Chapter 371
Chapter 371. King? Me? (1)
He barely regained consciousness.
"Then, why did you make a joke like that?"
"Mm~ I just wanted to let you know that, right now, around the Godfather there are only people whose hearts aren't entirely clean."
Alon's eyes, which were looking at Rine answering with complete naturalness, narrowed slightly.
"......Really?"
"Mm... in a certain part, yes. But even so, there is no one who would stab the Godfather in the back," Rine added with a smile.
Then, after glancing sideways at Alon's face, she revealed her true intention.
"Anyway, I won't be able to stay much longer."
"Mm? What do you mean?"
Rine nodded and then looked down, pointing downwards.
"...Huh?"
Alon saw it.
Rine's body was beginning to slowly disappear from the tips of her toes.
"What—?"
Alon frowned at the incomprehensible situation.
But only for an instant.
"Don't worry too much. I told you the other time, didn't I? That I am here thanks to an artifact."
"Then, what is happening now..."
"The usage time ran out. Normally I would have lasted one or two more months, but... you know, there were certain incidents."
"...If you use your power, does the time decrease?"
"Mm, it's a structure closer to an overload than simple energy consumption, but yes."
Alon nodded at Rine's explanation.
Although she didn't show her full strength in the battle against the Sin...
In the end, it was a quite fierce combat.
"In any case, I won't be able to see you again for a while."
Rine murmured, letting a hint of melancholy show.
For a very brief instant, an expression of slight sadness crossed her face.
Alon caught that instant and replied:
"I will visit you soon."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Then Rine erased that slight sadness as if it had been a lie, and smiled like a cunning little fox.
He had fallen for her game.
Alon didn't manage to finish his sentence.
"I am satisfied. After all, I was the first one to see the Godfather's face upon waking up, and now you yourself say that you will come to find me."
But Rine, as if nothing happened, maintained that mischievous and relaxed smile.
"I'll be waiting, Godfather."
After a light farewell, she disappeared completely.
Tok—
As soon as Rine disappeared, an object fell to the floor. It looked like a lithium battery, similar to those he had seen in his previous life.
When Alon picked it up...
"Ah, Lord Marquis!"
"Evan."
Evan opened the door and entered.
Alon greeted him calmly, and Evan, surprised for only a moment, rushed towards him with great concern.
"Is your body okay?!"
"Yes, it's not bad."
Evan quickly examined Alon's body, and seeing that he was fine, sighed in relief.
Then, with some nervousness, he asked:
"...And is your memory okay?"
"My memory?"
"Yes. Actually, when Lord Marquis fell unconscious, Rine said that perhaps your memories might be somewhat unstable."
Alon, after thinking about it for a moment, decided to play a little joke.
"...Certainly, I think I have some gaps."
"R-Really?"
"But don't worry. I still remember what's important: like that I promised to reduce your salary by half."
"...What?"
"What's wrong?"
"No, it's just... wasn't it to increase it by half?"
"I remember it as reducing it."
"B-But—"
Seeing how Evan's face turned pale in an instant, Alon let out a light laugh.
After that, the visits began to arrive... as if they had been waiting.
The first to come were:
Basiliora and Blackie, who curiously were with Yutia.
[Kkyu-kyuuu!]
[Now I will protect you~!]
He didn't know what had happened to them, but both were trembling slightly. Alon simply nodded.
After them, everyone who knew Alon arrived one after another.
Of course, amidst the conversations, there were awkward moments: like Ryanga or Seolrang hinting things to him about the memories they tried to implant in him, or Penia looking at him with eyes full of expectations...
Alon pretended not to notice anything, for everyone's sake and for his own peace of mind. A few more days passed between visits until his body recovered completely.
Only then was he able to find out the current situation in detail.
"A completely new entity?"
"Yes. For now, we call them monsters, but since the galaxy fell, totally unknown creatures have been appearing. And also with very varied forms."
"Is the situation very bad?"
At Alon's question, Evan shook his head.
"No, according to the reports, they aren't reaching that far."
"Ah, no?"
"No. If those monsters launched an attack without reason, it would be chaotic... but for now, there have only been sightings. They haven't attacked villages. Although..."
"Although, what?"
"If they start attacking, they say things will get extremely complicated."
"And if we also add the Gates..."
"Ah, that is fine."
"Fine?"
"Yes. I don't know if it was pure coincidence, but when the galaxy fell, all the remaining Gates disappeared."
"......All of them?"
"Yes."
The Milky Way... that is, the Divine Bloods fell, and at the same time the Gates disappeared.
Could it be a coincidence?
Alon wondered for a moment, then nodded.
"Is there any other matter?"
"Mm, apart from the meeting tomorrow that I mentioned, there doesn't seem to be anything important. Well... maybe Eliban."
"Eliban..."
Alon murmured, and Evan hurried to add:
"He still hasn't woken up from the coma."
"...How long do you think it will take?"
"Not even Rine could tell me."
Alon sighed.
To be honest, he hoped that Eliban would have woken up when he opened his eyes.
He had many questions for him.
"Anyway, that is what happened while you were unconscious."
Alon nodded and let out a long sigh.
Truly, after this battle, he also had too much to think about.
Even leaving aside the matter regarding Eliban.
The first thing was his divinity.
More exactly, the change in his body.
He closed his eyes and entered a state of contemplation.
He should see his divinity as always.
Yes, he should...
But no.
'It's not there.'
Alon saw a completely dark, empty interior.
He thought that perhaps he hadn't entered his inner world properly... but that wasn't the case.
He was, definitely, inside himself.
Only that... all his divinities had disappeared.
Even that one which radiated the sinister ominous light.
It was shocking.
Even so, Alon remained relatively serene. Because his divine power continued to function perfectly.
The divinity had disappeared, but the power was still there.
That was his first problem.
The second: the Divine Bloods that had fallen to the world, things he never saw in Psychedelia.
Alon had never seen the story subsequent to Psychedelia.
It was natural.
The game he enjoyed ended upon defeating the Sins.
So he now had to investigate the Divine Bloods. That force that sought to destroy the world.
Luckily, he had a place to obtain information.
"...Did Eliban have this?"
"Yes."
The Jewel of The One with Closed Eyes.
Alon observed in silence the black crystal he had been looking for for so long.
He didn't know why it was on Eliban's chest, but...
With that, perhaps he could solve many of his doubts.
About the Divine Bloods... and about himself.
And the third problem was...
"...What was that?"
The words he heard when the Milky Way fell.
"Let's seeXXXXXXXXXXXalready☑☑☑☑☑"
"Finally finally<<<<<<<finally"
"xxxxxfinallyXXX"
"Finally finally finally..."
The noise was so loud that he couldn't understand anything.
But even so, the little he heard was strange.
As if they already knew Alon from before.
'...What was that?'
It seemed too strange to him.
Assuming they were watching him from above, their words wouldn't be impossible to understand...
But for them to express a sort of affection towards him... that made no sense.
And among those gentle voices, there was also incomprehensible hostility.
Furthermore, the last voice...
Alon remembered.
Just before losing consciousness, after hearing the voices of fallen experiments...
A very small voice, like a whisper in his ear.
In that instant, he didn't understand anything.
It was just a distorted murmur.
But after waking up and recalling that noise several times...
He was able to decipher it.
[Come to the far east, friend. Then I will return what is precious to you.]
It was a voice so weak that at first, it didn't even seem like a word.
Maybe it came from behind him.
Alon remained silent.
He had no idea why the Divine Bloods would say something like that to him. But he shook his head. He couldn't draw conclusions without information.
"Evan."
"Yes, Lord Marquis."
"After next week's meeting, we will go to Laksas."
"Suddenly...? Well, yes, understood."
Evan bowed his head and Alon sighed deeply.
It was late at night.
One day later...
After the destruction of Ashtalon and the appearance of new monsters on the outside, a meeting was convened.
Alon attended without thinking much.
Or rather...
"Then, Marquis Palatio... no, Your Majesty the King, what do you think?"
"Hm, that... eh? No... yes... what...?"
...until the moment when Karmaxes III, a bit uncomfortable and clumsy, called him "King".
Not much had passed since he regained consciousness. And above Alon's head, question marks began to float one after another.
