C399. What is… that…? (2)
Ante las palabras de Evan, Alon quedó en blanco durante un rato.
He remembered Krytenia Siyan, the queen of Asteria.
A monarch too young to be the sovereign of a country, and also a bearer of the “Golden Eyes”, an ability passed down only to the royalty of Asteria.
Thinking about that, Alon tilted his head.
‘Were the Golden Eyes… really like that?’
As far as Alon knew, the Golden Eyes were an extremely cheat-like ability. They allowed one to inherit exactly all the abilities accumulated by previous generations.
That was why Krytenia Siyan had outstanding talent even without having studied magic or swordsmanship. And even though she hadn't studied government sciences, she could handle everything with the skill proper to a “queen”.
But even so… that she had dealt with a Divine Blood didn't make immediate sense.
‘Isn't it… impossible?’
Siyan, who appeared occasionally in Psychedelia, was undoubtedly very strong. But while she was at the peak among humans, she did not reach a level comparable to that of a Divine Blood.
‘I suppose now I have another reason to go to Teria.’
Just when Alon was thinking that…
Evan, who had remained silent so he could concentrate, spoke again.
“In addition to that, I have something else to inform you.”
“What is it?”
“Well… it’s not something that affects us too much, but they say there is tremendous chaos in the Empire as well.”
“Didn’t you mention that to me before?”
“Yes, but… they say it is now at a level incomparably greater than before.”
“…How serious is it?”
Evan reflected for a moment and replied:
“My lord, just to confirm… you know that a few years ago the Empire was divided into four?”
“Yes, I know.”
He already knew very well that the Empire had been shattered, so Alon nodded without surprise. Then Evan continued:
“The Western Empire has been destroyed.”
“…Completely?”
“Yes. It was torn apart by the Divine Bloods and nothing remains.”
“That… is a bit unexpected.”
“Really?”
Unlike Evan, Alon did find it unexpected.
‘…I thought they might hold out a little longer.’
Alon never played Calipsophobia, whose main setting was the Empire, but he knew quite a lot of information.
‘The Empire is stronger than the Allied United Kingdoms.’
And was that all?
The Empire was so vast that the total sum of the lands of the Allied United Kingdoms couldn't even compare. And since its territory was huge, it also had many strongholds.
It wasn't a coincidence that, in the game, if the Sins destroyed two or more kingdoms of the Allied United Kingdoms, a Bad Ending related to the Empire would appear immediately.
‘In the community they always criticized that the power gap between Psychedelia and Calipsophobia was absurd… that it made no sense. And on top of that, there is the protagonist.’
Alon thought of the protagonist of Calipsophobia.
The one users called “the ultimate alpha killing weapon of the Empire”.
“Hmm.”
In any case, considering the whole setting…
Even if the Divine Bloods were very strong, Alon thought the Empire would resist to some extent. That’s why he was surprised.
“I thought they would at least hold out a bit.”
“Hmm… that’s not what it seems.”
“Oh really?”
“No. Although the West fell like that, they say the other territories are resisting quite well.”
Evan nodded.
“Among them, the Eastern Empire and the North are blocking the Divine Bloods very well.”
“…Without damage?”
“Yes. In the East there are many strongholds, and in the North there exists a ‘dragon’.”
“A dragon?”
“Yes, it was something like… the laughing dragon?… Ah, no. The ‘Crying Dragon’! That’s what they call it.”
“…And what is that?”
When Alon asked, Evan just shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t know the details, I only heard they call it that, the ‘Crying Dragon’.”
“The Crying Dragon…”
“In any case, I wanted to inform you because they say the Empire is in total chaos.”
“I see.”
Alon nodded and remembered something he had tucked away in his mind.
‘Come to the far East, friend. There I will give you what is most precious to you.’
The small voice he had heard when the Divine Blood fell.
‘What is precious… what is precious…’
Alon looked out the window, lost in his thoughts.
A month had passed since his group departed from Colony towards Caliban. During that time Evan brought him various news, but none related to Divine Bloods.
That is, there had been no Divine Blood attacks in three weeks. Although he shouldn't lower his guard, it was a relief.
“So, there were no attacks last night either.”
“That is correct.”
Alon thought:
‘…It seems it’s true that most Divine Bloods headed towards the Empire.’
According to the information Evan brought last week, the Empire was extremely chaotic.
At that moment…
“My lord, could you look at this for a moment?”
“Alright.”
Penia handed him a paper.
On it were complex and dense formulas, difficult even to understand at a glance.
“This…”
“I made an attempt to create a magic circle following what you said, what do you think?”
Penia and Alon continued their discussion. It was the routine of their journey to Caliban.
During the day, when the carriage was moving, they researched together.
Sometimes he watched how Basiliora, Blackie and Evan played among themselves.
And at night, he discussed magic with Penia.
“Ah, by the way, my lord. How is that going?”
While they were talking, Penia asked.
It was an abstract question, but Alon understood immediately what she was referring to.
“The divine power, right? Still without many changes.”
“Did you imagine so?”
Nodding, Alon closed his eyes and meditated internally. It didn't take long to enter his internal world.
There he found a small sphere.
A tiny sphere.
The five divinities that previously resided inside him had disappeared as if they had never existed, and in their place this sphere had been born. Alon discovered it just after leaving Colony.
‘It seems it appeared after defeating the Divine Blood…’
He remembered the words of the Blue Eye, who told him he would naturally ascend to the next level.
‘Did he mean this?’
He never imagined that defeating a Divine Blood would lead him to the next level, so at first he was a bit bewildered. But afterwards, this gave him a clear goal.
However, there was also one frustrating thing.
‘How do you use this?’
He had no idea how to employ the divine power.
Although he had noticed its existence a month ago, he didn't know how to use it.
The only thing Alon could do was to bring it out temporarily.
‘Well, it’s so weak that it’s almost not felt.’
But it was better to know how to bring it out than to know nothing.
Alon tried various ways to use it, but ended up opening his eyes without results.
“Failed again…?”
“It’s not easy.”
He shook his head and bit into a sweet potato.
Penia sighed with disappointment.
“If you could use divine power, we could expand the variations even more.”
“We’ll have to keep looking.”
Alon continued eating quietly. Penia stared at him.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s just… I’m curious. Does the sweet potato still taste good to you?”
“If it didn’t taste good, why would I eat it?”
“No, that’s true but… you’ve been eating only that for three weeks.”
“Eh, and what’s strange about that~? What’s surprising about my lord eating sweet potatoes? If before there was a case of three months straight…”
“I didn’t know that.”
Shocked by what Evan said, Penia looked at him with bewilderment.
“Could you give me a bite?”
Alon handed her the sweet potato without saying anything. Penia received it carefully.
“…Why are you clearing your throat like that?”
“It’s nothing.”
She avoided his gaze, then bit the sweet potato exactly where Alon had bitten.
After chewing for a while...
“It’s just… sweet potato.”
“Did you think it would be different?”
“I don’t know… since you’ve been eating only this for almost a month I thought maybe it was a special type.”
She cleared her throat again.
Then, wiping her lips, Penia said:
“I got a bit thirsty, I’ll go for water.”
“Go ahead.”
She headed to the carriage.
Alon ate the piece of sweet potato she left in one bite.
“?”
Suddenly his surroundings became silent.
Turning around…
Evan, Blackie and Basiliora had stopped talking and were now staring at him.
“What’s wrong?”
Alon asked.
But…
“No, it’s nothing… just…”
[Kyuu—]
[Tsk tsk—]
The reactions were strange, but Alon could only tilt his head.
The next day.
In the distance Caliban could be seen, and Alon began to look for the giant the rumors spoke of.
But immediately he detected something strange.
…No, he had to correct himself.
It wasn’t just strange. It was very strange.
“Evan.”
“Yes…”
“Is that the supposed giant Divine Blood?”
“My lord… are you asking me because you don’t want to accept the truth, or do you really not see it…?”
“Then… am I seeing correctly?”
“Unfortunately… yes.”
Alon covered his face with his hand without realizing it.
Because in the capital of Caliban, clearly visible even from outside the wall…
“Why is that there?”
“I want to know too…”
—There was a giant statue of Alon.
And on top of that it seemed to be lit specifically to highlight its shine.
It was the same statue from his territory, the one that imitated the posture of the former leader of the north in his past world.
“How… did that end up there…?”
Alon muttered in shock.
While he observed the statue, Evan exclaimed:
“Ah.”
As if remembering something.
“My lord.”
“What is it?”
“I think that… is a gift from Silly.”
“A gift?”
“Yes. Before the proclamation of the kingdom… she mentioned she would send a gift.”
“And she sent THAT as a gift?”
“Probably… yes.”
Alon closed his eyes tightly.
Typically, a gift before proclaiming a kingdom was like handing out cake when moving to a new neighborhood.
A message of: “Let’s coexist and maintain good relations.”
But sending a statue?
And not the statue of the king of Caliban… but the statue of Alon?
This could easily be interpreted as a provocation.
Alon could only close his eyes.
A while later…
“My lord.”
“Deus, have you been well?”
“Yes. Are you well?”
“Yes… but first, let’s greet the king.”
Alon greeted Deus briefly at the gate and entered the Caliban castle immediately.
Passing by the enormous statue in the leader of the north pose.
And when he entered the audience hall where Palmarian IV was…
Suddenly—
“Thank you! Really, thank you, my lord…!”
“…Excuse me?”
Palmarian, casting aside all royal composure, stood up and took Alon’s hand.
“What do you mean?”
Alon asked, confused.
Palmarian’s face lit up even more.
“The gift, of course!”
“You mean… the statue…?”
“Yes! Exactly! Thank you for sending me such a statue!”
“…No… I…”
The answer only increased the confusion.
And Alon, sunk in doubt, began to feel a deep headache.
