Helios Orb Chronicle – Chapter 482

I joined Mako and the others at the Hunter’s Guild in Dragunia and they told me about Father’s subjugation of the Kobold Emperor, which made me question my own common sense.

It’s estimated that the Kobold Emperor had only evolved a few days ago, but even so, it’s still a Demise Species.

To think that he took a direct attack head-on… even I don’t think I could have done that.

And to defeat it in one blow using Mist Inflation, is that for real?

I thought it might be possible for a Mythical-class monster, but I never imagined an S-class could defeat it…

That was astonishing enough, but what puzzled me even more was the birth of the Kobold Emperor.

Demise Species are even rarer than Anomalous Species or Catastrophe Species.

These monsters were once said to be impossible to subjugate, so if they were to be born easily, the Philia Continent would become uninhabitable for humans.

Yet, the Kobold Emperor seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, with no particular premonition.

While Anomalous and Rare species were common, usually an increase in their numbers would be reported, so perhaps they are suddenly increasing.

Just as I was thinking that, Aria received a divine oracle.

“A divine oracle?”

“Yes. It wasn’t like the playful ones we had before; it was highly urgent.”

I find the way she phrases things questionable, but it’s true that we did receive a nonsensical divine oracle before, something about “Complete.”

In the end, it meant marrying a wife from each of the four major races – Humans, Beastfolk, Yokai, and Dragonkin. I seriously thought they shouldn’t be issuing divine oracles for something so trivial.

But this time, it’s said to be urgent, so it’s likely about something serious.

“What did it say?”

“Yes. It’s about the Kobold Emperor that your father-in-law subjugated yesterday.”

“The Kobold Emperor?”

“What do you mean?”

“Yes. The reason the Kobold Emperor was born is because the Celestial Emperor has landed on the Philia Continent.”

Seriously?

The Celestial Emperor had attacked the Philia Continent with a personal expedition in the past, but that didn’t happen then.

Well, that was a naval battle, so the Celestial Emperor didn’t land on the Philia Continent.

Besides, there were no Demon Crystals back then, so even if he had landed, he wouldn’t have had that much influence.

“As Lord Yamato says. The Celestial Emperor, who used Demon Crystals, has transformed into an Ancient Demon. His magic power not only causes great harm to the Treasure Trees but also affects the magical power of the Helios Orb. Because that Celestial Emperor landed, it caused an effect similar to using Demon Crystals.”

This is the worst-case scenario.

Does that mean the Kobolds, including the Emperor, were forcibly evolved by the Ancient Demon’s magic power?

“It’s not the worst-case scenario. Furthermore, if the Celestial Emperor’s magic power has had an effect, then more monsters will continue to evolve.”

“Yes. Anomalous Species and Catastrophe Species, of course, but in the worst-case scenario, even Demise Species could be born. We really need to convene an emergency international conference.”

Mana and Prim are right.

Even Anomalous and Catastrophe Species can easily destroy a town or two. The possibility of the highest-ranked Demise Species being born is nothing short of an emergency.

We need to inform all the countries immediately.

“There’s more.”

“There’s more!?”

But Aria said there was more to the divine oracle.

Is there something else?

“Yes. The Demon Race was provisionally called “Demons,” but since the Gods said it was easier to call them that, it has been officially recognized. Therefore, the designations Demon, High Demon, and Ancient Demon have been officially registered in the Library.”

I wonder what it was about, but frankly, it’s a matter of no consequence.

It’s true that the race of those who used Demon Crystals on the Philia Continent was displayed as Demon Race, but the Class notation remained as the original race name before using Demon Crystals.

For example, in the case of Humans, it would be Demon Race Human, or High Human.

However, with the official registration of the Demon Race’s species name in the Library, High Class would change to High Demon.

Even so, it doesn’t mean much.

Registering Demons in the Library is only useful for examining corpses, if that.

“So, to summarize, it’s a divine oracle related to the Demon Race.”

“Yes. It seems that the Celestial Emperor’s landing in Kobaldia has had a considerable negative impact on the Treasure Trees near Kobaldia. While the Gods are currently protecting them, they have instructed us to eradicate the demons in Kobaldia as soon as possible.”

That’s far more serious than the Demon Race’s species name.

You say considerable negative impact, but surely there’s still room for error.

“To receive such a request from the Gods, the impact must have been truly dangerous.”

“Yes. Normally, the Treasure Trees of Kobaldia would have withered, even if not broken. However, they said that the situation was prevented when your father-in-law and mother-in-law came to the Helios Orb.”

Thanks to Father and Mother, the Treasure Trees didn’t wither? Level 221 and 217, and apparently Arc Class, which is above all Element Classes, so it’s enough to counter an Ancient Demon, but it also means that Element Classes alone wouldn’t be enough.

“Did our presence mitigate the Celestial Emperor’s negative influence a bit?”

“It wasn’t just a bit. It’s said that the Celestial Tree and the Treasure Trees have never withered since the Helios Orb was created. If they were to wither, it would disrupt the circulation of magical power in that region, making it uninhabitable.”

“R-really?”

That’s one of the legends passed down in the Priests’ Guild.

If they withered, the affected region would become uninhabitable and turn into a demonic realm teeming with high-ranked monsters until the tree bloomed again, according to what I remember.

And it would take decades or even centuries for the flowers to bloom.

There was also a legend about them breaking: in that case, the land would sink into the sea and never rise again.

“Whoa…”

“This is the worst. It seems to have something to do with us, but it’s probably thanks to Caladbolg and Failnaught.”

Engraving Divine Artifacts, huh?

While I believe that’s a possibility, they are still two Arc Classes.

The Treasure Tree, which should have withered, didn’t. This means they not only negated the impact of the Celestial Emperor’s magic but also somewhat healed it.

“You could say that. If your father-in-law and mother-in-law hadn’t come, the land of Retisencia, including Kobaldia, would have become a dead land, greatly impacting the Federation Heavenly Empire as well.”

“Even now, there are many monsters that have evolved due to Demon Crystals. If the Treasure Trees were to wither, even more dangerous ones might appear.”

As Mana and Mako said, if the Treasure Trees of Kobaldia had withered, it would have been a real problem.

Especially Amister and Vagenbach, who border Retisencia, would have had to deploy a large number of troops for defense.

Amister only needs to worry about the Linea Valley, but Vagenbach is a long country from north to south, so they would have to monitor a large part of their territory.

The Soldier’s Guild alone would surely not be able to cope.

Furthermore, it’s said that Demise Species would be more likely to be born, increasing the worst-case scenario.

“There’s a legend like that. Huh? But isn’t the Helios Orb only a few hundred years old?”

“According to legend, the Gods created the Helios Orb about 500 years ago.”

The Helios Orb has a creation myth, but not as many as Earth.

All religions are united under the Priests’ Guild, and there are also local deity beliefs and elemental beliefs.

However, all religions share the belief that the creator god is the Father God.

This is a world where Gods actually exist, so they probably have quite accurate information about them.

The creation myth is told as follows:

The Father God and the Mother Goddess cooperated to create a sea in the center of a giant sphere, and on top of that, they created three lands.

After creating the three lands, other goddesses gathered besides the Mother Goddess.

The Father God took these twelve goddesses as his wives, and the Mother Goddess, who had created the sea and land together, became their leader.

To honor his wives, the Father God planted giant trees called Treasure Trees, which became pillars supporting the three lands.

Moved by this, the goddesses, in gratitude and love for the Father God, planted giant trees called Celestial Trees on the largest land, making them pillars that supported the world.

Receiving the goddesses’ gratitude and love, the Father God, in cooperation with his wives, created spirits to manage the Treasure Trees.

By using their powers, the spirits were given the ability to control natural phenomena and were also responsible for circulating the blessings and magical power of the Celestial and Treasure Trees that filled the world.

Afterward, the Gods created four races as inhabitants of the world.

These four races were called the Human Race, Beast Race, Yokai Race, and Dragon Race, and many sub-species were created within each.

For the Human Race: Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Ogres. For the Beast Race: Foxes, Ulfys, Loxys, Tigaries, Rabbits, and Alders. For the Yokai Race: Fairies, Vampires, Undines, Harpies, and Lamias. And for the Dragon Race: Dragonewts and Dragonians.

The Dragonians were bestowed with long lives and the power to transform into dragons, and were given the role of watching over the world.

Celebrating the birth of humans, the Gods taught them how to use magic and created useful spells for daily life.

Using this magic, people lived, multiplied, and eventually spread across the three lands.

I don’t remember the fine details, but that’s about it.

There’s actually more description and a bit more continuation, but this should suffice for now.

“Oh. That’s interesting.”

“Indeed. The number of races seems excessive, but perhaps it was to eliminate discrimination by having so many different races.”

“But I was wondering, you said there were three lands, but doesn’t the number not add up?”

“Certainly, if you include the Gradia Continent, it becomes four. But there are islands on the Gradia Continent, so ‘lands’ likely refers to continents. Therefore, it’s said that there’s probably one more unknown continent.”

When I saw the creation myth, I thought it referred to the Philia Continent and the northern and southern islands, but with the Gradia Continent, the numbers don’t match.

Besides, there are bound to be islands on the Gradia Continent, so it’s more natural to think there’s another continent.

Or rather, even the Priests’ Guild thinks so, so it shouldn’t be a particularly questionable point?

“No, Mother wasn’t concerned about that.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Gradia Continent is where the Celestial Emperor retreated to, isn’t it?”

Well, Abaricia is on the Gradia Continent, so the Celestial Emperor could only have retreated to the Gradia Continent.

“But you said that for the dragons on the Gradia Continent, only a general rank is assigned, and there’s no rank indicating their threat level?”

“Ah. That’s probably why they are considered unknown monsters.”

“Perhaps they were born as mutations and then increased in number. They were all fire-attribute dragons.”

Just as Mako said, I think that’s the case.

“But didn’t the Gods create the monsters as well? While they are undoubtedly unknown monsters, I doubt the creator Gods themselves are unaware of them.”

…No one had ever questioned Mother’s doubt until she pointed it out.

Monsters were created by the Gods, not only to prevent people from falling into depravity but also as a source of sustenance.

The evolutionary branches and Monster Ranks should also have been determined by the Gods.

Yet, it’s hard to believe that the Gods are unaware of the monsters they created.

It might be possible for T-rank monsters, but for the highest-ranked dragons in the Helios Orb, that’s impossible.

This means that dragons are not monsters created by the Gods.

But if that’s the case, I have no idea what it means.

“I don’t know either, but shouldn’t we pay attention to it? It might be related to the Celestial Emperor.”

“I will. Or rather, we might need to actively investigate.”

“Even if we investigate, our methods are limited, so it will likely involve a lot of speculation. Still, it’s better than doing nothing.”

Mana is right, but thinking ahead is completely different from not thinking at all.

I should seriously consider Mother’s question.