Chapter 29
Chapter 29
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: 8. Mecha God Chronicle - Third Apocalypse (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"At this very moment, a true god that never existed in this world is born."
"The price of creation by this true god is the annihilation of the false creations that have dominated this world until now."
"False creations... so, that means humanity perishes?"
"No, it's not humanity that perishes. It's this world."
"...It begins. The third apocalypse following the second. The ritual of Genesis Annihilation!"
"....."
The Grinebalt Duke's mansion.
Right there, the Grinebalt Duke was staring blankly at the screen playing on the television.
And now, as Mecha God Chronicle episode 25 built toward its climax, he was so focused he could barely breathe.
That was only natural, really.
How could anyone have stray thoughts at this pivotal moment deciding whether Earth would be destroyed or not?
Just as Unit Zero awakened, Kai created a massive pillar of light to save Saya, and Earth was engulfed in a colossal explosion...
[To be continued in the next episode.]
"...Huh?"
The duke stared at the merciless words on the screen with trembling eyes, but reality was ice-cold.
"...Raguna, you bastard."
Gazing at those merciless words on the television, the duke unwittingly let out a hollow laugh.
"How the hell can he cut the anime off right here? What the heck did that guy do during his family education classes?"
If Raguna were in front of him, he'd want to kidnap and torture the guy until he coughed up episode 26.
But regardless of the duke's feelings, he couldn't deny this was one of the things that hooked viewers deep into the anime.
After all, even he himself was dying to know what happened next.
"...According to Dr. Rachel, Unit Zero ultimately awakened as a true god. And the moment it did, it performed the creation ritual to fulfill its duty."
Which meant, judging by that last scene, Earth had been engulfed in a massive explosion from the ritual's aftermath, and humanity was as good as dead...
"No, but Mecha God Chronicle is a 50-episode series. If he blows up Earth right here, how the hell does he plan to fill the remaining 25 episodes?"
By any common sense, no normal anime creator would destroy Earth in episode 25.
But Raguna was exactly the kind of madman who could pull off something that insane without batting an eye.
The duke had been watching him since the days of Nymph and Goblin and Eli and Hamel's Disappearance.
Raguna Tersion was a guy who always effortlessly surpassed everyone's expectations.
Not only had he turned the theatrical anime Eli and Hamel's Disappearance—which even the duke thought had no chance—into a smash hit, but he'd followed it up with Mecha God Chronicle, capturing the hearts of the entire empire in one fell swoop.
If he'd just followed the same old paths as everyone else, succeeding with something as unprecedented as anime would have been impossible.
No matter how much of a worm he was for toying with Serika's heart, the duke had to acknowledge that fact about Raguna.
So even if this development looked like a total trainwreck at first glance, there had to be some scheme hidden within that Raguna had up his sleeve.
As the duke's thoughts reached that point, he realized with a wry smile that he was doing the exact same thing as the members of that club formed by that lunatic Ricardo or whatever his name was.
"Tch. Next week will answer all these questions anyway. What am I even doing?"
Muttering that, the duke turned off the television and went to bed early for tomorrow's morning duties.
Or rather, he tried to go to bed, but sleep wouldn't come no matter what.
All because he couldn't stop obsessing over what happened next in Mecha God Chronicle.
"Raguna, you bastard..."
In the end, the duke spent the entire night piecing together every foreshadowing related to Mecha God Chronicle in his head and speculating on the future plot, without a wink of sleep.
He was already completely hooked on Mecha God Chronicle.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The duke figured others must have been just as deeply impressed by Mecha God Chronicle episode 25, which had aired last night.
But to cut to the chase, he was dead wrong.
Because episode 25 of Mecha God Chronicle wasn't just deeply impressive—it was causing a massive uproar across the empire.
How massive? Well...
"Then let us commence the council of state."
The duke spoke, his face showing a hint of exasperation.
"Today's first order of business... is the matter related to Mecha God Chronicle episode 25."
That's right.
Even the duke himself found it absurd, but the emperor and the nobles under him were holding this meeting precisely because of various issues stemming from episode 25.
"Good grief. Honestly, it's ridiculous."
"I mean, who could've imagined a single anime would impact the entire empire like this?"
Of course, everyone gathered here could only let out hollow laughs at the sheer absurdity of the situation.
"First off, you're all aware that in yesterday's episode 25 of Mecha God Chronicle, Earth exploded entirely."
The nobles nodded silently in agreement.
There was hardly a noble in the empire who hadn't watched Mecha God Chronicle.
"In my personal opinion, that scene alone was utterly baffling. And as a result, various problems have cropped up in the capital."
"What sort of problems, exactly?"
"For starters, public opinion on Mecha God Chronicle is boiling over. Protests demanding episode 26 air immediately have piled up over hundreds in the palace alone."
"Newspapers running articles on Mecha God Chronicle report sales triple what they usually are. It's causing shortages of the papers themselves."
"Oh yeah, I heard all daily necessities sold out in the capital's general stores yesterday. Apparently, lunatics who really think Earth might be doomed from the anime went on a panic-buying spree for emergency rations."
From trivial little incidents that seemed like nothing on a small scale, to major issues even these great nobles had to pay attention to—they kept pouring in.
And the fact that all this chaos was triggered by the absurd twist in episode 25 of Mecha God Chronicle left every noble utterly dumbfounded.
"Damn it. The director of Mecha God Chronicle, Raguna or whatever? That one guy's turned the whole empire into a circus."
"Frankly, I want to summon him here right now and ask what the hell he was thinking with that episode 25 plot."
"No, seriously, does suddenly blowing up Earth even make sense? What happens to our Eirin with a twist like that?"
"Eirin? Isn't she... like two eras behind Saya, a loser from a bygone age? Surprising there are still fans cheering for her after episode 25."
"What did you just say...? Take that back!"
The meeting, meant to discuss the various issues from episode 25, had devolved into a full-blown debate about Mecha God Chronicle.
And meanwhile...
"....."
The emperor simply watched the nobles in silence.
His hands steepled over his mouth, maintaining an air of utmost composure.
It was the very picture of someone who knew exactly how the future would unfold.
Watching the emperor like that, the nobles realized one thing.
The emperor knew how episode 26 would play out.
Because he'd used his authority to preview five episodes ahead of Mecha God Chronicle.
Gulp.
A swallow echoed through the chamber—who knew who made it.
Normally, the nobles might have brushed off the emperor's smug demeanor as usual.
But not this time.
Episode 25 had ended on the completely unforeseen note of Earth exploding.
Everyone here was so desperate to know what happened in episode 26 that they'd sell their souls to the devil for the answer.
And right now, someone who knew episode 26's contents was in this very room.
So, the best move for the nobles...
"...Your Majesty."
Finally, one noble couldn't resist the temptation rising in his chest, swallowed his pride, and cautiously spoke up.
"I've heard that Your Majesty knows how episode 26 of Mecha God Chronicle unfolds."
"....."
"If that's true, could you perhaps give us even the slightest hint about how it progresses?"
The emperor offered no reply to the noble's desperate plea.
He merely pulled an artifact from his robes, as if he'd been waiting, and placed it on the table.
"...What is that, Your Majesty?"
"Nothing special. It's just the recording of Mecha God Chronicle episode 26 that you all so desperately want. Straight from Raguna himself, the original master copy."
"...!"
At those words, every noble in the room felt their ears perk up.
Did that mean the artifact contained episode 26, the very thing they'd been craving?
The fate of the exploded Earth after Unit Zero awakened as a true god—the conclusion to it all was right there?
Flames of desire flickered in the nobles' eyes.
Their mouths went dry, hearts pounding wildly.
If only they could get their hands on that artifact...!
But none dared touch the emperor's possession, so they all hesitated, watching each other—right then.
Tap tap.
The emperor glanced at the glass before him, then lightly tapped it.
And in a very soft voice, he murmured:
"Water."
"...!"
At his words, a quick-witted someone jumped up and swiftly filled the emperor's glass.
Glug glug.
The emperor drank deeply from the glass and said in a low voice:
"The water tastes... so sweet today."
"....."
The water tasted sweeter and more refreshing than ever.
The emperor simply savored the satisfaction of it all.