novelraw Chapter 181
Chapter 181
Chapter 181
One after another, the group of Divin lined up before Emperor Volparek.
They quietly placed a hand on his back, grimaced, and stepped out of line. A kind of ritual. Apparently, Divin's loyalty was stronger than expected. Even so, since the nobles and royals weren't lining up, they were probably waiting to touch him after things had settled down. Maybe they just wanted to reduce the burden they had to bear. Cunning, or perhaps just pragmatic.
As expected, the pain each individual bore didn't seem to be that great. But maybe it was just imagination—after touching Volparek, the wings on Divin's backs looked somewhat duller in color.
Occasionally, a Divin would start making a fuss, saying they didn't want to do it. Their companions would restrain them and force their hand onto Volparek's back, but none of the Federation citizens watching tried to stop it.
'That is the punishment for Divin regarding this incident. The Federation Congress agreed on that.'
"I see."
Well, considering Volparek's deranged state, it was understandable they reached that conclusion. He was currently unconscious from anesthesia, but his body was still being consumed by the burden. Feathers were falling one after another from his wings. Kait had picked one up out of curiosity, but it didn't bring the burden back. Strange.
Kait wasn't that much of a sadist, so he left the observation to the staff of Sarunzarek and decided to leave. Tossing the feather away felt like littering, so he shoved it into his pocket for now, planning to dispose of it later.
Just then, one of the Divin in line suddenly stepped out. Their eyes met with Kait's.
"Uncle!"
He heard the voice of someone named something-Laplan. He hadn't expected any other important figures to be aboard besides the royal ship. Having a foolish acquaintance is always trouble. The Divin who had been called "uncle" gave a resentful glance in that direction and then ran toward Kait.
'Kait, Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif)!?'
"Don't worry."
Almost simultaneously, a barrier deployed and an invisible impact struck Kait. There was no sign of a weapon. There was no reaction from psychic power either, so it must have been something else.
The opponent stopped a short distance away. Apparently, they were wary of a counterattack.
"......Who are you?"
"I'm a technical advisor for Divin. My name is—"
"That's not what I meant. I'm asking what kind of creature you really are."
The appearance was unmistakably Divin. But Kait's instincts were clearly telling him otherwise. Terapolapaneshio's voice was more urgent than ever before.
Then, the person who looked like Divin distorted their face grotesquely. There was no better word than "deformation." The corners of their mouth stretched far beyond any natural range.
"You noticed. As expected of one who has touched the Law."
"The Law, you say?"
"Indeed. Though you are a mere insignificant creature, you touched the Law of this world and even manipulated it. That is unforgivable."
"That's the first I've heard of it. Also, you still haven't answered my initial question."
"My true name cannot be heard within your audible range nor expressed within your phonetic range. If I must borrow your words... let's say I am the Keeper of Time."
He said it with an overly theatrical gesture, but Kait had no intention of playing along.
Nor did he intend to call him what he wanted.
"Then I'll just call you 'The One Who Can't Be Pronounced.'"
"......Well, do as you like."
'The One Who Can't Be Pronounced' clearly looked irritated. Whether they were wearing the skin of Divin or something else, this presence was unlike anything else—different even from the space eel or the Space jellyfish.
"Also, that 'Keeper of Time' thing is a lie, right?"
"Why do you think that?"
"Divin swapped lives toward the past, didn't they? That must have resulted in the deaths of billions or even trillions indirectly."
"We were monitoring it. You understand, don't you?"
"Not at all. In that case, you have no reason to say you can't forgive me. As far as I know, I haven't killed anyone via time manipulation."
With a sludgy sound, as if dark-colored mud were overflowing, 'The One Who Can't Be Pronounced' was engulfed entirely. Even the wings that symbolized Divin were swept away by the mud, leaving behind only a dark humanoid figure.
"They toyed with time. That's why they were punished. But you manipulated the Law. That is divine work. It is not a power that insignificant beings like you should wield."
"I see? Did you hear that, everyone from Terapolapaneshio?"
Maintaining the barrier, he called out to the floating Terapolapaneshio.
Terapolapaneshio, too, was discharging electricity from all over her body with visible irritation, focusing her attention on 'The One Who Can't Be Pronounced.'
'There's no need to listen to such things, Kait, Third-Rank Citizen. That is an enemy to all intelligent life. It uses sweet words to approach intelligent beings and seeks only to bring ruin. A perverse existence.'
"Well, that's something."
When Kait turned his gaze back to 'The One Who Can't Be Pronounced,' he too was glaring resentfully at Terapolapaneshio.
"You're truly a nuisance, Terapolapaneshio. If not for your kind, this galaxy would have been painted in far more chaos, disorder, and savagery."
'So you were hiding among Divin. Don't tell me—you're the one who incited them too?'
Terapolapaneshio's interrogation was met with a sneering laugh from 'The One Who Can't Be Pronounced.'
As if he didn't understand anything. With layers of mockery, he let out a vulgar, cackling laugh.
No, no. We created them. The Earthlings of '4th-Earth.' And those creatures who called themselves Divin.
***
4th-Earth. Different from the naming convention of 9th-Terra. A bad feeling crept over Kait as he subtly shifted his position. He was glad Dan and the others weren't scattered. If they were taken hostage, his options would be severely limited.
'The One Who Can't Be Pronounced' continued talking with Terapolapaneshio, but was clearly aware of Kait as well. Still, perhaps he didn't see Dan and the others as much of a threat, since he wasn't trying to stop Kait's movements.
"Lieutenant Carter."
"Mr. Crouch! What is that thing? Just looking at it makes me feel incredibly uneasy."
"A monster. A monster beyond human understanding, no doubt."
Clicking his tongue, Kait sensed the unfavorable situation. The fact that the Divin were still lining up before Volparek without any sign of disturbance was unnatural. Either their perception was being tampered with, or they had been hypnotized beforehand.
Without shifting his gaze, he confirmed in a low voice.
"Dr. Wu, I need to confirm—can you load all your people onto the Kissinger?"
"Y-yes. In case the Vengeance is sunk, there's space for the staff to escape."
"That's a relief. I'll send you there now. Once aboard, leave Sarunzarek immediately."
"W-what about Mr. Crouch?"
"Sorry, but I don't think there's time to explain. Go."
Without answering Dr. Wu's question, he directly teleported Dan and the others into the Kissinger χ (Kai). He had never teleported nearly twenty people at once before. His precision had improved greatly.
Once Dan and the others were safe, Kait rejoined the conversation with 'The One Who Can't Be Pronounced.' There was something he couldn't ignore—he had to confirm it.
"4th-Earth, huh... So basically, you did the same thing Divin did in other places? Or rather, Divin started imitating you?"
"Exactly. You're quite sharp."
"So that means 9th-Terra was one of them too?"
"That's right. That was 13th-Earth. I didn't expect Divin to stumble upon it."
"And what about our 6th-Terra?"
"That's Divin's toy. Not something we're interested in."
"I see. That clears things up."
Kait let out a small breath.
He focused his mind and summoned his reliable partner to the scene.
"Queen Bee!"
The interior of Sarunzarek was, after all, a battle fortress. Even though Queen Bee was small, it wasn't spacious enough for her to fly freely.
Still, he called her. For one reason.
"Emotion, deploy the barrier! Full power!"
'R-roger!'
She leapt onto the pedestal and deployed a massive barrier to protect Divin, Terapolapaneshio, and the staff.
Unfortunately, 'The One Who Can't Be Pronounced' was also inside the barrier, but Kait hoped Terapolapaneshio would be able to restrain him.
"You really are sharp, aren't you!"
'Kait, Third-Rank Citizen, what in the world...!'
'Incoming!'
Zion Georg never appeared before the Federation citizens.
That alone wasn't enough to raise suspicion. But if he believed he couldn't hide his true identity from Terapolapaneshio... There were only about twenty Earthlings from 9th-Terra. Unlike Divin, they couldn't blend into a crowd.
More importantly, if their goal was to observe the desperate struggles of humans, then it makes sense they would try to evacuate their peers temporarily.
"So you were one of them too, Zion Georg!"
There was no proof. But the preparations were complete.
Without warning, the Vengeance's barrage was unleashed, scorching the interior of Sarunzarek in white fire.