Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: My Struggle
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Enoch walked slowly.
Every two steps, he turned to look back, catching sight of Lione waving her hand.
One wave, then two steps; another wave, then two more steps.
Even so, the end came eventually, and Lione's figure finally vanished from view. At that moment, Enoch looked up at the sky and let out a sigh.
"Haa...."
What the hell was the Heavenly Death Star?
Why did he have to leave Lione behind and venture into the world alone?
Freedom? Liberation?
If this was what freedom and liberation felt like, he'd rather live his whole life without knowing them.
Still, he didn't entirely hate his innate fate as the Heavenly Death Star, because it was thanks to that fate that he'd met Lione in the end.
The weight of his body, now heavier with all she'd given him, brought a faint smile to his lips for no particular reason.
"No, honestly. She even gave me her virginity—doesn't that count as pretty much a proposal?"
Muttering complaints to no one who could hear, Enoch gathered lightning at his toes.
Within the vivid crackling lightning, a cluster of starlights bloomed, and soon they exploded all at once, aligned in direction.
Kuuung──────!!
Enoch's body shot forward like a beam of light.
A speed that surpassed the sound barrier in an instant.
The wall of air battering his entire body shattered into pieces.
Kwagwagwagwang──────!!!
Riding a deafening sonic boom, Enoch set his destination.
'First, let's head near the Elf Alliance.'
The top priority on this journey was his own growth.
Enoch could sense it clearly.
He grew rapidly in life-or-death crises.
Hadn't he achieved explosive growth just from meeting the Lord of the Forest?
So his destinations naturally narrowed to perilous lands.
But there was one thing: Enoch wasn't seeking a place to die.
He had no desire to die at all.
Before, he hadn't even felt fear of death, but now that he had something he desperately wanted to achieve, his mindset had changed.
Thus, his conclusion: a dangerous place, but one with at least some insurance.
The gifts from Lione would work strongly in his favor among the elves, so he planned to head there first.
That was when it happened, as Enoch pressed onward.
Creeeak────────!!!
The sky split open.
Enoch whipped his head around in alarm.
A sudden turn of events.
He heightened his tension, scanning his surroundings warily.
Plip-
Fragments of shattered space soon rained down.
The split sky stitched itself back together haphazardly into one.
The dawn sky bursting with morning light, the clear blue midday sky, the sunset evening sky, and the pitch-black night sky came together like pieces of a shattered puzzle, creating a bizarre yet awe-inspiring spectacle.
Enoch couldn't close his gaping mouth at the impossible phenomenon.
He sensed it instinctively.
Anyone looking up at the sky anywhere on the continent right now would see the same sight.
In other words, this was all that remained of the continent's sky.
It was the result of slicing away all the leftover sky and stitching together the separated pieces.
As his body stiffened rigidly at this unbelievable miracle, a familiar voice echoed across the heavens.
[Listen. This is Sword Empress Lione Estor speaking.]
Unlike her usual tone, it carried a dignified weight.
From that cold voice devoid of emotion, Enoch felt the sentiments hidden beneath.
[My disciple has set forth to see the world, and there must not be a single soul on the continent ignorant of this fact.]
Her gentle nature shone through the stiff wording.
A stranger might dismiss it outright, but to Enoch, her anxious heart and tender worry struck him straight to the core.
[Grace to those who extend a helping hand to my child; vengeance to those who seek to harm. And if any dare to incur my wrath, remember this: I swear on my name, my honor, my body, and my soul—I will burn all I have to hunt you to the ends of the continent and strike you down.]
As he stared up blankly, the patched-together sky began to unravel bit by bit.
Whether she'd withdrawn her power or reached its limit, it was as if time rewound—the stained-glass sky gradually cleared to a pure, vibrant blue.
[Always keep in mind: I have nothing left to lose.]
With those final words, the sky returned to its serene calm as if nothing had happened.
Then Eri, who had been quietly still, poked her head out from his chest.
[Wow...! She's a total crybaby, but still kinda cool!]
"She's not a crybaby—she's just a little worried."
[Hmm... I don't think it's just a little, Dad!]
She never let up.
Enoch shoved the protruding snout back into his middle dantian with firm presses and took lighter steps forward.
'I should keep my name hidden.'
If he went around saying Enoch Estor, it would only make things more tiring.
*
By the time red light began swirling in the sky, Enoch spotted a city.
A city he'd never seen before, but no problem there.
Showing his mercenary badge, he passed through the gates and glanced around.
"Pretty...."
Developed city.
Dendalona, that small town, or the slightly larger La... whatever it was?
Anyway, it was a world apart from the town run by that half-baked Master lord.
Maybe this place's lord was a proper Master.
That's what he thought.
A territory's development and size usually scaled with its lord's strength.
"Should I just barge in?"
[I like that!]
"We'll see."
First things first: figure out if he'd come the right way.
He'd gone by rough directions, so he might have ended up heading the wrong way.
Enoch grabbed a passing man.
"You there."
"Y-Yes? W-What's the matter...?"
The man, intimidated by Enoch's imposing presence, gave a servile smile.
"Do you know where the Elf Alliance is?"
"The Elf Alliance...? I hear you just keep going west, but it's quite a distance...."
"West?"
Enoch looked toward the setting sun.
The direction he'd just come from.
He'd raced off toward the Elf Alliance, only to realize he'd gone the opposite way.
"Tch."
Clicking his tongue, Enoch nodded curtly and moved on.
Better to get a map first.
He'd heard maps used to be strategic goods, but now that was meaningless—they weren't that hard to obtain.
A rough map was plenty if you had the coin.
Why had maps lost their importance?
Nothing major.
Wars between nations were essentially battles between demigods.
A map was useless; if demigods clashed, the entire terrain would need redrawing anyway.
Strategic tactics were pointless from the start.
Demigod battles operated on a scale beyond such things.
That left territorial wars, which usually ended with the two lords duking it out.
Sometimes strategy mattered in territorial wars..., but apparently not enough to restrict map-making.
Naturally, petty skirmishes unworthy of even territorial wars wouldn't catch the high-ups' attention.
Ting-
[Oh? Mercenary Guilds in every city, huh?]
Pushing open the Mercenary Guild doors, Eri climbed onto Enoch's head to sightsee.
The interior looked much like the others.
Just bigger, so it didn't feel packed.
[Whoa, Dad! Look at these people! They're all so ugly! Are all humans like this? You're not, but the other humans all look so weird!]
And that vast space filled instantly with stillness.
A barrage of gazes poured down on Enoch and Eri.
Just as the silence seemed about to turn to outrage,
"What the fu—... Oh...? Hmm, hoo. Indeed. Makes sense."
"Damn, that's your species? Hard to believe."
"What, you think you're any different? You look like a squashed tomato."
"What the hell, you bastard!?"
Surprisingly, few glares turned directly hostile toward Enoch.
Buying a map from the counter before things got messy, Enoch left the guild promptly.
"When you say stuff like that, keep it to mental waves just for me. Broadcasting it where everyone can hear could make things annoying."
[...Sorry. I thought you'd like picking fights.]
Patting Eri's head with light taps, Enoch stepped into the street.
Spreading out the freshly bought map for a quick scan, he saw the rough route to the Elf Alliance marked.
Then he could grab a hood or two, spend the night, and head out....
Clatter-! Clop-clop-!
A carriage sped past him.
Two horses pulling it—not luxurious, but decently expensive-looking.
It should've been nothing noteworthy, but Enoch's gaze turned icy cold.
"Hya!"
The human coachman, a faint stench wafting from him, the fresh scent of blood.
That alone, he might've ignored....
[What's wrong, Dad?]
"The smell."
[What?]
"Elf smell."
Different from Lione's.
Unlike her forest-like scent, this had a slightly tangy fruit note mixed in.
But that didn't mean Enoch couldn't recognize it.
He'd never seen another elf, but instincts existed for a reason.
[Elf smell? You can smell that? In this brief moment?]
I'm the fox—shouldn't I be the better sniffer?
He had no time to mind Eri tilting her head.
"No way...."
Unbelievable, but his instincts screamed it.
Something impossible was happening here.
"Track discreetly."
The spell he cast instantly clung to the carriage's rear.
A location-tracking magic.
Enoch glared at the vanishing carriage in the distance.
"Humans are...."
He hadn't wanted to believe it, but if his suspicions were right....
Then his struggle would begin right here.
Faint lightning sparked at the corners of Enoch's eyes.