Chapter 372: Round And Round Like a Thundermill |
If Deca had done anything right, it was bringing Aurea with him.
Technically, Aurea had simply run after Deca on her own, having been left behind by Peru, but the result was the same.
Riding her beloved horse, Peru barely managed to board the Golden Ark and start it up before collapsing in exhaustion.
Aurea let out a worried whine as she stayed close to her fallen master.
Watching Peru groan in bed, Hilde made a snide remark.
“Looks like she’ll die before we even reach Claudia. Maybe we should get her to sign a will in advance~?”
Such heartless words, spoken as if she meant no harm.
Even the Regressor snapped at her irritably.
“Stop saying such ominous things! She’s not going to die that easily.”
At the mention of Holy Power, Tyr visibly reacted.
However, Hilde wasn’t stupid enough to openly declare that she could wield Holy Power in front of a vampire.
Instead, she continued speaking in a detached, casual tone like it was someone’s story.
“Right now, Peru may look fine, but her energy is all messed up, isn’t it? That’s because her body was healed using homunculus replacements. Replacing body parts with other forces is the Second Anathema, Graft. If you do it even once, Holy Power will never be able to restore your body again.”
Healing with Holy Power was about restoration.
However, in Peru’s case—where parts of her body had been replaced with foreign substances—restoration was impossible.
As a former paladin, Hilde quickly recognized this and effectively declared Peru terminally ill.
However, the Regressor remained unfazed.
“It’s fine. There’s someone who can heal her.”
“Heal her? What, is there a Saintess around? No, even a Saintess can’t fix someone who’s committed an Anathema.”
“Not a Saintess. The Doctor Sage.”
“The… Doctor Sage?”
Hilde tilted her head, confused.
And for good reason.
There were only two known Sages in the world—The Earth Sage, and the Exalted Sage.
Even with my Mind Reading, I could only think of two.
As someone who had led an entire nation’s intelligence agency, Hilde also only knew two.
The Doctor Sage?
A sage who heals people in a world where Saintess and Holy Power already exist?
That sounded highly suspicious.
“That’s strange~ There’s no Doctor Sage among the sages I know, and it’s not like there are so many Sages that I’d confuse them, you know?”
“Of course not.”
｢That’s because she hasn’t earned the title of Doctor Sage yet. Without the Seven-Day War, she will never be called that, but I know who she is. If someone’s injured, she will heal them, no matter who they are.｣
Thinking back, the Regressor had also mentioned this Doctor Sage before while making medicine in the Abyss.
A sage who doesn’t exist yet?
So only the Regressor knows about her?
Damn… Regression really is overpowered.
While I could read minds, Hilde had to rely on logic and intuition.
She squinted at the Regressor, scrutinizing her words carefully.
“How on earth do you know information that even ‘I’, the director of a country’s intelligence agency, don’t know~ You’re so suspicious~ Who the hell are you, Shei?”
“Think whatever you want.”
“Sure~ I’ll just decide for myself, then~”
Pouting like a child, Hilde let it go—at least on the surface.
Meanwhile, the Regressor glanced at Tyr.
｢…The only issue is Tyrkanzyaka… but it should be fine. The Doctor Sage is a vampire, but unlike Tyrkanzyaka, she moves alone.｣
…Wait, what?
The Doctor Sage is a vampire?!
A blood-drinking vampire healing people?
That doesn’t make any sense!
…Or maybe it does?
Humans eat animals, yet we still have veterinarians.
I guess a vampire doctor isn’t entirely impossible…?
Azzy, who had been lounging nearby, suddenly let out a long yawn, smacking the ground with her tail.
“Woof woof. Bored. Woof woof.”
“Go bother Aurea like you usually do.”
“Woof. I know manners. I don’t bother.”
“Oh? But you’re bothering me just by saying that.”
Where the hell did she sell her manners off to?
This is why beasts are…
Still, I had to admit—this journey, filled with death and violence, was probably a bit much for Azzy.
Maybe a change of pace wouldn’t hurt.
We wouldn’t get many more chances like this anyway.
Once the next full moon comes…
Like it or not, Azzy will have to fight the Wolf King.
Not that I was worried.
Even if the Wolf King is strong, our current forces are more than enough.
And if push comes to shove, we could always call in reinforcements.
Hell, we even have a vampire on our side.
“Alright, let’s step out onto the deck. I could use some fresh air too.”
“Woof!”
Excited, Azzy immediately sprang up.
I opened the door leading outside and stepped onto the deck.
The wind howled fiercely as it swept past.
The Golden Ark glided silently, disassembling everything beneath it as it moved.
Not crushing, but disassembling.
Thanks to that, its movement was eerily quiet.
I stared at the vast terrain beneath us and muttered,
Could this ship sail on the sea too…? No, probably not.
Ships are meant for rivers and lakes, not oceans.
“Woof….”
Azzy had already placed her paws on the edge of the deck, gazing blankly at the scenery below.
If she was just going to stare, why did she drag me along?
Also, why does she always put her front paws on the window when riding something?
Is it some kind of instinct?
As I grumbled internally, Azzy absentmindedly spoke up.
“Humans. Always fighting.”
“They have no other choice but to fight each other.”
“Woof. That’s right. Beasts, few. So humans fight each other.”
The Military State had long since eradicated most dangerous beasts.
Many lives were lost, but human civilization was established in their place.
Meanwhile, the Fallen Dominion was a land haunted by the Golden Lord, driving wildlife away.
Only livestock like horses and sheep remained.
With a sorrowful voice, Azzy muttered,
“…So, woof. I can’t help. Because humans.”
But that wasn’t entirely true.
In the southern parts of the Military State or in vast, remote lands like this Mistveil Range, beasts still thrived.
More importantly—
“Not necessarily. There’s still the wolves.”
“Woof….”
Whether that was comforting or not, Azzy turned her head back toward the distance, gazing silently.
What was she staring at so intently?
I followed her gaze, resting my hands on the deck railing and looking far ahead.
Before long, I saw what Azzy had been watching.
“…That’s Claudia. We’re almost there.”
That sight… Yeah, it’d be hard to look away.
From the heavens, clouds cascaded down like a waterfall.
Falling from the high skies, the clouds shattered as they neared the ground, spreading wide like a rural girl’s billowing skirt.
Though clouds were made of water, they blocked sunlight, creating a unique liminal glow.
Because of this, only short grass thrived in the hills where the cloudfall landed.
That grass became a feast for sheep and goats. The white flocks, scattered across the green expanse, blended seamlessly with the broken fragments of cloud.
It was a sight so awe-inspiring it felt like proof of God’s existence.
Ancient people called this phenomenon the “Stairway to Heaven” or the “Path of Heaven”, but in reality, this cloud fall was the result of pure geography.
And beyond the Mistveil Range lay the Sea of Leviathan.
A sea so primordial that no human had ever conquered it.
Humans, who dominated the land, remained powerless against the endless depths of the sea, where monsters swam in the darkness.
Leviathans.
The reason why humans, for all their power, never became masters of the ocean.
In the sea, the King of Beasts did not take on human form.
For while humans ruled the land, their influence never reached the deep sea.
The Leviathans, those colossal wanderers, continued to live serenely beneath the waves.
However, in the shallower regions of the Sea of Leviathan, those creatures often surfaced.
Tidal waves caused by the Leviathans would frequently crash upon the shores and in the distance, their looming shadows would flicker across the water.
To them, the vast ocean was no more than a bathtub and their constant thrashing churned the waters into a perpetual mist.
This rising mist had two possible fates—
Either it would sink back down to become part of the sea again, or it would rise higher, forming clouds.
Most of it returned to the ocean, but even the leftovers were enough to generate vast clouds.
These low-hanging clouds, which never reached the upper skies, were carried by the winds toward the continent.
When these cloud-laden winds hit the mountains, they paused briefly, before spilling through the gaps in the terrain.
And that was where the Village of Clouds—Claudia lay.
A town hidden within a cascading waterfall of clouds…
Or at least, that’s what it was supposed to be.
“…But Azzy, what’s that?”
“Woof?”
“Something’s attached to the waterfall. What is that?”
There was something in the cloudfall.
I frowned, scrutinizing the massive structure that was moving within it.
“…A watermill?”
It resembled a massive watermill.
As if someone, in a moment of madness, had decided to install a watermill in the cloudfall instead of a river.
If it had been real water, the sheer weight would have shattered the mill.
Fortunately, the cloudfall was composed of mist, not liquid.
The wheel remained intact
But that also meant…
There wasn’t enough force to turn the watermill.
Clouds weren’t weightless, but they couldn’t compare to rushing water.
That massive watermill should not be turning at all.
And yet…
The watermill was turning.
Lightning crackled through the clouds.
Flickering sparks crackled where the wheel met the cloudfall.
The low-hanging storm clouds pulsed ominously, an unsettling energy surging up before settling down.
Like static electricity—except on this scale, it was no different from lightning.
Every flash of light sent something coursing through the wheel, something other than clouds.
No doubt about it.
The force turning that wheel wasn’t the clouds.
It was the lightning hidden within them.
I had never seen this device before…
But thanks to reading Maximilien’s and Peru’s memories, I could easily guess what it was.
“So that’s the Thundermilll.”
The original model of the Thundergear and the power source that kept Claudia running.
A concept first introduced to the Fallen Dominion by Maximilien.
Long ago, Claudia was simply a place where shepherds hid in the mist, raising livestock.
But now…
Through some bold innovation, they had harnessed some incredible power.
As I watched the scenery, I suddenly noticed a group approaching.
They were closer to us than Claudia, moving swiftly.
At this speed, they’d reach us in minutes.
“No time to admire the view. Looks like we have company.”
“Woof! Here, over here!”
“They could be enemies. Why are you so excited?”
Well, for Azzy, all humans were friends, so it probably didn’t matter to her.
***
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