It must have been because the word “apocalypse” came out in our conversation. The unsealed gods jumped out of the gold coin. They were all doll-sized and each of them sat on a table.
“They are…… G-Gods?”
Pauline-san murmured, and Mia-san pursed her lips.
“They’re all so small…..”
“Ahem- ……Well, we can feel the same sealing magic as the one in the dungeon here. In this way, we’ll be able to talk to you longer you see.”
Those were Solana’s words.
But I was grateful that they came out in their tiny form. If they came out in their original form, Thor would surely break some furniture…… With those carved shelves and vases by the fireplace, I’ll end up in debt again.
With her blonde hair flowing, Solana floated to the center of the round table.
“Nice to meet you, believer of Odis.”
Starting with Solana, the gods introduced themselves and talked about their true myths.
Thor, the god of thunder, talked about the myth of creation and the trigger of the apocalypse. Sigris, the god of medicine, talked about the brave fighting of humans. The hunting god Uru, talked about the situation of the battle from the eyes of a hunter. Loki, spoke about the reason why Odin, the god who was at the center of everything, made the seal.
“——Thank you.”
Pauline-san took a deep breath.
“Some of it is new to us, but it’s mostly the same as the myth that has been passed down by the royal family.”
“Did you know……?”
“Yes.” Pauline-san nodded.
It’s not surprising when I think about it…… I guess. Since Pauline-san and her group are in charge of the dungeons, there must be a secret that only their warrior group knows.
“Only the royal family has inherited a myth that is close to the truth since the founding of the country. That’s why they know the importance of managing the dungeon.”
The princess glanced at my mother.
“We explain things differently to the public though.”
I am worried. Mom looked stunned and was at loss for words. Her mind may be as blank as her white robe.
“……Sorry Mom. You’re surprised, aren’t you?”
Mom put her hands to her temples.
“Y-yeah. I’m surprised, but…… if anything…… it’s because of your strength Rion.”
She sighed and she looks a little hunched. That’s how deep her sigh was. It’s also because I’ve kept it to myself. It maybe heartbreaking for her.
Lu is also looking up at Solana who is floating on the table.
“You are that goddess, weren’t you……?”
Her big sky-blue eyes blinked.
“Mom, my body got better because the goddesss over there healed me.”
Solana nodded, her blonde hair swaying with her movement.
“I see…… So that’s it huh.”
Mother muttered softly and then she smiled at me.
“It’s okay.”
As she spoke, she looked at the gods at the table.
“It may be true that what I believed in may have been a little different, but I believe that what I was taught and what I did at the clinic is right.”
Mother stands up and makes eye contact with Solana, who is floating in the air. Then she bowed slowly.
“Since you have cured Luisia, I must thank you. Solana-sama…… right?”
“A-ah!? N-no, likewise.”
Solana scratches her head shyly and then flies towards me.
“You have a good mother, Rion.”
She whispered something like that to me. I’m proud of it though.
Pauline-san smiled.
“……You could say that Madam is a true believer. That being said, I didn’t know that the chief god had changed his name either. We’ll need to wait a while and confirm what we know.”
Pauline-san’s eyes fell on the black ashes on the round table.
The doll-sized manifested gods also stand around the pouch. Everyone had serious eyes.
“We must confirm the identity of these ashes. The Fire Giant that appeared at the apocalypse…… Are you sure of that?”
Loki, dressed in black, bows deeply to Pauline-san.
“Yes, it’s almost a certainty. The presence is so similar, and that fire is the only one capable of breaking the seal of the gods.”
“In that case, is there the body of that giant somewhere……?”
Pauline-san looks down.
Felix-san, who is in the seat next to me, slumped his shoulders.
“We have more things to explore…… the members of the group can’t even rest.”
Uru’s eyes welled up with tears as he nodded repeatedly. He knows it’s tough on the front lines.
They must have had a hard time…
Pauline-san thanked the gods and returned to the topic.
“Now, let me tell you about the enemy who is using these ashes.”
Pauline-san looked over at us.
“The “resume” of the apocalypse was what the being who was reviving the dungeon said directly to the Raven Warriors.”
At that point, Pauline-san paused.
“It is during the ‘Blood-Red Sunset’ which was the mass outbreak of monsters that occurred in the west of the Royal Capital.”
Our family froze.
“It’s the battle where my father died.”
“The Raven Warriors also sent a lot of warriors at that time and…. we lost them.”
Pauline-san’s voice darkened a little.
The Princess reached out for the ashes and scooped up the spilled parts with her fingertips. The ashes quickly turned into black smoke and disappeared, and her gloves returned to their pure white state.
“The existence of the ashes and the slave traders had been known since back then. However, we had not yet been able to link the two. The seals in the dungeon had loosened —we had become aware of this phenomenon, so our members had been actively investigating it.”
Pauline-san looks at me. Her green eyes were beautiful, but I get the feeling that it is filled with a very strong emotion.
I straightened my back to stop my breathing from becoming shallow.
“P-please continue.”
“The place where the ‘Blood-Red Sunset’ took place was actually a dungeon that had not yet been discovered, and a monster was also found nearby. As part of the investigation, Felix here and your father’s party went there. Then—”
She stammered a little, perhaps because of the sad development afterwards.
“A powerful monster has risen from underground.”
“That monster…. what type is it?”
It was Felix-san who responded to Thor’s words.
“It was huge, it looked a lot like a human, but it should be over two meters tall. There is no armor, and most of the skin is bare. But there were some kind of barrier that prevented us from attacking it.”
Felix-san spoke softly and calmly. But having been with him in the dungeon, I could tell he was scared. Because sometimes he seemed to clench his hands tightly, as if trying to stop himself from trembling.
“We found the same ashes at the site of the battle. There’s no doubt that he was someone who had been sealed in the dungeon and then resurrected.”
“Is it stronger than Skoll?”
Felix-san smiled wryly at Mia-san’s question.
“It can’t be compared to that. Can you imagine a large party of adventurers, including level 50 ones, being wiped out?”
Felix-san shook his head.
“……Excuse my impoliteness. You see, we gathered all the adventurers and Raven Warriors from the vicinity at that time.”
“I’ve also heard that it was a big battle.”
“It was like a decisive battle between monsters and adventurers. Although we defeated most of them, we also suffered heavy losses.”
“How much—?”
I asked, and Felix-san looked a little pained.
“At the time, we had several hundred members, but now there are just over a hundred. Our former commander died from injuries sustained in that battle.”
Father died fighting the enemy that attacked the royal capital—the enemy that was now after Lu and me. It’s not just about the monsters. As an adventurer, he was truly trying to protect us.
“Suffering such heavy losses, the enemy’s main force decided to escape. The giant monster spoke these words as he was about to flee from us.”
――I am the primordial titan.
――The world created from me will be returned to me once again!
“――Therefore, the apocalyse will be resumed….. That’s what the giant’s final words.”
At the mention of the primordial titan, something crosses my mind.
The dream that Solana showed me. The first creature to appear there, Ymir. He has the power of creation, and what he creates but doesn’t like will be……
“E-eaten…..!”
It was such a horrifying memory. Perhaps it was natural for that being. After all, he was the first being in the world. The power of creation is in its existence. It was all originally part of his body.
Pauline-san struck her staff.
“From the story of the gods…. It can be deduced that the one who annihilated the Raven Warriors and killed your father was the original titan ―Ymir.”
The cry of the newborn that reverberated throughout the entire world that I had heard in my dream. ―I felt like I am hearing it from outside the window.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
Previous ⚜ Table of Contents ⚜ Next
