Part 5
Percher who had walked to the arena location alone was stumped by the miracle before her eyes. It is precisely because of the dramatic changes in the arena that had caused her to have that sort of look on her face.
—That’s right. This is not a figure of speech.[84]
The Flaming Azure winds that raged from Heaven to Earth —froze into a giant ice pillar before shattering into fine powdery snow.
“Freezing the entire pillar of flame…… Could it be Asuka—”
Saying that, she looked towards the pits and was surprised once again.
Asuka was no longer in the combatant’s ring. There was only Willa who stood in the midst of the whole field and Yō who had fled to the skies. And instead of what used to be the ground of the arena—An Iron sphere that did not seem to exist earlier stood in its place.
(That sphere……Deen couldn’t have transformed into that big a sphere.)
On the arena grounds where the purgatory flames raged on, the mysterious sphere was completely without a scratch from the onslaught. A faint electrical flow could be seen dancing along the surface of the Iron sphere and it gave off the feeling of being an impregnable defense against anyone’s approach.
The whole stadium fell into silence and from the centre of the arena—came the voice of Asuka, from the centre of the frozen winds.
“It’s okay now. Release the protections, Alma.”
{“Understood, my master.”}
—*Plonk* The sphere gave a bounce.
The icy cold steel cage exterior seemed to pulsate before transforming together with a fizzle of lightning around it.
Long majestic horns, powerfully built four limbs and hooves, silvery fleece that continued to sparkle with electricity. A majestic looking Mountain goat Divine Beast stood by the side of Asuka, guarding her.
(Mountain Goat……Divine Beast? And able to emit lightning? That can’t be just any ordinary Divine Beast!)
This saying has always been passed down in the legends, that Gifts of ‘Thunder’ are the symbols for the highest of the God-class spirits. ‘Thunder’ was the last natural energy that Mankind managed to bring under control, and has been able to maintain the eternal respect and faith since the ancient times.[85]
The Japanese pronunciation of ‘Thunder’ can also be written as ‘God’s roar’. Violent winds, rain and the roar of thunder were a collective of fears that wasn’t only limited to Mankind but many other races as well, being one of the oldest faith of all.[86]
God-class spirits of the Elder God’s end of the spectrum[87] will gradually find it more difficult to carry lightning as they get closer to the normal Gods end of the spectrum.
(That’s strange……That Mountain goat Divine Beast obviously has a greater strength than Asuka. How did Asuka manage to tame such a monster?...)
“Percher! What are you doing in this kind of place?”
Percher who quickly returned her thoughts to the present turned her head hurriedly. The people who had called out to her was Jin and the others who had went their separate ways before the Corridor of Displays.
The trio ran towards Percher whom they had coincidentally met up and noticing that Rin’s nowhere to be seen, they had asked:
“Where’s Rin?”
“No, no idea. She said about having something urgent to do and so we went our separate ways. As for what the matter is about, I guess His Highness is the person you should ask right?”
“Hm? Oh, that’s okay. I know about that. Rin should now be trying to catch the culprit of the ‘Kamikakushi’ currently, am I right?”
“Is that so?”
“Because she did say something about finding some clues—Compare to that, take a look at the arena. I must say that this Game looks to be getting quite interesting.”
His Highness narrowed his golden irises as he gave a cheerful laugh.
Leaning on the rails, he seemed to scrutinize Asuka and the Mountain Goat Divine Beast with an assessing gaze.
“Seemingly like a puppet but yet not a puppet. After all it does have a conscious will of its own and it looks to be alive. I wonder who could have created such a masterpiece.”
“Um……It probably is the Gift created by Jack and Willa-san of [Willo O’ Wisp], I think.”[88]
Jin opened his mouth to give a casual reply and His Highness nodded his head in understanding.
“[The Demon of the Azure Flames]…… the demon who controls the portal between life and death? I see, that does seem likely. For that woman to bestow life wouldn’t be too difficult. That guy is probably the reincarnation of the Divine Beast.”
“Reincarnation?” Jin and Percher tilted their heads.
His Highness gave a smile as he pointed towards Ayesha who had fainted amongst the spectator stands.
“Take for example that gnome. She’s a gnome that has been implanted into the body of a dead person, to be born as a new life form. Most living bodies basically lose their spiritual attainment after death, but there are some that might even continue to live on after death and be reincarnated into the next life.”
“……Did you mean resurrection?”
“Of course not! How is that possible? A new life possess the inheritance of a new personality. Moreover, for the dead to completely return to life would require operating an independent cosmology. [The Demon of Azure Flames] has not reached that level of power yet. Although the spirit would more or less retain part of its memories, but what it really gets to inherit would be the appearance only. In that sort of reincarnation, the spiritual power would surely deteriorate—”
Suddenly, His Highness stopped his words.
The smile he had earlier was now wiped off his face as he took on a surprised look to stare at the Mountain Goat Divine Beast.
(……if it is through the process of reincarnation, the spiritual power would surely deteriorate. Because the amount of spiritual power that will be passed down to the reincarnation would be dependent on the spiritual power of the next generation. In normal cases, Divinities of their past lives would also be returned……Then why is it that that Mountain Goat is still materializing as a Divine Beast?)
His Highness was full of doubts as he stared at Asuka with his sharp gaze.
In the war at [Underwood], he had heard of the Gift held by Kudou Asuka.
According to Aura who had fought against her, she was of an unknown birth, but she was able to control a fire that could render [The Death Eye of Balor] ineffective.
Hence, His Highness had speculated that she had some sort of super powerful God killing Gift that was similar to the Garuda Phoenix lineage.
(But, this guy isn’t of the same kind. To increase the spiritual power would require the bestowing of Divinity or an ability of a large area of effect sort—No matter what the matter might be, it’s all beyond the abilities of the Human realm of influence.)
His Highness stared down upon Asuka and the mysterious Divine Beast.
Following that, he caught sight of Kasukabe Yō, who had fled to the skies, from the corner of his eyes. Yō had used the [Genome Tree] to incorporate the Gifts of the Salamander and Rat, wearing a ‘Fire Rat’ leather lamellar armor[89] that enabled her escape from the violent storm of the Purgatory flames.
(Oh? This one used the [Genome Tree] to escape death? Seems like the Purgatory flames of Hell are unable to kill the rat born from the placenta of the flames.)
But using the Salamander and Rat to combine into the ‘Fire Rat’ wasn’t a very good plan for it was equivalent to announcing to others about your real powers. It is best to stick to simple combinations to not let the cat out of the bag about the fact that she controlled the Phylogenetic Tree.
(Although it is a little rough and childish……but this [No Name] is quite the treasure trove that I’ve expected it to be. It would be best if I can pack them up and bring along as a take-away.)
His Highness twitched the corners of his lips into a smile. Having the joyous smile like a child having gotten his hand on a new toy, he also started to have that scary look of wanting to snatch everything within his sight away for himself.
Jin gave a sidelong glance at His Highness before turning his gaze downwards quickly to scan the spectator stands.
“……Ah, Kuro Usagi! And Jack!”
Hearing her name being mentioned, the rabbit ears perked up with a swish.
Kuro Usagi looked around for a long time before finally spotting Jin in the spectator stands above.
“Jin-bocchan! What are you doing there?!”
“Yaho? Sandra-sama is also there!”
“I brought Jin around the city for a little walk. Nice to meet you, [Highborn of Little Garden]-san, it’s been some time since we met.”
Sandra was wearing a joker face smile while using a matured tone to casually tell a lie. Having gotten used to the role of a master, it might even be possible that she’s unexpectedly good at acting.
Laius was originally depressed but upon seeing the Master Sandra, he immediately stood up to reveal a sincere smile that was never seen before from him while making way for them to sit beside him.
“Well, isn’t this Sandra-sama of [Salamandra]? I didn’t expect to meet you in the common spectator stands! Come, have a seat!”
“That’s really gracious of you, thank you, Laius-sama. You have also arrived in the North side territories huh?”
“Yes. I couldn’t take the atmosphere of the East Side country lands and was attracted by the cultured civilization of the North. And currently we of [Perseus] have established a relationship with this Jack o lantern’s Community.”
“That sounds great. [Will-O'-Wisp] is in the midst of ascension, obtaining the help of [Perseus]’s Gift bestowing techniques will surely be like a Dragon with the addition of wings to soar through the Little Garden. Please do impart to them your valuable techniques and skills in an exchange of cultures.”
“Um…..about that…Mah, I will handle it as best as I can.”
Laius gave a spasm-like smile in reply.
Sandra was subtly asking him to ‘pass all the valuable techniques to Jack and the others’. With that sort of request, Laius was unable to continue with his accommodating responses and could only give an ambiguous reply.
Having been teased by Sandra, Laius looked towards Jin and the others who stood behind her with displeasure.
Then suddenly, his gaze stopped on His Highness.
“Oi, that white haired brat there.”
“What?”
His Highness had calmly responded to the rude name calling.
On normal occasions, Laius would have been incensed by such an attitude from His Highness. He who had a high self-esteem would never have allowed just a teenager who looked around the age of twelve to use that sort of tone to reply.
But this was a different case.
He surveyed the white haired golden iris boy who was His Highness before slightly straightening his body to ask:
“You…. Have we met each other before somewhere?”
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