章 33: Chapter 33 Eroded Sandora
編集者: Atlas Studios
Staring blankly at Sandora, who wore an expectant expression, I suddenly understood—despite being known as the "Battle Song Princess," after sixty thousand years of war, she must be exhausted by now.
I pondered briefly before replying, "Of course, I can take you away. But where will you go after that? Pandora should have already told you, the Xyrin Empire…is practically nominal. Whether the territory you once ruled even still exists is questionable."
Without hesitation, Sandora said, "I'll go with you—let's go to that Carbon-based Civilization planet called Earth."
"Eh?" I was dumbstruck.
Sandora wanted to go back to Earth with me? Who wrote this script?! Could it be that after the Pandora Heavy Equipment Corps, another army of extraterrestrial workers was going to swarm into South Mansion Street?
"Sandora, you're not joking, right? So many of you…" I tried to dissuade Sandora. One Pandora Heavy Equipment Corps had already refreshed a third of the faces around me; if another Sandora Corps arrived, I might as well forget about seeing Earthlings ever again. Although Sandora's army, like the other corps of the Empire, primarily consisted of non-sentient units that could be recycled into Other Space, even if they were all retracted, the remaining commanders were no small number. So many people all at once on Earth buying pirated discs… Ahem, it seemed that Sicaro had made me a bit neurotic…
"Are you worried about my identity as Xyrin Emperor? Don't worry, I'm just temporarily staying with you; I won't interfere with your sovereignty—I can swear on the name of the Empire!"
…I wasn't worried about that at all. I was worried that if another batch of bootleggers like those from Sicaro appeared, the first interstellar war might break out between the Imperial Army and city management.
But looking at Sandora's pitiful expression, I couldn't bear to refuse her outright—she had nowhere else to go.
By the way, was this really how the Supreme Leader of the Empire behaved? Had Sandora perhaps gone a bit insane after sixty thousand years of war?
Ultimately, I softened: "Alright, you can come with me, but you have to agree to my conditions."
"Yay—" Sandora cheered, then stood up, took two steps back, and happily lunged at me…
"Crack—" A crisp sound, followed by an "Ah—" in pain.
Broken, it was broken again…
************************************************************************* Recuperating Again *************************************************************************
It seemed Sandora was telling the truth about enhancing my body, as my recovery ability had indeed improved a lot…
Today marked our third day in this world ruled by Magical Beasts. In Sandora's base, I gained a more detailed understanding of their experiences.
It turned out that about sixty thousand years ago, when Sandora victoriously returned from the Helenda Star System, she accidentally discovered this planet. Sandora intended to spend a few days here, so she led her Personal Guard away from the main force and came here. Unluckily, the day after they landed on this planet, their communication with the outside world was cut off (the Empire as a whole had fallen asleep). Moreover, all the equipment they brought malfunctioned mysteriously. They couldn't leave and their combat capabilities were severely impaired, resulting in a grueling sixty thousand-year struggle against the local Magical Beasts. Although most of these Beasts were not as individually powerful as the Xyrin Empire's soldiers, their numbers were vast and they reproduced rapidly. What baffled Sandora and her commanders was that these Beasts seemed unending; no one knew where they came from, only that every so often massive hordes of frenzied Beasts would attack from all directions, leaving countless corpses before collectively retreating. Sandora and her forces, having brought only a portion of their military strength, struggled just to achieve a stalemate with these Beasts, let alone divert forces to investigate their source. Over these sixty thousand years, their sole understanding of these enemies was that they seemed to be affected by a force known as the "Abyss," causing their frenzy.
"The Abyss is the most dangerous thing in the universe," Sandora said with a particularly grave expression. "It's not an ordinary form of energy or matter, but rather a strong will, filled purely with a desire for destruction and annihilation. This force wanders through the universe, and whenever it stops, this will begins to affect the surrounding entities. Whether it's Carbon-based Life, Silicon-based Life, or Energy Life, even our half-energy half-constructed bodies, are not immune. What's more, it can affect even non-sentient objects—when the Abyss arrives, planets deviate from their orbits, stars burn wildly, gravity becomes erratic, constants go haywire, leading everything to destruction… In essence, the Abyss is destruction itself."
When I asked Pandora about the Abyss, the little one's face also grew serious. She said, "Although the data I can access is incomplete, I can confirm that the force Emperor Sandora mentioned does indeed exist. According to the information I have, the Abyss has always been the Empire's foremost enemy."
…I never imagined the Xyrin Empire had such a glorious history of maintaining universal peace.
"Fortunately," Sandora said, standing on a cliff near the base and gazing at the smoky mountains in the distance, "it's finally over, and we can leave this cursed place."
"It's hard to believe you managed to hold out for so long," I exclaimed sincerely. "If it were me, I'd have gone mad long ago."
"I have gone mad," Sandora turned and flashed me a radiant smile, her flamboyant curls casting a golden halo. "You know? As the spiritual pillar of these warriors, the pressure I endured was greater than anyone else's. Even the spiritual power of the Xyrin Emperor can't stay clear-headed for long under such circumstances. So, after fifty thousand years of war, I had a mental breakdown and even considered causing the entire army to self-destruct along with the planet…"
I stared at Sandora in horror; her warm smile and nonchalant gaze betrayed no hint of jest.
"Luckily, at the last moment, I regained a brief clarity," Sandora said with a warm, happy smile. "I thought if I continued living, I might bring great disaster to my warriors—they were too obedient to my commands. Even if the mad me ordered them to commit mass suicide, they would do it without question. So, I decided to end myself.
"I entered the Abyss…"
"The Abyss?" I grew more and more astonished. "You mean that force causing trouble all over the universe?"
Hearing my words, Sandora chuckled lightly. "Haha, calling such a frightful thing an irritating force is quite amusing… You're right, that's what it is. Although the Abyss is usually an invisible and intangible force, it can also have its own nest when its power manifests. Using my special abilities as a Xyrin Emperor, I found a manifested Abyss entrance and plunged in alone…even in death, I wanted to give it a taste.
"Inside the Abyss, I saw many things you wouldn't see in your lifetime and encountered unimaginably evil powers. I didn't know how many enemies I killed or when I might exhaust my strength and die. I just fought day after day.
"I thought my already tottering spiritual power would soon collapse completely under the Abyss' influence, turning me into a mindless war beast or leaving me torn apart by Abyssal enemies. But guess what happened next?"
I swallowed nervously and stared at the smiling Sandora. Her previously reckless demeanor and now incessant chattering made me feel increasingly uneasy. This Xyrin Emperor's mental state seemed seriously unstable—perhaps her last shred of sanity was obliterated in the Abyss? Could she actually be a puppet controlled by the Abyss? Or simply a seemingly normal madwoman?
I didn't reply immediately, and Sandora, unperturbed by my silence, continued: "Later…I was indeed consumed by the Abyss…"
With these words, Sandora suddenly gave me a faint smile, then slowly raised her right hand. Instantly, a black, flame-like tangible energy spread from her fingertips, swiftly enveloping her entire right side. Within seconds, Sandora's entire right side transformed into black flames, burning furiously, obscuring any human form, while her raised right hand turned into a terrifying claw, wrapped in black smoke and about half a meter long…
*************************************************************************
Long-Missed Star Line
*************************************************************************
Seeking Recommendations, Seeking Favorites!!!
-- 贈り物
が届きました 
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット