Chapter 391: Budding (6)

"......What?"

"Didn’t you hear me? I said I want to know why you’re called the 'Star Eater.'"

Alon shut his mouth for a moment.

He hadn’t expected to hear that name in a situation like this.

"What... are you talking about?"

At Alon’s question that slipped out before he could stop it, Karaan frowned—only briefly.

"Well—if you don’t feel like telling me, fine. I was only asking out of curiosity anyway."

Karaan backed off.

It wasn’t that Alon didn’t want to tell him—Alon truly didn’t know.

But Alon forced those words back down his throat and asked Karaan instead.

"......Why did you do this?"

"This?"

"Yeah."

Karaan let out a sneer like he was genuinely amused.

"When you say 'this,' what exactly do you mean? The reason I’m going through the trouble of this war of attrition instead of calling the great one’s closest servants here? Or the reason I’m trying to kill that rat bastard? Or is it—"

Snrk—

"—the reason I killed that lump of skin down there?"

Alon looked into Karaan’s eyes.

Eyes eaten away by a touch of madness, as if they were staring down at the world itself.

He met that strange, unpleasant gaze head-on.

"All of it."

"All of it? You’ve got a lot you want to know. But, sure—there’s no reason I can’t tell you."

Karaan answered lightly.

"First, the reason I killed that lump of skin was to offer it up to the great one. At the very least, among the ordinary humans around me, he was the most revered."

"......Even though he was your father?"

"Father—"

Karaan murmured the word over and over as if savoring it, then nodded.

"Yeah, sure. He was my father. But that isn’t important. To begin with, he wasn’t even capable of telling what actually mattered."

"......What are you talking about?"

"Exactly what I said. He wasn’t someone who could tell what mattered. I just offered up a useless piece of trash. This kingdom should be ruled by someone who fits it better. Like—him."

Karaan’s mouth curled into a greasy grin.

And there was something Alon realized, clearly.

'......His words are packed with contradictions.'

At a glance, you could let it slide without thinking.

But if you actually listened, it was hard to make sense of.

To begin with, what Karaan was saying didn’t even feel like an answer to Alon’s question.

What he was spitting out was—

nothing but aimless, negative rage toward Karmakses III.

Rage full of contradictions.

And yet even through that, Alon could grasp why Karaan had ended up like this.

'Unlike the original world, it looks like the Third named Karsemm instead of Karaan.'

In Psychedelia, Karaan became king.

Of course he did.

Karaan wasn’t some outstanding figure, but compared to the insane wreck that was Karsemm, he was dozens—maybe hundreds—of times the better choice.

But now, things were different.

Karsemm, who had turned over a new leaf, had become someone far better than Karaan ever was.

............

......

"......."

Just as Alon was about to keep following that thought deeper, he instinctively cut it off and looked at Karaan.

"Why are you trying to kill Karsemm?"

"No reason. I just can’t stand looking at him. That’s all."

"I heard you meant to use him as a sacrifice."

"Looks like that rat bastard told you that much."

Karaan shrugged like it didn’t mean anything.

"Even so, he’s one of the revered types among humans, so I figured I’d offer him up."

"Even if he’s your own blood?"

"Don’t make me give you the same answer twice. Like I said, that isn’t important. So—are we down to the last question now?"

"I already know the answer to that without you saying it. It’s probably faith."

"......Huh?"

For an instant, interest flickered across Karaan’s face.

"Am I wrong?"

"No, you’re right. So you really do have something. Guess there’s a reason you were called some kind of demigod before the great ones came down."

Watching Karaan grin like he was entertained, Alon stayed silent a moment before speaking.

"Looks like you still haven’t gathered enough power to truly handle it. Or strictly speaking—maybe you’ve manifested, but not to the point you can actually wield that power."

"......."

In an instant, the laughter drained from Karaan’s face.

Seeing that reaction, Alon kept going.

"That’s why you’re trying to force this city to fall in fear, and squeeze faith out of it. Not the kind that comes naturally—something faster. Ruling through terror."

"......."

"So? Am I wrong?"

Karaan let out a short laugh.

"......I’d roughly guessed you might have a sense for it, but you know more than I expected."

Karaan muttered in a low voice.

But in truth, Alon didn’t know that much about Divine blood in that level of detail.

Meaning what he’d just said was a bluff.

Karaan handed over information too easily, answering without even realizing he’d been played.

"But at this point, it doesn’t matter. The great one is going to take this city anyway."

Karaan grinned and stamped his foot.

Wooooooong—!

With that, countless magic circles burst into existence.

"What, did you really think I’d just sit here and let you have me without saying a word?"

Alon looked down, a little startled, and Karaan’s smile grew even more vile.

"This is—"

"A summoning circle. In just a little while, the great one’s creations are going to start pouring out of this kingdom without end. Thanks for dragging it out for me."

"......."

"Don’t look at me like that. You didn’t seriously think I’d be stupid enough to just answer your questions nicely, did you?"

Boom—! Krrrrooooom—!

As the royal palace began to rumble like it might collapse at any moment—

"Since you’re going to die soon, let’s get the goodbyes out of the way. See you."

A sneer dripping with mockery fell on him.

Alon asked Karaan,

"After going this far, what do you even get out of it?"

"What do I get? Isn’t it obvious? I get to rule ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) this world as the great one’s apostle!"

Hearing that ecstatic answer, Alon let out a hollow laugh without meaning to—hidden behind a blank face.

He’d had a general idea, but hearing it out loud made the last pieces click into place.

What Karaan was misunderstanding.

So—

"Two things. I’ll tell you what you don’t know."

Amid the magic circles growing brighter and brighter, Alon spoke calmly.

"First—what you’re trying to manifest has already manifested. It just used your jealousy to build 'faith' more comfortably."

"......What?"

"In other words, you got played."

"What the—"

Karaan’s brow was already twisting.

He tried to say something.

But Alon didn’t stop.

"And second—"

—hand seals formed.

"—you’re not the only one buying time."

"!"

Behind Alon, as if it had been waiting, Blackie revealed itself.

Ice hand seals

Sixfold (Six Knots)

Six ice seals formed.

####

"Haah, fuck—"

Colony’s third Baba Yaga, the man called the Flame Ghost.

Acaron stood atop a tower with a clear view of the royal palace and let out a rough curse as he sighed.

'Isn’t this seriously fucked?'

Acaron swept his gaze around inside the tower.

Eight soldiers were sprawled out unconscious.

Of course, he hadn’t killed them, but they were down hard enough that they wouldn’t be getting up for at least a day. Seeing them, Acaron scratched at his head.

Naturally, this miserable state inside the tower wasn’t something he’d wanted.

The only reason he’d done this was because of the secret meeting at dawn yesterday.

The meeting, quietly convened by Seollang—known as the strongest among the current Baba Yagas, the Golden Flash—

had forced a truth Acaron hadn’t wanted to know straight into his skull.

That Karmakses III had been killed.

And that the First Prince, Karaan, had hooked up with those monster bastards who’d been relentlessly attacking Colony.

"Why are you sighing like that? You done?"

A voice spoke up out of nowhere while Acaron was sighing.

But as if he’d known the visitor was coming, he turned without changing expression and answered.

"It’s already all done, so don’t worry."

Where Acaron’s eyes landed stood a middle-aged man.

A fellow Baba Yaga—

the man known by the nickname "Gallows," Kazan.

"Then why are you still here? Why aren’t you evacuating to the colosseum? Don’t tell me you forgot the plan."

Kazan scolded him.

Acaron frowned.

"What do you mean, forgot? I didn’t forget, that’s why I’m here doing this."

"Hm—fair enough."

"What about you? You finish everything?"

"Yeah. From Tower One to Tower Eight, we sent all the soldiers we knocked out to the colosseum. The outer wall side is handled by the Golden Flash, so there shouldn’t be any issues."

"And the civilians?"

"Almost all of them gathered at the colosseum."

At Kazan’s words, Acaron let out a "Hah," not sure if it was ridicule or praise.

"Real impressive, huh? From dawn to afternoon, lining everything up perfectly with the soldiers’ routes so they don’t report to the palace—click click click—what a miracle strategist. How’d you even come up with a plan like that?"

"It didn’t seem like the Golden Flash. More like that deputy guildmaster...... no, the secretary, put it together."

The reason they—

no, the reason the A-rank fighters, including them, were moving all over Colony—

was because of that plan.

At dawn yesterday, along with the Second Prince Karsemm’s revelation, Lime—the Golden Flash’s secretary—had laid out a strategy.

A strategy to gather the civilians in the colosseum so it would be easier to protect them in the battle that would erupt today.

That was why the Baba Yagas and fighters had been moving from the crack of dawn, hitting the timing just right and handling things so the soldiers wouldn’t notice anything was wrong.

"Man—if it’s gonna be like this, we should’ve just all run—"

"The moment you open the outer wall, a report goes in no matter what. Structurally, it’s rational."

"Ha—this is what matters right now? You’re really lecturing me about logic?"

"......So you don’t like it."

"Like it? You like this? The palace betrays us and we still don’t run—now we’re doing this?"

"Then run."

"......."

At Kazan’s calm answer, Acaron shut his mouth.

Because the moment he heard the First Prince had betrayed them, Acaron had wanted to leave Colony.

Unfortunately, there was one reason he couldn’t.

Not two. Just one.

‘If you run, I’ll wreck you.’

Because the Golden Flash had smiled and said that to everyone.

And the Golden Flash was someone who always kept her word.

And Acaron had known for a long time—

and felt it even more painfully recently—

that she was stronger than every single person gathered here.

"You think I’m doing this because I want to stay? You want to run too."

"That’s true."

"......Then how about we just run together while we’re at it?"

"Not interested."

"Why?"

"Because you can’t die with honor that way."

"......You seriously lived your life caring about something as pathetic as honor?"

Acaron asked like it was ridiculous.

But Kazan shook his head.

"Die with honor."

"?"

"Or die like a dog, scratching a valley with your skull while you wait, and go out miserable."

"......First one’s better."

"Right?"

Letting out a hollow laugh, Acaron sighed and scratched his head again.

"But seriously—this is okay?"

"Now what?"

Kazan frowned as he lifted the unconscious soldiers one by one, but Acaron acted like he didn’t care and pressed on.

"No, come on. Even if that what’s-his-name...... Alon, or whatever, showed up—how the hell is he supposed to deal with those monster bastards?"

"......Hm. I heard he’s stronger than the Golden Flash, so won’t he manage somehow?"

"No, think about it. They said the monsters showing up today won’t be at the hundred-level, right? Then even if he’s stronger than the Golden Flash, isn’t that still too much?"

Acaron’s face pinched hard—

"Seriously, the more I think about it, the more it’s bullshit. Even if he’s stronger than the Golden Flash and he’s a god or whatever, if those insane monster bastards come in like an army—!?"

He couldn’t finish.

Because a horrifying presence suddenly erupted from the royal palace.

And that wasn’t the end.

KWA—AAAAAANG—!!!!

A massive explosion followed, bursting out of the royal palace.

Startled, the two of them snapped their eyes that way all at once—

and then—

"Fuck."

"......Jesus—"

They each spat out a curse.

They couldn’t help it.

Because what began to fall from the sky as the royal palace blew apart was—

"We’re fucked."

"Haah—"

an absurd number of anomalous entities.

"Ah, fuck."

Disgusting things—like someone had fused a spider with a carnivore.

More than eight legs thrashed violently in midair with a clatter—

and the spider-like eyes and mouth twitched in a nauseating way.

From each leg, foul venom sprayed, painting the sky over Colony.

"......Should’ve just died ugly."

"I’m thinking the same thing."

There were too many.

Acaron, who’d been about to brace himself to fight, let the strength go out of his body and gave a hollow smile.

Kazan did the same, setting the soldiers down like he’d already given up and closing his eyes.

Just as they were about to accept the end—

"......Huh?"

"?"

Acaron and Kazan felt something off.

Those anomalous entities should’ve hit the ground a long time ago, crashing down and causing chaos.

But everything around them was quiet.

An extremely suspicious silence.

Feeling uneasy, Acaron cautiously looked up—

and what he saw was—

"......."

a tree.

So enormous it covered the area around Colony’s royal palace.

A tree with hundreds—maybe thousands—of anomalous entities hanging from it like fruit, as if its black branches had torn the sky apart and split it into thousands of strands.

A colossal Black Tree.

"“......Huh?”"

It was spread out over the two Baba Yagas’ heads like a fortress.