Chapter 465: Fragment (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 465: Fragment (4)
“No… I mean, really? You’re serious?”
“…I’ve already denied it several times, haven’t I?”
“For real?”
“I have never spoken a single word to any of the Divine Blood belonging to the Star Root.”
“…….”
At Alon’s words, the Sculptor was flustered.
It was all because of the Star Eater’s statement.
‘…The Star Eater isn’t the master of the Star Root?’
Of course, he couldn’t blindly believe everything the Star Eater in front of him claimed.
The Star Eater was famous.
However, that didn’t mean people knew much about him.
He was only famous because the four Divine Bloods currently closest to ascending the Divine Throne mentioned him in one way or another; otherwise, the ‘Star Eater’ remained shrouded in mystery.
In other words, since he didn’t know what kind of Divine Blood the Star Eater was, he couldn’t easily trust or judge his words.
Nevertheless, two reasons made the Sculptor think, ‘Does he really not know?’
First, the Star Eater had absolutely nothing to gain by lying to the Sculptor about such a thing.
There was no profit in the lie, and there was no reason to tell a falsehood that would be easily exposed in a short time.
And above all, second.
‘…He really looks like he’s telling the truth…?’
It was because of the way he spoke.
No matter how much he might want to hide that he was the leader of the Star Eater group, would he really need to call his own organization a ‘group of trash’ or ‘ominous bastards’?
Thus, after his mind went blank for a moment, filled with question marks, the Sculptor decided to stop overthinking.
‘…Let’s just leave it at that for now.’
There were more than a few things that bothered him about just letting it slide, but that wasn’t the reason the Sculptor had come to see the Star Eater in the first place.
Therefore.
“…Fine, I’ll take your word for it for now.”
Having wrapped up that topic, the Sculptor immediately got to the point.
“I’ll be blunt. I want you to participate in the subjugation of Astaroth.”
“If it’s Astaroth, you mean those Divine Bloods in black armor…?”
“Exactly. Those are the ones.”
At the Sculptor’s words, Alon pondered for a moment before requesting.
“I need more of an explanation.”
“About what part?”
“Everything.”
The Sculptor thought it over for a moment.
“…I guess you don’t have any proper information yet.”
“?”
“It doesn’t matter. I came here to explain it anyway.”
He then looked at Alon and asked.
“First, you know about the ‘Fragments,’ right?”
“Yes.”
“And you know what effects those Fragments have?”
“I do.”
“Then this will be easy.”
The Sculptor continued.
“As you know, Fragments of high-ranking Divine Blood have been scattered at this point in time. I don’t know why or how it happened, but the point is that those Fragments are the source of the problem.”
“I heard that many battles have broken out between Divine Bloods because of those Fragments.”
“…If it were just that, I wouldn’t be going around like this. Fights between Divine Bloods are a given, after all. The problem is the ‘Divine Vessel,’ the leader of Astaroth.”
“…The leader?”
At Alon’s question, the Sculptor nodded.
“Actually, Astaroth wasn’t that dangerous of a group. Even if their ideology was risky, they were only 1st Stage, after all. In the beginning, they were just a bunch of nobodies who happened to have a bit of momentum.”
“But I suppose the situation changed when the Fragments were scattered.”
“Exactly. It didn’t just change; it became quite serious. More specifically, it started right after the leader of Astaroth absorbed a Fragment and reached the next stage.”
“…Did he become stronger?”
“Of course he became stronger. The problem is that he can get even stronger from here.”
The Sculptor caught his breath and looked at Alon.
“How much do you know about the Fragments?”
“All I know is that a 1st Stage can reach the 2nd Stage by absorbing a Fragment.”
“That’s not wrong. But let me tell you one thing you don’t know: Fragments aren’t something you can just absorb whenever you want.”
“What does that mean?”
“Simply put, it takes time. No matter how many Fragments you possess, you can’t devour them all at once. The problem is—”
“…I take it the Divine Vessel, the leader of Astaroth, can absorb Fragments infinitely without limit.”
The Sculptor looked surprised by Alon’s insight.
“Did you already know?”
“No. But I figured that was the only place this conversation could go.”
“…Right. Just as you said, he became able to absorb Fragments immediately after ascending to the next stage. And he can do it indefinitely.”
From the Sculptor’s words, Alon could grasp the general situation.
“In short, if that Divine Vessel is allowed to keep absorbing Fragments, things will only get worse.”
“Things are already bad. If he absorbs any more Fragments at this rate, we won’t be able to stop him anymore.”
“…So, the Divine Bloods are forming an alliance to strike Astaroth?”
“Yes. If he grows any further, he might truly become the ‘Winner.’ That’s why I came to find you.”
“…….”
“…Of course, things are a bit different from what I expected. But if it’s the Star Eater, you’ll be a help even without a group.”
There must be a reason he’s famous, the Sculptor muttered.
After a moment of silence, Alon asked.
“…Just in case, isn’t there a possibility of being stabbed in the back?”
“Don’t worry about that. If we gather, everyone will be bound by the Covenant of Divine Blood. There will be no betrayal.”
They likely knew better than anyone how foolish it would be to betray the alliance right now.
“Where should I go?”
After a brief deliberation, Alon made his decision.
“Good choice.”
A wide smile spread across the Sculptor’s face.
* * *
After meeting the Sculptor, Alon returned to the carriage.
“They seem a bit similar to humans.”
At Penia’s words, Alon turned his gaze.
“The Divine Bloods?”
“Yes.”
“In what way?”
“…The way they try to drag one person down no matter what? Oh, of course, I don’t think that’s wrong. It’s just, how should I put it… it just struck me that they’re surprisingly human.”
Alon stroked his chin.
It was certainly something Alon had felt to some extent as well.
Divine Bloods were strong.
Furthermore, they didn’t even view humans as living beings.
That was true whether the Divine Blood was friendly or hostile toward Alon.
Yet, despite that, the Divine Bloods clearly had aspects similar to humans.
“Isn’t it because they all started as humans anyway?”
Evan added his opinion.
“What?”
“Didn’t you say so before, Lord Alon? That the Divine Bloods were all once human.”
“Do you think I said that because I didn’t know?”
“Wasn’t it?”
When Evan tilted his head toward Penia, she let out a long sigh.
“…I suppose your reasoning skills are lacking because you’re from a mercenary background.”
“Hey, there you go again, acting all smart just because you’re a mage. And I’m not a mercenary, I’m of noble birth?!”
“I don’t think anyone would believe that.”
“I’m telling the truth!”
“…Were you really a noble?”
“Even you, Lord Alon?! Isn’t this too much?!”
Evan cried out as if he had been wronged.
However, Alon had asked out of genuine surprise, not with the intention of teasing him.
In Psychedelia, Evan only ever appeared as a mercenary; there was never any information mentioning that he was a fallen noble.
As a result, even Alon knew nothing about Evan’s origins.
“…I wasn’t trying to tease you. I was just surprised.”
“I’m serious, you know? I was a pretty well-to-do noble. It’s just that before I even turned ten, the whole family…”
Evan, who had been speaking that far, scratched his head.
“Anyway—! I’m from a noble family!”
“Hmm— then is the name Evan fake too?”
At Penia’s question, Evan clicked his tongue.
“This name is the real one now. I’ve been using it since I started living by the sword.”
“Hmm.”
At those words, Penia glanced at him and fell silent.
Alon didn’t pursue the topic further either.
Penia seemed to have asked with a slight intent to tease, but the moment the answer came back, it wasn’t hard to guess Evan’s past.
The fact that he didn’t even mention the family name and had completely abandoned his original name.
That was the same as saying the noble family hadn’t just fallen in an ordinary way.
“Ahem—”
Evan scratched his head awkwardly, perhaps thinking he shouldn’t have brought it up.
Watching him for a moment, Alon turned his gaze toward Seolrang.
She was still stuck by his side, her tail wagging gently as she looked out the window.
Seeing her like that reminded him of what the Sculptor had said earlier.
‘It must be quite distracting.’
The words the Sculptor had said while looking at Seolrang, after telling Alon the location where the Divine Bloods would gather in three months.
“…….”
What did that mean?
The Sculptor had vanished after saying that, without adding another word.
Seolrang had also only made a puzzled expression upon hearing the Sculptor’s remark.
“Ah, so, Lord Alon.”
At Penia’s voice calling him, Alon turned his gaze back.
“What is it?”
“Are you going to head there immediately?”
“Hmm….”
At her question, Alon nodded.
If the deadline was three months as the Sculptor said, Alon didn’t have much time left.
“I’ll prepare for a few days and then head out immediately.”
“Mentor! I’m going too!”
As soon as Alon answered, Seolrang turned her head and shouted.
“…You too?”
“Yes!”
“…Is it alright?”
“It’s fine! Now that the bandits are gone, it’ll be okay!”
Seolrang spoke with a smile.
Seeing that her tail was still wagging, Alon eventually nodded.
“Understood.”
* * *
The reason the Arm Spitter had come to the Burnt Vegetation was solely because of the rumors he had heard recently.
Rumors that a group called the Star Cluster was growing at an incredible speed.
As far as the Arm Spitter knew, groups of Divine Bloods couldn't grow that large unless they were already established or were one of a few peculiar exceptions.
It was only natural.
The Divine Bloods already had mostly formed factions.
Of course, 1st Stage Divine Bloods moved between factions more freely than those of higher stages, but that was strictly movement between factions; Divine Bloods almost never left the faction system entirely.
However, the Star Cluster was expanding recklessly, breaking all previous customs.
Furthermore, since he had a rough idea of why the Burnt Vegetation had formed a faction, he believed they wouldn't be hostile if he visited. Driven by curiosity, he sought out the Star Root.
And that was how he met him.
[It’s been a long time.]
[Yes, it has. It’s been a long time, but…]
He was able to meet him…
[…What is that?]
[Ah, you don’t need to mind that.]
The Arm Spitter looked behind the Burnt Vegetation.
There were two Divine Bloods there.
More accurately.
[S-Stop— Gaaah!]
[I-I won’t come again! I won’t target the Star Eater anymore! Argh!]
There were Divine Bloods being beaten by other Divine Bloods.
[It’s re-education work.]
[…Re-education, work?]
[Yes.]
At the Burnt Vegetation’s subsequent words, the Arm Spitter’s single pupil trembled slightly.