Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Chapter 16 - Valkein Ruins
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Balboa and Astra were dead.
Though they were Dragonkin, as the lowest tier, their strength was not absolute.
There were plenty of Earth Dragons stronger than the two among their kind, and once you reached the level of true dragons like the Demon Dragons, even mentioning their power was meaningless.
Even so, they were Dragonkin who had inherited the blood of dragons.
Moreover, both had met their end not in their fragile human forms, but in their true draconic shapes.
It wasn't clear who had killed Balboa.
From the circumstances, however, it was easy enough to figure out which person had been involved.
The man who had gone missing along with Princess Peliaru on the night Balboa attacked the high-class inn.
"Luther Lightseeker."
Coincidentally, he was also connected to Astra's death.
It had been Luther Lightseeker who defeated her at the Gleston Count's estate.
How had that happened?
Why had he appeared at the Gleston Count's estate?
Was it mere coincidence, or inevitability?
Dragonkin Jenadu let out a long sigh.
He lifted his gaze, peering out the window through green eyes that even his white mask couldn't hide.
Balboa and Astra were dead.
The Spirit Jewel was nowhere to be found, and Arma Valentine—one of the world's top ten superhumans—had visited the Gleston Count's estate.
Things were getting tangled.
The plans prepared in the west had gone awry from the very start.
But Dragonkin Jenadu did not grow impatient.
Far from losing his cool and rushing ahead, he coldly reviewed the documents once more.
Luther Lightseeker.
A man who wielded magical armor of unknown origin.
Balboa's case could be dismissed as coincidence.
Astra's could be chalked up to coincidence as well.
After all, Luther Lightseeker had been traveling with Lilia Ailstones, the niece of Count Gleston.
But if coincidences piled up any further, it would have to be seen as the intent of this man Luther Lightseeker, whatever that intent might be.
"We'll know once we see what happens next."
Jenadu did not hurry.
Even having lost Balboa and Astra, even without securing the Spirit Jewel, what was meant to happen would happen.
Jenadu turned his head.
He gazed out the window with green eyes.
Despite all the bad omens, he wore a smile.
* * *
The Valkein Ruins were located half a day's journey from Asain Canyon.
In the original story, Anne Rose, injured from her battle with Astra, had fought desperately against Earth Dragons and monsters in a hellish ordeal, but reality was pleasantly comfortable.
In fact—
"Wow."
The man leading the way gaped in awe at Arma Valentine's crimson giant armor.
And he wasn't the only one.
The rest of the man's companions walking alongside wore similar expressions.
Strangers they had coincidentally met on the road.
But Luther knew all their names.
'Lin, Jane, Asella.'
Lin, the bard with slender, nimble fingers perfect for the lute.
Young but devout priestess Jane, boisterous mage Asella.
Adventurers who met Anne Rose and traveled with her in the original story.
[Master, is it just my imagination, or are those all women's names?]
As Luther was lost in sentiment for once, Integra asked in a slightly sharp tone, like an interrogation.
But Luther snorted and replied with a brazen face.
'No way. That warrior over there with his mouth wide open—'
[A warrior?]
'A warrior. And the young guy next to him is a warrior too.'
[You don't know their names?]
'Yeah, weirdly, I can't remember. Maybe they lack personality?'
As Luther responded shamelessly, Integra narrowed her eyes before speaking in an unfriendly voice.
[Hey, Master.]
'Yeah, Integra.'
[Do all the men on your planet act like that, Master?]
'No idea what you mean.'
Dodging again, Luther cleared his throat and put on a serious face.
'Anyway, Integra, these are the people we saved.'
If things had followed the original story, they would have died in Asain Canyon.
But thanks to Luther's intervention changing history, they were alive like this.
'Aren't you happy?'
[Changing the subject like that?]
'Ahem, but you've been kinda curt lately?'
[Hmph. Hmph.]
The mini Integra perched on Luther's shoulder turned her head away as if sulking, but Luther just laughed again.
It was cute, but he knew Integra was just playing around.
'Still, it's really fortunate.'
Luther glanced back at the 'Asella party' one last time.
Kind and gentle Lin, cute Jane, lively Asella.
Their brief appearance in the original story left a strong impression—crying and laughing alongside Anne Rose on their journey, unforgettable.
That made it feel even better.
The tragic end of the Asella party lingering in a corner of his mind had vanished from this world, bringing a constant smile to Luther's face.
'Come to think of it, I wonder how Princess Aru is doing.'
Princess Peliaru.
The tragic heroine in the original story who caused conflict between the Malkuth Kingdom and the surface world.
But she hadn't died either.
The cheerful princess whose smiling face suited her so well.
She was probably locked in her room now as punishment for running away?
Luther could easily picture her puffing her cheeks, flipping through books with a bored expression.
'We'll meet again someday.'
Not just Princess Peliaru, but Sandalphon too.
[What are you thinking about so deeply?]
'Princess Peliaru. Wondering if she got home safely.'
[Sigh, is your head always full of women, Master?]
'Well, yeah, since there's a woman living in it. A kind, cute, adorable, pretty, capable all-purpose support AI—know what I mean?'
It was embarrassing even for him to say it, but Luther kept up the smooth talk to the end.
He was certain Integra would be far more embarrassed.
And his prediction came true.
[Ow, ugh... uh...]
Integra, face beet red and flustered.
She covered her face with both hands and said nothing more, while Luther stifled his laughter.
And behind such Luther and Integra.
Karen and Max watched Luther with furrowed brows and subtly odd expressions.
"What on earth is he doing?"
"Talking... to a guardian spirit, maybe?"
Only Luther could see mini Integra.
To everyone else, it looked like Luther grinning to himself and muttering very quietly.
"Hmm... what kind of conversation with a guardian spirit makes him look like that?"
"Yeah, right?"
He's a cool, strong, righteous angel, but maybe he's still a pervert after all.
As Karen and Max whispered furtively with awkward faces, Luther teased Integra and chuckled, while Arma Valentine silently pressed onward.
* * *
'Our support AI is so pretty it's a problem. Perfect from head to toe.'
[You jerk! Stop it already!]
After teasing her nonstop while walking, she'd finally hit her limit.
Integra—face red not just at her cheeks but down to her neck, no, probably her chest too—threw a tantrum mixed with her first curse ever.
Luther flinched for a moment, then nodded.
'As expected of our Integra. Tantrums are her cutest—'
[Stop iiiit!]
'Alright, alright. I'll stop. I promise. Don't cry, okay?'
[Who's crying! Seriously!]
But her eyes were indeed red-rimmed.
Integra panted for a bit, then composed herself.
[Anyway, that's enough, human.]
[This is a serious warning.]
'Yeah, we're almost there anyway.'
[What? Oh, really?]
Startled by Luther's words, Integra shifted her consciousness to the drone and scanned the surroundings.
A small basin half a day's journey from Asain Canyon.
At its center, the Valkein Ruins.
[No significant life signs detected near the ruins.]
Luther nodded at Integra's report, but thought something else.
'She's so human-like.'
Should he say she felt like a real person, not an AI?
Just now hadn't been feigned surprise—she'd genuinely been startled and flustered.
[Master?]
What had happened to her?
What had changed Integra into this?
[Master, please focus.]
'Huh? Oh, yeah.'
[Honestly.]
[Master, the Valkein Ruins seem a bit off.]
"Off how?"
[Abnormally few life signs.]
With that, Integra recalled the drone she'd sent high into the sky right in front of Luther.
Naturally, Karen and Max, even Arma Valentine, turned to look at the drone.
[Life signs detected centered on the Valkein Ruins.]
Integra appeared via hologram atop the drone, projecting a new one into the air.
Blue dots floated over the 3D-rendered ruins vicinity—abnormal, just as she said.
"No way... are we the only ones here?"
Four blue dots marked at the basin entrance.
Beyond that, no life signs within 300 meters of the Valkein Ruins.
[I can't detect tiny insects.]
[But for even small animals to avoid these abandoned structures is definitely strange.]
She had a point.
Something unnatural was clearly happening.
"Let's approach for now."
Arma said softly, advancing her crimson giant armor once more.
Karen and Max looked to Luther, who nodded after retrieving the drone, answering without words.
[Master, was it this quiet in the original story too?]
Integra asked just for Luther's ears, and he shook his head.
'No. In the original, it was swarming with Hecatoncheires Dragonkin, Earth Dragons, and monsters.'
[That's odd.]
[I'll scan the surroundings again.]
As Integra relaunched the drone, Luther eyed the approaching Valkein Ruins.
If anything, like Inca ruins?
A low pyramid of stacked stones, but rather than a full-sided pyramid, it formed a hexahedron with a flat top from midway up.
Arma Valentine planted her giant armor before the pyramid and climbed its stone steps herself, furrowing her brow.
"It's different from the books."
The Valkein Ruins were the legacy of an ancient kingdom built by lizardmen.
Not her specialty, and since excavation and even looting were long complete—leaving only the half-collapsed pyramid—she'd only read a few lines in books instead of visiting.
But Arma remembered those lines clearly.
"I never heard about this."
On the flat top.
An incredibly complex magic circle was drawn.
Even more astonishing: it showed no signs of being newly drawn.
Traces of ages past, as if it had been there since time immemorial, drawn alongside the pyramid's creation.
What was going on?
Arma observed the magic circle with narrowed eyes, while Luther racked his brain to recall the Valkein Ruins from the original story.
[No life signs within a 1 km radius, Master.]
[In fact—]
Just as Integra was about to continue.
"Get back!"
Arma shouted like lightning and leaped backward hugely.
Karen reflexively activated her psychokinesis, launching herself and Max into the air.
Rather than retreat, Luther chose to soar upward.
Thanks to that, even without sharing drone vision, Luther understood what had startled Arma.
The magic circle was glowing.
No, beyond that—like a precision clock ticking, each shape composing it was moving.
"It's a sealing circle."
Arma said upon landing.
Karen and Max alternated bewildered glances between the circle and Arma.
Luther, landing next, unwittingly tilted his head.
For Arma's words were too strange.
'A sealing circle? Not a summoning one?'
Hecatoncheires Dragonkin Jenadu had brought down the Beast King at the Valkein Ruins.
Meaning he'd summoned the Beast King via a circle using the Spirit Jewel.
But a sealing circle? What did that—
That was as far as his thoughts went.
A sudden realization hit; Luther closed his eyes and shared vision with the drone.
From high above via the drone's camera, he looked down at the magic circle again.
No Spirit Jewel.
With Balboa defeated and Astra repelled, the Hecatoncheires' plans had derailed badly; Jenadu likely hadn't even reached the west yet.
Yet the magic circle was there.
One made alongside the pyramid, still active now.
And that meant only one thing.
'It wasn't a summoning to begin with.'
The original story's event wasn't truly a 'descent.'
Anne Rose had merely misunderstood, seeing the Hecatoncheires performing a ritual centered on the circle.
"The sealing circle is heavily weakened. At this rate, it'll break in about ten days."
Just over ten days ahead.
The Night of Mana.
Finally, Luther understood everything.
The Hecatoncheires hadn't summoned the Beast King.
They had merely welcomed the Beast King freeing itself from a seal destroyed by the flow of time.
"What do you mean, sealing circle? What's sealed there?"
At Karen's question, Arma only furrowed her brow, unable to answer easily.
But Luther already knew.
And that made his mind grow complicated.
His plan had been to prevent the Beast King's descent entirely.
But there was no descent to begin with.
Even without Hecatoncheires involvement, the Beast King was fated to break its seal and appear in the world.
Defeating Balboa and repelling Astra wouldn't stop the Beast King's emergence.
Protecting the Spirit Jewel was pointless too.
What was meant to happen would happen.
Luther suddenly felt suffocated.
Not just because he couldn't prevent the Beast King's appearance.
Something more fundamental—
[Master.]
Integra's gentle voice halted his thoughts.
Now before his eyes, she smiled softly and said brightly.
[This is good.]
"Huh?"
[Isn't it good?]
[Think about the current situation again, Master.]
What was she suddenly saying?
Luther looked to Integra for answers, but she just wore her usual soft smile.
So he thought it over himself.
And soon, he laughed unwittingly.
[As expected of our Master.]
[You get why I said it's good, right?]
"Yeah, yeah. Integra."
What was meant to happen would happen.
Even without Hecatoncheires meddling, the Beast King would surely appear on this land.
But Luther knew.
[When, where, and what would appear.]
On the Night of Mana, right here, the Beast King.
[And bam as soon as it shows?]
Integra winked and mimed shooting finger guns, and Luther clenched his fist.
He pictured traps in his mind to slam the Beast King's coffin lid shut the moment it opened.