Chapter 277: |
Leobold received a report from Arma about the situation on the planet Mare.
There was nothing too unusual, but he was impressed by the fact that Lucia’s legion was on par with the ten demon kings.
“Her growth rate is fast. She might be able to absorb the whole of Mare soon.”
“However, the demon kings’ legions are not easy to deal with either. They also feel a sinister power from Lucia’s legion and form alliances.”
“The plague sub-entities didn’t have such high intelligence, though.”
The plagues of Mare were small in size, but each one boasted a remarkable intelligence.
The plague queen, who was called a demon king, was almost human-like.
Anyway, Lucia’s sudden appearance caused a big change in the power balance of Mare.
Arma reported that there were real demon kings underground in Mare.
“…What demon king?”
“The demon king of heat. She seems to have been influenced by Astera centuries ago.”
“Anyway, the nest looked different from the original plague queen. Can you check the underground side?”
“I’m currently making micro-drones.”
In fact, the demon kings of Mare were not a big problem.
No matter how many they were, they were no match for reactive bullets, and if he wanted to, he could build a mining ship and tear them apart from below.
But there was no need to do that unless they were related to the original plague queen.
And soon after, Leobold’s concern finally came true.
“This is Lucia’s report. She hears a strange voice. And it’s not just for a day or two.”
“What kind of voice?”
“A woman’s… very low-pitched. She says she is her small possibility and soon her future. She also knew that the plague evolves.”
“…She’s alive, Omega One.”
The plague queen he thought he had killed in the battle of the main star.
She was his equal as an omega-level psychic, and she was also worthy of being called Omega, so that was her codename.
He didn’t know where she was now, but she was whispering to Lucia for sure.
Leobold scanned around Lucia, but there was nothing unusual.
“She can’t enter this world, I guess. She can only communicate like Delphina’s soul did.”
“She doesn’t seem to do anything more than talking to her right now.”
“Increase the surveillance measures. It’ll be trouble if she shows up.”
His response would vary depending on how much power the plague queen who appeared in the solar system had.
If she had her full nest and legion, he would be doomed with his current force.
He was building space plants and other things to prevent that, but he needed more time.
Leobold admired the sight of his legion growing bigger from his beetle shape.
“They’re different from the plagues of Mare, aren’t they? They’re much bigger.”
“They might not be bound by the rules since they weren’t born in Mare.”
“They’ll be able to ride them like spaceships if they get a little bigger.”
The human alliance’s spaceships were imitations of plague entities.
Even the battleships and settlers at their peak were nothing but artificial plagues.
Anyway, since Omega One’s survival was confirmed, he had to cut off her contact with Lucia as much as possible.
“I don’t know when Lucia will turn to her side.”
“Why don’t we just k**l her? We can easily do it now.”
Leobold looked at his statue standing at the highest point of his nest.
Lucia made it herself, and his plague followers passed by with human-like salutes.
“Where did you learn that?”
“I watched some videos while I was staying in the settler’s hangar.”
He chuckled at her cute appearance, except for her size.
Yeah, let’s leave her alone for now…
She reported to him as soon as she heard the strange voice, so there was no possibility of betrayal for Lucia right now.
He didn’t know what would happen if Omega One’s influence grew stronger.
And soon after, Zigarion and Valgard requested a meeting with him.
It was about Altema’s bones that they were digging in Zaium.
***
“I’ll get straight to the point. Stop digging Altema’s bones.”
Leobold looked at Valgard and Zigarion who kicked in the door.
“Do you know how much money it cost to build that lab?”
“At least 50 million golds, no, 500 million credits…”
Zigarion muttered to himself, and Camilla’s followers also joined as research staff, so it was hard to scrap it right away.
But Valgard was stubborn.
“I know. But it’s better to stop it now. The same goes for the experiment with the branch of Yggdrasil.”
He sounded like he was giving an order, which meant he knew the truth.
Reviving Altema’s soul was not a trivial matter for him.
Leobold pulled out a chair and offered it to him.
“Don’t be so excited and sit down and talk calmly.”
“Fine.”
Valgard drank the hot tea that Arma brought in one gulp and said.
“That excavation site, it’s not just digging Altema’s bones and raising funds. Your goal is to collect soul fragments with the branch of Yggdrasil and revive Altema, right?”
“…Did you feel her soul?”
“Damn, my ether heart vibrated so much that I couldn’t sleep at night. How could I not know unless I’m an idiot?”
“Our contract is still valid, I guess. So what’s your relationship with Altema’s soul?”
“Altema’s purpose is… different from yours.”
“So you’re going to fight? You didn’t even listen to me?”
“No, she was betrayed by humans. As soon as her soul wakes up, she’ll ask you who you are and reveal her true colors.”
It was a sharp jab, but Leobold looked like he was asking, so what?
“Did you think I wouldn’t know?”
“Of course… Wait, what do you mean? You knew?”
“The elf princess liked to record things and wrote down various things in her notes. I also confirmed similar contents in the infinite library. You must be one of the Gram royal family, right?”
“You knew…”
He was curious what he didn’t know at this point.
Valgard spilled out what he had not said before.
“My contract with Altema was to keep it until she summoned the creator god.”
“The creator god? You mean Rasa? Everyone thought it was a kind of concept that didn’t really exist.”
“That’s a lie. I don’t know about the lower deities, but the deities who oversee the major concepts such as power, magic, and mind, and the strong dragons like Altema and Kronak knew. Rasa is the only true god.”
Zigarion was not a strong dragon, so he waved his hand in surprise when Leobold looked at him.
“I really didn’t know.”
“I didn’t expect you to. So why didn’t you tell me when I said I was looking for a prophet?”
“It matches what I said earlier… Altema is known as the first dragon to appear. Even when the oldest dragon besides her was born, she was already an adult.”
“So Rasa created Altema.”
“That’s probably the case. Anyway, her true purpose is… to summon the Creator and make a wish. She wants to rule over this Astera.”
At this point, Leobold glanced at Zigarion.
“Unlike some dragon who wants to extend his life.”
“Why are you bringing me up all of a sudden?”
He ignored Zigarion’s protest and continued.
“Why did she have such a goal? Was it because she hated the elves like me?”
“Altema is the first dragon to be born. She is the history of Astera itself. To her, this Astera is nothing but injustice. She has seen for herself that there has been no progress except for airships and Goliaths, even after thousands of years.”
“Then she should become my subordinate. I will change everything.”
“That’s the problem. Altema will never listen to the king. To her, humans are nothing but contemptible and untrustworthy beings.”
“She will change her mind after meeting me.”
Leobold looked confident, but Valgard had a different opinion.
This was not a matter of power.
“Of course, the king is strong. He might even defeat Altema. But her soul is immortal, as you can tell from the fact that she has lived for thousands of years. She will disappear from the king’s sight in an instant and work for her own purpose.”
“If summoning Rasa is her goal, then I’m glad. That’s my goal too. If she summons Rasa, maybe I can greet him as well. But it would be awkward to say hello to a god.”
“How frustrating. If Altema summons Rasa, the king’s life will be over! Have you thought about what wish she will make?”
Valgard raised his voice, but Leobold only smiled.
The beings of Astera did not know his relationship with the prophet.
He was born with the blessing of the prophet, and his entire life of over 120 years was closely related to the prophet.
The main reason he came here was to meet the prophet.
Leobold looked into Valgard’s eyes and opened his mouth quietly.
“I know that Altema’s goal is similar but different from mine. You’re angry because you’re afraid we’ll clash. But you should persuade Altema, not me.”
“I can’t talk to her when her soul is not complete. That’s why I’m telling you in advance.”
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll try to talk to her anyway. She won’t run away as soon as she sees me, right?”
“She might run away because you’re ugly. Altema cares a lot about appearance. When I was with her, she heard some rumors and…”
Zigarion was about to say something nonsense, but he shut his mouth when he saw Valgard’s terrifying gaze.
He felt like he was being crushed by a champion, even though he was a dragon.
Valgard seemed to relax a bit and sighed.
“If, if she rejects the king, I can’t stay here either.”
“Are you going to follow Altema?”
“I promised to protect her until she summons Rasa. Now that she’s alive again, I can’t close my eyes until she fulfills it.”
“But I’m the one who brought you back to life.”
“Isn’t my service so far enough?”
“I don’t want to compare and weigh that. But I have one piece of advice for you… don’t become my enemy by any means.”
Valgard looked into Leobold’s eyes.
He saw a steady gaze that had endured decades of sailing with a single determination to meet the prophet.
If Altema wanted him to be her enemy, Valgard might not be safe either.
‘Damn it, he looks like he’s ready to d*e even though he just woke up.’
He got up and bowed his head slightly to Leobold before leaving.
Zigarion, who was restless, asked cautiously.
“Are you going to fight Valgard?”
“It depends on what Altema decides.”
“Then why don’t you just leave her alone?”
“I’m interested in how she summons Rasa. I can’t miss it if I can talk to her. By the way, you won’t betray me, right?”
Zigarion jumped up from his seat.
“Why would I betray you? I just want to live long. I don’t want a better life than this.”
The name of the dragon of justice who protected Bargran was quite high.
Naturally, Zigarion received praise from the citizens of Roseron and was treated well enough to get a meal as he passed by.
They would be shocked if they knew his true personality, but fortunately that never happened.
“That’s good then. Altema will surely talk to you when she wakes up. Behave yourself.”
Now Zigarion transformed into his usual cowering mode.
He was afraid of how the first and most powerful dragon would treat him when she realized his existence.
He even ran away without fighting in the Great War.
“She won’t even treat me as a dragon, damn it.”
“Have some confidence, you have the Dragon Heart surgery, you’re strong enough. Do you want me to do it again?”
“No, never.”
Zigarion ran away, not wanting to go through that pain again.
Leobold smiled and turned his eyes to the excavation site.
The Soul Collector connected to the branch of Yggdrasil was shining and gathering Altema’s soul.
***
The Bandas County in Zaium was originally a military base, so there were hardly any proper facilities.
The only facility was the one for researching the dragon bones that had recently begun to be excavated.
This research institute was headed by Camilla, who managed to raise a lot of funds thanks to her skills.
It was mainly the money from Zaium and Denova.
What they were after was not Altema’s bones, but the ruins and countless treasures buried under them.
—The relics of the Great War are very popular. You found a lot of them, so King Bandas is very lucky.
—He wasn’t short of money, why did he make such a big deal?
—People who have a lot of money tend to crave more money. If they make a big deal, it becomes an issue and they can make more money by advertising the relics of the Great War.
As he said, the Great War was a huge-scale event and received a lot of attention.
The relics, let alone the remaining records, were almost gone, so maybe the enthusiasts were rushing in with frenzy.
Anyway, the name of the most powerful dragon who fought with the humans against the gods was not weak, and it succeeded in attracting many people to the excavation site.
Even Emperor Barak, who had a bad relationship with Leobold, came by in his spare time.
Of course, he didn’t meet him, but he showed interest by asking this and that to Camilla, the person in charge.
“Altema had quite a few champions, didn’t she? My family is also from her champion’s bloodline. Are there any relics left?”
He seemed to be obsessed with his bloodline because he was from a collateral branch, not a direct one.
Altema’s champion was still alive, but strangely enough, Zaium’s nobles were reluctant to mention him.
It’s not like Valgard would disappear if they didn’t mention him.
“The relics are what you name them, aren’t they?”
She meant that she would make them if there weren’t any, and Emperor Barak expressed his satisfaction.
“Indeed, Count Croitz has a generous heart.”
“My husband would feel the same. It was just the situation that made it so.”
“Well, Galisto might be so, but…”
Emperor Barak was about to scold him for a while, but he felt embarrassed when he remembered that Grand Duke Pangral attacked her territory.
No matter how urgent it was, he shouldn’t have done that. And because of that, public opinion in the empire favored Leobold.
The main reason was that they couldn’t pick a fight with him, who had Zigarion and Altema’s champion.
“Anyway, I’ll trust only you on this matter.”
Emperor Barak patted Camilla’s shoulder and left with his attendants.
Camilla listened to the conversation of the merchants from Denova.
She couldn’t hear them from a distance, but Arma relayed it to her.
“Are those really Altema’s bones?”
“Shh. We got a message from the homeland about that. Pretend you don’t know and lend them money.”
“Why did they suddenly do that? Wasn’t Altema our greatest enemy?”
“She was a dragon of light. She was so powerful that she had many champions and never refused a battle until the end… But now that she’s dead and only bones are left, I guess fate is inevitable.”
“…Actually, there’s a rumor in the intelligence agency that humans were involved in Altema’s death. So they think Altema’s soul will hate humans more than us elves.”
“My goodness… What if her soul wakes up?”
“I don’t know how much power her soul has, but considering her combat skills in life, it won’t be ordinary. At least this place will be blown up.”
“He wants his rival’s downfall more than money.”
“He failed so far, so one success wouldn’t hurt, right? It would save his family’s face.”
“Let’s go somewhere else and talk. There are too many ears here.”
The elf merchants looked around and left the site.
Camilla suppressed a laugh.
The story she heard from her husband before leaving here came out of the elf merchants’ mouths.
Leobold knew what fate Altema had met and prepared for it.
He had no intention of returning the money to the elves who invested in this excavation site.
If he overthrew Denova, the debt would disappear anyway.
Not that Leobold always solved the situation like this.
He only responded in a reasonable way because the elves did all kinds of petty things.
‘Not much time left…’
The branch of Yggdrasil in the eastern military road had started to gather souls for a while, and soon Altema’s soul would revive.
Would she vent her anger on the elves, her eternal enemies, or turn her eyes of hatred on the humans who betrayed her?
It was an interesting topic to say the least.
Time passed and thousands of people came and went to the excavation site. Then the branch of Yggdrasil burst into a dazzling golden light.
Altema’s soul woke up after 200 years.
—Aaaah!
What the people at the site heard was a horrible scream.
