Location: Star Palace
Feldway POV
"How are you doing, Feldway—my right hand, my first creation?"
Afterwards he start flying around the room.
Great. His usual self. Well, that's what makes Boss Veldanava unique, so it makes sense. Still, after the earlier meeting...
"Not so good, Boss. Doesn't exactly feel great being humbled by some weirdo vampire," I answered. How could anyone know that much?
"Weirdo's a crazy word. But hey, I feel great kicking that pervert off! That bastard was holding my innocent little sister's hand!!" Boss slammed the table, fury on his face.
Innocent... right. The same "innocent" sister who nearly froze the Cardinal World.
"Hey! Don't badmouth her in your head—she's changed now."
Right. Forgot he could read my thoughts. It had been a while since he last bothered.
"cough destroyed one of the pillars cough... only been a few days since the Ice Catastrophe."
"What did you say!?"
"Nothing, Boss."
No point hiding it. Anyway, might as well give him the latest cherub report to switch topic.
"...The Cardinal World's still a giant ice ball. Most water's frozen solid, and the magicules Velzard released—" I paused, "...seriously, Boss, you and that thing share the same first three letters..."
"Duh, she's my sister," Boss Veldanava replied casually.
"Ahem, anyway—multiple magicule beasts spawned from her magicules. Their magicule reserves ranges from Archangel-class up to Cherub-class. If this continues—"
"Pfft." Boss cut me off with a laugh, waving it away. "Don't sweat it. I'll handle it myself. Big brother's responsibility."
Well, that's one problem gone. Boss Veldanava's taking care of his sister's mess himself. I'd say that's a positive trai—
"Boom! Already thought-communicated Dino, Pico, Garasha, and Cornu. They'll wipe out those magicule beasts in the Cardinal World. Problem solved!" He leaned back, legs on the table.
Too soon.
I massaged my forehead.
"Well, that's great to know... Boss Veldanava."
"Kuahahaha!! I know!! They'll be wiped out any time now! Let's watch!"
A floating sphere appeared, glowing as it revealed the frozen Cardinal World. As Veldanava zoomed in closer, the planet was shrouded in a white mist. But as the mist dissipated, I noticed something—Ice Age animals, that have some magicule crystal characteristics, all spawned from Velzard's magicules.
And they were chasing something...
"Wait! Is that the weird vampire?!"
Twilight: "HELP!! HELP!! HELP ME!!! There are too many of them!!"
He was running like a madman. Not that I could blame him—those beasts had magicule reserves ranging from Archangel-class to Cherub-class. And there were a lot of them.
Suddenly, four pillars of pink light crashed down, splitting the battlefield between Twilight and the pursuing horde.
From the far-right pillar, a black hammer shot out like a meteor, slamming into the skull of a bear-like beast. Its head detonated, flesh and bone scattering as the massive corpse collapsed. A god-rank weapon. The hammer then flew back into the pillar of light, which faded to reveal Cornu in his true form.
"That was smooth! Don't you agree, Feldway?! Man, he'd be stronger if he just picked an Ultimate Skill by now."
That was smooth—wait. "He doesn't have one?"
Boss Veldanava, massaging his dragon ear, nodded with a lazy grin.
"He said he'll think about it. And sure, the user needs compatibility... but I could just bypass that if I really wanted to hand someone an Ultimate Skill... kuhuuhu~"
I nodded. No wonder... Cornu felt like the weakest. But still—why hasn't he just picked one already?
All four revealed their true forms—except Dino. And yet, somehow, Dino still felt like the strongest of them all.
As the severed bear-head hit the ground, the beasts roared louder, shaking the air. Dino only yawned.
Dino: "Didn't feel like doing it..."
Two swords appeared in his hands. Excalibur and Calibur. Both unmistakably god-grade.
Pico and Garasha followed in—spear and shield at the ready. I'd only seen them use those weapons once. Wait... after millions of years, I realized—I still don't even know their names. Well, whatever.
Dino moved first. His form blurred, teleporting directly before a mammoth-like beast. A clean slash—its colossal head slid off its neck. Hovering midair, wings spread wide, Dino grinned.
Dino: "I'll take the stronger ones. You guys handle the weaklings—and let's see who racks up the most kills."
Pico: "Hey!! What do you mean stronger ones?!"
Garasha smacked Pico across the back of the head.
Garasha: "Just go with it."
Pico pouted, rubbing her head.
The slaughter began.
Cornu swung his hammer like a divine executioner, every impact crushing monsters into unrecognizable gore. Garasha turned defense into offense, her shield spinning, edges cleaving through flesh and armor alike.
Pico's spear skewered multiple beasts in a single thrust, the weapon stretching and widening at will, impaling enemies like they were nothing but fodder.
"Wait... where's Dino?" I muttered to Boss Veldanava. He looked just as confused. All the high-tier beasts were still alive and thrashing.
Then—
A mammoth charged Cornu from behind.
Cornu: "What the—?!"
A mammoth lunged at him, tusks aimed straight for his body.
Garasha's shield snapped into place, stopping the tusks just inches from Cornu's chest.
Garasha: "Move faster next time. One misstep and that arm's gone."
Cornu adjusted his stance, hammer steady in his hands, aiming it at Garasha.
Cornu: "Noted. But don't underestimate me—I've got this covered."
Garasha's eyes narrowed as she stared at Cornu's hammer.
Garasha: "I know what you're thinking."
Cornu gave a determined nod, mimicking her serious tone almost instinctively.
Cornu: "Got it. Duty first... but a bit of style can't hurt, right? Let's try it out, Old feathers."
Garasha let out a short exhale, clearly unimpressed but amused.
Garasha: "First, call me Lord Garasha!! If you have any respect for me. Second, you've got a good memory for remembering that moment from so long ago."
Cornu smirked, hammer raised high, ready to strike.
Cornu: "Perks of being younger—and having more potential than you, old Feathers."
A vein popped on Garasha's forehead.
Garasha: "Just wait… I'm going to discipline you after the mission—"
Cornu: "No—I mean… anyway!! Take this!"
Garasha: "Haniel—Offensive-Defensive Balance Adjustment!"
Her shield erupted in radiant layers, overlapping into a fortress of light. The glow spread to Cornu, wrapping around his hammer.
Cornu: "Core Wave!!"
The hammer slammed into her shield. The shockwave didn't explode outward—it was directed, compressed, and launched straight at the horde.
Two mammoths. Three saber-toothed beasts. Five lions. Their heads exploded instantly from the blast.
The force even knocked someone loose from the treetops.
Dino: "Mannnnn!! I was having a good nap!! I thought y'all had it once I made it into a challenge."
"…Really." That was all I could say, sighing under my breath.
Then—a sudden flash of light blinded my left eye. I turned, and Boss Veldanava was no longer beside me, watching through the sphere.
I looked back at the display. Dino was coughing up magicules, his voice hoarse.
Dino: "…Forgive me… Lord… Veldanava."
I turned again. Boss Veldanava now stood at my side, smiling as he cracked his knuckles.
Back in the sphere, Dino rose to his feet—eyes blazing with determination—as he swung both swords, severing the heads of two mammoths at once.
After that, it was a bloodbath. To be fair, I almost felt bad for those poor magicule beasts.
Dino: "Heavenly Pillar!!"
A massive twin slash covered in stardust beheaded two short-faced bear-like creatures in a single stroke.
"Man, I'm happy they're learning to use the Stardust Supply I gave them," Boss Veldanava said with a grin.
I just nodded. Stardust Supply? What does that even mean? Can't they just use their own like I do?
I see… but don't they have the same core—
Why— You know what? Forget it. The 'fight' seems to be over already.
As I stared at the sphere, I saw Dino, Garasha, Pico, and Cornu standing over a mountain of magicule beast corpses.
Afterwards, a giant teleportation circle appeared beneath the mountain of corpses, swallowing them whole as they vanished.
"What are you gonna do with those corpses? You did the same thing with the mutated magicule beasts a long time ago…" I paused, muttering under my breath, "…the ones that looked like dinosaurs."
"What?" Boss Veldanava tilted his head.
"…Umm, nothing."
"I see… well, first of all, I like to keep myself occupied in my free time. And for that, I need materials and cores from magicule beasts. If you remember, Feldway, those mutated creatures were the result of Asura's little rampage. So naturally, obtaining strong materials from beasts born of beings like Asura—" he paused, eyes glinting gold, "—and my cute little sister~~ is rather beneficial for my hobby."
…I had a lot of questions. First of all—cute? That thing? Seriously?
Then I heard knuckles crack.
Glancing to my left, I saw Boss Veldanava smiling at me. I quickly waved awkwardly.
Realizing my rookie mistake, I blurted out, "Sorry… she's actually beautiful."
His eyes sparkled with joy as he gave me a thumbs-up.
And as I was saying in my head—second, none of that really answered my question. Hobbies that involve corpses… really…
"Okay, Mr. Locks-himself-up-in-his-room-to-make-useless-spells. My hobby doesn't churn out garbage like yours does," Boss Veldanava shot back with a smirk.
"Magic is cool, corpses are not—" Before I could finish, something heavy dropped onto my head. I lost my balance and landed flat on my ass.
When I looked down at what had fallen into my hands… it was—
"I made this from the corpses of those mutated magicule beasts. I call it Asura—named after the Ashura, the one you and Obera fought… though obviously, I was the MVP, KUAHAHAHAHA!!" Boss Veldanava said casually, as if creating legendary weapons from corpses was just a normal pastime.
"I also came up with a new classification for this type of weapon… hmm, Genesis. Yeah, that sounds good. I believe your Ark counts as a Genesis-grade too," he added with a grin.
The sheer power radiating from the weapon… yeah. His "hobbies" were on a completely different level from mine.
"Kuahahaha! Told you. Anyway, I've got plenty more to discuss with you. But first—look at the sphere. I told them to prank Twilight a bit."
As he said that, I turned toward the sphere. What I saw was…
Interesting.
End of Feldway POV
To be continued…
Author Note: "Welp, school began, soooo…"