Chapter 26 – Reverence. This Power!

A single day. A day was enough for the world to traverse between heaven and hell.

“…We shall now commence the emergency ministerial meeting.”

The ministers, the very heart of the Empire’s administration, were all assembled. It truly was an unprecedented situation.

Not since the gate incident decades ago had so many ministers gathered.

“First, let us observe a moment of silence for the seventeen heroes who met their noble end in this large-scale gate incident.”

The mass gate occurrences that had begun yesterday afternoon and continued until this morning.

Officially reported, the number exceeded a staggering eight hundred.

Including the unofficial gates, it could reach a thousand!

Consequently, all of the Empire’s ability users had to be mobilized.

Even those who had retired from active duty were redeployed.

Bloody battles raged in every corner, and many fell in battle.

“The current damage is seventeen ability users killed in action, thirty severely wounded, seventy-two lightly wounded. Fortunately, there are no civilian casualties reported as of yet.”

“But I heard there was extensive property damage.”

“Yes. Due to the risk level of the gates, many chose to wait instead of entering immediately.”

Exchanging details about the situation, the ministers clutched their foreheads as if by tacit agreement.

What in the world was going on? This was a sight unseen in their entire lives.

Gates appearing, monsters emerging, ability users fighting them – that was familiar.

The problem was this simultaneous eruption. Never before had there been so many gates, exceeding hundreds.

“What is the gate investigation department saying?”

“They are completely at a loss as well.”

“I had some hope for them, since they are the ones who even created the ranking system. What a shame.”

The decades of Gate incidents had brought much development to the Empire.

Ascension in Adept skill, the systematization of Awakened training, and even research into Gates and Monsters.

So, it was true that they believed they had definitively gained the upper hand in this war.

But no longer. They had allowed a proper counterattack.

If, by some chance, this was only the beginning, they might have to pay the price in blood all over again.

“The problem isn’t only that.”

The Minister of Internal Affairs pressed his fingers to his temple, continuing,

“Amidst this unprecedented crisis, the extremists have committed another atrocity. Thus far, six Seal Stones have been damaged by their hands.”

Six Seal Stones – that was a staggering six percent of the total.

Before that appalling situation, sighs of lament rippled through the room.

“…What is the status?”

“They’ve been rendered non-operational for periods ranging from a single day to two days, up to ten days or even a fortnight.”

The Seal Stones, crucial for preventing Gate manifestation, were broken.

Not by Monsters, nor some accident, but by the hands of their own kind.

“I’ll see those b*stards! We should mobilize the regular army immediately and blow those traitors’ heads off!”

“Compose yourself, Minister of Defense. The enemy are extremists, and most possess Abilities. Even the regular army could suffer heavy casualties.”

“We can’t just let this pass! Seventeen of our young Adepts gave their lives! And these wretches bear no duty, only ruin the Empire!”

The Minister of Defense raged. Others tried to calm him, but in truth, they all felt the same.

Bearing the same power. Some bore the burden of duty and sacrificed themselves.

While others, far from bearing any duty, only brought harm to others. It was only natural.

“What countermeasures are being taken against them?”

“Normally, the Special Operations Unit would have moved as soon as their movements were detected, but they were diverted to this incident. So the response was too late. They say they managed to cut their tails and escape.”

From all sides, *Shibal.* *Damn it.* *This sucks.* A torrent of curses erupted.

One because the Seal Stone, a cornerstone of the Empire’s defense, was damaged.

Another because they were thinking of the taxes and resources that would go into the Seal Stone, and their head throbbed.

Yet another simply hated the extremists too much. The reasons varied.

“In any case. This has further stretched the Empire’s Adepts. Especially since several cities are affected, it is likely that the current manpower is already critically strained.”

“There’s an immediate shortfall of over a hundred people.”

The lightly wounded could return within a week, but the seriously injured, and the fallen…

In a single night, over fifty Adepts died or suffered grievous wounds.

‘If this is just a one-time occurrence, it would be fortunate…’

‘If this continues, how much damage will accumulate?’

‘…It may not be simply an accumulation of damage. Can the Empire, endure?’

First to surface was the memory of decades ago, when the word ‘ruin’ hovered in the air.

That moment when hell descended on all sides, before they had the powerful weapon of Abilities as they did now.

The reason the Empire could face the Gate manifestations calmly now was because of power.

And that power, in the end, meant possessing more and stronger Adepts.

To continue losing those Adepts as they did last night? It was to open the gates of hell once more.

“…Ahem. Let’s not be too despondent. If you only think of the worst, people tend to become extreme. It’s better to have a little room to spare.”

“That’s right. Fortunately, all the Gates have disappeared, and there haven’t been any reports of mass manifestations like yesterday.”

Worrying about a future yet to arrive can wait until tomorrow.

Now is the time to discuss today’s consequences of yesterday’s events.

“Speaking of which, they say a monster unlike any other emerged from the Cradle.”

“Huh? Wait a moment. A gate manifested within the Cradle? But isn’t that place supposed to be perfectly protected by Seal Stones! They received a whole ten portions, didn’t they?!”

“Ah. It seems the Minister hasn’t yet heard the news. Before yesterday’s incident, the Seal Stone was damaged due to internal issues within the Cradle. It was during that window that the gate manifested.”

After that, the Ministers exchanged words about this so-called ‘monster never before seen.’

That it was at least one level stronger than any monster encountered thus far.

That it wielded weapons of extreme sophistication, not crude implements.

And, crucially, that it was a being who spoke our language.

“An investigation team has already been dispatched to that location. They will likely dissect the monster’s corpse to find some element of the cause of this incident.”

“I see. Ah, isn’t there one more thing?”

An era of chaos, after all, is bound to call forth new heroes.

And this time, a student from the Cradle earned that name!

“I heard the Third Imperial Princess herself made a direct mention of it to the Imperial Family.”

“That much? Hmm! Just what kind of student could it be.”

“I must confess, I’m becoming rather… embarrassingly curious about this young man!”

*

Meanwhile.

“Ugh, what’s that stench? Hey, Jojo. Did you eat poop or something? It’s especially bad today?”

The new hero who warranted mention in the Ministers’ meeting, the one who emerged from the Cradle…

“Good heavens. You’re just a coal miner covered in soot. A real miner, you are.”

…was sifting through his homemade cat litter box.

*

—Nyaaa!

“What’s with the complaints? Should I tell you the turds smell like roses, then?”

You try sniffing it. Is that even possible? He pushes the sifter forward.

Whereupon Jojo promptly bats it away with a paw before turning tail!

Look at that. Even he recoils from it.

Deus clicked his tongue, finished the job, and washed his hands thoroughly.

[To all Cradle Students:]

[All classes are cancelled for today!]

[We look forward to seeing your cheerful faces again tomorrow!]

This was the reason why he was in his room instead of a classroom on a weekday.

He almost threw himself onto the bed, but was then fearful that the bed would collapse.

So Deus just collapsed on the floor and sank into thought.

‘Nationwide gate manifestations. But the demon only came out at the Cradle.’

The Cradle, it turned out, was a surprisingly easy place to gather information.

He only had to overhear the students’ murmurings as he passed by.

While numerous gates manifested at the Cradle, the same situation was unfolding across the Empire.

As per usual, they were measuring the threat levels and dispatching teams of ability users to enter… or simply stand by.

Things, they were different, though. Whispers of gates that refused to yield exit points once crossed.

Monsters, normally manageable, becoming a right pain, especially today.

Decades of combat data rendered useless in a single, maddening dawn.

Had that demon I tangled with appeared elsewhere, the devastation would’ve been catastrophic.

“Hmm.”

Lying on the floor, arms crossed, I pieced together the picture forming in my mind.

An academy setting. So, naturally, something major goes down at the cradle of learning.

Simultaneously, a clear shift to mark this ‘change,’ something demonstrably different than before.

And to make it believable, those b*stards set a trap, pulling away key staff, the teachers.

‘Lastly, the first boss, that demon. Name…something like Jagalchi, or close enough.’

Thinking back on his words, it all seemed like preparation for an invasion.

‘A trap laid out’, ‘vanguard’, the words alone hinted at the setup.

‘Disappointing, sure. But not entirely a weakling either.’

I replayed the heated clash in my mind.

Heated, at least, from the demon’s perspective.

“Urgh, cough! You…it seems you have a resistance to weapons…!”

The demon, clutching a broken spear, sputtering out his last stand.

Still, a boss, so he’s got some sense about him.

What the guy lacked was raw power, not awareness or intelligence.

Even Deus flinched for a moment at that observation.

The first chapter’s boss, already figuring things out to this extent?

What kind of sharp senses would future bosses possess?

‘Is this balance even right? Other students might not be able to cover the difference.’

So muttered the battle-god, who had pierced the demon’s heart with a single strike.

—Nyaang.

Jojo watched the scene, unimpressed.