Chapter 436: Strange (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 436: Strange (7)
Among the Divine Bloods, including the Darkness-Eating Sword.
Just as a heated debate was breaking out over who had left the greatest "impact" on Alon.
"……Is this a gem?"
"Yes."
Alon received a gemstone from Yutia.
It was a highly unusual stone, stained deep blue on one side and vivid red on the other.
Observing it quietly, Alon asked Yutia, "Where did you get this?"
"I found it after Blackie finished absorbing all the corpses."
"Which means—"
"It seems to have come from inside that Divine Blood’s body."
Alon’s gaze returned to the gem.
While it was fascinating, it also raised questions.
‘……Is this the item the Seeker mentioned?’
Alon turned the gem over and over. However, aside from the peculiar coloring of its facets, he couldn't sense any particular power emanating from it.
Alon looked up.
"……Thank you for finding it."
"Don't mention it. Are you heading out?"
"I should."
There seemed to be nothing else of value here.
He took one last look around the ruins before heading toward where Yutia and Blackie were waiting. Having gorged himself, Blackie was lying on his side with his limbs sprawled out, yawning widely.
[Kyoo—]
The little creature seemed to steal a glance at Yutia before sliding back into Alon’s chest.
Shortly after, Alon asked the rest of the group, "Did any of you find anything?"
"No. I looked around the destroyed areas just in case, but I didn't find anything special."
Evan scratched his head. However, for someone saying such things, his pockets were remarkably bulging.
Alon tilted his head and asked, "……What is that?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Your pockets."
"Oh, th-this? This is, well, how should I put it… think of it as a reward for someone who worked very hard to explore these ruins."
Evan’s words trailed off awkwardly. But when Penia, looking at him with disdain, gave his pocket a sharp poke from behind—
Clatter!
A shower of gold coins that had been stuffed to the brim came tumbling out in an instant.
"Ahem."
Evan immediately cleared his throat and began scrambling to pick up the coins. As Penia and Alon watched him with cold, unimpressed expressions, he hurriedly tried to explain himself.
"No, wait! You don't actually think I was just wandering around looking for stuff like this, do you? I just thought that if something was truly valuable, it might be kept in the territory’s treasure vault! That’s why I went there!"
"How pathetic……."
Penia clicked her tongue at Evan in disgust. Not one to back down, Evan let out a hollow laugh and glared at her.
"I don't think you're in any position to say that to me."
"Me? Why?"
"Did you think I didn't see you? Sneaking off to the archives while looking over your shoulder."
"!"
Penia’s face froze, her guilt plain to see.
"No, that was simply to see if there was anything useful—"
"So you're exactly the same as me!"
"I am not! I only did it for the sake of Alon’s magical development!"
"You might want to hide the book you're holding before you say that."
"Urgh—!"
She quickly hid the book behind her back, her face morphing into that of a flustered cat as she began to stammer out excuses.
Watching the two of them bicker, Alon let out a sigh and made his decision.
"Let’s move out."
He had come to the firm conclusion that finding anything else in these collapsed ruins was practically impossible.
‘Besides, she said it came from the Father of Maggots.’
Alon looked at the gem again. It still didn't strike him as anything more than a slightly unusual stone.
However, Alon had a feeling that this might indeed be the "necessary item" the Seeker had mentioned. No matter how vague the Seeker’s information usually was, he didn't seem like the type to give useless leads.
There was no reason to waste any more time here.
Their journey to the west resumed.
* * *
It had been over a week since they started moving west.
While preparing camp in the middle of a desolate, empty plain as usual, Alon suddenly realized something.
"……It’s strange."
"What is, sir?"
"The fact that we haven't encountered a single Divine Blood."
"Ah, that—"
Evan nodded. "To be honest, I didn't notice it at first, but I’m starting to feel it now too."
"Right?"
"Yes."
They had heard multiple reports that the Western Zone was crawling with Divine Bloods. They had fully expected to run into them, yet they hadn't encountered a single one.
Even Evan, who had initially questioned if not meeting them was a bad thing, was starting to find it suspicious.
"……Honestly, if the territories were still intact, I would have just thought the rumors were wrong. But the rumors we gathered in the west and the territories we’ve seen are all completely destroyed."
"Hmm."
Alon nodded. As Evan said, the current situation was clearly abnormal.
To reach the Empire, Alon had crossed through the eastern part of the Empire. Although he hadn't stopped at every territory, he had heard countless rumors that the Western Empire had fallen to the Divine Bloods.
According to Nataman, the Crown Prince of the Western Empire, it hadn't completely fallen yet, but it was true that most of the territory had been taken over by the Divine Bloods, and Alon’s own observations confirmed this.
After all, everything Alon had seen while moving through the Western Empire consisted of decimated territories and bizarre creatures that were clearly the work of the Divine Bloods.
Though he had only seen them dead……
At any rate, despite there being so many traces, they still hadn't encountered a living Divine Blood.
"……Is something happening?"
As Alon muttered to himself, Yutia suddenly spoke up.
"……Hmm. We can't rule out that possibility, Master."
"As I thought?"
"Well, it’s just one of many probabilities. However—there’s no reason for it to be this different from the rumors. In a sense, I suspect something we aren't aware of might be taking place."
As Yutia offered her deduction, Penia, who had been watching the conversation, tentatively raised her hand.
"I… I have a thought as well."
"What is it?"
"We’ve been traveling through various destroyed territories, right?"
"We have."
"And in those places, we saw how the Divine Bloods usually transform humans into all sorts of different things."
She was right. As they crossed the Western Empire, they had seen sights where humans had been reduced to mere tools for the Divine Bloods.
"But starting from the territories we’ve seen in the last few days, the 'type' has been consistent."
"……The type is consistent?"
"Yes. Before, there were many different forms, but recently, most of them have been……."
As Penia trailed off, Evan, who had been lost in thought, let out a low exclamation.
"……Now that you mention it, that’s true. The humans we’ve seen lately were almost all in the form of red eggs. Though most of them had already burst."
"Ah."
It clicked for Alon as well. The territories they had seen recently were indeed filled with red eggs.
"……Ugh."
Penia made a nauseated sound, as if the memory alone was making her sick.
"Well—maybe someone is helping us out?"
"……Who?"
"You know. Someone sneaking around and taking out the Divine Bloods while we aren't looking……."
As Evan proposed his hypothesis, Penia’s eyes narrowed with disdain.
"Tsk, why don't you try saying something that actually makes sense?"
"Ahem…… was that a bit too much?"
While Evan sheepishly scratched his head, Alon let out a sigh.
"……Well, if such a person actually exists, I’d certainly like to thank them."
As the group shared their thoughts, far in the distance—from a point where Alon’s party looked like mere dots—
"……Thank me……."
A woman was watching them.
Her eyes were marked with a distinct hexagram pattern.
She sat there quietly, perched atop a mountain of Divine Blood corpses.
* * *
Crown Prince Contanias, who was currently leading the capital of the Northern Empire.
He had been in a fairly good mood ever since he arrived back at the capital.
He had every reason to be.
He had only gone to that place because of the late Emperor’s words about being able to "obtain power," but he never imagined he would actually find a way to get it.
Strictly speaking, he hadn't obtained it yet. The Seeker had only given him the possibility and the method; the "power" itself was something he had to claim on his own.
But Contanias didn't mind. He was the Crown Prince leading the Northern Empire, after all. At his command, people would line up to create and bring him legendary elixirs, even if they had to search the ends of the continent for ingredients that might not even exist.
However, there was another reason for Contanias’s absolute confidence.
It was because he had a special existence permitted only to him—one that no one else in the Empire possessed.
The dragon who had become the Guardian of the Empire centuries ago in exchange for the Empire offering up countless Dragon Hearts scattered across the continent.
The Crying Dragon, Arculainisis.
Thus, immediately upon his return to the capital, Contanias went to see Arculainisis.
"I greet the Dragon of the Great Covenant."
"Very well."
As always, the Crying Dragon looked down at him from her most magnificent throne, situated in the middle of a vast hoard of treasures.
"It has been quite some time since I summoned you. You took your time."
Her voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction. Contanias bowed his head even lower.
A Crown Prince should not bow his head easily, but the situation was different when the subject was the Guardian Dragon. The very reason the Northern Empire continued to prosper was entirely due to the presence of the Guardian Dragon.
"I apologize, O Guardian Dragon. Please, appease your anger."
"Enough. More importantly, I heard you had business with me as soon as you returned. What is it?"
Arculainisis waved her hand dismissively and asked with a languid tone.
The corners of Contanias’s mouth twisted upward while his head was still bowed. This was the very question he had been waiting for.
And so.
"I have come to ask a favor of the Guardian Dragon."
"What is it?"
"I wish for you to punish an insolent human."
"……An insolent human?"
"Yes. He is the king of a small nation in the United Kingdoms, a man named Alon Palatio."
With an excited heart, Contanias continued.
"He insulted me, a Prince of the Empire, and by extension, the Empire itself. This is no different from insulting the very Empire that you, the Guardian Dragon, protect! I have been unable to sleep due to the sheer grief and indignation this has caused me."
He spoke of Alon Palatio, who had dared to act insolently toward him.
"……Alon Palatio?"
At the Guardian Dragon’s reaction, Contanias grew even more heated.
"Yes!"
"Did you just say… Alon Palatio?"
"Yes! He insulted me, and the Empire! And by extension, he insulted you, Great Guardian Dragon! Please, sentence him to the ultimate punishment and let the world know the prestige of our Empire!"
Contanias, shouting with a mix of exaggeration and feigned dignity, waited for a moment.
"I see."
When the Guardian Dragon’s answer finally came, a cruel smile spread across his face. He took it as a sign of agreement.
However.
At some point, Contanias felt something strange. No, it wasn't just strangeness.
It was—
"……Gasp?"
Pressure.
In an instant, a bone-chilling pressure seized him, making his breath hitch. And in that sudden, terrifying atmosphere, he heard it.
"……Are you now telling me,"
He heard it clearly.
"To kill my father?"
The voice of the Crying Dragon, trembling with pure rage.