Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Look Here
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"You know, I realize now that we shouldn't have been celebrating our survival just yet."
Mr. Thomas gave a wry smile. He let out a deep sigh, took a moment to steady his breathing, then glanced at Mr. Robert beside me with a nod.
"Has there been no support from the Empire or the Holy Kingdom?"
"Professor, these two here are the only support we've got."
He started to light a cigarette but hesitated upon noticing the patients around us. He stuffed the unlit smoke back into his pocket and replied curtly, his tone indifferent and gruff.
"I relayed your words via communication magic to the Empire and Holy Kingdom, word for word. In fact, I sent it to every other nation on the continent. The decent ones at least offered token condolences, but not a single one promised even a single grain of wheat. The kind of support you're hoping for was a lost cause from the start."
"Hah... So you mean they don't even realize this isn't just our problem..."
"They'll figure it out once it hits them. Right now, they probably just think it's a bluff."
Cardinal Omen of the Aldehir Church chimed in.
"There's a saying: happiness comes without sacrifice, and eras don't turn without misfortune. History proves it. It'd be great if people prepared and resolved things before disaster strikes, but they always wait until it's staring them in the face. If the crisis isn't visible, there's no preparation."
"The problem is, there is no solution, Your Eminence."
Mr. Thomas deflated again. His face visibly darkened as he let out heavy sighs. Not a shred of hope remained in his eyes.
"Father, do you know what happens if—if—Caldean Volcano erupts?"
Before I could even think, he rephrased the question.
"No, no one knows for sure. No one can until it actually happens; we can only speculate. But to cut to the chase—based entirely on my research—the eruption of the Caldean supervolcano will herald a catastrophe unlike any before or since."
Mr. Thomas cast a spell to summon a pile of dirt onto the floor. He spread it out along the edge of the meeting room and shaped it like wet clay. It was the shape I recognized from continental maps: the Citadel Republic.
"This is our republic, and right here... that's Caldean Volcano. The scale isn't precise, but the margin of error won't matter much."
Leaving the Aldehir priests busy distributing spring water to the patients behind us, Roca and I huddled together with His Eminence the Cardinal, Mr. Robert, and Mr. Thomas.
Mr. Thomas continued his explanation with fervor. Roca stared at his hands as they sculpted the mountain range and asked,
"It's... this big...?"
"For convenience, we call it a volcano, but Caldean isn't just one mountain—it's the entire mountain range. This whole section, from here to here, is the volcano. Inside, magma as vast as an ocean bubbles and boils, building pressure exponentially."
"You're saying a single monster can trigger an eruption like that?"
"Even I'm deeply puzzled by it."
Mr. Thomas shook his head.
"No matter that it's the Monster Sovereign, even if it's drawing on geothermal energy and distributing it everywhere, the approach of this cataclysmic eruption is far too rapid. Plus, if that much heat was building underground, the phoenix wouldn't even need to trigger it—the volcano should have erupted long ago... or at least shown precursors. That's the biggest mystery right now."
"A mystery that's utterly useless, anyway."
Mr. Robert sneered.
"One phoenix is already more than we can handle. Even if there's some other cause, no one has the bandwidth to worry about it. We can think about that after we deal with the bird. Hell, we can't even manage that, which is why we're in this mess."
"Either way, taking it down won't just delay the eruption—it'll drastically reduce its power. Even if it blows later, it'll end with the republic's destruction."
Mr. Thomas nodded without denying it.
"Not now. If it erupts now, it's not just the Citadel Republic at risk—the entire continent is. Maybe even the Eastern Continent across the distant ocean."
He let out a profound sigh.
"If the volcano erupts, everything happening now will seem like child's play by comparison. Even now..."
Rumble!
The ground shook, the floor vibrated. It was so familiar by now that Mr. Thomas merely paused briefly, unsurprised.
These intermittent tremors had started the moment we set foot here, and the intervals were growing shorter.
"Even these quakes are nothing compared to what'll come after the eruption. The scale doesn't matter. It'll be enough to level the republic entirely and unleash massive tsunamis in the surrounding areas. Everyone here, everyone on the coast—everyone's at risk."
"The Kant Sea encircling the Citadel Republic will slosh like a bathtub. I can't say exactly how big the seismic waves will be, but the Mage Empire, Altoa Kingdom, Anrus Kingdom, Norant Kingdom... even Tyrosil Kingdom might take damage. The Odal Empire across the ocean might not escape unscathed."
"The Empire has no coastline except the Near Eastern Sea, so no tsunami damage there. But if the quake reaches that far, they'll suffer some. That's just the beginning, though."
Once the massive eruption hits, the ashfall we're dealing with now will be a joke by comparison. Mr. Thomas caught his breath, drank another ladle of spring water, and continued.
"If Caldean Supervolcano truly erupts and spews its ash, everyone here will be buried alive under it. It'll pile up high enough to engulf the tallest buildings, and anything that survives will suffocate or burn in the ash. That's our misfortune. But it won't stop there—it'll spread. Probably across the entire continent."
"Professor Thomas is right. We might even have it better. We'll die without feeling a thing, but your Empire's people will have to live through hell."
A new voice cut in, one I'd never heard before. I turned to see an elderly man who had quietly sat down behind us, listening with weary eyes.
Mr. Robert shot to his feet upon seeing him.
"Your Excellency, the Doge!"
"Sit, sit. What authority do I even have left? The republic's about to fall—no, it will fall. What meaning does 'Doge' hold now?"
Only after he waved him off did Mr. Robert sit back down. The Doge of the Citadel Republic—someone I'd never met despite trailing Yurinel. I never imagined I'd meet the republic's leader so casually, but perhaps it was inevitable. This wasn't mere chaos; it was the brink of annihilation.
In such times, death could come to anyone. In a way, it was the most equal world possible. With everyone facing the same mortal peril, human authority meant nothing.
"Continue. I'd like to hear your insights too."
Mr. Thomas nodded and pressed on.
"The ash won't just pile up here—it'll reach the high atmosphere. Carried by the winds, it'll scatter everywhere, blotting out the sun and every star. What rises to the heavens eventually falls, but that could take years. What happens if the sun's blocked for years?"
"Plants won't grow,"
"The surface will suffer endless cold snaps. Even summer will feel like the depths of winter."
"An unprecedented famine will drag on not for a year, but for several. The Empire's just thinking of squeezing a few coins from us now, but they should've sent aid instead of scheming."
The Doge snatched the cigarette from Mr. Robert's hand and lit it. No hesitation despite the patients nearby. Roca, who hated the smoke, sprinkled a pinch of salt in front of herself. He didn't care; nothing mattered to him anymore.
"We know the Holy Kingdom and Empire both have hidden powers aplenty, but they're saving them to tear into each other. According to my intel network in the Empire, Father, you're probably their last support from that side. The first and final one. They'll be too busy ripping each other apart now."
"You're referring to the forces needed to take down the phoenix?"
"Exactly. If the continent's two great powers had pooled their strength, it wasn't impossible. Three Masters fell to the monster, but it wasn't a total defeat."
Mr. Thomas nodded in agreement.
"I saw it myself. The monster was beheaded by glacial aura in a moment of carelessness and died. But... we'd forgotten why it's called the 'Immortal Phoenix.'"
"It doesn't die?"
"Right. Even if it dies, it just reverts to an egg and hatches again. The three Masters sacrificed themselves to force it back to egg form—that's why the eruption's been delayed this long. Otherwise, it would've blown already."
Roca's eyes widened as she asked,
"That's impossible. So it can't be killed for good?"
"True immortality doesn't exist. Its death conditions just weren't met. If the three Masters had any strength left, they might've crushed the egg and finished it."
As the Doge said. Nothing is truly immortal except the Ancient Gods, embodiments of cosmic law itself.
Even the God of Death has an end; a mere monster achieving eternal life is absurd. There must be limits.
"But their sacrifice wasn't in vain. When it reverted to egg form, the quakes quieted for a time, and the ash output dropped. The hypothesis that slaying it delays the eruption is now practically proven."
"The problem is, it didn't let its guard down for nothing. Inside that volcano, conditions are extremely favorable for it... and the egg has already absorbed enough power to hatch. Its growth rate there is far faster than normal."
Mr. Thomas spoke up.
"I'm sorry, but at your levels, you two can't take it down. It's... impossible."
"Maybe so."
I merely smiled faintly at his concern.
"But sitting here in despair leads to the same death, doesn't it? If there's only one path to survival, no matter how treacherous, we have no choice but to take it."
Especially since, per Mr. Thomas,
The eruption won't just kill us here. The devastation will be unimaginable, and this is our only chance to stop it.
As everyone in the room fell silent,
"Everyone."
Doge Andolph MacLiren spoke up, and we all turned to him.
"Look here."
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