Chapter 113: Communicating with the Elephant Lord!
[New World - The Deck of the Heavy Cruiser Pola]
The massive steel warship hovered silently in the thin air, casting a dark, ominous shadow over the ancient forests of Zou.
Suzaku stood at the very edge of the bow, the wind whipping his black coat. He looked down at the vast, rugged landscape of the giant elephant's back—a landscape that was actually a living, breathing creature that had walked the oceans for a millennium.
"Interesting... truly interesting."
He murmured, his eyes tracing the deep fissures and ridges of Zunesha's skin that looked like mountain ranges from this height.
This colossal beast carried a nation on its spine. It bore a sin so heavy it had been cursed to walk the ocean floor for eternity without rest, never allowed to sleep, never allowed to stop. The world only knew its form as a legend, a phantom island that evaded the Log Pose.
But now, his companions could hear its heart.
"Albedo."
Suzaku spoke without turning his head. His voice was calm, but it carried an undeniable command that cut through the high-altitude winds.
"You try. Since you can hear its voice so clearly... try to see if you can transmit information back to this big fellow down there. Don't just listen."
He turned to face her, his eyes gleaming with ambition.
"Pierce through its madness. Let it know we are here."
"Yes, Lord Suzaku!"
Albedo bowed deeply, her hand placed over her heart. Her black wings spread slightly as she gathered her focus.
She closed her eyes, shutting out the physical world. She didn't use a Den Den Mushi. She didn't use magic. She used the sheer density of her spiritual pressure—the weight of her soul—to bridge the gap between species.
She reached out into the void of the mind.
"I hear you."
[Zou - The Whale Forest - Deep Interior]
While the gods above conversed, panic was spreading through the forest floor like a wildfire.
SWISH!
The dense foliage receded rapidly in a blur of green and brown.
Carrot, the rabbit Mink, pushed her speed to the absolute limit. Her long ears were pressed flat against her back to reduce wind resistance, and sparks of blue Electro trailed from her heels like comets.
Her heart pounded against her ribs like a war drum.
Sister Wanda's face... she looked so serious!
The memory of Wanda's grim expression and the terrifying sight of the steel behemoth hovering above them spurred her to accelerate even further.
"Lord Inuarashi! I must inform Lord Inuarashi immediately!"
Her small figure darted through the dense canopy like a white lightning bolt. She leaped over ravines, bounced off tree trunks, and ignored the burning in her lungs. Every second mattered. An invasion was happening.
Soon, the outline of Kurau City appeared at the edge of her vision. The ancient stone buildings, nestled harmoniously among the massive trees and waterways, usually looked peaceful. Today, they looked like a target.
"Stop! Who goes there?!"
The Mink guards at the main gate immediately raised their spears in alert, their fur bristling as they saw the approaching blur.
"It's me! Carrot! Trainee of the Musketeer Squad!"
Carrot shouted as she skid to a halt, dust flying. Her chest heaved, gasping for air.
"There's an emergency! A Level One Emergency! I need to see Duke Inuarashi immediately!"
The guards recognized her. Seeing her usually cheerful face twisted in anxiety and the sparks of uncontrolled Electro flying from her fur, they did not dare to delay.
"Pass! Go!"
Carrot rushed into the city. She sprinted past the canals and the market stalls. The Mink civilians—bears, deers, squirrels, and foxes—all looked on, wondering what had happened to make the energetic rabbit look so terrified.
BANG!
Carrot burst into the Duke's castle, slamming the heavy wooden doors open.
She ran straight into the Great Hall, interrupting a high-level council meeting.
Duke Inuarashi, the "Day King" of Zou, sat on his throne. He was a massive dog Mink, wearing small sunglasses and noble attire. He was in the middle of discussing harvest reports and defense rotations with his ministers.
Inuarashi frowned slightly when he saw Carrot intrude. He adjusted his glasses, but he did not get angry.
"Carrot?" Inuarashi asked, his deep voice echoing in the hall. "What happened? Why are you so flustered? Where is Wanda?"
"Your Grace! It's terrible!"
Carrot gasped for breath, pointing a trembling finger back the way she came, toward the Whale Forest.
"In the sky... a huge steel ship appeared! It's not made of wood! It's made of cold metal and fire! And it's flying!"
"What?"
A murmur of confusion and disbelief rippled through the ministers.
"A flying ship?"
"Is it a balloon?"
"Steel doesn't fly!"
"It's true!" Carrot cried, tears welling in her eyes. "It's flying towards us! It's huge! Sister Wanda told me to come back immediately and report! She said to initiate maximum alert!"
"A steel ship... in the sky?" Inuarashi murmured, gripping the armrest of his throne.
The atmosphere in the Great Hall shifted instantly. The air grew heavy.
Lord Inuarashi's expression became incredibly serious. He knew Carrot. She was naive, yes, but she was not a liar. And Wanda was one of his best warriors. If Wanda said it was an emergency, it was an emergency.
"All hands on deck!"
Inuarashi stood up. His voice was steady and resonant, instantly quelling all the noise and confusion.
"Musketeers Squad, assemble immediately! Inform Sicilian! Have him take his men to the edge of the national forest to reinforce Wanda!"
He drew the sword at his hip.
"Until we ascertain their intentions, no one is to act rashly! But be prepared for war!"
"YES, SIR!"
Orders were quickly relayed. The Warning Bell of Zou began to ring—a deep, mournful toll that signaled invasion. The entire castle mobilized. The shadow of war instantly loomed over this peaceful nation.
Lord Inuarashi strode out of the castle onto the main balcony. He looked up in the direction Carrot had pointed.
His sunglasses reflected the sky.
Indeed.
A menacing, grey warship hung suspended in the distant high sky. Its cold metallic texture and massive gun turrets were completely out of place with Zou's natural scenery. It emanated an ominous aura of advanced technology and destruction.
"What exactly... is that thing..." Inuarashi murmured to himself, his pupils contracting in vigilance and doubt. "Is it Kaido? Or the World Government?"
However, just at this moment.
"MOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
A sound that was not a sound, but a force of nature, erupted.
A long, mournful cry, as deep as the ocean trenches and as old as the Void Century, resounded through the sky without warning!
It didn't come from the ship. It came from everywhere. It came from the air, the trees, and most terrifyingly... from beneath their feet!
It came from the giant elephant that carried their entire nation.
The Elephant Lord Zunesha.
RUMBLE...
Immediately after the cry, the ground began to shake violently!
No, not shaking! It was vibrating!
It felt like a giant who had slept for a thousand years had suddenly been jolted awake from a nightmare.
CRACK!
The castle groaned under the stress. Houses in the city trembled. Tiles fell from roofs and shattered on the cobblestones. Tiny cracks appeared in the ground, releasing puffs of dust.
"Whoa!"
"Earthquake?!"
All the Mink Tribe members lost their footing. They swayed back and forth, clutching onto pillars, trees, and each other. Their faces were filled with unprecedented fear and bewilderment. This wasn't a normal tremor.
"What's going on?"
"It's Lord Elephant! Lord Elephant is moving his head!"
"What happened? Did the ship in the sky attack Lord Elephant?!"
Lord Inuarashi gripped a nearby stone pillar tightly to steady himself. He felt the violent vibrations traveling up his legs, shaking his very bones.
A storm was raging within his heart.
The Elephant Lord... was angry?
Or was it... wailing?
Why?
He suddenly looked up, staring intently at the unmoving steel behemoth in the distant sky.
A coincidence? Impossible!
As soon as this ship appeared, the Elephant Lord exhibited an anomaly it hadn't shown in centuries!
There was definitely some connection between the two!
Who exactly... were these enemies? To be able to affect the Elephant Lord's soul?
[Whale Forest - The Border]
Wanda knelt on one knee in the dirt. She plunged her sword into the ground to steady herself as the forest floor heaved like the deck of a ship in a storm.
The trembling of the earth beneath her feet was more unsettling than any enemy attack. She knew better than anyone that this was not a geological earthquake.
This was Zunesha's emotional fluctuation.
She looked up, her eyes, beneath her golden hair, fixed on the Pola in the sky.
Fear, mixed with a burning anger, ignited in her chest.
"What did you do?!" Wanda hissed through gritted teeth.
What exactly... did these guys do to the Elephant Lord?! Did they hurt him? Are they controlling him?
Could their target, from the very beginning, have been the Elephant Lord itself? Were they here to kill the island?
At the thought of this possibility, Wanda's grip on her sword tightened until her knuckles turned white.
"Unforgivable..."
No matter who the enemy was, daring to harm the Elephant Lord was to be an enemy of the entire Mink Tribe!
She stood up, fighting the tremors. She was ready to fight to the death.
[The Deck of the Pola]
High above the chaos, Suzaku held onto the railing as the Pola's gyroscopes whirred, keeping the ship level against the displacement of air caused by Zunesha's cry.
He could clearly see everything happening below. The commotion in the city, the shaking forest, the panic of the Minks. The reaction of the Elephant Lord was the most direct confirmation.
"It seems to have had an effect after all," Suzaku said with a satisfied smile.
Just one sentence—"I hear you"—had caused such a violent reaction from this colossal beast. It was the shock of connection after a millennium of silence.
Albedo stood beside him. Her eyes were closed, her brow furrowed in concentration. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she maintained the mental link with a mind as vast as an ocean.
"Its emotions are very agitated, Lord Suzaku," Albedo reported, her voice strained.
"Loneliness. Grievance. Infinite sadness. And a hint of... confusion and expectation. It is asking 'Who are you? Are you the one who will give the order?'"
"Hmm, the timing is about right," Suzaku nodded. "We can't let it destroy its own back with this tantrum."
Suzaku leaned close to Albedo's ear. He whispered the next command, his voice low and precise.
"Tell it this, Albedo. Project this thought clearly."
He spoke the words.
Albedo nodded. She took a deep breath, gathering her spiritual pressure. She amplified the message with her soul, projecting it downwards like a beam of light into the dark ocean of Zunesha's mind.
"We are not your judges. We are travelers. Calm your heart, Ancient One. We come to walk your path for a moment. Sleep."
HUMMM...
The mental wave went out.
Below, that island-sized head fell silent.
The mournful cry cut off abruptly. The violent trembling, which had lasted for nearly a minute, slowly subsided. The trees stopped swaying. The waters in the canals of Kurau City calmed.
The entire Zou Island returned to tranquility once again.
"It stopped..." Rem whispered, looking over the edge.
"Good," Suzaku straightened his coat. "Now that we have the landlord's permission... let's go introduce ourselves to the tenants."
He turned to the blue-haired maid.
"Rem. Land the ship in the forest clearing near the Whale Tree. Gently. We don't want to scare them any more than we already have."
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