Episode 1018 Starlight of Dawn (2)
[hi.]
“hi.”
Tearel, stained with the traces of fierce battle, settled into the saddle of a warhorse.It was Verden’s rear seat.Using Verden’s robe as a reins, she gazed at the fortress of Margrave Brohnath within the city, which had been engulfed in great commotion since morning.
“Did you guys do this?”“Well, half of it.”
Verden observed Thearel’s attire. Although tattered in places, it was not clothing an ordinary person would wear. He looked just like a nobleman.
“Were you the daughter of Baron Rah who couldn’t attend the Margrave’s banquet?”“My name is Terrin Rah. But it’s all meaningless now. Because the family is ruined.”“Why?”“My father died on the way.”“…….”
[… … .]
Tearel told me the story of how the entire family, except for her, was wiped out in an instant after being attacked by an ancient alien. She saidthey had a very hard time because the creature could not be killed by ordinary physical force.
“We managed to guard the carriage like that, but it was old to begin with, so the wheels broke along the way. That’s why I traveled on foot with Master Magion and
Verden and Luzak’s eyes widened.
“You mean you were with the third guest of honor?”“He was my teacher.”“Your teacher? Where is Magion?”“He left, saying he had personal business. He said we’ll meet again later. Asher, if you happen to see him, Teacher Magion asked me to pass this on.”
Tearel whispered a message.
Excessive knowledge is poison.
If you go too far, it overflows… Verden pondered the meaning of the sentence Deus had sent. Interpreted literally, it sounded like a warning to moderate.
Is it a warning, or advice?
The Lefragium Magic Tower was not an enemy, but neither could it be definitively classified as an ally. As long as Deus concealed the information, this relationship would continue.Even if it was difficult to believe at face value, keeping it in a corner of one’s mind would be the correct response.
“…….”
Verden shifted his gaze.
Luzak was participating in the conversation, but his eyes remained fixed on the north. To the north lay the kingdom’s capital, where the remnants of the Morning Star were heading.
Longing, sorrow.The determination that encompasses them.
Unlike when he was the sixteenth distinguished guest, Luzak displayed such human emotion. His desire for knowledge appeared to be gradually fading.This new side of Luzak gave Verden a new hypothesis.
Souls alive and breathing in an adventure drama. And the intellectuals of Arcadium, with the exception of a very few including myself, are probably… … .
If Luzak realizes something new at the end of the short journey, the conjecture will become reality.
Verden moved the Margrave’s warhorse.
There isn’t much time left until the summit in Prohas, so we must fix our main goal on finishing the second game.
[What is Terin’s task?]
“Obtain the Blue Sight from Archmage Talakan. Teacher Magion says that Talakan is likely in the capital of the Kingdom of Hersaon by now.”
[Capital. Our destination.]
“Really? Then I won’t need to get off midway.”
Tearel did not even ask what the task of Verden and Luzak was. It was not a restraint of curiosity. Rather, he was simply focusing his interest on something else.
At that moment, Tearel tilted his head while looking at Luzak.
“By the way, who is this?”“……Are you only asking that now? It is me. Luzak Faltane.”“I know. The sixteenth distinguished guest. Because your accent was the same. Where did that walrus-like trunk and the exposed grayish-white brain go?”“Hahaha, this is the real me.”
The morning sunlight shines on them.
“It just so happens that we have gathered here to embark on this adventure. Long ago… an acquaintance once said something like this: that only after coincidence upon coincidence does the path to inevitability finally open.”
The shadow of a horse cast upon the earth.
“Our gathering might be inevitable.”“Well, I’m the type who doesn’t believe in fate.”“I think so too.”
Luzak willingly took the lead.
“I simply believe that there is only inevitability. That the choice we made was not in vain…….”
* * *
From the rooftop of a building on the outskirts of the city, the Margrave’s castle, which has been reduced to rubble, is clearly visible.
“Asher, Alpha, and Beta, have you received the news? To think we’re all entangled like this in this ancient adventure full of variables. Hohoho. I suppose fate truly is fate.”
The fourth distinguished guest sat looking around the city and spoke to the person who had come to visit him.
“Anyway, the deaths of numerous nobles, including Margrave Brochnath. A blood-stained banquet. Even the absence of forces to track the Morning Star… It is quite an intriguing sight to see the original history twisted.”
Whoosh.
Deus Wieden, the Provider who lifted the
“They really went wild.”“Hoho, perhaps because they are so honest about their desires, we got along quite well. Though, on the stage of this game where death isn’t really death, they did chatter more aggressively than they do in real life.”
The fourth VIP grinned slyly.
“For I am neither magically mighty like Lord Asher nor as skilled as Lord Magion. My eloquence is my only real pride, but if I cannot even do this much, how could I possibly face anyone?”
He slowly took off the leather he was wearing on his head.
Waves of the Strait.
It is the only mask in the Arcadium capable of concealing one’s real face at banquets. Crafted by the Host, it was also an ancient artifact awarded to Deus, who won the Arcadium Games in the past.
“By the way, I understand that in the original history, the Knight of Ruthlessness kills Margrave Brohnath, spends days and nights dealing with the pursuit force the Margrave assembled to protect the remnants of the Morning Star, and arrives at the capital of the Kingdom of Hersaon in a battered state… How will it unfold in a game where history has been altered?”“The outcome does not change.”“Even with Lord Asher here?”“It is meaningless.”
Deus asserted.
“The capital of the Kingdom of Hersaon will perish. Even more miserably than before. The Morning Star will fall, and starting with this, even the Moon will plummet.”“Indeed, with other intellectuals present, negative chaos is bound to intensify.”“So, what was your request?”“Of course, I figured it out. Isn’t the true beauty of the Arcadium gathering the fragments of knowledge stolen from the distinguished guest to complete them like a puzzle? I was busy during the first and second games.”
The fourth VIP stood up, stepping on the edge of the building’s rooftop. Lightly brushing off his bottom and with his hands behind his back, he walked past Deus.
“The third game to conclude the Arcadium is ‘Intellectual Conflict.’”“Does the host expect only two people to remain?”“Intellectual Conflict is a two-player game, but I heard the host has modified it. Three. The host has set the number of participants remaining until the final game at three.”
First distinguished guest, Bloodia.Third guest of honor, Magion.Fourth guest of honor, Asher.
There is no need to even think about who those three might be.
The fourth distinguished guest whistled.
Lastly, this is a means of transportation specially prepared for Lord Magion, who has been reduced to walking on foot. I saw that the Margrave is raising it with great care.
Hehehe.
A white winged horse flies in from afar.
Pegasus.
It was one of the individuals that went extinct in the Battle of Destiny. The Pegasus, which had been hovering in the sky, soon landed on the rooftop where the fourth VIP was, following his instructions.
“Lord Magion, what will you do now? Will you accomplish the task of the given knowledge?”“Yes, for we must move on to the next game.”“Would you be alright not to stop Lord Asher? If we are not careful, it might become irreversible.”“I have sent a message, so the situation you feared will not occur.”
Now that the Margrave’s banquet had been devastated, Thearel’s status as a member of the Rach noble family was no longer needed. There was no longer any need for him to act as a tutor.Still, it was not a meaningless time.The advice conveyed through Thearel would surely make Verden hesitate.
“And at Pegasus’s speed, I’ll have plenty of time to head to the kingdom’s capital even after completing my task. I’ll probably arrive around the same time as Asher.”“Hoho, it’s thanks to me, isn’t it?”“Mm.”
Deus rode Pegasus.
“Aren’t you going to the capital?”“I intend to adventure through this era for a while while leisurely accomplishing my tasks. A chance to get my hands on the treasure the host possesses from the primeval age? Surely, such a moment will not come again in a lifetime?”
The fourth distinguished guest shrugged.
“Whether in reality or here, the fact that we are together here is also a secret.”“As you wish.”
Following Deus’s touch, Pegasus prepared to leap. The creature, having sprinted from one end of the rooftop to the other, soon disappeared below,pressing down on the air with its pure white wings and soaring into the sky.
“Make sure you do not die.”“Of course. Our knowledge must not be taken away. If we do not have time to meet again in the Host’s territory, I will see you in Prohas.”
The fourth distinguished guest waved their hand toward Deus as he hurried away. They finished their farewell only after he had disappeared behind the clouds.
“Hoho, all the hard work has paid off. I feel so proud.”“My fourth distinguished guest.”
As Deus’s presence vanished, the guests of the Arcadium active in the adventure play came up to the building’s rooftop to pay their respects.
“Have you finished your work?”“Yes. Thanks to you.”“Th-then…”
The fourth distinguished guest waved their hand.
“I hope you enjoy the rest of your meal.””Thank you.”
The guests gathered their tableware and entered the middle floor of the building in unison. There, the bodies of the third, seventh, twelfth, and fifteenth distinguished guests lay neatly arranged.It was the unfortunate end for the intellectuals whose tasks had overlapped with those of the fourth distinguished guest from the very beginning.
Basic Rule of Adventure No. 5: If you eat another intellectual, you can obtain a random amount of knowledge.
The guests began to gleefully cook the bodies of the distinguished guests.The corpses of the third and seventh guests had already been half-eaten, their minds stripped of knowledge, but they did not care.They were satisfied merely with the fact that they could savor the supreme guests.
“Hmm, I wonder what state of mind they’re in eating that.”
The fourth distinguished guest shook his head. Even though he needs the knowledge of others, he does not consume intellectuals. This is because he simply feeds others and listens to them.Beneath the fourth distinguished guest are guests who secretly take his place as his meals. In this way, the guests accumulate knowledge and become new distinguished guests.
Another powerful figure in Arkadium.
The fourth guest, who had now joined the Arcadium for the third time following Deus, had seized control of 30% of the guests without even the first guest knowing.To him, skilled in agitation, the banquet of knowledge was a playground.
The winds of this era aren’t exactly different from those of the modern age.
The fourth distinguished guest gazed upon a gloriously lofty era that had long since perished. He recalled the General Assembly of the Magic World and the World Conference in succession.
“Thanks to Asher, we are now able to see Magion’s human side, and ‘we,’ who have been operating from the background to avoid fate, are gradually stepping into the forefront. Hoho, I am eagerly looking forward to seeing what happens next.”
The warm sunlight shone on the sincere face of the fourth guest of honor.
Artisan, Master of the Magic Tower.Instigator of reform.
I really like it.
Feldianne Piercia Rate.
“You must feel the same way, O Last Resistor.”
Seeds of resistance.
* * *
Ancient Adventure, Chapter 1: The Journey, Part Two.
Everyone imagines ‘what if’.
A vain yearning to erase the past, only to sink deeper into regret the more one tries.A sincere curiosity to know the history that changes depending on choices.
The game of adventure is a game of hypotheticals, and here, the Demon God became the knight and his party, destined to repeat despairing regrets once again.The Transcendent of the Sea took his place by their side, prioritizing only his own objectives.
Life moves toward the future,and death remains in the past.
Even a false name belongs to the living.
To a deceased person and toy who cannot escape the past, neither a pseudonym nor a real name holds any meaning.
The meeting of the Devil God and the Morning Star will become a reality connecting the future and the past.
* * *
Contrary to what Thearel had said, the journey was not that dangerous.The same went for the night journey.There were no monsters that posed a substantial threat to Verden and his party.
and.
Upon arriving at the capital of the Kingdom of Hersaon using a map, a scene far from peaceful unfolded before their eyes.
Boom… … Rumble… … !
A dragon smaller in size than a Bone Dragon.
A gigantic monster wrapped in a grotesque, pus-dripping bandage, with two legs and one arm attached to a large head.
Elves that slaughter humans.
Humans and aliens squeezing through the collapsed castle gate.
The capital is being thoroughly destroyed.
[Your Majesty Asher. It is a great disaster.]
“What is this tragedy?”
Tearel caught the strong scent of blood wafting from the capital. Even now, countless screams could be heard from the city.It appeared that the knights and mages of the kingdom’s capital were fighting back, but they were clearly outnumbered.
Verden said.
“It seems this situation arose because the mercenaries hired by the Margrave failed to hold back the Morning Star, resulting in the Knight of the Dawn invading the capital early.”
Judging by the intact city walls, the tragedy of the capital began from within. It is evident that the remnants of the Morning Star, who hate the religion of the Moon, are responsible for this.
“Besides, it looks like intellectuals got involved too. Judging by the chaotic variety of attackers.”“So you’re saying we have to go into that hell now?”“Yes.”
Verden and Tearel glanced sideways at Luzak, who was suddenly enveloped in silence. He, who had been quietly gazing at the collapsing capital, soon smiled as if he had realized something.
“Hahahaha…….”
Then, he laughed very loudly, as if to make sure the people outside the stage could hear it.
“Hahaha, hahahahahahahahahahahaha!”
Luzak sheds a single tear.
“To think that of all times, and of all times, I have entered the body of this ruthless knight…… Whether this is destiny, or the Host’s trick, I do not know…….”
He let out a deep breath.
“Whatever, Host. You are… so cruel.”
Swoosh.
Luzak wiped his tears with his dirty gauntlet and suddenly pulled the reins. The warhorse neighed and raised its forelegs high.
Luzak, whose emotions were changing from moment to moment, raised his voice.
“Follow me. I will guide you to the location of the Knight of the Dawn. And also the way to the royal palace where the Archmage Talakan is.”
Luzak drew his long sword and exuded a fiercely human fighting spirit.It was a resolve to stake his life, and the determination of someone who knew better than anyone what he had to do right now.
Thus, Verden’s hypothesis was proven.
As expected, was he a man of this era?
Thearel blinks.Alpha and Beta notice the same fact as Verden.
Verden said.
“Luzak.”“…….”“So you were already dead.”
When Luzak stayed at the Black Hour Grand Hall for a while, Verden had a conversation with Luzak like this.
───Then, first off, what is your origin?
───Origin, huh? I suppose you mean my mysterious body. Indeed, you are the guest of honor. To point out one of the deepest secrets of the Arcadium so immediately.
I don’t know either. Unfortunately.
───You don’t know?
Nothing is known about the background of Arcadium, nor where its inhabitants originated. Only the Host who founded Arcadium knows the truth.
However… now Verden also knows the truth about Arcadium, and Luzak also knows the answer to where he originated.
“exactly.”
Luzak smiles weakly.
That is the dark truth of the Arcadium.
The intellectuals of Arcadium, and those moving in this primeval adventure, are all beings who lost their lives long ago.Just as Draven Lemarque was… they are souls who have received false bodies.
There were almost no intellectuals in the deep sea in the true sense.
There were only the dead who could not find peace even after death, merely playing games with the host.
toy.
Host is another name for an intellectual.
