Chapter 416: Operation: “Patricide.”
Alright.
That was quick!
Grimnirs answer was swift, but his reasoning came out even faster. Maagneil deserves the worst after everything he did to our hold, our hold king, our clan, and your brother, Darlion. Not to mention the bladdarg he put the people I was responsible for through. Honor-less skorr.
Since when do you care about Darlion? Broggart asked, looking confused. Grimnir did mention their relationship was terrible since Maagneils younger son was always jealous of his older brother and his cousin.
Your brother is a joke of a dwarf, but he didnt deserve getting beaten up by his own father. The person he wanted approval from the most You didnt see in what state he was left behind after Maagneil fled. Everything is his fault, and I have a grudge to settle with him.
I didnt have much to say about the dynamic in their family, but I did know I didnt like Maagneil. He not only endangered my friends but also tried to arrest me when I wasnt at fault for any of the stuff he tried to twist around and blame me for. Daichi did cause trouble, to be fair, but the way they reacted to everything was beyond warranted.
He tried to flee from getting arrested by the Ankoran King for all the crimes he committed, and now he was related to a pretty huge scandal. I wasnt an expert in terms of crimes and punishments, but I knew this was big. Big enough that an execution was impossible to avoid.
Im helping. As expected, King Fugnarus did not hesitate, similar to Grimnir. But who is this employer of Maagneil? How did they find out that the Earth Emperor was dormant all this time? Not even the council of wisewomen knew about this, and this employer does? Informant? An insider?
Probably a historian of some sort, Broggart answered, but even he looked unsure. I have not met this person before. Valto has been prudent when it comes to their information, revealing nothing more than they need a dragon killer able to kill even rank SS.
Impossible, Neill chimed in. Any anti-dragon tools able to kill a rank S dragon easily have been lost to time. Didnt the dwarves themselves dismantle that, uuuuh, what was it called again?
Castle Fatalisa from the Demon War, I answered, still remembering the copied version inside Elyondas dungeon.
Snapping her fingers, Sis patted my back, thanking me for the info. Saori, too, gave me a thumbs up as she told me she was proud I was digilent enough to remember a historical moment, but immediately told me she was disappointed I left that out when we caught up last time. Honestly, this woman
Snapping her fingers, Neill continued, What she said. Also, Father might be old, but thinking that somebody could just create something with the power to pierce his scales is nonsense. Even that rank S Galg wouldnt stand even the smallest chance, even if Father didnt even try to fight back. I never saw him truly fight, but Ive seen him scare even the rank S dragons on Miononbolax with his presence alone.
I would like to say youre overestimating your father, but that would be my artisan pride speaking, dragon princess Broggart snorted, almost sounding sarcastic about it. No, I dont think its possible, even if its my design. But thats why were using an earth elemental emperors creation to fuel things. When a power source is strong enough for the ambition to become true, then nothing is impossible!
He sounds excited for something meant to kill my race.
What is it, Broggi? Spit it out already, Grimnir urged him, causing the artificer to bring us into his workshop where he sprawled some blueprints out on the table.
I looked at it, identifying something like a body? In addition, there was a drill and something looking like a gun arm? To be honest, the schematics were terribly drawn, far messier than what Grimnir and Ellaine could do. Still, it was clear enough that I recognized a
Is that a tank?! Or a driller machine? Tatsuya spat out, eyes widened like a goldfish as he took a closer look. Right, right! This gun arm looks like a long barrel for a missile or mana bullet. The drill, I dont know, can you do something when you come in closer? I mean, this body looks so close to a tank, it cant be anything else!
We all looked at Broggart, while Grimnir asked if this was influenced by one of the designs of the Revolution Queen.
He nodded, but also frowned at the same time. Well, I dont know about this tank thing. Cuoso, you should know by now that, back when we delved into Goddesss Chihiros workshop, I took a gander at more than just the gun design. I picked up the video recorder, I looked over some of her notes, and I also remembered reading a blueprint she called The Romance of a Dying Woman (Unfulfilled). Thats the concept I drew on for valto, as her notes mentioned it being the ultimate weapon to pierce the sky.
Pierce the sky?
The Peolyncians in our party turned to us, wondering if it might be an Earthling quote, but none of us could really tell. It sounded familiar to Tatsuya and Kyouya, but they couldnt pinpoint it in their memories. Neither could I, and Saori just shook her head, mentioning how I am just a decade older than you, not that old.
We estimated the Ankoran Queen was born sometime in the 1940s or 50s, since she had to have experienced the rock & roll era of Japan during the time it rose to prominence. Rosserto told us enough of the rocker culture of the dwarves that it just made sense. It was all still just a guess, though.
Well, regardless, my sketch skills have never been too good, compared to yours, Grimnir. Ironic, since an Inkos hands should be more deft than a Tazs. The end design is a bit more golem-like in the end, Broggart revealed before putting his schematics to the side. Anyways, cant show too much about the dragon killer since a good portion of the construction is also handled by valto after he came over here a month ago, or so. The Earth Emperor was in the other dungeon, remember? Hes been handling that part, so I dont know exactly what the energy source will look like. Probably brought along a mana path monocle to detect it, I say.
He pulled out a monocle from a drawer, handling it over to Grimnir. I did remember this manatech back when the high bishop of Firwood lended me one to try out, making me realize it was an inferior version of my [Mana Eyes]. You could see pure, unmodified mana, but it wasnt as accurate or clear compared to my skill.
If what Broggart made was a manatech golem, then finding its core would be the best way to destroy it, just like all the monster golems I met in the [Menagerie of Golems]. Still, what worried me was how this golem was being advertised as a dragon killer, meaning it must have anti-dragon blood weapons. Maybe that tank barrel Tatsuya called out might be the clue here but I havent seen Peolyncians use tank shells or something similar. Even the dwarven warhammer cannons used mana blasts as projectiles.
Its the drill and an enchantment, Broggart answered my question. The employer has a special enchantment reserved for the core, and the drill itself will be coated in true and lesser dragonkin blood to break through the scales of most dragons. I can tell you this. I trust my design enough to pierce through a rank A dragons chest.
An A rank isnt just a fancy title, you know that, right, dwarf? Neill scoffed, looking displeased. I can understand if its a tool wielded by a strong rank A or S adventurer, but that dragon killer is still just a tool.
Neill didnt use any kind of armor or catalyst in her fighting style; in fact, she was technically completely naked in her dragonewt form. She used her scales to create her kimono, gauntlets, and legguards for her martial arts. Including her spell usage and dragon paths, she was entirely independent of traditional gear, relying purely on her skills, both trained and System-based.
She didnt say anything when I got my armor, but considering what Galg mentioned off-handedly when he first saw my armor in my dragon form, I did get the impression dragons had too much pride to use armor. After all, as Mom explained, our scales were our pride and joy. Strong scales able to ward off any attacks was like a medal of honor and something to be proud of. Pride before survival, you could say.
Well, at least your sister seems to be smart enough, Broggart remarked as he checked out my armor, showing a wide smile as he gave Grimnirs a thumbs up. Ill always notice that signature handiwork of yours. Glad you figured out how to make that rhythilic. Hehe, made one for this here lass too, huh?
He was talking about Ellaines exoarmor, causing Grimnir to let out a loud laugh. Seeing him so proud, Broggart clapped his shoulder and gestured to Ellaine to come closer.
Good. I need some workers now, okay? Seeing as ya are intending to kill my valto, I better help out. Manaethala gathered you all here for that plan, and Im telling you here that he can be trusted. Valto got Goddess Chihiros workshop as hostage.
Broggart explained Maagneils employer managed to put a bomb or something similar in Chihiros hidden home on floor 15, and was using this as a threat to coerce the drake to work with them. Now, considering he was the dungeon master, why wasnt Manethala doing something about it? It should be easy, after all.
However, before I could pose that question, Broggart pulled Grimnir and Ellaine away to work with him on improving the blasthammer. He was especially curious what improvements the latter two had done on it, so he bade the rest of us rest and wait outside. The workshop wasnt large enough when they got working.
Once we were outside, Saoris shadow suddenly rumbled before a giant wolf appeared from it. Her appearance, especially, wasnt somebody I could ever forget.
Vidia! I called out Saoris garm mother.
[Hello, young dragoness. It is good to see you healthy. My pup has been stricken with anxiety when she heard you might have been in danger, but her worries were for naught.]
Mother! Saori turned red, snapping her head over to her. I already had my moment with her, you do not need to bring it up, again!
Hiehie. Saori being Saori.
In any case, after the two had their mother-daughter moment, we found a nice space in the mines where we sat down. It seemed I wasnt the only one with some suspicion.
[If he was an onnikai, either I or any one of the fenrirs would have smelled the stench of death on him. Further, the creation of a living onnikai is reserved for Goddess Ilsaphone only. Only she can create the black slime necessary for us to be counted amongst the living,] Vidia informed us, having taken the time while we spoke with Broggart to check things out with the other shadow pack members. [He is alive, that is for sure.]
As I said, his memories are there. Ive known Broggart from before, since his home hold is affiliated with my wifes clan. He hasnt changed too much, but he certainly has gotten more humble. Those moments when you heard him defend his creations was what I remembered of that stubborn Inko, not to mention how much he reveres Aunt Dravlias creations. King Fugnarus stroked his beard. He might have sounded confident, but he too felt suspicious of Broggart.
There were, after all, quite a few things I didnt like about the way he retold and informed us of everything. For example
Who is Maagneils employer, and why do they want a dragon killer weapon or construct? Saori stated, causing all of us to nod.
Considering the diplomatic tensions, it has to be either the Empire of Folschreck or the demonkins BoleTaria, King Fugnarus stated. The former understands the power of the dragonkins, that is why they hire and employ so many dragonkin slayers and use them to clean the feral dragonkins spawning in their lands. It is a preventive measure caused by fear, which I understand from the position of my racewe developed runes and runic tattoos to combat our weakness against mages, after allbut it feels weird for two members of my own race to create a weapon against one of our old-time allies.
The backlash will be bad for you Neill frowned , scratching through her lion mane-like hair. Against the law established by our alliance, you let too many dragonkin slayers on dwarven grounds; not to mention, the dragonslayer party attacked my sister twice. The Queen Mothers wont say anything since Kargryx wants to be off-handish with the situation, but
The dragonewts wont. I ended her sentence. At this point, I knew enough how Loatryx would act. Pradreo Skardrvo complained about you a lot when I first met you.
He nodded, not looking any less perturbed. I understand. As King, the responsibilities of my failures lie on me to endure. Once again, let the Earth Mother witness my confession, I do apologize to all of you.
He bowed his head to all of us, not only Neill and me, but also Tatsuy and Kyouya since he sent them into a deathtrap with me.
Stop it. Blaming yourself right now wont do anybody any good, I tried to reassure him. As I said, as an adventurer, my life is my problem. Enough of this, though, what is everybodys opinion on who is behind all of this?
Demonkin.
It was unanimous from everybody, except for one person. We all looked at her.
I, VifiYok stutterd.
You were the only one who was suspicious about everything. You even knew that the demonkins might try something similar, didnt you? Tatsuya accused her. You told us that. You thought a demonkin was behind all of this, and from the sound of it, Maagneil isnt the person we should be looking for. It is his puppeteer.
Kyouya nodded. Broggart left quite a bit of information we might need out of his explanation. Like how he faked his death. Grimnir specified how he made sure his cousin was dead, right, but he just skipped over it to tell us more about the entire plot. I mean, sure, I understand getting to the point, but I think Grimnir would have appreciated him mentioning how he was fooled.
A lot of statements, but no proof, Saori presented. I would want to know what this energy source is supposed to be, or whatever catalyst the enchantment should go on. Enough information to form a proper plan But, I just came into this situation. I do not know much. How about it, Miss VifiYok. Are you willing to speak?
A lot of us had a rivalry with or hostile feelings towards VifiYok, Saori included since she nearly saw Tatsuya getting killed by her. Still, my vice-captain was professional as always, keeping her aloof nature while she questioned possibly our only source in this. I really missed this dynamic of hers ever since we had to go our separate ways; it would have probably helped a lot for the Elyonda siege.
Hestia, my agreement to help ya only goes as far as protecting ya. Making sure ya get out of this place alive. Besides, it isnt like I can say anything with certainty, and thats where yall will blame me if something goes awry.
Hmph, shes a former Warbringer. A commander-tier soldier. I can understand her reluctance to talk. Even if shes a deserter, this does concern her own race, after all, King Fugnarus reminded us, trying to keep the peace amongst us for now. Im more interested in the Earth Emperor. You saw it, kids? How did it look?
Like a snapping turtle with giant sheep horns similar to the Taz. It has two snake tails and its body is riddled with small gems, I stated bluntly, not knowing how else to describe it.
Well, that fits the records we have on it. A true giant that could tower over the entire Ankoran mountain range at its prime. An elemental that looked like an adamantoise with gems covering its body like a robe of priceless value, glistening even in the very depths of the world, illuminating even brighter than lava!
A far cry from what we saw. If I was blunt, VifiYok was blunter than a sphere.
However, he ignored her. The issue is what is it supposed to create? The perfect dwarf was a failure due to it being too good at controlling mana, causing its body to break down from it. Have any of you heard of Raffarsons Debilitation?
I nodded. I had a patient in Firwood named Amadeus who had it, causing his mana paths to be weak to transport mana throughout his body. In fact, they were so weak, they could rupture and cause serious internal problems. It was named after an archmage who had it.
The issue is not prominent for people with low mana capacity, but for thoselike a noblewho do, it is a severe birth defect which may cause somebodys life to end early, Saori recalled, using our example of Amadeus to explain it.
Thats the principle behind the perfects flaw. The earth emperor wished to create faefolk with bodies of flesh and blood, but he failed in that attempt, making the original wave of dwarves the real perfects, even if we had our own issue.
What about those in the middle? The few other waves? Kyouya asked.
King Fugnarus pointed at his head and his hands. Thats how the Inko and Taz were born. The flawed dwarves were like shorter elves back in the day, while the wave created between the flawed and perfect had elements of what the emperor wished us to have. Giant horns similar to his, our talent for ore, and these rock skin on our ears. It makes us look like elves from far away, right? Hahaha!
I couldnt disagree with that. The rock skin around their ears looked petrified, but it did make them pointed, like an elfs or a dragonewts.
The perfect were molded in the emperors image. He had perfected his ability to create life, and wanted one last attempt to create his people, but the rest is history now. When it left us, disappointed that its perfected dwarves were unsuitable as a race, the flawed first creation mixed with the Taz and Inko. That is how the two races of dwarves came to be and why we look so distinct, despite being so similar.
Why do you call yourself that? Inko and Taz? I know it comes from the two mountain ranges within the Ankoran mountains, but still. Tatsuyas question made the King stroke his beard and close his eyes.
Once they were open again, he answered. The Inkong mountain range is smaller than its brother to the eastTazlok. Supposedly, the Inko were made closer to the surface in an attempt to inherit the elven ability to channel mana, while the Taz were born in the depths of Tazlok with ore and lava streams in an attempt to make them bond with the earth. I will not hazard what the Earth Emperor thought, but that is all I know.
Whether they could cast magic or not, once the flawed mixed their bloodlines with the Inko and Taz, you all became Inkos and Tazics unable to cast magic, Saori summarized, earning her a nod from the king. Then, could it be, is this Maagneil having the Emperor create his progeny once again? To act as the power source of everything?
Oh! I snapped my fingers. I remember! In my fight with it, the Emperor did create golems with its appearance, just around a dwarfs height. They werent impressive aside from their appearance, though.
It was all conjecture though, but it was all that we could work with since Broggart didnt specify anything. We left this discussion alone for now.
At the same time, we did wonder why Manathala wasnt issuing any System notices to us, but we quickly reminded ourselves that Broggart said Maagneil was threatening to destroy Chihiros workshop, forcing Manethala to work for him Hold on, was this why the first Event Quest was inside this dungeon? Wait a minute, then didnt this mean that Crustacia knew all about this
The Divine Quest she gave me!
Quest Giver: Origin Goddess of Earth, Craftsmanship, Minerals, and Creation, Crustacia
Description: Yo, Crustacia here on the permission of Aurena, little Hestia! Kinda a bad moment for me to meet you, but I honestly didnt expect to meet them in this dungeon. The earth told me they would return, but this?
Well, me vision through me dwarves told me enough to get the gist of the plan, but I cant tell you! Yeostars intervention made Goddess Plesia veeeery mad and she just put out a punishment I aint wishing to experience. You gotta do it yourself and its not gonna be easy, but I promise ya a big reward. And, trust me, I know how to please an otherworlder quite well! So, accept it, little Hestia!
Reward: A unique skill on anybody you wish, +1 level, reason for why the gods arent speaking, an additional reward depending on how you solve this whole situation>
Now that I understood the situation even better, I decided to reveal the Divine Quest to everybody, except VifiYok for now. She was, surprisingly, pretty content with being left out, mentioning how I was finally being smart. Annoying!
With the context given to us by Broggart, the Quest made sense now. The golem was the Earth Elemental Emperor as I had suspected, and the issue was that it was currently being enslaved by Maagneil and his employer. If we solved this situation, Manethalas issue would also be solved at the same time.
Could it be, the Earth Mother intended you to enter the Event Quest all this time and, cuz I sent you into the rank B dungeon, she had to issue that Quest to you? King Fugnarus suggested with widened eyes, causing him to fall into temporary depression as he realized how he ruined the Earth Goddesss plans. By her twin-tails
That, too, made sense unfortunately for him.
In any case, with the context of everything on hand, we wanted to interrupt Broggart and ask him to lead us to Manethala, but the moment I entered the workshop, Grimnir shouted, Were working! before we got shooed back out by Ellaine, who had eyes so wide I thought she was high or something.
I-Im sorry, b-but this is a chance I cannot give up! Ive only read about his techniques up until now, but being able to see my masters talents in person is an undeniable opportunity! Im sorry!
Boom! She slammed the door shut on us. The urgency of the situation had disappeared from the minds of these three artisans.
You are like that, too, when it comes to singing, Saori teased me, causing me to groan.
As such, we decided it would be a good idea now to take a long rest. We might already have our break from before, but it seemed Neill was starting to fall asleep. I was too worried about the Tasianna and those not with us, so I decided we maybe scout the area a bit, but Broggat suddenly ran out of the workshop.
Sorry, sorry! Uh, I had forgotten to tell you this, but Manethala warned me to never go out of this area of the floor, as the rest will be the place for the last real gambit. Unless you want to risk yourselves, it would be best to stay here. Im using a special entrance the drake made for me to transition from one floor to the other. Once we are done, we can go!
The project was to ensure we could destroy the dragon killer, in case his father managed to make the thing workable before we confronted him. For that, he was trying to modify Grimnirs weapon. Unable to really tell if he was lying or not, we agreed to stay put except for Saoris shadow pack.
So, Neill went to sleep, including the boys as they felt tired after what happened with the dragonslayers. King Fugnarus wanted to stay up, too, but Saori urged him too since Saori had just arrived at full power while it was clear VifiYok wouldnt put her guard down.
When I was about to go to sleep, though, Saori called me over. I thought she wanted to catch up, but when Vidia appeared from her shadow, I had a feeling there was something else she wanted to talk with me about.
And it became clear when her wolf skull amulet turned completely black, as if she was shrouding it in her dark mana. I cast an [Air Shield] just to be safe.
[Whelpling.]
It was Belzacs cranky voice.
When you said you wanted to bring him out to see the world, I hadnt exactly thought you meant it that literally.
She shrugged at me, showing me a wry smile. Belzac is literally dead. He is an onnikai, just like Mom when she appeared before me. He just has more of a presence compared to the others. And, no, I am not planning on turning him into a shadow pack member.
[My deal with Goddess Edna does not permit me to return to life in any way. I am still just a teacher for my descendant, making sure she understands her place as Goddess Ednas Champion and that my unique]
I do not think Hestia would appreciate you going on a tangent again, Belzac. Let us keep it short, so we can all take a breather from everything, and maybe form a plan, Saori urged him in the nicest way possible.
[ So be it, Saori.] And the old cranky wolf listened to her just like last time! [It is about the demonkin, whelpling. I must remind you that you have that abominable demon of lust with you, right now. If you wish to bring the demonkin along with you, I suggest you either think of a measure to keep the secret hidden, or reveal it to her.]
You sound like you're suggesting the former option.
[Of course!] The amulet waved a bit as his voice rose. [Do you think this is a jest? That deserter has only one way to return to her masters laps, and that is to reveal that the archdemon of lust is still alive, and that she is under your control! It doesnt matter if Aurena were to destroy her before then. The information itself is important here. If you reveal that demons presence to her, you lose that blackmail over her. You risk that demonkin having a good reason to backstab you now!]
I couldnt really argue back, but how the hell was I supposed to hide Ellaines power? It was a logistical impossibility for Ellaine to completely hide KleaHatmas presence forever, as Aurora had the worst luck ever when it came to these issues! Murphys Law and so on, and I fully believed in it! I mean, how the hell were the dragonslayers around to kill me, huh? If I had better luck, this would have never happened.
As such, trying to follow Belzacs first suggestion was daunting, maybe actually impossible since I also knew of the way to awaken the demon from her slumber. As Belzac mentioned, she needed a stimulus to awaken from her slumber. And it was just below us with our enemy.
Maagneil had a rebellion orb.
Saori slapped her face, knowing exactly what I meant with my words. Bad memories resurfaced for her when we experienced it last in Cedaraille. Great, just great. So, not only will we have to fight him with his dragon killer but there is also the high probability that the entire dungeon will go into a frenzy with all the monsters inside turning feral.
Manethala was born in this dungeon, I added, remembering what Grimnir told me. The dungeon master loses control over the monsters inside, but what would happen to Manethala then? Hes intelligent, but what if?
This is not to mention the possibility of the puppeteer revealing themselves. Could it be a Prince of Sin?
I shrugged. Or one of their lieutenants or something similar to a Warbringer for the other sin princes. I dont know. But, back to the initial problem, how are we supposed to hide everything from VifiYok?
Saori shook her head, equally as confused as I was. Jeez, I know I signed up for this, but it already turned into a headache. Hestia, cant we just have a normal adventurer here or there? Can you just get in trouble with some random snake again, so we can have a simple issue to deal with?
You call fighting that rank A leviathan a simple issue?! It was a single snake head and it nearly one-shotted me! Here is the thing, I already got into trouble with another big serpent, and my mom had to go beat his ass up while the snake kept spawning more and more water zombies.
Right, the Elyonda siege had a leviathan as an enemy. I forgot, I apologize.
[Melloxtressa sounds like a respectable parent, young dragoness,] Vidia commented, to which I proudly exclaimed she was. Once Mom was awake again, I suggested to her for them to meet up, since they were our parents, after all. [ Daunting task.]
I guess that was a normal reaction to meeting not only an empress but a rank SS.
In the end, we decided to ask Ellaine and Grimnir for their opinion on the subject, as it concerned the entirety of Aurora. With the discussion done, I went to get some shut-eye until dinner or whatever. Once I was woken up by the smell of food, my body snapped wide awake as I saw Saori up and about, cooking food as if it was like any other day. Nostalgic.
She had the subspace portal open too, revealing Asaka was behind it, talking with Tatsuya and Kyouya. I also noticed Haruka and Daichi were there, too, so I greeted them. In addition, VifiYok showed how stunned she was when she saw what our space-time tech could do, to which I told her she was welcome to join our hotspring.
I should probably install a defensive protocol in that case. This is the first time where Im inviting a possible enemy into the subspace, huh?
I thought of the monster room core I received from our dungeon rewards, realizing I might be able to turn my subspace into an impromptu dungeon. Considering VifiYok might become an enemy, and that fact I couldnt kick former invitees out of it once they were inside, it would best if I had a plan B for the future.
There was so much I could improve on it. As long as VifiYok didnt know that you needed my permission to enter my space, she couldnt abuse it, even if she gave a [Room] rune to an informant or whatever. Only the people I allowed in may enter it.
Emergency!
But these little issues werent so urgent when Broggart and Grimnir rushed out of the door, sweaty and greasy. When they stopped before me, Broggart had to take a breather before Grimnir shouted, We have a massive problem!
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