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Chapter 121 - Never A Break
🕑 Added 2019-06-18 18:52:46 +0000 UTC
"We got a problem." Senka, sitting in the co-pilot's seat with her astral body, suddenly says. We're only minutes from Arkaim, so whatever it is, we can deal with it when we arrive. "Your other half has returned."
"Oh." I had completely forgotten about her existence at this point. Somebody may or may not have told me that Lenoly and a group of maids took her frozen body somewhere to get her thawed, but I don't remember who or when that was - even though that couldn't have been more than a week ago. "But I don't see a problem with that?"
"Well, people think she's you." The doll girl sighs exaggeratedly as if to imply that I'm not thinking things through enough. "So things are getting confusing."
"In what way?" I raise an eyebrow. If they think she's me, she can clear up that misunderstanding herself pretty quickly. Don't tell me they now think I'm an impostor, and she's the real one because she returned with the maids?
"That's exactly it." Senka read my mind and confirms my worry. Since we're connected like this, my conscious thoughts are transmitted to her as if I were saying them out loud.
"How can they think that way after everything I showed them?" Shaking my head, I sigh.
"What's the matter?" Kamii calls out to me from her seat, which is the closest to the open cockpit, alongside Hestia's. She's the only one among my girls beside Tokomaha who doesn't know about Asoko. I don't even know how to go about explaining the existence of another me to either of them.
"We're arriving momentarily." I change the topic and act like that was the reason for my long sigh. Slowing down from the Mach speeds that I'm traveling at takes time when I have beings on board that can suffer from whiplash. Aurelia and Vitalis should be fine in their own ways, but the others will be affected.
"To think I would return here in such a fashion..." Rolan mutters, but I overhear him as everything inside this jet is part of me. The last time he was in Arkaim, he killed my mother, so it's understandable that he would feel that way.
"What fashion may that be?" Ireyo asks with clear hostility in her voice. She's the one person among all of Kamii's companions who seems to hate him the most. If it weren't for the change in the situation after our encounter with Shelnir and Serent, he and his party wouldn't be alive anymore.
"Alongside a group of people who want me dead." He replies with a wry smile. It's quite obvious even from his outward appearance, but he changed quite a bit in that year I was gone. He used to be overly optimistic about his role in the world, which could be attributed to the ignorance of youth. But now he's just a broken man, one on the verge of giving up on searching for a purpose.
We'll discuss things later today, and I'll give him one. Even though I hate him for his involvement in my mother's death, his actual role in the Old Humans' schemes seems to be bigger than I thought. I doubt he ever had the power to kill my mother, and it was all just staged by Shelnir and Serent, create a hero character - also known as a glorified temporary toy of the gods when comparing that role to characters from mythology.
"Oh, you're back, senpai!" Exla flies next to us on a cloud as I approach the castle. She's in her giant form, garnering many round eyes from my passengers. Although they already witnessed some far more eye-popping things in Zohigal earlier, this still surprises them.
"Are you done with the tilling, Exla?" I peer over the city walls all around us to find that the Fields of Huwinn look a darker color than before. She said it would take a while, but that was pretty fast.
"Yeah, next comes the planting." The Guardian of the Soil grins with a satisfied expression. Her constant tilling on the Dark Continent has turned the entire place into a single jungle that nobody could ever hope to traverse without modern machinery. Maybe I need to rein in on her enthusiasm, or Arkaim will end up like Zohigal.
Not that it being hidden would be a bad thing, but this isn't a self-sufficient city-state, and it lives from trade. Being unreachable might detract from its feasibility of remaining the capital of this large nation.
"Maybe we should leave that to the citizens. Give them something to do to take their minds off the war." I reply while gently setting the jet down in the courtyard. A welcoming committee of maids has already lined up outside, holding their skirts down in the wind I'm kicking up on purpose. I don't have any engines, but just to see them make those cute gestures, I simulate a storm underneath me.
Then I spot Rewera staring at me right through the cockpit windows with an unamused expression, and I stop. Even though I know I'm stronger than her, I still fear her. It has something to do with her aura as a superior of a large group of people - something I've never been before even though I'm the uncrowned demon queen.
Oh yeah, Asoko is here and seems to be challenging that though. I'm not especially keen on being the queen and am satisfied as long as I can get revenge on the Old Humans. That's why I'm sure my other half won't be demanding the throne; I know myself the best, and she's another me after all.
"You want the throne?" I ask with a blank expression while standing before said throne, on which Asoko is now sitting while flanked by her very own harem. Lenoly is among them, and she looks nervous about this situation.
"The other Onee-sama." Kamii points at her and comments. I was going to explain our connection to her once this situation was resolved, but it seems they already met before and figured things out.
"It was a joke." My other half stands up and states, to the surprise of all the maids on her side. They may have mentally prepared themselves for a coup d'état, but hearing that it was all a joke takes the wind out of their sails. Some stare at Asoko with their jaws hanging open.
"Yeah, we don't have time for this." Senka falls from the ceiling where she was blending in with the shadows and delivers her knuckles to my other half's head in rebuttal. "Messengers just reported that a huge army was spotted heading for Erbilan. They will arrive sometime in the afternoon tomorrow."
So they decided to go for a final confrontation rather than guerilla tactics. The latter would have hurt us quite a bit, but now I can make a show of force and have them surrender - or annihilate them all in one go if they refuse to do so.
"Guess we have to postpone our heartfelt reunion and head for the meeting right away." I wave at Asoko to come with me, but she shakes her head.
"Nah, I'm done." She says with a casual shrug and smiles weakly.
"What do you mean, you're done?" Staring at her with an eyebrow raised, I ask in confusion. She just returned from being thawed out of Zylos' magic, so she should feel a desire for payback.
"I killed Kanundra and Zylos." Her expression changes into a serious one. Those were two of the Old Humans present during the battle against our mother. "It seems they were brother and sister. He took her powers away, and I ate her. Then I gained her abilities and burned a hole through his chest."
That doesn't sound right. Kanundra was the Bearer of the Flame, with a focus on fire and heat, while Zylos was the Winter's Frost, her antithesis. But those are only roles they occupy by acting out the traits of the gods as imagined by the new humanity. Eating an Old Human doesn't grant us their powers as they gain theirs through the Imagination Engine rather than from physical traits found in their genes.
Don't tell me she was able to do so precisely because she doesn't know about the Imagination Engine. Her view of reality turned out stronger than Zylos' for that moment, even if it may have been a misguided one. In other words, she won through blissful ignorance.
I rub the bridge of my nose and lift a hand to ask for a break.
"Well, even assuming those two are dead... what does that have to do with you saying that you're done?" I put that topic aside for future confirmation and focus on the point that started our conversation.
"I've had enough of politics and wars with the gods. I want to go back to the quiet life with the girls - the life I had for a few weeks before everything went to hell again." Her expression tells me that I won't be able to persuade her. It's not that she's scared or indifferent; she's tired of a life like this after getting a glimpse of a better one. I can't fault her for that.
"Then go." I stare into her eyes without ever averting my gaze. In a way, I don't really care what she does, and there's no accusation in my tone. I've gone too far down this road to leave it, but she has only dipped her feet into it a few times. A part of me wishes we could change places, and I could spend a peaceful life with Kamii, Hestia, Aurelia, Tokomaha, and all the maids willing to come with us. I would be going on a journey around the world or even just live somewhere quiet and have fun every day.
"What about revenge for your mother?!" Vitalis unexpectedly flares up and asks. She's a member of the demon folk through and through, who for the most part idolized our mother.
"It's alright." I lift a hand and calm her down. I understand better than anybody here that Asoko's connection to our mother wasn't as strong as mine. In her eyes, she was abandoned just hours after her birth into this world, left to die in a desert. While I was saved from the Dark Continent, went to the Kingdom of Lares and met all kinds of people, she spent a month in a dark cell all by herself, scared that the executioner would come for her someday.
Even after that, she only met our mother once, shortly before the latter's death. I noticed early on the strange connection I had to our mother, which made me regard her higher than I should have, although I was only with her for a total of less than a day. That connection was severed when she died, and Asoko most likely noticed it too. It's not that I had a special emotional bond to her, but I still can't forgive the people who killed the person that gave birth to me.
They also robbed me of the chance to ask her whether or not she's a reincarnator as well since aside from the Old Humans, nobody in this world should remember Japanese honorifics.
"Where will you go?" I ask her in a neutral tone of voice. In reality, I don't care where exactly she goes, as long as she stays safe. She's my other half, and we went on a journey together, during which she even saved my life. That's something I'll never forget, and the reason I will forever consider her family - even if she's another me.
"I don't know yet. This Adanak seems like an interesting place." Shrugging, she replies casually. I wonder who told her about it, but that seems like an excellent choice to get away from the war here. Adanak should be stabilizing after the God King's death, and demons aren't hunted over there so the maids that can't hide their species traits won't have to worry either.
"When you do, you have to visit the villages of Aoranam and Ototawa. My children are living in the latter." As if talking about vacation spots, our conversation grows more and more casual. "But you should make sure not to get mistaken for me. I did stir up a lot of trouble over there."
"I heard. Including the brush with Mataku." Asoko grows somber, and her eyes meet mine.
"Alright, who told you all of this?" I have to know now. She didn't even look surprised when I told her about me having children. The only person here who was here when she arrived and also knows everything is Senka, but the doll girl most definitely didn't have time to tell her all of these things before my return.
"I did." Flann suddenly appears right next to me, and I instantly burst out in tentacles and wrap them around her tightly without hesitation.
"Woah, what are you doing?" Asoko yells in surprise and comes down from the throne platform, but I gesture for her to stop.
"She's the child of the traitor Mithra, who works for Mataku." I say and pull the androgynous girl closer to me so that our noses almost touch. Unlike her father, she's not bandaged and has a cute but expressionless face. That won't stop me from tearing her apart if she gives me any reason to suspect that she's my enemy though.
"Hey, she helped us during our journey. Without her, Asoko..." Lenoly start, but then trails off. Maybe she just realized something, as she tilts her head in wonder.
"No, she never interfered and seemed to be only observing." The spider maid elegantly walks down the steps of the platform on her eight legs while stating in a matter of fact tone. "Finding the Fire Giants was left to us even though she knew where they were."
"She never warned us about any dangers before it was too late to avoid them either." The slender maid with bat wings for arms joins the circle of condemnation that comes down on Flann. Something tells me that Mithra's daughter is not very popular among the maids.
"Let me tell you why it may seem that my father betrayed Demon Queen Pelomyx, and why I did not interfere in your issues." She states with an emotionless face. It goes beyond Kamii's now kuudere behavior and might really be because she lacks emotions. Though in the academy, she was afraid of me and revealed that I was a Crawling Chaos. Maybe that was just an act.
"Yes, do enlighten us." I stare into her green eyes and find that they seem to suck me in. The suspicion that Mithra wasn't from this world already came to me before, but seeing those unfathomable lenses into another dimension is giving me clarity. She and her father may be aliens similar to my race.
"You may have heard that we are called gatekeeper demons. We are no demons, but we are gatekeepers and agents of an ancient existence." She begins, her breath unhindered by the tentacles wrapped tightly around her. This does sound like a huge revelation, but it doesn't give me any reason to trust her yet. "Everybody should know about the Watcher in the Night. That is my father's true master."
I never heard that name before, but I know exactly what - or apparently who - she means: The eyes I saw on our journey from Hovsgaerden to Kongenssoevn, and again when we were being ferried on the river through the Khurut Sultanate. After that, I stopped paying attention to what I thought was either a natural phenomenon or something I could and should never meddle with. It did appear a few more times during my stay in the Adanak Kingdom, but I didn't take much note of it.
"What is that thing?" I furrow my brows and ask, not believing everything she says just yet. That being operates on a scale way beyond that of a tiny planet such as ours, so why would it even need to send agents here? Couldn't it just flick a finger and obliterate us as well as the entire solar system along with it?
"They are beyond comprehension. They are the eternal and the inevitable." Flann lowers her gaze for a moment, then fixes her green eyes on me. I seem to glimpse an emotion in them for a split second, but it disappears again as she opens her mouth to continue. "They are your progenitor."
"I can't believe Asoko would still leave after all that." Vitalis looks out the window and watches my other half, accompanied by a group of twelve maids - now in casual clothes - following her as they walk down the main road toward the gate. They don't draw much attention in their current appearances, especially since Asoko darkened her skin and turned her hair black. That's the look she had when she tried to blend in that one time in the Khurut Sultanate.
I also can't believe I would let her go so easily after learning what we really are. Senka called me a Cosmic Horror in the past, which implied that I'm not from this planet, but that we originate from an existence that comes close to a real universal god is the biggest revelation since I was reborn. Even learning about the Imagination Engine and that this is Earth in the far future pales in comparison to that.
Flann explained that Mithra is bound to follow the orders of the most powerful Crawling Chaos in this universe. From the very beginning, that was Mataku, and the only reason he ever served under my mother was that he was ordered to do so.
But whenever the Watcher in the Night appeared in the sky, Mithra disappeared from this world for that duration. Even Flann doesn't know what he did do in that time, and what that universe-sized god wants with this tiny planet.
That's why I'll stop thinking about it. It's pretty much the same thing as Areteniha's power over this world. With the force of the sun at her disposal, she could evaporate this planet, and there would be nothing I could do about it.
"I just hope she won't go and pick a fight with Mataku." I mutter and sigh, then turn around to face the gathering of people in the throne room. Rolan and the others were locked up in the dungeon, so they didn't hear anything about my origins, but my harem and the maids did. "Don't worry about all this. Where I'm from and what I am doesn't change anything about my goal to protect the Dominion and bring down the gods."
Kamii only nods silently, but her expression tells me that she doesn't mind at all. While she's the one who saw my real nature the least out of all my girls, she has a strong will that belies her childlike features.
"I'm not worried." Hestia says with an affirming smile. She was the first who got to enjoy my true body's perks, and she hasn't been herself ever since.
"I never cared about your origins. It is you as a person that I love." Aurelia's straightforward statement of affection has me blushing. In a way, she's even more amazing than the angel girl when it comes to expressing herself.
"[So you're not a nature god?]" Tokomaha isn't proficient enough in the language we were speaking to understand it all, but she seems to have gotten the overall gist of things. "[But you're still you.]"
She acts true to her emotions, and it doesn't matter to her what I am as long as I don't betray them. Although she couldn't be honest with herself before, what she demands of me is quite simple now.
"You will always be our Onee-sama." Vitalis says next to me while pumping her fists as if having made up her mind about something.
The maids keep themselves in the background, but I see Nymphy smiling at me with a nod. It's no different for the others; none of them show any apprehension, instead merely feeling their suspicions about my mother and me confirmed. The same goes for Kamii's party, which was specially allowed in here. They don't look like they have any objections to my person - though I can't really tell what Sazi is thinking through her mask. In either case, the revelation doesn't change anything about the fact that I'm the most suitable person to sit on the throne right now.
Speaking of which, I still haven't sat in it once, while even Asoko has. I haven't been officially crowned yet, but this is a great opportunity to at least assert my claim before the gathered people, now that the mood is right.
"The meeting to discuss the defense of Erbilan is beginning shortly." Rewera states the moment I try to ascend the steps to the throne. I don't think she did it on purpose, but it was the perfect timing to cut me off there again.
I turn my head and stare at her expressionless face, though I seem to glean a hint of a smile - something I would have never expected coming from her. Maybe that's her showing approval of me even after learning what I am, or maybe she did it on purpose after all.
"I think that destroying the Imagination Engine is the only way to stop at least Areteniha." I communicate with Senka telepathically while we sit in the meeting regarding the defense of Erbilan. The empire army is presumed to be about a day away from the fortress city, so I don't feel like it's an especially pressing matter.
"Have you considered all the possible repercussions if you were to do that?" The doll girl on my lap asks. We had a night-long discussion about this issue, and at the time, we came to the inconclusive conclusion that it would be better to leave things be for now. But learning that Areteniha is an Old Human and holds that much power in her hands changed things.
"I can't even begin to consider all of them." It's not like I wouldn’t be impacted by it too, but as an existence from outside this system, I would at least still be able to use my body the way I always have been.
"Keep this as a last resort. But we still need to find it." Even though she isn't moving, I could feel her shrug being transmitted to me mentally.
"They consolidated their entire invasion force to strike at Erbilan. It's not a number the garrison can handle, even with the reinforcements!" Ophalen slams his scaly fist on the table and roars. It seems that the talk was going in circles, as the last time I paid attention, the question about whether or not to send more troops from the four fortresses around Arkaim was still being discussed.
"It won't matter. They won't reach it in time." Athilacia keeps her arms crossed and asserts in a tired tone. Arguing with crocodilian general can be quite tiring as he's as stubborn as he is loud.
"Are you saying they will lose before we arrive?" He grows increasingly agitated.
"I believe she is implying that our troops will be victorious even without needing more help." Markor explains the Lamia clan leader's assertion in a favorable light. I'm not sure that's what she meant, but she doesn't contradict it.
"That's too complacent! If they break-" Ophalen flares up but goes silent when I raise a hand.
"Aren't you forgetting about me here? I'll be heading there tomorrow, after taking care of talks with Zohigal about an alliance." I state in a matter of fact tone. At this point, they know about my traveling speed and don't even question that I'm covering distances of hundreds of kilometers like it's nothing when it takes normal people on the ground months to do the same. "Or maybe you'd feel better if I went there now?"
I stand up demonstratively as if to say that I wouldn't mind leaving right away. And it seems that was what they were hoping for, as nobody objects. They still don't dare to ask for my help directly, as if afraid to offend me. After all, who asks their queen to go to the battlefield when there are plenty of soldiers who can throw their lives away for her?
"Then I'll leave right away. As always, Senka will act as my liaison here." Putting the doll girl on my seat, I motion to jump out of the window and depart right away.
"Wait, please take me with you." But as expected, Hestia doesn't want to leave my side. Judging by the fact that Kamii walked over to me wordlessly, it's safe to say that she won't let me go alone either - especially not after just reuniting with me earlier today.
"What about you, Aurelia?" I ask the golden girl sitting at the table.
"I will keep the throne warm for you." She says with a mischievous smile. The clan leaders visibly suppress the urge to comment on her joke, which in their eyes is undoubtedly in bad taste. But since she's not only my trusted lover but also a queen of legends even the demons know about, they don't dare to do so.
"[I want to help Exla grow the crops.]" Tokomaha answers before I get around to asking her. She's the God of Growth after all, even though I haven't seen that aspect of her until she grew titanic trees to stop Alverost's flying fortress from falling.
"[Well, I want to take Exla with me.]" Scratching my cheek, I admit with a wry smile. She's the most powerful person here, followed by me, and then there's a pretty large gap before the others make the list. Taking her away will diminish the defenses of Arkaim significantly, but I expect that the Old Humans will be leading the army heading for Erbilan, so she'll be needed there.
It seems that the general and clan leaders aren't aware of this ranking of powers. To them, my harem must all be godlike beings, and it's true for the most part. Hestia's ruthlessness paired with her corrupted Fata magic put her above others of her race - and thus far above the vast majority of humans. Aurelia is a one-woman army that can at least somewhat stand against the Old Humans, and Tokomaha is the same in a different sense. Only Kamii seems considerably weaker than the others, but I've noticed that she has undoubtedly gathered quite some combat experience during my time away from here.
All that won't matter if the empire's advancing army is just a distraction though. If Zenlith, along with all the remaining Old Humans, came here to destroy the city in my absence, it would be a precarious situation. Even if I travel at full speed, it still takes me a couple of minutes to return here from Erbilan, so I will have to count on the golden girl and the God of Growth to hold out for that long.
"[Then I will just continue her work on my own, I guess.]" The little goddess shrugs as if it's not much of an issue for her.
"You called, senpai?" Exla suddenly looks through the window in her giant form, her big round galaxy eyes staring at me in anticipation, and I suppress the urge to step back in surprise.
"You were eavesdropping on us, huh?" I feign a scolding tone and bump her nose with a finger.
"I'm coming as well." Suddenly, I hear Dregana's voice behind me and spin around. Hestia has allowed her to attend this meeting in the background, but she blended in so well despite her rather conspicuous bright red hair that I forgot about her.
"What do you want to do there?" I raise an eyebrow and ask in a skeptical tone.
"I just wish to be by Lady Hestia's side... this time." Lowering her gaze for a moment, she then meets my eyes with her hawk-like golden ones. They suggest that they won't take no for an answer, especially after learning that the angel girl nearly died in Zohigal.
"Alright, we got enough for this mission." Shrugging with a carefree attitude, I stop any further people from hopping on this departing train. Kamii, Hestia, Dregana, and Exla, and reuniting with Korenga soon - that makes for a nice team to stand against the army of nearly a million threatening Erbilan. "Meet me down in the courtyard."
It begins to feel like a game, though I shouldn't let down my guard. The remaining Old Humans will only become more and more desperate as their numbers dwindle, and my strength grows. I just have to find a way to tie a definitive noose around Zenlith's neck before he no longer cares about appearances and starts destroying and remaking continents like the Old Humans who abused the Imagination Engine did before Mataku's arrival.
A part of me does envy Asoko for being able to leave everything behind. When all of this is over, I'll take an extended vacation from war and politics.
