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Last Embryo Volume 1 Chapter 6 Part 3

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

Editor: Weasalopes

The celestial Beasts of the Twelve Constellations are: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces, and their counterparts in the Chinese Zodiac: Mouse, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Those 24 Celestial Beasts are said to exist in the orbit of the sun and are henceforth referred to as the Sun’s Authorities.

「In the ongoing 2^nd War for the Sun’s Authority, the trial with subduing the rampaging Taurus can generally said to be divided into two separate Gift Games, one of them being 『The Monster of the Labyrinth』, which is based on the story of the Minotaur from Greek mythology.」

Minotaur: a monstrous bull that made several appearances even in Japanese legends, was originally a monster of Greek myth said to inhabit Crete, an island on the Aegean Sea. In the legend, Minos, the king of Crete once borrowed a beautiful bull from the God of the Sea, Poseidon himself. However, the longer he had the bull in his possession, the stronger his obsession for it was becoming (TL Note: Geez, what a simp), to the point that when Poseidon came for it, he refused to give it back to him, thus violating the contract between the God of the Sea and him. Angered by this transgression, the furious God placed a curse on the king’s wife, causing her to fall madly in love with the bull, until one day she ordered a famous craftsman and inventor to make her a female cow disguise so that she could fulfil her lust for Poseidon’s bull. As a result, nine months later the queen of Crete gave birth to a half-bull, half-human hybrid. A monster.

Initially, the child the queen gave birth to was given the name Asterios in the honor of one of its ancestors, but it was later rename to Minotaur – The Bull of King Minos­ –.

Sometime later, the kind trapped the monster in a specially crafted maze, the seemingly inescapable Labyrinth, until it was later slain by the hero Theseus who finally called the curtain on its cursed existence.

「The other Gift Game involves Gugalanna, 『The Bull of Heaven』 that appears in 『The Epic of Gilgamesh』, the very first poem in human history passed down since the earliest days of the Mesopotamian civilization. Both of those Gift Games are of tremendous difficulty and would require an immense amount of strength to clear them, but I would have never expected for the two of them to be hosted at the same time.」

『The Bull of Heaven』 was said to be an especially dangerous Celestial Beast, and he would have posed an enormous threat to the modern society if he was allowed to run free, especially since the records that described it explicitly stated that once Gugalanna descends upon the Earth, it would be struck with a famine lasting for 7 years. It has been known as 『The Bull of Heaven』 since time immemorial, but it was most probably due to its connection to the Taurus constellation. Mulling over everything he heard thus far, Izayoi muttered something to himself as if he was just struck with a sudden realization.

「Typhoon, smallpox, famine… every disaster connected to the 『Bull of Heaven』 listed in the Epic of 『Gilgamesh』 is manifesting itself one by one, so maybe that Minotaur from earlier wasn’t just borrowing its appearance?」

「Typhoons are what supposedly caused the floods that ended the world in it, smallpox would perfectly fit the description of the skin disease that befell the people due to the curse of the demonic beast Humbaba… so that would mean that the famine that is supposed to happen because of the virus would be his doing as well, huh?」

「There are various hypotheses and conspiracy theories regarding king Gilgamesh’s death, but some of them claim that it might have actually been due to the smallpox. But when compared to the Epic, this time the scale of the epidemic would be much greater.」

「Most likely due to the difference between the numbers of the population back then and now. Try thinking about it like this: if the ancient Uruk and the present world were to be the arenas for the same Gift Game. In order for both of them to bring about the same results despite their stark differences, that kind of power would be pretty much a necessity.」

「Well, taking into account the original 『Bull of Heaven’s』 rank and power as a Celestial Beast, it having that kind of power wouldn’t be that strange at all.」

「Exactly.」

Izayoi crossed his hands on his chest, analyzing their discussion up until this point. In the end, he thought, even if their ranks differ from one another, it was still exceedingly dangerous, even with the regulation of power placed on it by the rules of the Gift game that intended to reenact the Minotaur’s legend. And yet there it was, rampaging through the world, flexing its enormous power everywhere it went.

「But if that is the case, then we are in luck that it has returned to Little Garden. If it had remained here any longer, the damage it would have done to this world would definitely be of catastrophic proportions.」

「Yeah, you got that right. Unlike Little Garden, this world is pretty damn small.」

「You’re right. But if this is really a Gift Game aiming to recreate the legend, then it is quite possible that this 『Game of the Bull of Heaven』 will last for seven years. Taking the speed of the viral infection into account, humanity really might be at the danger of perishing.」

「Is it really as bad as you say?」

「That or even worse. Although the damage done by the typhoon itself was undeniably huge, that was not the worst of it. It’s the damage to the crops that’s really worrying me. According to my estimations, that virus may very well permeate the soil for years to come.」

「Hey, do not even dare to joke like that! That would literally be the worst possible outcome for us.」

「Precisely. We were all thinking that 『The Bull of Heaven』 represented drought, but it looks like the famine is its real attribute. It probably reached a conclusion that in order to bring famine upon the world, the best and the fastest way would be to poison the lifeblood of the crops: the earth itself.」

What a terrible thing to do. If that really was its plan, then saying that the current damage was devastating to the world would actually be an understatement. And yet in spite of all of this, Tokuteru simply laughed it off, ignoring the serious faces of his two companions.

「Why so serious about it, you guys? That particular problem has been essentially dealt with already. I said it before, right? That Homura already developed the means to defeat the virus, and that it won’t be long before they could be implemented into practical usage.」

「Oh? You mean the boy that Milady seems to be so fond of?」

「And I believe I also asked you about it already, but will that really work?」

「Christ almighty, I told you not to worry. After all, he…. Ah, sorry, Uesugi’s calling. I have to pick that up.」

In the middle of Tokuteru’s words, a ringtone that sounded like the chanting of the Heart Sutra sounded throughout the restaurant. It was so like Tokuteru to have something like that as a ringtone that both Izayoi and Pritt couldn’t help it but to smirk.

「I have to say, you have a great (shitty) taste in music. And this “Uesugi”? Could it be another member of the Twelve Devas, the great…」

「Sakamaki Izayoi, being perceptive is an admirable quality for a man to have, but being too perceptive might actually be bad for you.」

Placing a finger on her lips, Pritt flashed him a seductive, adult smile. Izayoi didn’t know how to respond to that, so just shrugged it off with a laugh.

「Okay, fine, I get the hint. But who would have thought that even the Gods will have spare time to spend on their hands?」

「We do have it I’ll have you know. All the more so since the 『Last Embryo’s』 defeat at your hands.」

The giggle of the Mother Goddess was a playful one filled with gratitude. She looked very strict at first glance, but turned out to be unexpectedly friendly.

As if on cue when the mood for it became just right, Don Bruno walked out of the kitchen with one pumpkin quiche in each hand.

「Oh, what’s this, you came as well, Pritt? You should have notified me before that you were going to drop by, I would have prepared a third serving and the table just for you.」

「Don’t worry about that, Don Bruno. I am more than fine with taking Tokuteru’s order, and he would have also gladly hand it over to me, so there’s no problem at all.」

「In that case, here you go, feel free to eat the entire thing. After all, this one is on Tokuteru. He really should have told me you were coming as well.」

With the Don’s go-ahead, Pritt grabbed Tokuteru’s pumpkin quiche without any hesitation whatsoever. Izayoi’s eye were also sparkling with joy at the thought of putting that freshly-out-of-the-oven masterpiece into his mouth.

Quiche was a dish that was pretty common across many parts of Europe, but it could by no means be called a high-class one. It would be best to say that it was the most popular among the people belonging to the middle and lower classes in the social hierarchy. And the mixture of the pumpkin and dough aromas was tickling Izayoi’s nose, making him sigh without even realizing it.

「Man, I have to say, it’s good to be back. At least I could taste this quiche one more time.」

「Stop with the sweet nothings, you goddamn brat. Knowing you, you probably brought a whole mountain of trouble with you, didn’t you? As far as I’m concerned you can just go die in a ditch by the roadside, but keep the kids from the orphanage out of whatever strange shit you got mixed up into, ya hear me? Every strider should know that the least they can do for their homeplace is to die without causing trouble for it.」

「Yeah, I’ll be sure to do just that, don’t you worry.」

He opened his mouth and took a bite of the quiche. He didn’t eat it for three whole years, but his body still remembered the taste perfectly, and it was as tasty as ever. The same good taste, but with a bit of bitterness added to it. Yeah, sure, he wanted to lead a good life where he wouldn’t bother anyone, but as long as the ass of whoever was behind all this mess remained unkicked he couldn’t just stop now.

「Sorry, Don, but I have to ask: knowing you and how good you are at taking care of the people around you, have you been secretly looking after the kids from the orphanage?」

「Well, it’s not like I’m doing it out of charity or goodwill. But rest assured, until my debt to Canaria has been paid in full, I will continue to look out for them in my own way, or else I won’t be able to face whatever might wait for me down in hell with a clear conscience when I finally get dragged down there.」

Don Bruno simply scratched his head and went back to the kitchen. When Tokuteru came back after making his call, he was devastated when he saw that the full plate he has left behind was now perfectly empty.

「Hey, what the fuck, you two?! Where did my food go?!」

「Thank you for sharing it with us, boss. It was terrifically delicious.」

「If someone as useless as you were to eat it it would have been such a waste, so we decided to prevent that from happening. Of course, you don’t mind that, do you?」

Izayoi laughed out loud without even trying to hide his crime, while Pritt simply covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. Having no other choice, Tokuteru simply ordered another portion of salted pie with a long and heavy sigh.