Chapter 537 - Beta (3)
Around 537 years ago, Alpha was born as the general overseer of the golem research facility, and about 513 years ago in the Great Forest, Beta was first activated.
A gap of several decades.
During that time, perhaps the Demon King's golem-crafting techniques had advanced somewhat, as Beta's voice sounded far more natural compared to Alpha's.
But there was no room to marvel at or note such trivial differences. Only one word, referring to someone, lingered hazily in mind.
"Resister...?"
[Resister?]
Verden and Alpha had become aware of the existence called Resister a few months ago.
The first to speak that name had been none other than a single dwarf───Ugumar, the Golden Anvil, clan leader of the Black Volcano, the most prosperous among the dwarven clans of the volcanic region in ages past.
───I was fated to die young from an incurable disease, yet was spared by the Resister. At that time, I made a promise. That if the Resister aided my creation, I would devote myself to the mission of crafting anything... and so I accomplished countless feats. I became known as the Golden Anvil, and rose as clan leader of the Black Volcano.
───And about 300 years ago, I brought that promise with the Resister to an end. Standing upon the mission and the cause, I borrowed my kin and their land to achieve an 'unprecedented creation'.
Ugumar revered the Resister, who had saved his life and aided him in accomplishing his feats.
And, as promised, by offering the Black Volcano as sacrifice through the Soul Tree, he accomplished some manner of creation.
'Originally, Ugumar should have perished in that process....'
But due to the Soul Tree's unexpected resistance, he had forcibly lingered for centuries, having merged with its core.
In the end, a life of not being able to die, merely existing, was finally brought to conclusion after 300 years by the Hammer of Integrity, Gharun.
In short, the Resister was the one behind staining the Black Volcano in tragedy.
And if one were to add the claim just made by Beta regarding the Resister's true identity as fact, then a single conclusion was drawn.
The First Demon King was the very one who destroyed the Black Volcano.
'What is this....'
Could it be a mistake? Perhaps. After all, "resister" was not a proper noun, but a word used in common language.
A unique intuition whispered that it was not false, yet even so, Verden could not simply nod and move on.
"Beta."
[Speak.]
"What does 'the sole Resister' mean?"
[It is understood as the designation used by the World Tree when referring to His Majesty the Demon King. There is no recorded information on the meaning.]
That the World Tree was involved was not surprising.
Through direct dialogue, he already knew that she shared some secret with the First Demon King.
Verden connected the question.
"Then, this Demon King... is it correct that it refers to Oldarc Ruin Arkenad himself?"
[Unable to grasp the intent of the question, I will answer through direct interpretation. The Demon King and Oldarc Ruin Arkenad are identical.]
The wedge was driven completely.
As Alpha's single eye flickered in shock, no less confounded than Verden, Beta's gaze naturally turned that way.
[The remaining unidentified existence appears to be a golem created artificially. Based on its appearance and its accompaniment of His Majesty the Demon King, it is presumed to be a creation of His Majesty. Is this correct?]
Alpha immediately responded.
[General overseer of the golem research facility under His Majesty the Demon King. Designation Alpha. Claiming, in human social convention, to be elder brother of Beta.]
[Attempting scan for accurate understanding.]
Beta emitted a faint ray of mana, meticulously examining Alpha.
[Confirmed: first activation of entity Alpha occurred approximately 537 years ago, reaffirmed as creation of His Majesty the Demon King. Alpha meets the condition of the term elder brother.]
[Beta meets the condition of the term younger sibling.]
Alpha and Beta, for the first time ever, achieved a dramatic reunion as brothers. Verden's heart was sincere in not wanting to interrupt.
However, for now, there was much he wished to ask Beta... and some things to tell before engaging in full conversation.
"Beta."
[You called.]
"Sorry, but I am not the Demon King who created you."
Beta tilted its head.
[Unable to comprehend, Your Majesty the Demon King.]
"You existed abandoned in the Great Forest for over 400 years. During that time, Serendia, guardian of the World Tree, must have occasionally visited to look after you. You do not recall?"
Alpha had succeeded in reactivating Beta, but full restoration was impossible.
There was no helping it.
Beta's core had been damaged far too severely. Like a shattered jewel that could never be truly restored.
Originally, Beta should long ago have reached the end of its lifespan and disappeared.
[Serendia....]
Beta's single eye turned to the ground. It was lost in deep thought, as fragmented memories flickered past.
Among them was a noble elf with emerald-green hair.
───...pitiful one.
The elf Serendia, who guarded the center of the Great Forest, pitied Beta sitting collapsed. Pity filled her eyes.
The touch of her hand brushing moss from the frame returned vividly.
The scene shifted.
Now, a human with ashen hair and azure eyes, along with a small golem, were carefully examining the nearly broken Beta.
───Alpha, can you repair Beta?
───[Frame restoration impossible. Core transplant... partially possible. Normal activation requires dedicated frame. Beyond current golem research facility. Requires technological study and special materials.]
───So, it can be saved.
Examining those broken fragments of memory, Beta raised its gaze, meeting Verden directly. It did not ask "who are you?" like a human might.
Instead, it logically deduced the most probable conclusion from all gathered information.
[We stand before the successor of His Majesty the Demon King.]
Like Alpha, Beta was a being who had inherited a portion of the Demon King.
[May I ask your name.]
"Verden."
[Lord Verden.]
[New entry, Lord Verden registered. And Alpha. Thank you for crafting me a new frame.]
[It is only natural that an elder brother save his younger sibling.]
Fortunately, there would be no need to explain and persuade through complicated details. Its analytical capacity was abnormally high, and emotions could be seen as well.
Indeed, it was extraordinary, befitting a creation of the Demon King who stood as a 9th-tier Transcendent.
In any case, to the main matter.
"Beta, the First Demon King suddenly vanished one day, 500 years ago. The time of his disappearance overlaps with your activation. Since then, as you know, he left no trace. In that regard, I want to ask something. Can you tell me?"
[Of course. However, due to prior core damage, a significant portion of my memory is destroyed. Compiling information related to His Majesty the Demon King, excluding the aforementioned list of Resisters, there remain three topics.]
"It would be good if you explained them in order."
[Opening topics.]
Beta's gaze flickered brightly, then dimmed.
[First subject: design of the semi-permanent power source.]
"...!"
From the very start, it was no ordinary matter.
***
Absorption.
Conversion.
Fusion.
Though broken beyond repair, the three words that Beta absentmindedly muttered brushed across Verden's mind.
Beta spoke.
[His Majesty the Demon King divided the completion of the semi-permanent power source into three stages. Absorption, conversion, fusion. I was tasked with assisting the first stage, absorption, and the design of the semi-permanent power source.]
When guided by Serendia to the heart of the Great Forest, Beta had been placed at the center of a magic circle thought to have been drawn by the Demon King.
Though worn by the long years, making it difficult to discern its original form, it was at least possible to tell that it functioned as a conduit for mana.
'So, the magic circle was used to have Beta absorb the mana of the Great Forest.'
That earlier speculation was more or less proven correct.
Still, for confirmation, he asked, and Beta affirmed.
[Through me, His Majesty the Demon King observed the process of absorption, and revised the design of the semi-permanent power source numerous times.]
"In that process, the emergence of mana circuits in the frame, was that intentional?"
[No. It was by sheer coincidence that, through the natural emergence of mana absorption, lifespan was increased. The current properties of the core within my frame are the same.]
[I completed the core.]
Alpha raised one hand high, as though boasting, drawing attention. Verden recalled the explanation given while Alpha examined Beta in the Great Forest.
───[No trace of artificial modification. Judged to have naturally formed after long exposure to mana.]
───I see. If this golem Beta's core had been intact, what would have occurred?
───[No special reaction. Instead, a 'semi-permanent power' would be completed.]
At that point, Alpha had succeeded in repairing Beta through research into natural golems.
'Which means, at present, Beta holds semi-permanent power.'
Unlike Alpha or the other golems, who required small power sources to activate the golem research facility and supply them with mana, Beta could now continuously absorb mana from nature and thus function indefinitely.
As Verden stroked Alpha's head, he pressed on with another question.
"I've more or less understood absorption. Then how were conversion and fusion carried out?"
[Information on conversion and fusion has been lost. Only one related record remains. About 413 years ago, His Majesty the Demon King completed the absorption stage and grasped a clue to the conversion stage... after which, it is presumed, he left the Great Forest entirely.]
Leaving room for presumption was Beta's way.
This time, Alpha asked.
[Black Volcano. Golden Anvil. Ugumar. Are there records of the Soul Tree?]
[There is no information on the Black Volcano, the Golden Anvil, or Ugumar. However, the Soul Tree is recorded as part of the absorption stage. The explanation continues as the second item.]
The Soul Tree was mentioned.
Verden focused on Beta's mechanical explanation.
[Second item, the Soul Tree possesses the heteromorphism of 'absorbing' nutrients. Those nutrients include everything bearing power, mana included. It is of a higher dimension than I. However, due to the limits of its existence, the range of absorption was restricted, and so His Majesty the Demon King conducted research. In some sense, it was closer to joint research.]
"Joint research? With whom?"
[The World Tree.]
"...!"
Amid the stillness, Beta continued evenly.
[His Majesty the Demon King sought to bestow upon the Soul Tree the concept of the World Tree───a tree rooted in the world. No further information remains, it was lost.]
"...I see."
Verden stroked his chin.
'The Golden Anvil, Ugumar, used the Soul Tree hidden within his body to drain the ley lines of the Black Volcano completely, and at the end, in accordance with the Resister's will, he created some "concept" with his own hands.'
Something even he himself did not know.
'If that concept is the power source of the magic towers....'
The possibility was high.
That the Demon King was directly related to the power source was fact beyond dispute. By now, there were simply too many interconnected clues to deny it.
In other words, the Demon King, after leaving Beta, through further research, sacrificed the Black Volcano to complete not just a semi-permanent, but a permanent power source.
So Verden conjectured, no, he was convinced. He explained this to Beta... yet contrary to expectation, Beta was skeptical.
[The explanation of Lord Verden, that the ten magic towers' power sources seem connected to His Majesty the Demon King, is valid at a glance. But to link an infinite power source to His Majesty is difficult.]
"And why is that?"
[Third item, His Majesty the Demon King's words.]
Lowering its voice gradually, as if to reproduce the record as faithfully as possible, Beta caused Verden to feel, for a fleeting moment, as though he were hearing the Demon King's very double.
At last, a resolute voice resounded.
[There is nothing infinite in this world.]
***
That was the extent of what Beta remembered regarding the First Demon King. Any further questioning was meaningless.
Returning alone to the Grand Hall to let Alpha and Beta speak at leisure, Verden sank into thought.
'The origin of the power source holds two possibilities.'
Either the First Demon King created it, or someone else did.
Verden chose the former.
The latter was far too fanciful a supposition. He could not conceive of something greater than the Demon King.
And yet... Beta had said the Demon King denied the infinite.
There was only one point of intersection.
'The magic towers' power sources are not infinite?'
At a glance, a plausible hypothesis, yet it carried a grave flaw.
Verden himself.
No matter how he contemplated, the amount of mana within his heart was immeasurable. How could one fathom the ocean's depth by gazing only at its surface?
Moreover, Verden's first magic proclaimed the very concept of infinity.
Infinity existed.
'...The deeper I dig, the more unknowns there are.'
He had come one step closer to the Demon King's trail, and learned new truths, yet in equal measure, new mysteries had grown.
And such was the breed called mage, that curiosity and amusement suddenly raised their heads. Verden was no different.
'A shame that information was damaged. Still, it is fortunate Beta survived.'
That alone was a satisfying result.
It was time to move on.
Not long after Verden returned to the land without a master, visitors came.
"Have you been well, Lord Asher."
From the Ark came Listener and Locke... and Theon.