Chapter 249

Doomsday.

That was what people called what had happened a few months ago.

Darkness and shadows suddenly covering the sky, and the mass madness phenomenon that began from that.

That alone was horrifying beyond measure, yet after that a horde of unidentified monstrous birds with dog and cat heads descended as well.

The reason it was possible to survive that terrible moment was, first, because there were mages who overcame the madness and fought, and second, thanks to the ascendants who descended as if arriving from heaven.

Transcendents who took on the forms of storms, white flames, and giants covered entirely in metal.

They killed the monstrous birds the mages had been struggling against as easily as toys.

Occasionally a hundred or more would swarm at once and put some into a briefly awkward situation, but at least none died to them.

After all, long ago even the newly born immature transcendents Turan and Solif could hunt a few without difficulty, so those who had trained for decades or more need not be said.

The sight of the transcendents thus descending across various locations and defeating the monstrous birds left a deep impression on those who saw it.

Since the madness phenomenon caused by the black shadows covering the sky had also disappeared right at that moment, many were able to witness it.

“Wow……”

“Win! Win!”

“Just a little more!”

Encouraged by the people’s cheers, the Moon-Devouring Bird’s avatars that had descended on the Cradle were all eliminated.

What remained was only the bodies of the dead and the ruins of collapsed buildings.

As they sighed in desolation, the imperial government sent notices to each lordship explaining the situation.

‘This attack was an alien invasion, which was fortunately overcome through the efforts of the great ascendants. People of the empire, stand down from combat stance and devote yourselves to damage recovery.’

In truth, among the Cradle’s people, not many had clearly been aware of Earth’s existence.

After all, only rank one or above mages — no more than a few dozen across the entire empire — could travel to Earth.

However, through this incident, they came to recognize that outer space was not simply a romantic and fantastical place, and that there were many fearsome enemies lurking there who had their eyes on them.

* * *

“How’s the situation?”

“Not so great. Unfortunately.”

Imperial capital Kalamaf, the imperial palace.

Ruska Parsha answered his mother’s question in a helpless tone and flicked his fingers.

A series of visions appeared in response, informing him of the situation in various parts of the empire.

It was a report produced by the combination of the empire’s magic-science technology and administrative system, systematically built up over a hundred years.

“The lordships that had the best-established defense systems are unscathed, but…… naturally the damage on the frontier side is significant.”

“It would be better if I provide support on the Arabion side. Can you organize the data from there?”

“One moment.”

Click — after a few gestures, the report submitted by the current Arabion lordship was sent to Meisa.

It contained each scene requiring immediate attention prioritized in order.

“Wow, quite a lot broken…… Baraha, Solif went to sort that out, other regions have their own people in charge, and the Parsha main territory?”

“Once I sort out just this I’m planning to go around in person. After some more time I’ll need to do a tour around each lordship as well.”

“Being Emperor certainly is exhausting.”

Ruska was about to say he wished his mother could do it instead at Meisa’s words of comfort, but realized she had already disappeared from her seat.

‘Honestly this position is truly impossible. I think I understand why Father handed it to me and left……’

Of course, since it was a position that received the loyalty of all the empire’s people, he could gain much more presence in a shorter time compared to other ascendants.

The cost being an enormous workload and massive responsibility, which was the problem.

Still, Ruska grumbled but did not neglect his duties as Emperor.

With the help of his father who had once been Emperor, and his mother who had governed the empire in something close to co-rule, he filled the gaps in administration, and by making use of other ascendants, restored the damage.

About a month passed like that.

As the scars that had roughly clawed the world slowly healed, everyone had the same thought.

Turan, who had left to pursue the Moon-Devouring Bird, was taking far too long to return.

“Surely nothing went wrong while chasing it……?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. That man isn’t someone anyone can kill.”

Solif dismissed the youngest ascendant’s worry.

However, even the one saying that was noticeably anxious, with one leg shaking for no reason.

“Now, everyone, attention.”

At that moment, Meisa drew the attention of the other ascendants gathered in the conference room.

She had been assigned the role of directing everyone present in Turan’s stead, and since her power was actually the greatest, no one raised any objections.

“Whatever the reason, I believe Turan will come back someday. So what we need to do is handle what we can first.”

“In truth, there doesn’t seem to be much left to do.”

As Haram said, the tasks they needed to do right away were already handled.

The surface damage had all been restored, and the Essence scattered by Turan and the power possessed by the deceased Cycle World transcendents had all been tidied up and the world boundary had been partially restored, even if somewhat roughly.

What they could do now was simply wait quietly, hoping Turan would bring good news.

At an answer carrying that meaning, Meisa shook her head.

“There are things worth doing besides that. Rather than sitting still, shouldn’t we go around collecting information?”

“How?”

“Through Earth.”

The connection between Earth and the other closed worlds that had been severed just before the Cycle World’s invasion was currently restored.

Meisa’s idea was to make inquiries about Turan’s situation through those connected worlds.

“Earth is still being kept blocked by us so there’s no such case there, but there are quite a few people who’ve contracted with transcendents from other open worlds, right? The idea is to find out indirectly through those.”

If Turan had perhaps been adrift somewhere in one of the other open worlds, news could be received through humans connected to the transcendents there.

If the world coordinates were found out, they could go in person to bring Turan back.

“That’s a good idea!”

Mila, one of the few female ascendants, actively agreed with Meisa’s idea.

“Can’t we look ourselves?”

“Ascendants can’t enter other closed worlds. We’d need to send weaker mages in.”

Thus, the idea of going out to other worlds to search for Turan’s trace received everyone’s agreement and was put into action.

* * *

“You want to explore other worlds with our help?”

“Yes. However, since those participating in this expedition on our side are relatively lower-ranked and weaker, I would like to ask for your consideration.”

U.S. President Aaron Spike could not hide his surprised expression at the request from Asiz, the Cradle’s representative he was meeting for the first time in a while.

For the beings who had quietly connected the world for over a hundred years and only received resources to suddenly make such a request?

Of course he was surprised, but he couldn’t dare think of refusing.

Knowing full well that even if they weren’t quite the God of Christianity, they were beings at least on the level of gods from Greek or Norse mythology.

Even just the young man standing before him right now had once given the President four generations prior an elixir of youth as a so-called present, without preamble.

Though he had said that one couldn’t live past their set lifespan, thanks to it, that President even past ninety still showed an appearance and vitality thirty years younger than his age.

“I understand. I’ll need to get congressional approval, but I’ll handle it as you wish. However……”

“I know. That there’s something to receive. We’ll waive this year’s resource tax.”

“Thank you.”

Not long after the agreement was concluded, over a hundred mages from the Cradle stepped onto Earth’s soil.

They soon mixed in with Earth’s explorers and joined the expeditions heading to other worlds.

“Hey, man. Are you really someone who came from that place called the Cradle?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Wow.”

“Is it really an awesome place like Olympus? You’d only know if you knew someone from there. I was dying of curiosity.”

“Exactly. Tell us something if it’s not secret. So we can go home and brag.”

Naturally, they received enormous interest from the Earth people accompanying them.

The Cradle, a place known to have had only a dozen or so people cross over in all this long time, and one where even aging was said not to occur.

“I’d think it’s not that different since it’s a world where people live too……”

“Well, when you look at other worlds up close, they’re not that different either, are they?”

“I was laughing for a good while when I found out the ancient common language of the Panto Kingdom was Japanese.”

The mage who had been quietly watching the adventurers chuckling among themselves soon opened his mouth with a solemn expression.

It was because, even though it was a short time, he didn’t want the Earth he had seen to be considered the same as the Cradle.

“Still, based on having been here briefly, there seem to be a few differences.”

The Earth explorers listened wide-eyed to the mage’s following explanation.

A world where the combination of magic and science had eliminated disease, disability, and famine.

The upper class who had to be more moral to obtain greater power, and the empire prospering under their leadership.

Even other races who caused occasional incidents but acknowledged human hegemony and made a living within that, using their differences as abilities.

An explanation of an ideal nation that would only appear in armchair theorizing followed.

Its contents were something even the Earth’s people, who had grown more prosperous than before through the second Age of Exploration, would envy.

It wasn’t as if all the social structural contradictions and such had been resolved just because they were living better than before.

In America Black people were still exchanging gunfire with police, in Europe Islamic refugees were rioting, and in Africa and various conflict zones child soldiers were throwing magic at each other.

“Damn, I’d have no more wishes if I could live somewhere like that.”

“It kind of sounds to me like someone from a dictatorship praising their own country?”

“Whether you believe it or not is irrelevant. You won’t be visiting the Cradle anyway.”

“Ah, speaking of which, I did hear something like that. You guys can’t stay long in our world either, right?”

“Yes. In my case I have to go back within at least ten days.”

Through prior education, the mages knew that Earth’s people couldn’t cross to and permanently reside in the Cradle, and that they themselves couldn’t spend long periods in Earth and the other worlds.

At least in the case of staying time in Earth running out, it was just that they were summoned back to the Cradle and that was it, but if time ran out while in a completely different world it became a somewhat more serious matter.

Unlike Earth and the Cradle, which were adjacent worlds allowing crossing, beings who came from the Cradle could have their very existence scatter in other worlds reached through dimensional gates if they stayed past the permissible time.

“But why would people from such a nice world come here?”

“I wonder too.”

At a Black person’s question, the mage spoke with a solemn expression.

“Because there is something we need to ask the people there.”

He said only that and didn’t answer the following questions, changing the subject.

It wasn’t something that needed to be kept thoroughly secret, but he didn’t want to mention it in front of these lighthearted people.

That their greatest ascendant, founding Emperor Turan, had disappeared, and that they were setting out to other worlds to find his trace.

* * *

The Cradle’s mages who had crossed to other worlds first searched for humans who had contracted with transcendents.

Those called by all manner of names — contractors, apostles, warlocks, mages.

They demanded transactions in exchange for various powerful magic artifacts they had brought in large quantities from their world.

“You want my master to look into rumors? How dare you for such a trivial–”

“I’ve heard you’ve been researching the natural changing of human gender for dozens of years, but taking this medicine should do it.”

“–there’s nothing that can’t be asked. Mm, give me that then. Does it also make one younger?”

There were some who pushed back occasionally, but fortunately they were able to conduct transactions smoothly with quite a few people.

The Cradle was that prosperous, and the tools that could be created by their magic — which could be called the key to omnipotence — were varied.

And the price they wanted in return was also not particularly grand.

Simply asking for a clue about a transcendent in the form of a grey-haired youth, a giant golden eagle, or a being by the name of Turan.

If a location was identified this way, the plan was to then secure the location of the world where the witness lived through deal, and have the ascendants rush there to rescue Turan.

Naturally, Earth’s people too learned of this through people from other worlds, and came to know that the master of the Cradle had disappeared.

“The master of the Cradle disappeared?”

“Using this to demand something from the Cradle side……”

“That does seem risky.”

The power balance between the two worlds didn’t change dramatically just because the Cradle’s master Turan was gone.

The mages who had come over this time were far weaker than those who had come before, as discussed, but even they were on par with Earth’s top-tier ability users, weren’t they.

Even beyond that, unlike people from other worlds whose ways of wielding power were comparatively limited, they often displayed abilities of a truly bizarre nature.

From fire and water to wind, lightning, earth and darkness — they possessed mystical power that wielded all things under heaven freely.

Not to mention Meisa and the few others whose shields even nuclear missiles couldn’t scratch.

If all of them were to make serious trouble, Earth would become no different from the primitive other worlds currently deep in colonial activity.

And so Earth’s people changed their thinking and decided to officially help in the search for Turan themselves.

With the logic that Earth’s explorers, compared to those who had to return to the Cradle every few days to a few weeks at most, were better suited to find him.

“Help?”

“Yes. It won’t require anything tremendous, just that if results are produced, please look kindly upon us……”

Asiz, receiving an unexpected proposal, frowned and then decided to accept it.

Because in actuality, due to time limits, the Cradle’s mages had been unable to properly explore areas far from the dimensional gates.

They would need to pay a price if Turan was found with their help, but if any clue could be found, it would be worth it.

Casting the net in all directions for about a year.

Rikin Shinab, a mage dispatched to the world of Argol, sighed as he climbed a very tall mountain.

“You found a clue? Are you sure?”

“I’m telling you it’s real. You can really give the elixir of youth as the reward, right?”

“As long as the information is reliable.”

The source of this information was a French adventurer he had gotten to know through several dispatches.

This middle-aged man leading the way ahead was also known among Earth people as a reasonably famous ability user, and was a powerhouse matching an ordinary rank two mage.

If that hadn’t been the case, he wouldn’t have bothered following him.

This was hardly the first or second time he had gone on a wild goose chase due to false tips.

“Here.”

What he pointed to was a fairly decently built house of a rural tribe.

The most famous shaman in the area lived there, who was also known for having once been a powerful contractor.

His sociable French friend, greeting and entering inside, spoke to an old woman with clearly visible signs of illness.

“Grandma, I’m here.”

“Why did you come again? You rascal.”

“You know what I mentioned last time? I brought the friend who was looking for it. If you tell him properly, I’ll give food to grandma’s tribe like I said.”

“Without cutting it halfway through like before?”

“Of course. Have you ever seen me lie?”

“I’ve seen you change your words any number of times.”

Unlike him, a Cradle mage, the two communicated without natural language matching, yet quite fluently.

Since that old woman was unlikely to have learned Earth’s language, the Frenchman must have learned their language.

Or the language the old woman used in this world happened to be similar to French by coincidence.

The old woman who had brusquely replied and was smoking the cigarette the Frenchman brought looked at Rikin and spoke.

“So, what is it you want to know?”

“I asked the being you serve for a clue about a transcendent with the form of a golden eagle or a grey-haired youth.”

“Ah, that one. Yes. The Torch of the Frost Dawn whom I serve told me that such a being has been seen.”

According to her words, a new faith had been born in the vicinity of the world where the being called the Torch of the Frost Dawn resided.

This young god was said to be spreading faith to closed worlds in the vicinity, using a grey golden eagle as its symbol.

Rikin’s eyes lit up upon hearing this.

Wouldn’t just this much be information worth bringing to the imperial government and receiving enormous reward?

“Indeed…… might we perhaps be able to know this person’s name?”

“How can mortals like us casually speak a god’s name? That would invite divine punishment. However, the name this being conveys to its own followers was passed on.”

Cough — the old woman cleared her throat once and said.

“It calls itself the shepherd of young lambs.”