kscans

Chapter 171 - The Hourglass of Life and the Little One, Part Nine

"Eh? Huh? Then the three I met on Joker’s web and in the Celestial Realm were....."

‘The Higher Beings themselves, you know?’

"Uwaah....." The Little One looked up at the heavens.

Listening to this conversation, Romel grew agitated and stared intently at Tsathoggua.

"According to your story, these Higher Beings are the ones who created the gods, right? In other words, the gods of all creation. And these gods are aiming to pass judgment on Katsumi’s soul. Is that correct?"

After a moment of thought, Tsathoggua nodded.

‘It’s not something as grand as a judgment, though. A life that had ended is continuing on. They’re just correcting that distortion.’

Romel knew of the existence of the visitor from another world who was being sought. The Little One had explained it to him. Although it was difficult to comprehend, he had heard that the Little One’s own soul had been sent to Arcadia through a similar process, and hearing the story of that other world, he had accepted it as just the way things were.

To think that there was a time limit set on it.

Faced with a certain death, one could only imagine Katsumi’s anguish.

"So, Chiihiro, did you come to the Abyss to fight against that?"

With her head bowed, the Little One nodded, kokuri.

‘That’s the right answer. Because you can protect Katsumi here. More accurately, there is a place where he can be protected.’

As the Little One’s head shot up, Tsathoggua grinned.

‘You know there’s a place even higher than the Celestial Realm where only the Higher Beings exist, right?’

Come to think of it, when she had met them before, the three pillars of light had disappeared even further above the Celestial Realm.

‘There’s something similar prepared in the Abyss. .....It’s just that the door hasn’t been opened. If we could just open that, both Katsumi and Yami-kun would be safe, you see.’

Tsathoggua moved his hand and pulled out something with a nyu sound. It was a thick book made of parchment. The people from Frontier stared wide-eyed at the book that had suddenly appeared from empty space. Paying no mind to the surprised people, Tsathoggua flipped through the pages and held the book out to the Little One.

‘Here, look at this. There’s the existence of another dimension, commonly called the underworld, right? Just like the Celestial Realm, the Abyss has one too.’

The characters written there were ones no one had ever seen and couldn’t read. However, that mysterious Rubik’s Cube skill came into effect here as well.

"Offer six sacrifices, and with the god’s blessing, the door shall be opened.....? What’s this?"

‘.....The blessing is you. Give Yami-kun a place of rest.’

Beside the confused Little One, Romel interjected again.

"No, wait. Where did you just pull that out from?"

Glancing at the impatient Romel, Tsathoggua once again thrust his hand into the air and pulled out another book.

‘My bookshelf. It’s in another dimension. I have it set up next to the Akashic Records.’

"Ah, another dimension, I see."

"That’s cool. It would be convenient if we could make something like an item box."

"There’s something similar in Frontier, you know? Though ours is the type that expands space, so it’s different from an item box."

It was the usual mysterious conversation between the Little One and Katsumi.

Romel, a researcher by trade, fidgeted with his hands and feet, wanting to ask for more details, but now was not the time.

"I don’t really understand, but does this mean there is a safe place somewhere in the Abyss, and if we go there, we can protect Katsumi?"

‘That’s about it. I discussed it with the turtle. We arranged it so that Little One-chan could come straight here.’

《I just wanted to get my hands on Arcadia. Do not misunderstand.》

Only the Little One and Tsathoggua could hear the sullen voice.

A tsundere.

As the Little One smiled wryly while looking up at the giant slime, a small groan reached her ears. It was a faint sound, but it made her heart stir uneasily.

"What’s that sound?"

‘.....They’re here. They reacted faster than I thought.’

The sound coming from high above gradually grew louder, and a small light came into view.

‘Little One-chan! Give Yami-kun a name!’

"Eh?"

No sooner had he said it than the light that had appeared in the sky grew rapidly larger and headed for the Abyss.

‘Give Yami-kun a name! Acknowledge him!’

Remembering that her rejection had weakened the Dark Spirits and cut off their interference with Arcadia, the Little One shook her head vigorously, bun bun.

"If I do that, they’ll start meddling with Arcadia again!"

‘That’s not it! That was like his daily routine, he didn’t mean any harm, so just—’

I’m not going to be mentally polluted as part of a daily routine.

Just as the Little One was about to shout again, three pillars of light pierced through. They split the darkness, accompanied by a roaring explosion. The spot where they landed was deeply gouged out, and the squirming sludges were instantly annihilated.

《It has been long..... O sorrowful creature.》

《Through ages untold..... we have waited.》

《You are a stain. Here, we shall correct this distortion.》

The Little One swallowed hard at the sight of the three humanoid figures she had seen before. They blinked as if smiling at her and patted her head.

《Well done, Eisa.》

《You have brought light to the Abyss.》

《With light, we can manifest.》

The Little One looked up with a start and surveyed her surroundings. It was a faint light, but it was certainly bright enough to see the Abyss. It was probably for them. Tsathoggua had lit a light for the humans, whose eyes were useless in the Abyss.

As a result, the Higher Beings had noticed.

《Now..... the time has come to fulfill the covenant, Clyde.》

《You shall purify the Abyss with your light.》

《And you shall fill it with new darkness, Cesare.》

A high-pitched kon sound echoed, and something no one had ever imagined happened. Chihaya’s body blurred, buun, and a shadow-like figure separated from him, suu. Its form was that of a black-haired adult male. No, perhaps a little younger than an adult.

"Cesare.....?"

‘Is this our first meeting? Hmm, it seems to be a young body.’

Cesare clenched and unclenched his hands, his cold eyes narrowing. The members from Frontier understood in an instant. They recognized this chilling atmosphere.

"The gentleman who was possessing Chihaya-sama?"

Dorfen muttered, his lips trembling, unable to hide his agitation.

‘The Abyss is a world of death where souls stir. Here, it is possible to separate a possessing entity.’

Hearing a familiar voice, the Little One whipped around to see a familiar figure with golden hair and golden eyes.

"Sapphard?"

Where on earth did he come from?

In the dumbfounded Little One’s line of sight, the one standing close to Sapphard was Romel. As always, his eyes sparkled with the light of a mischievous child.

"Surprised? I only realized it recently myself."

In order to wait for the Little One at the Table of the Gods, Sapphard had to move along with Romel, whom he was possessing. For that, he needed the permission of the main body, Romel. Therefore, he had revealed his existence to Romel himself. Just like Chihaya and Cesare in the past.

"I knew about Chihaya and Cesare, you see. I was surprised, but I also felt honored. To be hosting the first king in my own body."

At first, like the aforementioned Chihaya and the others, they couldn’t recognize each other, but now they were so in sync that they could consult each other in their minds.

Ah, so that’s what it was. How did I not notice, me.

Hadn’t she heard at the Table of the Gods? That Sapphard and Cesare were materials prepared by the Higher Beings. Then, like Cesare, Sapphard must have had a vessel. She had never even wondered who that vessel was. Nor had she wondered why Romel had been so understanding lately, grasping what she wanted to say without a word. Clyde must have told him. He must have told Romel something along the lines of not interfering with the Little One’s actions, without going into the details.

"Though I never thought you were planning to pick a fight with those even above the gods."

Romel sighed and glared resentfully at Sapphard.

‘Forgive me. I did not know where the eyes and ears of the Higher Beings might be.’

"Why don’t you stop that? That grandiloquent tone. It’s obvious you’re no different from Chiihiro."

The two with similar faces laughed, ku.

‘Yeah, you’re right, I’ll just be myself. I was always a lawless man with no tomorrow anyway.’

You liked that phrase, did you?

Winking at the Little One, who was staring at him with a suspicious look, Sapphard and Romel exchanged a slight nod and looked up at the Higher Beings.

‘A covenant, huh? How are you going to explain breaking your side of the deal first, eh?’

One of Sapphard’s eyes glinted, girari, as he raised an eyebrow, and the Higher Beings showed a faint stir of unease.

‘The promise was that you would return Bonnie’s soul to the human cycle of reincarnation in exchange for me becoming the material of light, wasn’t it? So why the hell is Bonnie reincarnated as a monster again?! Explain yourselves!’

The Higher Beings were silent.

The wicked light that appeared in Sapphard’s eyes, which should have been pure and unclouded, pierced them. The small darkness, like a sunspot, brought back Sapphard’s past, and was colored with the lustrous jet-black of hatred and loathing. Ah, that’s right. I am Clyde, I stole, I violated, I killed. A scoundrel who bared my fangs at the world, at the heavens. To try and deceive this ruffian, you’re more than just reckless.

Sapphard’s lips twisted into a sharp-angled sneer. From his curled-up lips, a glimpse of his well-aligned teeth showed a sharp fang that was more than just a canine.

‘Hey? You’re the big shots of the gods, right? Say something.’

Cesare stood beside the questioning Sapphard.

‘The same goes for me. I wished for Lucrezia’s happiness above all else. So why did my sister die young and live a life on a knife’s edge in this Arcadia? Explain!’

Sapphard’s soul had been taken as collateral for Bonnie’s, and he had agreed to be extinguished as a material of light. But Cesare was the opposite. He had sold his own soul to the Higher Beings, who sought to dye him into a material of darkness, in exchange for his wish. ‘If you will make Lucrezia’s next life one filled with nothing but happiness, I will offer up anything.’

Without knowing that even their cursed past lives were being used for the Higher Beings’ schemes.

Two pairs of eyes glared at the Higher Beings.

A rebellion from the pieces they thought they held in their hands.

The Higher Beings, though maintaining a calm exterior, were flustered by the unexpected turn of events.

And there were also those who, while pretending to be bystanders, were secretly maneuvering in the shadows.

‘In the unlikely event that we confront the Higher Beings, broadcast the entire exchange to the world. I’m counting on you.’

The promise made with Sapphard earlier.

The recent glance was the signal for it.

With a chilling flame flickering in his eyes, Romel was sending a wind message to the outside world. Beside him, Dorfen was quietly constructing a water mirror. I had heard about it, but I never thought it would actually happen.

Dorfen recalled a conversation he had with Romel a few days ago.

He had been told that if a situation arose where they confronted the gods, he was to send a water mirror to the mage battalion stationed around the Castrato royal palace. Although he couldn’t match Romel, Dorfen, as a direct descendant of the head marquis family, possessed magic power second only to those exceptional individuals. And it was a magic in which he excelled. In water attribute magic alone, he was on par with the mages of the Tower of David.

As the two watched with bated breath, the battle that would decide the fate of all worlds, of all creation, began.