5. Migration> When Ragaofe began gaining more and more of his own kind after Broxian, all sorts of thoughts occurred to him, but in the end, they all led to one conclusion.
At first, he had begun gathering his kin as a means of crossing the forbidden zone, but at the rate they were appearing, it seemed like it would take a million years. On top of that, the limit of their lifespan was a major problem. If three hundred years was the limit, then even if seven-horned ones were out of reach, no mighty individuals capable of easily hunting six-horned ones would appear. He himself had not grown stronger, either, since he was under time freeze.
And so Ragaofe contented himself with having eased his loneliness and lowered his goal.
Before
-rad> was born.
The great genius, Con
-rad. A monster among monsters, who in less than three hundred years climbed to a level where he could face the Great Warrior Nekra, who had been an eyesore.
After he was born, and the human monkeys began establishing a strange field of study called “miracle arts” centered around him, a new hope began to appear before Ragaofe.
The hope of returning home.
In the world he came from, there was no concept of miracle arts. To begin with, there were many believers in brute force who did not use their heads much, and the supernatural abilities each individual wielded were far too powerful. If one was born with it, why would anyone gather together and research it? Each individual’s strength was thoroughly proportional to their own talent and effort.
But perhaps because the monkeys here were weak as individuals, they had created strange fields of study called miracle arts and magic studies. Though these lacked destructive power, they possessed curious functions, and so they showed Ragaofe a hope that he might return home.
From that moment on, Ragaofe revised his goal. He would return to his homeland. Though a long time had passed, this was not a place where they belonged.
A world with nothing but monkeys. Waiting for kin who might or might not be born once every hundred years in a world like a deserted island was far too exhausting. Lowering his goal had never meant he liked this place. He had merely given up because he saw no possibility. But now, a possibility was visible. If so, it was worth trying again.
The companions he had brought into being thus far also said they would gladly participate when told that there was a world where others of their kind lived.
After that, the organization Ragaofe created in order to proceed with his plan was Heranter. After all, the plan was no simple matter, and he needed hands to help.
In the language of the place Ragaofe had lived, the organization’s name meant “migrants.”
“In other words, our objective is… to cross over beyond there, to the place where I once lived. In your words… the place called the Don
-Nasian Continent.”
“Huh… Is that possible?”
Sian asked out of curiosity. The land was blocked on all sides by colossal monsters, yet they intended to return to the place where they had been born. Having seen their overwhelming power in his memories, Sian wondered whether it was truly feasible.
“Hehe, would we be doing this if there were no possibility? There is a way. Heranter was created to make it reality.”
In the midst of this, Steel asked,
“But why keep the organization secret? From what I’ve heard, there doesn’t seem to be any particular need to.”
Ragaofe replied,
“We have never kept it secret. We merely told only those who were necessary.”
“Ah.”
“There is no need to spread it to those who are not superhumans. It is not as though we have any interest in ruling… It is enough for those necessary to our goal to participate.”
At that, Steel nodded. They were beings far too different to play at being monkey kings. He himself had abandoned Taran and entered the Lagrang region once he truly became a superhuman, after all.
As Steel and Ragaofe spoke, Sian, hearing Ragaofe say that there was a way, wondered just what method they might use to return and thought of one possibility.
“Ah… Are you perhaps returning with something like spatial movement?”
Having heard Ragaofe say that he had seen hope in the development of miracle arts, Sian asked about the possibility of spatial movement.
If they were capable of creating La
-Shar
-Roa, then surely they could manage spatial movement as well.
But Ragaofe shook his head.
“Spatial movement is impossible.”
“Hmm? Why is that? If you use a miracle art like La
-Shar
-Roa to cross over…”
Before Sian could finish speaking, however, Ragaofe opened his mouth with a sorrowful expression.
“That is possible only because, fundamentally, the coordinates are fixed and held in place by spell formations on both sides.”
And Ragaofe told them a story from the past.☆ ☆ ☆Con
-rad, who had founded the empire, and Ragaofe carried out all sorts of experiments in order to realize their goal of going to the continent on the other side. Among them, Con
-rad made an astonishing discovery.
While experimenting with various miracle arts, Con
-rad discovered the astonishing possibility called spatial movement, and in his excitement, informed Ragaofe and their kin.
After that, they began experimenting with all sorts of things regarding spatial movement. Since miracle arts had only just begun to develop and the concept of spatial movement itself was new, all of them proceeded cautiously. If something went wrong, they might be flung somewhere else. Thanks to the empire Con
-rad had ruled out of necessity, there was no problem securing materials and manpower. It was then that Ragaofe, realizing monkeys could be useful too, later felt the need for subcontractors and created them.
In the midst of this,
-Shar
-Roa> were developed. People would think these were created to protect humanity and make it prosperous, but they were all nothing more than things developed during the efforts of Heranter’s people to return. Of course, while spreading them, they added suitable embellishments.
But both were failures. Void could not designate a destination. La
-Shar
-Roa required spell formations to be installed at both the destination and the point of departure. Naturally, the Don
-Nasian Continent, where miracle arts had not developed, had no such things at all. Nor were there people there to install miracle arts.
And so the members of the organization began with short distances and slowly expanded the range. Five kilometers… ten kilometers… twenty kilometers… The short-range spatial movement technology created in the process was deployed in “Arankal’s Armory.” “Narangel’s Gate” was also born based on technology created at that time.
Ragaofe was filled with joy. At this rate, returning to his homeland by cutting across space did not seem difficult.
But the problem occurred around the time they went beyond thirty kilometers.
A different dimension, yet not a different dimension. With its entrance set against their continent, existing half a step below their dimension, that place was where every kind of monster imaginable had been gathered. Almost none of those who had entered had ever returned alive.
The results of the experiments afterward were all the same. The farther the spatial movement distance grew, the more every dimensional gate connected to Apental.
Tachyon and Con
-rad studied these results and presented the following conclusion.
And so spatial movement ended in failure. Ragaofe and his companions, shaking off their emptiness, sought another direction.
Though spatial movement had failed, Tachyon did not give up afterward and searched for a way to use that place. He told the Law Society that it was impossible with current technology, but at Heranter’s level, opening it was not difficult, so he continued his research separately.
However, although they could open it, their knowledge of dimensions was lacking, so they could not control it, and the research stagnated. Later, when Rimainu arrived, they completed a dimensional gate through which one could enter from this side while being unable to come out from the other, and named it the Gate of Hell, “Tasha
-Dagon.”☆ ☆ ☆“…
So it was Heranter who opened that?”
“Hmm? You did not know?”
“Ugh…”
Sian, who had thought it was simply an experiment belonging to the Law Society, let out a bitter sound upon learning the truth.
“I am sorry you were caught up in that at the time, Mr. Sian. It was a completely unexpected situation… We could not help it either.”
When Ragaofe spoke with an apologetic expression, Sian smiled bitterly and nodded. A long time had passed, and he had received far too much by now to make a scene over what had happened then.
And Ragaofe’s apology was sincere. He had never intended to sweep a precious kinsman like Sian into that place. It had truly been an unlucky tangle of events.
“Well… in any case, you are saying you cannot cross over through spatial movement.”
“That is correct. We must consider another method.”
“What is that method?”
Since Sian could not guess, he asked out of curiosity, but Ragaofe replied with a smile.
“I will tell you everything if you join us, Mr. Sian.”
“Hmm…”
“If you will not be coming with us, there is no need for you to know the plan, is there? Knowing this much should be enough for you to make your decision. If you come with us, I will tell you everything. And this offer is extended to Mr. Steel as well. Though it feels a little late.”
At those words, Steel and Sian began to think. But Ragaofe, looking at them, smiled faintly as if he already knew the result.
“That… Is it impossible to go later, perhaps?”
Sian asked cautiously. Right now, he had his family, so he could not go. But if all his family died, he would be left alone in this place. He thought it might not be bad to go around that time.
At that, Ragaofe shook his head.
“There is no time. The execution of our plan is almost at its final stage as well. If you miss this opportunity, Mr. Sian, you will likely never be able to cross over again.”
“Huh…”
He did not know what the plan was, but it did not seem to be an opportunity that came often. And so, after thinking a little longer, Sian finally made his decision.
“I will just remain here.”
But Ragaofe nodded as though he had expected it.
“I thought you would.”
Having observed the man called Sian, he did not seem likely to leave his family behind and follow them. And come to think of it, he did not seem as lonely as they were. Ragaofe did not know how it had happened, but Sian seemed to get along well with the monkeys of this place too.
But he would not force him. It was not a matter that could be forced. The plan had now entered its course, and though it was regrettable to leave a kinsman behind here and be unable to go together, it was not something he could compel.
Steel looked at Sian and promptly made his decision.
“Well… then I’ll pass too. I’ll just live here all cozy with my little brother.”
Sian now knew how he felt about Miss Steel, so the proposal did not feel burdensome. If anything, he had been secretly worried she might leave, and hearing her say she would stay with him stirred a gladness in one corner of his heart.
But at the same time, he was worried.
“Miss Steel, will you be all right?”
Sian asked with a concerned expression. He had family, at least, but Miss Steel had no one except him.
“Hoho. I’m used to that sort of thing. If anything, things are much better now. Now I at least have a little brother.”
“Ah…….”
Ragaope, who had been watching the two of them, smiled faintly.
“You look good together. Then… the two of you will be remaining here?”
“It seems that way. I’m sorry we cannot go with you.”
“Well… no, it’s all right. This isn’t something that can be forced. If you live happily here, then there’s no problem at all.”
Ragaope himself had chosen migration because life here was far too miserable and unbearable. And it was the same for his other comrades. But if they liked life here, there was no need for them to choose migration.
And so Ragaope no longer pressed them.
“The Soul-Transference Jades… I’ll send them to you once they’re complete. It will be tight, but they should be finished before the plan succeeds. They are our final gift. Please live happily…….”
“I hope your plan succeeds as well, Mr. Ragaope.”
Sian returned the artifact Ragaope had given him, and Ragaope accepted it and disappeared.
He had heard truths like a storm and the history of the continent, but nothing changed. If anything, he had only confirmed his own heart. But Sian was satisfied with that alone.
After that, Sian did not see Ragaope’s face for quite some time, and Sian and Steel spent their days peacefully. It was only when he received a letter and a small box one day that he heard news of Ragaope again.☆ ☆ ☆“Sian! Something has arrived for you.”
Rian brought Sian a small box and a letter that someone had delivered.
Sian, who had been lounging around with Miss Steel, sat up when he saw the box.
“Sian, aren’t you staying inside too much?”
Seeing Sian remain in the castle for months, Rian wore a worried expression.
“It’s incredibly comfortable. Haha. And if I go out… Uncle Narasha will clutch the back of his neck, you know?”
“Mm… I suppose that’s true.”
That was not exactly why he was not going out, but it was easy enough to predict that it would happen. Rian nodded and left the room.
Wondering what had come for him, Sian first opened the box.
Inside the box were four small jewels.
“Uh… this is?”
Sian could tell what the jewels were.
“Hee… I guess this is the Soul-Transference Jade… What’s that paper next to it?”
Steel, who had been lying beside him, rolled over and peered into the box, then discovered a small note tucked inside.
“Let’s see… it says… instruction manual.”
After reading those words, Sian began reading the manual before the letter.
-How to Use
1. Place the Soul-Transference Jade in a water tank in a safe location. Since a sufficient amount of water is required, throwing it to the bottom of a lake is also preferable to using a small tank.
2. Soul-Transference Jade 1.15 will begin operating the moment the subject’s death is confirmed.
3. If the subject dies, the Soul-Transference Jade detects the subject’s death and begins regeneration in order, starting from the skeleton and proceeding all the way to the soul. All necessary materials are contained within, so as long as water is supplied consistently, completion will take three days.
4. The subject will be regenerated in the form they had immediately before death, and it cannot be used on those who died because their lifespan came to an end.‘Hmm…….’It was an odd explanation, but there did not seem to be anything particularly bad about it. Above all, he liked the fact that no descendants had to be devoured. Sian had not wished for his family to become undying and immortal either.
Quite satisfied, Sian picked up the letter. It was rather long, as if there was much to say.
First, I assume you have confirmed the gift. There is something I must tell you about it.
There is one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.
The good news is that, as you know, the Soul-Transference Jades for your family have all been completed. Contrary to what I had confidently claimed, natural death cannot be avoided… but with ordinary bodies unlike those of our race, this is the limit. Though they will not be able to avoid aging and dying of old age, they should not suffer sudden, unnatural deaths.
The bad news is that the development of Mr. Sian’s Soul-Transference Jade has failed.>“Huh?”
Sian stopped reading the note and looked inside the box, wondering what that was supposed to mean. There were definitely four Soul-Transference Jades inside the box.
Bewildered, Sian looked over the letter again.
In haste, I have enclosed three version 1.15 Soul-Transference Jades for your family and one version 1.03 Soul-Transference Jade for Miss Steel that had already been made.
Seeing the atmosphere between the two of you last time, I thought you would produce descendants very soon. I believed there would be no particular issue if you used Miss Steel’s Soul-Transference Jade then, so I did not make a separate one. We were also somewhat short on materials from repeatedly failing in our research on Mr. Sian.
And though it is embarrassing to say this myself… once even we leave, is there truly any way Mr. Sian could die on that continent? The result is somewhat lacking, considering how grandly I boasted, but I hope you will be satisfied.
It is a pity that we cannot complete and deliver it to you, as the time has come for us to leave. The opportunity I mentioned last time came sooner than expected.
We will be leaving now. Fortunately, we were able to complete our preparations on time. Come to think of it, by the time this letter arrives, it will likely be beginning. Though our connection was brief, I enjoyed our time together. Please live happily with Miss Steel.
ps)
Of course, if we fail, we may meet again, but please pray that we never do.>“Tsk…….”
Looking closely, one of the Soul-Transference Jades was slightly different from the other three. That was likely Miss Steel’s Soul-Transference Jade.
It fell somewhat short of what he had hoped for, but he could hardly complain about something they had made for him for free. After pushing Miss Steel’s Soul-Transference Jade into his palm and throwing his family’s Soul-Transference Jades into a distant lake according to the manual, Sian could only smack his lips in regret.
“I guess they’re leaving now.”
“It seems so. But what exactly is this opportunity…….”
Yet before even a full day had passed, Sian found out what that opportunity was the moment the words left his mouth.
“……?”
Sian, who had been lying down, suddenly sprang up and flew into the air.
“What is it? What’s going on?”
Steel followed after him and asked, but Sian looked far into the distance with a grave expression.
Miss Steel likely could not feel it yet. This sensation was approaching from far, far away.
In other words, it was so extraordinary that it could be felt even from far, far away.
At the same time, he felt his intuition activate again for the first time in a while. This time, far more intensely than usual.
“Miss Steel, I’ll be back shortly.”
“Huh? Sian, where are you going?”
Leaving Steel behind him, Sian began running fiercely.‘…
Mr. Ragaope, just what on earth have you done…….’As he ran, Sian began wondering just what the plan Ragaope had spoken of could be.☆ ☆ ☆“Everyone, move it carefully!”
“Yes, everyone’s doing well!”
Northeast of Tian, on the plain located between the Sky Mountain Range, the Great Forest, and the Great Northern Wall, construction was in full swing.
And it was no ordinary construction. It was a massive project being carried out by the Magic Association.
The Grand Defensive Magic Formation,
-Sara>After the incident with the army of the dead, the Grand Magic Association had stepped forward, saying they would prevent anything like this from happening again before the Great Northern Wall was fully built.
And beneath the Sky Mountain Range, on the great plain before the place where Krotia Fortress had once stood, they began building an enormous magic formation. If a magic formation was installed here, it could block the route by which the Harijans would enter Tian and Taran.
Each nation had suffered so severely this time that they acknowledged the need for such a magic formation before the extension of the Great Northern Wall was complete, and as a result, the formation had been built at high speed and was now almost finished.
“Still… it truly is enormous.”
Looking at the huge magic formation that spanned several kilometers in diameter, the knights participating in the construction let out low groans. They were complete laymen when it came to miracles, but they had never even heard of such a vast magic formation.
“Well, it’s being handled by clever fellows, so I’m sure they made it this way because it was necessary. Anyway… you’re saying it will activate once we place only this in the center?”
The knights spoke while looking at the enormous sphere they had to transport.
A huge sphere wrapped in thin steel. Seeing its size, which exceeded dozens of meters, the knights felt an inexplicable sense of awe.
“Once we place this there… that magic formation will activate and buy us time until the Great Northern Wall is constructed.”
“That’s right. They say the formation is complete, so let’s move it quickly. Still… the Grand Magic Association is impressive. How did they make something like this?”
No matter how skilled they were as armed warriors, moving such a massive sphere was impossible, so they used a mysterious machine provided by the Grand Magic Association to begin carefully moving the steel sphere into the center.☆ ☆ ☆“Is everyone ready?”
Ragaope shouted as he looked at his comrades before him. Every one of them wore slightly anxious expressions.
Among them, a sharp-featured man opened his mouth with a deeply uneasy look.
“Hey, Ragaope. Is it really all right this time?”
“Haha, this time it is certain, Mr. Killadepal.”
When Ragaope spoke in a tone brimming with confidence, Killadepal instead looked even more anxious.
“You said that… four hundred years ago too. Back then, everyone died as well. If it hadn’t been for Kon
-Rad, you would have died too.”
At those words, Ragaope answered with an embarrassed expression.
“Haha… Even so, everyone is alive like this now, aren’t they? We made the Soul-Transference Jades beforehand precisely because we intended to do that. We’ve made them all this time as well, so please don’t worry.”
“Bah…….”
At that, Killadepal seemed to have nothing more to say and turned his head away. Indeed, if one took into account the fact that they could come back to life, it was a gamble worth attempting.
“When would an opportunity like this come again? This chance is even better than the one four hundred years ago. Please look forward to it.”
“Well… that’s true.”
A woman beside him with a gentle-looking impression opened her mouth. It meant she agreed with Ragaope.
“Exactly, Robanoteun? Heh heh. This time, it truly will go well.”
“At least it’s much better than the tunnel operation or the operation to fly over.”
“…….”
Even for Ragaope, who had tried everything imaginable, those were among his greatest failures. As for the tunnel, they could not even begin to imagine digging across that vast Sky Mountain Range, and if they did something like that, there was no way the Seven Horns would fail to notice, so it was rejected. The operation to fly over was impossible because, strangely, the higher they rose, the stronger the force pulling them toward the ground became. About ten kilometers was possible, but that much was within the range of Dragona or Crona. They would be shot down at once.
Recalling the plan that had grandly failed despite consuming an entire year’s budget of the empire, Ragaope gave a bitter smile.
“By the way… is it really all right not to bring that newly appeared kin and Stantal?”
Robanoteun asked as if curious, and the same was true for the other comrades around them. They had all been busy scattered across various regions preparing the plan, so none of them had seen the newly appeared kin even once. Except for Ribias.
“Hey, why would you want to see something like that? It’s better not to get close to that sort of thing.”
“He’s that bad?”
Robanoteun asked, looking at Ribias with curiosity. It had been a long time since she had seen Ribias, who usually strutted around as if the sky itself were beneath him, so cowed. Aside from Kon
-Rad, he was the sort who snapped at anyone, so seeing him like this was rather novel.
“What’s the point of knowing when we’ll never see him again? Let’s just not pay attention to it.”
Ribias grumbled and avoided answering, and Ragaope opened his mouth to answer Robanoteun’s question.
“Well… since it was the choice you two made, I suppose I ought to respect it. And personally, I think Mr. Sian will do quite well even here. He is a rather unusual person…”
Thinking of Sian’s love for his family, Ragaope wore a strange expression.
Even among the nobles he had seen, Sian was the most peculiar. If he had killed Nekra, then that meant he was even stronger than Kon-rad, who had been on the same level. To reach such a realm at barely twenty-two… Ragaope could hardly believe it.
He had even made them Soul Transference Jades to prevent their families from being swept up in the aftermath and dying untimely deaths, so they would not be harmed by being caught in the plan. It would feel unpleasant to make an enemy of him for no reason.
At that moment, through the image, Ragaope confirmed that the egg had been placed atop the magic formation.
“It’s done. The egg is on the formation.”
“Does that mean we don’t have to keep hiding anymore?”
Killadepal asked.
“Yes. Prepare to rush out.”
Ragaope said, and Ribias looked at him anxiously.
“Ragaope, can that thing really supply energy to that formation? Even I would struggle with it.”
It was a natural question for Ribias, who had seen the size of the formation. Supplying energy to something of that tremendous scale would be difficult even if he operated his “Path,” the sun, at maximum output. It was hard to believe that a single egg could supply energy to that formation.
“Hoho. Do not worry. Whose egg do you think that is? It will be enough. In any case… everyone, prepare yourselves. This is where it begins.”
Ragaope spoke with a smile, and everyone’s expressions tensed at his words.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Everyone, evacuate! Evacuate!”
As soon as the enormous metal sphere was placed atop the colossal magic formation, the massive sphere began to emit a strange light. No, to be precise, it looked as though the formation were stimulating every corner of the strange sphere.
Whenever light from the formation wrapped once around the sphere, the metal sphere trembled and added its own light to it. Then that light flowed back around the sphere, entered the formation, and sprang out again, a process repeated countless times.
The light, faint at first, began to grow incredibly bright as time passed, and the sphere at its center also began to shine like the sun. But as all that light was greedily devoured by the formation, the sphere soon began to emit a soft glow like the moon, while the enormous formation, several kilometers in diameter, started shining instead.
The people who had evacuated outside and were watching the entire process shuddered at the peculiar vibration they felt through the ground.
“Ooh… it seems something is about to begin.”
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
The vibration, echoing like a heartbeat, grew stronger and stronger along the earth.
But before long, the people sensed that something was strange. This did not feel like the pulsing of a magic formation. Rather…
“This… feels like the vibration of footsteps…”
“Come now… what are you saying? How could that be possible? It’s not as if a mountain is walking toward us.”
The knight beside him laughed as he spoke. Nothing was yet visible in their field of vision. There were only the Sky Mountains and the Great Forest visible in the distance.
They could not even imagine how enormous something would have to be for them to feel vibrations while it was still walking beyond their sight.
And far away, there was Sian, watching the magic formation activate. He had run here for now, following what his instincts told him, but…
‘I don’t know if coming here was the right choice…’
At a glance, something extraordinary was operating with tremendous force.
And something was approaching from afar.
“Wow… what is that, Sian?”
“Miss Steel, I told you not to follow me.”
Sian let out a sigh. But Steel had seen something interesting, so Sian’s words did not reach her ears.
“That thing… looks even stronger than the one from last time.”
The knights probably could not see it yet, but Sian and Steel could see it clearly.
A gigantic monster was striding toward them from afar, making the earth tremble.
On its head were horns even sturdier and thicker than those of the bull-headed Harijan Sian had once fought before the red sphere. Seeing the excited expression on the creature’s face, Sian finally realized what the sphere inside was.
“That egg must belong to the one running over there.”
“Seems so. But how in the world did they steal that?”
Steel and Sian looked on in curiosity, but they did not think of it as that serious. That creature looked stronger than the bull-headed one. But to put that another way, it meant it was nothing much to Sian.
More than that, Steel was curious about the purpose of the magic formation over there. The formation was truly greedily devouring the energy that had been accumulated for the egg’s hatching. At that level, it was even more than the amount of energy Uncle Ribias had drawn out last time.
While Steel was wondering, below had already turned into chaos. Perhaps they had seen the monster approaching from afar, because everyone was fleeing. This place was far from the Great Northern Wall, an uninhabited region, so there were no forces here capable of stopping such a monster. Of course, even if there were, it would have been meaningless. Monsters like that were usually dealt with by Sir Guroin, but for some reason, it had come all the way here.
Before long, the monster arrived in front of the formation and, contrary to its tremendous entrance, took the egg into its mouth with considerable care. It was an egg tens of meters across, but the monster was so enormous that it was gently held in its mouth.
However, the egg had already fulfilled its role.
The moment the monster entered, the formation that had been waiting only for the moment to activate began operating.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Hooked!”
Ragaope had been watching through the image, and as soon as he saw that Chromat had entered the formation, he activated it immediately. As expected, whether it was Krona or this one, that clan could not simply stand by when their offspring were in danger.
“Kon-rad, you did well bringing the egg.”
“Hoho, well… I merely did as I was told from midair. But still… this thing called Aksarai… it really is incredible.”
Beside him, the being who had once been Kirat and had now been revived as Kon-rad muttered while examining the thing called a quest window before his eyes. By doing as he was told, he had been able to steal the egg without being noticed by Krona or its offspring, Chromat. He had thought it would be absolutely impossible.
Though the process had seemed rather complicated, Kon-rad now completely trusted this thing called the quest window. As long as he did exactly as it said, that was the best method. Whether it succeeded was a separate matter.
If he had possessed Aksarai’s ability four hundred years ago, the results would probably have been better.
“Hoho. Isn’t it tremendous? It did feel somewhat unsettling because you were not a descendant… but I trusted you, Kon-rad. In the first place, it would not have worked if you had not experienced reincarnation before.”
The reason it originally had to be a descendant was because the wavelengths of the souls had to match in order to increase the success rate. But Ragaope had known that Kon-rad, who had undergone reincarnation in Granain’s body, would succeed, so he poured in a large stockpile of Talik Stones and made it happen. Once they left this place, there would be no use for them anyway.
“True.”
Kon-rad spoke while looking at the status window floating before him.
[Status Window: Kal-Kirat->Kon-rad]
-Traits: One Who Lives a Third Life, User Connected to Ak-sarai, User of Foreign Supernatural Abilities.
-Level: 399
-Vander: …
-Exar: …
-Possessed Skills: Explosive Compression, Void, Rasod-ra, Destruction, Cherubim, Akmasai…………
“At this level, I think I could beat Nekra too. But is it true that bastard died?”
“Yes, he is dead.”
“Well, damn… that kid must really be some kind of monster.”
If Nekra had lost, then Kon-rad would lose as well. Both of them had been blocked by the wall. But from what he had heard, that child named Sian seemed to have broken through the wall.
“He is an unusual person.”
“Then… instead of going through something this complicated, couldn’t we just bring that guy in and try fighting it head-on somehow?”
Kon-rad grumbled, apparently not at all pleased with Ragaope’s plan.
“…It seems you lost quite a bit of your memory when you were reborn. How is that something we could just ‘try’?”
Ragaope muttered in displeasure as he recalled what had happened four hundred years ago. Even then, the plan had been proceeding well.
They had raised the strength of the useless monkeys and created something called an empire, and he had helped Kon-rad create the Soul Transference Jade he had long wanted to make. After all, the plan they intended to carry out was exceedingly dangerous, so insurance was necessary. To be precise, they had begun taking action after the Soul Transference Jade was completed.
Using the empire to tie down Kal-gul, having Kon-rad keep the Watcher, Nekra, occupied, and kidnapping Krona’s offspring while it was preparing to lay its egg—all of that had been going well. They had truly prepared an enormous amount in order to avoid Krona’s eyes.
But it had all been wasted effort. The moment the offspring cried mournfully, Krona came running at a truly astonishing speed, and in that instant, the operation ended. After seeing its offspring injured from the attempted kidnapping, it killed them all with a single breath it exhaled.
Only Ragaope, who had been outside the range while executing another part of the plan far away, survived. In hindsight, because Ragaope had survived, he was able to save all the others, so it became a blessing in disguise.
“Well, that’s true. Who would have known that insane bulk could be so fast?”
“Go die on your own. Even if you die now, I will feel nothing.”
Since they had the Soul Transference Jades, the risk had been greatly reduced. When Ragaope spoke indifferently, Kon-rad grinned slyly and said,
“Heh heh… Ragaope, don’t play hard to get. You were incredibly sad when I died the first time too. You cried as if the sky had fallen. I saw it all before I died.”
“…If I had known you would reincarnate, I would not have cried so embarrassingly loudly. And how could I not be sad when the first of my own kind I met in this place died? Do not talk as though I was the only one who was sad. You were the one who wanted to become immortal because you did not want to part from me.”
While the two bickered, the formation operated perfectly and bound the offspring.
The plan from four hundred years ago had been a complete and utter failure.
But there were also things they had newly learned.
First, Krona never strayed far from its offspring in the first place. Though it stayed outside the offspring’s perception range to prevent the offspring from acting up while trusting in it, Krona did not go very far and circled the area.
Second, if Krona’s offspring cried, Krona would hear it from anywhere and come running. Back then, they had tried to kidnap the offspring without Krona knowing, yet it came running after a single cry.
And beyond the imaging device, Krona’s offspring, perfectly caught in the formation, let out a mournful howl.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Ha ha ha…”
Sian clicked his tongue as he looked at the great formation that had activated in the distance.
The red hole he had fallen into in Kerval. It was activating again.
The difference was that it had formed much larger than before. How large? Large enough to completely swallow the monster that had been standing atop it.
The monster that had fallen into the hole was being fiercely attacked by the creatures around it and was crying mournfully. But since the monster was exceptionally strong, it was fighting fairly well.
“Huh? What is that? Isn’t that the hole little brother fell into? That’s it, right? That… the place connected to the continent over there… the perilous land.”
At Steel’s words, Sian nodded.
“…That is correct.”
“Didn’t little brother kill everything there and come back out? They called it a perilous land, but I guess it wasn’t much.”
Steel, who had seen Sian break out before, thought Sian had killed all the creatures inside and come out. But this was Steel’s misunderstanding.
“Back then, I only beat to death the ones nearby and barely made it out alive.”
The hole Sian had fallen into had been small, but the world inside was by no means small. It was tremendously vast, and filled with monsters. Moreover, at that time, there had been countless creatures on par with him. Before they could swarm him, he had beaten every nearby creature to death and broken out before the hole was fully sealed.
Even that brief battle had nearly killed him. Now he was far stronger than back then, so he had thought it would be all right, but the more one knew, the more one could see…
‘It’s still dangerous…’
Breaking out would not be difficult, but if he were completely trapped in there, it would be dangerous again. Even so, Sian was not particularly worried. From the look of it, the hole had grown larger, but once again, it was not structured in a way that would allow them to break out. And if it was the same as last time, it would close again this time too.
The question was why they had installed this thing. He had felt it even then, but that thing had been overkill for catching a single monster. In his opinion… it was enough to hold back even a seven-horned one to some extent. ‘Wait… hold back?’ Sian suddenly began to feel overwhelmingly uneasy. He was starting to get a sense of it.
And then an ominous feeling, incomparably stronger than before, surged through him. Though he felt no vibration.
“Damn it…….”
“Sian, what’s wrong?”
Steel, who had been watching the battle between the things inside the red hole and the monster with great interest, looked puzzled at Sian’s violent reaction.
“Miss Steel, please go inside for a moment.”
“Hey! Sian, you……!”
Sian quickly took Karnain out of his hand and activated the spell engraved on it. Nothing else would work, but this was possible because Karnain served as the key. Side effects were not what mattered right now.
After swiftly stuffing Miss Steel into Somazran, where she had once been imprisoned, Sian hid Karnain as well and began fleeing at tremendous speed.
Far away, from an incredibly great distance, a black object was racing toward them at a terrifying speed. It was so huge that even though it was coming from beyond the Great Forest, from an absurdly distant place, it still looked quite large.
But its movement itself was a contradiction. A creature as big as a small mountain was running, yet its movements were so light it seemed like a leopard flying through the air. There was no sound of footprints stamping into the ground, nor did he feel any tremor. That meant it was perfectly altering external coefficients and the environment.
Even without the seven horns on its head, that thing’s movement and size proved its strength.
Sian knew what it was. It existed in Sian’s memories.
The ruler of the Great Forest, Krona.
It was racing toward the red sphere as if flying. ‘Wow… that’s unbelievable…….’ Seeing it in memory and seeing it in reality were completely different. Now that he saw it for himself, its overwhelming presence spread all the way to Sian, despite the distance.
And as he watched Krona running from far away, Sian also realized the identity of the creature inside the hole. It had been different from the one in Necra’s memories, so he had not recognized it, but it seemed to have molted once in the meantime.
Ragaofe had shoved Krona’s young into that magic formation. And Krona, having noticed it, was now rushing over.
“Mr. Ragaofe… what is this…….”
☆ ☆ ☆
Before Ragaofe, who was watching the video, could shout, Conrad cried out as he looked at the status window floating in midair.
“It’s done!”
The end of the quest he had steadily prepared for after awakening was finally beginning to come into view.
[Quest: Cross the Great Forest.]
-I pay respect to you, who have drawn out Krona, the one blocking the Great Forest, through excellent resourcefulness.
-Krona is currently beside Dragona’s territory, so it will never use excessive power. It will take Krona considerable time to rescue its young.
-Cross the Great Forest before Krona returns to its place and blocks the Great Forest once more. If you cross the Great Forest, Krona will no longer pursue you.
-Success: Migration successful. Experience: 0 (Experience at maximum)
-Failure: Total death
The time had come to see the fruit of everything they had accomplished until now.
For this moment, for hundreds of years, his comrades, including Groin, had hunted six-horned Harijans whenever they had the chance in the Great Forest outside Krona’s range. When Krona was gone, the fewer of them there were, the less interference they would suffer. And all of those materials had been sent to Amaran to manufacture weapons.
A few six-horned ones lived inside Krona’s territory too, but that much was fine. They would take care of the small fry, and Conrad would remove the considerably strong ones.
The most troublesome Kalgul tribe, who would have hindered their crossing of the Great Forest, had been cleared out long ago. Along with Necra, who had been their greatest concern, even if that part had not been intentional.
In addition to Tashadagon, they had prepared means to bind Krona’s feet. He did not know how much time they would buy, but since they had deliberately installed it beside Dragona’s territory, Krona would not be able to use all its power, and they should be able to gain quite a bit of time.
Four hundred years ago, while the Empire and Conrad bought time, they had planned to kidnap only the young, shove it into Dragona’s territory, and flee, but they had not known Krona would be so close. Nor that it would be that strong. There was an enormous difference between vaguely sensing, It must be strong, and the reality. Back then, the plan had been to take advantage of the fight and see if they could somehow catch it, but after that incident, they completely revised the plan. If those two fought, everything around them would burst apart like shrimp crushed between whales.
This time, they would simply bind its feet for a little while and run away. Someone might laugh if they heard it. After building such a massive organization and powerful force, and preparing for hundreds of years, that was all they were aiming for? It was true, but because their opponent was Krona, even such a modest goal was exceedingly difficult. Conrad and his kin, who had seen with their own eyes what Krona had done, could have resorted to even dirtier tricks.
“Run!”
The instant they heard those words, those who had been hiding just outside Krona’s territory burst out at incredible speed. Then, following Conrad, they began to cross the Great Forest.
If they were caught, they would all die. They did not know why it would not chase them once they crossed the Great Forest, but Aksarai would not have taught them false information.
They only had to cross the Great Forest.
With that as their goal, they began running like mad.
☆ ☆ ☆
Sian held his breath as he watched Krona stare at its young, which was crying plaintively inside the red sphere.
As soon as Krona arrived, it stared silently at the red sphere. Then it opened its mouth wide. ‘Huh? Is it going to fire?’ Sian flinched, afraid of being swept up in it, but after opening its mouth, Krona abruptly looked toward the Sky Mountain Range. As if something there bothered it.
After repeatedly opening and closing its mouth, Krona finally shut it. It seemed to have decided not to use the beam of light Sian had seen in Necra’s memories. But it had not given up.
Krona closed its mouth, lifted a foreleg, and struck the red sphere.
Ruuuuuuuumble.
It only struck lightly with its foreleg, but an earsplitting sound rang out, and an enormous cloud of dust rose from the repulsive force between the sphere and the foreleg. The red sphere shattered at once and was torn open.
And from within, an exceedingly wicked energy began pouring out. Sian frowned at the familiar energy he had experienced before.
But this time, it was not only energy that poured out. The creatures inside the red sphere, seemingly fearless, abandoned the young they had been attacking and began crawling out like mad, attacking Krona.
Because Krona had smashed a tremendous portion of the red sphere at once, the hole had become enormous, and in proportion to that, an unbelievable number of creatures began bursting out. And every last one of them began charging at Krona.
As if annoyed, Krona began killing the stronger ones first, swatting them with its forelegs. It completely ignored the weaker ones, and crushed the bothersome ones to death by pressing down on them. Watching the scene, Sian clicked his tongue. ‘Wow… their teeth don’t even sink in.’
Perhaps because something was bothering it, Krona was not even using great power. Even so, it steadily killed the red monsters, and after quite some time had passed, it finally slid its head into the hole.
Then it bit the tail of its young, which had lost its strength and could no longer move, and dragged it out. ‘But it’s strangely calm…….’
Judging by its actions, it seemed to cherish its young terribly, yet Krona was acting calmly. Sian looked at it with a curious expression.
That was not the only strange thing. His own condition was strange too. In truth, if he wanted to run farther away, he could. But that feeling, which had helped him so reliably until now, was telling him there was something he had to do here. ‘Insane… It can’t be telling me to slap that thing on the cheek or something…….’
Absolutely not. He could manage to slap it once, but he could not deal with what came after. At the same time, Sian felt very proud of himself for having grown strong enough to even consider slapping that thing on the cheek.
Just as he was wondering whether he should ignore his instincts and run farther away, an enormous energy was felt from the mountain range. And not only from the mountain range. From the plains, from within the lake, immense high energy began gathering. Immediately afterward, translucent steles suddenly rose from the places where the energy was being felt.
Bizarre weapons in which the technologies of Amaran, the Great Law Assembly, and Heranter had all been condensed. They were not the shoddy prototypes Sian had seen, but carefully selected weapons that could affect even superhumans there, enhanced even further. Ragaofe and Tachyon had not bothered to give these weapons names. After all, once used, Krona would smash them all to pieces, and they had no intention of making more.
With the steles as the center, bizarre miracles manifested and began twisting the present world. Their target was precisely Krona, in front of the red sphere.
The steles looked similar, but their effects varied. Some twisted space, while others increased gravity to an absurd degree. There were types that continuously tore holes in space, and others that tried to bind Krona by creating direct chains of energy.
Each one possessed enough power to instantly destroy a city if aimed at a capital.
But the moment he saw those steles, Sian realized what Ragaofe’s purpose was. ‘He never intended to catch it in the first place…….’
The steles exercised a great variety of miracles, but most of them were for buying time rather than focusing on destructive power. To keep it from escaping. Of course, even if their destructive power was not the focus, they were still enough to destroy a city or two, but against a seven-horned one, they were insufficient. Ragaofe had likely installed them with the purpose of buying time. He did not know what they intended to do during that time.
Perhaps they were effective, because Krona’s movement faltered. With an annoyed expression, Krona swung its forelegs and knocked at the steles. The translucent steles crumbled one by one under Krona’s lightly swung forelegs. However, there were so many steles, and the monsters emerging from the red sphere were clinging to Krona, so it was taking a considerable amount of time.
But even that had its limit. Though the number of steles was enormous, Krona steadily crushed the monsters and struck with its forelegs until, in the end, it smashed every last stele apart.
And the moment Krona destroyed all the steles that had been binding its feet, it bit the nape of its young’s neck and left.
Kwaaaang!
Sian stared blankly at Krona as it flew away with a loud noise, then, as if realizing something, forgot he was hiding and unconsciously let a sound escape his mouth.
“…
Huh?”
Sian stared at the back of Krona’s head as it flew away and began wondering what on earth this situation was.
He had been so focused on Krona that he had not noticed, but now that he thought about it, the red sphere Krona had struck showed no sign of closing. It seemed likely that even if left alone, it would remain open.
And the problem was that red monsters were endlessly pouring out from within.
“…….”
Sian was stunned by the sudden turn of events. Since Krona had been overwhelmingly dominating the situation, Sian had assumed Krona would enter that red sphere to avenge its young and wipe out everything inside as well. In fact, it had looked extremely irritated. The inside was a bit dangerous for Sian, but from Krona’s perspective, it would not even be enough to register.
But thinking about it again, from Krona’s perspective, having come to rescue its young, there was no need to do that. Once the things holding it back were gone, it only had to take its young and leave.
And Sian realized why that feeling had led him here.
“It wants me to close that…….”
If he did not close that, the entire continent would be ruined. Even if he himself would not die, with that many monsters pouring out of such a large hole, there was no way he could catch them all.
There was no particular problem. It might have been different in the past, but as he was now, closing that hole from outside was not dangerous.
And so Sian confidently stood up, loosened his body, and headed toward the red sphere.
Crack, creeeak, crunch!
Sian deliberately wrapped his body in power as he advanced toward the red gate. When the creatures found food other than Krona in the empty plain, they charged at him like mad. ‘Hmm… This is much easier than I expected… I just shouldn’t go inside.’
He crushed the ones that charged at him, and cut the stronger ones in two with Karnain. He had never used it in battle before, so he had not known its usefulness, but now that he tried it, its effectiveness was greater than expected.
To think it had the ability to draw out the life force and energy of the one it killed and supply them to its master. On top of that, anything it so much as grazed was cut to pieces, so nothing could be more convenient.
At first, old memories had surfaced and made him feel a little uneasy, but now that he was fighting like this, he could tell just how strong he had become.
Slicing apart the ones that came charging at him, Sian pushed forward, and before long he reached the hideously distorted red sphere. The empty air where the red sphere floated was still rippling clearly with the scars Krona had left when he raked it with his forepaw. He had torn space itself open.
Seeing that mark, Sian felt once again that his sixth sense was quite useful. It would take more than a month for that trace to disappear. And if the things inside came pouring out during that time, this place would become their dining hall.
Realizing that the reason the gate would not close was because the claw marks Krona had left were pressing down on space, Sian began swinging his sword toward them to erase the traces. If he got rid of the marks Krona had carved in, that gate would close on its own. While crushing the small fry with swings of his arms and legs, Sian swung Karnain in his right hand.
There was no thunderous sound. But each time he swung, the forepaw marks Krona had carved in disappeared little by little, and when at last all of the paw marks were gone, the enormous red sphere began to shrink bit by bit.
“Phew… that feels refreshing.”
Feeling good after doing a good deed for the first time in a while, Sian began cutting down the creatures charging at them one after another. Once the gate began to close, the number of creatures emerging from it dropped sharply, making them far easier to deal with.
But at some point, Sian began to think that there were too few of them.‘Hmm……?’Sensing something strange, Sian stopped the swordplay he had been performing in a trance and looked around. He had been focused only on swinging his sword to relieve stress for the first time in a while, but the number charging at him was far too small. No matter how many he had killed, the number of creatures that had come out was nothing to scoff at either.
After looking around, Sian immediately understood why the number of creatures charging at him had decreased. The ones that had been rushing toward him were now sprinting furiously somewhere else. And when Sian looked in that direction, he felt a curse rise in his throat.
“Wow… I…….”☆ ☆ ☆Krona, once he had put some distance between himself and the place, flung the offspring he had brought with him onto the ground. At this distance, it was not close to Dragona’s territory, so there would be no friction.
He looked down at his offspring, who was barely breathing on the ground. It was a wretched sight, hard to believe it was a gigantic monster with six horns.
At the sight, Krona growled and spat out his rage.
Crack!
Krona’s offspring, Kromat, was exhausted and could not even resist before his neck was broken and he died. Though even if he had been in perfect condition, the result would not have been much different.
Krona began devouring the dead Kromat as he was.
Crunch. Crack. Grraunch.
Kromat was enormous beyond measure, but Krona was no less so. On top of that, he ate with tremendous greed, and Kromat disappeared into Krona’s stomach in an instant. Having eaten him all, Krona felt the inside of his body changing and frowned.
If Dragona evolved by shedding his skin, then Krona evolved into a superior being by basing himself on his own essence and eating offspring that had nurtured new possibilities.
But eating such an incomplete one barely amounted to anything. If he could, he would have kept him at his side and watched him twenty-four hours a day, but a creature that did not grow properly in a dangerous environment became deficient, making it meaningless to eat. That was why he had only pretended to abandon him while watching from nearby, yet something like this had happened the moment he took his eyes off him…….
This was all because of those bastards. Krona decided to go inside that place from earlier and vent all of his rage on them. Rather than having three of them squabble in this narrow land, it might not be bad to use this opportunity to clean out everything inside and make it his own territory.
That thought put Krona in a better mood, and with a light growl, he ran toward the red sphere.
But when Krona arrived there, he saw a completely unexpected sight.
It was not because the fellow was holding the fang he had given to the one he had made his gatekeeper. If the gatekeeper had encountered someone like that, then no matter how useful he had been, it was only natural he would die.
Krona was genuinely astonished. Though still immature, that fellow, if he crossed a few more walls, would be reborn as a being like Krona himself. He was steadily walking the very same path Krona had once walked thousands of years ago.
The stage of being reborn as a different existence.
That was why Krona desired him. If he made that fellow his gatekeeper, bound him so he could not run away, then raised him just a little more and ate him… he would obtain power beyond comparison. If that happened, he could devour Dragona and Liona, those accursed bastards, grow even stronger, and then immediately strike north.
Having finished his thoughts, Krona stomped all the small fry charging at him to pieces, then lightly launched himself forward and approached the fellow standing before the red sphere.
The fellow was staring blankly at him as he approached. Naturally so. Having seen a being as great and mighty as himself, there was no way he could keep his wits. Since he had already fallen under Krona’s eye, there was no way he could escape, so Krona approached at his leisure.
Seeing him up close made Krona want him even more. Even if he ate him immediately, it felt as if he could advance one step further. But if he did that, Liona and Dragona would both come at him, which would be dangerous. Krona suppressed his appetite and spoke to the fellow before him.
If he threatened him with fear and coaxed him with sweet rewards, then no matter how strong he was, he would come over. Just like that fellow from the past.
While Krona was conveying his will, he suddenly felt a flash of fire burst across his cheek and was bewildered. It was the pain of his cheek, something he had not felt for hundreds of years since his battle with Dragona.
Dumbfounded by the unfamiliar sensation, Krona soon grasped the situation. The fellow before him had slapped him across the cheek.
Only then did Krona look at the red hole he had opened. The red hole, which had been closing after his traces were erased, had already closed completely, leaving not even the slightest mark behind.
That cheeky little ant had slapped him across the cheek and fled beyond the hole.
While he was venting his anger at the empty air, a great roar no less powerful than his own rang out from beyond the Sky Mountains.
Having thought that far, Krona glared at the spot where the red hole had disappeared, then, in a motion that did not suit his massive size, lightly launched himself away and began running back toward the Great Forest.
But when Krona returned, something even more infuriating was waiting for him.
Seeing that unmistakable trail trampled through his land, Krona’s rage boiled up. For Krona, who had lived only as a mighty conqueror, such humiliation had not occurred even once in thousands of years. On top of that, it had happened while he was away, making him even angrier.
Some of those who survived Krona’s hands ended up fleeing toward the Great Northern Wall, and because of that, the humans had to suffer an untimely ordeal. However, since they had been on ironclad alert after receiving news that a six-horned Harijan had appeared, Tian and the Great Northern Wall were able to safely stop them. And with this incident, the number of powerful Harijans decreased significantly, allowing the guardians of the Great Northern Wall to enjoy peace for some time afterward.