Chapter 114
Side: Cordelia Allston
We received news of the fall of the capital of the Holy Empire, boasting the largest territory on the continent, while we were stopping the artificial catastrophes in three places.
So, once again, we headed to the Dragon Village…
「In the blink of an eye, the surrounding countries around the Holy Empire have been swallowed up. Countless mass-produced (Overs) units leave no room for us to act, unable to resist… it’s like a nightmare unfolding.」
I said with frustration in the lobby of the library where Lilith served as a librarian.
In the lobby were Lute, Lilith, Koharu-chan… and also the elder elf and the guildmaster.
「No, it’s as expected.」
「As expected? What do you mean?」
At that moment, a red-haired man entered the library.
「Long time no see, Lute.」
「Old man, you haven’t changed a bit. We’ve known each other for almost ten years, but you don’t seem to age.」
「You haven’t changed since you brought me here either. Honestly… could you be a bit more formal with your speech?」
「Don’t say such stiff things. It would be weird if I suddenly started using honorific language, wouldn’t it?」
「Well, that’s true.」
「So, where’s the matter I requested?」
The red-haired man reached into his pocket and handed Lute a letter.
After reading the contents of the letter with a serious expression, Lute nodded slightly.
「Alright, it’s as expected.」
「A letter? From whom…?」
Lute thought for a moment, then nodded again.
「It’s from Moses.」
Upon hearing those words, I froze for a moment.
「Huh?」
「It’s an old-fashioned thing, but he sent a formal challenge letter.」
「Um… I’m not quite sure I understand?」
「For them, it’s within expectations for us to interfere. And for us, it’s within expectations for them to interfere, right?」
「Well, I suppose so.」
「So, they agreed readily. They want to have a fair fight three months from now. The location is the Ebina Plains for a grand showdown.」
After thinking for a moment, I shook my head.
「Will Moses keep his promise?」
Lute smiled faintly.
「No, I highly doubt it. They’ll probably come at us as soon as they’re ready.」
「Huh? What do you mean?」
「By specifying the time and place, we’ve actually constrained them. They’ll probably need about a month or so themselves.」
「…?」
「What do you think their main force is, Cordelia?」
「Ten thousand mass-produced units?」
「No, it’s the reincarnators. While it’s not easy to blow away the mass-produced units, we have Merlin. They’re probably planning to suppress Merlin’s movements with that… but we also have Lilith. Except for the Dragon King and his merry companions, they probably don’t care about us, but I can imagine Moses’s anxious face… Well, let’s get back to the point.」
「So, in the end, it’ll be a battle between transcendent individuals?」
「That’s right. And their main force, the reincarnators… their weapons aren’t all assembled.」
「Weapons?」
「Half of them are for the expeditions to fulfill the activation conditions for the Cradle, but the other half are ancient relics stored in various countries… It’s like Excalibur for me and Hino Kagutsuchi for Cordelia, dangerous artifacts collected for expeditions.」
「I see.」
「It’s strange for them to engage in combat before their forces are ready, right? So, we’re offering them a helping hand to buy some time. They’ll probably intend to betray the agreement and trap us… but that’s also within expectations.」
「…But how does Lute know so much about the enemy’s situation?」
Lute clenched his fist tightly.
「I know firsthand that Moses is a bastard before reincarnating and being born again… That’s the difference. Right after saving Lilith in the Dragon Village, I monitored him through the Dragon King using every means possible.」
「So you know everything… I really appreciate that you’re on our side.」
「And for us, just buying that much time is enough.」
「What are you planning to do?」
「If we were to confront Moses and the others and win outright, the ‘Outer Gods’ might cross the barrier and intervene.」
「You mean the bio-weapons that destroyed the ancient civilization?」
「Yeah, as the overseer of population control, the reason they haven’t intervened in this world is because they know about Moses. As overseers, their intention isn’t to wipe out humanity, so they’re just observing for now.」
「Hey, but couldn’t Lute, the Dragon King, Liu Hai-sama, or even Merlin-sama handle it?」
「I’ve only seen it once, from the edge of the barrier where humanity is allowed to live, in the farthest reaches of the land. If we were to confront it… in a full-scale battle…」
「A full-scale battle?」
「We might last about five minutes.」
「Even Lute… in that situation?」
「Yeah, because the foundation is different. It’s a creature perfected as a god of destruction. Originally, we’re enhanced humans within the system’s limits, but they’ve been enhanced as unrestrained creatures released from the constraints of ancient military weapons.」
「…And there are dozens, hundreds of them. There’s no way to deal with that.」
「Understood. So, what’s the plan for buying that one month of time?」
「We’re going to negotiate.」
「Negotiate with whom?」
Lute stood up and addressed the red-haired man.
「So, it’s as we planned.」
「Yeah, we never expected things to turn out like this.」
「I’m sorry, but I’m counting on you. Give my regards to the tradition of the Ama-no-Iwato cave. It seems that gods have always liked to stay indoors since the era of the Kojiki…」
With that, Lute addressed everyone present.
「Have you guys… left anything undone? From here on out, it’s non-stop until the end, okay?」
As we tilt our heads in confusion…
「So, let’s get ready to go as soon as possible. The Dragon King and his merry companions are already on site.」
「So, where to?」
「To the farthest reaches of the polar region. We’re going to meet the goddess who is the overseer of the ruins of the ancient civilization: Shibuya.」
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