Volume 8, Chapter 17 – The Queen of Death’s Wish (illust.)

It was three minutes later when the buzzing in her brain finally subsided.

Fia let out a long breath and opened her eyes.

Since she hadn’t maintained the [Light] spell, the hall had fallen into darkness once more. By the faint light, she could see that the pristine, spotless hall had vanished. All around were shattered floors and signs of battle. The sloping walls of the pyramid even had a dozen or so holes of various sizes. Over twenty golden-eyed Chaos had gathered around her. The ruined scene made Fia frown.

So the sounds of battle I heard when my head was hurting weren’t hallucinations?

“You’re awake?”

Anastasia’s tense voice came from beside her, along with the soft sensation of her body pressing closer. Fia turned to look at Anastasia on her left. Her azure eyes were filled with concern, and there were beads of sweat on her forehead.

“Ah, I’m fine. My body was just having some issues…”

Fia tried to recall again, but the rising temperature in her brain made her voluntarily give up. Thinking about who she was could wait until she was somewhere safe. She snapped her fingers, and the bright light of [Light] once again filled the hall.

“What happened here? How long did I rest?”

“You rested for a short while.” Anastasia’s furrowed brow relaxed as she surveyed their surroundings and explained to Fia. “When your body showed signs of abnormality, the Chaos on the hall walls started attacking you like mad. Many monster-shaped Chaos also appeared among them. But thankfully, you had cast defensive magic in advance, and the Antler Chaos who see you as their deity also shielded you from those monster Chaos. Oh, and one more thing…”

“Speak.”

“Among the Chaos, there was one with a giant humanoid form. Just before it died, it said something. The language was one I’d never heard before, not like ancient elvish. I could only sense hatred from its emotions…”

“I see. From the looks of it now, those monster Chaos were dealt with by the Antler Chaos?”

“Yes. The two sides weren’t on the same level strength-wise. And when your expression relaxed, the suddenly appearing monster Chaos also seemed to deflate, slowly losing their form.”

When I was thinking about my own existence, these monster Chaos suddenly appeared. When I stopped thinking and my mind calmed, the monster Chaos lost their power. Their formation might be related to me.

Perhaps the First Princess using the Unsinkable Moon to awaken me wasn’t meant to deal with Chaos and save the world, but had a deeper meaning.

Fia had this intuition.

Staying underground was thoroughly uncomfortable. Fia took a deep breath—it was strange to be able to breathe freely in a place with no visible plants. She deactivated the 360-degree, no-blind-spot [Absolute Stillness] that enveloped her and Anastasia, then turned to face the blue-eyed Chaos, who was standing at attention in the hall.

Sensing Fia’s gaze, the blue-eyed Chaos transmitted a message to the dozen or so nearby golden-eyed Chaos to stand down. Then it came to Fia’s side and knelt on one knee, bowing its head lower than ever before.

“I never imagined such a situation would occur. We bear the responsibility of fighting off the rebels for you, yet we nearly let their attack succeed. Our… our negligence is inexcusable. We beg the Father God’s forgiveness!”

Its intent was filled with shame.

If this blue-eyed Chaos had human features, it would probably be sweating profusely, its voice trembling.

Fia waved her hand. She hadn’t yet developed a sense of belonging toward the Antler Chaos, so she certainly wasn’t going to scold them.

“You say those monster-shaped Chaos are rebels. That means they’re the Chaos from beneath the Abyss?”

“Yes. Those Chaos do not possess high intelligence like us, at least according to the memories left by the Mother. They received your grace, Father God, yet not only do they not repay your kindness, they bare their fangs at you. We will surely eliminate these ingrates for you!”

“You say they received my grace? No, speaking of which, don’t you find it strange that I have no memories of the past?”

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“You are like our Mother, undergoing repeated cycles of death and rebirth. Losing memory upon rebirth is inevitable. Your aura has remained constant. As for the grace, that traces back to our very birth.”

The blue-eyed Chaos launched into a lengthy explanation for the first time, starting from their Mother’s birth all the way to their current seclusion here, awaiting the Father God’s descent.

In the beginning, these tribes called “Eye” were no different from the Chaos that appeared in monster forms. All shaped Chaos were born from formless, extremely weak Chaos.

At that time, the primordial continent beneath the World Tree Continent was already engulfed in long years of war. The second generation of life in this world had challenged the first generation. According to the blue-eyed Chaos, the first generation was called the Primordial Life, and the second generation was called the Next-Generation Life. They represented the Gods and the Darkborn, respectively.

Chaos was born from the fusion of dead Gods and Darkborn. Because they possessed mana yet could devour elements and mana, any life that came into contact with them regarded them as evil. But they were extremely weak back then, so neither side saw them as a potential threat. They survived like that until the Mother was born—the huge flower bud Fia had seen in the square.

The Mother’s appearance meant that Chaos, once driven only by instinct, had developed basic intelligence. They knew to flee from danger, to risk devouring mana-rich things even at risk. This part of Chaos, obeying the Mother’s command, began acting with purpose—similar to a queen bee and worker bees.

Under these circumstances, the Chaos with a Mother developed and grew at an extraordinary pace, eventually reaching a point where they could threaten the Darkborn. So the Darkborn realized they couldn’t let Chaos develop like this and began to suppress them. At this critical moment of life and death, the Chaos’s Father God descended. Not only did he protect the Mother from the Darkborn’s suppression, but he also brought them to this land, then considered the Continent of Exile, allowing them to survive here.

However, the Father God at that time wasn’t strong enough to confront all the Darkborn alone. So during the Father God’s escort of the Mother’s escape, a part of the Mother was lost on the primordial continent. Later, to thank the Father God for saving her life, the Mother offered her soul to him. This process established a connection between the Father God and the Mother. As the Father God’s strength grew, the power of the Mother and the Chaos she controlled also increased dramatically.

The rest of the story was the version everyone knew: the lost part of the Mother grew and developed at an abnormal speed, eventually becoming a disaster for the entire world, forcing the Gods and Darkborn to retreat to their corners.

By the end of his explanation, the blue-eyed Chaos’s intent was filled with rage.

“They received your grace and gained the power to contend with the Primordial and Next-Generation. In the end, not only did they disobey your commands, they turned around and attacked you, the Father God! Such ingratitude enrages gods and men alike!”

“Hmm…”

Though the blue-eyed Chaos was exceptionally agitated, Fia had a few points of confusion.

First, why did the Father God’s strength make the Mother stronger? This logic was strange. Second, by rights, the Mother and the lost part of Chaos should have severed their connection. Even if the Father God’s strength made the Mother stronger, those lost parts shouldn’t benefit from it. Moreover, the final result was that the tribe with the Mother became weaker than the part without a Mother. It didn’t seem to add up.

Combining this with what the Sovereign had said—that the appearance of an Outworlder would accelerate the Chaos’s attack—and the Sovereign’s claim that her arrival had made the Chaos attack prematurely, it could be understood as: the appearance of an Outworlder accelerates Chaos’s growth, making them stronger, and the stronger the Outworlder, the stronger the Chaos. This fits both the Sovereign’s and the blue-eyed Chaos’s accounts.

However, this wasn’t a pleasant guess. If possible, Fia hoped she was wrong. But it could now be concluded the First Princess was a transmigrator, a self-proclaimed AI, who likely appeared when Chaos was born ten thousand years ago. This in turn confirmed the guess: the Father God’s arrival and Chaos’s strengthening happened simultaneously. That is, a transmigrator’s arrival makes Chaos stronger.

And someone of my strength, just how much could I make Chaos grow…

That said, Fia admitted her speculation wasn’t without flaws. First, why does a transmigrator’s arrival strengthen Chaos? This connection was incomprehensible. Second, how could the First Princess cross ten thousand years to be reborn, and where was she now? Third, why did thinking about who she was suddenly allow Chaos to reach the World Tree Continent? Did self-reflection also constitute strengthening, allowing Chaos to penetrate the World Tree’s barrier?

Ultimately, the blue-eyed Chaos claimed the First Princess left them behind specifically to deal with the Chaos that would appear beneath the Abyss in the future. This was almost like foresight. How did the First Princess know the future? And why, knowing Chaos would harm everyone, didn’t she eliminate them when they were still weak? These two things contradicted each other.

Though I’ve learned many secrets, even more have emerged. I feel like I’ve taken a big step forward, only to find the finish line has moved back an even greater distance.

I still need to find a way to meet that black silhouette to get answers.

Why did the First Princess appear in Anastasia’s dreams instead of mine? Strange.

Suddenly, Fia realized something she hadn’t confirmed. She looked at the still-indignant blue-eyed Chaos.

“Are you above the World Tree’s barrier, or below it?”

“Above it. Those rebels shouldn’t be able to appear here, nor should they know of our existence. Why did they suddenly appear… Please allow us to investigate.”

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Could there be a traitor among them?

Fia tilted her head, then dismissed the possibility. These Antler Chaos were connected through intent, and their souls were kept with her. If an outsider had infiltrated, they would sense the abnormality immediately.

The blue-eyed Chaos’s intent grew even deeper.

“Could it be that they have already grown strong enough to penetrate the barrier laid by the Primordials… Father God, I believe we should act immediately. We cannot give them more time to grow.”

“No. Now is not the time.”

She didn’t know if the Chaos beneath the Abyss had Ninth-Rank individuals like the Eyes. If they were numerous, and the Eye tribe attacked recklessly and was completely wiped out, the First Princess’s trump card would be gone. A trump card should be used at the most critical moment, not played immediately.

“I’ve seen your kind immersed in the Sea of Chaos, controlling the Chaos within. Is that one of your abilities?”

“Yes. Those are merely nutrients. Those of us with higher intelligence can control them freely.”

“Good.”

Fia took a teleportation anchor from her storage magic, removed one, and crushed it.

Now I can return to the Antler Chaos’s dwelling anytime.

“Now is not the time to use you. My time is limited; I need to return to the surface immediately. In the meantime, continue to conserve your strength and await the moment to attack the rebels. I will return in a while. Also, the one above ground can return. There’s no longer any need for him to stay there.”

Though these Antler Chaos’s nature meant they wouldn’t feel loneliness, Fia, out of humanitarianism, let the above-ground Antler Chaos return to his race.

The blue-eyed Chaos hesitated for a moment, then said respectfully.

“Father God, he has already collapsed.”

“Collapsed? Dead?”

“Yes. Your power is too great. Even he could not teleport you here. No, the combined mana of all of us here would be insufficient to teleport you. He merely marked the direction, using the power of the key left by the Father God to guide you here.”

Fia felt a complex mix of emotions. Though she hadn’t spoken much with that Antler Chaos above ground, she still had some sense of him as an acquaintance. Sacrificing himself to teleport her—this spirit of devotion meant she could no longer retreat. There was a faint sense of guilt.

Fia quietly observed the Antler Chaos in this ruined hall. Whether it was the blue-eyed Chaos acting as wise one, or the golden-eyed Chaos as warriors, all bowed their heads deeply, filled with the excitement and joy of seeing their Father God. They weren’t like Ninth-Rank practitioners looking down on everyone; they were more like fanatics following a deity, trembling with happiness at their Father God’s descent.

For the first time, she felt perhaps she should properly manage them, treat them as real subordinates.

Her voice grew low.

“…Is there no way to revive him?”

“Collapsing is irreversible rebirth. Any warrior who collapses returns to the Mother’s embrace. Besides, he was the Eye who brought us hope, the first to see you. I believe even in collapsing, he was bathed in your glory, Father God, and departed with satisfaction.”

So, no revival.

“Sigh. Next time, if something might cause collapsing, remember to tell me in advance. This is a command I give to everyone. Also, do you have a name?”

“We communicate through intent. We don’t need identifiers to know who’s being addressed, so we have no names.”

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“Then from today, your name is Milan. Any problem?”

“Uh.”

Abruptly, the blue-eyed Chaos’s intent faltered. And not just him—the nearby golden-eyed Chaos guarding her also swayed. Fia could clearly sense high emotions surging in the air. They seemed to be engaged in intense exchange.

Are they complaining about my lack of naming artistry?

“If you don’t like the name, I can just call you ‘you.’ Naming is only for convenience.”

“N-no, we don’t dislike it! Thank you, Father God, for bestowing a name!”

With a thud, the blue-eyed Chaos went from kneeling on one knee to kneeling on both, prostrating itself, its entire forehead pressed to the ground.

His intent shows happiness and excitement, so it’s not disliked, right?

Fia waved her hand.

“Since that collapsed Eye above ground didn’t teleport me with his own power, but used the power of the key you mentioned, where is that key?”

“It is on the statue commemorating you.”

“Take me to see it.”

“As you command!”

Springing up, the blue-eyed Chaos puffed out its chest in a very human-like manner. In a posture so standard it seemed strange to Fia, it strode majestically toward the entrance, step by step.

◇

A gray hall, haunted by specters, perpetually shrouded in death energy.

The vast sky was covered by thick, gloomy clouds—an unrelenting, oppressive atmosphere long settled here. This was a sign of overly dense death energy. Ordinary people approaching this place would gradually be transformed into undead.

This was the kingdom of the dead, and the dwelling place of the Queen of Death.

Within the uncomfortably empty hall, a mature woman with flowing pink hair, her face and most of her body hidden under gray gauze, sat high upon the throne. One hand rested on an armrest, her body slouched sideways on the throne. Her long, shapely legs—enough to make any woman jealous—were sprawled inelegantly beneath the throne, her gracefully curved ankles crossed at the end.

Languid yet seductive, mysterious yet dangerously alluring—such a description was most fitting.

Hearing the report from the maid kneeling below the throne, the Queen of Death, formerly named Venex but now called Lucitine, stirred slightly. Then she continued inquiring in her unhurried, majestic voice.

“You’re saying you found Dofilia, and she’s an elf princess?”

“Yes. I originally intended to forcibly bind her and bring her before you, but her power far exceeds mine. I could only use conciliatory means to persuade her. Unexpectedly, just as she was tempted, her parents strongly objected, believing it too risky for a country’s princess to come before you.”

Seeing her queen remain silent, the maid assumed she was displeased. She said resentfully.

“A group of ungrateful pointed-ear slugs. It is their honor for the elf princess to become your servant, Your Majesty. Now that you’ve bestowed this grace, they make excuses. Your Majesty, in my opinion, you should dispatch our maid corps to the border and teach them a lesson. Once they’ve tasted hardship, they’ll willingly wash the elf princess, dress her in servant’s attire, and deliver her to you with both hands.”

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No, no, absolutely not.

Lucitine, the Queen of Death seated on the throne, screamed internally. She had absolutely no intention of making Dofilia a servant. How did her subordinate concoct this scene?

Lucitine was deeply troubled by how to satisfy her subordinates’ illusion of the queen’s role. It had been less than three years since she became Queen of Death, and she was already bored with this life. If not for that chance encounter with the elf girl named Dofilia in the wilderness, she’d probably be contemplating jumping into the Abyss to end it all.

Creating a living body for the Queen of Death—such a paradoxical thing was nevertheless utterly fascinating. The excitement she’d experienced recently surpassed everything in her entire life combined.

That was why she needed this girl named Dofilia.

But violence was impossible. She couldn’t easily leave the undead kingdom. How to command subordinates in a manner befitting a queen, to have them politely invite the girl here—this was truly a difficult problem. No matter what she said, her subordinates always found twisted angles, assuming her actions must be coercive. Infuriating.

Lucitine thought for a moment, then murmured.

“She is my guest. Do you understand? Take sincere gifts and invite her here.”

Put so explicitly, surely my subordinate won’t misunderstand.

The maid kneeling below the throne trembled. In that instant, countless emotions flickered through her eyes, finally settling on a look of “I see” realization.

She rose gravely, bowed respectfully to Lucitine.

“As you command.”

Then, reverence and pride surfaced on her face. Chest out, head high, she walked elegantly from the hall, her white-stockinged legs carrying her away.

Translator Note

early illust!

Lucitine.

Design:

Close Up.