exists.”
This time, Peron began to speak.
“Your Majesty, as I have already reported, a peculiar signal was detected from Silva as well. Moreover, that signal gradually grew stronger while moving toward the border with Aqua. It appears that before long, a new core will be born between Aqua and Silva as well.”
“Hmph.”
Oruma reacted somewhat indifferently.
“Even if the two of them meet and make a core… what sort of core is supposed to come out of that?”
“We cannot know that much, but naturally it would be a combination of water and wood. Neither should pose much of a threat to us. However, if the energy of wood grows stronger, they could become a somewhat troublesome opponent.”
Oruma glared at Peron.
“The only troublesome existence to us is the energy of fire. Do you think mere wood would dare stand on equal footing with us?”
“My apologies. Still, I thought we should not be careless, and so I spoke.”
Oruma turned his head and directed his gaze southeast.
“Let me think. Perhaps the time has come to first turn our attention to that Golden Core that has already appeared in the world. Naturally, since Ignis made it, it must be a fusion of metal and fire.”
Peron answered again.
“Yes, that is correct. Cores fused from different energies other than fire cannot be used by those who possess the energy of fire themselves. One of the two must necessarily be the energy of fire.”
Oruma gave a slight shake of his head.
“Those bastards may not have intended to occupy us in the first place back then. Their purpose was to seize our Metal Cores. That is why they took our Metal Cores and committed such a deed.”
This time, Agnon asked Peron.
“Do you think this Golden Core that Ignis has made will be dangerous to us?”
“There is a considerable possibility. Even if one of the two energies is our metal energy, the other is fire energy. If the fire that can melt us grows even greater, from our standpoint we may be even more helpless…”
After hearing Peron’s statement, Oruma shouted at him.
“Enough weak talk! We will not be defeated by formless fire! If we are in a state where we are weak to fire, then we need only grow stronger and overwhelm fire in return! More importantly…”
Oruma looked around and continued.
“What is most suspicious is how fire can create gold. Was gold a substance so easily obtained? Gold is the final destination of fruition. It is a precious existence that no one would dare create easily.”
Kraso nodded and muttered.
“True gold is the symbol of refinement.”
After a moment, Oruma continued.
“The repetition of honing and smelting. Only metal born after countless attempts and immeasurable time can finally be called gold. The object Ignis claims to have made now is not gold, but merely burning residue.”
He slowly rose from his seat.
“I can now see Ignis’s next move. Even if Ignis has made a Golden Core, if the materials known as Metal Cores have all been consumed, they will be unable to make more of the same. In other words, Ignis’s second invasion will begin before long.”
The retainers’ gazes focused on Oruma.
Oruma continued.
“Loss of cores during battle cannot be avoided, but it can be minimized. Strengthen the troops further. Train even more Steel Knights. Do not fear anything like their Golden Core. We need only show them what true metal is.”
“Yes, we shall obey your command.”
The retainers bowed their heads.
Immediately after Oruma’s order was given, the interior of Metalum began to move busily once more.
The assemblers led by Kraso immediately headed for the barracks, and the Steel Knight Order’s training schedule was doubled as well.
Belkar unfolded the blueprints of the defensive wall again and examined the rearrangement of the inner metal layers.
“Overlap the heat-dissipating plates in two layers. We cannot yet hastily judge what Ignis will bring. Even if what they actually bring is not gold, we must not take their heat head-on.”
At his instructions, the metal devices operated busily.
Research of their own was also underway within the laboratory.
With the success of research into improving the efficiency of soldier training, Metalum’s soldiers were now able to complete their training with a smaller quantity of Metal Cores.
The citizens on Metalum’s outskirts discovered the numerous Steel Knights densely stationed along the border and stopped in their tracks.
“Impressive. Something must be about to happen.”
“With that much, don’t you think we could counterattack Ignis?”
“Not yet, it seems. I heard there’s talk that Ignis will come again.”
“Those Ignis bastards really are troublesome. I wonder if they’ll dare approach recklessly even after seeing this.”
The citizens looked at the strong, sturdy-looking soldiers and the defensive wall, and their worries eased.
Around that time, at the center, a faint tremor was arising.
It was like a struggle to restore the balance of the world.
A colossal being beneath the earth began to slowly raise its head together with the land.