Fire blazes again after chaos has passed.
“At last, the center has been shaken…… And yet the surrounding currents have also withdrawn.”
Within the citadel, Vulcanus, Emperor of Ignis, sat upon his throne and received news from beyond his territory.
It was said that the Aqua Empire and the Silva Empire had joined forces to invade the Terra Empire, but Metallum’s army had been stationed in Terra, and they had barely succeeded in defending it.
“They certainly amuse themselves well among their own kind. In that case, will we not be the ones who gain the greatest decisive benefit?”
Ragdor answered his words.
“Yes, that is so. Regardless of victory or defeat, each of them has suffered no small amount of damage.”
Barkas added a word as well.
“Now is the optimal time for us to move.”
Vulcanus nodded.
“Indeed. We, who possess not only the Golden Core and Ember Core but two dual-attribute cores, are already ahead of the rest as it is. Those Metallum bastards ought to be even more wary of us. But are they now allied with Terra?”
Ragdor answered again.
“It seems so. It appears Metallum has even stationed its army inside Terra. We do not know the details, but they are likely fighting in exchange for Terra handing Aqua’s core over to them.”
Vulcanus’s eyes flashed.
“That’s right…… Aqua’s core. That is not something we can overlook. Have they already developed a dual-attribute core with it?”
“Yes…… It is called the Crystal Core…….”
“Hrrm.”
After pondering for a moment, Vulcanus looked at Phellos and asked.
“Between our cores and that Crystal Core, which is stronger?”
Phellos answered.
“The Golden Core is composed of flame and metal. The Crystal Core, on the other hand, is made of waves and metal. Flame melts metal, and metal aids waves, so those two relationships cancel each other out, leaving only flame and waves.”
“If the two are similar in power, that means the Golden side is pushed back.”
“That is correct. And the Ember Core is made of flame and life. Since flame melts metal, Ember may likewise defeat Crystal, but Crystal’s waves and metal can each threaten flame and life, so it is not necessarily at a disadvantage. In other words, Ember and Crystal can exert a similar degree of influence on each other.”
Vulcanus fell into thought once more.
The difference between the Golden Core and the Ember Core lay in the difference between the energy of metal and the energy of wood.
To oppose Crystal, a fusion of water and metal, Ember, which contained the energy of wood and could seek a mutually generative relationship even if it stood at a disadvantage in the relationship of opposition, had better odds than Golden, which contained the same energy of metal.
Vulcanus opened his mouth.
“In any case, what we lack right now is limited resources. Silva and Aqua are allies and can provide each other with their cores as much as they wish, and even if Terra and Metallum have not done so yet, a new core will soon be created between them as well. Then they, too, will continuously produce that dual-attribute core. But as for our Golden Core and Ember Core, we cannot keep making them unless we directly seize Metallum Cores and Silva Cores ourselves.”
He rose from the throne and walked around for a while.
He still looked troubled.
“Wait. Now that I think of it, do the Silva bastards not also possess the Slime Core? They will no longer let us take their cores so easily either.”
Vulcanus turned his head and looked at his retainers.
“I shall think on it later. For now, I must go to Terra. This whole mess began after Terramont attacked Aqua and then offered those cores to Metallum, did it not? I am curious what he could be thinking now.”
Then he turned and left the citadel.
A scorching presence was entering from the south of the Terra Empire.
“Good heavens, what is that now?!”
The citizens of Terra, who had not yet escaped the terror of nearly having their empire taken from them, were startled when they saw Vulcanus’s army.
But Vulcanus had no intention of attacking Terra.
He had come to Terra only to meet Terramont.
“This time it is you? What business do you have?”
Terramont, who had just emerged from the citadel, calmly addressed Vulcanus when he saw him.
His attitude was as though he had already expected Vulcanus to come.
There were only a few steps between Vulcanus and Terramont, but the atmosphere was heavier than a hundred words.
Vulcanus spoke first.
“Well then, do you still believe yourselves to be the center? And yet, to protect that center, you have even joined hands with Metallum.”
Terramont said nothing.
Vulcanus moved his steps slowly and gazed down the ridge.
“I knew what you did from the very beginning. At first you attacked Aqua, then handed their cores over to Metallum. Even then, I could not understand what you were thinking, but seeing it now, it is truly laughable. Well? Are you satisfied?”
Mockery was mixed into Vulcanus’s words.
Yet they also contained something he truly wanted to know.
Terramont quietly turned his head and looked at Vulcanus.
“The earth is still here. We endured at the center of this world.”
His voice was calm, without the slightest passion.
“Now the world will revolve around this place once again.”
Vulcanus snorted.
“True, it will revolve, I suppose. Since you have made enemies on every side. Do you think Metallum will protect you to the end? They, too, are aiming for this place, so they merely pretend to support you. Looking at the Metallum soldiers wandering outside, I could hardly tell whether this place was Terra or Metallum.”
A brief silence.
Terramont did not bother to refute those words.
He merely responded shortly.
“You are free to think as you wish.”
Yet his eyes did not waver much.
Vulcanus turned his head.
“It is not as though I have no desire for this place either. Since you provided Metallum the opportunity to create the Crystal Core, do you think we would simply stay still? I, too, must kindle my own fire in my own way.”
Vulcanus began to walk away.
Terramont’s voice came from behind him.
“It is not difficult for fire to spread. But its traces will not last long.”
Vulcanus showed no particular change of emotion at his words.
“Then I must make it burn all the more, so that it does not go out.”
Vulcanus spotted Metallum’s steel knights roaming in the distance.
He looked at them for a moment, then turned his head and returned to his own Ignis.
“I cannot tell what Terramont is thinking.”
Back inside the citadel of Volcanium, Vulcanus muttered to himself.
Ragdor said,
“Terramont seems to be pretending only on the surface that nothing is wrong. Everyone knows that if Metallum had not been there, he might have lost his entire empire without being able to lift a finger.”
Barkas agreed with him as well.
“That is true. Now is the time when they must rebuild a ruined nation, so there is no way things will be stable.”
Vulcanus exhaled.
Then sparks rose from his hot breath.
“Regrettably, we do not have enough forces to attack Terra. The only troop type capable of attacking Terra is the Carbonized Infantry. And at present, there are only a few Carbonized Infantry we can produce.”
Fire was originally an existence that aided earth.
For when fire burns, it becomes ash.
But Ignis was now trying to defy that mutually generative relationship.
Silence flowed.
Vulcanus continued.
“Silva was forced to retreat while attacking Terra because of Metallum’s sudden raid. To think they would help Terra in such a manner. Silva may have retreated, but they will soon recover. Those damned slime soldiers will continue to be produced from now on.”
At that moment, Barkas said,
“The slime warriors seem to have already proven themselves on the front. Next time, there is a possibility they may come for us.”
Phellos nodded.
“The fact that Silva and Aqua are moving together is their greatest strength. If we approach Silva, then we may also suffer their pincer attack, just like Terra…….”
When Vulcanus glanced at Phellos, Phellos stopped speaking.
Phellos’s words could easily be heard as dissatisfaction with the fact that Ignis had yet to join hands with anyone.
“We are beings that burn alone. We need no one’s help!”
Vulcanus’s declaration was firm.
Once again, the citadel sank into silence.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward Vulcanus, standing at the center.
He raised one hand and pointed to a spot on the map atop the table.
“Metallum.”
At that single word, the air in the room grew hotter.
“As expected, there is nowhere else for us but this place. Metallum is now in a situation where they must protect Terra as well, and they, too, must have suffered no small loss of forces due to the battle. We will take advantage of this gap and attack Metallum.”
Phellos spoke carefully again.
“Yes…… that is so. Metallum may have recently succeeded in creating the Crystal Core, but there should not be many of them. We can steadily replenish the Crimson Flame Knights and prepare our forces as well.”
Vulcanus nodded.
“Yes. No matter how crystalline it may be, we need only create a greater fire capable of melting it.”
Finally, he gave an order to Barkas.
“As I said, train additional Crimson Flame Knights. And produce as many Molten Infantry as possible. This time, we will be able to bring back far more cores.”
“Yes, I will carry it out at once.”
Thus, in Ignis, different troop types were trained and produced in three kinds of barracks.
Crimson Flame Knights, Molten Infantry, Carbonized Infantry.
The trained soldiers stood in place without exchanging a word.
But just then, when one Molten Infantry encountered a Carbonized Infantry that emerged from slightly behind, it suddenly emitted a faint heat and shifted its stance.
Even after seeing this, the Carbonized Infantry did not retreat a single step.
Soon, it too waited in an attacking stance.
The clash between the two was only friction, but in that brief instant, metal and wood creaked within the flames.
Barkas sensed something strange and shouted.
“Stop! What are you doing!”
The Molten Infantry and Carbonized Infantry heard Barkas’s cry and returned to their positions.
In name, they belonged to Ignis, but as beings mixed with energies other than the energy of fire, there was a subtle instability in their behavior.
“Now, are all preparations complete?”
Barkas looked around at the trained soldiers and shouted.
“Good. We advance again. We head for Metallum!”
The current stopped for a moment.
But to stop was also preparation to flow more deeply.
Earth remained heavy, and metal remained hard.
But water remembered, and sensed the next current to come.