Chapter 786 Because, Therefore (1/2)
Joshua was not actually surprised by the state of affairs.
Due to the Return Beacon's error, Priest and the others were lost at the edge of the galaxy, and information from the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds indicated a great chance that they were lost within a Glorious Era relic.
Incidentally, when Joshua was dissecting Void Behemoths a while ago, he had sensed the distinct unfamiliar presence of an Evil God, and those creatures had come from the edge of the galaxy.
They were very weird specimens—juvenile Behemoths would often infiltrate worlds and spread their seeds, spawns, or even spores while feeding, just as adult Void Behemoths would mostly peel off the outer layers of worlds before feeding. On the other hand, although the Void Behemoths Joshua encountered appeared young, they were basically fragments of adult Behemoths. They had lost spawns' the ability to infiltrate worlds, and neither did they have the power to break most World Barriers.
Joshua had originally deduced that it would have been the result of being torn apart by an Evil God, but it appeared that there might be another explanation.
'Evil God of Wither'.
The Evil God which records were concealed even from the Unified Archives, possessing the power to wilt all things and briefly turn Legendary champions into children.
It would therefore not be unusual that it turned Void Behemoths into younger forms.
Three bizarre phenomenon appearing at the same place at the same time—Joshua just had to work his brain a tinge to connect them easily.
”It's a little troublesome but it's nothing adverse. At least we're alerted to an Evil God's presence in advance, and not after it had completely awakened.”
Both Joshua and the Nature's Magister were not fearful of the Evil God's suspected awakening since they could sense that the Chaos Being was very weak, even if it was an Evil God. Should it recover, it would not recover its peak power for the time being—or even twenty percent of it.
There is a hierarchy of power even amongst Evil Gods. The weakest probably consisted those such as the 'Evil God of Air', one born from a destroyed world without intelligent civilizations. Even a single Apostle of the Sage alone was capable to repel it given its lower ability, which was what appeared to be case even if the Apostle was supremely capable or that the Evil God could not display its true power.
For its part, the Evil God Wither itself had come across unexpected things and was thus pursued by nine Legends. According to Zero-Three's obtained data, its full power when unleashed could only suppress five to six Legends at the same time, and was left in difficult situation when it faced nine. That was not quite weak—in truth, it was simply not formidable, and when estimated in relative to the Evil Gods Famine and Calamity, their powers were just a single notch above.
There was also the fact that Calamity was rather special. It would not hang around long, and move away after unleashing some natural disaster, something which powerful civilizations could basically block. Calamity would hence be unthreatening to them, just as it would not clash directly against them. Truly powerful Evil Gods, such as the Evil God of Pestilence could spawn a million Legendary-tier Void Mothers.
As for the Evil God of Fertility, a monster that could trigger a star to change into a red dwarf, it was best to leave it aside discreetly for the time being.
One way or the other, Joshua and Galanoud would try subjugating an Evil God that was not too powerful and only had twenty percent of its power regardless if they succeeded.
If they would not even dare to do that, it was best if everyone just packed their things and left, for what Legend was there to be if they conducted themselves so embarrassingly?
Starlight flickered. They advanced without stopping amidst the Void, bright and dark worlds streaking past the pair's bodies. One or two amongst those tens of thousands of worlds would be the lucky ones to host life, with the luckiest amongst millions of those living worlds birthing intelligence.
The birth of intelligent life and civilization were not absolute. Each was a miracle of miracles.
”It was said that our galaxy was densely populated by countless intelligent beings before the Final Battle.”
The Nature's Magister said serenely as she looked around at the streams of stars around them. ”Although most could not enter the Void, they were at least a type of civilization… but now, only these barren worlds are left.”
And it was natural, with nothing to do with Evil Gods.
That was what Joshua thought. After all, according to the theory of Time Dilation, five or six thousand years had passed for the worlds at the edge of the galaxy, a time enough for civilizations to de and be revived for a few cycles. Civilizations are in itself fragile beings that easily destroy each other even without the threat of Void Behemoths and Evil Gods. Was that not for the case of the Six Abyss? Nuclear war and chemical weaponry had destroyed an entire ecosphere with such ease.
”Eh?”
Suddenly, just when the Nature's Magister was thinking about how she should spread some seeds so that a world's ecosphere could recover, she abruptly let out a soft murmur. She then stood up from the tendrils of the Legendary beast 'Shaggy' puzzledly, calling out to Joshua in alert, ”Stop. There's something ahead.”
”What is it?”
Joshua sensed nothing beyond Chaos presence. However, it must have been something unexpected since the Nature's Magister was so solemn.
”I sense life moving… There's too many! That's more than the total population of Mycroft?”
Galanoud closed her eyes, Nature's Power spread as pale emerald rippled from her as if still water stirred. Nature Power itself was a variant and a complex of lifeforce that could only work at full capacity in environments with substantial life, but in reverse, those who learned that power could swiftly find locations lush with vigor.
”That way.” After reaching out with her senses, the Nature's Magister somberly opened her eyes again and gave Joshua the coordinates. However, the warrior found only dense assemblages of Steel Strength when he turned in that direction.
In other words, worlds.
”I don't see any life, only some small worlds… It's weird, they are too small and moving too quickly.”
Joshua did not see the populous lifeforms the Nature's Magister indicated, but neither did he find it unusual. Each Legend had a different path and saw worlds differently, just as they would have different emphasis. It would not be curious that the Nature's Magister could directly sense life within worlds.
On the other hand, a world that moved quickly was uncommon.
Worlds usually moved but at very small margins, and it was evident from how planetary maps of the Multiverse needed updating only after one or two hundred years. Still, there were some worlds that moved masters, but those were so-called Hidden Worlds which coordinates could not be determined by star maps, and there was only a single way of tracking them.
Meanwhile, that world they were seeing on that particular direction was moving so quickly that it simply could not be a natural occurrence.
From the speed and vector, Joshua made a shocking conclusion.
”Those worlds are moving to the Evil God!”
Both at once accelerated at the same direction.
”What's going on? Why would there be worlds moving deliberately toward the Evil Gods?”
Joshua felt it unusual. His perception was clearer than before now that he was focused, picking up the huge specks of light moving quickly in the Void. ”Fast, just a little slower than Void ships such as the Grancypher but also without any energy burst… It feels just like it's wafting naturally.”
”I'm not sure… but Joshua, perhaps you didn't sense the Void Behemoths' presence?”
The Nature's Magister's expression was entirely serious as well. Although it was nothing wrong with finding many living worlds at once, things were just not right: An Evil God was reviving, and if incidentally many lives were being presented to it, the Evil God could be quickly restored through devouring civilization and consuming Order.
An Evil God with most power was restored and an Evil God that had just awakened were completely different concepts. After all, while both a dying star and a star at the height of its energy were both stars, were they on equal in terms of luminosity?
Moreover, around those worlds were numerous Void Behemoths… which was more troublesome. Even if they were not on the side of Evil Gods, they were not on the side of normal lifeforms either. If the scene erupts into chaos, their operation to suppress Wither would perhaps go awry.
But even after reaching out with his senses extensively, the warrior found nothing. All he detected was luminous specks of worlds, and was unable to feel any Steel Strength as pure as it was abnormal of Void Behemoths.
”Let's hurry to the Evil God's world before they reach it.”
Then, without further ado, Joshua accelerated again, even slightly releasing his own gravitational restraint. A colossal appeared in the dimensional turbulences where there was Order within Chaos. As if an oceanic abyss that consumed everything, it drew everything within range—even erratic dimensional flow and starlight was warped and dragged forcefully by the vortex into veins of patterned arcs.
Therefore, Joshua's speed accelerated a notch above.
***
Faraway, the World Fleet.
”Sensor anomaly! Large scale dimensional shift detected in the 113rd planetary sector!”
”Warning! Unknown object rapidly approaching! Estimate threat level: Very high!”
”It's coming toward us!”
Countless spores expanded and burst in the Central Hive, just as streaks of bioelectrical flow that contained information compounded with an atypical spiritual force, driving forward alongside strips of fungal network. Soon, the information detected by the sensors were transmitted to the Core Court.
”My King! An unknown, powerful being is swiftly closing in to the Fleet's left flank. Unable to determine hostility.”
Kumocinda the black eight-legged fungus quietly dealt with every information as he accepted the bioelectrical signals. According to the Fleet's sensors, a colossal object was accelerating at three times their own speed as it ventured closer to them. There was no telling if it was friend or foe, but at least it was apparent that they could not escape with its speed.
”Estimated ability class is 'Star Eater', huh… prepare defensive measures and stop the feeding Behemoths, continue advancing towards the World Eater's vector in a defensive form. The object may be going for the World Eater and not us.”
'There may be no need to involve the Great Khan in this matter,' Kumocinda thought, and then issued his second order. ”All herders and breeders are to cease task and leave 'Akasha', and seek refuge within the body of the Behemoths.”
Star Eaters were not a rare presence in the Multiverse. The Lost Galaxy notwithstanding, there were a considerable number of them back in the galaxy where the eight-legged fungi originated.
Even so, there were differences amongst the Star Eaters. Some powerful ones held compelling advantage against some of the older ones even if they had just ascended, just as some which sheer combat ability would grow without ceasing even after living for dozens of thousand years. Furthermore, even if they could have significant power over others, it did not mean that the champion's destructive ability was greater than others—all was relative.
Of course, it was also because they had chosen different paths.
On another note, each of the Behemoths of the Starherder's World Fleet had 'Star Eater' class power, which were the reasons for their confidence in moving across the galaxy and the origins of their name, 'Starherder'. Rarely were there races capable of such feat even across the Mutliverse, for farming Behemoths that roamed the Void was their pride.
Nonetheless, it was not out of deliberate intention. If their homeworld had not been… One way or another, the Starherders had spent unimaginable price and sacrificed innumerable eight-legged fungi to achieve all that. Furthermore, the scarce few Kings of the Akasha amongst the Starherder race could only control one or two Behemoths, but only a single entity controlled and truly farmed the Behemoths.
That was the Great Khan, the most high.
Without the Great khan, the Starherders would not have fled their homeworld, and would probably be destroyed with their home planet. Without the Great Khan, the Starherders would not have been able to settle in the Multiverse with their early, crude airships and Void warships, much less flourish.
'All glory belongs to the Great Khan.'
As it murmured thus silently in its heart, Kumocinda no longer payed another attention to the Star Eater being that abruptly appeared—there were more than twenty Behemoths in the World Fleet, and nothing would be mad enough to stand against that.
***
In the elven settlement within the unknown world, Priest and the others who were persuading the entire Overwatch Tribe to seek shelter in Hub Accrafa was not aware of the unraveling beyond the Void.
Nor did he needed to know, for the interior and exterior of the Void were essentially two worlds.
”We could never leave the Mother Tree.”
Despite Priest's kind and patient advise, the antler-crowned elf who was arranging his effects within the half-collapsed underground cavern calmly declined. ”The Mother Tree and us are one.”
”What a joke! Elves and Mother Tree are never one body!”
There were a few times in his three-hour long advising that Priest wanted to just punch and knock out the stubborn old elf. Even if he was not Sol's father, the fact that the otherworld elves were a single spiritual body meant knocking one out was not enough, and he would not have spared time for such nonsense otherwise.
”There are so many elves roaming everywhere on the Mycroft Continent, and your ancestors were the pioneers to colonize the Multiverse! How could leaving the Mother Tree to live away be any different?!”
Even Father Nature himself never once bound the elves to stay beside him, and simply allowed His children to evolve into grassland elves or mountain elves—forms that did not require him. Since when had such a stalwart race became a squeamish child that required the Mother Tree's protection?
Be that as it may, the battle of tongues was futile. ”No,” The elven leader shook his head once more and added, ”we would definitely die if we leave the Mother Tree.”
Priest was instantly dumbfounded at those words.