Chapter 166
Sol felt refreshed as he lay on the ground and looked up at the sky.
It had been a good fight. He had bet everything on it and lost. He didn’t want to make any excuses like having been overwhelmed by numbers or having his const.i.tution reduced. Whatever it might have been due to, a loss was still a loss. It was his own fault for being forced into the current situation.
To begin with, a battle was not merely fighting with each other upfront. For instance, before actually fighting, one could create favorable conditions or environments. A battle included all of these things, like strategies and tactics. He had been caught in their plot without realizing it himself and then lost to a fool. That was it.
“He…Hehehehe…Hahahahaha!”
“What’s so funny?”
Even though he was the loser, Sol was laughing loudly. Leon felt unpleasant about this and shouted at him in irritation.
I really don’t like his pretentious att.i.tude. If he still has a trump card, then he should use it already.
He stared at Sol with such thoughts in mind.
“It’s really funny. The G.o.ddess’ scenario, which had been written over several ten thousand, hundred thousand, or even million years, was made to fall apart so brilliantly in only two hundred years! It’s so funny that I can’t stop laughing!”
“Is that all?”
“Yeah, that’s all…Ah, what? Could it be that you think I’m still hiding something? If so, you can relax. I’ve nothing left. You’ve genuinely won. Even if you leave me be, I’ll disappear soon.”
Hearing Sol’s words, which sounded as if he had surrendered to fate, Virgo rushed over. There was no particular reason. It wasn’t a calculated move to gain some benefit from his grat.i.tude after healing him. In the first place, if she was being calculative, she wouldn’t have rushed over. In other words, she was moving instinctively. This was both her kindness and her foolishness.
She held out her hand to heal him, but Sol grabbed her hand to refuse it.
“Stop it, you kind girl. Kindness may be a virtue, but it’s also a weakness in battle. For example, if I take you hostage right now, the situation will be reversed all because of you. Some people can’t be saved with kindness alone…There are heretics who wouldn’t consider it evil to make use of such kindness. From now on, keep this in mind.”
Saying that, Sol grabbed Virgo’s shoulder and pushed her away. But Virgo couldn’t accept it, so Sol desperately tried to convince her.
“Bu—But you’re not that kind of person! Even now…”
“No, I’m a doll of the G.o.ddess right down to the bones. Even though I have developed an ego, I couldn’t be like Pollux or Orm. If you heal me now, I’d surely return as an enemy. …Give it up. Finishing off the enemy is the victor’s right as well as duty.”
“I don’t need you to tell me that.”
Aries grabbed and held back Virgo, who was still trying to speak. And then, Leon stepped forward. He raised his fist and exerted enough strength to make the arteries on his arm visible.
“As my final act, let me give you a little hint in honor of your victory. Once I die, the G.o.ddess will have almost no pieces left. It"s not that she doesn’t have any left, but they probably don"t have the combat power needed to defeat all of you. Do you know what that means?”
“Who knows?”
Sol laughed bitterly at Leon’s uncaring reply and remembered the appearance of the last doll other than himself. What he had just said was not strictly true. There were still two pieces left. One was Dina, who could still be controlled by the G.o.ddess whenever she wanted to, regardless of Dina"s own will. And the other person…
Nonetheless, these two alone weren’t enough to face against their innumerable foes. The G.o.ddess would definitely move the ouroboroses to compensate for it.
“It means that it’s starting. This attack will trigger the end of the world.”
“Is that so?”
—Leon didn’t care about Sol’s last words and simply swung his fist down.
An explosive sound echoed. Karkinos transformed into his gigantic form and jumped in front of everyone to receive the shockwave. The pressure from the punch was like a storm that lasted for several seconds. When it was finally over, there were huge cracks on the ground that extended all the way to the horizon.
Sol…was no longer there. Only the faint light particles that remained hinted that he had even existed until now. Even they would disappear soon.
“…Why?”
“Who knows? Men are foolish creatures. If it were this mistress, I would want to survive no matter what.”
Scorpius muttered in exasperation as she lightly patted Virgo’s head, which was hanging down. With this, the last piece of the G.o.ddess that could oppose the Twelve Stars had vanished. Anyone could predict what would happen after this.
—It’s starting.
He had certainly said so. There was no need to say what it was. Now that the last piece called Sol had disappeared, the G.o.ddess had only one move left. And so, the time was close at hand. The end of the world would soon begin.
“It looks like we can’t sit back and relax. I’m returning to Blutgang immediately. From now on, time is of the essence. Megrez, let me quickly examine the mana engine you designed.”
“Ah, I’ll take action right away. It’s a race against time now.”
It was unclear what Sei and his companions were saying, but they seemed to be able to understand each other. Perhaps, the reason the heroes were gathered together was also to discuss this matter. Sei did not mention it. Besides, there were things that needed to be done. There were things that he could do.
“Megrez-sama, I…think I’ll return to Lævateinn. I can’t really help you in a fight, but I should at least tell them that Ruphas-san is not an enemy.”
“Is that your answer?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, then I’ll use my skill to send you to Lævateinn.”
What Sei was trying to do was minuscule compared to what would happen in the future. But he was the only one who could do this minuscule thing.
It wouldn’t be convincing even if Megrez said that Ruphas was not an enemy. Even if Ruphas herself told them that she was not an enemy, n.o.body would believe her. However, since he was unrelated to what had happened two hundred years ago, people would believe his conclusion, which he had reached by his own efforts.
He couldn’t do anything to help in this battle, but he could be a bridge between the humanoids and Ruphas.
“If Sei-dono has decided on this…Very well, we are resolved to do the same as well. Wisdom King-sama, please send us to Draupnir. I’ll persuade King k.u.mar to join in.”
“Grrr!”
“Oh, Friedrich. Do you want to come too?”
Kaineko and Friedrich also chose to follow Sei’s lead and walk the same road as Ruphas. Gants and Jean didn’t raise any objections and quietly nodded.
However, among the people present, only Merak did not move. He stared intently at Virgo. It was as if he had seen something unbelievable. His lips were quivering.
“White wings…and that face and hair color…It couldn’t be…Yo—You, I’m sorry, pardon my rudeness, but are your parents actually your foster parents?”
“Eh? Uh, no. I’ve never seen my father and mother. It seemed that I was abandoned in the forest as a baby, and granny picked me up and raised me.”
“Wh—What…”
Merak was shocked to the core as he widened his eyes while staring at Virgo. He had a complicated expression that seemed to have a mix of delight and sadness. Meanwhile, Parthenos spoke up.
“As I thought, that is the case.”
“Eh? What? Granny?”
“It’s simple. The Sky King-dono…is probably your real father.”
—The atmosphere froze.
Mizar, who was about to return to Blutgang, and Megrez, who was about to turn towards Svalinn, stopped. After all, it was a shocking statement with considerable destructive power.
“…Eh—!?”
Virgo’s cry resounded to the heavens.
♉
A while ago, Libra and the three heroic spirits serving as her escorts had reached Taurus in the underworld of Helheim without any major obstacles. Taurus was quietly sitting in front of the head of the sleeping ouroboros.
“It’s been a long time…no, it’s been just a few days, Taurus.”
“…Ah.”
“You know why I’m here, right? I’m here to pick you up.”
There was no need for a long conversation between them. Libra spoke briefly, while Taurus responded with a single word. If one didn’t know the circ.u.mstances, it would be impossible to know what they were talking about.
Taurus stood up slowly and quietly clenched his fist.
“I’ll go after cleaning up this mess.”
Taurus said this as light began to acc.u.mulate in front of him. The light emitted by the Earth Ouroboros took on a humanoid shape. This was the creation of an avatar, just like what the Fire Ouroboros and the Sun Ouroboros had done.
This was nothing strange. Except for the Moon Ouroboros, which was already awake, all of the ouroboroses would create and send out avatars. In that case, it wouldn’t be so convenient that only the Earth Ouroboros wouldn’t do so.
The created avatar was Level 1000. Its combat power was comparable to Sol’s. It was a transcendent being that could drive creatures to extinction by itself.
“Aldebaran.”
—But it was shattered into pieces with one hit.
Accompanying the destructive sound of the steel fist, the newly created avatar reverted to light particles and vanished. Even though it was an avatar, it was also a skill. Therefore, it was helpless before Aldebaran, which was a skill that could end skills.
It was an instant kill that made one wonder what Leon’s struggle was all about, but it was simply a matter of compatibility. Since its very existence was a skill, it could not possibly withstand a blow from Taurus.
“Well done, as expected of Taurus.”
“……”
“Well then, let’s go. Everyone’s waiting.”
“No, not yet.”
Saying that, Taurus swung his fist at Libra. Libra quickly evaded and the punch missed its target. However, there was no change in the power contained in that punch. He was attacking with the intention to kill.
“What are you playing at, Taurus?”
“There’s no need for me to speak of the reason. You know it better than anyone else.”
“I don’t understand.”
Libra readied her weapon as she stared at Taurus with an icy look. If the other party was going to do something like this, then it would only lead to a battle.
“Regardless of who you might be, if you continue with this, I will counterattack. I’ll interrogate you after immobilizing you…So I recommend that you speak before it becomes an interrogation.”
“…I see. You’re unaware of your own condition. Or did you destroy your own memory in order to deceive yourself?”
“…The corrupted data?”
When Taurus said this, Libra stopped moving for a moment. That’s right…The corrupted data. It had been inside her since her reunion with Ruphas. However, its true nature was still unknown, and it had not been repaired at all. No, had she even been trying to repair it up until now?
…No, now wasn’t the time to think about it. First of all, she needed to calm this angry bull down. If necessary, it would be fine to finish him off. Actually, wouldn’t that be better? It was all for the sake of her master.
“Please stop, both of you! There’s no need for two of the Twelve Stars to fight each other!”
“That’s right! Let’s calm down and talk about it first!”
The heroic spirits were panicking due to the sudden development, but the two of them didn’t stop. Libra scattered shots while maintaining her distance. But Taurus advanced while ignoring the attacks.
However, Libra had the advantage in maneuverability. She jumped around agilely, not letting Taurus close the distance between them. The only threat that Taurus posed was his overwhelming destructive power. Furthermore, his strength was only effective at close range. He had no way of making ranged attacks. Once this was known, making an effective strategy was simple. All one needed to do was attack from a distance.
Unaware of my own condition? Deceiving myself? What foolishness…Since I’m a golem, memory manipulation won’t work on me. You’re the one who is suspicious, Taurus.
Libra fired her cannon at Taurus, forcefully blowing him away. It was tedious to shave away at his const.i.tution, but at the same time, it was a simple task that almost seemed to guarantee victory. It would be fine to keep wearing him down without letting him come close. Then, she could fire a single shot of Brachium when he was within range. That would be the end of it.
It’s true that my memory has been corrupted…That’s right. I should just repair it. I’m sure that if I repair my memory, Dina-sama’s true ident.i.ty and the reason for Taurus’ madness will become clear.
Libra didn’t notice it. She didn’t realize how strange her thoughts were right now.
“I should just repair it.” …This meant that she could have always repaired it at any time, but she hadn"t done so. Why hadn"t she done it? Normally, she should have considered this first.
But she was unable to do so since she was a golem. There was no other reason. She was simply convinced that it was all for the sake of her master. As long as she recognized this to be true, her thoughts would not go any further. They simply stopped when the answer was evident. This was the sad difference between people and golems.
Corrupted data…repairing…
Without any justifications, she thought that it was time to repair the corrupted data. There was no reason and no doubt. This was because it was the right thing to do.
She was essentially a tool. The purpose of her existence was to benefit her master and eliminate any threats to her master. Therefore, she had no doubt.
And—
“…Ah. Is that so?”
The doll—
“I see, Taurus. Everything is exactly as you have said. Indeed, I’m acting for the sake of my master…”
—sneered.
“…for the sake of Alovenus-sama.”
An expression that had never been seen before appeared on her face.
—And the brilliance of Brachium swallowed Taurus and the heroic spirits.