Chapter 55
Chapter 55. Ruins of the Age of the Gods (3)
Where Parang sleeps.
Rukit was at the shrine in that place. Because of the recent incidents related to the Regulator, Rukit was in a troubled state of mind.
‘The Regulator will become the Third Calamity. And yet, because of its location, I can’t convey this to Yul.’
It was something he had learned not long ago through another orca.
However, he cannot connect with Yul right now. This was because the area where the ruins of the Age of the Gods were located was strictly the domain of the Sea God Kaidron.
Even if he tried to pass through in a spiritual body state, he would be detected by Kaidron. After all, he was a mythic-level being who possessed divinity.
There was no choice but to wait for Yul to emerge carrying the Regulator.
Then, above the silent shrine, something suddenly ‘descended’.
However, Rukit was not afraid at all. It was a common occurrence.
-You’ve come, Isnael.
What appeared there was a being with a form very similar to that of a human.
The differences were that it had six eyes, and where ears should have been, there were appendages that looked like fins or wings.
-Old man, how about finally handing over your divinity?
-Get lost, you traitor.
Despite Isnael’s seductive words, Rukit ignored them.
-How long do you think God Parang will keep protecting you?
-Until the world ends.
The massive undersea volcano upon which Rukit stood belonged to the God Parang. Powerless as a mere spiritual body, Rukit was under his protection.
Isnael lightly rubbed his nose and shot a sideways glance as he spoke.
-The Heaven and Earth Resonance is occurring. In every sea of Phantaratsa, prepared creatures are being drawn by the destiny of the Heaven and Earth Resonance and are gathering in the Great Azure Ocean, whether by their own will or against it. There, countless creatures will ascend.
-I told you to get lost.
-Old man, you too can ascend. The scale of this Heaven and Earth Resonance is overwhelming. The one who ultimately obtains the Regulator will possess an overwhelming destiny.
-So what? After making me ascend, will you take the divinity of the orca for yourself?
-Of course. I was once an orca myself, so it’s possible. And isn’t it about time you handed over your divinity, old man?
Isnael had now become an entirely different being, but his body had once been that of an orca. If he were to receive divinity, it would be more than feasible.
-Once you ascend anyway, you’ll be granted a new rank there. Is there really any need to flounder around in this shabby Phantaratsa? Think back to your prime. You stood above all orcas and went around crushing every creature with overwhelming power. I don’t see even a trace of that old ferocity now.
Despite all manner of provocations, Rukit did not give in.
-I won’t do it, if only because I refuse to hand my divinity over to the likes of you.
-You say that, but you’re tempted too, aren’t you? Don’t deny it, I know. Fine, shall I give you some new information? Would you believe me if I said that the《●【Right Hand】●》 is also watching the one who will open the Heaven and Earth Resonance?
-Nonsense.
-Believe it or not, that’s up to you. The moment he obtains the Regulator, the Heaven and Earth Resonance will activate immediately.
-……Isnael, are you the one who orchestrated this incident?
-Of course. If things proceeded normally, it would’ve taken far too long, so I added a bit of seasoning. But that doesn’t mean I did everything. This was destined to happen anyway. I merely helped it along.
After hearing everything, Rukit closed his eyes and shut his ears. To speak to Yul, he might have to take a risk.
-Hey, Isnael, talk a bit more.
-Oh? Has your interest been piqued?
-Yes.
He needed to extract a bit more information.
* * *
After finishing his explanation, Gehenna seemed exhausted and lost consciousness for a moment. Even so, the magic hemostasis protecting his wounds appeared to be functioning properly.
‘Gehenna survived even after having a chunk torn out of his side before, so he might still be fine for now.’
Yul turned his head and asked Mujin.
-Where did he go?
-He made his way through the countless passages quite handily.
-Hm. So breathing isn’t an issue for him?
-Their kind can breathe in multiple ways. They have both lungs and gills. Even without air, they can breathe through their gills.
-I see. Let’s move Gehenna to the submarine first.
They returned to the submarine, transported the wounded, replenished their air, and briefed everyone on the current situation.
-My goodness. You’re saying Timur betrayed us?
Dr. Kowalski darted his eyes around.
-This is what we recovered.
-It was stored inside a high-grade jeweled chest.
Yul hesitated over whether to withhold the information, but decided he should say it after all.
-That’s a fragment of the Regulator. It's divided into several pieces.
-Is that true?
-Yes.
If Timur was after the Regulator fragments, it was better to have information than none at all.
So Yul said,
-Let’s keep this stored in the submarine for now.
-Understood. I’ll guard it.
Gehenna replied.
After storing the left fragment of the Regulator in the submarine, Yul and the others decided to head further down.
But since a traitor had already emerged, the bright atmosphere from before was gone.
Now that a real threat existed, they no longer split up to explore but moved together.
In silence, they resumed their exploration of the ruins of the Age of the Gods.
They passed through the crab-statue area using Yul’s illusion magic, moved through the next zone, and descended to a lower level filled with pitch-black darkness.
It was a massive corridor. A passage lay completely perpendicular to the one Yul’s group had entered through.
-Something’s been destroyed.
-All the statues are shattered.
The worshipping statues, which were usually laid out on the floor, were completely broken.
-It hasn’t been that long.
-I see.
As Yul moved along the corridor, he discovered another inscription.
《Bow before the First Giant and [sing] its glory.》
It was similar to the phrase about praising the Second Giant. However, the door was already open.
-The door is open?
-It seems the True Word Dragon Lord Timur really can read the language of the Age of the Gods.
Just as Yul had done, Timur must have read the inscription and gone inside first.
This time, too, it was a place where there should be worshipping statues and the statue being worshipped by them.
Instead, there were only shattered remains.
Yul approached the statues and looked up. As expected, an inscription was engraved there.
《The Right Hand of Creation, possessing power equal to the Left Hand that supports the world, created the First Giant, the [Mountain Range Giant]. The Mountain Range Giant forged countless lands throughout creation and shaped all boundaries beyond the seas.》
‘There should be a statue of the Mountain Range Giant here, but there’s nothing.’
Beyond the chamber where the statues stood, there was another jeweled chest, but it was already empty.
《The Upper Fragment of the Regulator. Only one bearing the corresponding destiny can assemble the Regulator.》
‘Just as expected.’
-Timur is moving one step ahead of us.
Yalmuka said with a grim expression. Then Teller spoke to Yul in his emotionless voice.
-Yul, can you read the language of the Age of the Gods as well?
-……Yes.
In the current situation, there was no point in hiding it. If he stayed silent, they would lose all the Regulator fragments.
-Let’s do this. You gather the Regulator fragments as quickly as possible using that knowledge, and I’ll go kill Timur.
-What!?
-I was raised as a hunter from a young age, so I can sense the smell of blood from afar. And I can feel that he’s stained with blood. We made a resolve together, and betrayal means death. At least, that’s the rule of the swordfish clan.
Hearing that, Yalmuka let out a hearty laugh.
-Good! You’re going after the bastard who stabbed my friend in the back? I like it.
-Ohoho. May this old man join as well?
-Eight Trigrams Sage Mujin, it would be better if you stayed here. These ones need an escort.
-Eeeh. Well, very well.
-I’ll go too.
At that moment, Tuania spoke. Yul widened his eyes slightly.
-If you go as well, this won’t be the main force anymore, but a splinter unit.
-That’s better, actually. Besides, if the teams split up, we need to be able to communicate, right? In this space, if the magic signal goes a bit too far, it becomes hard to hear.
Yul thought for a moment, then nodded. They decided to split into two groups.
After moving a bit more, Mujin asked,
-Ohoho. Are you worried about that young lady?
-Pardon? Of course, I'm worried.
-Indeed, indeed. If your lover is in danger, it can’t be helped.
-What are you talking about? She’s my younger sister.
-Hm? What do you mean by that? You two look completely different.
-We grew up together, though.
-Hah! Even if you grew up together, if you’re not bound by blood, you’re still strangers! If your fates are connected, that itself is love.
Yul looked at Sage Mujin with eyes full of disappointment. This old man’s got issues.
-Ohoho. I'm just joking.
-……Yes.
-Rather than that, look over there. Doesn't that also look like some characters from the Age of the Gods?
-It does.
It felt like he was changing the subject, but in any case, Yul discovered a new space. Once again, it was sealed by a door.
-Here too?
《Bow before the Third Giant and [admire] its majesty.》
As he recited the phrase, the door opened once again.
《The Right Hand of Creation, possessing power equal to the Left Hand that supports the world, created the Third Giant, the [Lava Giant]. The Lava Giant breathed warmth into the entire world, making it warm and livable.》
The Lava Giant was a statue shaped like a massive gorilla. At that moment, a message came through.
-We’ve encountered Timur and are now in combat. He said he opened the fourth door.
-Got it. Be careful. If it gets dangerous, run.
After saying that, Yul ended the exchange.
-Now then, Yul. Let’s move on.
-There’s probably some kind of gimmick with the statue here as well. Just a moment.
The gorilla statue looked ferocious, as if it could move and attack at any moment.
《The Totality of Destiny.》
‘What does that mean? The Totality of Destiny?’
-It’s not moving.
-Yeah. It doesn't seem to have any particular problem.
Yul passed by the gorilla statue without any reaction.
But when Mujin, who was following behind, tried to pass beside it, the gorilla statue suddenly moved.
-Oh!?
-Whoa!
Blocking the statue’s punch with his shell, Mujin spun backward and retreated.
-Did you see that just now?
-See what? The attack?
-It attacks if you cross a certain line.
-Then why didn’t it attack me?
-I don’t know. But if I try to pass……
Just as expected, the statue moved again and attacked Mujin.
‘The Totality of Destiny, is that the problem?’
Yul recalled the phrase he had seen earlier. Perhaps only those who possessed the proper qualification could pass the statue safely.
-If we don’t absolutely have to destroy the statue, then you should go in alone and retrieve it. We might have to face the True Word Dragon Lord, so I’d like to conserve my strength.
-Understood.
Yul went inside and easily retrieved the Regulator from the jeweled chest.
《The Right Fragment of the Regulator. Only one bearing the corresponding destiny can assemble the Regulator.》
That made two fragments.
‘If True Word Dragon Lord Timur finds the next fragment, it’ll be over.’
The Regulator clearly had left, right, upper, and lower parts. To begin with, there were four Giants assigned, so it made sense for there to be four fragments.
‘It said assembling it requires a specific destiny. That part’s still unclear.’
Perhaps one of the sea creatures present here could assemble the Regulator.
Or perhaps the one with that destiny wasn’t here at all.
After quickly recovering the Regulator fragment, Yul decided to head back and regroup with Tuania’s side.
-Tuania, where are you?
But no reply came back from that side.