Crimson Eternal - Book 6 - Chapter 39 (Patreon)
Content
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Back at the Galaxy where the Horsemen are fighting
Lucius glances around the galaxy while fighting off Pestilence’s attacks, but he can’t find Aria no matter where he looks. Which surprises him more than anything else.
I guessed she’d sit around watching until Pestilence croaked to take his soul. Did she get bored or something?
It doesn’t matter much to him if she’s gone or not, since he doesn’t have the time to spare to bully her companion right now anyway, but he does still feel surprised by this development. After all, he’s seen her spend over a month inside of a monster’s stomach reading a book before. So spending months or even years watching a battle while reading doesn’t seem like something she would get bored of this quickly.
I do wish I could see what trouble she’s going to cause next, though.
Lucius has often enjoyed just looking at the news to see what mischief the Horseman of Death gets up to from time to time. It’s rather amusing to him, especially when she clearly – in his opinion – has no idea what she’s doing is unusual.
Either that or she is incredibly skilled at brainwashing herself.
Just watching her and those around her is enough to bring Lucius’ mood up, even without fighting wars.
Not that he would ever give up fighting wars.
A faint smile spreads across his face as he thinks about whatever war he’ll be going to after this battle. Especially when he thinks about whatever skill he’s going to steal from Pestilence to participate in said war.
And it is set in stone that he will be stealing a skill from Pestilence. Especially after Pestilence targeted Little Rain, even if Lucius has already managed to evacuate Little Rain to a safe location.
However, right as he’s thinking this, something unexpected happens.
Pestilence, looking as enraged as ever, jumps back and spreads out both of his arms. Sending a massive wave of energy outwards.
But this isn’t what surprises him.
What surprises him is when he feels the pestilence energy beginning to eat away at the bonds of his skill. Tearing at it, aging it, and just causing damage to it.
Lucius immediately loses all of the humor in his eyes as he realizes what’s happening.
This disgusting labrat…
The Horseman of War doesn’t care if he’s called a hypocrite. When his companion was attacked, he was angry despite having done the same thing to Pestilence. And when Pestilence left a powerful plague on War’s body much stronger than anything he’s seen before and isn’t sure how to get rid of, he was even angrier. Despite having personally locked the two in battle.
And now that he sees the most important skill he has ever had getting damaged? Potentially even permanently?
Genuine rage engulfs the Horseman of War. Only to spread across the entire galaxy and several nearby galaxies in the form of scarlet energy bursting out of numerous Gates to the Plane of War. Instantly sparking conflict in every planet affected by the energy as people turn on each other for every small matter.
The Horseman of War moves his sword in his right hand outwards before moving his other hand into a similar position on the opposite side and summoning a second sword.
This disgusting brat needs to learn a lesson.
Command Center
Amatsuraki feels impatient as he watches the battle suddenly surge forth with far more ferocity than before. And for unknown reasons as well.
Normally he can predict things like this, but some powers held by the Horsemen are beyond even himself to predict. So he doesn’t know anything about the current situation.
And that bothers him more than he’s ever let his son know.
Not many people realize it, but the Silver Emperor, Shirou Amatsuraki, Emperor of the Eternal Dynasty and greatest magic user of both fortune magic and destiny magic in history, has a single major obsession.
He must always be right in the end. Any result he predicts, it must be correct. And he must always be able to predict everything.
Therefore he has never cared much for the Horsemen, who often dodge his predictions in ways he can and could never imagine.
The only exception to this is the Horseman of Death, who isn’t strong enough to avoid his predictions yet, and always does things that are harmless yet mildly amusing. Even if she does cause trouble from time to time.
But right now he can’t think about whatever mischief she is currently getting involved in – and he’s certain it’s something, since she’s not at the battle anymore – because calls are rapidly flooding in from all around the galaxies near the battle. With each one notifying him about different conflicts and wars breaking out.
To the point that every single planet with some sort of grudge against another planet, or even every single nation with a grudge, is now declaring war.
And it doesn’t take him long to figure out why as he watches the scarlet energy spread across the universe.
For once, something bothers him more than not being able to predict something.
And that’s not knowing how to stop it.
Aria
War is a strange thing. I don’t really understand it.
Why fight? What’s the point?
Conflict over resources, conflict over territory, conflict over property, and conflict over emotions. I’ve grown rather numb to the whole idea over the years.
Maybe it’s because I’ve lost my general sense of money and wealth from becoming too rich, or maybe it’s because I can’t die like others can.
I don’t know.
Anyway, more importantly, why are these-
My thoughts blank when I step on a mine, blowing myself up in the middle of the battlefield I’m walking across before I reform again.
Why are these guys fighting? I thought this was a mining planet, not a warzone?
I completely ignore the people shooting guns, arrows, and bolts of magic and other abilities and skills at each other as I walk across the battlefield to the other side, where Shirogane and Little Blue currently are waiting for me. Not to mention watching me looking oddly exasperated during my trek.
No idea why they’re exasperated, or why these people are all staring at me with a bizarre and slightly fearful look on their faces.
Also, why is there so much war energy in the air? I know there’s a war going on, but should there really be this much war energy generated from it?
It feels a little exaggerated.
I frown at that thought as I continue walking across the battlefield while being punctured with holes, blasted over and over again, burnt, frozen, chopped up, and more. But my thoughts barely ever waver throughout the process. Even as the soldiers on each side send me horrified looks.
That’s not something I’m used to anymore.
Nowadays, most people don’t show much surprise when they see me instantly recovering. They just treat it as a cool spectacle to watch since they know all about me.
What’s more is that I can’t help but notice some looks sent my way that almost seem like they don’t recognize me.
Is the Underground really this disconnected from the outside world?
I purse my lips at that thought before shrugging.
Whatever. Doesn’t really matter.
The place itself is cool at least.
I find myself faintly smiling as I walk the last bit of the way across the battlefield with my hands in my jacket pockets. And when I finally arrive at the end of the magma-filled cavern at the fortress on the other side, then jump onto the wall of the fortress, I’m faced with some guy in what looks like a commander’s uniform just dropping his mouth open in shock as he stares blankly at me.
Then the man asks, “Who tha fuckin’ hell are you?!”
I blink at that before smiling at the idea of finally finding a place where people don’t recognize me at a glance.
“Just a tourist wandering through,” I continue walking by him without taking my hands from my pockets or suppressing the smile on my face, ignoring the dumbfounded muttering of, “Huh?” I hear him make as I do so.
This place might be even more fun than I expected.