Inside a spacecraft in Mid sector 101-
Inside one of the sealed rooms of the vessel, a young man was sitting on a leather seat, both hands resting firmly on the armrests. His posture was rigid, disciplined. His breathing was controlled, asured. His heartbeat steady and rhythmic, as if he were forcing his body into artificial calm.
But suddenly-
The young man's eyes snapped open and he scread, "Aaaaah!!"
He shot up from his seat in a violent motion, kicked the nearest table with savage force bang, then turned and punched the very seat that had held him for nearly an hour, his knuckles crashing into the leather.
It was Lord Damir, the son of the Curse Behemoth.
"Human... Human, you bastard!!" Damir roared, his voice thick with rage and hatred.
While checking the ssages from his generals and intelligence units involved in the war, a new reply suddenly appeared before him, a response to a ssage he had sent to Lord Human.
His movents beca sharp and quick as he opened it imdiately.
He had been hoping to find an offer of reconciliation.
Or at least so sign of respect.
So diplomatic tone.
Anything.
So he could reply with another ssage, request a personal eting, or propose sothing that would allow him to withdraw from the war entirely without losing face.
But the ssage's content was brutally simple.
Cold.
Direct.
rciless.
A declaration of direct war against him....
and against the Cursed Behemoth.
"That worthless bastard, that book-rat, that pathetic, valueless trash!!" Damir clenched his teeth violently, his jaw trembling with fury. "Just because he has so money to support that doooooog Hedrick, he thinks he can talk to like this? Fine. Fine, you nouveau riche trash. You're telling to forget my fiancée because your naless son wants her?!"
Bam
Damir smashed another object in his path, shards scattering across the floor, then stord toward the door.
"If Sirene is not going to be my wife," he growled, his voice low and murderous, "then she will be my sacrifice!!"
Then bam, he struck the door and shouted with all his strength,
"Start the engines! We're attacking the Bright Galaxy again today! We must-!!"
At that mont, Damir caught sothing out of the corner of his eye.
A number of officers were gathered around sothing in the command area. Sothing that looked like a holographic recording.
A luminous projection of a blind figure.
"The Cosmic Elder?!" Damir jolted violently and started moving toward them.
".......!!!"
Damir froze in place.
One foot back.
One foot forward.
His body locked in mid-step.
It was as if ti itself had stopped around him.
He continued watching with an empty mind and unfocused eyes for several long seconds, his thoughts completely blank, his rage suspended in confusion and shock.
Until he finally heard the sentence:
"Hoo..."
Damir released a long, heavy breath, as if he had just rembered how breathing worked, as if his lungs had been frozen until that mont.
He leaned forward, placing both hands on his knees.
Creak
Slowly, he lifted his head and looked back at the Cosmic Elder's image.
"He said it himself..." Damir whispered.
"He can't bla us if we kill him..."
"He said it himself."
Then his expression hardened, his eyes igniting with renewed resolve.
He straightened and roared,
"Move! Start the engines!!"
"What? Y-yes, sir!!"
The officers jumped to their feet and began moving in multiple directions, rushing to their stations, while still glancing back over their shoulders, trying desperately to hear the rest of the recording as it continued to play behind
them.
Mid sector 96-
Lord Saher furrowed his brows, his expression tightening with a mix of confusion and frustration. "I don't understand the Cosmic Elder. Why would he go out of his way to publicly declare his full, legitimate support for Lord Human, or as we now know him, Lord Robin Burton, even calling him a close friend who saved his life... only to imdiately follow that by stating that he will not interfere in Lord Robin's personal matters, and urging all the academies to do the sa?"
He shook his head slowly, a shadow of disappointnt crossing his face. "It's unfortunate. If that particular part had been removed from the recording, Lord Robin would have instantly beco the most untouchable individual in the universe. No one would dare even look him in the eye. The likes of Sorcerer Zargul would be trembling in fear, paralyzed, incapable of acting. Truly, I
cannot comprehend it."
Saher let out a long, low sigh. "The Cosmic Elder is neutral and just, as history has always recorded. His fairness is absolute... yet sotis it is
incomprehensible."
"....." Temporal Arkail remained intently focused on the recording, his eyes narrowing slightly as he absorbed every detail. "It's not that simple." "Hm?" Saher turned his gaze toward him. "Do you an the Cosmic Elder's
justice?"
"It's not a question of justice," Arkail replied calmly, stroking his long, flowing beard as if the motion helped him think. "He knows precisely what he is doing. He elevates Lord Robin's status so that the heads of the academies obey him implicitly. At the sa ti, he carefully separates himself from Lord Robin, ensuring that his own na is not linked to Robin's many wars, his vast ambitions, and the enormous plans he has... ambitions of which you and I know
only a fraction."
He gestured subtly toward the holographic projection of the Cosmic Elder. "From his tone, the structure of his speech, and the repeated insistence on separating personal matters from academic ones... I would conclude that this recording was made at Lord Robin's explicit request, perhaps in exchange for a favor he rendered to the Elder."
A faint smile appeared on Arkail's face. "The Cosmic Elder was likely slightly annoyed by the insistence, and added that part deliberately, perhaps just to toy
with him a little."
"..." Saher raised his eyebrows. "You can deduce all of that just from watching
the recording?"
Arkail showed a small, knowing smile. "If I were in his place, I would have done exactly the sa. That is all there is to it."
Mid sector 99 - Dawnlight Academy
"The founder of this academy is Lord Human?" asked one of the students, a
dark-skinned girl with a scar running across her forehead. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest as she spoke. "I always knew that Morgana wasn't truly qualified to host the progeny of the Cosmic Elder."
"That was obvious," another student said, frowning slightly. "She's a good teacher, but that's all. There are countless good teachers. No one ca here for
her specifically."
"Hm. Lord Human has recently risen in fa. His na spreads everywhere, and everyone talks about his imnse wealth. But I never imagined he had influence like this," said a young man with dark, scaly skin and small horns on his head. "Now he has money, connections, and legitimacy... everything he needs to beco a genuine cosmic power. What a remarkable way to step onto
the stage of the universe."
"Hey!" a girl with small antennae on her head clapped her hands together. "Did you catch his na? Robin Burton... Burton!!"
All the students furrowed their brows as a sudden realization struck them, and
they turned toward a specific direction.
There, around fifty humans stood watching the recording in the sa focused
manner. Their faces showed no fear, no shock. No... small smiles played on their lips, their gazes confident and proud, as if they had morized every word of the announcent by heart.
They were the newest generation of the Burton family-the obscure family that
holds the sa status in the academy as the children of the Cosmic Elder.
Anyone who dared to anger them or challenge them would be expelled imdiately.
"When the reason is known, the wonder disappears..." muttered one student
quietly.
Now they understood why the Burton children received such special treatnt. They were the family of Lord Human-the academy's owner. No...
more than that: the owner of the Cosmic Academies. "Hehe" a student chuckled softly, pointing toward a direction. "Soone
doesn't look too well."
Once again, all the students' attention shifted, this ti in another direction. Quiet laughter and small smiles spread across their faces.
It was the academy director, Morgana. Her pale face was frozen, her mouth
agape, a mixture of disbelief and confusion written clearly across her features. the Cosmic Elder's recording continued, his voice firm and serious,
User Comments
0 comments from readers