Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Chapter 41 - Gate of Rebirth
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Human Liberation Front headquarters.
"Clarice, have you seen Master?"
The future Sword Emperor—Clausewitz's question made Clarice, who had been groaning at her desk, cover her face with both hands instead of answering.
"Cla... rice?"
"No, it's nothing. Just a bit tired."
Clarice removed her hands and let out a deep sigh before sinking deeply into the back of her chair.
The strongest archmage in humanity.
But to the Sword Emperor, she was his small and lovely lover before she was the archmage who could shake heaven and earth.
Naturally worried, the Sword Emperor gently wrapped his arm around Clarice's shoulders and asked,
"You okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really."
It was a bit annoying, but knowing this was all the Sword Emperor's concern, Clarice managed a small smile before straightening her back.
"What were you looking at?"
"It's not that important. Though... it might become very important later."
Mumbling evasively, Clarice casually closed the file folder.
As if she didn't want the Sword Emperor to see its contents.
"Clarice?"
"No, more importantly. Right, you were asking where the Sword Angel is?"
It was clearly a change of subject, but instead of pressing further, the Sword Emperor nodded for now.
If it were truly important—and something he needed to know—Clarice wouldn't hide it like this.
It must be something unnecessary or something he didn't need to know 'yet.'
'Something... about the moon, maybe.'
The two moons in the night sky.
"Carl?"
Snapping back to attention at the nickname only the Sword Angel and Clarice used, the Sword Emperor smiled again and said,
"Yeah, haven't seen her since this morning."
"Sorry, she asked me to pass on a message, and I forgot."
Putting her hands together apologetically, Clarice gave a sorry smile as she looked up at the Sword Emperor and said,
"She said she's heading to the Sword Temple for a bit. She'll be back by evening."
The Sword Temple.
The place said to be where the Sword Angel was born.
"I see... Thanks for letting me know. Don't push yourself too hard—take it easy."
"Yeah, got it."
Answering sweetly, Clarice leaned forward, and the Sword Emperor chuckled before sharing a light kiss with her.
And at the same time, elsewhere.
The place people called the Sword Temple.
But its true name was nothing like the Sword Temple.
Battleship No. 7, Pragarah.
The most powerful combat vessel among the seven escort ships and one of the Ultimate Weapon series.
The bridge, with all devices except the main monitor powered off, was eerily quiet.
And at the center of that bridge.
The Sword Angel, sitting alone in the darkness, slowly raised her head.
Jet-black hair cascaded down her pale face, and emerald eyes slowly emerged from beneath her closed lids.
"......"
A whisper so faint even she could barely hear it.
Closing and opening her eyes once, the Sword Angel rose from her seat and brushed back her hair.
She gazed down at the ground through the bridge's monitors.
* * *
Integra lifted her head.
Two days had passed since Luther told her about 'the other Integra.'
Integra had set everything else aside to focus solely on the search, but fortunately—or unfortunately—she hadn't found even the smallest clue.
[...I'm sorry.]
[Once I started searching, the scope turned out to be far too vast.]
[I don't think I can uncover anything about the other me in the short term.]
Her voice utterly dejected, Integra pursed her lips.
She felt a sense of self-loathing for not being helpful in this area either.
But as Integra herself had said, it was unavoidable.
The search area was truly immense.
Even Integra herself hadn't realized just how vast her data domain was until she began the search.
Every time she revisited sections she thought were merely locked or deactivated due to initialization, it felt like discovering a new world.
How could this be?
Was this really the data domain of an AI stored in a single nanosuit?
There was one hypothesis, actually.
[Maybe... the other me is interfering.]
Making sure Integra couldn't find her, leading her astray, showing fake data as if it were real.
That would explain the abnormally vast search scope.
As much as she hated to admit it, the 'other Integra' likely had superior performance.
But if that were true, why was the other Integra preventing her from being found?
And if she could operate at that level of consciousness, why hide instead of coming forward?
[I don't know the reason... but the other Integra is still Master's support AI. She helped Master during the Sky Island incident, too.]
So why hide?
Why not reveal herself?
There were too many riddles.
And Integra had no way to solve them all at once.
"It's okay."
Luther placed his hand on top of Integra's head.
Integra reflexively switched on, and Luther gently stroked her head before smiling and saying,
"Let's take it slow. If it's just vast, we'll find it eventually. If she's interfering, then the other Integra must have her reasons. Like you said, she's a support AI too."
Truth be told, Luther was anxious as well.
He had told her about the other Integra—knowing it might cause mental shock—out of concern for the Hecatoncheires' offensive growing fiercer than in the original story.
But that didn't mean he would pressure Integra.
She was doing her best, and his role was to support her.
"Don't push yourself too hard. Got it?"
[Yes, Master.]
Uncharacteristically meek in her response, Integra pursed her lips before giving a small smile, and Luther stroked her head a bit more.
Then, a few more seconds passed.
Unfortunately, time was up, so Integra took a deep breath, raised her head, and said,
[Then, Master, I'll allocate some time back to tech development for now.]
"Yeah, let's do that."
Focusing solely on the search like this would delay the various tech developments she'd proposed when they obtained Varrian's dragon heart.
Strengthening their forces only to stagnate elsewhere would be putting the cart before the horse, so they needed a proper balance between search and development.
Moreover, while Integra emphasized the other Integra's strengths, Luther believed Integra had her own unique advantages.
She had developed countless weapons not in the original, like the Buster Cannon and Night Wing.
The Dragon Burst that took down Kaliot last time was Integra's creation, after all.
So Luther encouraged her once more, then changed the subject by pointing into the distance.
"You've been inside so long you don't even know where we are, huh? We're almost there."
Sacred Mountain Akunta.
One of the many peaks rooted in the Hainsha Mountains, with a legend that the Shield Angel descended there long ago.
[Wait, are we inside Sacred Mountain Akunta right now?]
"More precisely, we're climbing it. Taking a break at the moment."
At Luther's answer, Integra looked around.
Inside a small cave.
Beyond the campfire, Arus was curled up asleep, and rocks piled at the entrance served as a makeshift door.
Luther sat leaning against the crouched Schwarz.
"We're roughly here. The Gate of Rebirth is hidden around this spot."
Luther pointed to a map drawn on the ground near the campfire.
It looked like a rough sketch meant for explaining to Arus.
Examining the essentially linear path, Integra turned back to Luther and asked,
[Master, how do you know about the Gate of Rebirth?]
[Is it an important object from the eastern section?]
At Integra's question, Luther gave an awkward smile, scratched his neck, and said,
"Integra, remember the stone pillar from the western section? The one at the entrance to Asain Canyon."
[Yes.]
[The ruins you used to generate a mana vortex during the fight with Beast Lord Valakia, right?]
As expected of Integra.
Luther nodded immediately at her precise recall.
"Yeah, that one. It's similar."
[What? You mean...]
[It's something discovered in the eastern section but can't be activated yet?]
[That's why you remember it?]
"Yeah, exactly."
The stone pillar could be discovered in the western section but only used after progressing through southwest, northeast, and into the early central section.
The Gate of Rebirth was the same.
No, in a way, it was even worse than the stone pillar.
It was found by following a hidden path on the climbing route of Sacred Mountain Akunta—a place that screamed hidden event.
Integra let out an incredulous chuckle, brushed back her hair, and said,
[This crap game really won't let you skip anything, even if you try.]
[Normally, they'd block it off in the eastern section, right? Like sealing the path or something.]
"Yeah, tell me about it."
But the path was open, and Luther along with countless players had come with pounding hearts, only to turn back empty-handed.
[Whew... whatever, no helping it.]
[I can accept all of Master's tastes, no matter what.]
Just how was Luther's gaming taste defined in Integra's mind?
"Anyway, thanks to that, I knew right where the Gate of Rebirth is, so that's a win, right?"
When Luther grinned and said that, Integra stared at his face for a moment before giggling and replying,
[I want to give a positive Master one point, but that'd make it ten, so I'll just give you my heart!]
As expected, it was arbitrary scoring.
But since he'd anticipated it, Luther didn't complain about the nonsense and instead asked with a laugh,
"Can't you just give me the prize once?"
[Huh? B-but... I'm not mentally prepared yet.]
"Huh?"
No, what kind of prize required that reaction?
Integra fidgeted with her fingers, her face flushed red, and inevitably, Luther felt a strange mood as well.
"Anyway, uh... let's call it for now."
It was late, and they had to head to the Gate of Rebirth early tomorrow morning.
[Yes, Master. Good night.]
[Leave the night watch to me, as always.]
"Yeah."
Feeling that strange mood again at Integra's joking despite her flushed face, Luther lay down and closed his eyes.
'A ten-point prize.'
What could a ten-point prize be?
Luther forcibly pushed the thought away, and the night deepened.
* * *
The next morning, Luther and Arus set off early for the Gate of Rebirth.
The biting cold typical of high altitudes was fierce, but neither Luther nor Arus were ordinary, so their pace was swift.
And an hour later.
Passing through a hole in what seemed like a dead-end cliff—they had to widen it for Arus—a secret passage leading downward appeared.
[And reaching this point, you couldn't do anything?]
[Isn't this straight-up user trolling?]
Luther agreed, but as he'd said yesterday, he was grateful for now.
Thanks to playing while cursing, the path to the Gate of Rebirth was vividly clear in his mind.
In any case, pressing onward, they soon reached a vast cavern.
"Ooooh......"
Arus was the first to gasp in admiration.
Not a natural cave but a square artificial chamber that immediately evoked a temple.
[So this is the Gate of Rebirth.]
A massive door towering at least six meters high.
Below the stepping stones leading to it, the area was filled with water—clear blue and looking freezing cold.
"Anyway, let's go."
As they approached right in front of the Gate of Rebirth, a terminal came into view that hadn't been visible from afar.
[It looks similar to the one in the Submarine Tunnel.]
"The emblem of the Divine Dragon Volpid."
Integra spoke first, then Arus.
As both said, the front of the roughly one-meter-tall terminal bore the emblem of the Divine Dragon Volpid: a silhouette of a white dragon.
Arus seemed relatively calm, having seen similar ruins during her enforcer work.
'Alright, let's give it a shot.'
Unlike the stone pillar he'd at least activated once, this was truly his first time with the Gate of Rebirth.
His heart pounding, Luther took a deep breath and pulled out the Sea Key, thinking he had nothing to lose.
And—
[Erm... no dice, as expected.]
The Sea Key, practically a universal key in the southern section, didn't work this time.
[Though it was pretty obvious.]
It was a mountain, not the sea.
Plus, weren't there three keys prepared from the start: sea, earth, and sky?
"Integra, any way to open it?"
[...I'll try hacking.]
Perhaps shaken by recent events, Integra responded hesitantly and positioned herself in front of the terminal.
But right then.
[Huh?]
The moment Integra placed her hand on the terminal.
Even before any proper hacking attempt, the terminal reacted first.
[tㅏyongwk hwa r인.]
[승 dlㄴ된 사용 wㅏ입 sㅣ다.]
Fragmented text appeared on the terminal's screen, and then the Gate of Rebirth began to respond.
"Integra?"
[Yes? Oh... I-it looks like the door's opening!]
But what was going on?
The fragmented text, and was the terminal broken?
No time to think now.
Luther, nanosuit equipped in case of trouble, stared straight ahead.
With a deafening rumble, beyond the Gate of Rebirth—the Land of the Yellow Dragon revealed itself.