[380] : The Star Grail's True Power—Riku and Schwi!

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Perhaps because there was no precedent, the Gods of this world, despite fighting an endless war over the Star Grail, seemed surprisingly unmotivated in Mika's eyes.

In any normal war, victory required both courage and strategy. But the Gods of this world seemed to possess only the former. They had no strategy whatsoever.

They never bothered to think about the conditions under which the Star Grail would appear, or how to meet those conditions to obtain it before winning the war.

In their minds, there seemed to be only one thought: BATTLE.

If all their enemies were eliminated, then the last one standing would naturally be the One True God. All the Gods seemed to think this way. So, they each created their own races and focused on developing their war capabilities, hoping to annihilate every other God.

And so, the Great War had raged on until this very day.

This situation utterly baffled Mika, who was used to the cunning and deceitful warfare from his own world's history.

It made Mika wonder if they were all just simple-minded and wanted to eliminate each other out of sheer dislike. But even so, wouldn't it be easier to eliminate their rivals after obtaining the absolute power of the One True God?

After much thought, Mika could only conclude that these Gods had no idea what the Star Grail was truly capable of.

Otherwise, their behavior was simply too irrational.

"Mika, what should we do next?" Athena asked curiously. Even though she had many ideas, she deferred to Mika's experience.

"First, let's make contact with them and get a general sense of the world's situation," Mika said. "Given this environment, there probably aren't many humans left, and they're likely well hidden."

"Besides, they need our help right now, don't they?"

Mika shifted his gaze slightly. What entered his vision was a creature completely different from a human. Based on his memories, it had to be a Demonia. Compared to the fragile humans, this creature looked incredibly dangerous.

At this moment, neither the three humans scavenging in the wreckage nor the Demonia had noticed each other. But given their current trajectories, an encounter was inevitable.

And once they met, the three humans would be in grave danger.

That would be the perfect time for Mika and Athena to make their entrance. This would allow him to quickly get acquainted with the story's protagonist, Riku.

Although Mika's main goal on this trip was to defeat the God of War, Artosh, to achieve the Great Feat needed for his final step across the threshold between mortal and God, and to seize the terrifying power of the Star Grail—and despite there being no powers in this world that could help him—he didn't need to interact with the humans at all.

But he was swayed by a simple desire: he wanted to.

Mika wanted to meet the humans of this world. He wanted to meet the hero who, in the original story, guided this great war to its conclusion.

Riku and Schwi.

The couple who achieved victory but were denied their happiness.

Mika wanted to meet them.

"Mika, you seem to place a lot of importance on that person," Athena remarked from his side, her voice laced with curiosity. It was their first time meeting, yet she could see a special light in Mika's eyes when he looked at the boy.

"Do I?" Mika smiled faintly.

He then started walking down the hillside.

"You must be mistaken."

————

In the skeletal remains of a derelict airship, Riku, Ivan Zell, and Aley moved with practiced caution.

Weeks ago, a small-scale conflict had erupted in this region.

While the clash was so fierce it had altered the very landscape and even brought down a Dwarven airship, in the grand, endless theater of the Great War, it was just another skirmish—an event no one but the direct participants would ever remember.

The aftermath, however, had been discovered by a nearby human settlement. And so, after weeks of waiting for the dust to settle, Riku, the leader of that enclave, had led two of his most trusted companions here to scavenge for anything useful.

"What's the Aether Compass showing?" Riku asked, his voice a low whisper.

"It's no good," Aley replied, his frustration evident. "There's too much Black Ash in the air. The needle's just spinning randomly, reacting to the residual elemental energy."

"Tch, figures." Hearing Aley's response, Ivan clicked his tongue in annoyance.

The Aether Compass was a device Riku and his sister, Couronne, had cobbled together from a 'Brightstone'—a mineral capable of detecting large-scale elemental reactions—and common obsidian.

It allowed them to sense the presence of the Gods and their powerful servants. In simpler terms, it was a crude device for detecting magical energy. In this world, the Gods and the races they created wielded a special power similar to magic, known as Elementals.

With it, they could perform extraordinary feats.

But humans had no such ability.

Before any of the other races, humans were the weakest, so helpless they couldn't even put up a fight. The Aether Compass was their lifeline, allowing them to detect and avoid powerful beings, drastically increasing their chances of survival.

But now, that lifeline had failed.

The Black Ash, a constant toxic snowfall, carried a faint elemental signature.

Normally, it wasn't dense enough to interfere with the compass. But here, in the heart of a recent battlefield, the concentration was overwhelming, rendering their simple, cobbled-together device useless.

The failure of the Aether Compass sent the danger level of their mission skyrocketing.

They had lost their early warning system.

By the time they noticed an enemy, the enemy would have undoubtedly noticed them. And in terms of physical ability, humans were leagues below the creatures forged by the Gods for war.

————

"Stay sharp. We proceed with extreme caution..."

Riku commanded, his voice devoid of emotion. His eyes were a chaotic void, a trait that allowed his mind to remain unnervingly calm. It was only through this cold detachment that he could lead his people to survive in this hellscape.

The three exchanged a look, nodded in unison, and began to move.

They calmed their hearts and minds, becoming as insignificant as motes of dust, suppressing their breathing, even the sound of their own heartbeats—as they crept forward, they pushed their senses to the absolute limit, searching for any clue, any hint of a potential threat.

This area was far from the main front lines of the Great War; it was little more than an abandoned scrap heap. Relatively speaking, it was safe.

But "Relative" was a dangerous word.

Compared to the front lines, it was a sanctuary. But that was a comparison for the other races.

For humans, the gap in basic abilities was simply too vast. Or rather, the other races were simply too strong.

In terms of origin, only humans and the God-like Old Deus, born from the world's natural laws, were native to this planet. The other races were almost all creations of the Old Deus, forged for the sole purpose of waging war.

They were living weapons.

And how could humans hope to contend with weapons of war?

Whether they encountered a lone stray from another race or a Dwarf who had somehow survived the airship crash, the outcome would be the same.

The three of them would die.

It was an undeniable fact. And so, they had to be careful.

"HEY, IVAN, JACKPOT!"

Hearing a sudden voice from behind, Ivan slowly turned, his expression wary. In the distance, Aley's eyes were wide with excitement, and he was waving frantically.

"Get over here, quick! This thing is incredible!"

Ivan glanced coldly at Aley for a moment before looking to Riku.

Riku said nothing. He simply raised a hand and made a sharp, throat-slitting gesture. That was all it took. Aley, who had been bouncing with excitement, flinched and let out a small whimper.

"S-sorry. Anyway, you guys have to come see this."

What Aley showed them was something that at first glance looked like a small box. It was made of several intricately interlocking cubes, like a complex puzzle. But when Aley took it in his hands and gave it a firm twist, the box burst forth with a dazzling, multicolored light.

"This is...!"

Gazing at the large image projected into the air, even the stoic Ivan couldn't suppress a quiet gasp of surprise.

"NO WAY… IS THAT A MAP OF THE WORLD??"

"That's right! And it's the latest version!" Aley said quickly, cautiously glancing at Riku, hoping he would be pleased with the find and forget his earlier recklessness.

But Riku was no longer paying him any mind. He was staring intently at the projection, analyzing the contents of the map. A world map was an incredibly precious artifact.

While humans had managed to create their own maps through scavenged data and their own measurements, they were crude and incomplete compared to this.

The map projected before them depicted the world's continents and oceans with stunning precision. Because the Great War constantly changed the planet's geography, this real-time information was invaluable.

"It's more than just a map,"

Riku said, his tone calm and measured. "It's a strategic chart and a current distribution of power. The Dwarves used a cipher, but I can read their language. This won't be a problem."

"It's that valuable?" Ivan and Aley broke into wide, joyous grins.

With this, they could deduce the areas affected by the war and, by extension, find temporarily safe zones. They could avoid leading their entire community into the path of a cataclysmic battle by mistake.

This was an incredible stroke of luck!

In this era, just surviving took every ounce of strength and wit—one possessed.

This map was a lifeline.

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