Chapter 5
Part 1
—[Kouen City, City of Brilliant Flames], Fifth Right Wing of the Palace.
The Fifth Right Wing of the Palace is located at the heart of the [Salamandra]’s Headquarters and it is the center point for the Palace that constituted twelve towers in total. All non-combatant personnel of the Palace had been evacuated to this tower to hide in the meantime. And as the female Palace attendants were worrying about the battles outside, Rin, who wore a long hooded robe to cover her face, walked purposefully towards the secret passage way hidden within this Palace
(It’s been two years of hard work to find the location of this place, I must not fail this.)
Hidden within the folds of her clothes was the Dragon Horn of the Dragon of the Sea of Stars, which was taken from Sandra, carefully wrapped with an exquisite piece of cloth. Bringing along these two items, she made a beeline towards the interior of the Fifth Right Wing of the Palace.
(The bronze statue that stands at the end of the Fifth Wing……Found it!)
Rin suppressed her urge to shout in joy for the efforts of her past two years would have gone down the drain if she were to be exposed here.
Glancing around to her left and right, she checked to confirm that nobody is in the vicinity.
Rin’s heartbeat started to race as she made the descent along the spiraling stairs. The Gift that lay ahead could be said to be the most effective weapon against the Strongest Races.
And with this Gift, Rin and His Highness would be a step closer to their goal.
(Because of the previous fiasco that made us return in defeat, His Highness is currently in a very unstable position. So no matter what happens, this Gift must make it back with us!)
Waving aside the anxiety in her heart, she quickened her steps.
Although they had spent a great deal of combat strength in the previous battle, they were still unable to defeat any of the [Floor Master]s.
(Being given the title of the Origin in acknowledgement for the accomplishment of defeating [Avalon], if it ends with a failure this time, the position of His Highness would definitely be taken away.)
And the anxiety led her to increase her pace.
The winding stairs did not have any lighting and the old floorboards which were left unmaintained for a long time made the climb difficult. Holding a lantern which she had retrieved from her Gift Card in one hand, Rin continued to press on into the dark depths of the stairs.
After walking for twenty minutes or so, the spiraling stairs continued to extend downwards and she started making wild guesses regarding the depth that she had travelled thus far, but she soon shook the thought out of her head to continue onwards.
After another ten minutes, it finally widened into a Great Hall.
Within the Great Hall, which had the signage that read [Hall of the Sea of Stars], there stood five great doors and a piece of [Geass Roll].
『Name of Gift Game:—In the sea of stars dragon—[52]
Thou who traveleth far across the Sea of Stars, choose the door thou desires and present thy proof.
The first Door: Many stars were born from the initial star and more came into existence thereafter as they multiplied.
The second Door: The collisions between the Stars becomes the flesh and blood for the new Stars.
The third Door: The new generation that is soon to arrive will hail the season of spring amongst the Stars.
The fourth Door: As the stalks of rye sway in the vast lands of the Star, the Gods of the five grains will celebrate and offer their blessings.
The fifth Door: The pulsation within the Earth attracts the freshest water to welcome the era of prosperity.
O’ Traveller who haveth come a long way across the Sea of Stars, two feelers are required as thy compass, crossing becomes impossible without.[53]
O’ Traveller who haveth come a long way across the Sea of Stars, please reconsider thy actions with great deliberation.
Once the Map of the stars is unravelled, the Sea of Stars will be divided into three from its whole.
Wanting not the Star of Destruction to shine, so be tiedth here, the disaster, to be in a long slumber.
Only wishing an eternal sleep.[54]
[Dragon King of the Sea of Stars] Stamp』
“Uwa, that’s so simple.”
Having glanced through the contents of the [Geass Roll], Rin immediately chose the fifth Door. And walking from the entrance of the hall to the last door did not take too much time.
Along the way, there seemed to be a nagging sensation of a warding curse in the area but it was negated by the two horns of the Dragon King of the Sea of Stars. If anyone were to be without those horns, there shouldn’t be any way for someone to make it this far.
But how deep has she traveled, she wondered. Perhaps it might be directly below the huge mountain that towered behind the Palace too.
A platform was built at the end of the room that had a stand for the Horn of the Dragon King of the Sea of Stars to be planted into with the accompanying Flag which would adorn it.
“At last, I’m here. With this, His Highness…….will not need to be killed.”
“—Rin, killed by whom?”
“Kya!” Rin gave an exclamation in surprise.
Having originally thought herself to be alone, she was surprised by the sudden voice that tried to strike a conversation with her.
Drawing her dagger, Rin interrogated the owner of the voice.
“…Jin, could it be that you’ve been following me this whole time?”[55]
“Mhm, but it is just out of coincidence. I kind of spotted you moving around in the Fifth Right Wing of the Palace and just shadowed you over. I did want to inform others at first….. But, I guess it will be useless for anyone to have a direct confrontation with you when you possess that sort of Gift.”
“So you’ve come alone? Eh? Are you an idiot?”
Rin’s voice had recovered its original tone as she exclaimed.
Jin seemed to have realized it as well as he scratched his head in a troubled manner while giving a laugh.
“But, the only reason for me to talk to you is because of this one-to-one setting! Well, if there were others around, I would have never initiated this conversation!”[56]
“…….conversation?”
The intentions of Jin were now out of her grasp and Rin, who was doubtful about the potential deception in his words, took a step closer.[57]
“Well, I guess His Highness has also been in your care the other day. Since it’s just listening to you, I guess it will be a small request that I can grant. So, what do you want to talk about?”
“It’s regarding the goals of His Highness and you.”
—Rin abruptly stopped in her slow stalk towards Jin.
Noticing her response, Jin took it as a sign that he still had grounds to proceed with the negotiations.
“You’ve said it before that you and His Highness have started your activities in [Ouroboros] only two years ago right? At that time, I’ve already thought of this question. You and His Highness…… have basically joined the [Ouroboros] only two years ago right?”
“……why do you think that it is so?”
“It’s a secret. But there had been clues. Amongst the comrades who have been stolen from us three years prior, one of them possessed a similar power. And that person had a similarity to His Highness……and the emblem of [Ouroboros] that have been split into three parts, if all those were to point towards the same cosmology, there would be faint connections that can be seen from them.”
Jin replied with an expression of partial confidence and unconvinced manner. In fact, it could be said that seventy percent of this conjecture had been a replication of Izayoi’s method of deduction and applying it on the spot, but it was not shown on the surface. Just that his back was soaked with cold sweat.
And the result of his actions was that Rin started to trust his words.
“…….”
—Could it be that he really knows?
Rin gripped her dagger tighter as she grew suspicious.
“……you really are beating around the bush. Why not let’s get it out in the open shall we? Although I may not seem like it, I’m actually quite busy you know?”
“Mhm, Sor, Sorry. Then, I shall state my conjecture bluntly. His Highness is working for a goal that is —-totally different from the organization of [Ouroboros]?”
“Hah—?”
“There should be at least two major factions that are present and backed by a structure built behind them in your organization. The first would be the faction that wiped out my faction three years ago and the second would be the faction led by you guys. Initially I thought that it might have been a change of leadership but if it were the case, it would have made the title of ‘His Highness’ sound strange. So that would mean that the current leader is still in power.”
“!”
“So I’ve deduced that Rin and Maxwell, you guys are the private army under the command of His Highness and there are others in the organization who are higher in the hierarchy who are issuing the commands to you guys.”
“…..What’s this got to do with the previous conjecture of yours?”
“You should know full well don’t you? After all, you’ve been following the side of His Highness from the get-go.”
“Sorry, I really don’t catch it. Could you make it plainer?”
The grip over the dagger’s handle tightened further.
Recognizing that his beating around the bush method of conversing would spell the end of his life, Jin frantically explained:
“He, His Highness! Isn’t, Isn’t the type to follow under others. If there’s someone sitting on the throne above him, he will definitely vie for it with all his might! Moreover— he’s not the kind of person who would willingly place his life into the hands of others right?”
—Am I right? Jin tilted his head.
Rin was shaking her head in her heart in refutation.
His Highness is indeed not the sort to be suitable for battles orchestrated by another’s control. That was a point that Rin could agree to but that is not the belief held by His Highness. He has only fought in battles while carrying the burdens of their expectations upon himself. Rin gave a bitter expression as she lowered her dagger while scratching her head in a troubled manner.
“……saying all that with such conviction but isn’t it all speculation based on my self-mutterings earlier?”
“Mhm, it is. I had only just arrived at that conjecture with such confidence due to your words.”
Jin then gave his usual undependable smile to cover it over. It was then that Rin finally realized.
This smile was actually a Poker face used to hide his real thoughts.
“……I don’t like that kind of smile. Where did you pick that up?”
“It’s from the person I’ve respected. Actually, that person often showed this pretentious slight smile on the surface……but the real expression is much crueler than anyone else.”
“Hmph” Rin gave a listless response.
But for Rin, Jin’s initiation of this conversation was a good thing as well.
(The Origin Candidate and [Genome Tree]. Having these two as comrades would definitely be much more reassuring. Moreover, the [No Name]s have great ties with the [Floor Master]s.)
Leaving aside [Salamandra] and [Onihime] Alliance for now, having the support and connections with Shiroyasha of [Thousand Eyes] and Kouryuu, who currently stands in as the Honorary Guest member, would definitely be a benefit.
Especially since the latter has the [Great Sage who Pacifies Heavens] Bull Demon King and [Great Sage who Leaves Heaven in Disarray] Roc Demon King as his relatives. Those two Demon Lord powerhouses, who were born with a congenital God-class spiritual power, also had a sizable population of Heralds and Beast devotees that cannot be ignored.
When things come down to a difference between a milliliter and a gram in the power levels, they would then become the strongest shield if they were willing to lend a hand.
“……I’ve a question.”
“What?”
“The other time, we’ve failed in our mission and we cannot return empty handed. If I do not take this inheritance left behind by the Dragon King of the Sea of Stars…… I will require a substitute.”
“Then, just take me.”
The reply was immediate that Rin had trouble responding to it as quickly.
Jin placed a hand over his chest as he took a step forward.
“[Genier Contractor]— is a very rare Gift that can give commands to a Demon Lord without their ability to resist the control over them. In addition, you will be getting me, the leader of the [No Name]s who have been obstructing your plans all these while……Although it is incomparable to the inheritance of the Dragon King of the Sea of Stars, this sort of accomplishment would surely allow you to escape the gallows right?”
“Are…Are you serious? You may be killed immediately when I bring you before them, you know?!”
“Yes, I’ve already mentally prepared myself for that possibility.”
—Jin had already set his mind on it from the start.
If [No Name] were to be in trouble, he would put himself before the rest to protect them. This is the oath from his heart.
“Just take it that I’m begging you, Rin. Fabricate a reason to temporarily put a hold to this Game and kidnap me as a substitute. We can then set up a secret negotiation with Izayoi-san and the others, telling them about the terms of needing their help for the plans to overthrow the ones in power—That you will return my comrades, Flag and Name of my Community.”
Jin quietly took a step closer while extending his hand towards her.
Looking at Rin directly and meeting her eyes with his honest gaze, he declared:
“Form an alliance with us. Then, we shall destroy the real Demon Lord Alliance with our own hands.”
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