Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Chapter 23 - Sea Key
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The scenery in the video resembled reality.
There were no swarms of bats covering the ceiling, but it was just as dark, and the endless gloom blended with the cave's chill to create an eerie atmosphere.
What Luther saw were the backs of three people.
Yet, strangely, he could guess their expressions and moods just from their backsides.
The Sword Angel was grinning with confident smugness.
The Sword Emperor scanned their surroundings with a somewhat tense face.
And Clarice glanced around with a slightly frightened look.
Luther lowered his gaze to Clarice's hand.
A small hand lightly gripping the hem of the Sword Emperor's clothing.
The Sword Emperor stood in a slanted stance, as if protecting her.
[It feels familiar.]
Luther nodded.
The Sword Emperor and Clarice looked utterly natural together.
He could even picture a younger Sword Emperor standing in front, with an equally young Clarice clutching his hem.
"Sis, can't we use... a stronger spell?"
As Clarice asked while staring at the faint light at the tip of her staff, the Sword Angel shook her head.
"That would just rile up the bats on the ceiling. Let's keep going like this."
"W-Wait! B-Bats?"
"Yeah, bats. Really huge ones. I wouldn't recommend shining light up there. Better not to look."
At the Sword Angel's words, Clarice flinched and pulled back her arm, which had reflexively aimed her staff at the ceiling.
The Sword Emperor then fixed his gaze on the ceiling and said in a low voice,
"It's okay, Clarice. No matter what comes, I'll protect you."
"Y-Yeah."
Clarice swallowed dryly and nodded.
A faint smile she couldn't quite hide and flushed cheeks came as a bonus.
[Perfect timing.]
"Right?"
Instead of the bashfully delighted Clarice or the deadly serious Sword Emperor, Luther looked at the Sword Angel.
He'd expected her to chuckle like "ehehe" at how cute the scene was, but surprisingly, she wore only a soft smile.
[Hmm, smells like a love triangle.]
"Nah, not quite."
The emotion on the Sword Angel's face was closer to warm contentment than jealousy or anguish.
"Alright, let's get moving again."
It was the Sword Angel who spoke, not Luther.
As she strode ahead briskly, the Sword Emperor and Clarice followed cautiously, and Luther and Integra stepped forward as if they were part of the group, trailing the video.
About five minutes later.
Reaching a dead end, the Sword Angel raised her hand and pointed to one side of the wall.
In the corner of a rectangular wall ten meters high and fifteen meters wide sat a display panel similar to the one at the entrance.
"Clarice, that was a joke earlier, but this time it's real. No need to dance agai— you don't have to. Yeah, no dancing needed. Haha."
The Sword Angel gave an awkward laugh and quickly moved toward the display.
There was no need to check Clarice's expression.
It was surely as terrifying as Integra's.
[Clarice is too sweet-natured.]
[The Sword Angel should make her do that dance.]
Hearing Integra's grumbly voice, Luther suddenly felt a pang of regret.
'I wanted to see it one more time.'
Integra dancing.
No, Integra embarrassed after dancing.
It had been ridiculously cute.
[Master?]
[You're giving off a lecherous, sinister, evil vibe.]
"Nope, just good thoughts."
Pretty and cute was a compliment.
Mm-hmm, sure was.
When Luther brazenly said so, Integra narrowed her eyes suspiciously but soon nodded and backed off.
The Sword Angel in the video had raised her voice.
"Over here! Both of you, come in!"
A large door appeared beneath the display.
Luther opened it the same way the Sword Angel had and slowly stepped inside.
Soft light poured from the ceiling to greet him.
"Power's still on in here, as expected."
The Sword Angel in the video said so, looking around nostalgically.
It was a long corridor-like space with a ceiling about three meters high, its walls made of sleek metal.
'Is this part of a spaceship?'
Luther cautiously touched the wall.
The smooth, cool feel wasn't bad.
[Master, this seems important.]
Snapping to attention at Integra's words, Luther looked back at the Sword Angel, Sword Emperor, and Clarice.
The three had gathered before a square pedestal at the corridor's end.
"Is this the amazing thing?"
At Clarice's question, the Sword Angel nodded.
"Yeah, the keys to the sky, earth, and sea."
The square pedestal had three slots carved into it, each holding what looked like a card key.
"Essential for the journey ahead."
So saying, the Sword Angel pulled out the white and yellow cards.
"Keys to the sky and earth. We'll leave the Sea Key here for safekeeping."
Murmuring that, the Sword Angel turned to face the Sword Emperor and Clarice.
Which let Luther naturally meet her eyes.
The Sword Angel looked at Luther.
Luther looked at the Sword Angel.
Between them lay over a hundred years.
So in truth, their gazes didn't meet.
Luther could see her, but she couldn't see him.
But why?
Why did it feel like their eyes truly met?
[Ending Boy's Log #79-4.]
The video vanished.
It was the same room, but over a century had left its marks.
Cracks in the walls here and there, dust thick on the pedestal.
Up close, the slots for the sky and earth keys were empty as before, while only the blue Sea Key card remained in its place.
[This panel seems just for storage.]
[Master, please pull out the Sea Card. Need to scan it.]
"Got it."
Luther quietly replied and carefully extracted the Sea Key.
There was slight resistance, but it came out without issue.
Integra spoke.
[Beginning scan.]
[Guard stronger than Clairheim Morr.]
[...]
[..]
[.].
[Oof.]
[Sorry, Master. Can't analyze at current level.]
Integra said in a dejected tone.
Her face looked ready to burst into tears any second, downright gloomy.
Lately, nothing had analyzed properly—not just this—so she seemed gripped by something like self-doubt.
'She's so human-like.'
Thinking that, Luther gazed at her a moment, then smiled.
"It's fine, Integra. We've found its use anyway."
[Its use?]
As Integra blinked and asked, Luther pointed at what he'd noticed instead of lame reassurance.
"Has to be that, right?"
The slot in the left wall looked made for inserting a card.
Integra nodded immediately.
[Card specs match slot specs.]
[Master, let's try using the card.]
"Sure."
Satisfied that the gloom had left Integra's voice, Luther slotted the Sea Key into the left wall groove.
A small mechanical beep sounded, the left wall slid open, and cold air rushed in from within.
[Whoa.]
Inside the wall lay a vast space.
One so well-equipped that even Integra gasped unwittingly.
"A station?"
He recalled seeing similar spots in Star Savior.
Ancient relic talk leading to super-high-speed maglev train stops.
Rails like in a subway station lined the floor, and atop them sat a capsule-shaped, pure white train.
Wheel-less, windowless—just a smooth metal body with one door—it resembled the fragments' self-protective forms.
[Master, the submarine tunnel with these rails will be longer than imagined.]
[I'll check the panel.]
[Insert card key into panel.]
At Integra's urging, Luther approached the wall panel and inserted the Sea Key.
Lights came on—not just in the panel, but across the submarine tunnel ceiling.
[Starting investigation.]
Integra hurried, landing her drone on the panel to begin data analysis.
Since the Sea Key had unlocked the panel, she accessed info without hacking.
[Sending submarine tunnel map.]
A hologram projected from the drone.
A round icon marked the central station, with left and right tunnels linking to others; the right-side station caught Luther's eye.
"Malkuth Kingdom?"
[Yes. This submarine tunnel goes straight there.]
[Opposite station leads to empire south or west!]
Who knew a tunnel ran under the sea like this.
'No, the existence of this at all is weirder.'
The Sword Angel had entered here with the boyish—young Sword Emperor.
Meaning these facilities predated the Sword Emperor's active days on this planet.
'What the hell?'
The link between Star Savior and Dragon Hunter Origin.
Maybe Galactic Federation folks visited before the Sword Angel?
If so, where did they go?
How had Dragon Hunter Origin's world been influenced?
'And...'
Why had Luther ended up here?
In Luther Lightseeker—the savior of that star—'s body.
[Master, submarine train seems operational.]
[Board and check status.]
Integra's voice snapped Luther from his thoughts. He nodded.
Past be damned; stopping the scheduled doom came first.
[Master?]
"Yeah, let's go."
Luther gave a small smile to the tilting-headed, concerned Integra and boarded the train.
Bus-sized, with seats along both walls and a front panel.
[This panel has a card reader too.]
[Master, the 'Sea Key' seems a master key for seafloor facilities.]
Nodding to the excited Integra, Luther paused and glanced back at the Sea Key.
Sea Key.
But there was more than one key.
The Sword Angel mentioned sky and earth keys, taking those cards when leaving.
'Sky and earth.'
Meaning sky and land had submarine tunnel equivalents?
'Maybe tied to the Sword Emperor's Eight Divine Armaments.'
Steel Giant, aerial battleship, iron horse faster than gale.
Legacies no one used post-Sword Emperor.
[Master?]
[Something wrong?]
As Integra asked worriedly again, Luther shook his head.
He even flashed a refreshing smile to reassure her.
"Feels like our odds just improved."
[Odds?]
"Yeah, odds."
Hecatoncheires were mighty.
But seize the Eight Divine Armaments and all Galactic Federation relics slumbering on this star—
[Master, your smile's getting eviler by the minute.]
[You're thinking bad stuff, right? Right?]
"No way."
Grinning wickedly again, Luther slowly manipulated the panel.
Dated-looking, but basics matched Star Savior's, so he instantly grasped startup.
"Shift up, switch on."
Pressing the top-right switch as he murmured.
The submarine train doors shut, a display unfurled over the white walls, showing outside.
[Submarine train departing.]
[Master?]
Mechanical chime and Integra's voice overlapped.
A silent jolt, and the train launched.
No vibration, but the front display's view—seafloor tunnel walls rushing by at insane speed—conveyed the velocity.
Then—
[Master! How could you start the train?!]
"Why not? Gotta go to Malkuth Kingdom anyway."
As Luther laughed back, Integra thumped her chest in frustration and said,
[Herb gathering! Herbs!]
[Forgot why we came to this island?]
"Oh, right—herbs."
As Integra said, the real reason for this island.
"Uh... we can hit Malkuth station, then return later?"
[Sigh. Hope the train has enough energy.]
"Eh, it'll work out."
As Luther shrugged, Integra drooped her shoulders in disbelief, then composed a haughty face.
[No, it won't.]
[Guess Master really needs me.]
So saying, Integra peeked at Luther; at her slightly anxious gaze, he nodded readily.
"Yeah. I really need you, Integra."
[Heehee.]
Luther burst laughing at the instantly cheered support AI; Integra wore a prim smile too.
Three hours later, as sunset neared.
Luther and Integra arrived in Malkuth Kingdom.
* * *
[......97%]
[......98%]
[......99%]
[......100%]
[...]
[..]
[.].
[System Rebooting Complete.]
[Support AI: Integra.]
[Operation.]
A pitch-black space of zeros and ones.
A naked woman, not a stitch on, lifted her head.
Her blue eyes, starting to glow, peered into the darkness beyond.