The Foreigner on the Periphery

The spider dragon's youngest child sank into deep meditation.

No one had ever taught him to do this. After awakening his Supernatural Ability, he often plunged his consciousness deep within himself, as if diving underwater. Whenever he did, the ability his guardians called Divine Power grew stronger.

The subject of his meditation was mostly the source that had granted this power—an imagined god—but his thoughts sometimes drifted down a different path.

Just like now.

'Ah, I want to go back. To Hong Kong.'

Because Blair had hurriedly dashed into the room, he was left alone for once, and he missed his brothers.

'If it weren't for that accident in the first place, I wouldn't have had to come here.'

After his ability was discovered, the youngest's management became even stricter and more demanding. Jenkinson had issued directives using extreme phrases like "absolutely," "without fail," and "no matter what happens."

Even someone like Blair couldn't casually take him out of the Hong Kong laboratory.

Unfortunately, because Jenkinson had fallen into a strange state right after bringing him here, the youngest also ended up stranded in Korea amid the confusion.

'But... I'm glad I came.'

Even if it was lonely being separated from his brothers.

The youngest thought to himself that Jenkinson bringing him here had been the right decision.

'Those people, they were terribly sad.'

The chaos of the emergency room was the first intense event he had experienced in his short life.

The youngest clearly remembered how the faces of the despairing guardians changed whenever light burst from his hands.

In truth, when he had prayed for a special ability, the youngest hadn't imagined a scene like this.

He had just wanted a cool ability like his brothers had, like being able to see far away while sitting in place, or pouring fire and water from thin air.

But if someone asked him now whether he disliked this ability, the youngest could answer firmly.

That he liked it immensely.

'There is no better ability than this in the world.'

Beyond good, it was wonderful.

He could save their most precious people.

Lost in meditation, the youngest sent a prayer to his god.

'Thank you for giving me this power.'

As always, there was no answer.

Nevertheless, the youngest firmly believed in the god's existence. He didn't feel hurt or disappointed by the silence.

'If my brothers or the people I know suffered such an accident, I would be very sad.'

But as long as he had this ability, he could save them no matter how badly they were injured in the future. Incurable diseases were also curable.

Meanwhile, the youngest knew that his brothers' blood was mixed with the blood of a dragon and a half-elf. They would at least live longer than ordinary humans.

The priest, who had awakened his faith on his own, sent gratitude to the god he served while also wondering about him.

'What kind of person are you?'

Because no one had ever taught him, the youngest didn't even know the god's name.

So he began to paint a portrait in his mind, drawing on his knowledge and imagination.

'Every time I use my power, light comes out. That flash must also be sent by him.'

He imagined a being whose entire body was wreathed in a holy halo.

'And he must be a very merciful person.'

Like other Divine Power users, the first ability the youngest had awakened was the power to heal the injured and sick.

'I'm sure he doesn't want anyone to get hurt or die.'

Taking pity on us.

Wanting no one to shed a single drop of blood.

'He must be someone who loves everyone, just as I love my brothers.'

Loving us more than anyone else who loves us.

'My lord.'

The identity of the god was colored in and painted over within the youngest's mind. The outline of the one he served was clearly sculpted. As this process repeated, the youngest's ability grew stronger.

And so, a prayer was completed in the realm of primitive faith. Human hopes and prayers were projected onto it.

What the youngest recited during his meditation bore a striking resemblance to the common themes found in various religions that already existed in the world.

The priest prayed that his god existed as a merciful being. And thus, that he would protect his precious people.

*

The priests of the Elahu-Praga order knew perfectly well that their god was absolutely not a merciful being.

Especially in front of sinners.

A god who would squeeze out the very last drop of blood from the wicked if necessary.

"The King of Endelion is playing a futile trick."

"Even so, it will only add to their sins."

"In the end, they will pay in blood equal to the weight of their sins recorded on the scales."

"And that weight will be measured according to God's calculus."

While the god and the Holy Mother conversed with the enemy's leader, the bishops remained inside the Mothership.

Because Minjun had forbidden it, they couldn't hear the contents of the conversation outside. Naturally, none dared to eavesdrop.

They merely speculated on what the king of those tentacled monsters might be proposing right now.

Never imagining that, at the very start of the summit, the king had urged the Holy Mother to commit suicide.

"Demanding negotiations now. Isn't their ulterior motive completely transparent?"

"Even if they plot and set traps, we simply bypass them. The avatar must think so too. Didn't he say we should first hear what they're babbling about?"

Since Minjun had decided so, the bishops had no objections either.

Yumtus muttered.

"They probably guess that their shallow tricks won't work either."

The role of babysitting the Endelion children had been passed off to a junior bishop on the ship.

The children, who had initially been utterly disgusted by the other three-eyed ones aside from Yumtus, no longer showed negative reactions to the other bishops once they got used to him.

Of course, there were some children who never opened up to anyone until the very end.

"Wanting a talk while intentionally leaving out Kavite and Todd might be the result of being buried in the Endelion way of thinking."

Those tentacled creatures put risk avoidance as their top priority no matter what choice they made.

"The Holy Mother mentioned that if the artifact that blew up the planet last time was Endelion-made, there is a high probability the king watched the scene remotely. As a result, they might have judged that God's army was more dangerous than expected. The dice-rollers calculating victory and defeat must have gotten busier."

Yumtus relayed Del's assumption.

"Feeling threatened, they are trying to find a way where—even if this war escalates to the absolute worst-case scenario, and even if Kavite and Todd go completely extinct—they alone will neither be hurt nor killed. It's a kind of... insurance."

*

Del momentarily forgot how to reply.

'What did she just say?'

The air rapidly froze.

Could she have misheard?

The King of Endelion helped Del shatter that doubt and reassemble it into a shocking certainty.

"Did you not hear me? I told you to kill yourself. I am certain that you haven't been brainwashed by Asiph-1. So you should be able to do it."

At that moment.

Rumble!

The air began to shimmer and vibrate. Del glanced at Minjun with eyes that had not yet escaped their shock.

His face remained completely expressionless, just as it had been from the start. It bordered on apathy.

However, an invisible eruption of energy was warping the surrounding space.

Even though the mother and daughter's conversation was clearly taking place in the royal family's cipher...

'He's furious.'

He was reacting as if he had understood the entire conversation.

For the first time in a very long while, Del felt as though she were standing next to the prisoner she once knew, rather than a member of the primordial race.

At the absolute worst timing, when she couldn't even be glad about that fact.

"You were a deeply flawed child from a young age."

The King continued to focus solely on her daughter.

It seemed Minjun's reaction wasn't translating through the screen.

"You lacked the ability to value yourself. Even so, the reason I couldn't give up on you was that, although that trait is a flaw for an individual Endelion, it held the potential to manifest as a fine virtue for a member of the royal family. Even if only in highly restricted circumstances."

Del understood what that meant.

"...You mean the duty of the highborn."

Even after the existence of gods was denied among the Endelion and their values were newly established.

Some of the ethical concepts taught long ago by the 'Tentacle that Embraces the Stars' had survived into the modern era.

"To our royal family, the most precious values are the dignity and honor of the Endelion race."

It was something Del knew well too.

"You can fulfill your calling in a way no other royal can. Show me proof that my judgment wasn't wrong."

The mother explained the reason her daughter had to die.

"Even if the succession process wasn't perfect, there is far too much information residing in your head. Asiph-1 probably hasn't been able to read it all yet. For the exact same reason it couldn't brainwash you."

Del also knew that brainwashing an Ancient Race was difficult.

But seeing the King so strongly convinced, could it be that a far more powerful defense mechanism was installed in the minds of the royal family than in others?

From there on, it was territory even Del didn't know.

"Until now, I tried to save you somehow, but now that an all-out war has begun, we can no longer hold onto any optimistic expectations. A rescue operation is realistically impossible. In this war, you are essentially a powerful weapon for them. So sacrifice yourself for the sake of your kin."

Calmly, she gave one more reason for ordering this.

"Going forward, the forces of both sides will clash in some way, and Todd and Kavite will take to the battlefield wielding the weapons we created. If you die in that process, and that news spreads?"

In the King's judgment, the death of the captured princess had to be confirmed before the war began in earnest.

"You know what kind of people our subjects are. They wouldn't feel the slightest sorrow even if they heard that the three-eyed ones, goblins, or the likes of Kavite or Todd died in the millions or tens of millions."

A resolute light flashed in her single eye.

"But if word spreads that a 'young' Endelion like you died because of a weapon they made themselves? It would undoubtedly have a massive impact on our technicians' morale."

The King had never expected Del to die in the planetary explosion last time anyway.

What she was truly worried about was the future.

"..."

Silence flowed.

"Yes, it must be hard to make the decision right away. It goes against your instincts. But since you know what the right choice is, I will wait."

Del realized that a crucial keyword was missing from everything the King had rambled on about so far.

None other than the obvious interrogation of whether Del was willingly cooperating with Asif-666.

The King, who knew every detail down to Del's highly classified prisoner identity and labor records, had pointedly avoided mentioning that specific part.

'Other Endelion are listening to this conversation right now!'

While Del guessed her intentions, the King shifted her eye again. From then on, she treated the princess as if she weren't there. And instead of the royal cipher, she spoke in the universal dimensional language.

"Asif-666. The private talk is over. Thank you for waiting."

Minjun maintained his emotionless expression. Turning to him, the King began her prepared speech.

"What if the Committee made this proposition to you?"

The words that followed contained an absurd premise.

"As things stand, an attrition war where we carve off each other's flesh is expected. As much as I hate to admit it, there is a high probability that this war will last far longer than our past war with the dragons. The conflict between our two sides will plunge the entire dimensional system into chaos, and even planets that are not directly involved will suffer severe economic blows and turmoil. Therefore, before the war begins in earnest, how about we exchange an appropriate price and agree to a ceasefire?"

It was a proposal reeking of unparalleled arrogance.

Yet the response that flowed from Minjun's lips was dry.

"And this appropriate price?"

The King said this.

"A proposal to grant you dominion over half of the remaining dimensions, excluding the Dimensional Center."

"..."

Minjun urged her to continue with his silence, as if telling her to say more.

Meanwhile, Del felt her head throbbing.

Having just ordered her to commit suicide in preparation for an all-out war, what was the intention behind immediately offering a ceasefire to Minjun?

"No matter how you and that order rule the planets within your territory, what methods you use to proselytize, or whether you execute all non-believers. Whether you establish an organization within that domain where divinity is the highest dignity, the order is the sole political system, and scripture functions as the absolute law... essentially a 'Holy Galactic Empire,' the Committee will not interfere."

The sentence the King added right after carried a strange nuance.

"And if you wish, the Committee is willing to provide Talent to the empire you build at a reasonable price."

Del's face turned pale as she listened. It was so absurd that her shock-addled mind sharpened once more.

Because those words were an obvious provocation.

Was she trying to anger Minjun right to his face while proposing a secret negotiation?

That was a proposal he would never, ever accept...

'Ah, wait a minute.'

She soon realized something was strange.

Minjun's surroundings, which had radiated an aura of extreme fury just moments ago, were utterly quiet. This time, there wasn't a hint of anger.

Del chewed over the King's words again.

'What she just said... the subject was the Committee.'

Not Endelion, but the Committee.

At that moment, Minjun spoke in an unimpressed tone.

"Are you saying such discussions are currently taking place within the Committee?"

The King of Endelion confirmed with a twitch of her tentacles.

It was a gesture that seemed to say she couldn't stand how utterly pathetic it was.

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