Chapter 206
Chapter 206
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 206
Chapter Title: The Immortal Ra (3)
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Shirone closed his eyes and received the memories Peope was sharing. It was a warm sensation.
“Thank you, Peope.”
He never would have made it this far without her. If he managed to rescue Amy and the others safely, Shirone would gladly give Peope all the credit.
“Hmph! What about me? I just tagged along because what you all were doing was so peculiar. I'm not going to concern myself with it anymore, so don't get any ideas.”
Peope refused to admit it, but Shirone knew. She had a soft and pure heart. That was why, despite her long life, she couldn't turn a blind eye to human suffering.
“Peope, you're going to be a great fairy.”
“Whatever. Just hurry up and go inside. I'm tired and don't want to be here any longer.”
Peope stepped aside, out of the door's path. She was curious about the inside, but didn't have the courage to peek into an angel's room.
As Shirone entered the room, the iron door slammed shut with a thud.
Though only a single door separated them, Peope felt as if Shirone had vanished from the world.
Realizing she was all alone, a sense of loneliness washed over her. Was this what it was like at the pinnacle of the world, so lonely?
“Tch. I'm going back, whatever.”
Composing her troubled heart, Peope took the elevator of light and arrived on the first floor.
When she got to Shamain, she would report to Igirine. She had to protect her until the price for her impersonation was paid. Then she would sleep, and the next day would be the same as any other.
*Thud. Thud.*
The ground rumbled from the entrance in the direction she was heading. It was the sound of someone entering.
Just from the sound, Peope's face turned pale.
She could only see a shadow, but it was clearly a giant. If the floor was shaking, just how large could it be?
A single giant appeared at the entrance.
Contrary to her expectations, he wasn't very large.
He was just over two meters tall, which by giant standards was less than a dwarf.
However, judging by his attire, his level in the Art of Anecdote seemed quite high.
Broad shoulders and a developed jaw. His forearms were as hard as rock, and his eyes blazed.
Realizing the giant's identity through her fundamental knowledge, Peope forgot to even flap her wings. She managed to regain her balance just before falling and flew back up.
*'My goodness... Who am I looking at right now?'*
It was Ymir, the King of Giants.
The reason the ground shook despite his small stature was because the muscles that made up his body were that heavy.
The strongest giant in history, said to have over ten thousand humans incorporated into his Art of Anecdote, was approaching.
Spotting Peope, Ymir's pace gradually quickened.
The status of giants was lower than that of angels or Mara, but Ymir was a different story.
According to her fundamental knowledge, it was said he had destroyed several worlds with his physical strength alone.
In terms of sheer physical power, he was a being with strength surpassing that of a mid-tier angel.
Peope swallowed hard and waited for Ymir to approach.
When he stopped with a thud of his foot, a greeting escaped her lips before she could stop it.
“H-h-hello.”
Peope was flooded with regret for her rash judgment.
Giants were of the Fifth Heaven, Matei, and fairies were of the Fourth Heaven, Makonom, but in reality, they were in a relationship of balance, representing body and spirit.
Therefore, fairies had no need to bow to giants; in fact, whenever they met, they would usually keep each other in check and trade insults.
“Who are you?”
“Ah, I am Peope, a spiral spirit.”
Peope swallowed hard. She didn't know what kind of harm a giant, their sworn enemy, might inflict.
But contrary to her expectations, Ymir greeted her warmly.
“Yes, I've heard of you. They said an oddball was born in the fairy realm. That must be you.”
This was the first time she'd heard this. It must have been a conversation between high-ranking law-bearers.
Anyway, an oddball? What had she done to deserve such an evaluation from her superiors?
“You're quite cute. So, what brings you all the way to Araboth?”
“Ah, I'm on a mission as a proxy for the Fairy Chief, Igirine.”
Peope fudged the details. It was true, of course, but she felt guilty for using Igirine's name.
But now was the time to use whatever connections she had, even non-existent ones, to smooth over the situation.
“I see. I heard Ikasa came to Shamain. Took the heretics, did he?”
“Yes, it seems so. Oh, by any chance, do you know what happened to the women who were captured?”
Peope wanted to slap her lips for moving against her will.
What was the point of asking that now?
Her part in this was already over; all she had to do was go home.
But contrary to her heart's desire, her ears were perked up, ready to catch Ymir's words.
“It seems they're in Kariel's laboratory. I heard they found a Metagate. The Great World War is in an uproar because of it.”
Not using honorifics for Archangel Kariel was clearly disrespectful, but Ymir didn't seem to care. That alone was enough to guess what a great warrior he was.
“Ah, I see. But what do you mean by uproar?”
“They say a lost coordinate is stored in the Metagate. I'm not interested in the difficult details, but a war will break out soon. That's why I've come to petition Ra. To ask for my body back.”
“Ah, I see.”
The story of Ymir having his body taken away was famous in Heaven.
While Ikael had his power taken for committing a great sin, Ymir was deprived of his original body simply for being strong.
Ymir was strong. Too strong. So Ra had no choice but to place a limit on Ymir's body.
This, too, was against the Law, one of the few exceptional cases in the history of Heaven.
When Ymir raised his hand, Peope flinched and closed her eyes. It felt like a massive wall was approaching.
But what she felt was a gentle touch. The giant's finger stroked Peope's head.
“War is inevitable anyway. When it begins, fight alongside me. If you're by my side, no enemy will be able to touch you.”
“Ah, yes. I will.”
As Ymir passed Peope with a smile in his eyes, the ground began to rumble again, *thud, thud*.
Only after he reached the platform and vanished into fragments of light could Peope finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew, I made it through that safely, at least.”
It was embarrassing to be scared of a giant, but against Ymir, she could say she had been quite composed.
She tried to rationalize it that way... but honestly, it was a memory she wanted to erase.
Peope shook her head and left Araboth. The path to Shamain quickly formed in her mind.
But she was looking somewhere else. Her heart was in turmoil once again.
Great World War. Metagate. War.
Ever since the Art of Anecdote was broken, she kept hearing words she'd never expected.
Peope paced back and forth, conflicted. The desire to run away clashed with the feeling that she shouldn't.
Shirone's voice echoed in her head.
-You're going to be a great fairy.
Peope clutched her head and shook it. But the words, already embedded in her thoughts, could not be easily shaken off.
“Aargh, really! This is driving me crazy!”
Peope flew off at high speed. A single fairy headed for Jebul, the sanctuary of the angels.
@
Ankh Ra resided in the spire of Araboth.
An omnipotent being who could freely control the lifespans of its subjects and even govern their memories.
Ymir had ascended the tower for an audience with that great being.
Ymir, the King of Giants.
The strongest giant in the history of Heaven.
The Art of Anecdote was divided into a final ten stages to reach biological perfection. And Ymir was the one and only giant in history, unprecedented and peerless, to have reached the final tenth stage.
Even someone like Ymir couldn't help but be tense before the divine throne where Ankh Ra resided.
The top floor, which soared as if to pierce the sky, was less than one-hundredth the area of the first floor.
Arriving via the platform of light, all he could see was a crude iron door.
“O Ankh Ra, your servant requests an audience.”
Ymir waited for a while.
The iron door began to tremble, then a gap in the center widened as it opened inward.
Ymir strode forward without hesitation.
*Thump. Thump. Thump.*
A regular, expanding sound could be heard. It was a muffled sound, like the beating of a loose drum.
It was a room of no more than a few hundred square yards.
Bundles of nerves, as thin as hair, filled the cracks in the floor and spread out in all directions, while hoses resembling intestines hung in rows along the walls.
The nerves on the floor rose up and fumbled at Ymir's ankles before quickly losing interest and falling away.
Ymir knelt on one knee before Ra.
“The giant Ymir pays his respects to Ankh Ra.”
*Thump. Thump. Thump.*
Beyond Ymir's shoulder, a massive lump of flesh pulsed like a heart, greeting him.
Weight: 26 tons. It was reddish-brown, covered in mucus, and its form was a featureless, collapsed shape.
Its center bulged, while its extremities were like deflated balloons.
Bundles of intestines extended from the extremities, covering the walls, and from there, nerves spread across the floor, twitching like waves.
Ra's body seemed like a combination of every organ that makes up a living creature.
It was a heart and a brain, a digestive system and a sensory organ.
The nerves around Ymir began to thrash wildly. Then, the center of the flesh-mass swelled and, with a ripping sound, tore open horizontally. The epidermis split wide open, top and bottom, revealing a giant eyeball.
Ankh Ra (The Immortal Ra, age indeterminable).
The pupil, the size of a human face, contracted and expanded as it focused.
Then, a high-frequency sound, as if piercing the eardrums, leaked out.
“Keeek! Giant... keeek! Ymir, why have you... keeek! come to see me.”
Despite the noise, like nails scraping on a steel plate, Ymir's expression did not change.
“A group of heretics has entered the sacred Heaven. They who deny the Art of Anecdote have been handed over to Kariel and are being prepared to receive the Art of Life.”
“I... am aware.”
Ra's voice gradually stabilized. It was still high-pitched, but no longer mixed with static.
Ra knows everything. Therefore, Ymir judged that he had not yet received an answer. But no matter how long he waited, no further words came from Ra.
“What are your intentions?”
“Nothing. Must I... concern myself with it?”
“This is an exceptional event. They say the coordinates of a world that could not be penetrated until now are recorded in the Metagate. This is a golden opportunity to spread Ra's will.”
“Y-mir.”
Over the two syllables of his name, the tone of Ra's voice dropped sharply, followed by a majestic voice.
“I am the beginning and the end of the world. Everything is connected to me, so there is no need to concern myself with anything.”
Ymir pressed his lips together firmly.
Ra is omnipotent. Therefore, any event would be included within its domain. But he could not retreat without reclaiming his body.
“I wish to have my body returned. Please, melt the wall of eternally frozen ice.”
“Ymir, were you not my servant?”
“Do not misunderstand. The giants are keepers of the Law. This, too, is for the sake of upholding the Law of Heaven.”
“Denied.”
Ymir lifted his head, his eyes burning. But when he met Ra's giant, single eye, all his emotions scattered.
“A single footstep from a giant can be louder than the blasphemous actions of a billion heretics. Even more so if the owner of that footstep is Ymir, the King of Giants.”
“Do you doubt my loyalty? Do you believe I would raise a hand against one as great as you?”
“Ymir, it is you who should not misunderstand. Your power shatters the balance of the world. Do not forget that the Law exists to maintain the whole.”
With those final words, Ra closed its eye. The slit in the membrane healed without a trace, and the intensity of its pulsation grew.
*Thump. Thump. Thump.*