Act 3 - Hitogami's Schemes - begins.
…
The moment Mordred opened his eyes, he found himself in a world of white again – an empty world.
He instantly realized that he was dreaming. It was like a lucid dream, similar to when he met Morgan yet different.
He also saw that still had his young body of Mordred Kingdragon except that he was stark naked. He could tell that it was the shape of his soul or his mental image of himself.
This should be the Void World.
Already being prepared for it, Mordred immediately tried to guard his mind and his inner thoughts.
For a full year now he had a mind-reading dragon as his familiar and through it learned how to use Magic Power to hide his inner thoughts from someone who's trying to peer into his mind. It worked on Albion, so he hoped it would work on Hitogami as well.
Currently, Mordred lacked a physical body, so his obscene Mana Pool could not be accessed. But he still had his Od.
Od was a kind of life force and energy of the soul, but it was something that his Magic Circuits would regenerate over time, so there were no drawbacks to using it like in some anime.
The amount of energy contained in his soul was miniscule in comparison to what his body contained, but it should be enough just to guard his mind for a dozen minutes…
The next moment, he noticed another person being there – a blank white face with a grin, missing any distinguishable facial features like a mannequin.
Hitogami.
Mordred already knew well what kind of being he was, but he inwardly felt that he might actually be a nice and misunderstood guy.
Damn it! Is this what it means to be automatically trusted by all living beings?
However, even though this slight compulsion to trust Hitogami was there at first, Mordred still didn't trust him the slightest bit. If anything, it only made him more on guard.
[Hey. I'm glad we finally met. Hello, Mordred-kun.]
The white person tried to be friendly, but Mordred only replied with silence.
[You can hear me right?]
'... Yes, I can hear you. Can you hear me too?' Mordred voiced out his thoughts carefully, seeing if it would work.
[Oh, yes. I can. It's good that we can communicate. For a moment I worried there might be a problem because you're not from the Six-faced World.]
Mordred looked at Hitogami curiously. It seemed that in this space they could only talk like this.
But could Hitogami hear his inner thoughts or not?...
Hitogami smiled and said, [You don't seem very surprised after meeting me. Why is that?]
'Well… Let's just say I met someone similar before.'
[Someone similar? So there's someone like me in your world as well?]
'... Somewhat.'
[Somewhat?...] Hitogami continued staring at Mordred, but as the latter didn't reply, he said, [At any rate, maybe you can guess it already. I am a god. I'm the Human God, Hitogami.]
After hesitating for a moment, Mordred made a courteous bow. '... Mordred Kingdragon.'
[Oh, my. You're suddenly quite polite.]
'It's only natural to give a level of respect to a deity. Although I don't know anything about you, it's better to be on the safe side.'
[Well, you are right. And it seems that you have met another god before me.]
'Yes, his name is Morgan.'
[Morgan? Unfortunately, I don't know that name. The god you met in the past was a completely different being from me. Things outside the Six-faced World have nothing to do with me, so I can't comment on your experiences.]
Mordred was silent.
Yes, Morgan is a completely different being. Morgan Freeman is a real god! He reincarnates people in an anime world with anime powers, creating real miracles. He does all this without any effort and does it purely out of boredom, like a true omnipotent being. A fake like Hitogami could not compare.
Hitogami continued his speech, [Getting back on topic, I'm a god of the Human world and I'm very glad I finally discovered you during this Mana Calamity. Truth be told, I have been waiting for someone like you for a long time!]
Mordred raised his eyebrows as he saw Hitogami's warm expression. He began to wonder what scheme Hitogami was cooking up.
[That was a quite bland reaction. But I suppose you would not trust a foreign god, so I'll accept it. However, if you don't follow my advice, you will die.]
'Oh. I'll die?'
[... Barely any reaction again. Your mentality is quite strong, eh? But it's a good thing! After all, what the world currently needs is a hero.] Hitogami smiled sympathetically and patted his shoulder.
Oh, a hero? Mordred snickered inwardly while silently listening, allowing Hitogami to continue his story.
[I have seen your life so far, Mordred-kun. It's very interesting. With your strength and abilities, you might just be able to do that, yes…]
As Hitogami dragged his words, Mordred asked, 'Do… that?'
[Save the world.] Hitogami's voice was earnest and profound as if it was his most cherished wish.
'Oh, save the world?'
[Yep. Save the world from the evil Dragon God and the resurrected Demon God Laplace.]
So that's it.
Hitogami tells him he's some kind of fated hero and tries to make him antagonize Orsted, so they would kill each other?
It was somewhat clever, but Mordred already imagined this kind of simple scheme, so he remained completely sceptical when he heard it. He wouldn't be fooled by something of this level.
Hitogami observed him and then continued, [You don't believe me? It's fine. You will find out the truth eventually. Thanks to you not being from this world and thanks to your strength, you're the only person who can possibly stop the Dragon God.]
[You see, at present time, the evil Dragon God lays down his schemes, an ancient Demon Empress is about to revive, while the Demon God Laplace would follow in the future. Humanity is in peril. But look at me, I am here sealed in this empty world and can't do anything about it. That's why I'm very glad I discovered you.]
Hitogami's tone contained many emotions, expressing the severity of the situation, his helplessness and the deep relief upon discovering Mordred.
If it was someone who knew nothing, they might have believed him.
[Unfortunately, if you don't heed my advice, you will die before you're allowed to fully mature. You will die from the hands of the Dragon God before you're 10 years old.]
And so Hitogami prophesied Mordred's death again.
Mordred was immune to this.
[Silence again. This is boring! Why won't you talk with meeeeeeeeeee?]
As Hitogami suddenly threw a childish tantrum and stomped his foot, Mordred looked at him curiously as if he was a retard.
Hitogami seemed to let out a sigh. [I apologize. You see, because of the First Dragon God, I have been locked up here for thousands of years, all alone, so I was excited about us having a chance to chat. I can't contact just anyone. But nevermind that, let's get back on topic.]
[The Dragon God had already discovered you even before me, but wasn't able to find you because of the high Magic Power density in Roa that hid you from his sight. You must avoid meeting him at all costs. If you run into him, he will kill you on the spot.]
[The problem is that he also has pawns everywhere. One of them is actually the King of the Kingdragon Kingdom, your very own father. Your father is unfortunately someone deeply loyal to the Dragon God because he secretly helped him ascend to the throne. Even if it was killing you, his son, he wouldn't hesitate to do that at the Dragon God's order.]
[Setting up a trap for you, your father captured your sister Benedicte. But don't worry about having to go there already. She is not in any danger while currently you are not well equipped to deal with that trap.]
Mordred frowned. There was a trap for him in Wyvern? He didn't doubt that. He only worried for Benedicte's safety.
He didn't bring Benedicte with him because she was too young for the journey and too weak for air travel, but perhaps it was a mistake. He arranged for Julius to take her away when she was still only 8 years old, being extra careful, but the Mana Calamity descended even sooner than expected and it all came to nothing…
[And so I have advice for you. I know you don't trust me, so it's up to you whether you follow it or not.]
'No, before that tell me what happened, and what happened to Eris?'
Mordred spoke up because he worried that after giving his advice Hitogami would finish the conversation early, but he wanted to use this chance to attempt earning something useful - like the location of Eris and the others.
[I was just about to get to it. You were all swept up in a Mana Calamity and teleported with Rudeus to the hidden village of the Superd race.]
Mordred raised his eyebrows. The Superd village?
[Contrary to what you might have heard, the Superd race is not inherently evil. They are honorable warriors that would never harm children, so you don't need to worry. Not that with your strength there is anything to worry about.]
'Whatever you say. But where did Eris end up? Where is everyone else?'
[You are quite selfless. You're not thinking of yourself but others first. Should I take it as the trait of a hero? Well, what I can tell you is that Eris is safe. All the people important to you are safe, at least for now. But one of them ended up sealed inside a Magic Crystal in the Teleportation Labyrinth on the Begaritt Continent. If you don't hurry to save them, they will turn into a mindless puppet. This is your priority.]
Mordred's expression froze.
Someone ended up in the Labyrinth? Who?
Was it Zenith again? But then again, it wouldn't be 'someone close to him'. He had only met Zenith once.
Before Mordred sorted and voiced his thoughts, Hitogami added: [So my advice is: trust the girl you meet after waking up and bring her to the Teleportation Labyrinth. She will help you. Good luck.]
Luck, luck, luck…
Hitogami left these words and disappeared while leaving behind an echo.
***
When Mordred woke up, he saw that he was in an unfamiliar wooden hut. The floor was rough.
As he propped himself up, he noticed that he was laid down on a materace. Rudeus was still sound asleep next to him.
Then his eyes met with a person sitting nearby.
It was a young woman, looking to be around 17-18 years old. She was beautiful, with a slightly round and cute face. Her skin was pale and smooth, her hair was of medium length and of an emerald green color; a red gem in the middle of her forehead.
Her body was slim and her shoulders were bare, revealing slender yet strong arms and shoulders, and her chest was fairly large. She wore a simple tribal tunique that made her look like a warrior. She looked at Mordred silently with a strong-willed look.
Mordred looked back at her calmly and his expression hardened.
It was a Superd. A normal person would be terrified and never choose to trust them at first sight without Hitogami's advice. But he wasn't normal.
The girl looked surprised. She said, "Strange. Are you not afraid after seeing me? Have you not heard of the Superd race?"
She spoke in clear Human Language.
"... I heard about Superds. But if what you want is to fight, I'm not afraid," Mordred said a prepared line as he stood up with gripped fists, calmly staring back at the girl without fear. He originally thought he'd be saying this line to Ruijerd, though.
"Oh…" The Superd girl looked at Mordred with surprise. After a while, she smiled sympathetically and said, "Don't worry, I don't plan to harm you. The Superd race never attacks children."
Mordred was silent as he glanced at Rudeus and checked his back to confirm that his sword and half-staff were still there. He still wore his ordinary training outfit as well, not Mordred's armor he had back when he met Morgan.
Checking his bag, he discovered that he still had some gold and Magic Crystals; no one took it away from him.
As for the weapons and armor from Morgan, he could tell that he can summon them at any time he wanted from a conceptual space inside himself.
The Superd woman didn't care about Mordred checking up on his equipment at all as she remained seated on a simple wooden stool. She then said, "I saw you two fall from the sky. The forest near the village is full of Invisible Wolves, so I brought you to my treehouse."
Mordred was slightly surprised. "You said I fell from the sky?... So I was unconscious when you found me?"
"Yes, you were unconscious from the beginning. And your friend fainted after seeing me."
"Ooh…"
Checking on himself, his Mana had indeed dropped to rock bottom, but was that enough to make him instantly faint? Then why didn't Rudeus faint?
Mordred found it a bit suspicious. Was this because he was meeting Morgan that he was unconscious in the real world right after the teleportation?
Otherwise, would Hitogami even have a chance to meet him before he made his next move? He can only contact his apostles in their dreams, so it's while they're asleep or unconscious, right? Or not necessarily?
Putting these thoughts aside, he focused on the young Superd woman and said, "Then you saved us…"
The Superd girl slightly nodded her head. "If I didn't bring you here, you would have been eaten. But how did you end up in the sky above our village?"
"We were swept up in a Mana Calamity. It was the light of Summoning Magic, so it seems that we were teleported."
The girl slightly frowned. "A Mana Calamity? What happened?"
"It happened suddenly… The sky changed color and a whirlpool of energy appeared above the city in the distance. After that, there was an explosion and bright light spread out in a wide area, covering me and Rudeus. I only had enough time to grab onto him, so that must be why we were teleported together."
The Superd girl looked at him, then said, "It doesn't seem like you are lying. So where are you two from?"
"The Asura Kingdom. Well, technically I'm from the Kingdragon Kingdom, but I was in the Asura Kingdom before being teleported."
"Asura Kingdom? Kingdragon Kingdom? That's problematic…" The woman looked troubled. "In truth, wherever you come from, it is problematic. Now that you know about our village, we probably can't let you leave."
"Oh?"
"We're not going to kill you, but you two might need to spend the rest of your lives here in our village. It's all for our people's safety."
Mordred was silent. So that's how it is.
"Hm? Are you not worried you might never meet your family again?"
Mordred smirked at her. "My family? Sorry, but I don't have any. Well, technically I still have a father, but he isn't much of a father to me."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
Mordred lightly smiled. "Don't be. I like things being this way. And I'm used to it too. Sometimes it's better to be alone. People don't bother you with their nonsense."
As the Superd girl looked at him, she soon formed a sympathetic smile. "I feel a similar way. This is also why I built this treehouse and live here alone. But there still must be people you care about."
"Yes, but I'm not worried I'd be stuck here. I can leave at any time and I don't think you Superds could stop me."
"Eh?" The green-haired girl became flabbergasted. This human boy, wasn't he just too fearless? She gently laughed. "You're funny, boy. It is good to have confidence, but us Superds are no weaklings. Even if there are only a few of us left."
"I'm not as weak as you think either," Mordred answered calmly, smiling back.
The Superd girl smiled, not taking his words seriously. "Is that the case? Seeing your equipment, you must be a human genius. But you are much too young. If you try to leave, you will die."
"... Nevermind that. I don't have much time, so I'll introduce myself first." Mordred made the Kingdragon noble greeting, touching his chest. "Mordred Kingdragon, it's nice to meet you."
"Valeria Superdia."