Chapter 317 - The Captains
Snow–white hair, flowing down to the waist.
A woman, dressed in a dark dress that contrasted with it, eyes covered with gray cloth, crossed space through a dimensional passage.
Her steps were unhesitating, despite her vision being blocked, unlike others.
She arrived at her destination, the hall of Exodium, through a long corridor.
A massive circular table with an empty center, and six seats set at precise intervals, greeted her.
"You're the second, Watcher."
There was no need to turn her head.
The presence, the form of the other, was felt clearly.
"Someone who was always the last to arrive at meetings, showing up first this year, Explorer."
The Explorer, Legrit.
Occupying one of the seats, she shrugged with a laugh.
"Sometimes days like this happen, don't they? People's hearts are fickle by nature. Even for you, Watcher."
"Still, it isn't hard to guess. Someone like you, who always makes a fuss that meetings are boring, staying calm like this, means there must be something interesting enough to make up for that tedium. And, conveniently, such a topic happens to be one of the subjects of today's meeting."
"You're still trying to pry into other people's intentions, I see."
"That's my duty. If you looked into as many people's inner selves as I do, you'd end up like me too. If you're really curious, why not switch roles?"
"That would be impossible for lack of ability. Besides, the Master of the Ark would never allow it. And to spend all day stuck in the Ark, only gazing at the world… ugh, absolutely not."
Legrit shrank back, rubbing her arms.
The Explorer, whose duty as Captain was to explore the unknown where no one had ever set foot. Such adventures were her joy in life.
But being forced to stay in the Ark without ever going outside?
No matter how advanced the facilities, it was meaningless.
For someone like Legrit, who acted purely out of interest, it was no different than being locked in a prison with only a single window.
Legrit shuddered in disgust.
"Being bound like a prisoner, I'd rather die. I love freedom."
"Don't go calling me a prisoner when I'm sitting here minding my own business. And I like being free too. I just don't have your wanderlust."
The Watcher snapped, turning her head sharply.
It was a gesture of not wanting to look at the other, but the sensation remained the same.
A vestige from when her eyes had still worked.
"Fine, fine, stop sulking already. I bought the finest confections from the Arnak Empire, want some?"
"…thank you."
The two continued their idle chatter.
After a while, when the clock hand pointed to the hour, the promised people began appearing one by one in the hall.
"I was delayed due to an issue in a recent trial, but… to think the Explorer was already here. This somewhat hurts my pride."
Reddish–blond hair, slicked neatly back without a strand out of place.
A man in immaculate uniform, a monocle over his right eye, the Adjuster.
"…"
Full armor of metal and leather.
A being who revealed not a single part of the body, not head, nor hands, nor even hair, the Subjugator.
"My apologies. I tried to come as early as possible, but I ended up the latest. Still, after a year, I'm glad to see you all look well."
A thick cloak decorated with the fur of a magical beast.
Blue armor, dazzling golden hair, and blue eyes, the Guardian.
Thus, all had taken their seats.
Legrit folded her arms.
"Since I was first to arrive, hosting is my role. Then, I'll call out in order."
The Explorer of the Unknown.
The Watcher of the World.
The Adjuster of Balance.
The Subjugator of Calamity.
The Guardian of the North.
One seat left empty.
"These five, attendance confirmed."
They were those who had challenged and overcome countless trials.
Recognized as leaders of humanity, heirs who had inherited the title of Captain from the previous generation.
The Ark's greatest strength, gathered in one place.
"Then, let's begin the meeting."
***
The Ark does not rule the world.
Its meaning exists only as a collective, the personal desires or dreams of each Captain or candidate are irrelevant.
Even if one of the Captains were to establish a kingdom, it was the same.
So long as the act itself did not bring harm to humanity as a species, or demand the abandonment of the humanity they ought to preserve… as long as they did not forsake their duty, it was permitted.
Though borrowing the Ark's power for personal reasons was forbidden.
For that reason, the topics of Ark meetings were limited.
The duties each Captain must uphold.
And the nurturing of talents who would lead humanity.
Those, and nothing else.
Presiding over the meeting, as customary, was the Watcher's role.
Turning her head toward the front of the table, she spoke first.
"Let's begin with the unusual matters. There are two related topics."
The first.
"An ancient bloodline, thought extinct in the Eastern Continent, has been discovered. To be precise, last year, in the Kingdom of Estiria."
"The Kingdom of Estiria… don't tell me you mean the Witch?"
Legrit voiced her doubt.
The reactions of the others were much the same.
About twenty–eight years ago, Gluttony, who had disguised himself as the chancellor of Estiria's royal family.
Using war as a pretext, he persuaded the king, and forcibly injected the memories of a witch into the fourth queen, awakening the dormant bloodline.
Gluttony conducted brutal experiments with the witch's bodily tissues.
Tens of thousands perished as mere test subjects, and the number slain by Gluttony's mages in the war against the Republic was greater still.
"As you all know, the previous Watcher sensed this, and the Subjugator here personally exterminated all Gluttony hiding within the kingdom."
"…"
The Subjugator answered with silence.
"And with the queen's death, it was judged that the witch's memories had completely vanished. Yet those memories were inherited by her child."
The Guardian tilted his head.
"It didn't suddenly revive on its own, then… it's more accurate to say it transferred when the queen died twenty–eight years ago. But why is it only observed now?"
"Even the Watcher has limits."
She could gaze into the world, but never hold all of it.
And due to the limits of her ability, there were places and beings beyond observation.
Pinpointing a location and obtaining meaningful information without any external aid was, even with luck, harder than finding a needle in a desert.
If the Witch had not unleashed her power by wearing the [Crown of the Witch], it might never have been noticed.
"So, are you considering accepting her as one of the Ark's members, or at least a candidate?"
"I'm still deeply deliberating. Her inner self is at the baseline, but… since it was the royal family once manipulated by Gluttony, it must be judged with utmost scrutiny, even more so than Prince Riviant of the Duchy of Riviant, whom we accepted. Anyway, I've delivered it, so let's move on. Adjuster."
"The second unusual matter, I'll present."
The Adjuster adjusted his monocle.
"A natural trial was meant to occur in the city–state alliance, the Kailiens. But the possibility has now completely vanished. In other words, prediction has become impossible."
"Someone interfered?"
"Most likely. But it is certain it wasn't Gluttony. That much is all I can say."
The trial had vanished.
Meaning, the Ark had no grounds to intervene.
Humanity must not be only protected.
That would weaken the species, and ultimately lead to extinction. Whether hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions died, it was the same.
Salvation in the present always became despair in the future.
To take the lead in events was forbidden.
The Ark must remain an observer, and at most a helper.
Legrit clicked her tongue.
"What, that's it? Boring."
"…You're the only one who would seek amusement in a meeting, Explorer. So, are you saying you've brought information worth satisfying that so–called amusement?"
"Ha, of course I have. I made a truly remarkable discovery this time."
"Remarkable discovery?"
"Yes, and that is…"
The Captains each reacted differently.
For the Explorer to speak so confidently, there had to be a reason. Only the Subjugator remained unmoved, arms folded, keeping a rigid stance.
"It's a secret."
"What?"
She shrugged her shoulders.
"To be honest, it's still a bit vague. Which means, I have no obligation yet to detail it in this meeting. If you're that curious, why don't we pause this boring meeting for a while, and begin with an Exchange Battle?"
"So that was your aim."
"Honestly, you're all curious too, aren't you?"
The Explorer, Legrit, spread her arms.
"This year's new candidates. One has mastered a newly developed kind of magic, and another returned alive from the tomb of that Demon King. A trial that not only candidates, but even Captains, have never been able to overcome."
Her gaze lingered briefly on the vacant seat.
The place left without a master for seven years was still cold.
The Watcher nodded slowly.
"The Mage Asher. He is indeed a peculiar man. We don't know where he even came from, and I couldn't read his inner self either…"
There were very few beings the Watcher could not peer into.
Broadly, they were either abnormal species, or Transcendents who had attained the realm of transcendence.
Exceptions did exist, but even considering that, Asher was unlike anything before.
Observation simply did not work.
Not a fragment of his spirit could be glimpsed. From the moment the Listener from the duchy had reported to now.
The only way had been to pinpoint his location using the ancient artifacts housed within the Ark.
The Adjuster added.
"Moreover, even the Master of the Library said he could not completely discern that power."
"He… said that?"
The Guardian revealed his shock.
For the Library Director's sight not to pierce something, was almost unheard of.
Legrit smirked.
"You heard that, right? So, I'm thinking, why don't we move the schedule forward, and begin with an Exchange Battle first? What do you all think?"
The atmosphere leaned toward agreement.
A candidate who, despite not belonging to the Ark, had slain the fangs of Gluttony. An unprecedented candidate. To claim they weren't interested would be a lie.
Even the Subjugator, who rarely spoke, showed the faintest reaction.
Then, the Watcher spoke.
"Excuse me, but I'm the presiding chair here. Why are you suddenly changing the order as you please?"
"If we don't start with the Exchange Battle, I won't do the meeting."
"…"
Legrit was adamant.
By unanimous consent, the meeting was temporarily suspended.
***
The new candidates' waiting room.
The Mage from the Academy, awkward but making an effort to keep the conversation smooth, had already drained six cups of drinks.
Because of all the talking, his otherwise polite tone often slipped, but Verden chose to ignore it.
"Come to think of it, I heard you subdued one of Gluttony's officers. What kind of beings are they? I've never seen one myself."
"They're dreadful creatures."
Verden gave a concise explanation.
The cruel experiments of Gluttony, the grafted ones who obtained abilities by attaching the bodies of other races, the twisted ideology that pursued evolution through devouring.
At the raw facts, the Mage shuddered.
"T–to take people alive and experiment on them…? How could such a thing even happen? N–no, I mean, could it even exist?"
The world was vast and varied.
The normal and the abnormal were everywhere. Thus, nothing was impossible.
The magic circle of Defying the Heavens that formed Verden's foundation, the massive Ark composed of floating sky islands, even Gluttony's existence that thrived on biological experiments.
'That should be enough of an answer.'
Now it was Verden's turn.
"I heard you've mastered a new type of magic. If it's not too much trouble, could you tell me what kind it is? I've never heard of such before."
"Ah, of course. It was being developed in secret, but it's nearly completed. Soon, once it's fully confirmed, it'll be announced widely to the world. My professor just hasn't prepared the thesis yet—"
The Mage belatedly clamped his mouth shut, then continued.
"S–so! To start with its name, it's called 'Summoning Magic'."
"Summoning…? You mean like the black magic that manipulates the Undead?"
"It's similar in thread, but the content is entirely different. To explain briefly…"
The Mage rummaged through his spatial bag.
Then he took out an unfamiliar object, showing it to Verden.
At the base was a brass plate, above which a transparent film separated the inside from the outside.
'No magic stone inside. So, it's meant for channeling magic power into it, concentrating within.'
It was clearly a magical tool.
Yet even with Verden's knowledge, it was unfamiliar, difficult to fully grasp its essence.
"This is a magic item called a 'Dispenser'. It's a dedicated tool for using summoning magic. You channel mana inside, operate it, then project the mental image you formed, and spatial magic materializes it."
"…Spatial magic, you say?"
"Well, it's not bragging, but I do have an affinity for the spatial attribute… haha."
The Mage scratched his head shyly.
Mages able to handle the highest attribute, spatial, were extremely rare.
Whether it was the difficulty of the literature, or the high magical complexity, without innate talent, one could not even touch it.
Yet an Academy student could wield it?
'So nothing is impossible, huh.'
It was a saying that applied to Verden himself as well.
"Could you perhaps show me?"
"S–sorry, but that's difficult. It consumes too much mana, and if I use it now, the Exchange Battle will be too hard for me later… I hope you understand."
Not black magic, but summoning magic.
And requiring spatial attributes, no less… To think a new type of magic truly was as unexpected as that.
'Just what kind of magic is this…'
He couldn't help but look forward to it.
It was only a pity that the Ark meeting was far from over.
Then, at that moment—
"…!"
Swirling mana.
Immediately after sensing it, a magic circle emerged in the corner of the waiting room. Violet light flared brightly, illuminating the two of them.
"Huh? A teleportation circle? I thought the meeting would take quite a while before it ended…"
That was what Verden had heard too.
But such details mattered little.
Rising to his feet, he straightened the Demon King's Robe and made ready.
"Let's depart."
Captain and magic.
Verden was eager.
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