“...What did you say?”
At Alon’s question, the Wanderer fell silent for a mont before speaking.
[Just as I said. That is the power of Monster blood. More precisely, it is the power of the second.]
“...The second?”
[Yes.]
At the Wanderer’s calm reply, Alon thought for a mont before opening his mouth.
“If possible, could you tell about Monster blood?”
[About Monster blood.]
“Yes. Even if it is only what you know.”
At that, the Wanderer sank into thought for a mont.
[To be honest, there is not much I know clearly myself. At most, what I can tell you is the process behind the birth of Monster blood.]
“...The birth of Monster blood?”
[Yes.]
And then it began speaking about Monster blood.
[Before anything else, let ask just in case. Are you aware that Monster blood were originally Divine blood?]
“I have heard sothing along those lines before.”
[...Then, in truth, that ans I have already told most of the story.]
The Wanderer let out a thoughtful hum, remained silent for a while, then spoke again.
[As you already know, the Divine blood that exist here all fundantally share one goal.]
“...You an becoming a god?”
[Correct. Of course, there are rare exceptions like , or those who were never interested in becoming a true god in the first place, but ordinarily, the goal of Divine blood is to beco a god.]
“...Did the Divine blood before they beca Monster blood have so different objective?”
Alon asked.
But the answer that ca from the Wanderer was unexpected.
[No?]
“Then...”
[From what I know, Monster blood were more desperate than anyone to beco gods. I even heard they committed vile acts without hesitation.]
“...I see.”
[On the contrary, is there so reason you thought otherwise?]
“No. It was just that from the way you were speaking, it sounded like the story would go in the direction of ‘Divine blood used to be different.’ But apparently not.”
[As I said, it was the opposite. Monster blood supposedly ca closer than anyone to truly becoming a god.]
“...They ca close to becoming a true god?”
[Yes.]
The Wanderer continued speaking without much change in tone.
[You know this already, do you not? This continent is a seedbed created for the birth of a god, and unless a god is born, the sa cycle repeats endlessly.]
“I do.”
[Monster blood could have broken that cycle from the very beginning. Because the primordial victor, whom no one now properly rembers, was Monster blood. But as you can see—]
“...They did not beco a god?”
[Correct.]
The Wanderer closed its mouth for a mont as though thinking, then continued.
[He did not beco a god.]
“...Do you know why?”
[No. No one knows why it refused to beco a god.]
“Why is that?”
[Isn’t it obvious? Think carefully about what it ans for him to have obtained the chance to beco a god.]
“Ah.”
A quiet exclamation escaped Alon.
Just as the Wanderer said, for a Divine blood to obtain the chance to beco a god ant that no other Divine blood remained in the world besides him.
When Alon nodded in understanding, the Wanderer continued.
[That is why no one knows why it did not beco a god. But one thing is certain. The mont it chose not to beco a god, it also chose to remain on the surface.]
“...Remain on the surface?”
[When all Divine blood die, they return to the sky. If no god appears, then according to the laws, they restore their bodies again and repeat the sa actions once the conditions are fulfilled. But Monster blood were different.]
“......”
[Monster blood remained on the surface. I do not know how or for what reason, but that much was certain. And imdiately afterward, it began restraining the Divine blood.]
“...Restraining them?”
[Yes. So that none of us could beco gods. Perhaps—]
The Wanderer paused briefly before continuing.
[—as though it wished for this world to repeat its cycle forever.]
“......”
[That is the process behind the birth of Monster blood as I know it.]
Alon remained silent for a mont at the Wanderer’s words before continuing with another question.
“Then what are the children of Monster blood?”
[Quite literally, those who inherited the power of Monster blood.]
“...Those who inherited the power of Monster blood?”
[Did I not tell you? That Monster blood interfered with the Divine blood.]
“You did.”
[When Monster blood interfered with the Divine blood, it was not the main body itself that appeared. It was the four sons and daughters who inherited its power.]
“......”
As Alon quietly fell into thought, the Wanderer cleared its throat softly.
[In any case, that is all I know. As I said, what you brought is the ability of the second among them.]
At those words, Alon looked once at the flask before putting it back into his pocket.
“Thank you for telling .”
[It was nothing.]
Right after that—
[More importantly, since you ca here, I assu you heard the story already. Shall I begin speaking about my side of things now?]
“Yes.”
At the Wanderer’s words, Alon nodded.
“I heard that all the Divine blood are going to fall.”
[That is correct. Though we did buy a little ti.]
“You bought ti?”
[Yes. For so reason, the shattered sky stabilized slightly.]
Though it is only a few months at most, the Wanderer added before continuing.
[In any case, we gained a little more ti.]
“...Just in case I ask— is there any way to stop the Divine blood that are falling?”
[No. There is not.]
“Not even one?”
[No. I can say that with certainty.]
“...This will not be easy.”
As Alon let out a quiet sigh, the Wanderer continued.
[But that does not an things will inevitably reach the absolute worst-case scenario. Not if we prepare properly.]
“...Prepare?”
[Yes. Prepare.]
And the Wanderer continued speaking.
####
After so ti had passed—
[Then I will leave the rest to you. It seems my ti is almost up.]
“...Was there a ti limit?”
[Compared to last ti, I certainly have more leeway, but yes.]
The Wanderer spoke as though it had finished everything it needed to say.
[We will probably et face-to-face next ti. Ah, and there is one more thing I should say.]
“...There is still more?”
[This is only within the realm of concern, but—]
After leaving Alon with “one final thing”—
“...Is that really true?”
[It is only speculation, but I would like you to confirm it. As I said, if what I suspect is true, then that may beco the first step of the preparations.]
“...Understood.”
With those final words, the Wanderer vanished.
And after leaving the room, now completely silent, Alon decided to remain in Rosario for a day at Yuman’s suggestion that he should at least rest before leaving.
“So what exactly did you hear?”
The mont they entered the surprisingly spacious room prepared through the consideration of Yuman and Yutia, Evan asked the question.
At that, Alon recalled the Wanderer’s words and spoke.
“It told to prepare.”
“Prepare?”
“Yes.”
If one divided the things the Wanderer told Alon, there were three main points.
The first was that the Divine blood would descend in less than a year—a fact Alon had already more or less suspected himself.
The second was that, surprisingly, although all the Divine blood would descend, their number would not actually be that large.
“...Not large?”
“Yes. Apparently only around ten will descend at first.”
“...What? Ten?”
“Yes.”
“That is all?”
“For the second stage.”
At Alon’s words, Evan made a strange expression.
“No, but if it is only around ten, doesn’t that sound manageable?”
Evan asked.
And to a certain extent, his reasoning made sense.
After all, to soone who had seen first-tier Divine blood swarming everywhere, the number ten honestly did not sound that large.
But despite that, Alon could not think of it so lightly because of what the Wanderer had added afterward.
‘Rember this well, Star Eater. The ones descending from now on are different from the incomplete things you have faced until now.’
‘...To that extent?’
‘Even if you gathered every Divine blood currently existing on this surface together, it would still be impossible to oppose the Divine blood descending from now on— no, the karmas.’
‘...Those ten possess that much power?’
At the question from the Alon within that mory, the Wanderer fell silent for a mont before muttering—
‘...It seems my explanation was insufficient.’
And then it declared:
‘...Listen carefully, Star Eater. I am not talking about ten of them. I am talking about what even a single one of the karmas descending from now on can do.’
That was what it said.
And rembering those words now, Alon thought of the final third thing the Wanderer had told him.
‘...At least the fortunate part is that the next stage will remain sealed for a certain period even after descending onto the surface.’
anwhile, Evan, who had been tilting his head while watching the suddenly quiet Alon, seed to catch onto his mood without much difficulty.
“...Just asking in case, but are these ten sothing like several hundred tis stronger than the current Divine blood?”
he asked.
And—
“Surprisingly enough, that is fairly close to the truth.”
“...That really is not easy, then. At that point, does preparation even matter anymore?”
At Evan’s continued question—
“...That may not necessarily be true. Assuming what I heard was correct.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Recalling the Wanderer’s words, Alon continued.
“Ah, and once we return to the territory, I think I will need to head to the Empire imdiately.”
“...The Empire?”
“Yes. I had already intended to go, but—”
Murmuring that there was now sothing he needed to confirm, Alon briefly recalled the Wanderer’s words before suddenly asking:
“...By the way, where is Penia?”
He asked that because until now, his thoughts had been entirely focused on his conversation with the Wanderer.
And almost as if she had been waiting for that question—
“I’m right here.”
Penia entered the room, carrying a strangely determined expression.
“Where did you go?”
“Ah, I just had sothing to think about, so I was outside for a bit.”
Answering Alon’s question like that, Penia then said:
“Lord Alon.”
“What is it?”
“Would rubbing noses perhaps also be acceptable?”
“...What???”
“...Pardon?”
####
Around the ti Penia, far more nervous than expected, accidentally blurted out complete nonsense—
inside the room Alon had left behind, where no one else remained—
[...I wondered who it was that called for , but it was you.]
“Yes— I did not particularly want to speak with you, but there was sothing I needed to say.”
The Wanderer, who had disappeared after the ti during which it could manifest itself in this manner had ended, looked at a young girl—
No.
At Yutia Bloodia.
[The daughter of Monster blood.]
it said those words.
User Comments
0 comments from readers