Chapter 216: Ark of The End (1)
Chapter 216: Ark of The End (1)
When I opened my eyes, my mind was hazy.
It felt as if I had been forced awake from a deep sleep.
It had been a long time since I’d felt this sensation…
I stared blankly.
Perhaps the long march had taken its toll, or maybe I was still inside a dream.
Clinging to my fading consciousness, I turned my head and saw a shriveled, dried-up octopus in my field of vision.
Judging by the mangled face, it was likely Al’shel.
However, there was no way the Al’shel I’d parted with would suddenly appear beside me looking like a dried baby squid. This had to be a dream.
My subconscious is truly pathetic. How much must I have suffered in that room to be looking for Al’shel?
I think I heard somewhere that if you fall back asleep during a Lucid Dream, the setting changes.
So, hoping for a more decent dream next time, I closed my eyes again.
‘…Why don’t you stop those insane thoughts and open your eyes?’
Now I was even hearing hallucinations.
“It’s definitely a dream. Let’s go back to sleep.”
‘If you call this a dream one more time, I will make you walk through those grasslands again. So. Open. Your. Eyes. Now.’
No, that threat was too much, even for a dream.
I was so startled that my hazy mind snapped into full alertness instantly.
Waking up in such a terrifying manner, I bolted upright and looked around. My vision was filled with a place saturated in gray.
A stone chamber… maybe?
I brushed my hand against the floor, but the sensation that traveled up my palm wasn't stone at all. It was smooth and slick, like touching glass. That sensation alone was strange enough, but the surfaces of the stone ceiling and walls were covered in countless intertwined formulas and lines, giving off a bizarre, almost painterly atmosphere.
“…What is this place?”
‘The place you were looking for.’
A voice came from beside me. I turned my head to find its owner.
“…Good grief, now you’re flying.”
I saw Al’shel floating in mid-air.
To make matters worse, he had become semi-transparent, making him look even more ghastly.
“Al’shel. You finally died and became a ghost. Don’t worry, I’ll report to The Society that your end was truly heroic.”
I’d tell them he tried to act tough to protect Un-ho and me, only to be struck and killed instantly by an arrow so slow we could have easily dodged it.
Since the dead can’t speak, that would be recorded as the end of the brave Al’shel.
‘I am not Shel, you lunatic.’
Hm? Is that so?
At those words, I cleared the last of the fog from my mind and slowly examined the transparent, levitating octopus before me.
Let’s see. The lines were a bit thinner, and there were no specialized long tentacles.
Al’shirin looked something like this, but compared to her, this one was a bit shorter and thinner. Hmm.
Excluding the world-ending catastrophe of Al’shel suddenly undergoing a sex change, if I used the process of elimination… it wasn't Al’shirin, and it wasn't Al’shel, so that left…
“Are you the administrator of the Demon Train we were looking for? I didn't expect to meet you like this.”
Who would have thought we’d be having a conversation with a ghost?
‘…Did I not say as much already?’
The ghost sighed and cradled its head in its hands.
‘To think the Chosen One who brought the youngest of the Hatchery is a madman. I wonder what I was even waiting for.’
Hey, that’s a bit harsh.
However, I had a decent resistance to verbal abuse. To heal my wounded heart, I decided to continue the conversation with the entity before me.
“By the youngest, do you mean this dried snack?”
I poked the Al’shel lying next to me, who was sleeping as if dead.
Perhaps because he’d turned into a dried snack, Al’shel’s skin didn't have its usual slimy texture. The way the skin bounced back when poked was strangely addictive, so I kept poking him.
‘Yes. The being that hatched from the very last egg of our Hatchery.’
At those words, my frozen brain began to churn, and I soon reached a conclusion.
“Ah… So, are you the Al’sophia that Zess mentioned?”
I’d heard she was the chief producer of the Demiurgos, the holder of the highest system authority, and the keeper of the Al Family’s Hatchery.
‘Zess is still around? Yes. I am Sophia.’
Oho.
Upon hearing that answer, a long-suppressed emotion welled up inside me, and I let it out.
“Then, were you the one who raised Al’shel and Al’shirin?”
‘You know Sirin? That is surprising. Yes, I taught Sirin as well. As for Shel… the era being what it was back then, I couldn't devote much attention to him.’
In any case, you’re basically their parent, right?
Once that was confirmed, the smoldering resentment I’d built up caught fire.
“Wait, then shouldn't you have educated your kids properly?”
‘What are you talking about all of a sudden?’
Oh, so we’re playing innocent?
“Do you have any idea what those two did? Al’shirin went around turning perfectly fine races into different ones just to protect her territory, and Al’shel tried to destroy the world just to win a single fight. Just what kind of personality training did you give them?”
I had a mountain of other things to say, but since I’m not the talkative type, I kept it brief.
At my words, Al’sophia clutched her head and let out a pained groan.
‘Sigh, even though I told them so many times to respect other races… they did such things?’
Ah. I should probably defend her a little.
“Well, Al’shirin at least had good intentions. She deployed that race-altering barrier to protect other species… though I wish she’d used something a bit more normal.”
‘Sirin was a kind child, but she always tended to act without thinking.’
Mhm. An accurate assessment.
“But this guy is different. This guy.”
I pointed a finger at the dried snack lying beside me. Since he hadn't woken up yet, I intended to badmouth him to my heart's content.
“This Al’shel guy thinks he’s the only one who matters in the whole world. You have no idea how much stress he’s caused us. Plus, he’s always saying stuff like, ‘Those damn humans. Maybe I should just shove a tentacle in their heads and brainwash them.’ You know?”
Actually, he didn't say that.
He said something similar, though.
Al’sophia looked even more troubled, her skin changing colors in a variety of hues as she massaged the back of her neck.
After a heavy sigh and a display of colorful skin… or rather, ghost-body colors, she finally spoke.
‘Huuuuuuuuu. The faults of the kin are the faults of the Hatchery keeper. My education was indeed lacking. I am sorry.’
With that, Sophia bowed deeply, expressing her apology with her entire being.
The emotion radiating from her was one of pure, unadulterated sincerity.
I was genuinely surprised.
It wasn't that the Star Race was weird; it was just that Al’shirin and Al’shel were the weird ones.
Of course, according to Zess, the Star Race as a whole was a bit crazy, but my perception shifted slightly to view them as a race where decent individuals could actually exist.
No, maybe it was because she was a decent person that she could create something like the Demon Train.
Hmm, quite a profound observation.
While I was lost in thought.
‘I am sorry to interrupt your contemplation.’
Al’sophia asked me a polite question.
‘But isn't there something more important than the issues with Shel or Sirin?’
“The authority, you mean?”
‘Indeed. Is that not what you wandered the plains longing for?’
“I suppose so.”
‘Very well. O you who have surpassed the trial. You have proven yourself worthy to inherit everything of the Demiurgos. Therefore….’
Wait, the conversation was heading in a strange direction.
“Hold on. Just a second.”
When I interrupted her, Al’sophia looked at me with a bewildered expression.
‘What is it?’
“The one who’s supposed to inherit it isn't me, it’s that dried snack over there.”
‘That is impossible.’
“Why?”
‘It pains me to say this about my younger brother, but Shel failed the trial and did not gain the qualification. It is quite a shame. He was almost equal to you, but he couldn't stand up at the final moment and collapsed.’
Hmm. You worked hard, Al’shel. I thought you’d just run away immediately.
…Wait? He failed?
“Then why is he here?”
‘We cannot kill those who come to take the trial. Of course, we cannot intervene for those who come with hearts full of malice, those who seek to kill one another, or those who act with reckless bravado without knowing their limits. But those who come with a pure heart deserve to be sent back safely. Though, with their memories erased.’
…Are you really part of the Star Race?
Because of Al’sophia alone, the image I had of the Star Race was being flipped upside down.
To steady my mind, I looked at the dried snack, then back at the ghost.
Fine. Let’s just say Al’sophia is a Mutant among the Star Race.
Al’shel, Al’shirin, and the Star Race I’d heard about in stories were all a mess. Since Al’sophia was the only decent one, the "Star Race are ruffians" theory still held a 3-to-1 majority.
Good. My mind was at peace.
“But I don’t need the Administrator Authority. I have no intention of using it.”
‘Why? Is it not what every passenger of the Demiurgos desires? Even if it is a false, artificial world, one can manipulate an entire world to their will. The benefits to be gained would be immense. Did you not also come to this place seeking that?’
Everything she said was wrong.
“I just hitched a ride because it was on the way to somewhere else. I have no great interest in the Administrator Authority of the Demon Train. I’ll be getting off soon anyway.”
‘The Otherworld spread outside the Demiurgos is a cursed space where everything perishes. What could possibly be there that makes you throw yourself into such a place?’
“I have something I need to do there.”
‘And what is that task?’
“To protect my kin and my world.”
‘I see. You did not come here seeking refuge on the Ark. What a waste. To have the qualification and a spirit of sacrifice… you are the perfect candidate.’
Her evaluation was a bit too generous.
I wish Zess would talk to me like that.
“The perfect candidate pointed to Al’shel, so isn't that enough?”
Since Al’shel only gave up at the very last moment, let’s say he passed at least 95% of the trial, and I’ll add 5 points as a candidate bonus.
‘…That is not something I can decide alone. So, before that, I must ask one thing.’
“What is it?”
‘Why, then, do you want the Administrator Authority of the Demiurgos, which you claim to have no connection to? I watched you during the trial, and the longing I felt from you was genuine. It wasn't from duty or friendship. It was a pure longing that came from within yourself.’
To that long question, I was able to give an answer immediately.
“Because I want to change the Demon Train.”
‘Did you not say you have no connection to the Demon Train?’
That’s true. But.
This exchange was a set of sentences I had traded multiple times with myself, Al’shel, Grix, and Zess.
Zess said she would try projecting the Demon Train onto my world, but there was a more fundamental reason than that.
“I just don’t like the current state of the Demon Train, so I want to change it before I leave.”
‘Is that all?’
“Do I need anything more than that?”
At those words, Al’sophia seemed shocked, her eyes darting back and forth.
‘….’
Silence fell over the stone chamber.
How much time had passed?
‘Yes. We also started for that very reason when we built the Demiurgos. "Because we didn't like it." For that reason alone.’
She muttered to herself, lost in thought for a moment, before speaking again.
‘Very well. I accept your nomination of Shel as your proxy.’
Thanks.
Things were going surprisingly well.
I thought I’d have to wander around pointlessly, but Zess opened the door for me, and now Al’sophia—ghost or whatever she was—had appeared and was moving things along smoothly.
‘However. There is a condition.’
That’s my life for you. Just when things seem to be going well, a problem always crops up.
“What is it?”
‘Giving Administrator Authority to Shel, who failed the trial, is an exception. Therefore, I will give Shel another trial. And, you… it feels a bit late to ask, but… what is your name?’
“It’s Lee Ha-ram.”
‘Yes, Lee Ha-ram. Since you yourself haven't finished a few procedures yet, those must also be carried out.’
Right, she did mention earlier that there was more.
“Then let’s wake Al’shel first…”
The moment I turned toward Al’shel while saying that.
‘There is no need for that.’
A voice that didn't belong to Al’sophia echoed through the stone chamber. Startled, I turned my head.
‘He will wake up soon enough.’
‘We have already taken measures.’
‘Chief Administrator. You are too soft.’
‘We have no objections regarding the being named Lee Ha-ram, but we have far too much to say regarding Al’shel.’
‘Indeed. He is too cruel and arrogant. Just like our ancestors.’
Countless ghost octopuses, each looking slightly different, rose up.
Then, the ghost octopus situated in the center looked around at me, Sophia, and finally Al’shel, before speaking.
‘Now then. We shall continue the trial.’