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Last Embryo Volume 4 Prologue Part 4

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

「Thinking about it in such a way, I guess you are right, master.」

After all, in Celtic mythology, things like crown jewels and cauldrons could be as important as the most famous weapons wielded by the heroes of each of their Cycles.

「Right? And it is all thanks to the fact that throughout the process of different cultures mixing with one another, their symbols were also changing along with them. The same can be said about the words and codes used to describe stars themselves: Astra, Astel, Stella, all of them are different words, but they all refer to the stars in the broader sense, so I guess it can be said that the real 『Astras』 hid themselves among the folklore of the stars in all those different cultures. One sword that can be described as 「Astra」 can even still be found in the Far East, in Japan, to be more specific.」

「Japan… Sword of the Spirit Origin?」

「Fufu~~. That is a story for another time. Anyway, you must be wondering why I chose this specific Sea Beast to be the source of materials that will serve us to create your new weapon and armor, correct? Well, it is because the remnants of one of the Celtic 『Astras』 are still present in its body. It is the power of the most famous Giant Cauldron of the Celtic Mythology.」

「Oh, I have heard about this Giant Cauldron. It is the Giant Cauldron of Dagda, said to produce infinite supplies of food and being able to revive the dead by boiling their corpses in it, right? It is also said to be the original Holy Grail.」

「No no no, the remnants of the Giant Cauldron present in Rokuran’s body are nowhere near as powerful as the famed Giant Cauldron of legends, because, strictly speaking, it is not the same Giant Cauldron. The cauldron that was in the possession of the King of the Fomorians was the Cauldron of Death, while Dagda’s Giant Cauldron had the power to revive the dead by boiling their corpses in it, just like you said. In terms of power, it was supposed to be equaling that of Queen Halloween herself, though I am sure that Queen herself would claim that she was still stronger.」

Scathach-sensei said that in a casual tone, but hearing that made another wave of shivers run all the way down my spine. It was truly terrifying to think that somewhere in the world there existed irregular weapons that could give even Queen Halloween, The Celestial Spirit of the sun a run for her money. I would have never thought that 『Astras』 could actually have that much power within them.

「The creator of Fomorians made them with the intention of them being demons who could kill with their sight alone thanks to the power of the 『Astra』 they have been imbued with. That creator was none other than one of the strongest God-Killers known throughout all the mythologies: Dead-Eyed Balor, the wielder of the Wicked Eye, who granted the fraction of its power to all of his creations meant to wreck havoc and destruction in his name, including the Sea Beast Rokuran and its kin, whom you have been fighting for the past three days.」

Scathach-sensei said while extending her left arm forward with a sound of something sharp cutting through the air. When I focused my eyes on her and her surroundings, I saw that she was wielding a sword-whip similar to my Serpens Scorpius, and that with just that one move its segmented blade drew an arc in the air and hit the body of the giant Sea Beast, scraping off the fragments of its outer shell in an instant. Despite my own blade not passing through it even once. . . no, not leaving even a scratch on it, master’s sword was dismantling the shells and cutting its flesh into tiny pieces in the blink of an eye, as if they were made out of paper. And just like that, accompanied by the series of flashes of light that were emitted every time metal was colliding with the Sea Beast’s remains, it has been reduced to a pile of raw materials in a matter of seconds.

Even though I was using the same type of weapon and techniques in my battle against it, I was unable to do that kind of damage to Rokuran, and had to result to trickery and aiming for the weak spots to barely emerge victorious. I wonder if this is the difference in raw power caused by her having a weapon that was made with the materials that were superior to the ones my own sword has been created with? If I had that kind of weapon myself, would I be able to do that much damage with minimal amount of movements as well, or is that simply how vast the experience gap between the two of us was?

「Fufu~~. . . and? What do you think? Would you like to have such a sharp weapon yourself?」

「. . . Yes, that would certainly be a huge help to me. If I had a weapon like that, I am sure that I would not had to waste three days and three nights fighting those Sea Beasts to the brink of exhaustion.」

「If using the right weapon was all it took to complete this challenge I would have never given it to you because that would be too easy, so stop glaring daggers at me and simply accept it as me whipping you into proper shape with my whip of tough love, okay?」

「No, there is absolutely no way in hell I will ever forgive you for making me go through such hellish torture of a challenge.」

「Quite stubborn in that particular regard, are we not? And unnecessarily, because you really did quite good, all things considered. And you also mastered all of the martial arts I had to teach you in less than three months. This gives you the second place in the ranking of all of my disciples who have underwent the same challenge as you.」

Scathach-sensei raised two of her fingers and offered me words of praise that sounded genuine this time. But even so, I just could not hide my surprise upon learning that there was someone who has completed this trial faster then in three days and three nights. I mean, I was perfectly aware that I was not the only student that Scathach, the Mistress of the Land of Shadows ever accepted under her tutelage and that some of her other students were truly amazing legendary figures, like Cú Chulainn, the spear-using demigod of the Ulster Cycle and the son of the Sun God Lugh, but it would seem that the world of Celtic mythology was well and truly filled with those who could only be described as true warriors, or perhaps battle maniacs.

「Well, to tell you the truth, when I was younger I made a lot of mistakes, not only as a teacher but also as a person, some of them small and insignificant, some of them pretty big and serious, so from that moment forward, I decided that if I am to ever share my secrets with my future disciples, I would only do so after properly measuring the extent of their abilities. . . which is why a part of me really thought that you are not going to win, but to my surprise you managed to pull through just fine! I guess I was underestimating the extent of your tenacity, huh?」

Looking a little troubled, Scathach-sensei laughed nervously while scratching her own cheek. When I heard her saying something that was so unlike her usual self, I could not help it but to laugh ironically. But when I really thought about it, then I have to say that the one who she was really underestimating was Scathach-sensei herself. When it comes to turning tenacity into sheer power, there is no one better at pulling something as crazy as that than her.

The reason that I have took up my sword in the first place was because of a particular conviction I held related to the concepts of death and resurrection: I wanted to kill my sister whom I was so unsightly jealous of and be reincarnated in the Outer World, the world outside of Little Garden. There is no Gift able to bring those who died in Little Garden back to life there, they can, however, be reincarnated in the Outer World, where they will be given a chance to live a new life with their memories of their last life in Little Garden wiped out. For when it comes to the concept of death in the Little Garden of the Gods, the best thing that can be said about it is that it is extremely peculiar.