C470. Astarotte (1)
Serdea Polanticia, imperial princess of the Empire, was treated practically like the empress herself within the Eastern Empire.
That is, she had never experienced anyone looking down on her, except for her father, the emperor.
For this reason, for Serdea, this situation was extremely strange.
No, more than strange—
Hiccup~!
It was terrifying.
—At least, that was how Serdea perceived it.
“W- what…?”
She looked around with a bewildered expression.
Until a moment ago, the sun was shining under a clear sky, but the light had disappeared.
In its place, a red light entered, almost like blood.
And under that light…
The Yutia Bloodia who a moment ago was smiling sweetly, was now observing Serdea with intensely red eyes.
Faced with that unreal scene, Serdea could not help but feel bewildered.
But only for an instant.
She clearly remembered what Yutia had told her a moment ago.
‘Do you want to die?’
As an imperial princess, and now treated practically as an empress, Serdea had never heard such insolence.
“W- what did you dare say to this…”
The blood rushed to her head.
She tried to return the gaze rebelliously, even while fear enveloped her completely.
“Hic—!”
But that lasted less than a blink.
She shut her mouth again abruptly.
Yutia’s eyes were too chilling to express anger.
Yutia took a step.
Softly, very softly.
During the girl's entire walk from the entrance to the throne, Serdea could not utter a single word.
Finally, the young woman’s face arrived right in front of hers.
“I asked you if you want to die.”
The voice fell calm, but frozen—
“N- no… it is not like that…”
Serdea lowered her gaze. Completely discarding her dignity as a princess.
Ironically, Serdea —whose instinct was extremely sharp— understood a simple truth viscerally:
The existence in front of her was absolutely not a common being.
Even if she used her own abilities, even if she called the guards outside…
That being —not human, but something beyond— was not someone she could ever defeat.
Upon understanding this, her eyes began to fill more with fear than rebellion.
“W- why are you doing this to me…?”
Finally, a trembling voice broke from her lips.
At that question, Yutia arched an eyebrow.
“Don't tell me… you really don't know?”
“......I… haven't done anything…”
Serdea timidly expressed her opinion, and Yutia took one more step toward her.
“Really? How strange—”
The young woman’s white hand reached toward Serdea’s hair, and soon began to toy with it.
And then—
Boom—! Bo-boom—! Rumble-rumble-rumble—!
“!!”
Serdea saw it.
In the distance, the capital's walls were collapsing as if they were paper, completely pulverized.
“I think I heard several rumors… about you wanting to marry Master.”
At Yutia’s soft voice, Serdea froze.
Her eyes just rolled restlessly.
…And in reality, that rumor had been leaked by Serdea herself.
It is true that earlier Irene Polanticia had warned her that Alon Palatio was a dangerous person.
But she never had any intention of giving him up.
No, on the contrary: she wanted him even more.
Excluding the already destroyed Western Empire, Alon’s strength would be a decisive resource in the balance between the empires; and Irene, sooner or later, was someone she also had to surpass.
However…
However ambitious she was, nothing was worth more than life.
“......I… I am sorry. About that matter, I—”
“You are going to correct it, right?”
“Y-yes, I will correct it without fail.”
She repeated Yutia’s words, nodding again and again. Only then did Yutia nod with satisfaction.
And in that instant—
Fwaaah—
“…Eh?”
Serdea looked around bewildered.
Everything had returned to normal.
The walls she had seen shattered now remained intact and solid, as if they had never fallen.
The red sky had disappeared, shining blue and clear once again.
As if what happened a moment ago had been a simple illusion.
It was such an absurd scene that she stood there dazed, but Serdea knew the truth.
What she had seen before was no mirage.
Just as confusion was coloring her face again—
“Well, since we finished with that matter, let's move to the main topic.”
“M- main… topic?”
Yutia nodded with a smile, not caring that Serdea remained completely confused.
“Yes, the main topic.”
“…Are you talking about the temple?”
“No. I already told you before, the temple has nothing to do with it.”
“Then…”
“Well, in short, I am going to tell you a method for you all to survive. One that I obtained from the Seeker of the Path.”
And so, she began to speak.
Without leaving Serdea even a second to ask questions.
A while later—
“You say… that is true?”
“I didn't come all this way to tell you lies.”
Serdea’s eyes opened wide, unable to believe it.
Yutia continued smiling.
“Then, I will take my leave. Do not forget to keep your promise.”
Saying only that, she turned around without the slightest hesitation.
Serdea, who watched Yutia disappear as if she were wind, called out to her without thinking:
“Wait a moment…”
“Yes?”
“…Why are you telling me all this?”
It made no sense.
At the doubt, Yutia thought for a second and then answered:
“It is not for you.”
“What…?”
“Nor for the Empire. Simply—”
She turned toward the exit again.
“It is for Master.”
And, dropping a soft “I didn't want him to worry,” she left the audience hall.
Serdea remained motionless, staring at the empty space where Yutia had been—
Clack!
The door slammed open again.
It was Yutia, once again, entering with total tranquility.
“?.”
Serdea took a step back, bewildered.
But—
“Ah, just in case: make sure to correct the rumors. If I hear they are still circulating, even after I leave—”
“—I don't know what might happen next.”
At that warning, the princess paled and nodded frantically.
Tap—
And thus, silence returned to the room.
A month had passed since Alon crossed the Empire's border and finally arrived at the Eastern Empire.
A long or short time, depending on how one looked at it.
And in that time, some things had changed for him.
First, he had obtained information:
The protagonist of Calypsophobia had disappeared before the Divine Bloods appeared.
Not even the Information Guild could find his whereabouts after that, so they had no choice but to leave the matter in doubt.
Another change was that the magic preparation was almost finished.
More accurately: the preparation to return Seolrang to her original state.
Alon looked at Seolrang, who was sleeping sitting next to him.
Throughout the journey, she had continued “acting” as if it were the most natural thing in the world: always smiling, her tail wagging happily…
As if that were her truth.
“Alon-nim.”
Evan’s voice interrupted his thoughts just as he was considering if he should hasten the preparation even more.
“What is it?”
“I think we are almost there.”
Alon turned his gaze outside the carriage.
In the distance—
“That is…”
Among multiple Divine Bloods, he distinguished a large crack.
A crack so huge that a Divine Blood could enter with ease.
“It looks like that is it.”
Alon nodded at Evan’s words.
Just as the Sculptor had told him.
The only difference regarding the explanation was that, although she said there would be no one, in reality, there were quite a few Divine Bloods around the crack.
Alon observed in silence and then said:
“From here on I will go alone.”
As he prepared to get down.
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“…Isn't that somewhat dangerous?”
“I think so too.”
Penia agreed immediately with Evan.
“Master, let's go together.”
Seolrang also wanted to accompany him, but Alon refused firmly.
As long as nothing happened, he would be fine.
But there was a possibility —minimal, but real— that something would happen inside that crack.
‘Although I could take Seolrang…’
But if something were to happen, someone had to stay to protect this place.
“Do not worry.”
Alon reassured them and went down alone.
“…Will he be okay?”
From a safe distance from the crack, Penia murmured as they watched Alon advance among the Divine Bloods.
Evan scratched his head with a complicated gesture.
“Well… it is Alon-nim. He will be fine.”
“I suppose…”
“Ugh…”
Although he nodded, Evan could not hide his unease.
“Every time something like this happens, I feel weird.”
“Ah, me too.”
“Right? One wants to help, but… the dimension is too different…”
‘Won't I get some awakening event or something?’, Evan murmured.
As he said that, he kept watching Alon attentively.
Then—
He made a bewildered sound.
“What is it?”
Penia looked at him, but Evan didn't answer.
He just stared fixedly at where Alon was advancing and then murmured:
“You see—”
“See…?”
“I don't know if I am seeing things wrong, but…”
“If you are going to say it, say it at once.”
At Penia’s pressure, Evan finally said:
“……Why are wings growing on Alon-nim?”
“What kind of nonsense are you saying?”
Penia huffed at the absurdity, but upon looking at Alon again—
“……Eh?”
A deep doubt appeared on her face.
Evan was right.
On Alon’s back, as he walked toward the crack, huge wings were forming.
And not just common wings:
They were wings composed of countless Divine Bloods, following Alon as if they were his own right and left wings.
That is why—
“……This is not a coincidence, right?”
“……Does it seem like a coincidence to you…?”
“No… I think not…”
They could only watch, completely bewildered, as all the nearby Divine Bloods gathered as if it were a lie and followed Alon into the crack.
Without understanding absolutely anything.
