As we walked along the forest path at night, relying on the light emitted by floating stones in the air, Myungho, perhaps out of boredom, started a conversation with me.
“…Alterra. Are you really going to… uh, take that thing?”
“It’s a gift from our benefactor. It feels wrong to refuse it, and besides, it will help make me stronger. There’s no reason not to take it.”
Saying this, I shook the vial containing something, making a sloshing sound. But no sound came out. Well, considering what was inside—something disgustingly sticky—it made sense.
“Not that I’m criticizing it, but… didn’t the Artist mix in something extracted from their own parents’ remains? Doesn’t that feel a bit… off?”
I didn’t need him to remind me of that, but he was absolutely right. Regardless of how useful it might be for me, it was undeniably unsettling. After all, it was made by squeezing every last drop from the deceased parents of the Artist and mixing it with various metals. When I asked in shock why they did such a thing, the response was simply “That’s art.”
“…It’s unsettling. Honestly, I wanted to refuse it too. But… now isn’t the time to be picky. If I want to get stronger, there’s no other way.”
Even though the Witch had returned the souls she took from me, I was still far from where I needed to be. Ereshkigal must find it difficult too.
If only I could unleash a Breath attack, but back then, the only reason I managed to breathe it was because she let her guard down—not because of my skill.
Before I could even aim at the Artist, the connection was cut off. Kalpi is supposedly stronger than even that Artist, so I’m nowhere near being able to face him. At the very least, I’d have to be strong enough to counter the Artist before I could even think about challenging Kalpi.
“…I think I’m already pretty strong.”
Myungho muttered this while looking at me, unsure if he was talking to himself or addressing me. Judging by the fact that he said it aloud, maybe he meant for me to hear it.
“Really? You think so? Maybe… but in my opinion, I’m still far from where I need to be. Truly, it’s one mountain after another… Every time I solve one problem, two more pop up… Ugh…”
Especially harsh ones, too. Stretching my arms wide to yawn, I called Akashi, who had wandered off somewhere strange, back to us.
“Hmm. Is that where you were? Forgive me. With these changing eyes, I keep seeing strange things. Or am I actually seeing them? Damn worms…”
Grumbling under his breath, Akashi approached us. While the Artist may say we could just leave him to die, what can you do when he’s part of the group? You can’t hate someone forever.
“Hey, while you’re here, could you wrap this bandage for me? It’s soaked with blood.”
Earlier, when the Artist struck my eye, it bled and smoked like crazy, but fortunately, it seemed to have stopped now.
Just as I was about to help wrap it, Myungho took the bandage from me, saying he’d do it. His originally normal black eyes had transformed into eerie yellow ones with red sclera, which looked quite unsettling.
“…Am I opening or closing my eyes right now? Is this what a Dragon’s vision feels like? It’s strange that I can see everything even with my eyes closed! Hey, hey! Be gentle!”
Myungho tightly wrapped a new bandage around Akashi’s head. He insisted that bandages are supposed to be tied this way.
“…Anyway, you’re the Wingless Omnipotence, right?”
“Yeah. It’s a complicated story. Do you want the long version or the short version?”
“Just short enough for Alterra to understand.”
Hold on. Why specifically “short enough for me”? It felt like Myungho was implying I wasn’t very smart. I gave him a slight glare.
“Hmm… How should I put it. The connection between my grandfather and me? Not entirely nonexistent, but not deep either. Initially, the Dwarves who worshipped my <Original Form> disappeared, almost forcing me into exile. But Gaia and Aria pitied me and allowed me to remain in this world. However, due to my Original Form’s inability to control itself, I was completely cast out.”
“If that’s the case, it makes sense why you know ways to shift responsibility onto others and have such extensive knowledge about ancient Dwarves. So, you directly draw power from your Original Form while… What about me?”
“Tch, yeah. I just thought it’d be fun to mess with you a little. I wanted to see you squirm a bit. So, what can you do?”
Without saying anything, Myungho tightened the bandage even more. Akashi screamed in pain, apologizing and pleading for it to be loosened.
“Akashi, behave.”
Myungho growled lowly, warning Akashi to stop complaining. Though I didn’t feel particularly sorry for him—it was probably karma. Whatever it was, it seemed like Akashi had done something wrong to Myungho again. Not my problem to interfere.
“…Akashi, who are Gaia and Aria?”
But then again, earlier with the Artist, I also didn’t understand what Gaia and Aria meant.
“Ah, <Gaia and Aria>. They’re the Nature Gods and Faith Gods.”
“…Aren’t all gods the same?”
I asked innocently. Aren’t all gods just… gods? Like the ones in churches and those worshipped by Dragons—are they not the same?
“That’s not true, Alterra. Simply put, Nature Gods are gods born naturally from nature, while Faith Gods are created from people’s beliefs. Dragons worship nature, humans worship faith.”
…So, I didn’t need to growl every time I passed a church. That ridiculous rule crushing my hopes was made by the Nature Gods, not the Faith Gods.
“So… the power given to you, Myungho, comes from the Faith Gods?”
“That’s right. Nowadays, their strength has waned, so only mediocre Heroes like me appear. But in the past, they granted abilities powerful enough to split the heavens.”
I see. I thought all high beings were the same, but apparently, they’re not. As Myungho kindly explained to me, Akashi seemed to have gotten used to the tight bandage and began speaking.
“Also, Gaia and Aria don’t get along. So, stop thinking about asking Aria for help. Half-breeds like you caused problems, and Aria helped them, leading Gaia to create that absurd rule.”
“…Explain further.”
The reason behind that rule. I wanted to know exactly what had been done to cause such a rule.
“It’s a simple story. A half-breed, like you, inherited power and approached Aria to gain more strength. Aria used that person as a pawn to oppress the Gaia followers. Some lost their origin and became forgotten gods. Have you ever seen green skies or red fogs? No, right? That’s because of Half-Dragon Heroes.”
…So, the reason for that absurd rule was because of the Faith Gods. I can continue growling then. I don’t know why the Half-Dragons acted that way, but both sides accepting it and using it were wrong.
In the end, whether Nature or Faith, all gods are equally disgusting. I briefly wondered if I could seek help from the Faith Gods, but it was clearly pointless.
“…Haa. Hmm…”
While we sat around Akashi discussing various things, Yuna and Mari stood silently a little distance away. Yuna’s face was shadowed.
It made sense. The tree I detected turned out to be plants grown from her parents’ bodies. That practically means they’re dead.
Moreover, the fruit she cherished so much held no value for Yuna anymore.
“…Yuna. At least your parents cared about you until the very end. Don’t be too disheartened… Sorry, it’s a poor attempt at comforting you. I don’t know what to say.”
At least, the fortunate thing for her was knowing that Yuna’s parents loved her until the end. They worried about her even as they transformed into trees by the World Tree’s command.
Oh, and how do we know they worried until the end? The bark had writing in Elvish.
“I’m fine. Actually, I’m more worried about you, Alterra…”
That’s alright. I couldn’t even call them parents, so I felt no guilt.
“I’m fine. Um… So, what are you planning to do from here?”
“I’m not sure… I’ve found traces of my parents. Maybe I’ll return to the mercenary group I belonged to…”
“Do you resent the World Tree?”
“I do. But what can I do against it? Not even the Demon Tribe dares to meddle.”
She had belonged to a mercenary group. It was a bit sad to part ways, but not enough to stop her.
“I hope we meet again someday.”
“Me too. Alterra.”
Despite her melancholy, Yuna managed an awkward smile for me.
With her departure in mind, I wondered if we were heading straight to Koluscia.
Shaking Mingho, who was staring blankly at his palm and gazing into the void, startled him for a moment before he relaxed upon seeing it was me.
“…Oh, it’s you.”
“You’re spacing out. What were you doing?”
“Ah, nothing in particular…”
That didn’t seem true given how his eyes kept twitching, but since he said nothing, there was no need to press further. Clearing the image from my mind, I asked him a question.
“We decided to go to Koluscia, right? But the sea route is blocked. So, where are we heading? Teleportation can’t be done anywhere, can it?”
Mingho stared vacantly for a moment before snapping back and explaining we would head to a nearby large city.
“It’s a bit far, but there’s a village or small town nearby where we can hitch a ride on a merchant caravan. It won’t take long.”
Then there’s nothing to worry about. Since we’re already seated and it’s late, I suggested we rest here.
No one objected.
