763. [Side Story]
The grace period remaining until the final puzzle stage 46 is not very long.
Even though I worked hard and beat the previous stages, I only gained a few weeks of time. In fact, you could say that I gained this much time because I worked hard.
After finishing the repairs on the equipment that was being repaired earlier, I made new equipment with the newly acquired magical cores.
Upgrade the overall equipment level of your soldiers. Expanding various water-based artifacts. Conducting training of soldiers.
Holding funerals for the dead and executing a budget for the living…
while frantically and steadily preparing for the next stage.
At the same time, a grand strategy for the true ending was being prepared.
Doo doo doo doo!
La Mancha, which had been dispatched north during the break, returned to the Crossroads.
There was something like a huge black wedge hanging at the bottom of La Mancha, and it was because of that that the only ship on the front line was dispatched.
La Mancha carefully placed the black wedge on the eastern field and the ship landed next to it. I quickly ran there.
“Abama!”
After landing, La Mancha’s hatch opened and the emperor and magicians poured out.
The emperor wore a prosthetic leg and an eyepatch over his missing eye, but his missing arm was left with its sleeves fluttering.
“Did you have a good time?”
As soon as I showed my courtesy, the emperor walked out with a carefree gait, probably because he had just gotten used to the prosthetic leg, and started babbling.
“It’s like a scary son-in-law who makes his father work even though his body is such a mess.”
“Because it was something that only Abama could do.”
“Eh… it’s done. Anyway, I brought it just as you asked.”
The emperor glanced at the black wedge.
“It’s the Everblack body.”
The identity of that black wedge is the condensation of Everblack, the guardian beast of humanity.
Everblack itself, which remained in New Terra, was moved here to be transplanted to Crossroads.
“Why don’t we move the walls from New Terra, the guardian trees, and then the palace?”
“Haha… thank you and I’m sorry.”
Of course, I would bring everything, including the palace, if it would help stop the monsters. For now, this Everblack is enough.
The wizards who came down from the ecliptic drove a black wedge into the eastern plains, drew a magic circle, and performed some magic… Before long, the wedge changed its shape into a huge thorn tree and dug into the ground.
“As you may know, Everblack’s roots reach into the spirit world. The location here in this world doesn’t really mean much. “The position of the body of the spirit world does not change.”
The emperor looked at me intently.
“Nevertheless, the reason you asked for a transplant is because there is a reason, son?”
“That’s right.”
I added softly as I stroked the trunk of the thorn tree, which quickly grew and expanded into a huge area.
“This is absolutely necessary in order to reach the true ending I envisioned.”
***
The relocated Everblack quickly recovered its function, and I was able to connect to the spirit world for the first time in a long time.
“Are you accompanying me here?”
The emperor found it absurd, but agreed to my request to accompany him.
“I said it was necessary to protect the empire, so how could I refuse it? We need to take the lead in reforming ourselves. “It seems like we’ve already done a lot of breaking up and reforming.”
Then he flutters one empty sleeve as if showing off.
This guy… he’s acting like that with a solemn expression, so I’m not sure if it’s a joke or an afterthought…
“Let’s go, Mom.”
“OK.”
There are many reasons why I moved the Everblack body.
One of them was the confirmation of the coordinates for entering the spirit world.
It is not difficult to connect to the spirit world by combining Everblack’s twigs, but the coordinates of that method are randomly thrown around when entering. In other words, you don’t know where you will land in the spirit world.
However, if you connect through Everblack’s main body in the real world, you can enter by following Everblack, which is rooted in the spirit world.
My destination – This means that this is the most optimized way to get down to the roots of Everblack.
with a plop…!
The emperor and I, who had entered a spiritual state after wading through a torrent of magic that swirled like a turbid current, swam beneath the spirit world as if we were diving together.
In the spirit world, the emperor’s eyes, arms, and legs were all intact.
I looked to see what it was like and it didn’t look much different compared to before, but instead, there was a red fire and a black fire in my chest, slowly rotating.
And above my head, a silver crown-like halo floats.
“….”
I decided not to think too much about it. Let’s think of it as a skin that came with the power-up…
It flew through the sky full of aurora, where a curtain of colorful light spread, and swam in the air for a while before delving into the spirit world below.
Everblack’s trunk and roots stretched from the edge of the sky in the spirit world to the bottom of the earth, and the Emperor and I slowly glided down along these roots.
So, after a long time, I reached the end of the root.
Shoot….
The scenery of the spirit world has not changed at all compared to my previous visit.
The appearance of a pure white beach with colorless, transparent sea water.
“I was imprisoned here for quite some time.”
The emperor seemed to have extraordinary emotions upon returning to the scene of the Ishin Battle, where he had fought for his entire life.
“It’s surprising that this place, which I always thought was a battlefield, can be so peaceful.”
“….”
I looked towards the sea.
There, four giants stood still like stone statues, looking down at us.
Isin, the guardian deity of a different race.
He is currently the representative deity of different races who are lending their strength to our World Defense Front.
In the past, they had fought with the emperor to the death, but now they just looked at us with inorganic gaze.
“So why did you come here?”
The emperor looked around and asked me.
“What business is there in this empty space between life and death?”
“This way.”
I led the way down the long thorny stems of the Everblack.
And when we arrived, she was still there.
The ends of black thorn branches woven like a net.
At the end, her entire body was tied and hanging.
Blood continued to flow from all parts of her body that had been pierced by thorns, and the blood dripped down, setting her body on fire.
Bleeding from the wound. Burning alive at the same time.
Functioning as live firewood that supplies heat to the thorn tree…
The goddess still had a calm face.
“long time no see.”
I showed courtesy.
“Goddess.”
“Hehe. It wasn’t that long by my standards, but yeah. It’s been a while since I last saw you. ash.”
The goddess turned her head and smiled softly as she looked at the emperor who followed me.
“And Traha too.”
I looked back at the emperor. Because it was thought that the emperor would also show respect to the goddess.
“….”
However, the emperor did not show any reaction and looked around coldly at this space that was bordered by the stems and roots of the thorn tree that fell from the sky.
I asked, feeling a little puzzled.
“Abama? Don’t you say hello to the goddess?”
“…What on earth were you talking about a moment ago?”
The emperor frowned and looked straight at me.
“There is nothing here.”
“…?!”
I turned around again.
The burning woman definitely exists there. With a slightly more sad smile on his face.
“Can’t you see the goddess, Abama?”
“What do you mean by goddess, Ash?”
“Are you saying you can’t see the burning woman tied up in the air over there?”
“I see neither fire nor woman.”
The emperor shook his head slightly.
“I can only see empty and cold nothingness.”
***
The emperor left the space. Standing alone in front of the goddess, I asked carefully.
“Why can’t Abama see you?”
“Hehe. ash. “It’s the opposite.”
The burning woman laughed bitterly.
“Not everyone in the world can observe me. Because I am a ‘non-existence’. Because I was imprisoned under those conditions. So no one can find me or touch me. “You are special.”
“Then why do I…?”
“I told you before. Dustia is my descendant. And so do you, who inherited Dustia’s blood.”
I thought of my mother, Dustia, and the curse of ancestral lineage passed down to me from her.
“The Curse of Return… Then that can’t be it.”
“okay. It started with me. “The curse I received in return for a wish granted in the distant past has been passed down from generation to generation.”
The goddess gave an apologetic look.
“Because of that curse, all of my descendants met a difficult fate. “I’m really sorry about that.”
“….”
“But at the end of all the tangled threads of fate, you were born, and you came to meet me, who was forgotten by everyone… This may be a selfish thing to say, but I’m a little happy.”
I had a question and asked carefully.
“I see you were communicating with Ader… but how were you communicating with that guy?”
“Because that child made the same choice as me. So we were able to connect with each other.”
Did Ader make the same choice as the goddess?
I wanted to ask more, but the goddess didn’t seem to want to talk about Ader.
“I want to hear Ader’s story. “I don’t think I can talk about that child’s decision.”
“….”
“I’ll tell you anything else instead. “Now you are fully qualified to do so.”
The goddess smiled kindly.
“What concerns have you come to see me today, my distant descendant?”
I took a small breath and looked straight up at the goddess.
“Can you tell me your story, Goddess?”
The reason why she was imprisoned here like this, which I couldn’t hear last time.
– In return for bringing fire to mankind. And in return for keeping that fire going. I decided to be punished by burning my body for eternity.
The reason this world is like this now.
The goddess is strongly involved in it.
I was convinced that the goddess was the last puzzle I could lay my hands on.
The goddess tilted her head to the side.
“It doesn’t matter to me, but it’s probably a long and boring story, right? “Aren’t you very busy?”
“It’s absolutely necessary, and more than anything…”
I smiled slyly and sat down comfortably in front of the goddess.
“What could be more enjoyable than hearing grandchildren talk about their grandmother?”
In the midst of the flames, the goddess smiled, rolling her eyes.
“This guy is so cute…”
And the goddess slowly opened her mouth and started talking. A story about a thief who stole magical fire
in the distant past
and brought it to the human world…
***
After hearing the whole story, I left Everblack’s roots.
The emperor was standing on the beach and talking about various things with the gods. The other day, I felt strange seeing people who were fighting to the death talking to each other so calmly.
“Are you done with your business Ash?”
“yes.”
“Okay then, let’s go back soon. “It seems like quite a long time has already passed.”
After saying goodbye to the gods, the emperor took the lead and soared into the air along the thorn tree trunk.
Breathtaking magical turbulence struck in front of us like a whip, shaking our course, but Everblack led the way, and we followed the lighthouse’s instructions and emerged safely toward reality.
Just like that, I was returning to reality.
“…ash.”
“yes.”
“Was there really a goddess there?”
“That’s right.”
After hesitating for a moment, the emperor asked carefully.
“Is Dustia also involved?”
“….”
I nodded slightly.
“yes.”
“Yes, I see…”
The emperor hesitated for a moment and swallowed his words before letting out a long breath.
“ash. “I was not a good husband.”
“….”
“But I want to be a good father.”
I chuckled.
“You are already a good enough father.”
“….”
The emperor glanced back at me with two beautiful eyes whose intentions were unknown.
The next moment, his face suddenly aged and an eyepatch covered one of his eyes. One strong arm and one leg disappeared, turning into an empty sleeve and prosthetic leg.
Shoot…!
You have escaped the spirit world and returned to reality.
As soon as they returned next to Everblack, the waiting troops immediately bowed down and greeted the emperor.
“Long live your majesty, the great emperor! “I recognize the supremacy of the empire!”
“Congratulations on your safe return, Your Majesty!”
The emperor accepted the salute with a light gesture.
“okay. “How many days have we been in there?”
“It’s been a week, Your Majesty!”
I, who was walking while supporting the emperor, was startled. A week or so has passed?
Lucas, who was waiting with the other knights, nodded heavily at me.
“…The invasion of the next monster army will begin soon, my lord.”
“What have I instructed you to do so far?”
“We have prepared everything diligently.”
Lucas smiled slightly and winked.
“Have you had any results from what you have been doing?”
“okay.”
I looked back at Everblack, who had expanded in all directions over the past week and had become huge, and muttered softly.
“I definitely got the last puzzle.”
And also confirmed.
The path of attack that I will follow.
I will be resented by all mankind as the world’s worst tyrant, but there is only one path to the true ending.
