Ch.280280. The Truth of the Clock Hands

Mirpark was formidable. They had managed to persuade all the groups that rebelled against the Mirpark Law School duchy, and if one included the private soldiers commanded by the nobles, their numbers could reasonably rival the duchy’s army.

And they had reinforced their strength once more.

After conducting beast research and undergoing human manaification, they were not qualitatively inferior to the duchy’s army. They judged that if they sent undead beast colonies against them, they could put up a decent fight by utilizing Mirpark’s geographical advantage.

In reality, Mirpark held out for several days. They had resisted that long despite the duchy bringing almost all the notable guilds and Levrant’s promising talents, including Tembris. Viscount Flocan was confident they could turn this into a prolonged battle.

However, their defeat became imminent in an instant.

There was Senia with her outstanding insight, and Michelle of the Blue Flame, who was practically a natural enemy to undead beasts. Even more burdensome were Erika, the healer strong in prolonged battles; Charlotte, who became particularly powerful in winter; Aris with her lotus blasts concentrated on a single point; the versatile Cain; and finally, their leader, Goden of the Great Mountain.

Tembris was far stronger than rumored, and Mirpark’s geographical advantage ended up becoming a hindrance when facing humans rather than beasts.

After seemingly holding out well for days, the gates suddenly opened. Mirpark, once an iron fortress, was forced to bring out its secret weapon.

A specimen created by overlaying undead beast research onto the remains of Herkas, the Mortal Dragon, secretly diverted from the Empire.

The Undead Dragonia, Feltibourgos.

But the result was the same.

This right before their eyes was evidence of their complete defeat. Even the secret weapon created through the nobles’ alliance’s undead beast research had now been sealed.

-Crack!

Sparks flew when they tried to inject mana into the sealed formula in an attempt to tamper with it.

The Tembris party had locked it so securely that it was impossible to dismantle, causing Count Nevel to shake his head.

“Damn it!”

The staff Viscount Flocan was holding snapped with a cracking sound.

What good was inflicting one defeat on the advancing duchy army? After their weapons changed, Feltibourgos was helplessly conquered and sealed.

It was a complete defeat. The formidable fortress of Mirpark had been breached, and their secret weapon, Feltibourgos, had been sealed.

Thanks to other nobles buying time, Viscount Flocan and many other nobles had escaped the castle and hidden in a safe house, but that was merely delaying the inevitable.

Once the duchy army dealt with whatever appeared in the Rilkran Mountains and returned here, there would be no way out. It would only be a matter of time before they searched and found the hideout.

They had only managed to inflict damage once when they opened the gates. The only possibility lay in reviving Feltibourgos somehow.

“Use whatever means necessary to release the seal and revive it. Understood!”

—Y-yes, sir…!

Even knowing it was an impossible demand, Viscount Flocan, unable to abandon his ambition, continued to insist on the impossible.

Just as the old man was about to turn away, still clinging to his delusions…

“AAAAARGH!!!”

The scream of Count Nevel, his right-hand man, echoed.

Count Nevel had been stabbed in the heart by a spear held by a lizard, and shortly after screaming, he went limp.

“W-what… Where did that thing come from? There was clearly nothing around…”

“That’s not what’s important! That bastard dared to kill Count Nevel!!”

A soldier rushed at the lizard that had manaified and stabbed Count Nevel.

Viscount Flocan wanted to grab the back of his neck in disbelief that Count Nevel had been killed by a mere beast, but instead, he had to doubt his own eyes at the scene unfolding before him.

“Grrrrgh…”

The lizard firmly gripped the soldier’s wrist and completely squeezed out the mana from the manaified soldier, returning him to his original state.

And wasn’t the released mana seeping into the lizard’s body?

The lizard, which had clearly been just an ordinary beast in poor condition, was gradually recovering. Conversely, the human who had all his mana drained was now completely withered.

“Not, bad, taste.”

The lizard, seemingly satisfied, began to glance around.

“You, mixed, ones. Will, devour, all.”

Stepping on the withered soldier’s body, Ashpern, who had thrust his spear into the heart, spoke as if treating the soldiers like prey before rushing in to subdue and absorb the manaifiable soldiers.

With each absorption, his ravaged body was restored. The scars left by Junon’s mana spear and Goden’s all-out attack were being completely healed.

And his form began to change. The beast that had been merely a lizard gradually took on a human form, and after consuming all the mana…

“For things that should have disappeared, you tasted quite good. Humans.”

Now his form was clear, and Viscount Flocan recognized the familiar sight.

Hard blue scales and red gleaming eyes. The tail extending from his lower body was the source of the crisis that had befallen the Artena Empire.

“Kuk, kukuk!”

“Ah. There was one more left. Hmm, this one isn’t mixed.”

“A dragonoid… you mean? Created by that Herkas?”

Viscount Flocan’s laughter echoed, sounding as if he had lost his mind.

But that laughter didn’t last long.

“How dare a mere human like you speak my great father’s name.”

Finding it offensive that an old man blinded by ambition and engaged in shoddy research would dare speak that name, Ashpern mercilessly slit Viscount Flocan’s throat.

Ashpern stopped the rolling human head with his foot as if it were a soccer ball.

“Oh my. I should have erased all humans. To kill him like this… But perhaps it would be fine to feed him to this one?”

Ashpern looked at the sealed Feltibourgos and turned his head back to its original position.

The learned dragonoid remained wary.

That one human who had driven him to the brink of annihilation was still alive.

“That black-haired bastard… he was different.”

He had intended to create distance to continue his attack. But contrary to Ashpern’s expectations, that human had charged in as if he didn’t care about getting burned by the embers.

It defied common sense.

Even from a beast’s perspective, if magic comes flying, it’s best to avoid it to reduce mana consumption, or at worst, use an equal amount of mana to neutralize it.

But he charged in despite parts of his body catching fire. Solely to annihilate himself.

Ashpern, who had never doubted that any being would try to annihilate itself, felt danger for the first time. He had to eliminate Junon for certain.

“Feltibourgos, was it? Sadly, to catch him, I’ll have to use your creation.”

Saaaaa-

The mana gushing from the dragonoid’s hand began to dismantle the sealed formula.

Red gleaming eyes appeared in Feltibourgos’s previously ashen eyes.

“Yes. Humans use the term ‘brother,’ don’t they? Then you… from today, you are my younger brother.”

This too was a specimen created from the fragment of a great dragon. Today, Ashpern had given birth to his new brother.

“Corrode everything…! Corrode everything of the humans and digest it as your nourishment!!”

Feltibourgos of Corrosion.

It was the moment when another named beast with the exact same epithet as in the past was born.

***

Meanwhile, Erika could no longer hold back.

To Tembris, and to the entire duchy.

Because the nation was being shaken by Junon, who had once again presented Goden’s death to them.

It was an unbelievable sight. Not that Goden had fallen and died.

But that Goden had sacrificed his life to save Junon and handed him the armband signifying that he had become the leader of Tembris.

Therefore, rumors circulated that Tembris should accept Junon as the new party leader…

Erika had no intention of watching this any longer.

“Shall I proceed with this as planned?”

“Do it as quickly as possible. Otherwise… I think I’ll go insane.”

She ordered Kelnur to spread all the materials she had gathered so far. She had been meticulously investigating Junon’s background, so she could expose this at any time.

Despite his words about no longer being involved with Tembris and having no connection, he was a man filled with lies to the bone.

Because of this, the same past had repeated itself once again.

The absurd scene of Goden’s death and the delegation of party leadership.

“I hope you won’t say you need to protect that bastard after seeing this.”

Because Junon was trash bringing ruin to the duchy.

With tears of blood, Erika prayed. That her members would finally come to their senses.

And simultaneously, that Junon would finally receive proper punishment this time.

Shortly after.

A newspaper spreading throughout the duchy.

The information obtained through Kelnur’s background investigation began to spread far and wide through the press.

It was the hidden side of Junon.

1. He did not reveal that the Lemtert plague was caused by Devourers. Could casualties have been reduced if he had disclosed this? At the same time, he did not spread the information that Mystelis was highly effective against Devourers, only protecting himself.

2. The very circumstance of his silence about bringing Rakans when facing the Distorted Pimpert is suspicious. The Rakans were hostile to humans, and by rights, he should have informed the duchy of this fact, even if he had to explain. If this news had spread, casualties during the subjugation could have been reduced.

The point was that wherever Junon appeared, he kept information to himself and never shared it with others.

The fact that his silence always led to harm for the duchy.

Based on these grounds, it was claimed that Junon’s true nature was to preserve himself by borrowing the power of others.

-Slam!

“You, what the hell are you doing?”

Senia, who had flung open the office door, displayed a fierce gaze.

There was only one person who would spread such things to the press.

Someone who harbored a lot of resentment toward Junon, and there weren’t many left.

Erika. It could only be her.

“You know it’s not Junon’s fault. He acted because Sirah was in danger! So why are you publishing such news? Are you crazy?”

Senia, who had once left her unit with the sole intention of saving the Sirens, and who had been the very person who had socially buried Junon in the past, was furious about this fact and grabbed Erika by the collar.

However, Erika responded by shaking her off.

“That bastard requested support from Sirah just to save himself. Goden died because of that, and you still can’t come to your senses?”

“Don’t talk nonsense, Erika. When we arrived, Sirah was in a terrible situation, almost at refugee level!”

“Of course that would be his excuse!!”

“…What?”

“I understand he beat me in a one-on-one duel. But that’s just a duel, a fight between people. Has there ever been a place where accidents didn’t happen whenever that bastard was involved with beasts? No!”

She claimed it was obviously an excuse.

That he hid all information and used others as shields to preserve his own life.

That the cases weren’t isolated but happened every time without fail.

That while he might be excellent in human combat, his skills in beast combat were terrible, and he had never not been at the bottom of the page rankings.

Because he was a leech-like bastard who never fought with his own strength but always borrowed the power of others.

“And now he’s even used Goden to preserve his own life? Because he didn’t have the capacity to save people himself. He wanted to at least save his own life by borrowing Goden’s power!!”

Erika’s eyes were already filled with distrust.

There was even a firm resolve not to shake this belief.

“I can’t stand by and watch that bastard enter Tembris and use us as he pleases. I won’t let him suck the life out of others in the duchy army like a parasite.”

“That was Goden’s choice too! It was the path chosen by the leader of this party!”

Senia tried to change her mind until the very end, but the answer remained the same.

“I will never, ever trust that bastard.”

-Bang!

It was endless distrust.

***

At the same time, Michelle arrived in Sirah as advised by Senia.

While everyone was mourning Goden’s death and taking their own time, Michelle had received serious advice from Senia who had sought her out.

“Originally, I thought we should all go together, but for now, it might be best if at least you go to Sirah, Michelle.”

It hadn’t been long since Goden’s funeral, and amidst the pain of losing a comrade, Senia brought up the complicated story of going to Sirah.

Naturally, Michelle asked why.

“Since that telepathic message, I’ve been recalling my past. The same probably goes for Charlotte and Aris, and likely Erika too.”

But you were different, Senia had answered. You recalled a specific place, a ruin.

“That’s why you might need to go to that place even more. Like a key unlocking a lock, I didn’t recall it immediately either.”

After hearing that, she thought it might be possible.

She also had the intuition that it would be better to go as soon as possible.

So Michelle headed to Sirah on Senia’s advice, unaware that Erika was causing a major incident by trying to completely bury Junon.

Following the map given by Denis, she soon discovered a ruin.

“This is… what on earth…”

Indeed, this mysterious place was filled with a soft, glowing light.

Inside the ruin was a large formation in the shape of a clock, filled with a massive formula. And the clock was turning counterclockwise.

It was a formula she had never seen before, and it was extremely complex.

She had heard that there were oracles that took the form of objects with some kind of meaning rather than text.

She wondered if this was an oracle, but… it didn’t seem to be just that.

【 I have been waiting, maiden of the blue flame. 】

“Ugh!”

As always, a telepathic message that felt like it would split her head open arrived.

【 But the hidden truth is always harsh. You are not yet ready to hear this story. 】

“Not ready… what does that…”

【 The time you turned back was not achieved by the power of one person. 】

The various clock hands rotating on the clock face emitted light, drawing formations throughout the ruin.

Even at a glance, she could tell.

Among those five clock hands, the formation of blue flame was her place.

Yes. This was not an oracle.

It was a massive magic formation left by someone.

Using the power of a god, no less.

【 Bring all the clock hands. To face the time you turned back once more. 】

Tick, tock.

With the sound of clock hands, the telepathic message ended.

If one couldn’t be certain after hearing this, they would be nothing short of a fool. Michelle returned to Alperatz, the base city of Sirah, and contacted Tembris.