"I know... I can't stop what you want to do... All I know is that I still have my most important younger brothers and my lovely younger sister and older sister," Couronne sniffled hard. If she didn't, she wouldn't even be able to breathe in fresh air. "I just... I just want to ask you for one thing..."
As if she was going to shed all the tears for the rest of her life today, Couronne was now sobbing uncontrollably. She was desperately wiping the constantly flowing tears with her palms and the backs of her hands. Her always steady shoulders were trembling so much.
Su'er and Riku's plan progress was not hidden from her. Or rather, it was not hidden from any Imanity who participated. It was precisely because of this that Couronne knew very well what they were going to do next. Even though she understood the principles behind it, the worry, anxiety, and fear that came with it would not be reduced in the slightest.
Su'er and the others fell silent, patiently waiting for Couronne's sobbing words.
"...I don't want to lose my family anymore. So please, please... you must live!!"
She couldn't see Couronne's face, which was blocked by her arms, but every syllable of her voice was trembling. It was a cry from the bottom of her heart.
This was her last and most hoped-for wish.
"Ah, don't worry," Su'er said with great certainty, a comforting sentence he had said countless times to other Imanity and to his loved ones. "Just as I said before—we will take their victory."
"...Leave it to us... older sister..."
Those voices in the sea of his heart were loudly agreeing with him. His companions who were congratulating them on their marriage in their hearts and cheering for everything they did. Those who had already died.
"Thank you."
Su'er murmured to himself.
They had crossed the barriers of race, of thought, and of life itself.
Today, they became husband and wife without any barriers.
Forever.
A hole of unknown depth deep underground. The underground, which should have been dark and lightless, was illuminated by the fluorescent green light of the Elf furnace and the bright yellow lights that were seamlessly fitted to the steel walls. From time to time, huge ships that emitted a low humming sound would pass by in the air. The dense low hum composed of high-frequency sounds could make a fragile flesh-and-blood body feel paralyzed just by hearing it.
This was the most important center of the entire Dwarf alliance now. The huge underground hole dug by the Dwarf was even big enough to accommodate the huge bodies of the Gigant. At this moment, if you were to look around, you could even see those powerful guys talking to each other.
From time to time, gray Dwarf would quickly pass by the ships. Although the size of a single one was not eye-catching, their huge number made them omnipresent in this underground hole, like the worker ants in an anthill.
And in the very center of this entire cave, countless metal ores and materials floated in mid-air. Some were still raw ores, some were already forged materials, or some were semi-finished products in between.
The closer you got to the center, the sharper it became. In the very middle of those sharp edges, the metal weapons were twisted together, forming a huge metal throne. And at this moment, a Dwarf with his extra hair shaved off was sitting on it. His silvery-gray, messy hair. Just by sitting there, he exuded a revered aura. His crimson single eye flickered, and no one knew what kind of genius plan he was brewing.
One hand was gripping the hilt of the spirit-bound greatsword that was stuck in the edge of the steel throne. The tiny cubes that were constantly rolling and deforming like a Rubik's Cube were just like his thoughts at this moment, surging up and down.
Lóni was thinking.
However, what he was thinking about was not the question that the Dwarf, who passed by and were in awe of his serious appearance, had made up in their minds about the survival of the entire race or how to fight the war against the Elf alliance and the God of War's camp.
But the truth was just the opposite. What Lóni was thinking about at this moment were things that, in their eyes, were completely not worth worrying about, and they would not understand them at all, and would only find them meaningless.
'Why did I see a new monkey there?'
With this question in mind, Lóni kept recalling the past. The female Elf who had caused a huge commotion in the Dwarf's capital and then left in a carefree manner... was very big... No, Lóni meant that there was a monkey like that next to that Elf.
And more than a decade ago, when the failed experiment of restraining the energy of the unactivated Divine Core explosion happened, even though the final result was that he successfully defeated the attacking Elf, Lóni could never forget everything he saw before the huge cannon barrel was opened.
He would not ignore even a small matter that was insignificant in the eyes of other Dwarf. Perhaps if other Dwarf were there, they would not have cared about those hairless monkeys at all. They would have just regarded them as unfortunate beasts that were unlucky enough to fall into the city when it was deforming and expanding, just like an ant or a spider that got into their house. There was absolutely no need to make a fuss about it.
But Lóni recalled the monkey he had once seen at the first moment. At least in Lóni's eyes, their appearances were not very different.
Why would a monkey appear there?
What kind of conspiracy did the Elf have in this?
The talent that the God of Forge had given to all the Dwarf had reached its peak in him. His intuitive feeling told him that there must be a secret in this that he didn't know about. However, that intuition also told him that this had nothing to do with the Elf, or even with the God of the Forest.
This was truly a strange and difficult matter.
At that time, after he had guided the deformation of the entire city and confirmed the Divine Core explosion, at the last moment before he opened the incantation and left, Lóni also saw the monkey who, after he had spoken, was foolishly pushed down and fell, his body covered in blood and on the verge of death. He was lucky enough to land in a crack that extended from one of the cannon barrels.
Compared to this common sight of death, what made Lóni even more curious was the smile that the monkey showed at the last moment. His face was covered in his own blood. It was difficult for him to even see. There was not a single trace of the whimpering and the yearning for life that any wild beast would show when they were on the verge of death.
Before his position was transferred, all Lóni could see on that monkey's face was a deep sense of relief and satisfaction, and an indescribable joy—what was he joyful about?
Was he satisfied?
Even putting his own life outside of his concerns...
This question deeply bothered Lóni, and even to this day, he had not gotten an answer—that being said, these were nothing more than a little bit of his personal curiosity.