Chapter 70

Under the dark night sky, where only the starlight reflected its form, I sat by a campfire that crackled as it burned the newly placed twigs, growing larger and larger.

Since Gal and I were already in a realm unaffected by darkness and immune to the cold, there was no need to kindle a fire for warmth and light, and as sleeping was not an absolute necessity, moving around at night was not problematic.

However, must one always live their life so rationally?

I enjoyed the tranquil atmosphere under such a night sky.

“Hmm…”

“Are you still looking around?”

“I’ve roughly looked around, but…”

Gal frowned as he gazed beyond the light of the campfire.

That was to be expected since what I was examining was the pieces of giant swords embedded in Gal’s body.

The giants surprisingly had technology that was superior to that of humans from a while back; the swords were forged from proper iron.

Although it didn’t seem like a particularly high-quality sword to me, in this age, a sword of that quality might be called a legendary sword.

But no matter how massive the mass, there was no way it could pierce through Gal’s scales.

I brushed over the surface of the sword piece.

The dark shard of the sword was gilded with lead.

The dark color seemed to have resulted from the oxidation of the lead.

Generally speaking, gilding a sword with lead would not be meaningful.

However, doing so deliberately meant there was a certain significance.

Rather than a functional meaning, the oxidized lead symbolized negativity. It appeared to have a strong ritualistic meaning as an opposing symbol to gold.

Gal was a being akin to the embodiment of perfection and gold.

It seemed as if it were a curse created by thoughts or rituals like the Flame King’s sword I used to kill Gal.

Moreover, due to the gilded lead, I couldn’t properly examine it from the outside, but I could also feel the power that was originally imbued within the sword.

The ideology embodied in that power was quite familiar to me.

Reverse Heaven.

The ideology that defies and transgresses against the heavens.

It bore similarities to the ideology that serves as the basis of the successors’ generation.

I recalled a conversation I had with Gal earlier.

“Gal, what is the principle that constitutes you?”

“Principle?”

“I heard that all Elder Roas are born with an instinctual mission from the moment they are born. My mother said that the earth and prosperity are your inherent mission that constitutes your principle.”

“Is that so? I haven’t really thought about it, but if I had to pinpoint it, I would say that it’s somewhat related to the heavens and punishment.”

“…I get the skies part…”

“Everything in this world needs to understand its own place and live accordingly. If everyone desires more than their place, balance is disrupted, and chaos arises. I judge them from a height that no one can surpass.”

As expected from Gal’s arrogant personality, much of the explanation was omitted, but I could understand what he was trying to convey.

“…For someone who says that, it seems I haven’t seen you outside surveying the world…”

“There was a time when I was governed by such trivial instincts, but I thought it was nonsensical for someone as complete as me to exert effort for the balance of trifling creatures.”

The conclusion drawn was truly a Gal-like conclusion.

The denial of Reverse Heaven and completion.

No matter how one looked at it, it was a workmanship of a curse forged to kill Gal.

“Except for Gal, for others, it’s just an ordinary sword gilded with lead…”

The problem was that the race wielding that sword was the titan, the largest among the giant races.

Though the beings of the Eastern Continent could hardly guess since they did not witness it themselves, the only race in the Western Continent that could rival titans was the elves to which I belonged.

To be precise, they had to be elves who had learned martial arts and reached a certain level of proficiency.

Though I couldn’t know the detailed past circumstances of the two, from Terato’s standpoint, if only Gal, who competed with him from the north, were to disappear, there would not be any notable natural enemy left in the Western Continent.

The question was, what would happen if Gal died and the giants advanced outwards?

Cold words indeed, but if the reason Terato created his faction was to easily kill the rival Gal, then that would be acceptable.

But if it were not?

One could discern from having taken in the two giant brothers.

A single titan of the giant race consumes resources over 200 times that of a human.

They essentially were creatures that consumed tremendous resources.

Moreover, despite possessing overwhelming strength, it would be difficult to believe that Gal’s role did not contribute to the titans made by Terato being restricted solely to the north for nearly a century through extreme population control.

What would happen if Gal died and the giants expanded outwards?

El Prigion, Ul Kanadiel, Bruwon Krishaka, Gal Dragon.

The Elder Roas seen or heard until now, may have fundamentally been different in their methods but they chose for the prosperity and balance of this star, or they showed an indifferent attitude towards the mortal realm.

But there was a gut feeling that Terato was different.

“…It seems the elves will have to step forward.”

They were beings like Elder Roa Terato and the titans who were his subordinates.

As I felt during the battle with Gal, I had yet to achieve sufficient proficiency to combat a being like Terato.

If I were to contend with Terato, it would be my mother, but could my mother indeed confront Terato?

Though I had never seen my mother’s full power, I couldn’t unconditionally guarantee it.

There was the blessing of Terato and the cursed sword, yet even the titans who directly clashed with Gal’s true form and inserted blades could not be disregarded as foes.

How many elves would die even if high elves like me and the forest guardians stepped up?

“…If only I had a hundred years of time, it would have been different.”

Elves were born with talents and lifespans unlike humans, already suitable for late bloomers.

Though I existed as an irregular being, we were still a rookie race on this star, having been born less than 20 years ago.

“So I had tried to somewhat adjust the difference in that time among the humans…”

The one who needed to buy time may not have been humans, but titans.

Thus, there was a desire to take retribution on my own power with a warrior’s heart, but for the sake of the elves, I could not kill the injured Gal.

I was lost in such thoughts when Gal’s voice snapped me back to reality.

“…But that’s absurd. Not the bigger monkeys, but the smaller ones…”

“Hmm? …Ah, so that’s why you were feeling off since earlier? I said, there’s a separate ‘preparation’ involved.”

The campsite was almost at the destination, Pohelrn.

Gal appeared to have sharpened as he sensed the energy coming from the direction of Pohelrn.

“…The smaller monkeys do not possess a strength that is unfitting for all the creatures of this earth. Under normal circumstances, I would have blown this area away, not the bigger monkeys.”

“Well, I’d appreciate it if you could overlook that. I contributed quite a bit to its composition.”

“…Hmph.”

Gal had an arrogant personality that wouldn’t even show interest unless it was something that could affect him.

However, if he showed such a sharp reaction, it meant that the preparation made by me and Alia sufficiently posed a threat even to a being of the stature of an Elder Roa.

It was a rather positive response.

I prodded the campfire with the returned true sword, Bulrak.

As I looked at Gal, who was making a discontented expression with his handsome face as handsome as Demis, I momentarily forgot my worries about Terato and felt a little joy in returning to Pohelrn.

—

“…What does that mean?”

“…The king who embarked on an expedition has been defeated by the barbarians in the desert and is continually retreating.”

“…What does that mean?”

Alia, the chancellor of Pohelrnia, stopped her work and gasped in shock at the unbelievable news relayed by the messenger.

The messenger bowed his head, showing a rare display of gloom rather than enjoying the sight of the chancellor, who was always known for her beauty and composure.

“Priegoss… What about the king?”

There was a deep sadness in Alia’s voice.

Yet the messenger could answer that question without difficulty.

“The king is safe. Although the situation worsened, both the soldiers and the Harmony Blades did their utmost to escort the king to safety.”

“…Those children…”

Alia let out a sigh of relief.

But soon, as she collected herself, a question arose in her mind.

How?

This was Priegoss’s first defeat in an expedition.

Yet Alia thought it was impossible.

These were soldiers who had fought nearly a hundred battles.

Moreover, those soldiers had learned martial arts from Araya, who was now missing.

Although they could not be compared to the succubi, who had lived for hundreds of years like herself and her siblings, they were several times faster than ordinary humans due to the mystical capabilities of the martial arts created by Araya.

Thanks to the wealth accumulated over a long time, their equipment was also excellent.

Additionally, did the sisters, who had also learned martial arts from Araya and had become stronger than during their time in the Eastern Continent, not join?

Excluding the absolute beings known as Elder Roas, they were already superhuman beings who had hunted as many as 72 Loas, the strongest entities on this star.

How on earth could mere barbarians beyond the desert triumph?

“…What is the situation now?”

“The king is guiding the citizens of nearby cities to evacuate as much as possible toward Pohelrn while retreating in stages.”

“…Have the enemies crossed over the desert?”

“After their victory in the desert, emboldened, they seem to have entered deep into our territory to pillage.”

Alia bit her lip.

The current structure of Pohelrnia, which still aimed to unite through force and make it one through technology and culture, was not solid yet.

If news of Priegoss’s defeat began to spread, citizens would likely not cooperate with Pohelrn until this war ended, whether they sided with the enemies or not.

What had occurred had occurred, and proper arrangements needed to be made.

While Alia remained silent, considering strategies in front of the bowed messenger, the outside grew chaotic.

“What is the commotion outside when we are discussing something important?”

“The high priest of the new covenant, Harmony Blade Antirame, has requested an audience with the chancellor.”

“Antirame?”

She had just received the situation through the messenger.

She was said to be retreating to aid Priegoss!

But it was precisely the moment to ask what exactly had been happening.

Why had they suffered defeat despite the Harmony Blade joining them?

Alia, who wanted to bring Antirame inside to ask about it, found herself unable to speak as she took in Antirame’s appearance.

As a high-ranking priest of the new covenant, Antirame, originally known for her pristine Harmony Blade attire, now bore the signs of distress.

Yet above all, her left shoulder and arms, leading into her torso, were missing.

Alia’s gaze fixated on the bloody bandages wrapped around what had once been limbs.

From that surface’s remnants, she could feel two very familiar energies.

One was the energy of her father, Ul Kanadiel; the other was…

“…No way. It can’t be.”

“…Sister Alia.”

Since the framework had been established, the positions of the chancellor and the high priest had been clearly defined, and the names used had become avoidable even in private.

As the Harmony Blade and succubus hailing from the Eastern Continent, Antirame continued with a labored voice.

“Algul. That pig has crossed the sea.”

An unresolved long-standing grudge began to close in on the sisters once more.

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