episode_0250

Splash!

The refreshing sound of waves is heard in my ears.

The slightly fishy smell of salt touches the tip of my nose.

This is Odae Beach in the East Sea.

I came here to investigate, following a request from Queen Zoe about a strange structure that appeared.

Of course, it would be ridiculous for a crowd of people to rush to such a simple investigation, so only Tamiel and I came here.

“Hey, Tamiel.”

“Hmm? What’s up?”

Tamiel tilts her head and speaks from beside me.

I stare at Tamiel for a moment, then shrug and say.

“So, what do you know?”

“Oh my…. What do you mean?”

“Don’t lie. When the Queen said a strange structure had appeared in the sea, your face changed instantly. You don’t think I noticed?”

“…Seriously. I can’t hide anything.”

Tamiel shrugs at my words, shakes her head as if giving up, and looks at the blue, sparkling East Sea, saying.

“Do you remember where you were a few days ago?”

“A few days ago?… I was in Tayo Kingdom… Before that, I was in the Holy Kingdom… It’s a bit vague.”

Because “a few days” is quite relative in the first place.

But Tamiel continues, still fixing her gaze on the sea.

“Maybe…. I think the structure appeared when you killed the ‘Witch’…. the demonic beast that swallows the sea.”

“…The demonic beast that swallows the sea?”

Why is that suddenly coming up?

“Maybe ‘they’ felt that the demonic beast that swallows the sea had disappeared. So that’s why they appeared.”

“They, you mean….”

“Yes. My homeland, that is.”

As if waiting for Tamiel to finish speaking, a huge structure rises from the sea.

It looked like a ‘door.’

Just an empty door.

But it’s a familiar door. And I quickly realized where I had seen it.

“Transfer Gate….”

A gate with a level of completion that is incomparable to the Transfer Gate of the Magic Kingdom that I saw in Tamiel’s memories.

A structure that allows anyone to use the ‘Space Leap Magic’ that Tamiel uses.

So the identity of the structure that appeared was that thing?….

“It seems like this happened because of me, so I’ll take care of it.”

“…Can you handle it?”

“Of course, I can. Don’t you remember who I was?”

The princess of Laftia, the forgotten city-state with the advanced technology that created that Transfer Gate.

But I feel strangely uneasy.

Why did that appear ‘now’?

When Tamiel was sealed, the demonic beast that swallowed the sea should have been sealed as well.

If that’s the case, it’s practically dead, so why has it been quiet until now and only appeared now?

“…Hey. You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?”

“….”

“Tell me honestly. What are you hiding? And why did that appear now?”

Tamiel refused to answer my question.

She would usually answer my questions with a sly attitude, but she refused to answer.

Instead, she slowly walked towards the huge structure that had risen beyond the sea.

“Hey! Tamiel!!”

“Your power has already far surpassed the realm that I can handle. So even if you follow me, there’s no way to stop me.”

“….”

“So…. If you want to know, you can follow me.”

With those words, Tamiel snapped her fingers.

Coo coo coo coo coo!!!

The Transfer Gate activates with a heavy noise.

And with that, Tamiel’s figure disappears.

“…Ah, damn.”

Let’s think about it.

Suddenly, Laftia’s Transfer Gate appeared in the East Sea of ​​Zoe.

The reason for this is unknown.

According to Tamiel herself, it is the result of Laftia noticing that the ‘demonic beast that swallows the sea’ had disappeared.

“…Ah, I don’t know.”

If you don’t know even if you think about it, you don’t know.

Originally, if you lack brains, you make up for it with your body. I know very well that I’m not very smart, so let’s not bother trying to use my brain.

“Whatever’s going on, you’re all dead, really.”

I leap forward and stand in front of the Transfer Gate in one stride.

Then, without hesitation, I throw myself into the Transfer Gate.

* * *

Whirr

Black flames engulf Tamiel’s body.

These black flames instantly burn away the clothes Tamiel was wearing, and then change into a black dress.

Tamiel seems very familiar with it, and walks forward without even reacting.

Tap tap tap

Tamiel’s footsteps echo particularly loudly throughout the city.

Rectangular, white, and neat buildings are skyscrapers that have sprung up like bamboo shoots after the rain.

But there is no sign of people here.

No, I wonder if life even exists here? It’s so desolate.

“Nothing has changed. In the past, now, and in the future, it will be the same.”

What is felt is pity, anger, and….

Hatred.

“….”

The center of Laftia.

Yes, in other words, Laftia’s royal palace.

I arrived in front of it.

As soon as I arrived, the palace door opened as if waiting.

And there he was.

“Welcome back from your long outing. I can’t help but be moved that you have finally overcome the destiny stained with the curse that bound the princess.”

“I didn’t come back.”

Tamiel cut him off.

Then, as if warning him, she said in a small voice.

“There’s no place left for us on the ground now. So if you’re going to sleep, keep sleeping.”

“…Is that the conclusion that the princess has reached?”

“Yes, that’s the conclusion I came to.”

“Hmm…. Is that so? I don’t think so.”

The only two living things here.

The master of Laftia, my father, my younger brother, and all the citizens of Laftia, slightly raised the corners of his mouth and said.

“I have been slowly observing the beings on the ground since we sank deep into the sea. And I was able to come to a conclusion. That the beings on the ground cannot keep up with our technology.”

“Is that how this place sank into the deep sea?”

“That’s…. certainly embarrassing. I would say that it was a big mistake that we didn’t accurately grasp ‘those things’.”

“….”

The reason Laftia sank into the deep sea was not because of the combined attacks of several countries.

Because Laftia’s technology cannot be overcome by such a thing.

The reason Laftia perished was because of the ‘demonic beasts.’

“To think you would lure them in, even at the cost of mutual destruction.”

“Laftia sank into the deep sea to avoid the demonic beasts….”

“But we couldn’t shake off the demonic beast that swallows the sea. And you sacrificed yourself to stop it. Even now, when I recall the memory of that time, I cannot hide my tears.”

Like a sacrifice offered to a god, she connected the ‘life’ of the demonic beast with her own ‘fate’ to prevent it from attacking Laftia.

But as a result, Laftia sank into the deep sea forever.

Because the fate of the princess of Laftia and the fate of the country of Laftia were one….

“We have devised various means to sever that. But everything failed. In the end… As a last resort, we combined the fate of all the citizens of Laftia into ‘one’….”

“….”

He combined all the lives, fates, destinies, and everything else of all the citizens of Laftia except himself into one.

In order to escape from the curse of the demonic beast that binds this country.

But the ‘weight of life’ of the demonic beast was too great, and in the end, all that remained in this Laftia was the princess, and ‘one life’ combined with everyone else besides the princess.

“…I don’t want to cut you off.”

“There is no need to cut us off. As the princess wished, as we wished, we have been liberated from the curse that binds this country… Now, let us become ‘one’ with us.”

“….”

Was that the purpose after all.

I expected it, but….

“I’m not afraid of becoming one with you…. But there’s one thing I want to ask.”

“What is it?”

“What are you going to do when we all become one?”

“Well…. We will have to take back what is ours.”

For a long time….

I fully understand the feelings of ‘them’ who have been sunk in the deep sea for a very long time and remained here alone.

But….

“Our era is over.”

“Yes, it may be over. But now a new era will come.”

“Listen to me.”

“Are you perhaps worried about the intruders who have invaded this place?”

When he lightly snapped his fingers, a semi-transparent screen appeared.

On the screen was the figure of a familiar man.

“Hero….”

“Hero…. I might have welcomed him at ordinary times, but…. Unfortunately, it’s not the time to do so, which is a pity.”

The man manipulated the screen that appeared in front of him.

At that moment, alarms began to sound throughout Laftia.

It means that the defense system has been activated.

“…I’ll tell you one thing.”

“?”

“The reason I say that our era will not come is because of that man.”

He frowned slightly, as if he didn’t understand my words.

“What on earth is that….”

“Even if you absorb me…. It’s a flow of time that you can never win against. I felt it outside.”

And at that moment,

Sreung…. Kwakakakakakakak!!!!

A huge slash that swallowed everything struck Laftia.