Chapter 416: End game (10)  

...Flash!

A storm erupted.

A huge crater was created, and all the dirt, dust, moisture, water, vapor, groundwater, lava, smoke, sulfurous gas, and everything else... in the vicinity was swept away.

The floor was swept so cleanly that it felt smooth.

The air was parched, without a trace of moisture, and there was no sign of the usual flames or gases.

And in the center of this pristine wasteland, two men knelt on one knee.

Their clothes tattered and torn, blood streaming from their foreheads, the weapons that had defended their masters embedded deep in the ground.

They endured it all with their eyes wide open, despite the bombardment of light and heat.

On one side, displaying a truly fearsome will, is Orca, the head warden of Nouvelle Vague.

On the other was Marquis de Sade, Nouvelle Vague's worst prisoner.

"...What was that?"

"Oh my, my body feel ache, why you interrupt?"

The strength of the two old men who had survived the explosion and its aftermath was the same, but the source of that strength was completely different.

Major General Orca's will to protect and defend.

The Marquis de Sade's will to harm and destroy.

The will and purpose of these two men were so opposed to each other that they unexpectedly produced the same result.

The two old men, who had managed to hold their own in the midst of the chaos, soon straightened up and prepared to fight again.

However.

"...!"

Both old men were stunned by the scene in front of them as soon as they opened their eyes.

kuleuleuleuleug-

Blue flames roared from the center of the crater.

A thick, gigantic pillar of fire was rising from the ground below.

It pierced through the ceilings of every floor of Nouvelle Vague, Lv. 9, Lv. 8, Lv. 7, Lv. 6, Lv. 5, Lv. 4, Lv. 3, Lv. 2, and Lv. 1, and stretched even higher.

Dededededededededer-

The Gate of Good and Evil.

The massive circular gate that served as the lid of the Nouvelle Vague kept the blue pillar of fire at bay, but the chains around it were breaking one by one, and it looked quite precarious.

The entire gate was burning brightly as the chains snapped and the pulleys around it broke.

The flubber slime was beginning to clear, and the water that had begun to rush in from outside was evaporating before it could get anywhere near the pillar of fire.

"What, what is that?"

Orca's mouth was half open in disbelief.

But no one knew anything about this anomaly.

Even D'Ordumre, Souare, Sady, Aiyen, and Marquis de Sade, far away in the distance, were all staring blankly at the end of the pillar of fire.

...Every single person. Except for Vikir.

kuleuleuleug!

Vikir approached the spot where the flame sprout had germinated, where the blue egg had been.

The hot air and blue flames threatened to consume him, but Vikir was undaunted.

He thought he'd gotten used to the heat from the burns he'd suffered while trying to disguise himself as Garm's face, but the heat he felt now... was something else entirely.

The ultra-high-temperature clear salt, which was so hot that it could not even be compared to a normal fire, was creating an enormous rising air current.

'It's almost burning my flesh now.' Vikir pushed through the searing flames.

He had to cling to the ground with all his might to keep himself from floating upward.

Finally, through the flames and turbulence, he could see Poseidon's form.

The round sphere had been split in half, and a pillar of blue fire was erupting from its center.

The roots of the pillar of fire beneath it were barely visible.

Judging by the intermittent explosions and earthquakes that were coming from very deep beneath the ground, he could only guess that it was probably touching the thermosphere of the deepest part of the Nouvelle Vague volcano.

'So, Nouvelle Vague is not a extinct volcano.'

This volcano is not extinct.

It's just been secretly storing up energy to explode one day in the biggest, most spectacular way possible.

And it was this blue seed, Poseidon, that had taken root in the center of that power and was sucking it up.

Technically, it was a parasite on the Nouvelle Vague.

'No. Maybe it's not a parasite. Maybe this place, Nouvelle Vague itself, was created by someone for the purpose of hatching Poseidon....'

... But that wasn't what mattered now.

Vikir plunged his hand into the flames and pulled away all the scorching embers.

To his surprise, the flames seemed wary and fierce at first, but calmed down at his touch.

Like an animal that has allowed its fur to be stroked.

The heat diminished, and soon there was nothing but warmth.

Vikir pushed forward, using the basilisk's power to regenerate his flesh.

At this point, Vikir was able to part the curtains of fire and look through them.

Inside was a small, circular space.

And there was a pair of eyes looking up at him.

[...!]

Black scales. And blue flames sizzling between them.

... The creature was maybe a little less than the size of a palm?

A strange creature that looked like a lizard, but with wings on its back, glared at Vikir.

Its entire body was engulfed in flames, as if it were a creature born of fire, fed by fire, nourished by fire, and returned to fire.

"...."

Vikir stared down at it.

It stared back at him, too.

They are seeing each other for the first time since they were born.

And then.

Hiccup.

It gave a small hiccup.

A tiny spark of blue flame flared from its tiny nostrils, and then it was gone.

"Pretty. So something like this can be born from an egg. Is it something like Salamander?"

"...No. It's much, much higher beings than that."

Vikir's words were cut short by the admiring words of Aiyen, who had now caught up with him.

Vikir doesn't know exactly what it is either.

He knows only that it is the greatest of the ancient beings that oppose the demons, and that it holds the greatest potential.

That could be guessed just by looking at Decarabia's reaction as it trembled between his chest.

[Gosh, I can't believe this still exists! I thought it was extinct a long, long time ago! I've heard that the Mage Emperor Tzersi personally exterminated them one by one! Maybe this is the last one left in the world...!?]

At the sight of Poseidon, Decarabia began to tremble with all the excitement he had been holding in.

Meanwhile.

kkuleug- kkuleug- kuleuleug-

It moved its black and blue body and approached Vikir. It nuzzled its cheek against the back of Vikir's hand.

An expression of friendliness. A movement that reveals unconditional liking and affection for the being that one sees for the first time in one's life.

But the time of communication was short.

Paang-

It spread its wings and prepared to take to the skies.

Vikir was calmly meeting its gaze as if it was begging him to take care of himself.

'see you again.'

A message echoed in Vikir mind.

It wasn't in the form of words, but that didn't make it any less true, and it struck a chord in his heart.

Vikir responded in kind.

'Human life is short. By the time you are old enough to come and see me, I will not be here. You will never see me again.'

It closed its eyes, shook its head, and looked terribly sad at Vikir's words.

And then. It was time.

It spread its tiny wings wide.

And from beneath the ground, from the deepest, hottest part of the volcano, a plume of blue fire erupted, powering its wings.

ku-gugugugugugugu!

The power of the volcano was condensed into its two tiny wings, creating a blinding blue light.

At any moment, it is about to break through the bottom of the abyss, penetrate the deep, dark abyss, rise above the water, pass through the distant skies, and soar into the vast expanse of heaven.

"That's it. It's done."

Vikir turned his attention away from all of this.

All the work he had done was done.

All the dangers and hardships of his journey to and from this Ghost Castle in the deepest depths of the sea have been fulfilled.

"This is the end of my purpose in Nouvelle Vague. The egg has hatched, and there's nothing more to see."

"Really? Does that mean we can get out of here?"

"...Now that's a new problem."

Vikir was silent.

In truth, he'd thought about this when he'd first descended into Nouvelle Vague.

If he could find this Poseidon safely and get it up and running a few years early, he'd have done his duty, and then he doesn't mind dying.

But now that he had gotten to this point and made it work, he had a new desire.

He want to live.

He want to survive longer.

He wants to see with his own eyes how the future of humanity plays out, how this long, terrible war ends, how it's resolved, how it's finished in a way that he didn't see in his last life.

Many would die.

And many will survive.

And live on.

The future. The far future, far beyond what Vikir had seen in his previous life!

...teoeog!

Vikir reached out and tugged at Aiyen's wrist.

"What?"

Turning to Aiyen, who looked surprised, Vikir said briefly.

"Let's get out of here." .c(o)m

Now it was his turn to leave Nouvelle Vague for real.

The nostalgic faces swirling in his head.

It was time to return to the ground, which had changed so much in the meantime.