Part 4[แก้ไข]
“Uu Uu……The [Vajra Replica] which had already been half destroyed is now completely destroyed.”
The rabbit ears of Kuro Usagi drooped and she hung her head low while sobbing.
The [Vajra Replica], which she had retrieved after the battle in [Underwood], had already been half destroyed due to its inability to handle the heat and charge released from its true form.
Kuro Usagi had released the Divinity given to it to use it as [Indra’s spear Vajra]. But the weapon had also been destroyed due to the inability to handle the sudden injection of power into it.[14]
Feeling ashamed for having acted so immaturely, Jack lightly patted Kuro Usagi’s shoulder.
“I’m… I’m really sorry about that, Kuro Usagi-dono. Please cheer up. If time permits, please let me do the repairs for you.”
“Is…. Is that for real?”
“Yeah. I will even do it at a price negotiable by our relation as allies in the Alliance too♪”
Kuro Usagi’s face immediately brightened up at that as she started to sway her rabbit ears in joy.
But the duo behind her were still locked in a staring showdown and were in the midst of a hostile atmosphere. Though they were much more obedient after Kuro Usagi’s forceful intervention, it seemed that there wasn’t any letting up in their attitudes. Such an atmosphere wasn’t conducive for the discussion to form an Alliance.
Asuka sighed as she scratched her hair while spitting her words in disgust: “…. This sure is unbelievable. Never did it cross my mind that [Perseus] would be the last Community to join the Alliance.”
“Those are the words that you have taken from my mouth. Of all people to choose, we have to ally with those [No Name]'s? Hah, don’t joke with me. Joining up with some robbers or hooligans would also be more constructive than this.”
“Ararara. Then for [Perseus], that lost to the [No Name]'s, to the point of being badly beaten up ーand hence getting themselves ousted by [Thousand Eyes]ー to fall to the Six digits, what kind of HIGH CLASS COMMUNITY is it then?”
“Shut up! You smelly bitch……”
Sparks were flying between the two who held a strong sense of animosity against each other. Perhaps it was the thought of the pitiful state that the other had already fallen to, the first one to back off was actually Asuka.
Asuka gave a light sigh as she shifted her gaze to Kuro Usagi.
“Kuro Usagi, you have no objections?”
“Eh?”
“The target of our Alliance this time. The various rude acts and his previous attempt to auction off Leticia, aren’t you the least bit bothered by that or even feeling angry?”
For an instant, Kuro Usagi was stumped by Asuka’s words. She must be referring to the various humiliations heaped upon them in the past. If one were to look at all those past incidences, it was definitely not possible for them to be allied under the same Alliance now.
But after giving it some thought, Kuro Usagi shifted her eyes towards Laius.
“Kuro Usagi also have an opinion about the Alliance candidate this time…… But you’ve said something that Kuro Usagi cannot ignore, so Kuro Usagi feels that we should not simply refuse it.”
Asuka also frowned, upon hearing that. Regarding that same line of thought, she was also quite concerned as well.
Laius had shouted loudly earlier about having repaired Deen himself……If that were to be true ーeven if the Alliance arrangement were to break downー they would also want to listen a little more about that matter out of civility.
“Mah. Since Kuro Usagi says so, I will also drop it. But what was that about earlier? Was it really you who repaired Deen?”
“……Hmph. It’s only a simple task for me. We of [Perseus] have been bestowed the Gift of Divinity from one of the [Twelve Olympian Gods], [The God of Blacksmiths, Hephaestus] himself. Using the Gift allows us to work with ores that contain dormant spiritual powers. And that is our Community’s speciality.”[15]
Laius gave a thin smile that was overflowing with pride. Though his attitude was really annoying, the weight of his words were of importance and couldn’t be dismissed as another nonsensical rubbish coming from his mouth.
Kuro Usagi folded her arms to mull over it for a while before giving a sigh after having come to an acceptance of reality.
“……the winged armor parts from the God of Commerce, the Helmet of Invisibility from Hades, bestowed with the Goddess shield that has the Gorgon’s head attached to it and a Harpe that can kill the GodsーNo, it should already be a Harpe that can kill Celestial beings right?……And since the shield had not made an appearance in the last Game we played, it must have been offered to the God of Blacksmiths, am I right?”
[The God of Blacksmiths, Hephaestus] is a Greek god amongst the Olympian Gods who have crafted many weapons and armors. He is a God who represents Fire and manufacturing.
He is also the God who crafted the [Thunderbolt of Zeus] and the [Tripod Automatons][16] amongst the many other accomplishments in the armory of the Gods. Being the one who supported the Greek mythologies as its backbone.
But Asuka, who stood beside Kuro Usagi, did not seem to catch on to the topic as she tilted her head to ask:
“Hm, what does that mean?”
“It’s said that after [Perseus] defeated the Gorgon, he was bestowed the equipment that consisted of the [Helmet], [Plated boots], [Shield] and [Harpe]. But the [Shield] had been returned to the Goddess……It’s said in the legends that the [Shield] had been fused together with the head of the Gorgon when it was returned. And that’s where the shield of the constellation, [Perseus], resides and the truth behind the [Demon Lord Algol]. As for the one who could have bestowed the technique of fusing the shield and the head……it can only be the God of Blacksmiths right?”
Kuro Usagi recounted the [Perseus] heritage in a fluent manner while Laius started to smile smugly.
But Asuka continued to tilt her head quizzically.
“……?? Hm, which means to say that this young master is actually the descendant of a Great Hero?”
“YES! It’s HIS ANCESTOR who is the Great person!”
“Yahoho! His ANCESTOR really is great!”
“Very well then~, follow me outside now! And make known all those filthy thoughts of yours once and for all! This time Algol and I……”
“ “ “ What a despicable young master.” ” ”
“ALGOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!” “Please stop it, Laius-sama! Summoning a Celestial class being in the middle of the city isn’t funny at all!” A few knights in their working attire had quickly pounced on Laius to pin him down.
Asuka used the opportunity to digest the information on the heritage of [Perseus].
“I get it now. So the Gift of Divinity from the God of Blacksmiths is also one of the rewards for defeating the Gorgon, right?”
“YES! But it’s most probably not the Divinity itself and just of a Divine equipment that can strengthen the ability to bestow Gifts. And with that, it might just be possible to refine high level ores of the Rare Sacred Iron or Diamond Iron Ore class.”
“Hmph, that sort of fact needn’t be said at all! As long as ore-sama[17] here makes a move, such a small thing wouldn’t even need much strength……”
“Laius–sama, you can just drop the act already. If it weren’t for Jack-dono, we wouldn’t even know where to start working on those stuff.”
The male aide tried to persuade Laius.
And Laius rewarded him with an angry stare and a click of his tongue, without raising a hand at him.
Giving a sigh, upon envisioning the bumpy road ahead of them for their Alliance pact, Kuro Usagi suddenly remembered something and she turned to Jack:
“There’s something that Kuro Usagi’s been wondering about…… What’s the relationship between [Will-O'-Wisp] and [Perseus]? If I were to describe what I’ve seen, you guys don’t look to be on good terms.”
“Yahoho…… Mhm, it can be said as a relation of being indebted of sorts. I may have mentioned it before that we of [Will-O'-Wisp] had been attacked many times by [Demon Lord Maxwell].”
“YES. We’ve heard of that before. The feud between your Community and the Demon Lord of the upper Five Digitsー”
“No, that’s already in the past.”
“Eh?” Kuro Usagi cocked her rabbit ears to the side as a gasp of surprise escaped her lips.
Jack continued in a nervous tone.
“That guy isn’t at the Five Digits anymore. It’s said that during the time that we have gone to [Underwood]ー[Demon Lord Maxwell] has ascended to the Four Digits.”
“Four… FOUR DIGITS?!”
Kuro Usagi shouted in dismay.
Beside her, Asuka had also narrowed her eyes as she took on a serious expression.
In Little Garden, the Seven and Six Digits would be called the lower levels while the five digits would make up the middle and from four digits and below, all those would make up the Upper echelon. Although the Five Digits were already counted as the middle levels, the power difference between them and the next level was a difference comparable to that of Heaven and Earth. And that was an accepted truth in this world. In other words, a Demon Lord of the top tiers in the Five Digits shouldn’t be able to easily ascend into the Four Digits.
If it were to be the backing of a [Floor Master], which tend to be of the strongest race, it might still be understandable. But it is rare to see an individual ascend a level on his own.
Kuro Usagi cocked her rabbit ears to one side:
“Four…Digits? For an individual to rise to the Four Digits, it’s already undeniably one of the strongest kind……but it would require a lot of merit for someone who isn’t a [Floor Master] to ascend to the Four digits, wouldn’t it? Or is it to say……”
ーthat he had become the important spiritual power that resulted in a [Paradigm Shift]? But Kuro Usagi had already stopped herself in mid-sentence for it would sound too absurd to be said aloud.
Although this was only a speculation at the moment, but the title of [Demon Lord Maxwell]