"So fallen are involved in this? With one called Queen Hunter no less. Since she specifically mentioned the beast queen, do you think her target for falling is the beast queen?" Madison asked with a frown as everyone sat around the command room.
"Itās not guaranteed but the chances are high. If someone with her skill set completes her objective and becomes a mindless monster that does nothing but rampage, killing everything she sees, itās going to be annoying. She was even able to eliminate herself from my perception so killing her would be no easy task. While the system may cause them to become āmindlessā beasts, thereās no guarantee that they wonāt be ābattle smartā. They might retain the knowledge on how to use their skills effectively in combat with the prior experience." Shiro nodded her head with a frown. Having an unstable factor like Ahmiya in the following fight was going to be quite troublesome if they canāt deal with her.
Since you never know if sheās beside you or not.
"Honestly, I donāt know if itās better for the Queens to die or for the fallen to die." Isilia sighed since it was picking the lesser of two evils. Only both evils were just as bad!
"Well do you think we can team up with the fallen in some way? Even if the others donāt join, just having Ahmiya on the team would be a great help." Silvia asked.
"Perhaps. We donāt know the goal of the other fallen so itās a bit risky. Honestly, I might have been lucky that Ahmiya was hostile against Queens that are enemies of humanity, and had something similar to a lie detector. If she didnāt, she might have just assassinated me if I was there personally." Shiro sighed.
She had her avatar scout out the area before destroying itself since she didnāt want to risk having Ahmiya find out where Asteria was.
"Is there a way to find her again? You managed to find her this time because you tried to look for her and she responded right?" Helion asked.
"Maybe. I can begin development on a skill thatāll broadcast a message to those specified using the unique mana signal." Shiro shrugged since she didnāt mind using some time to make a new skill.
"That might be the best call for now since we donāt know anything about the fallen other than the fact that the system creates them, theyāll do anything to reach their goal and that theyāll become mindless monsters once that goal is reached." Aarim frowned.
"Do you think there are potentially Queens that we can make an alliance with for now? While this is primarily for the relic, we canāt forget that itās a gathering of Queens. Itās a good chance to see others and make alliances. I know that we have to be the final victor but itās still good to get some allies. Even if theyāll become enemies later down the line." Isilia suggested.
"Mn I know. Iāve got one candidate in mind that I saw in the future but Iām not sure if sheāll be participating in this battle. Iām guessing that she might be a little too busy taking care of her own city so thereās a slim chance that weāll even see her here." Shiro nodded her head and leaned back slightly.
Remembering the black-haired girl that created cities of undead to reunite people with one another, Shiro didnāt mind making an alliance with her since it looked as though she cared more for the future than the past.
"Oh? Whoās this that youāre thinking about?" Lyrica asked curiously.
"The Undead Queen Misu." Shiro answered.
###
"Weāre here your highness. Weāre not sure how many Queens are nearby but for now, I believe we should keep a low profile. Our goal is not the relic after all." A man bowed as a black-haired woman walked out of the portal and looked at the two large mountains in the distance with a smile.
"Thatās fine. We donāt know her that well but I think with her personality that she demonstrated in the recordings, she wouldnāt let something like this fall into the wrong hands. Sheāll either destroy it or take it for herself." The girl smiled as her emerald eyes flickered at the memory of the Queen she saw on the video.
"Perhaps. But I think we shouldnāt be hasty. Maybe we should just observe for now. If we reveal ourselves too soon, we might make ourselves a target." The man frowned.
"Oh, itās fine. Itās not like Iāll be fighting. Just spectating ok? Spectating." The girl laughed.
Sighing softly, the man shook his head and made sure the perimeters were clear.
"Weāll be leaving after we watch for a bit. The city still needs some adjustments to house everyone after all." She smiled while looking around for a place thatās far enough from the battle but close enough so that she could watch everything that happened.
"Weāre already making some preparations to hunt down the Demonic Kraken Husk. Once you return from this expedition, weāll be ready to launch an offensive. Once the Kraken is slain, the surrounding area should begin healing and weāll be able to use it as farmland in the future."
"Thatās good. Octopuses should stay in the ocean after all. No point them being on land." The girl giggled softly while jumping up on the tree.
"To call a level 750 Demonic Kraken an Octopus..." The man muttered with a tired look on his face as if he had heard this kind of thing often.
Sighing heavily, he massaged his eyes before following behind her.
"Wow. Such a beautiful place, itās a shame that everything will be gone in a few days huh?" She sighed seeing the white trees stretch as far as the eyes could see.
"Indeed. But thatās just the nature of fights between tier 6 beings. If the world didnāt change, itāll be more than just a forest that disappears." The man narrowed his eyes, remembering what had happened before but quickly dispelled the thoughts.
"Mn... thatās true. Say, what do you think is the final goal of all this? Weāve already lived through the new age several times now. Each time a new one begins, our levels reset back to when the new age began in our old world. The system probably removed our memories since I canāt remember what happened near the end but Iāve been through this starting process a few times now. I know I wasnāt close to winning but still." The girl narrowed her eyes.
"The system keeps lots of things from us. We just have to keep looking forward and help those that need our help. Even if we donāt win in the end. Isnāt that what you vowed to do when you met me?" the man smiled softly.
"Oh of course. I got this power because I wanted to help them after all. They were unfairly dragged into all of this. But I really and I mean REALLY want to see them tomorrow when the new age ends." The girl smiled happily as the man nodded.
"I hope so too. I have a good feeling about this new age. Plus, youāre more energetic than before."
"Am I? I donāt feel any different though." The girl raised an eyebrow.
"Maybe itās because you found a Queen who is willing to help people out as you do."
"Mmm... Thatās true. Letās hope this is the last new age we have to experience ok?"
Hearing this, the man nodded his head.
āIāll do everything I can so that you can see tomorrow when the new age ends and the loop breaks.ā
###
"Is this the right spot?" I asked, feeling exhausted. After traveling nonstop on the back of Nitha with Edvimar, we managed to arrive at a strange forest of snow that had two large mountains in the distance.
Our bodies were fatigued since Edvimar brought us through what he calls the tears in the void and cut the journey short.
They acted as small teleport gates with the end being random but he seemed to be able to control it to some extent. Maybe thatās why he was able to escape from the person he called the watchman. He hasnāt said anything more but from what heās shown us on the way here, I can guess that his enemy was someone on the level of the Queens. Maybe even higher.
"Yes, this should be the Frost Giantās Pass. Iām not sure if theyāll be here. Honestly, you can leave now since this place will be filled with Queens soon. Staying here is tantamount to suicide." Edvimar replied, staring into my eyes as I thought about it. I knew their power considering the destruction caused by a single dragon that showed itself a while back.
However, I wasnāt about to let someone injured like him look for his wife alone with danger all around him.
"Donāt worry about it. Weāll watch from afar. Itās not like youāll be fighting the Queens, will you? Weāll keep an eye out and if we find your wife, weāll see if we can get to her ok?" I replied.
The rest of the party was happy with this decision and showed their support.
Hearing the support, Edvimar chuckled and nodded his head.
"Ok, letās fly low for now since a few Queens might already be here. I donāt want to be killed before seeing my wife."