Ch.116Twelve Heavens (11)

# The Twelve Heavens (11)

“Do you intend to betray your mother, Lord Extra?”

“Are you going to betray me? Again?”

“…Would neither of you consider resolving this through conversation?”

Extra timidly raised his hand, offering mediation.

But if these were the kind of people who would accept mediation, they wouldn’t be having a conversation premised on combat in the first place.

“What strange things you say, Lord Extra. Wasn’t it you who said Brigade Commander Five is a tyrannical, self-centered, selfish old maid who cannot be reasoned with?”

“No…!”

…He did say that!

He definitely did say it, but that was just how the conversation flowed.

It was simply the maximum consideration he could offer to a workplace superior grieving over a friend’s death.

“Oh?”

Whoosh!

In an instant, Garnet’s hair flared up like flames.

Her emotions were running high.

But Garnet quickly suppressed the flames and folded her arms.

With the imposing demeanor of a haughty noble, she spoke.

“And didn’t you say that when I went to catch Agni, all those lizards would be so fat and bloated that their ear canals would be blocked, and I’d need to blow them wide open to make them listen?”

“No…! No…!”

He did say that!

Yes, he did!

But it was never, absolutely never, sincere! Extra was merely humoring his workplace superior who was in such a foul mood that she looked ready to burn down the office at any moment.

‘Besides, I didn’t even bring it up first! They were the ones who said that’s how it would be and demanded my agreement!’

He hated to say it, but these two were quite similar in personality.

To put it simply, they were both the type of people who resorted to violence when others didn’t agree with their opinions.

“Wow, this bastard’s hilarious, isn’t he? I give him an escape route and he doesn’t even take it?”

“How disappointing, Lord Extra.”

The two who had been trying to pull Extra to their side simultaneously reached out toward him.

More unforgivable than an enemy was a traitor who flitted about like a bat, attaching themselves to whoever was convenient.

Of course, from Extra’s perspective, it was only natural to try to prevent two cooperating parties from fighting.

But as explained earlier, these two who disliked when others didn’t “sympathize” with them had branded Extra a traitor and changed their priorities accordingly.

“Sigh…”

Even Extra could read the atmosphere.

Of course he could—how many years had he been in the workplace?

At this rate, Extra would be the first to be killed.

But if he took sides, he feared the aftermath.

Taking sides here could result in facing an entire organization rather than just an individual.

So his conclusion, the best he could do right now:

“Come at me, all of you! Fuck! You think I can’t do anything?!”

Extra drew his massive greatsword and created distance.

Honestly, he had no confidence in winning.

He was confident he couldn’t do anything.

Nevertheless, he provoked both of them because he judged it better to limit their target to just himself.

Better for him to sacrifice himself than to cause a rift between two factions.

And if he survived…

‘I can infiltrate the Hero’s party!’

The Demon King’s army? The Eye of Truth?

Neither of those.

Wasn’t Extra currently living as a member of the Hero’s party?

If he needed to be careful around anyone, it was them.

Even if they called him a bat, he could endure it many times over for Abaddon’s sake.

‘Yes! Someone in the Hero’s party will surely recognize my efforts!’

***

The battle between Garnet, Varuna, and Extra was of such enormous scale that it was clearly visible from a distance.

And naturally, the members of the Hero’s party could immediately recognize this unprecedented situation.

“My, what a lively city.”

“Hmm… Varuna is still young. I apologize. I’ll have a stern word with him later.”

Surya, one of the Twelve Heavens and the Sun God, clicked his tongue as he poured herbal tea into Eirene’s cup.

“Is that so? I heard he was an ancient dragon… Perhaps dragons’ sense of time differs from ours.”

“Well, in human years, he’d be about sixty-two.”

“Y-yes, sixty… I see.”

The ancient dragon was much older than she had thought.

Eirene watched the distant pillars of fire and water rising into the sky but made no move to rush out.

And Surya, who was conversing with her, also seemed to have no intention of resolving the situation.

“Then, Lord Surya, could you continue explaining about divine power?”

“I shall.”

It was a moment when Extra’s lifespan was shortened by about five years.

But Eirene wasn’t the only member of the Hero’s party staying here.

The party members were each growing stronger with the wisdom of the ancient dragons.

Among them was Millia, who had earlier discussed black magic with Nirrti, the Rakshasa Heaven.

Yes, unlike Eirene who was engaged in a real-time discussion about divine power with Surya, she had been relatively free.

So Millia, who had been taking a nap with nothing else to do, frowned at the spectacle of fire and water columns visible through the window as she woke up.

“…Too bright.”

She rubbed her eyes as she got up, then widened them at the scene unfolding outside.

She could see considerable levels of magic crossing and exploding.

It was a display of technique that could be beneficial just by watching.

“…”

Swish!

But she was sleepy right now.

Millia drew the curtains and burrowed back into bed.

While two members of the righteous Hero’s party were showing an attitude of indifference toward Extra’s fate…

Esmeralda, who had been sparring with Mahadeva Shiva, was also watching the scene.

“Haah…”

The conscience of the Hero’s party.

Esmeralda, the Hero, couldn’t just stand by and watch this.

She didn’t want to turn La•Pa into enemies, so she needed to stop this before it escalated.

But even Esmeralda seemed unable to resolve the problem.

“This is bad… I can’t move.”

“Well, rest a bit more.”

She was collapsed on the ground.

Her sparring with Shiva had been almost like actual combat, pushing Esmeralda to her limits.

So even though she wanted to resolve the situation, she lacked the strength to do so.

Even at full capacity, there was no guarantee she could stop those two, but in her current state, it was simply impossible.

“Could you possibly help?”

“Why should I?”

Esmeralda sighed at Shiva’s immediate rejection of her request without a moment’s consideration.

It seemed her impression during their fight wasn’t wrong.

‘This old man is incredibly simple-minded and rough.’

While he was like a sage when it came to combat, he showed a disastrous level of social skills.

“So you’re just going to leave it like that? It’s going to cause chaos…”

“Someone else will handle it.”

Shiva waved his hand dismissively and plopped down near the collapsed Esmeralda.

He even laid out a mat to sit on, showing he truly had no intention of helping.

“Besides, it seems someone more suitable than me has appeared anyway.”

“Pardon?”

“Look. The descent of a divine being.”

Shiva pointed to one side with an expectant grin.

There, the silhouette of a person entering alone into the midst of the natural disaster where pillars of fire and water intertwined could be seen.

A plain-looking man who looked like he might be blown away by the storm at any moment.

“Is that Lug?”

Esmeralda first checked Lug through her Emerald Tablet.

Blue Blood Lv. 3

[Comprehensive Estimate Lv. 1034]

Indeed, if it was Lug, he might be able to stop the two.

Although his level was lower than the two who were fighting, he could at least intervene between them.

“Watch carefully, it’ll be over in an instant.”

“What?”

She couldn’t help but question Shiva’s following statement.

He might be able to fight well against the two, but it seemed difficult to believe he could win.

And yet…

“See? Over in an instant.”

The moment Lug intervened, the two who had been unleashing attacks in all directions suddenly collapsed to the ground as if crumbling.

***

Lug, the true conscience of the Hero’s party excluding Esmeralda, was able to intervene early in the fight between the two thanks to being chased away by La•Pa.

And the one who benefited most from this was undoubtedly Extra.

“Are you alright, Lieutenant Colonel?”

“Th-thank you. I knew you would come…”

“I’m glad I could live up to your faith.”

Extra felt he could understand, if only for a moment, why so many women were obsessed with Lug.

Despite possessing tremendous power, he never wielded it recklessly.

Considering that the comparison was with Garnet and Varuna, Lug deserved to be highly regarded.

Of course, others would probably think Lug favored the weaker side.

“B-but how did you do it? You didn’t kill them, did you?”

“Haha, of course not.”

Extra felt both gratitude and fear toward Lug.

The two had been pouring all kinds of magic at him, then accidentally hit each other with stray shots and started attacking each other with deadly force.

Given who they were, they would have been as focused on defense as they were on offense.

The situation was like two fortresses colliding, leaving Extra with no choice but to flee helplessly.

Yet Lug, who had intervened, had easily subdued them both. Yes, the small flame Lug had produced had devoured all their defensive measures and blown away their consciousness.

“Well, it’s difficult to explain even if you ask…”

It was different from a difference in power.

The power Lug had just exercised was something that couldn’t be understood by anyone who hadn’t crossed a certain threshold.

Not mana or divine power, but something even more formless.

“If I had to explain, I could only say it’s because my way of standing in the world is different.”

Even while existing in the same world, Lug could see and do much more.

That was the sensation Lug felt.

“I am rather special, after all.”

There’s a saying that eating the flesh of a high monk can grant immortality.

Lug’s body, having accumulated the deepest training in this world, and his blood had become special in themselves.

Hence, Blue Blood.

Beyond the limits of humanity…

“That’s why women fall for me with just a gesture.”

“I think that’s something different…”

He was an aristocrat of existence.