Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Chapter 18 - Integra #2
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The next morning.
Integra, who had been in a good mood all night, still looked pleased.
[Master, it's morning.]
[Time to get up.]
[We have to head back to Venus City today.]
Waking up to Integra's urging, Luther looked outside the tent.
The campsite was an absolute mess, as expected from a place where hundreds of adventurers had gotten drunk together.
The areas marked with Lethe's holy symbols were somewhat tidy, but everywhere else was a disaster—adventurers passed out in pools of alcohol, vomit, food waste, and more.
"What a shitshow."
In fact, it wasn't just the campsite that was a mess.
Any secluded spot nearby, like the bushes, was full of traces of human activity.
[Alcohol easily corrupts one's reason.]
[Especially after sensing a threat to their lives from Beast Lord Balakia, it's natural for reproductive urges to surface.]
Integra explained it calmly as if it were obvious, but instead of nodding along, Luther smirked.
He was reminded of last night's Integra.
'You were freaking out about avoiding the bushes.'
She always acted tough, but she had little resistance to that sort of thing.
Her flushed face and fidgeting complaints about how unclean it was on the way back to camp were still fresh in his mind.
[W-what is it?]
"Just... you're cute."
[That doesn't feel like a real compliment.]
"No way."
Mimicking Integra with a chuckle, Luther took a deep breath.
The campsite was a wreck from drunken adventurers, but the morning air in the mountains still tasted fresh.
'Looks like the western arc went pretty well.'
They'd prevented the Gleston Earl family's massacre, secured the second fragment, and taken down Dragonkin Valboa and Astra, and even Beast Lord Balakia, without major losses.
He'd built good relations with Anne Rose and Arma Valentine too, so everything had gone perfectly—but there were still some lingering concerns.
'Jenadu never showed up.'
In the original story, the senior Hecatoncheires member who oversaw the ritual to unseal Beast Lord Balakia.
She was an opponent Anne Rose in the early western arc couldn't possibly handle, so she only appeared without fighting, but her complete absence felt ominous.
'Since they failed to devastate the west... the Hecatoncheires might take a different path from the original.'
In the original, the Hecatoncheires wreaked havoc across the west, south, and east of the Holy Empire, succeeding in most of their plans.
But now, things had changed.
Starting with the western arc, they'd suffered a total failure, so their plans could easily diverge.
'Still, it's not like we have zero info.'
Like with Beast Lord Balakia this time, most of their schemes in the south and east were massive operations requiring long preparations.
They wouldn't change plans easily.
[Master, what are you thinking about so deeply?]
"You."
[You're starting to piss me off, you know?]
Giggling at Integra's quiet warning, Luther spoke in a low voice.
"I was thinking about the southern arc."
Part 2 of Dragon Hunter Origin.
The tale of the seas, where the second playable character, Holy Knight Ash, appears.
[In the original, the protagonist switches from Anne Rose to Ash, right?]
"Yeah. While Anne Rose was saving people in the devastated west, the southern arc covers what happened in the south."
But history had changed.
The west wasn't devastated, so Anne Rose had no reason to stay.
With her master Arma Valentine with her, she was even less likely to linger like in the original.
[As for Anne Rose's movements... I kind of have a guess.]
"What do you think it'll be?"
[Well...]
An hour after Integra began explaining in a measured tone in response to Luther's question.
Boarding a carriage to Venus City, Luther heard exactly what Integra had predicted.
"For now, I'm planning to head to the capital with Master."
Anne Rose, seated to Luther's right, said that and glanced at Arma, who was boarding her giant armor outside the carriage.
She'd eaten skewers and slept, but the Arma Valentine here was just a doll, not her real body.
"Master's real body is in the capital. Um... that sounds weird, but you get what I mean, right?"
As Anne Rose smiled awkwardly, Luther nodded.
Arma Valentine's real body, manipulating the doll from afar.
He hadn't heard the full story from her, so he didn't fully understand.
If there's a real body, why not just move it?
Why send the doll to the capital where the body is?
[Hmm... something smells fishy.]
'No way, she just has her reasons.'
Dismissing Integra's hypothesis, Luther crossed his arms and pondered.
'Integra.'
[Yes, Master?]
'You predicted Anne Rose would go to the capital earlier?'
[I did.]
'How? Any basis?'
Reviewing their conversation, Integra hadn't anticipated the real body detail.
So how had she known Anne Rose would head central?
Some other clue?
To Luther's question, Integra grinned smugly, crossed her arms, and replied.
[Because I overheard her drunkenly blabbing about going to the capital last night.]
'Oh, right.'
Nothing grand after all.
In any case, Anne Rose was heading central instead of staying west like in the original.
This choice would later trigger even bigger butterfly effects, but since Luther's goal was to shatter the original flow, he had no reason to stop her.
Then, right at that moment.
"Lord Luther, Max and I have decided to follow Arma to the capital too."
"Huh?"
Luther reflexively questioned Karen's words from across the carriage.
He hadn't even considered Karen and Max leaving.
As Luther openly panicked, Karen gave a subtly satisfied smile before composing herself.
"I've agreed to train under Arma, even if briefly."
"Ah."
Of course.
Hearing that one line made it click.
Arma Valentine freely wielding four demon swords with intricate magic, versus Karen manipulating them with raw psychokinesis.
'Arma would covet that.'
Even her prized disciple Anne Rose could only handle two demon swords.
Yet Karen could manage four or more right now.
Sure, even for Karen, mastering four perfectly would take serious training, and there was a gap between magic and psychokinesis control—but either way, Karen had massive potential for Arma's sword style.
'It'll be good for Karen too.'
Becoming Arma's disciple offered more than just power.
It tied her to one of the world's top ten superhumans.
"Congrats. That's awesome. You'll come back way stronger, right?"
At Luther's words—specifically the part about coming back—Karen beamed and nodded vigorously.
"Yes, of course. I'll be much more helpful next time, so look forward to it."
Karen and Max had declared they'd help Luther stop the Hecatoncheires.
Not purely for world peace, as Integra said, but reliable allies regardless.
'And they don't exist in the original.'
Pure bonus power, extras entirely.
'Too bad they can't come south, but can't be helped.'
It was for their power-up.
He couldn't get their help in the southern arc, but they'd be huge for the eastern and northern arcs later.
[Mm, satisfactory.]
[Very satisfactory.]
Integra nodded eagerly, whether from the same sentiment or more.
"But Lord Luther, what's your plan now? Heading out for the next fragment?"
As Max asked amid the warm atmosphere, Karen and Anne Rose turned to Luther, swallowing dryly.
He realized he hadn't told anyone about going south yet.
'They think I'm going central too?'
Their eyes held a hint of that hope.
But sadly, no.
Taking a deep breath, Luther met Karen's expectant green eyes and said with an apologetic smile.
"I'm... thinking of heading south."
* * *
The carriage arrived in Venus City just before sunset.
After half a day cooped up, the group grumbled as they disembarked, legs antsy.
Arma Valentine greeted them once more.
"You're late."
Having flown ahead in her giant armor, Arma smoked with her usual languid expression, which stirred odd feelings.
'Need to upgrade the drone ASAP.'
With the third fragment, prioritize the drone?
Given the fusion formulas so far, a bigger, stronger drone would boost not just the Buster Cannon but the Pile Bunker too.
"You look like you're plotting something weird."
Coughing awkwardly at Arma's remark, Luther started to bring up Karen.
He wasn't her guardian, but as a comrade, he wanted to ask Arma to look after her.
But Arma spoke first.
"Perfect timing. Follow me."
"Pardon?"
Though caught off-guard, Luther quickly understood.
Only one thing could've arrived in the meantime.
[No signal from the third fragment yet.]
[Maybe stored in a special case?]
'Who knows, we'll see when we get there.'
Smiling, Luther hurried after Arma with the others.
"It's here."
In the guest room where Arma stayed.
A large red metal box greeted them.
Fitting for Arma, rectangular like a coffin.
"Sealing spell release, open."
Whispering complex patterns on the circular panel atop the box, gears whirred, and the lid split open left and right with a clunk.
[Signal detected.]
[Energy Cube reaction confirmed.]
[Definitely the third fragment!]
As excited Integra's voice rang out, Luther approached the box.
Inside the red box lay a pure white metal cylinder—the largest fragment yet.
"It transformed the moment hands touched it. Can you unseal it?"
Grinning at Arma's question, Luther placed his palm on the fragment.
[Access code: Star Savior.]
[Emergency defense mode disengaged.]
Dozens of blue lines spread from Luther's palm, covering the cylinder.
"Oh..."
"Wow..."
As Arma and Anne Rose murmured in admiration, the fragment shifted.
White metal plates unfolded around the blue lines into a wide blueprint-like form, and a black Energy Cube formed beneath Luther's palm.
[Energy Cube is heavily damaged.]
[But combining with existing data, we can recover some lost info.]
[Absorbing all the fragment's nanomachines should increase their count by 1.5x or more.]
Integra rattled off excitedly.
After losing 65% to Beast Lord Balakia, it was natural.
'New tech?'
[We'll know once connected.]
[So connect already. Okay?]
The changes from the third fragment excited not just Luther but Integra too.
[We got nothing from the Beast Lord.]
Right.
Beast Lord Balakia had crumbled to dust, leaving no mana stone or sample.
Boss fight won, but only combat data gained.
[Beating a strong foe demands a level-up!]
[In that sense, absorbing this fragment could be the western arc's final reward.]
'Yeah, perfect webnovel style.'
Adventures need rewards.
[Then, Master, initiating data sync with the third fragment.]
[Approve Energy Cube connection.]
'Yeah, let's go.'
Taking a deep breath, Luther closed his eyes slowly.
Integra began the connection.
One second, two, three—
[Whoa!]
After about 17 seconds.
A new technology discovered in the Energy Cube sent Integra into a frenzy.