◈ Episode 408. Four Days (3)
The Holy War Alliance.
“They’re all allies far beyond what I deserve.”
But if I had to pick out the most exceptional forces among them...
First, I couldn’t leave out the heads of the Four Houses and Mary, descendant of Twilight. As Transcendents, they were not only qualified to enter the Social Hall of Space-Time, but had even earned the right to ascend to its upper floors.
However.
“Froznax is beyond standard.”
Crossing blows with him, however briefly, had made me realize it once again.
Dragons were on a different level.
In other words, he was an ultra-specialized force.
“I will entrust you with a grave mission, Froznax.”
Thus, I assigned Froznax an important task.
I had no idea how long that damned polymorph of his intended to last, but... wasn’t our Lord Grandfell one who did not judge opponents by their appearance alone?
“I shall obey anything, O Dark Dragon.”
At least he had manners.
Froznax, the little chick, bowed his head.
Shaking off my doubts, I continued.
“Dispose of the foul appendages the Primordial Evil will stretch forth.”
The Primordial Evil.
It was the root cause that had rotted the World Tree, corrupted the dragons, and driven the elves to wander the Arcana Continent in guilt. It would surely target the new World Tree.
Its goal?
I couldn’t know exactly, but one thing was certain.
The Primordial Evil did not want the World Tree to exist on the Arcana Continent. That was why it had induced the dragons to swallow the evil fruit, deceived the elves, and caused the first World Tree to die in complete isolation.
“You think things will go your way this time too?”
Yes, this wasn’t the first time a World Tree had sprouted anew.
[The World Tree’s Secret Garden].
There had been a World Tree seed that sprouted within a Rift, neither reality nor the Arcana Continent. Even if it was the Primordial Evil, it wouldn’t know that location precisely.
But the seed of the World Tree that Froznax had spat out was different. It had taken root in northern Antonium, on the Arcana Continent. In other words, the Primordial Evil could become aware of its existence and stretch forth its foul appendages, its writhing byproducts.
“The byproduct was no joke.”
I asked myself coldly.
Were there those within the Holy War Alliance who could defeat the Primordial Evil’s byproduct? The answer was no.
Moreover, because of the effect of [Last Adventurer], I was currently unable to enter the Arcana Continent. Whether I liked it or not, I had no choice but to leave it to Froznax.
Fortunately, Froznax answered with enthusiasm.
“It is an honor that you would grant me the chance to avenge myself.”
If he thought of it that way...
He would faithfully carry out the mission without me needing to add anything else.
Of course, Froznax’s mission did not end there.
“As commander-in-chief, I must raise the strength of the Holy War Alliance.”
Dragon Knight, Skal.
Now that Froznax had fully joined the Holy War Alliance,
an opportunity had come for Skal to be reborn as a true Dragon Knight.
Of course, because of this damned personality of mine, I couldn’t force it on him.
Besides, considering Froznax’s personality,
who knew what sort of disaster would occur if I tried to make him do it?
“As for the matter of the Dragon Knight, I leave it entirely to you.”
So when you can acknowledge him, let Skal ride upon your back.
I conveyed it to Froznax in Grandfell’s manner of speech.
Above all, it was a judgment I could make because I had experienced it myself.
Don’t feel too disappointed, Skal.
“Even if you pour water into a bottomless jar...”
In the end, you only end up suffering several times more later.
Why, just look at me now.
I don’t even have time to catch my breath.
─Train your weakened body. (Repeat)
I’m being tormented by this damned, tiresome training quest...!
*
“...That chick really was the Ice Dragon.”
Froznax’s opening of hostilities.
[Ice Dragon Froznax transforms the field.]
Before the foul appendage of the Primordial Evil, which could be called his mortal enemy, Froznax went all out. Messages flickered before the eyes of the Holy War Alliance and the players.
[You have entered the Hidden Piece, Ice Dragon’s Snowy Mountain.]
Their view changed.
Northern Antonium.
The tranquil scenery was nowhere to be found.
All they could see was a snowy mountain soaring as if to tear the sky apart.
A raging blizzard.
And.
“I shall trample you.”
Froznax, the little chick, unleashing a ferocious Fear. Perhaps because he was an ally, they were not affected by the cold or the Dragon Fear. Everyone had only just felt relieved.
“W-Was it over already?!”
The [Byproduct of the Primordial Evil], the foul appendage that had charged in while tearing up the earth, had been frozen solid. Froznax flapped his tiny wings and advanced toward it.
“How dull. Bring me the main body.”
Crunch.
It looked like a shrunken chicken foot.
Though it was the tiny foot of a little chick, perhaps its power remained the same.
The moment he lightly stepped down,
the frozen tentacle shattered as it was.
The senior mages, who had belatedly teleported over due to the sudden commotion,
stared in shock. The Senior of Fire Magic, Bensch William, gasped.
“H-Have you ever seen such a monster?!”
If it was a book related to fire magic, that was one thing.
But Bensch had little interest in other books, especially the history of the Mage Tower.
After all, he, Bensch William, had not existed in the Mage Tower’s history until now. Thus, even records concerning the Dragon-Demon War had not stirred much emotion in him.
“To summon an iceberg... even Lord Senios could never do something like that...!”
Elemental magic was a matter of biting and being bitten.
Fire magic should have had a definite advantage in compatibility over ice magic. Yet this was a level where compatibility became meaningless. It was a different dimension. The Senior of Black Magic, Matisse, unusually nodded at Bensch’s words.
“It is called the realm of transformation.”
Just as Froznax had summoned a snowy mountain,
beings of a different rank transformed the surrounding area.
Hisagi translated Matisse’s words into common player sense.
“You mean a change in the field.”
Nam Tae-min also, unusually, nodded at Hisagi’s words.
“There aren’t many mobs like that. Especially not on this scale.”
Thanks to that, they realized it all over again.
What on earth had they been thinking when they charged at such a monster?
But even more unbelievable words followed.
From none other than Froznax’s beak.
“You are surprised by merely this much, human? The Dark Dragon, for his part...!”
He had endured cold that could freeze even time itself. Not only this body, Froznax, but even dragons incomparably stronger than himself had gathered at the Convocation of All Dragons, and the Dark Dragon had subdued the entire horde of dragons with a single word!
The heroic tale that followed showed no sign of ending.
“...At that point, isn’t it a legend?”
“A legend isn’t enough. It’s a myth, a myth. If it’s all true, that is.”
“So how much of what that chick says are we supposed to believe?”
The speaker truly mattered.
If Ho Yeol himself had uttered such words, they could have trusted them infinitely. But they had confirmed Froznax’s free-spirited babbling. They couldn’t simply nod along.
And there was one more person who couldn’t believe this situation.
“Where did the tentacle go? Don’t tell me it’s already been dealt with?”
It was Skal, who had arrived late in Antonium riding a griffin.
He had chased after them with all his might.
But with the utterly cowed griffin’s speed, this was the best he could do.
Nam Tae-min whispered to Froznax.
“That’s him. The Dragon Knight.”
“What’s that chick? A pet?”
“...You’re saying something that could get you in big trouble.”
Indeed.
It truly was something that could get him in big trouble.
Froznax recalled Ho Yeol’s words.
“He said it would be left to my judgment whether you possess the qualifications.”
“Qualifications? What, the chick can talk too?”
“Educating a human, is it? It seems it will be a diversion in its own way.”
Froznax looked at Skal with sinister eyes.
The Great Alliance.
The three guild masters promptly offered prayers for Skal’s miserable luck.
Shamelessness.
A stormy and rebellious manner of speech.
And on top of that, overwhelming ability that left no room for defiance.
It seemed the road of hardship had opened wide before Skal....
At the same time.
There was another person carrying out Ho Yeol’s mission: the King of Scavengers, Emilio. In the pitch-black sewer where not even light entered, Emilio gave orders to the Scavengers.
“Any rumor is fine. Collect every single one without missing a thing.”
“Got it, Emilio.”
“By the way, where are you planning to go?”
The sewers connected to every corner of Antonium.
Emilio looked toward the largest sewer pipe.
Those who noticed flinched and asked back.
“That way leads to the imperial palace, doesn’t it? You told us never to even go near it, so what’s going on? Did you catch some ominous sign? Or maybe the scent of a big score?”
Emilio shook his head.
“No, there’s something I absolutely must confirm.”
Though that person had not ordered him to do so,
Emilio judged proactively.
For some reason, he felt as if his mind had become sharper. Until now, predicting one move ahead had been the best he could do, but now he felt as if he could see ten moves ahead.
The Scavengers asked cautiously.
“Should we come with you?”
“No, the palace side is dangerous.”
“That’s true, but...”
Just approaching it could get one turned into an arrow target at any time. One might get caught in a magic circle and burned to a crisp. There was a reason even the reckless Scavengers did not approach that place.
“Then be careful, Emilio!”
Step—
But Emilio nodded and set foot toward the sewer connected to the imperial palace. It was something no one had asked for. Yet why was it? His feet moved toward the palace on their own.
“...This is strange.”
Even he found his own action odd.
However, Emilio’s judgment was not wrong.
At this moment.
The King of Scavengers.
Emilio, who possessed the vessel of a monarch, had entered a state where his abilities were rapidly rising.
Yes.
Though Emilio, an Arcana native, could not see it,
messages had already appeared before his eyes.
[You have encountered the monarch of a hostile force.]
[Stat, ‘Judgment,’ increases.]
[Stat, ‘Coolheadedness,’ increases.]
[Stat, ‘Self-Control,’ increases.]
......
Though he was called the King of Scavengers, Emilio was nothing more than an insignificant king. Emilio had neither a great swordsmanship master like the emperor, nor a teacher of knowledge, nor countless experiences.
Even so, Emilio’s eyes shone with the light of a monarch.
And that
was the reason the monarchs of Arcana had exterminated the seeds of other monarchs like themselves.
The Warring States Period.
Within the irresistible flow of the era,
the class, [Monarch],
would come into full bloom.
[Your stats increase due to the effect of the World Quest, ‘Warring States Period.’]
Then naturally, a question had to follow.
Emilio had never left the sewers of Antonium in the first place.
Why,
only now,
had a message appeared saying he had encountered the monarch of a hostile force?
The reason was simple.
The monarch of the hostile force that appeared in the message
was not referring to the emperor.
Zing!
“...!”
At the intense pain he felt at the tip of his foot, Emilio stopped short.
A magic circle?
Even if it was magic, he could not scream.
Beyond the darkness, imperial palace guards might be aiming crossbows at him.
But.
“...Thorns?”
It wasn’t magic.
When he looked at the ground, there were thorny vines.
Emilio’s eyes widened.
“!”
Even when he tried to look at the end of the thorny vines, he could not see it. Even when he carefully moved his feet to find their roots, all he could see were thorny vines tangled in an ever more complicated mess.
“What on earth...”
Had they planted thorny vines to block access?
No, just a few days ago, there had been no vines like this.
Besides, with thorny vines like these, there would be no place for guards to stand.
Emilio swallowed dryly.
“What is happening?”
Yet because he found it suspicious, he could not retreat all the more.
He was the only one who could grasp the situation inside Antonium.
Just as Emilio crouched down to avoid the thorny vines,
“Urgh.”
“...!”
A groan came from beyond the darkness.
It was not difficult to identify its source.
It was the groan of a guard who had gotten drunk and belatedly opened his eyes.
When Emilio held his breath, he heard the voice clearly.
“Aaron? Mel? Where are you? What did you do with the torches...? Ow! What the hell are these damned thorny vines?! Damn it. Am I still not sober...?”
Judging by the fact that even the guard seemed unaware of them,
it appeared the thorny vines had grown within the past few hours.
Soon, the guard’s voice continued.
“...And what are these blossoms?”
Blossoms...?
At those words, Emilio raised his crouched head.
Then he truly saw them.
Before the guard, who stood bent forward with his head lowered,
were two enormous blossoms blooming on the thorny vines.
They were truly rose blossoms the size of a person.
Soon, the guard abruptly turned around.
“Rose blossoms the size of a person? This has got to be a damn dream.”
Did he think he was still half-asleep or drunk?
Unfortunately,
it was neither.
Because in the darkness,
Emilio was watching clearly.
Rustle.
“?”
The thorny vines secretly approaching the man who had turned his back.
The moment the thorny vines touched the man,
the mouse that had been quietly sleeping in Emilio’s inner pocket
squeak—
leapt out and began fleeing to the far side of the sewer.
“...!”
Thanks to that, Emilio could instinctively tell
the danger level of the person-sized rose blossoms.
The guard wrapped in thorny vines, one layer, two layers, three layers...
was being covered in rose petals.
“What the fu—?!”
At last, he transformed into a blossom.
Into the same form as
the two blossoms hanging from the thorny vines....
[Archive of the War Situation]
[Collapse Rate: 100%]
[The Lord of the Eternal Rose, ‘Seric Rose,’ appears.]
[The Lord of the Eternal Rose, Seric Rose, transforms the field.]
[An Eternal Rosy Future covers the imperial capital, Antonium.]
......