2. Core> Those who rise from a Narija-grade species to a Rotan-grade rank are called the innovation of the species—Alpha.
But just because humans had run up against a wall did not mean there was no realm beyond it. In truth, the seven-horned Harijans were splendid proof of that.
Naturally, even among Rotan-grade species, there were those who broke through that wall and ascended to the next stage.
They, too, were given the name Alpha, meaning the first individual of their species. However, there was a decisive difference between Narija-grade species and Rotan-grade species.
Narija-grade species could reach a new realm and become Alphas after undergoing a single mutation, whereas Rotan-grade species had to leap over several walls before they could become a species called Alpha.
And all beings who had left their original species behind and were in the midst of crossing those walls were collectively called Betas. It was a term for beings who had not yet become Alphas, but were advancing toward Alpha. ‘Hmm… then am I also one of those… Betas……?’ Since he, too, was crossing a wall, it seemed he fell into the realm called Beta.
“The black snake you saw earlier, Sian, is also a Beta. It is the Beta of an ancient species that once existed, the
“Ah, don’t tell me……”
“Yes. Those creatures, too, were under the Gerna’s control. To be precise, they crossed the wall while infected by the Gerna. Since the Gerna crossed the wall along with them… the problem is that the infected state remains intact. Those kinds are the most dangerous.”
The reason the ones inside the Rotan species behaved quietly was nothing special. If they acted conspicuously there, they might be attacked by their own kind and placed in danger. But once they reached the realm of Beta, the story changed. Though they had not yet reached Alpha, they possessed strength on an entirely different level from other individuals, so they gradually began to reveal their nature as rulers. What the Rorval ducal house feared most was also the infected Betas.
That was why they had launched a surprise attack on the Gerna before the number of Betas could increase any further. And they had also attacked the Betas already under their control en masse and subdued them. Those creatures were strong, but the Betas were not many in number, and the numbers of Swarm and Murakan had already increased tremendously, so they had barely managed to suppress them. But Rorval decided it would be better to use them as nutrients for the new Kiculus to be built rather than kill them, so he buried them underground and erected twenty-one Kiculus above them.
“So the dukes who grew up alongside that tree came to possess supernatural powers.”
Carltonheim wore an expression of realization.
“Since the tree grew based on that species’ Beta… if one grows up alongside that tree, the chances of gaining a supernatural power naturally increase.”
Carltonheim’s supernatural power, the “Black Snake,” was in no way inferior to the miracle Conrad himself had mastered. It was a secret art boasted by the Betas of an ancient species.
But Carltonheim wore a bitter expression.
“What good is that? It was not power I gained with my own strength, and I was merely dominated…… Hoo… how pathetic.”
“Please do not blame yourself too much. Even if left alone, you would have reached the wall. You had that talent to begin with, which is why Vladek, among the twenty-one Kiculus, was assigned to you.”
As they spoke of this and that, Sian asked with a curious expression.
“But… is it all right to leave that as it is? Didn’t you say the barrier is maintained around that?”
“Well… there is no way it would be all right. It is just that there is little meaning in rushing. In any case, until those people lying over there wake up and properly supply Akra, there will not be enough energy, so even if we create the barrier, it will not function. Come to think of it, the one who self-destructed may have been aiming for that. Though it is fortunate, at least, that the tree was not destroyed……”
“……”
Leaving aside the nobles, there was no way they could go somewhere and procure such a large number of commoners. It would probably take considerable time before they recovered enough to rest their minds and bodies and supply Akra properly.
“Then… what will you do from here on?”
From what he had heard, Conrad seemed strangely calm, so Sian wondered if he had some method in mind, but an unexpected answer came from him.
“Well… I am only in charge of repairing the barrier, so I do not know the precise details. For now, I have made it so no one can enter this tree, but… without a core, it is difficult to create the surrounding barrier. However… at times like this, there is a way.”
“Mm? What way is that?”
“For matters like this, is it not best to ask the person in charge of the original project? Hehe.”
“Mm? Is there a twin here connected to the Rorval family? I have never heard of such a thing……”
Carltonheim asked with a puzzled expression, as though he could not believe there was a twin in his own marquisate that he did not know about.
At that, Conrad grinned and said to Duke Carltonheim,
“Well… there are ways.”
Then Conrad gathered his energy and prepared to activate a miracle. Sian, who had sensed that flow before, spoke with an expression of understanding……
“It is a communication miracle.”
“That is correct. It is the reason I do not particularly need to contact people through twins.”
“Huh… I heard that even communication miracles are extremely difficult unless the other party’s wavelength has been matched in advance… and the energy consumption grows larger with distance……”
Sian spoke with a fascinated expression. Even on the Ra-Sian continent, to activate a communication miracle, one had to prepare an artifact or establish a center in advance in order to communicate with a designated party. But from the looks of what Conrad was doing, it seemed he could surpass such limitations.
“I may not look it, but I am a duke. Would it do if I could not manage at least that much? Since I am the only one who can use miracles here… there is the drawback that only I can do it, but… since there are twins anyway, it hardly matters.”
“That is true……”
The Conrad he knew was a man who had even become emperor of an empire and reached the pinnacle of miracles. Of course, he was currently in a woman’s body. Rather, it would be stranger if he could not use a communication miracle like this.
Soon, as though the connection had gone through, Conrad began murmuring something with his mouth. But it was not clearly audible. It seemed he was merely miming with his mouth, while actually conversing with the other party through his mind.
Steel and Sian watched him with curious expressions.
“The one he is speaking to must be this Rorval person.”
“Ho……”
Sian had heard much about him until now, but it was his first time seeing someone directly connected to Duke Rorval, so he looked on with a fascinated expression as well. He was curious what they were discussing, but Conrad would tell them everything once it was over.
Soon, as though the conversation had ended, Conrad’s energy gradually subsided. The miracle was ending. And the three nearby looked at Conrad with intrigued expressions.
“Well… it is over. We exchanged what we will do from now on. Seen this way… it is fortunate after all that you arrived here, Sian.”
“Hmm… what happened?”
“First… there is good news and bad news for us, and there is good news and bad news for you, Sian. Which would you like to hear first?”
At Conrad’s words, Sian hid his unease and answered.
“First… let us hear your news, Mr. Conrad.”
“Ah, shall we? Very well. First, our good news is that the barrier can be restored. Fortunately, the tree itself was not entirely damaged and only the core was shattered, so they say that if the core is put back into place before the tree dries up, it can be restored. And I do not know whether this is fortunate or unfortunate, but… the Kiculus here was the last one. If we restore only this place, the barrier will be completed.”
Conrad wore a bitter expression. If they had completed the barrier just a little earlier, they would not have been driven to the point where the core was destroyed.
“Oh, then the barrier will be able to perform its function.”
Duke Carltonheim spoke with a pleased expression. Conrad nodded at those words.
“That is correct. Before inserting the core, we will modify the barrier… and once the core is inserted and Akra is supplied again, the barrier should function properly.”
But Sian, hearing that, asked with a puzzled expression.
“Mm? Didn’t you say you used up all the Kiculus cores? Especially that the twenty-one cores in this marquisate were even more unusual……”
He had heard something like that during their earlier conversation. At that, Conrad sighed and said,
“Well… in a way, that is the bad news. According to Mr. Rorval… he does not have any spare cores either. He knows where they are, but they are extremely difficult to obtain……”
“Oh no……”
Sian looked regretful. If so, even if the barrier could be restored, it was the same as being unable to restore it.
“Well… shall I tell you the good news for you next, Sian? You said you sought me out because you wished to return to your former continent, correct?”
“Ah… that is right.”
When Conrad brought up the matter they had discussed earlier, Sian nodded. Originally, he had been looking for Ragaophe, but thinking about it, the one in charge of installing Ra-Shar-Roa would have been Conrad standing before him. Ragaophe did not know how to use miracles. One could tell his skill just by seeing how adeptly he handled a communication miracle.
At that, Conrad answered.
“The good news is… you can return home, Sian.”
“Oh? Truly?”
“Yes. The first thing I looked into when I arrived here was whether Ra-Shar-Roa could be installed. Spatial-transfer magic like Ra-Shar-Roa consumes far too much energy… so it would be a little difficult with my power alone. Fortunately, when I investigated… by making good use of this place’s Akra and Kiculus, it could be modified slightly and used like a miracle formation. It allows even magic that consumes enormous energy, like Ra-Shar-Roa, to be used. A miracle that crosses continents consumes a tremendous amount of energy, and modifying the formation will also take a long time, but… if you are not in a hurry, you should be able to return without issue.”
“Then what is the bad news?”
“Well… this is a problem that applies both to you and to us. Since the barrier is not complete right now, there is absolutely no spare energy to divert in that direction. All energy is being poured into maintaining the barrier. That is also why I have not yet installed the Ra-Shar-Roa connecting each Kiculus. First, we had to completely repair the barrier and then install it gradually.”
“…
Damn……”
“To be precise… if things continue like this, you will never be able to return home for the rest of your life. The Gerna will continue invading through the broken gap in the barrier, and their greatest objective will first be the complete destruction of the barrier. Right now, the gap is narrow, but… those who come in first will try to destroy the Kiculus before anything else. The twenty-one trees are the axes of the barrier. Without Kiculus, such long-distance movement miracles are impossible. Such miracles can only be used after the barrier has been stabilized.”
“…
We will have to procure the core.”
At those words, Conrad nodded.
“Yes. While we hold off the Gerna… I would be grateful if you could procure the core, Sian. Please do not worry too much. For you, who broke through Apental and climbed up, it will not be that difficult. If that happens, it will be good for us and a happy ending for you as well. From our position… it is better to fight the Gerna we have already fought once.”
“Hmm… understood.” ‘It sure is hard just to go home once…….’ Sian nodded. He would have to hear the details to know, but for now, there did not seem to be any other particular method.
“I will explain the location. It is remote, but… it stands out so much that it will not be difficult to find.”
At Conrad’s words that it stood out, Sian looked at him with an intrigued expression.☆ ☆ ☆Sian and Steel were crossing the plains. They recalled the final conversation they had shared with Conrad.
“We will have to go and come back quickly.”
“Well… in any case, it will take some time until the commoners recover and the formation’s modifications are complete. As long as you obtain it within that time, it will be enough.”
At Conrad’s strangely relaxed attitude, Sian asked with a puzzled expression.
“Ha… But isn’t this a serious matter? You sound remarkably calm about it….”
From what he had heard, they were not some tiny race from the outskirts, but a race that had once thrown the continent into turmoil three thousand years ago and could only be driven out after a war. And yet Conrad—
—though he wore an expression that said he found the increase in work bothersome, he did not seem to think of it as much of a crisis.
“Hehe… There is a reason for that. To begin with, only this marquisate is a little late. Kiculus itself, which serves as the central axis of the barrier, also functions as a small barrier. Even without the twenty-one trees, my colleagues have been separately modifying the barriers in the major countdoms and marquisates that serve as auxiliary axes. Once that is done, those creatures will no longer be able to infect the people within the protected territories. They may be able to enter while already infected, but….”
“Ah… Then?”
Only then did Conrad’s relaxed expression begin to make sense.
“Yes. It is good that we swept them clean in ordinary times. In that case, the ones they can devour are only… a handful of counts. And viscounts, barons, and Narija-class races. With forces of that level, do you think they could even put a dent in the marquisates or countdoms maintaining and constructing barriers? If given enough time, and they continued to grow while being devoured by Gerna, it would be dangerous… but this incident will likely end before then. As long as Mr. Sian brings back the core and succeeds in restoring the barrier.”
Gerna’s most frightening trait—devouring the strong and then making the weak stronger—would have no room to be exercised. That was the reason for the confidence Conrad was showing regarding this incident.
“Ah, and… Mr. Steel, please take this with you.”
“What is this?”
What Conrad gave him was a small bead.
“It is only for one person, but if you carry it, Gerna will not be able to enter. It is easy to make, but I have run out of Talic Stones, so I cannot make any more. Hehe. It is originally the one I use… but I will be inside here until this barrier is restored anyway, so it is fine. I have already taken measures so they cannot enter this tree.”
Sian had wondered what Conrad had installed as soon as the situation began, and it seemed it had been a defensive array surrounding the tree. Seeing it, Steel nodded.
“Ho….”
“Do I not need one?”
“No individual capable of devouring you, Mr. Sian, has ever been observed. If such a creature existed, there is no way it would not have broken through the barrier and come in by now. With that level of power, it would ignore something like a barrier altogether. Please go and return at ease.”
“Well now… Sweeping away the surrounding races is helping in a way like this.”
No matter how dangerous the Gerna race was, if the host they had devoured was nothing special, they would not be that much of a threat. As long as one remained within the protected territories where the barrier had been established, there would be no additional infections either.
“Hehe. Let us go as though we were traveling.”
“Ah… not quite to that extent… Still, we should hurry. In any case, did he say to go toward Apental first?”
“Hmm… He did. According to the location given by that man called Lorval….”
When Sian asked where they had to go and how to retrieve it, Conrad answered concisely. “According to Mr. Lorval… if you go straight west from Apental, the place Mr. Sian destroyed, it will be there. I have never been there myself, but… can you really find it with this…? This is no joke… Please wait a moment….” Seeing Conrad relay it like that, it seemed he did not know the details either. Perhaps embarrassed even as he spoke, he tried communicating again, but the only answer that came back was that the single line would be enough to find it.
“But Sian… can you find that place? Back then it was just a small spring….”
It was a region without even a map. On top of that, the entrance to Apental had looked much the same as anywhere else. Since it had been one of the countless lakes common in the forest, Steel thought it would be difficult to find, but Sian did not look particularly worried.
“Hehe. Do not worry. Ah… I see it over there.”
“…….”
Looking at that place, Steel understood why Sian had set out to find Apental without the slightest hesitation. The unidentified pit, sunken deep into the middle of the forest as though struck by a meteorite, was so huge that anyone could have spotted it at a glance.
“Hmm… He said if we run straight west from here, we will see it… But can it really be found like that…?”
Sian had been worried because there was no map, but Conrad had told him not to worry at all. He said he had gone there once before, long ago, and that it had been incredibly easy to find.
As they ran, Sian understood at once what those words meant.
“…
That must be it, Miss Steel?”
“Ha… I doubt it would be easy to find a building more conspicuous and suspicious than that….”
Sian and Steel doubted their own eyes. The continent they had seen until now had been strong, but it had been far removed from civilization. A world where neither culture, art, nor etiquette had developed, and where the logic of strength ruled. If not for the laws the Lorval ducal house had established, it would likely have been even more of a mess.
Beyond the forest stood a colossal structure that was enough to overturn all those memories at once.
The vast sea visible beyond it, utterly mismatched with the forest they had crossed, only heightened the building’s sense of alienness.
“Hmm… So this must be why no one lived in this direction. A sea that vast….”
It was so vast that no end could be seen. The enormous building stood a little inland from a seaside of rocky cliffs. Looking at the colossal structure, unnatural in shape, location, and scale alike, Sian was certain that this was the building Conrad had spoken of. If they had needed to cross the sea, he would have told them separately in the first place.
Seen up close, its strangeness grew even worse.
“Hmm… This is definitely not stone, is it?”
“It seems like some kind of metal… To build this entire enormous place out of metal… Yes, it certainly feels like there might be something here.”
Steel tapped the wall and looked up at the huge structure with an expression of wonder.
“Hmm… But I don’t sense anything particularly dangerous… Let us go in first.”
Since they did not feel any dangerous presence, Sian and Steel trudged toward the building.
“Ha… There really are all sorts of things here.”
Once inside, Sian looked around with a curious expression. It felt similar to Amaran, the arsenal on the sea he had once gone to with Ragaofe.
Except that this place had not a trace of vitality, giving off only a bleak feeling. The various machines around them were thickly covered in dust, as though they had not been maintained for decades.
“Was this a place used by that man called Lorval?”
“Well… I do not know that, but it is more impressive than I expected. Though I cannot tell what any of it is even by looking.”
Sian had always been weak with things like this, so even after seeing the complex-looking facilities, he could not tell by what principles they worked or for what purpose they had been installed. The same was true for Steel.
“It does not matter. Let us find the core and get out. What did Conrad say earlier?”
“Hmm… He definitely said that once we arrived here, we would find it if we simply went all the way down….”
Hearing Sian’s words, Steel made a peculiar expression.
“Go straight west from Apental, find a strange building, and go all the way down… What an overflowing display of sincerity in his explanation.”
“What is even more fascinating is that there is no better explanation than that.”
“True….”
They had not yet found the core, but since they had managed to get this far with only that one line, Sian and Steel nodded and began searching for a way down. They considered simply breaking through, but if the thing called the core was swept up and destroyed in the process, it would be a serious problem.
As Steel searched here and there, she discovered a peculiar facility located in the very center of the enormous building.
“Little brother Sian, couldn’t that be it?”
“Hmm… There is certainly nothing else that comes to mind….”
They had searched everywhere else, but there were no stairs leading underground. Even when he sent out his energy, he sensed nothing beneath the ground. In the direction Steel pointed, a huge, strangely shaped circular ring had been installed. And in its center, a constantly rippling blue curtain concealed the scene beyond the ring.
“It truly looks like something I do not want to enter, but I suppose it means I have to go inside to obtain the core?”
“Mm… It seems that way.”
“Ha… For some reason, it reminds me of Apental….”
But unlike then, he did not sense danger. And since there was no other method in particular, Sian decided to go in.
“Will you stay here?”
“I… will look around this facility a little more. Little brother, have a safe trip.”
“Yes. If it becomes dangerous, please come inside after me.”
“Hehe. Don’t worry. There doesn’t seem to be anything around here.”
At those words, Sian also nodded. He had swept the vicinity with his energy perception in case there was something, but he sensed no strange presence.
After speaking, Sian leaped into the eerily rippling blue waves.
“Ha… What sort of place is this now….”
What greeted Sian the moment he entered was a space with a peculiar atmosphere. It was vast, but it did not feel disordered like Apental. The floor, made of some metal whose composition he could not guess, was perfectly flat, as though measured with a ruler. It was an extremely wide space, but the surroundings of the room were enclosed by bulkheads as well, and though it was high, the ceiling too was sealed. Strange crystal spheres were embedded in the ceiling, but as though they had ceased operating, the inside was engulfed in darkness.
But to Sian, that much was no obstacle. What startled him were the other life-forms clearly making their presence known even beneath that darkness.
They all had different shapes and colors, but every one of them shared certain traits.
Mighty waves of energy. Bodies that looked ready to burst. Energy fields enveloping their entire bodies and armor-like outer hides.
Powerful life-forms had taken up positions here and there throughout the strange space.
“Ha… This continent really is strong, isn’t it… They’re all Betas….”
According to what he had heard from Conrad, there was a separate term for beings like himself who had crossed the wall. Beta. He had let it go in one ear back then, but thinking about it, that meant there were quite a few who had crossed the wall. And the diverse races gathered here were all beings who had crossed the wall—Betas. Although they all appeared to be first stage, the number gathered here was considerable.
At the same time, Sian understood what Conrad had meant when he said this would be no big deal for him. ‘Well… it is exactly at Apental’s level….’ The beings inside Apental had been blocked by the wall, but their numbers had been far greater than these. Taking that into account, it was probably about the same. ‘Besides… strangely, they all look drained….’ Contrary to their powerful energy, the various Betas inside wore extremely exhausted expressions. From their perspective, Sian should have been a highly suspicious person, yet they merely lay or sat in corners of the wide space. ‘That is convenient for me….’ It did not matter if they attacked, but if there was no friction, that was all the better for him. Just because it was not dangerous did not mean conflict was welcome.
Taking it easy, Sian looked around and began searching here and there for an entrance leading down, and the expressions of the Betas of various races watching him began to change strangely.
Somehow, he had thought it might pass quietly. But his bad premonitions were, without fail, correct.
Starting with the Beta near him, the Betas sprawled around began to rise one by one. ‘If I release my aura, perhaps they will get scared and not attack….’ Since he still did not know where the entrance leading down was, Sian, unable to simply pass them by, raised the presence of his entire body and released it in all directions with a faint hope. If these creatures possessed even something like a survival instinct, they would not attack him, the stronger one. The creatures of Apental had been peculiar back then; most beings usually withdrew.
But Sian realized that he had made a very wrong judgment.
Kraaaang!
“Oh, come on….”
The moment he released his presence, the strange Beta races pounced on Sian from all sides. As if that were not enough, even the ones resting far away were stimulated by his aura and charged in.
Looking at that sight, Sian let out a sigh.
Crunch. Crack.
As he dealt with the Betas charging at him without pause, Sian wore a look of realization.
‘They’re stopping intruders… So that’s why they said no one could get in…….’
Indeed, breaking through an onslaught of this level would be impossible for anyone of ordinary skill. He did not know who the Lorval family had, but unless they had someone as powerful as himself, it would be too much. Judging from Mr. Conrad’s tone, it did not seem as though such a person existed. Even Sian himself would have been in danger if he had been at the level he was before crossing over through Apental. To put it another way, that was precisely why they were not a threat to him.
He pushed forward for quite some time. Finding the entrance leading downward was not difficult. All he had to do was locate the place from which the other Betas stationed below were pouring out.
In that way, he slowly descended. He proceeded cautiously, in case stronger ones appeared, but fortunately, there were none.
After going down about three more floors, he found another bizarre ring that looked similar to the entrance he had seen earlier. The blue wavering inside it was the same as well.
‘Don’t tell me this is an exit leading back outside…….’
He had worked fairly hard to get down here, and if that turned out to be the conclusion, it would be rather disheartening. Sian took a deep breath and stepped into the blue doorway.
“Hmm…….”
He had expected another group of Betas to spring out, but this was not that kind of place. Looking around, he saw that it resembled a small laboratory. Unlike the enormous buildings on the upper floor, the inside here seemed to be an individual’s research lab; there were complex devices, but overall, it was not large in scale. The machines, all of which had long since stopped operating, adorned the laboratory like ornaments.
‘So the core is in here…….’
Since the ones blocking the way outside had been so ridiculously strong, he had thought there would be something incredible inside. But when there turned out to be less than expected, Sian looked disappointed. In a place guarded by soldiers of that caliber, he had expected that, besides the core, there might be something like his shell that had been smashed in Apental, or a treasure that could replace Karnain, which had now lost its function as a weapon. Curious about what this place had been used for, he searched every nook and cranny, but no particular records remained. Emptying his mind of expectations, Sian recalled the purpose for which he had come here and began searching the laboratory more thoroughly. Before long, he was able to find a red seed left in a corner.
Inside a long cylindrical glass tube, the seed was scattering a strange green light. Even though every other device had ceased operation, it was still emitting a faint vitality.
He was able to tell at once that it was the core. It gave off the exact same energy as the center of Kiculus, which those strange beings called Gerna had been infecting back then. Its size was much smaller, but the energy it emitted was similar.
Of the twenty-five glass tubes, the first twenty-one were empty, and only four remained. Even Sian, who was not particularly quick-witted, could figure out by this point where Kiculus’s core had come from.
“Mm… So they took it from here. But why are there four…….”
After examining them more closely, however, he understood the reason. Compared to the core he had seen back then, the four seemed somewhat unstable. He did not know why.
“Well… they must have had some reason for asking me to bring them…….”
Just in case, Sian removed all four and carefully placed the four seeds into Karnain’s space. He looked around to see if there was anything else worth taking, but there was nothing. Since he could not exactly carry out those house-sized machines, Sian launched himself through the door he had entered and returned to the upper floor.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Sian? What took you so long?”
“Yes?”
“I waited here for nearly a week.”
“Mm… I came out before even a day had passed for me.”
Sian spoke with a bewildered expression. In truth, it had taken some time to break through the intruders, but the place was not as vast as Apental, and their numbers were far smaller than in Apental as well, so it had not taken long. But judging from Miss Steel’s words, far more time seemed to have passed here.
“Mm? Really?”
“It seems… another dimension must have formed inside there. That must be what caused the time difference. Still, it’s fortunate the difference wasn’t worse than expected.”
“Oh… What was inside?”
Steel asked with a curious expression, and Sian began explaining, one by one, what had happened inside. From the bizarre Betas to the existence of the laboratory located within.
“Oh… So that’s why they said no one could get in… By the way, little brother, you said it was similar to Apental, but it only took you a day?”
“After I crossed the wall, it didn’t take long because I was fighting. It took long because I had to wander around and find the entrance. It was enormously vast, and it was packed full inside…….”
“I see. Did you bring the thing called the core?”
“I brought it here. By the way, Miss Steel, did you find anything interesting?”
“Mm… There wasn’t much in the buildings. Even if I looked, I wouldn’t know what anything was… and there were no records… But come this way.”
With that, Steel ran toward the sea. Then she pointed downward.
“Look.”
“Huh… This is…….”
The seaside he had thought was a cliff was entirely marked as though it had been scorched and fused. Before entering, he had been distracted by the enormous building and had not noticed, but after hearing Miss Steel’s words and examining it closely, the entire cliff looked as though it had been gouged out by battle. Sian raised his head and swept his gaze along the coastline.
An endless coastline. And that entire coastline had the same appearance as this cliff. It was too strange a terrain to be considered naturally formed. Sian shot an energy wave into the sea. He was curious what the inside looked like.
Then he swallowed a groan.
“…
It’s unbelievably deep.”
The sea was deep enough for large Harijans to come and go without any trouble, and it was far too suspicious to be considered naturally formed. A beach was supposed to grow deeper little by little; he had never heard of one dropping straight down like a cliff. And for such a vast area to be like this made it even stranger. The entire coastline maintained this cliff-like form.
On top of that, it had this fused, scorched shape. Looking at this abnormal terrain, Sian reached one conclusion.
“Someone destroyed this place.”
He did not know whether this place had originally been a sea, but one thing was certain. This bizarre terrain was a trace of battle. And of battle between beings of unimaginable power. The shape of the terrain was far too crude to have been deliberately created. The traces that looked as though chunks had been bitten out here and there proved that.
“Is this the trace of those… Krona and Dragona or whatever you mentioned last time, little brother, fighting each other?”
“It might be… but I’m not sure…….”
Sian, who had seen Krona in person, made an ambiguous expression. Certainly, if Krona went all out, creating a sea like this would be possible. But since he saw no reason why the two of them would have come all the way here to fight, Sian held off on answering.
“I don’t think you need to worry too much. Just by looking, these aren’t recent traces.”
“Hmm… That’s true.”
“Still, we’d better not come this way. It feels rather unpleasant…….”
“I agree. I was wondering why there was suddenly a sea after all that forest came out of nowhere…….”
It had been fused by tremendous heat and pressure, but over it lay the traces of countless years. Enough that one would not know unless one looked closely. These were not traces merely one or two thousand years old. At least several thousand.
It also explained why the forest suddenly connected to the sea. What had undoubtedly been land must have been destroyed in battle and become sea.
That was why it was all the more reassuring. If beings capable of turning perfectly intact land into sea had intended to shake the continent, it would already have been severed to pieces. Judging by the fact that the human species had survived just fine until now, they were probably not much of a threat.
“Let’s go back.”
“Good.”
With those words, Sian and Steel launched themselves into the air.
☆ ☆ ☆
The road through Apental to the Carltonheim Marquisate, where Conrad was staying, was much easier than when they had gone there. They had already traveled it once. But on the way, beings Sian had never seen before were roaming everywhere.
“Those must be the ones called Swarms…….”
“Looks like it… Wow… Those things really are something…….”
The creatures, shedding a strange silver light as they scoured every direction, were ceaselessly sweeping through baronies, viscounties, and Narija-class tribes.
They seemed to be attacking indiscriminately, but on closer inspection, that was not the case. They were relentlessly targeting only specific subjects, and those swallowed by them melted all over their bodies while spewing pitch-black smoke. But even that smoke was absorbed into the bodies of the Swarms.
Such scenes could be seen all along the road to the Carltonheim Marquisate.
“It seems those Swarms are able to see the race called Gerna.”
“Well… They were made to catch Gerna in the first place, so of course they’d have that kind of trait.”
The surviving commoners and the nobles of the protectorates, having apparently received word through the twins, were ceaselessly moving toward the county and marquisate territories where barriers had been erected. They were attacked by Gerna several times along the way, but the Swarms circled around the humans and devoured such beings as soon as they appeared.
The Narija species, however, had no such protection and were constantly being infected by the black smoke, after which the Swarms would attack them. That scene repeated again and again.
“Huh… They’re blocking them incredibly well. There was a reason Mr. Conrad wasn’t worried.”
“Well… even so, the Gerna seem to be increasing little by little… If the barrier stays collapsed, the problem will grow.”
The Swarms were busily roaming about and devouring the infected, but the black smoke continued to fly in. And unlike the Swarms running across the ground, the spirit bodies were practically tearing through space as they moved, so their speed was much faster. Unless the incoming Gerna were blocked off, the damage would probably continue to grow.
In fact, one tribe they had seen on the way had been almost entirely devoured by the Gerna and was attacking a nearby county. The Gerna wanted to enter the county, but they were blocked by a curtain hanging between leaves and roots and kept being repelled. However, perhaps the infected races were able to enter, for they were launching sporadic attacks inside.
A few Gerna also approached Steel and Sian as they flew, but perhaps because of the orb in Steel’s arms, they kept being repelled outward.
The Gerna that were bounced away realized there was no repulsive force coming from Sian beside her and tried to enter Sian’s body.
“Huh…….”
But it would have been better for them not to enter at all. The ones that had entered Sian’s body briefly connected to his mind, only to melt away entirely and be absorbed. It was similar to what had happened when Akra had once entered his body.
“Looking at you, little brother, you really are like a lamp. Hehe. How is it that you burn up everything around you so well, and moths rush toward you so readily?”
“…….”
As they moved swiftly, the World Tree of the Carltonheim Marquisate, Vladek, came into view beyond. Its majestic size remained unchanged, but seeing its vitality gone and its leaves fallen made it look somehow desolate.
“This thing called the core must be important. Huh…….”
“Hurry, let’s go.”
Sian muttered a word, finding it strange that such an enormous tree had ended up like that just because one core had been damaged, and Steel urged him onward.
☆ ☆ ☆
They prepared thoroughly…….>
Charon, a high-ranking spirit of the Gerna, murmured while emitting a strange spiritual wave.
He had not expected the Lorval bastards to have spent three thousand years doing nothing, but their countermeasures were considerable. He had struck while Apental was weakening, but all the powerful beings worth infecting had entered those strange trees and hidden themselves. He did not know what had been done to the trees, but it was impossible to infect anyone inside them.
On top of that, they did not come outside. If they only hid inside, that would not have been much of a problem. He could simply devour and raise up the ones they called viscounts and barons, or Narija-class species. Their strongholds could be brought down afterward. But those cursed silver life-forms that had driven him out in the past were roaming ceaselessly and devouring his kin. His forces were gradually growing, but if the barrier was completed at this rate, no more of his kin would be able to enter. Before that happened, he had to break the tree called Kiculus, but it did not seem easy.
Caron quietly gazed at the withered, twisted Kikyulleoseu visible in the distance before transforming into black smoke and disappearing.
If the barrier was rebuilt like this, everything would be ruined. Because he had to make a move before that, Caron took out the means he had been putting off.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Ah… Mr. Sian, have you arrived?”
Kon
-rad, who had been going around the tree repairing here and there, put on a delighted expression.
“Have the people… regained some strength?”
“Well… aside from being trapped and unable to go out, there are no major problems.”
Because it was a hastily constructed barrier, protection was only possible inside the tree trunk. Therefore, all the nobles and commoners alike were staying only inside the tree trunk. When Kon
-rad came outside to modify the barrier, he would come out wearing Karapeu, a mental defense anomaly, and carefully work on the modifications.
“The Swarms are deployed in great numbers.”
“Well… since people can’t come outside, defense is difficult. This place is easily targeted… so many Swarms are needed.”
Though withered and twisted, Kikyulleoseu and Beulladek were incomparably massive. However, seeing the silver waves completely surrounding the boundary of those tree roots indirectly showed how much the Roreubal Clan was concerned about this place.
“Aren’t the others coming? And they say there are things called Murakan… but I don’t see any.”
At those words, Kon
-rad spoke with a smile.
“Well… the ones we have to stop aren’t just these guys. We barely managed to spare the Swarms because the enhancement research on the Murakan succeeded recently, giving us some leeway. And this much should be enough. They are really strong. Ah… there is one person who leads the Swarms. Would you like to meet him?”
“Let’s do that.”
Having heard so much about the Roreubal Clan since coming here, the curious Sian promptly said he would meet him.
“Then before I install the core… let me guide you. First, could you give me the cores?”
“Ah, here they are.”
Sian took out four cores from his palm and handed them to Kon
-rad.
“Hmm….”
“Is something lacking?”
Sian asked with a worried expression, and Kon
-rad answered.
“No. Each one is an incomplete product, but… still, since there are four of them, I think we can make it work somehow.”
“How long will it take?”
“Hmm… the installation of the cores itself won’t take long. It will probably be finished within a few hours. Please come this way.”
And Kon
-rad leaped down to the place where the infected core had been. Sian and Steel, who followed behind him, were able to meet a man who was removing the infected core and infusing energy into that spot.
A man with a strange pattern engraved on his forehead greeted them delightedly when Kon
-rad arrived.
“Mr. Kikyulleoseu.”
“Kon
-rad, you’ve come. Whew… because of its size, keeping it alive is difficult too.”
‘Huh… to think he’s supplying energy alone….’
Kikyulleoseu was supplying energy to Beulladek alone that should have been supplied by numerous commoners and nobles. Even while conversing, tremendous energy burst from Kikyulleoseu’s body and flowed into the tree without rest.
“By the way… you brought the cores. That’s fortunate. Are those the ones behind you?”
“Yes. While I install the cores… please talk with them.”
“I shall.”
And Kikyulleoseu stopped the energy he was supplying to the core, and Kon
-rad stepped in to fill his place. Kikyulleoseu greeted Sian and Steel delightedly.
“I am called Kikyulleoseu. Pleased to meet you.”
“Pleased to meet you. I am Sian.”
“I’m Steel.”
“By the way, remarkable… to think you brought a real core from inside there. I once went in out of curiosity after hearing Lord Roreubal’s words and immediately fled… so it seems Beta Level 3 is real indeed.”
“Hmm… if you mean that I crossed three walls… that’s correct.”
“Truly remarkable. Even after all that hardship, I barely managed to cross one wall….”
In truth, Kikyulleoseu was exuding a far more powerful presence than even Kon
-rad. The task of supplying energy to that massive tree to keep it alive would have been impossible for Kon-rad.
“But… Mr. Kikyulleoseu… are you the one I heard about from three thousand years ago? The developer of this tree?”
Sian asked with a puzzled expression. Then Kikyulleoseu grinned and spoke.
“Well… development was possible because there were cores. By the way, that was truly a long time ago….”
“Heavens, how did you live through those years? Does one’s lifespan increase that much when crossing walls?”
Sian asked with a puzzled expression. He had heard that a Count’s lifespan was about a thousand years, but being able to live three thousand years was beyond imagination. Even though the Kikyulleoseu before him had crossed one wall… it was hard to imagine.
“Well… originally it’s impossible. But Lord Roreubal had a way. I didn’t really want to live long, but there are so many nasty fellows. To think I have to stand guard at this age… sigh….”
Looking at Kikyulleoseu making a bitter expression, Sian made a puzzled expression.
“Huh… is there such a method?”
“Hmm… there is. It’s good for the body and tastes good too. Though there is a very minor side effect.”
He didn’t know what the minor side effect was, but a method to forcibly extend a person’s lifespan was something he had never heard of.
‘Ah… no. I have heard of it before from Mr. Ragaope.’
But hearing Kikyulleoseu’s story, it seemed different. The curious Sian opened his mouth.
“What is it?”
Then Kikyulleoseu made an ambiguous expression.
“Uh… I probably shouldn’t say this. It’s something I can only tell you after you enter the Roreubal family….”
“Tsk… I see.”
Sian cleanly gave up. Whatever the method was, he had no interest in immortality itself. Even his current lifespan seemed like it would exceed several thousand years, and that was already burdensome.
The three of them changed the subject and talked about this and that. At that moment, the ground began to tremble.
Rumble, rumble, crack.
Sian slightly frowned at that ominous vibration.
“Surely… this tree isn’t going to collapse or anything?”
“Huh… surely not….”
But contrary to Sian’s wishes, the vibrations continued to grow.
Crack, crack. Thud, thud.
Soon, the identity of the vibration was revealed.
Kuaaaaaaaah!
The tremors that began to stretch up from below grew larger and larger, and soon began to be heard from right beneath the tree roots.
“…….”
The subterranean wyrms that normally would be blocked by Kikyulleoseu’s roots and unable to rise toward the protected domain were rampaging from all directions, tearing and ripping at the roots.
“Hoo… so they are subterranean wyrms. How do you plan to deal with them?”
Sian asked because he felt somehow that countermeasures had been prepared, but he saw Kikyulleoseu making a bewildered expression beside him.
“Huh… I didn’t even think of that.”
“…….”
“No… don’t look at me like that… do you think I know everything? And subterranean wyrms can’t topple Kikyulleoseu anyway. Look at this size.”
“Indeed….”
In truth, the risen subterranean wyrms appeared to be about ten meters in thickness, but they were very small compared to Kikyulleoseu’s massive roots.
“By the way, those Gereuna fellows… were in a hurry. They normally hate possessing creatures with weak intellects….”
“Is that so?”
“They are proud beings… so in the past, they strictly targeted only intelligent life forms. Even if strong, they often avoided those who were stupid. That’s why they liked humans. But with those, it will be impossible….”
“Subterranean wyrms… so even those kinds have Betas.”
Sian asked out of curiosity. Then Kikyulleoseu nodded.
“They haven’t been observed yet, but wouldn’t there be? They are a Rotan-class race too. But how did you know?”
Kikyulleoseu asked with a puzzled expression at Sian’s words that seemed certain.
“Well… there’s one coming this way.”
“What?”
“By the way… I should cut it down before it arrives. If it’s that one, it might really be able to topple it….”
Kikyulleoseu’s tree was massive too, but the one coming now was no pushover either. If it began to bite through and sever the roots, even if the tree didn’t fall, it wouldn’t be able to survive even if cores were installed.
From Sian’s position, since the barrier had to be completed, this couldn’t be allowed, so he sprang up from his seat and strode outside.
A massive creature whose vibrations were felt all the way here even though it was coming from tens of kilometers away. If such a thing severed the roots or body-slammed it, it wouldn’t have a very good effect on completing the barrier.
As soon as Sian went out, he headed toward the area outside the roots in the distance. And toward the ground in the direction it was coming from, he slowly began to clench his fist.
Whoosh.
Steel, who was startled by the amount of energy gathered in Sian’s fist, flinched as he watched the scene of Sian slowly extending his fist toward the ground, but the earth wasn’t hollowed out entirely or anything like that.
Rather, where Sian’s fist extended, only a slight ripple appeared, and the result manifested elsewhere.
Kuaaaaaaaah!
A painful roar was heard from tens of kilometers away, and something massive burst out from within the earth.
At the sight of what seemed like a massive mountain of rock shooting out, those hiding inside the trunk swallowed their groans. It was an enormous distance, but it was by no means a size that couldn’t be seen.
The massive rock monster was emitting a pained roar with cracks across its entire body, and black smoke was billowing out from between them.
“As expected… it was infected.”
Sian watched that figure and quickly approached the rock wyrm.
Kikyulleoseu, who had been watching that figure from afar, let out a groan-like sound.
“So easily….”
Even among the same Betas, strength varies by race. If they are subterranean wyrms, because of their massive size, even as the same Beta, they are by no means easy opponents. Moreover, the shell created by swallowing and compressing rock is not easy to break even for a Beta. If they didn’t inherently have cowardly natures and disliked sunlight, they would have become quite a high-ranking race on the continent.
But that man called Sian brought a creature of even larger size to the brink of death with a single punch. Though the ground hadn’t been dug up, Kikyulleoseu couldn’t even let out a groan upon seeing that massive sphere of energy gathering in his palm.
Thus, Kikyulleoseu recalled once again and muttered inwardly.
‘As expected… we need a god.’
Sian approached the fallen rock wyrm. The rock wyrm had placed its massive head on the ground and was leaning on it, and the black smoke escaping from between them was looking at Sian with resentful eyes.
That resentful gaze was extremely unpleasant, but Sian couldn’t let one who would destroy the tree go, so he ignored that gaze.
“I just need you not to destroy the barrier. Tsk… I don’t want to concern myself with this either, but you mustn’t destroy Kikyulleoseu. You should go back to where you originally lived.”
“Hm?”
Caron frowned as if disgusted upon seeing Sian making an innocent expression of knowing nothing, but realized this man truly didn’t know.
“Is there a law that says only a place called Roreubal can be strong? Even an ordinary person like me can be strong.”
Sian asked because he felt it strange that whenever someone was a bit strong, they were unconditionally said to be Roreubal. Then Caron snorted.
“Hm? What do you mean by that?”
Caron seemed to have suffered a severe blow from the earlier attack, unable to even maintain the shape of the smoke properly. Soon the black smoke scattered upward as if flying away and disappeared.
And Sian, who had been watching Caron with an unpleasant expression, launched his body toward the tree.
☆ ☆ ☆
A massive mountain range located in the northeast, between peninsulas.
And there was a single tree that had grown by devouring such an enormous mountain range. The Vladek of the Marquisate of Carltonheim was immense as well, but the immensity of this tree was even more overwhelming.
Because the Duke of Lorval resided there, the gigantic Kiculus tree bore his name:
It was not, as was known in the mundane world, a battle between the Murakan and the Swarm, and the humans fighting against them.
Grotesque giants were charging madly toward Kiculus, toward Lorval. The grotesque giants were not many in number, but the way they fought was even more threatening than a million-strong army rushing forward.
Bodies dozens of meters tall. Skin like armor. A single horn on their heads and mouths split grotesquely wide. And the sharp teeth lining those mouths were proof enough that they were not gentle by nature.
Dozens of mighty giants that looked as though they might smash the tree down at any moment were, contrary to their momentum, unable to approach it easily.
It was because of the countless army charging madly beneath it. Those who stood against the giants were not human either.
They were far smaller than the giants, but they were monsters grotesque beyond measure. Grotesque monsters were hurling themselves forward in a frenzy.
When it came to looking bizarre, the monsters were in no way inferior to the giants. There was one with three arms. There were others with mouths on their backs. One spewed strange flames from its mouth, while another suddenly turned transparent.
The ferocious-looking monsters, each possessing all manner of traits, charged madly without yielding to the giants’ momentum. Though in terms of individual strength, the giants were far stronger.
And halfway up the branches of the immeasurably vast Lorval, there were people standing and watching the entire scene without missing a thing. If one were speaking of peculiarities, the people here were peculiar beyond compare as well.
Dukes, of whom only a few might be born in a century. And they were not ordinary fledgling dukes blocked by a wall. They were those who had leapt over the wall of a stage. Dozens of such people stood atop the branches, watching the battle below. Every one of them possessed an odd characteristic in addition to their great power.
A strange mark on their foreheads.
Those standing atop the tree all had strange marks engraved upon their foreheads.
“Ha… the power of the newly made ones is remarkable… The Murakan were never that strong before……”
“Indeed. To think they can push those giants back like that… At that level, even we would have a hard time……”
The dukes looked at one another and appraised the grotesque monsters—the Murakan—fighting below. The giants down there were not merely large. Each and every one was a mighty warrior who had broken through a wall. Though the giants were few in number, an extraordinarily high proportion of them were powerful beings who had reached Beta, making them a considerable threat even among those who invaded from the continent beyond the peninsula. That was why, under normal circumstances, the Swarm and the Murakan joined forces while they themselves launched coordinated attacks to drive them back. Since there was not a single weak race among those invading across the peninsula, they had no leisure to leave their posts.
But this time, the Murakan alone were driving those giants back. And that was not all—they were devouring the fallen giants and growing even stronger.
Crunch. Craaack.
From the hide of one Murakan that had been eating a fallen giant, armor like the giants’ skin began to rise. Its mouth split even longer, and its body grew even larger.
Having absorbed the giants’ strengths, the creatures had grown into an even mightier form.
There was one man who gazed at those Murakan with satisfaction, as if looking at pets.
“Heh heh. Now we’ll finally have a little breathing room. Damn it… Just when we thought we’d driven out the Gerna, to think creatures like those would come crashing in……”
The man sighed. Then he recalled what had happened three thousand years ago. Three thousand years earlier, everything had gone perfectly up to the point of driving out those disagreeable Gerna. In addition, he had been quite pleased with the newly acquired Swarm and Murakan. Though these creatures, being races forcibly modified into existence, could not rise to Beta, they carried out his commands perfectly, and their numbers were tremendous.
With such forces newly in hand, he had thought expanding the territory of the human race and reclaiming their former glory would be child’s play. Until those damned things came invading across the peninsula.
“Whew… To think they had only stayed away because they feared the Gerna……”
The characteristics of the Gerna were something no race could help but fear. They themselves had thoroughly prepared in various ways and driven the Gerna out, but those creatures had been a race fully worthy of acting as the rulers of the continent. That was why the beings on the continent across the peninsula had not invaded.
But the moment they realized that the Gerna had been cornered by the barrier and driven entirely to the north, they began crossing the shallow sea and invading fiercely. The narrow strait separating the peninsula from the opposite continent was no obstacle to them at all. From then on, a tedious defensive war began and continued for three thousand years. The number of races they had killed over those three thousand years alone would exceed tens of thousands. The number of dukes, Swarm, and Murakan who had died was also immense. Had they not raised the human race to continuously replenish their dukes and stamped them with the
But as of today, that tense tug-of-war was over. If the Murakan had grown that strong, there was now room to redirect their remaining strength elsewhere. They could block this place with the Murakan alone. In fact, one side of the peninsula had been held by the Swarm and the dukes, while the other had been held by the Murakan and the Swarm; now, even with the Murakan divided, they were holding both places.
“We must send the Swarm north at once and wipe out the Gerna first… Heh heh heh. Then Kiculus and Akra will have more energy to spare as well. Damn it… maintaining the barrier is far too difficult……”
If the newly arisen Duke named Con
-rad had not appeared this time, and if they had not used him to strengthen the barrier, things might have gone terribly wrong. The fact that he had even mastered the forgotten discipline of miracles had been a stroke of heavenly fortune for him.
But now everything had been resolved. The strengthened Murakan had created the leeway needed to redirect the Swarm, and the gaps in the barrier should have been repaired by now. He had left dukes behind just in case, but it seemed there had been no need at all.
This was all thanks to the greatest contributor who had returned this time.
The pinnacle of House Lorval. Duke Lorval looked at the man beside him with an expression of pride.
“Ragaope, remarkable. Where on earth did you find blood like that to modify the Murakan to such a degree? It was worth crossing the Forbidden Zone no one had ever crossed until now. You even brought back those who had learned forgotten disciplines. Heh heh, though their level is rather low.”
At those words, Ragaope smiled faintly.
“I was fortunate. Thankfully, the Lukra opened the way for us as well.”
“Ha… To tell the truth, that is what I find most astounding. Those arrogant bastards opened the way for you?”
Lorval asked with a puzzled expression. In truth, even as he formed an expedition and sent Ragaope to the southern Forbidden Zone, he had not expected much. He had not thought they would be able to pass through those lunatics.
“Well… it was not easy. I was the only one who returned alive, was I not? They did not lay a hand on us.”
“It seems those creatures have grown somewhat tame. Heh heh.”
In the midst of this, Lorval fixed his gaze on something in the empty air. Then he spoke to Ragaope.
“Good. It seems the barrier has been restored.”
“Ha, already?”
Ragaope said, looking surprised.
“Yes. They say someone named Sian recovered it. By the way… is that truly so? Beta Level 3……”
The duke spoke with an expression of disbelief. Over the long ages, even when the Divine Nation maintained its might, he had never seen anyone from the human race above Beta Level 1. Even that much would never have appeared without them, the Godbloods. And yet such a person had emerged from the continent where the monkeys lived.
“Con
-rad examined him, so it must be accurate. You know that better than anyone, do you not?”
“Heh heh. Well, that is true.”
Lorval let out a hollow laugh, as if he had said something foolish.
“Does it not make you uneasy, that such a powerful being has appeared?”
Ragaope asked with a smile. But Lorval snorted.
“Heh heh. Why would I be uneasy? It is something to be celebrated instead. For such a mighty being to have appeared among the human race has long been our cherished wish.”
As he said that, Lorval wore an expression as though recalling a distant past.
“Everything is going well… Since the barrier has been restored, we shall first clean out the interior with the Swarm, then send them north.”
If they did not sweep away those leech-like creatures, they could not proceed to the next step. Now that the quest to complete the barrier had been fulfilled, those creatures were rats in a jar. They could sweep them away slowly.
They had achieved perfect defense. And they still had strength to spare. In that case, all that remained was expansion. To reclaim the great glory of the past.
As he looked at the countless quest windows rising before him regarding the plans to come, Lorval wore a satisfied expression.