Chapter 217: Ark of The End (2)
Chapter 217: Ark of The End (2)
Just as I was about to hurl a question at the ghosts that had suddenly appeared—
"Ha. With what face do those who have already failed once dare to test us again?"
A voice as dry as a desert drifted from beside me.
Startled, I turned my head to find Al’shel opening his eyes. He looked as gaunt and haggard as he had when Zess defeated him.
However, unlike back then, Al’shel’s fighting spirit hadn't been broken in the slightest.
If anything, he seemed to be burning with it. It was as if he wouldn't show mercy even to his own kin if they dared to stand in his way.
...How is he already awake?
As the gathered members of the Star Race murmured in surprise, Al’shel twisted his thin lips into a smirk and replied.
"Are you so surprised that you failed to notice the trick of someone younger than yourselves? Even if you have declined, you are still of the Star Race; see for yourselves."
His attitude was nothing short of arrogant.
'T-That fellow!'
'Did I not tell you? His nature is far too twisted.'
'In the first place, is he not the one who abandoned the Demiurge and left?'
A barrage of criticism rained down on him.
Al’shel ignored it all and turned his back on them.
"It has been a long time, Lady Sophia."
His demeanor shifted completely from how he had treated the mob of ghosts behind him. He bowed deeply and respectfully.
It was the kind of greeting one might see in a classic film or a work of fiction—placing a hand over his heart with an exaggerated gesture to show his esteem.
'It has been a long time indeed, Shel. Have you still not given up on your dream?'
"Yes. It was for that very dream that I left the Demiurge."
A dream... Did he mean revenge against The End?
'I shall not blame you for that. Many others from our hatchery left besides you. I am simply glad to see your face again like this. Though, I had hoped to see you again while I was still among the living.'
"...My apologies."
Perhaps it was because I was watching the conversation between the incredibly polite Al’shel and the kindly Sophia—who didn't seem like a member of the Star Race at all.
A scene completely uncharacteristic of the Star Race bloomed in my mind.
Parent and child. Sovereign and subject. Sacred and beautiful images like those.
'Tsk. I acknowledge the abilities of the Al Family, but even so, there is no guarantee that Al’shel has inherited those talents. Just look at that temperament of his...'
'Indeed. Al’sophia, though you were the one who led us, the Demiurge does not belong to you alone.'
'Van'Rudir is right, Al’sophia. If Al’shel truly intends to serve this Demiurge, it is only right that he obtains our collective consent.'
However, that scene was shattered into pieces by the octopuses chattering noisily in the back.
"Ah, shut it already. You're being damn loud. If you're so worried, why don't you lot try fixing it? Do you even know how things are running outside?"
Irritation flared within me. Instead of the two octopuses celebrating their reunion, I turned around and spat out my frustration.
'O challenger who passed the trial, we are aware. Though we are but dead bodies, we are still entities with authority.'
'The trials are broken, society is collapsing, and there is no progress.'
'The System we arranged for them became a lifeline, but at the same time, a noose around their necks.'
'It is a cruel irony. The time The System has been broken accounts for less than ten percent of the Demon Train’s history. Yet, everything we built has begun to crumble.'
'That is why we have been waiting. For one with the knowledge and will to recreate the Demiurge.'
Seriously, can't just one of you speak for the group? Why are you all cutting each other off to say one sentence at a time?
I felt a slight surge of annoyance, but I didn't voice it.
Instead of the bottled-up annoyance, I let out a string of curses.
"So you know. Then why hasn't anyone thought to change it? You said you have authority."
I thought they couldn't do anything because they were all dead and gone, but here they were, floating around and doing just fine.
"Fine, let's say your race's personality is so trash that you lacked the experience for a total overhaul. But couldn't you at least have taken some temporary measures?"
Like Al’shel said, punishing those who disrupt the economy.
Or having someone with time to spare—like, say, some octopuses gathered in a tomb doing nothing—constantly observe and manually adjust things.
Weren't there plenty of ways like that?
'It is impossible.'
"Why? And let me tell you in advance: don't give me some incomprehensible explanation. Keep it direct and simple. So that even I can understand."
I've seen enough of your race's obsession with etiquette to get the picture.
I thought Al’shel was just being sarcastic, but it seems the whole lot of them are like this.
The type to maintain perfect manners while stabbing you in the back...
'Since you wish it, I shall put it simply. To adapt to the Otherworld, the Demiurge manipulates everything through will. The same applies to administrative authority. And we do not possess that will.'
What kind of ghost-eating-will nonsense was this now?
"Then who am I talking to right now?"
'We are but a portion of the residual thoughts and power left behind by our true selves.'
'Those who discarded the possibility of heredity to oppose The End.'
'Our souls have already returned to the stars and vanished.'
So much for "direct and simple."
"Does it make sense for someone I'm talking to right now to have no will? What are you, an automated response system?"
'Precisely. We are the final Great Magic left behind as they died. We are artificial constructs made to react automatically, having recorded all the ideologies of the originals.'
It reminded me of the Librarian talking about artificial intelligence and souls a while back.
I guess I got one conclusion from that answer. Pure AI are beings without souls.
"Sigh."
I let out a long breath.
Assuming these guys weren't lying, these octopus slices were utterly useless.
They could converse normally and held administrative authority, yet they couldn't actually use it.
In that case, they should just hurry up and hand over the authority, but they were still chirping on about passing trials and whatever else they were unhappy about.
"You said I was recognized, right?"
'That is correct. O you who passed all trials and received the recognition of Al’sophia.'
"Then can't I just take it and hand it over to Al’shel?"
Now that I thought about it, that seemed like the best option.
Why did Al’shel have to get stuck in the middle and cause all this fuss?
'There is no problem with that. The moment the authority leaves our hands, it is entirely yours. However, there is something I must ask before that. Are you a master of magic?'
Magic?
"I can't use it at all."
'Then it will not be easy to transfer. It was not designed with the intention of being passed to another from the start, so it requires substantial magical knowledge.'
Damn Star Race bastards. Their user interface is garbage.
No, seriously, let's say a pseudo-ghost stays behind once to hand it over. What if the person who inherits it has no magical talent and dies suddenly? Why would they make it like that?
Maybe the Demon Train was just destined to fail from the beginning.
"No, you guys seriously... do you think just making it is enough—"
I could feel my patience hitting rock bottom. Just as I opened my mouth to scream and vent the frustration building up inside—
"Lord Lee Ha-ram. Please do not waste your energy needlessly."
Al’shel, whose skin had regained its suppleness, stepped forward and cut me off.
"Why? Can't I even yell at the culprits who made us go through all this runaround?"
It's not like I was going to unleash a torrent of curses; I just wanted to shout once.
"Even if you did, it would have no effect on them. They are not true existences, after all."
Ah, is that so?
"Then what are you going to do?"
"What choice do I have? I must quietly accept the trial they give me."
Hmm.
Well, fine. I'm not the one involved, so if you're okay with it, then so be it.
"Do whatever you want."
With those words, I took a step back.
Signaling that I was leaving everything to Al’shel.
And perhaps that action was conveyed to everyone present.
The gazes that had been directed at both of us converged on Al’shel alone.
'Al’shel, will you accept the trial?'
"Yes."
'Very well. We shall also raise no further objections if you pass the trial.'
"How very kind of you."
Hearing the ghost octopus's words, Al’shel let out his usual sarcastic smirk.
'...He really shouldn't do that.'
Meanwhile, Al’sophia had flown over to my side at some point, her voice laced with genuine worry.
"He'll figure it out. It's Al’shel, after all."
'I hope so, but... it's going to have a negative impact on the content of the trial.'
...What does that sarcastic attitude have to do with the trial?
As I waited for the conversation between Al’shel and the ghost octopuses, I soon understood the meaning.
"So, what is the trial? Let's get started. Will? Knowledge? Strength? I don't care what it is. Just start already."
'It is none of those three. We would test an ordinary person on those, but you, Al’shel, are of the Star Race. What we have prepared is something else.'
"Oh. My interest is piqued. So, what is it?"
Al’shel said this with a sneer, looking as if he couldn't be less interested.
'Persuade us.'
"Huh?"
As soon as he heard the ghost octopus's words, he repeated them as if he hadn't understood.
'Did you not hear? Persuade the ghosts here—the majority of us. If you truly have the heart to change the Demiurge, you should be capable of at least that much.'
"...What kind of trial is that? No, in the first place, if it's something like that, there's no point in objecting or anything. What is your intention?"
Al’shel spat out the words, his voice thick with indignation.
He told me not to get angry, and yet he's the one flaring up.
'Yes. It is because of that personality. The same mistake our ancestors made.'
'Arrogant, cruel, and impatient.'
'Al’shel, you have inherited that blood far too strongly.'
'The blood of the one who drove our world to ruin.'
"What is the problem with that?"
Al’shel expressed his dissatisfaction, but I understood what they were saying.
Ah, I see.
The ones in this room were those who didn't belong to that group.
Though they were more malicious, cruel, and arrogant than other races, and prone to mistakes, at least these people had built the Demon Train for the sake of others. Even if the result was a mess.
But what about Al’shel?
He was the Star Race personified, exactly as I had heard from Zess.
The only better thing about him was that he had better social skills and was better at hiding his emotions than they were.
'Al’shel, you who have inherited the blood of the ancestor who once destroyed the world. We need a guarantee that you—and that blood—will not destroy the world again.'
'Therefore, persuade us.'
'That despite inheriting that blood, you are an entity capable of rebirthing this Demon Train.'
The octopuses each took a turn to speak, cutting the sentences into pieces again.
As if this was the collective will of all the octopuses except Al’sophia.
However, what occupied my mind wasn't their words, but a different thought.
...Isn't this the worst possible method for Al’shel?
I've never seen this guy successfully persuade anyone.
Whenever he tries to negotiate, don't the same things always come out?
Arrogance, cruelty, malice.
Doesn't he ruin every conversation like that?
There's no way an Al’shel like that has a way to persuade others without those things...
"Haha. I see. This is indeed a very difficult method for me."
As if to support my thoughts, Al’shel also laughed and stepped forward.
As if he had given up on everything. Shrouding his body in mana.
"A trial that cannot be passed. You all have quite a nasty streak. Or should I say, you truly are my kin?"
Is this guy seriously... going to try and forcibly devour them all or something?
"Hey! Al’shel, fighting here is—"
Just as I was about to rush forward to stop him—
'Could you wait a moment?'
A voice carried on the wind stopped me.
"If we leave him alone, he's going to kill them all, isn't he?"
Based on my experience with Al’shel, he definitely would.
He'd obliterate all those pseudo-ghosts and then try to find some way to snatch the authority afterward.
'No, it'll be fine. Because it's Al’shel.'
Those are some truly untrustworthy words.
"Because it's Al’shel"—that's about as believable as Brigadier General Un-ho saying he's going on a diet.
Look.
Even now, Al’shel is coating his hands in mana and blasting something toward the ghost octopuses.
Then, something like black characters, resembling a Magic Circle, was etched onto a pure white light. It erupted from Al’shel’s hand and settled in front of the ghosts.
I didn't know what kind of magic it was, but Al’shel stepped through the light filled with characters and stood before the ghosts.
"Now, I shall begin the explanation. Please look at this graph."
...Huh? A presentation?