Chapter 82: A Nod (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 82: A Nod (2)
Walking along the main road, Alon soon realized he had arrived at the east coast of Sipra and took in his surroundings.
Unlike the village where he had first disembarked, the eastern shore was incredibly secluded.
There was nothing to see but sand, the sea, and a distant cliff.
I actually made it…
Alon wore a peculiar expression as he recalled the man who had suddenly changed his tune and kindly given him directions. He began walking along the shoreline.
After a moment, he pulled out the necklace engraved with the pattern of a black tree—the one given to him by "that thing" he had encountered in the Colony.
He hadn't expected a race he’d never even seen in Psychedelia to be out in the open on the coast.
Holding the necklace, Alon walked across the empty beach until he drew near the cliffs.
"Hmm?"
On a rocky path leading toward the cliff, he spotted a woman watching him.
No.
It wasn't a woman.
A mermaid.
Confirming that her upper body was human but her lower half was streamlined like a fish, Alon approached her.
"…Who are you, and why are you holding that necklace?"
The beautiful mermaid asked in a voice thick with blatant wariness.
Noting that her voice was as lovely as her appearance, Alon replied.
"…I was sent by the Dragonkin."
"The Dragonkin?"
"I was told that if I brought this here, I would be able to peer into the truth."
When he showed her the necklace, she muttered the word "Dragonkin" several times as if deep in thought before asking another question.
"…Are you talking about the Dragonkin with the long tail?"
"Tail…? Well, I did think it was quite long."
"How long?"
"…Long enough to form a question mark with it?"
Alon answered with a look that clearly asked, Why are you even asking this?
However, it seemed to be the answer she was looking for. The mermaid’s wary expression softened into one of ease.
"…You are indeed a guest. I assume you’ve come to me to 'peer in'?"
"Yes."
"Come this way."
When Alon nodded, the mermaid immediately crawled down the rocks and dove into the sea.
Wuuuung—
Soon, a massive sphere, like a giant water droplet, formed in front of him.
The sphere glowed orange, catching the light of the setting sun.
"Get inside."
Alon hesitated for a moment at the mermaid's command but soon stepped into the sphere.
As soon as he entered, layers of magic circles draped over the sphere like a shroud.
"We’re leaving now."
The mermaid began to pull the sphere containing Alon down into the depths of the ocean.
They passed through the orange sea, stained by the twilight, and plunged into the dark center.
Alon continued his descent into the deep sea. The mermaid, whose name he didn't even know, moved downward with an indifferent air, seemingly unfazed by the situation.
Alon, however, felt a chill creep up his spine as the surroundings turned pitch black.
It felt as though he were floating in an endless void.
Just as he began to feel a strange sense of anxiety and discomfort—
"…?"
A single streak of light appeared in the middle of the absolute darkness.
As soon as he noticed it, a faint, green, aurora-like light spread through the empty deep sea, swallowing his anxiety.
Alon let out a low exclamation of wonder at the beautiful sight.
As the mermaid pulled the sphere deeper, the green aurora became clearer in Alon’s eyes.
After a bit more time had passed—
"We’ve arrived."
Alon reached a cave.
"This place is…"
As the sphere dissolved and Alon stepped onto the cave floor, he looked around with a look of fascination.
On the surface, it looked like any other cave, but the fact that he could breathe perfectly fine was intriguing.
"Follow me."
Alon turned his gaze toward the mermaid's voice and was struck with surprise.
Two legs had grown from her previously streamlined lower body.
She now looked indistinguishable from a human, save for the gills near her ears. Seeing Alon’s shock, she wore a questioning look for a moment before letting out a small chuckle, as if realizing the cause of his surprise.
"It’s only possible here in the Sanctuary."
She then led him deeper into the cave.
After walking for what felt like about ten minutes, they arrived at a massive hollow.
"…Oh."
An exclamation escaped his lips involuntarily.
The space was empty save for an altar in the center, but the "sky" was visible through the cave's ceiling.
Yes, the sky.
Despite being in the deep sea where the sky should be invisible, the ceiling of the great hollow reflected a night sky filled with stars.
Alon stared blankly at the ceiling, letting out the gasp he had held back when he saw the aurora.
"…Does it look beautiful to you?"
The mermaid’s voice drifted over to him.
"It does."
At Alon’s nod, her expression turned strangely bitter.
No, it wasn't quite bitterness.
It was sorrow.
Just as Alon recognized the emotion—
"I see. For now… yes."
She whispered something too low for Alon to hear and then continued the conversation.
"This is the sky you’ve always been looking at."
"…Wasn't the sun still up before we came down here?"
"It took time to descend. It’s not too early for the stars to come out. Anyway—"
The mermaid changed the subject.
"Welcome to the Sanctuary of Observation. I am the 'Observer.' I assume you’ve come here because you wish to see the truth?"
"That’s right. I was told I could see the truth here."
"You’ve made a wise choice."
"…Have I?"
"Yes. Once you see the truth, you will understand everything."
With those words, she moved to the altar, picked up a mirror, and held it out to Alon.
"This is…?"
"Look into it. What you seek will be revealed there."
Alon took the mirror and looked inside.
For a moment, he was confused, as he only saw his own expressionless face reflected back. Then—
"!"
A bizarre sensation washed over him.
It felt as if the entire world was being sucked into the mirror. Alon realized his perspective had shifted in an instant.
[The original god… had their divine throne usurped.]
He heard a voice.
* * *
A member of the organization serving the Blue Moon.
A man who was temporarily managing the Blue Moon’s secret operations while the other "Moons" were away carrying out the Great Moon's orders.
Hidan was currently in Mulman, one of Asteria’s territories.
Mulman was a place where the influence of the underworld was stronger than in other regions, a territory the nobles failed to manage properly.
He was here for one reason.
He had received word that the ringleaders among the Asterian nobility, who were secretly working to slander the Great Moon, were gathering here.
Under the orders of the Purple Moon—Deus Macallian—he had come to identify those trying to defame the Great Moon.
He had arrived a bit earlier than the scheduled meeting time to prepare his concealment.
"…."
That is, if it weren't for the red bloodstains he saw the moment he reached the entrance to the basement.
Realizing an attack had taken place after seeing blood dripping outside the building, he pushed the door open.
Drip. Drip.
A gruesome scene unfolded before Hidan’s eyes.
"…."
The place was filled with corpses.
Corpses with faces that looked as if they had been ground away by something.
Corpses cut in half.
Corpses that had died with their limbs missing, their eyes still wide with terror.
…The room was a chaotic, horrifying display of carnage that would make anyone wince.
Yet, Hidan’s mind did not panic.
Who was it? A traitor? A Black Light Believer? The Roots? No—they have no reason to do this. Then, the Shadows? …No, the Shadows wouldn't leave this much evidence.
Even in this situation, he was deducing who could have committed such an act.
Crunch!
At the sound coming from above, he immediately moved toward the upper floor.
When Hidan reached the second floor, he witnessed—
Five men, clearly Asterian nobles, sitting at a large round table, all dead with their necks twisted twice around in a grotesque fashion.
"Hmm?"
And a single person standing in the middle of the round table, looking back at him.
The black-haired and blue-eyed man stared intently at Hidan, who had suddenly appeared in the silent room bathed only in moonlight.
There were no weapons in his hands.
There was nothing resembling a weapon at his waist, either.
It was the same no matter where Hidan looked.
Yet, Hidan knew instinctively.
The man before him was the one who had created this gruesome scene.
"…."
Hidan suppressed his wildly thumping heart and wore a tense expression.
The opponent wasn't making a move.
Nevertheless, he realized that the being before him was unnervingly powerful.
There was no certainty or evidence.
It was just that the black-haired, blue-eyed entity "instinctively" made his opponent recognize that fact, and Hidan simply realized it naturally.
However, he couldn't just stand there and be a victim, so he quietly gripped the sword at his waist.
In that moment—
"Ah—"
The man, who had been expressionless, broke into a smile.
It was a smile so innocent that it was impossible to believe he was the one responsible for this massacre.
With that, the suffocating pressure vanished instantly, leaving Hidan bewildered.
Then.
Thud! Step, step—
The man stepped down from the round table and began walking toward him.
Hidan tried to draw his sword immediately at the sight.
Tap.
The man, who had approached in the blink of an eye, pressed down on the pommel of the sword Hidan was trying to draw.
Clack!
Before Hidan could even process his confusion at how easily his sword had been pushed back into its scabbard despite his strength—
"I’ve already finished what needed to be done, so you can go. Well—if I were to say one thing."
The man glanced at Hidan.
Pat, pat.
He tapped Hidan on the shoulder.
"Still, serve him properly from now on."
Then, with an innocent grin—
"This is a bit of a sensitive issue, you see."
With those final words, he vanished from the building.
"…."
Left alone in the empty space, Hidan could only stare blankly at the door the man had exited for a long time.