Chapter 38
Chapter 38
Chapter 38
Yev (1)
-…….
An alien life form.
No matter how one looked at it, its appearance gave off exactly that impression.
'...Who is it?'
Rudian desperately searched his memory to match the aliens that appeared in with the creature's appearance.
'The fortunate thing is that it has arms and legs like a human....'
Among the alien civilizations that appeared in Chapter 3, the ones that seriously fought the human civilization were definitely cephalopod-like aliens with multiple limbs.
It doesn't seem to be one of those, so we've avoided the worst case scenario at least....
-It's not what the mountain goat was trying to summon.
'Really? Then, is that a good thing?'
Just as Rudian was about to feel slightly relieved that his guess was correct, the creature's next words hit him hard on the back of his head.
-But something much more dangerous has appeared.
'...Damn it!'
If it's worse than those, then it's really dangerous.
A silent standoff continued for a while.
The silver alien was staring down at the party.
The party didn't know how to respond, so they just stared back while maintaining their battle stance.
It wasn't the party who broke the standoff.
SWOOSH!
For a moment, Rudian's eyes met with the alien's.
-%^&%&%#
"...Huh?"
-#%@#$$@*@
"......"
It was language.
The alien was clearly directing "language" toward Rudian.
Although the creature didn't have a visible mouth, the source of the sound was definitely the silver alien.
The problem was that Rudian couldn't understand a word of it.
-What is it babbling about?
If even Diablo, the ancient demon king, couldn't understand the alien's language, that said everything.
The tense standoff continued.
Everyone in the party threw confused glances at the alien who suddenly started speaking.
At that moment.
-It says not to make such expressions since it just came over for fun.
'...Huh?'
-It says that unlike the others, it has no intention of fighting.
'...What?'
Among those present, there was only one being who could understand that language!
Rudian asked Adi in a somewhat bewildered tone.
'You can understand that?'
A language from outer space that seemed impossible to pronounce with human vocal cords.
There usually aren't beings who can understand such things.
'Well, you do look like an alien life form too....'
-That's too much, Master!
Adi waved his tentacles in protest at Rudian.
'Well, just looking at you two, you could be cousins.'
A tentacled eyeball monster is usually considered an alien.
-......!
Adi seemed so shocked by Rudian's words that he even wobbled a bit while floating.
Rudian carefully changed the subject, afraid of what kind of retaliation might come if he teased Adi any further.
'Um, so do you know what language it's speaking?'
Adi collected himself and spoke again.
-It's one of the 173 languages adopted as main languages by the Spiral Galaxy Federation.
'...Huh?'
Normally, Rudian would have responded with "What nonsense is that?", but he had heard the term Spiral Galaxy Federation in before.
'Don't tell me, Andromeda?'
-...Gasp! How does the Master know that?!
An eternal tourist destination constantly visited by human concepts.
But in , it was one of the names actually used by the author.
Of course, the characters in wouldn't know this fact, but Rudian alone knew its name and origin.
-H-how could humans of this era know that...!
Adi looked at Rudian with indescribable emotion.
Naturally, it made sense since Rudian's true body, Kim Seong-jun, was neither a human of this era nor even of this world setting.
Just as Adi and Rudian were about to continue their conversation.
-$%!#$!##@$%!
The silver alien raised its voice as if angry and said something.
-It says not to ignore it.
'Ugh!'
Despite Adi's kind translation, the situation hadn't improved.
It was fortunate that Adi could understand those words, but the problem was that they couldn't convey their language to the alien.
'Since the pronunciation itself is impossible, this is driving me crazy.'
While Rudian was making a slightly troubled expression.
-Ah, shall I interpret for you?
'Huh? Is that possible? Other people can't see you, right?'
The alien itself showed no signs of noticing Adi floating on Rudian's shoulder.
-It's not that they can't see me, but that I'm invisible.
'Oh, really? Then, if possible, ask if it can change its appearance.'
If they were who Rudian remembered, mimicking a human form would be as easy as eating cold rice for them.
Adi replied that he understood and then flew his round body toward the alien.
And soon after, it was clear that the alien's gaze had caught Adi.
-@#%#$^%#
-......
-&$*%^$
-......
After conversing with the creature for a while, Adi returned to Rudian and said:
-It says it's possible. It says that this form isn't its real body, just a rough imitation of something similar to humans, but this time it will transform properly.
'Oh, really? Strange, aliens aren't usually this friendly.'
Right after that, a bright light emerged from the silver alien's body, and like Ditto changing its form, its shape began to distort.
After about 30 seconds, a black-haired girl around fifteen years old appeared before Rudian and his party.
Hair color that didn't exist on this continent, just like Sitri Belstad.
The girl approached Rudian, alternately looking at him and Adi on his shoulder, then opened her small mouth.
"Me. Yev."
"Y-Yev?"
"Yes. My name."
The alien girl who introduced herself as Yev slightly frowned her delicate eyes and said:
"This place's language. Difficult. Takes some time."
'...From my perspective, the words you were spouting earlier seem much more difficult.'
Yev looked again alternately at Rudian, Adi, and Diablo in sword form.
For a moment, an interesting gleam appeared in Yev's eyes.
"Chosen one. Sealed one. Dragged-along one. Interesting."
"......?"
"Follow along for a while. That's what I decide."
"...What?"
At that moment, Rudian and everyone watching the situation screamed in unison with perfect harmony.
***
For some reason, the big incident that Rudian and the party had been wary of didn't happen.
Yev.
As far as Rudian knew, there was no alien race or outer god using that name in Chapters 3 and 4 of .
And the same was true for both Adi and Diablo.
-...Even though I have lived for many years, I don't know the names of all the gods that exist in outer space.
'...That makes sense.'
-But one thing I can be certain of is that this one didn't participate in the Second Heaven-Demon Great War and...
'And?'
Diablo hesitated slightly before slowly saying:
-Its rank is extremely high.
'Rank?'
-It doesn't seem to be much inferior even compared to me. Perhaps... It might even be a bit higher....
'...What?'
It was already shocking to think that this being called Yev might not just be an alien race but an alien god, but to hear that its rank was so high that even the arrogant Diablo would take a step back?
'This is insane.'
Even though was a work where the power balance went to Andromeda in the story, to think that a being that disrupts the balance would come from the actual Andromeda!
Yev had said she was interested in Rudian and Adi and would follow them, but honestly, it wasn't a being that Rudian could control in any way.
With just a slight whim, it could easily destroy all the plans that Rudian had built and planned—an uncontrollable variable!
'Plus, it probably has no power limitations....'
This Yev was a being from ‘outer space,’ not from ‘another world.’
Unlike the demons hiding in the Empire now, it wasn't constrained by power restrictions due to dimensional travel.
To Rudian, who was frustrated by the suddenly bleak future, Diablo offered encouragement.
-There's no need to worry that much. If a being of that level causes havoc, the celestial realm will have no choice but to intervene. They're probably in panic right now trying to figure out how to deal with it.
'Y-you're right....'
-To think that in my demon life, there would come a time when I sympathize with those celestial beings.... This is also a strange experience.
With Baphomet's demise, the magic that had been lingering inside the catacomb began to gradually lose its power.
Although a tremendous power had surged enough to summon a being from outer space, for some reason, there was no reaction from outside.
"It seems that a powerful barrier was created using this black crystal as a medium."
Maria, the party member most proficient in controlling power, drew her conclusion.
"Since Baphomet himself needed to hide here until his power recovered... I think he must have put in considerable effort."
"Indeed, that's a possibility."
Given that there was no response from the Magic Tower or anywhere else despite the fierce battle with Baphomet that lasted over 30 minutes, her words were probably true.
'Hmm....'
Rudian clicked his tongue while looking at the broken pieces of the black orb.
'This was probably the one containing the essence....'
The Essence of the Netherworld, a clue to obtaining the power of the Black World among the Seven Colored Worlds.
In the original work, the protagonist Abel defeated Baphomet, who had recovered most of his power, and obtained the essence of the Black World.
Although it wasn't precisely described what it was, based on the circumstances, it was likely to be that crystal, which made Rudian feel considerably frustrated.
'Haah, can't be helped.'
Rudian handed over Baphomet's greatsword to Elvin as planned, which he had intended to acquire along with the essence.
"W-was this a magic sword?"
Although it had a diameter of over 3m and was closer to a pillar than a sword, when Rudian commanded it to shrink as if handling the Monkey King's staff, it instantly reduced to the size of a regular longsword.
This sword of Baphomet, which outwardly appeared to be made of solid iron, was actually a top-grade artifact from the Netherworld with freely adjustable length and defensive capabilities.
"It's quite a good sword, so use it well."
Anyone who was a swordsman would recognize its value, as it could block aura with its bare blade.
"C-can I really accept this?"
Although Elvin had played a significant role in subjugating Baphomet, it was actually unreasonable for him to monopolize such a valuable spoil.
But...
"I already have this one."
"Unlike my brother, I don't use swords."
"Ugh, I have my own beloved sword... It's fine for Sir Elvin to use it."
So, due to everyone's circumstances, Baphomet's sword went to Elvin.
...Though Luciella couldn't completely let go of her attachment, occasionally glancing at the sword.
***
Although Rudian didn't get Baphomet's essence, it wasn't that he gained nothing.
-Name: Rudian
-Race: Human
-Age: 17
-Titles: Heir of Adora, Apprentice Psychic, Contractor of Wrath, Apprentice Knight of the Delphione Foundation, Apprentice Knight of the Iskar Family
-Strength: 19
-Agility: 18
-Vitality: 23
-Magic: 45
-Psychic Power: 5
Total Combat Power: 1,920
His magic rating was gradually reaching the level of a high-class mage or expert-level elite knight.
Even though most of the magic had gone through the purification process, the power that Baphomet had accumulated over the long years was truly enormous.
But Rudian's magic rating didn't increase as much as expected...
'My body is gradually approaching its limit, right?'
If that hadn't been the case, Rudian would have rivaled a Sword Master in terms of magic alone.
'I need to keep focusing on training. I must increase my pure capability.'
Rudian knew of a shortcut to overcome this limit, but in the current situation, using that method would just make him an apprentice knight with the magic of a Sword Master.
That way, fighting with pure capability without Diablo, he wouldn't even surpass Luciella and would be miserably defeated.
"Well then, now."
While Rudian was lost in thought.
As the situation in the catacomb was mostly sorted out, Luciella raised her hand to speak.
"Now only the final discussion remains."
Distribution of spoils, aftercare for this place, discussion about future actions.
With all of that finished, now only the most troublesome and challenging final issue remained.
"It's time to discuss how to handle this girl."
Everyone's eyes turned toward the black-haired alien girl, Yev, who had been blankly observing the situation.
"......?"
Yev, now the focus of everyone's attention, just tilted her head with a puzzled look in her eyes.