Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Chapter 30 - Temple of the Sea #5
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Luther desperately wanted to insert the Sea Key into the pedestal right away, but he couldn't.
King Adon, who had only just regained consciousness, was lying on top of it.
[Why not just casually stick the key in?]
'No way.'
Since he had no idea what would happen when he did, the best course of action was to move King Adon somewhere else.
And Luther had just thought of the perfect way to do that.
"It looks like he's fallen asleep again. But the situation is different from before. He'll probably wake up again soon."
Just in time, King Adon seemed to have drifted off once more.
At the High Priest's words as he hurriedly examined the king, Queen Reina nodded with tears in her eyes and turned to Luther.
Even though the High Priest had already checked him, Luther was ultimately the most trustworthy.
"Let me take a quick look."
Luther naturally approached King Adon and checked his pulse.
[All vital signs are approaching normal.]
[What an amazing effect.]
[It might have been good to just keep it as your emergency medicine, Master.]
Integra always put Luther first in everything.
In response to her gentle voice, Luther simply gave a small smile before explaining King Adon's condition to them, just as Integra had informed him.
"Haa... Thank you so much. Really, thank you."
Queen Reina grabbed Luther's hand and burst into tears again, while the High Priest looked at him with eyes full of envy, gratitude, and a mix of other emotions.
"Queen Reina, there's something I need to tell you."
"Yes? Oh, yes. Please, say anything. I'll do whatever I can."
It wasn't empty words; it was a sincere response.
Luther gave her a soft smile to calm her down and spoke.
"For now, it would be best to move His Majesty somewhere else. There's special power emanating from the pedestal, and I can't say for sure what effect it might have on his recovery right now."
"From the pedestal...?"
Queen Reina looked at the pedestal in surprise, and the High Priest did the same.
[Ah, so you're planning to poke around under the pretense of investigating the pedestal?]
[Awarding Master 1 shop point for coming up with a plausible plan.]
'Oh.'
He had no idea what he could get even if he collected them all, but receiving one after so long put Luther in a good mood.
'But how many points do I have now?'
He'd racked up quite a few penalty points and probably lost some.
Maybe around 5?
[Master, focus.]
[The High Priest is making excuses.]
Snapping to attention at Integra's words, Luther turned to the High Priest.
Sure enough, as Integra said, the High Priest was insisting that there was nothing wrong with the pedestal.
"This is the temple of Adonai Melech. This pedestal is also a holy object made to serve her."
It was all true, but it didn't sway Queen Reina, who would believe Luther even if he said the sun would rise in the west tomorrow.
"But Sir Luther mentioned the possibility of a negative influence."
"Th-that's..."
The grand archangel who descended from the heavens to save the Kingdom of Malkuth.
Given Luther's current status, the High Priest could only hem and haw, unable to refute.
No, from his position, he was saying that, but he already half-believed there might actually be a problem with the pedestal, just as Luther said.
"The High Priest is correct. However, due to the nature of the medicine used on His Majesty, it might be best to avoid holy power for a while. Holy power has different affinities, after all."
At Luther's words, both the High Priest and Queen Reina exclaimed 'Ah!' in realization and began nodding.
[Master, is there such a thing as holy power affinities in the original story?]
'No, I just made it up.'
Of course, it wasn't completely pulled out of thin air.
Even without Dragon Hunter Origin, conflicts or repulsions between gods' powers were common in all sorts of games and novels.
[So it was just a shot in the dark after all.]
[But their reaction suggests it might actually be a thing.]
'Well, it doesn't matter either way for now.'
The important thing was that his claim sounded plausible.
"Moreover... the fall of the Sky Island might have affected the grand temple as well. Would it be alright if I investigate the pedestal a bit while we're at it?"
Queen Reina nodded immediately at Luther's question, and though the High Priest hesitated for a moment, he soon nodded in agreement as well.
"Then let's move His Majesty for now."
As the High Priest, who readily agreed to Luther's suggestion, called for the priests, Queen Reina once again held King Adon's hand and shed tears.
And after a few minutes passed.
Once the priests arrived with a stretcher and moved King Adon, only Luther and Integra remained in the audience chamber.
[Good thing the High Priest went along with it.]
[It would have been trouble if he insisted on staying.]
Since they didn't know what would happen when the Sea Key was inserted into the pedestal, as Integra said, it could have led to complications if the High Priest had stayed.
Yet when Luther said he'd investigate alone, the High Priest hesitated briefly but ultimately complied.
"Well, either way, I saved King Adon."
He'd realized it on the Sky Island too, but the High Priest wasn't a bad guy aside from his excessive greed for money, women, and power—he actually seemed decent otherwise.
[The first three already make him not decent, but anyway, let's proceed.]
"Yeah."
Nodding, Luther confirmed that no one else was around before bringing the Sea Key to the pedestal.
Then, the expected scene unfolded before his eyes.
[The pedestal is rising.]
[It looks like there's an entrance on the part that was hidden in the floor.]
As the pedestal rose over 3 meters, a large door appeared on the revealed section, just as Integra described.
Bringing the Sea Key to it again produced a clunk, and the door opened.
It seemed to be an elevator.
[A signal is being emitted from below.]
"Alright, let's go in."
Luther swallowed dryly and stepped inside. The door closed automatically, and the elevator began to move.
[Given facilities like this, the Temple of the Sea seems to have deep ties to the Galactic Federation, just like the Sky Island.]
It was obvious, but worth noting.
The Sky Island, said to have been sent down by Adonai Melech for her daughter.
The Temple of the Sea, which marked the beginning of the Kingdom of Malkuth.
If both facilities were Galactic Federation installations, it suggested the Kingdom of Malkuth itself might have been founded by the Federation from the start.
[We've arrived.]
After descending what felt like about 30 meters, the elevator stopped.
Beyond the door was a room almost identical to the Sky Island's control room.
[A signal is coming from the main terminal in the control room.]
After stepping out of the elevator, Luther inserted the Sea Key into the terminal.
Just like in the Sky Island's control room, the temple's control room activated.
[I'll connect to the terminal.]
[It's in lockdown.]
[The system is closed.]
[It seems only minimal functions are...]
That was as far as she got.
Integra, who had been speaking quickly, projected several images into the air via the drone's hologram device.
[Master, it's just as we thought.]
[The Temple of the Sea is a massive ship.]
[The Sky Island seems to have been part of it too, and it detected the collapse and sent a rescue signal.]
According to Malkuth's myths, Adonai Melech the Sea Goddess saved the suffering Ain from evil dragons and built the Temple of the Sea to protect them.
But if the Temple of the Sea itself was a Galactic Federation ship, the story changed entirely.
"Could Adonai Melech herself be a Federation figure? Like the Sword Angel?"
At Luther's words, Integra furrowed her brow in thought before shaking her head.
[It's possible.]
[But holy magic and holy power truly exist on this planet.]
[I don't think Adonai Melech is an omnipotent god, but she doesn't seem like an ordinary human either.]
It was a valid point.
With the High Priest casually wielding holy magic left and right, denying the existence of gods outright would be foolish.
As Integra said, she might not be omnipotent, but supernatural beings capable of granting magical power clearly existed.
'And...'
Lately, he'd been so focused on stopping Hecatoncheires—or rather, consciously avoiding the thought—but Luther had his own issues too.
Why had he come to this world?
Why did a world with the same setting as Star Savior and Dragon Hunter Origin actually exist?
Had some divine being summoned him?
To stop the apocalypse brought by Hecatoncheires?
It was all just possibilities.
Nothing certain.
But considering everything, he couldn't completely dismiss divine beings.
[But Master, there's something odd.]
"What?"
At Luther's question, Integra gazed at the hologram of the Temple of the Sea—its full form as a massive ship—and continued.
[I felt it with the Sky Island too, but... the timelines don't match.]
"What do you mean?"
[The Sword Emperor's Eight Divine Artifacts use 7th-generation nanomachines. With historical data lost, I don't know exactly when that generation was in use, so I didn't question the fact that the Eight Divine Artifacts are made of 7th-gen nanomachines.]
[Considering technological stagnation, it could take 100 years to advance one generation.]
By now, Luther caught on to what she meant.
"The Sky Island and Temple of the Sea are much older."
[Yes. At least 500 years old, according to this planet's history.]
[As I mentioned, with historical data gone, I can't pinpoint when the Sky Island, Temple of the Sea, and submarine tunnels were built.]
[But circumstantially, the Eight Divine Artifacts and Temple of the Sea were likely made with tech from the same era.]
"We can accept up to 100 years, but 500 is too much."
[Exactly. Even with stagnation, it doesn't make sense for it to take over 500 years to go from 7th-gen to 9th-gen nanomachines.]
[There's no technological singularity-level gap between 9th and 7th gen either.]
Moreover, the Temple of the Sea and Sky Island were at least 500 years old—possibly more.
What had happened?
Why this time discrepancy?
If it were just between the Temple of the Sea and Luther, he could hypothesize he'd been asleep somewhere and woken in the future.
But the gap between the Eight Divine Artifacts and the Temple of the Sea—more precisely, the Sword Angel and the Temple of the Sea—was the problem.
"Could the Sword Angel have arrived 500 years ago, slept, and only awakened and started acting 100 years ago?"
[It could.]
[Logically, it fits best.]
But there was still no solid evidence.
[We need more information.]
With that, Integra bit her lip.
She felt pathetic and miserable for failing to analyze properly despite having clues like Clairheim Morr and these facilities right in front of her.
Seeing Integra like that, Luther involuntarily thought of 'the other Integra.'
The one closer to the Integra from Star Savior.
The one who effortlessly unlocked Clairheim Morr's true power.
He needed to tell Integra about her.
They had to puzzle over her existence together.
But he hesitated to speak.
Talking about the other Integra felt like it might make the one right in front of him—his Integra—disappear.
Of course, there was no clear basis or logic.
Just a feeling.
But that ominous feeling sealed his lips.
[Master?]
Integra, biting her lip in gloom, approached with a slightly surprised look and asked.
True to form, always prioritizing Luther over her own feelings, she was more concerned about his sullen face.
[Are you okay?]
At her gentle question, Luther managed an awkward smile and reached out to her.
Integra smiled faintly in return and firmly grasped his hand.
Just 14 seconds.
But that brief warmth soothed both their hearts.
"Whew, alright. Let's put the questions aside for now... Is there anything worth grabbing?"
At Luther's question, Integra flashed a bright smile that blew away all the gloom, thumping her chest confidently.
[Of course.]
[I found something great in the control room.]
Spinning lightly and shifting back to mermaid maid form, Integra danced her fingers in the air like typing.
[The most recent log isn't precise, but roughly 100 years ago.]
[And guess who left the last record?]
"Who?"
[Ta-da! None other than Sword Emperor Clausewitz!]
Beaming as she spoke, Integra opened a light window filled with records and continued.
[According to this, the Sword Emperor stored something here in the Temple of the Sea. Purpose: repair.]
It seemed Integra had only just started reading the data.
[Let's open the file.]
As she danced her fingers again, a new light window appeared.
The text at the top excited them both.
[Iron Horse that Surpasses the Gale]
[Access Code: Divine Thunder]
[Whoa! No way! It's really the Iron Horse!]
"The real Eight Divine Artifact?!"
He'd half-doubted it, but it was genuine.
As Luther got excited, Integra, catching his enthusiasm, licked her lower lip and moved her fingers even faster.
[I'll find out where it's stored. Just wait a sec.]
"Yeah."
Swallowing hard, Luther took a deep breath and pondered.
Access code: Divine Thunder.
Divine Thunder.
God's lightning.
What could it be?
What power was hidden?
Clairheim Morr, whose access code was a constellation, truly became a star-cleaving sword.
And then—
[Uh?]
Integra's hands stopped.
A deep bewilderment spread across her face.
"What? Where is it?"
At Luther's question, Integra blinked once before answering in a tiny voice.
[O-on the Sky Island.]
"Huh?"
[It's... on the Sky Island.]
The Sky Island.
The one completely destroyed yesterday and sunk into the sea.
Luther and Integra exchanged glances, then bolted for the elevator without a word.