The disturbed waves began to seek change.
The sea of the Aqua Empire had never stopped.
Nor had anything ever stood in the way of its flow.
But on that day, the waves of the sea were shaken, and confusion arose even in Aqua’s currents.
After the Terra Empire crossed the boundary of the ocean current and inflicted no small amount of damage upon Aqua, parts of the disturbed surface still had yet to be restored.
The waves remained faintly distorted, and the gaps in the defensive barrier were far from small.
The citizens of Aqua were just as unsettled.
They murmured among themselves in hushed voices.
“What in the world… happened?”
“Terra went this far against us? Does that even make sense?”
“No, I thought Terra was just a nation that stood by and watched. But this time, they moved.”
“So why? Did our side ever provoke them? Are they trying to create dual-attribute cores too?”
“Ah, wait.”
One citizen spoke in a low voice.
“Now that you mention cores, I just remembered something. I heard that Terra didn’t keep the cores they stole from us. They just handed them all over—to Metalum.”
“Me-Metalum…?”
The surrounding citizens began to murmur again.
“Why Metalum? Is it because of what happened to them with Ignis before?”
“Doesn’t it kind of seem that way? Terra supposedly pursues balance or whatever, so maybe they’re helping Metalum because Metalum suffered quite a bit at Ignis’s hands. We’re in a better position since we maintain an alliance with Silva, but those people must be… well, in utter chaos.”
“Ha…”
The citizen shook his head, then opened his mouth.
“Whatever their purpose, it’s deeply unpleasant. Why should we get dragged into their circumstances? We can’t just let this pass. We have to strike back too.”
Another citizen added a word.
“I’m sure His Majesty the Emperor will handle that well enough. But what is Silva doing right now? Weren’t we conducting research together?”
“Maybe there hasn’t been any news yet…”
Nereia, Emperor of the Aqua Empire, was receiving reports on the restoration progress in the central hall of the fortress.
The soldiers and architects were all carrying out their respective duties, but everyone felt no small measure of bewilderment at the unexpected situation.
“Why did Terra target us…?”
Nereia murmured quietly.
No one answered her words, and she continued softly.
“Was it to test us? After all, our Aqua Empire has not suffered any particular hardship until now.”
Levian responded to Nereia’s words.
“The only ones we must be wary of are none other than Terra. And Terra was never a force that moved first. For such a Terra to have done something like this is an extremely unusual situation.”
Soon, Naus continued.
“What is even more shocking is the news that Terra delivered every Wave Core they seized from us to Metalum. In my opinion, the only empires that did not possess the cores of other empires were Terra and Metalum. Perhaps that is why Terra attacked us—not to keep our cores for themselves.”
Nereia looked at him.
“Then is that Terra’s way of maintaining the balance of the world? Ensuring that every empire possesses the cores of another?”
“Perhaps… that may be so.”
Nereia slowly rose and looked down at the transparent surface of the water.
The flow of the water still had not escaped its murkiness.
“Even so, we have not fallen.”
She opened her mouth again.
“Now is precisely the time to create new waves amid this chaos. We will change. We must. If trials come upon us from outside, then we must overcome them with currents stronger still.”
The sea began to flow quietly once more.
Sian, the representative of the current architects, had his head bowed deeply, lost in thought.
“This is troublesome indeed. More troublesome than having our cores stolen by Terra is the fact that they ended up in Metalum’s hands.”
One of the architects following him asked,
“Is Metalum not a nation that could provide us support? Is it truly such a major problem for them to possess our cores?”
“Huh, it seems you still don’t understand. His Majesty never intended to reach out to Metalum so easily. We already have Silva as an ally, and the one Silva fears is Metalum, so it is hardly a matter we can consider lightly, joining hands with them. That is why we had been taking a cautious stance even regarding the exchange of cores. But because of those Terra bastards, that choice has vanished. Now Metalum can research our cores without needing to request our aid.”
“Ah, now I understand.”
A short while later, another architect appeared along the waves.
“Representative, it seems something will happen soon.”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
The architect’s expression was somewhat bright.
“They say the core fusion with Silva has finally been completed!”
“Oh…”
Sian, as well as the other architects, reacted with surprise.
“We should go take a look as well. Should we head to the eastern border?”
“Yes, that is correct! Now we can create a new structure…”
“I understand, so let’s move quickly.”
Sian and his group hurriedly rode the current heading east.
At the research facility located on the border between the Aqua Empire and the Silva Empire, Nereia and Drian, Emperor of Silva, had already arrived.
The researcher Birellen was carefully refining the device.
“Now, we will try again. The flow of the Wave Core and the resonance of the Life Core have synchronized. We are now entering the overlap section.”
The two kinds of cores were inserted into the cylinder together, and the cores were already trembling faintly.
Something pulsed as if drawing breath.
The two cores did not reject each other.
Rather, they enveloped one another, and from between them, a new color appeared.
It was perhaps a blue-green hue.
Neither clear nor murky, a transparent viscosity somewhere between water and wood dyed the core.
Elona, a researcher from Silva, also spoke in a trembling voice.
“Form taking shape… A viscous structure has been detected. This is undoubtedly a new substance.”
Nereia and Drian silently watched it.
The core was not a perfect sphere.
A thin, flexible membrane wrapped around its interior, and something within it was beating like a heart.
“It is as if it is alive. This is slime.”
Nereia spoke in a low voice.
“Waves and life, water and wood. A new existence equipped with both attributes.”
Drian responded to her words.
“A Slime Core. Not a bad name.”
When the device stopped, the laboratory grew quiet again.
Above the surface of the water inside the research lab, the newly born Slime Core was floating.
Nereia smiled.
“Good. Then we should be able to begin producing a new unit type right away, yes?”
Sian answered confidently as well.
“Yes. We will begin immediately.”
Drian also spoke.
“Our side must prepare as well.”
Nereia said to her,
“Although we recently lost no small number of cores to Terra, we will devote our utmost effort to the mass production of Slime Cores. I hope you will also provide support.”
Drian nodded.
“Of course. Terra may be an object of fear for you, but to us, it is the opposite. We can keep Terra in check on your behalf, so you may rely on us.”
“Understood. We will trust you.”
The Slime Core was not particularly solid.
Its form changed slightly depending on where it was placed, and it would blur depending on its surrounding environment.
It looked like something close to a living rhythm.
On the way back to the fortress, Nereia gave Sian an order.
“Construct a core storage facility. The cores being produced now are being kept inside the fortress, but we will need to store even more cores. In any case, if our influence expands, we will need a place to store that many more cores.”
“Yes, understood.”
The architects of Aqua arrived at an empty lot and began to move.
The foundation was circular, but the interior was designed as a complex flow structure that layered levels upon levels to disperse waves.
Thin, transparent films of water and condensed crystals formed the walls.
“With this much, will we no longer have to worry about those Terra bastards stealing our cores?”
One architect asked Sian.
“Well, this is ultimately for storage, so think of it as increasing the amount we can currently hold. That means we must defend this place thoroughly. If they take it from us, the cores will be taken as well.”
As if there was no helping it, the architect said nothing more.
At the center of the storage facility’s interior, the first Slime Core was carefully enshrined.
Small streams of water flowed around the core.
Back inside Aqua’s fortress.
Nereia, Levian, Naus, and Sian gathered in one place.
Nereia began to speak.
“Silva has said they will take charge of the counterattack against Terra, but there is no reason for us to cling to them alone. We, too, are now able to possess Slime Cores.”
Sian agreed.
“Yes, that is correct. On equal footing, the earth overcomes the waves, but if our waves grow stronger, even the earth will be unable to withstand them. Slime is especially so. Moreover, because slime also possesses the energy of wood, it is even more fatal to them.”
Levian said with a laugh,
“What in the world was Terra thinking? Why would they needlessly invite anger upon themselves and turn themselves into a target?”
Naus answered,
“Well, it may be that they launched a preemptive strike against us precisely because of their anxiety over the Slime Core. There is likely more than one reason behind Terra’s sudden action. But whatever the reason, Terra has no choice but to pay the price. Terra has, instead, sent an unspoken message in every direction that its position as the center is unstable.”
Levian nodded and asked Nereia,
“Your Majesty, now that we have a new core, shall we soon produce a new unit type as well?”
“Yes. Our own unit types are already sufficiently strong, but an even stronger unit type will come from the Slime Core. We must prepare to wash away the humiliation we suffered at Terra’s hands. Of course, the number of cores consumed will be greater than with our previous unit types, but soldiers that much stronger will emerge.”
The flow of the sea was gradually being restored, and the energy of wood was beginning to breathe above the surface of the water.
Aqua, which had once suffered hardship, was set to return even stronger through reconstruction and its new core.
And now, it was the turn of Aqua’s ally, the Silva Empire, to move.
The direction of Emperor Drian of Silva’s army had already been decided.
What new unit type would the Slime Core give birth to, and what kind of power would it display?