novelI, Too - 8
| ← Ch.217 | Ch.219 → |
Yu IlHan let the Dragon's army children into the Flying fortress. The fact that they were extremely wary against Yu IlHan and Liera were unsuited to their age, but on one hand, they looked quite well-trained as well.
And in fact, they had been trained better than any army in any world.
"...... So I made them my underlings."
"So that was it."
Yumir talked about everything that happened from the time he was trapped in that dungeon. From how he first discovered the children, and the children's characteristics of levelling up by eating the meat of those demons, as well as how he raised them after the Rule skill came into effect.
They were absurd stories from beginning to end, but not only would Mir not lie about something like that, there were very little chances of it being a lie as the proof, the children, were here. Yu IlHan turned around to Liera, who was a little unreliable, but the most knowledgeable person present.
"What do you think about this?"
"Although it does not happen often, there are mutations everywhere. The environment of Earth changed too rapidly, did it not? It wouldn't be too strange even if the children were largely influenced. There is also the possibility of their physical body structures getting changed while they were warped to that hell."
"Really?"
"Yeah, but at least they are not monsters. They are still pure and naive human children."
Declared Liera as if she had read his thoughts. He let out a bitter smile and nodded.
"I thought that for merely a moment. Moreover, I also have a means of checking that."
A single strand of hair was enough to check the army members' identities. Activating the Record skill and taking a close look at it, he indeed confirmed that they were humans born from two earthlings.
Although that was as he had expected, but the problem was the cause of the change of the children.
"...... No way."
"Why? You can't understand because the skill level is too low?"
"No, rather, I understood it too well. Though, I'd rather believe that the skill made an error because it's still low leveled.... ."
Liera's eyes narrowed. Yu IlHan didn't drag it out anymore and decided to say the truth.
"Chaos Will. It's that guy."
"Huh?"
Liera asked back. Not because she didn't hear it properly, but because she could not believe his words. Yu IlHan knew that but still repeated his words.
"It was Chaos Will, that 6th class. The guy that almost killed both of us. He changed the children's genetics to become stronger just by breathing, by absorbing mana. Mir only raised their growth speeds."
"There's no way that's true. That guy resented humans."
There would be no psychopaths who would give a knife to the one he resented to death. Liera's words sounded very reasonable, but Yu IlHan shook his head.
"I also don't know what that guy was thinking, but it was indeed that guy. To be exact, it had enhanced the children by using the power of Earth like how it had made 5th class beings. It also shared minute bits of its record.... . and although the implementation of power is different, the method is the same so there are no doubts here either."
"No way."
At that point, Yu IlHan's expression turned strange. He thought back to the words it had spat out against himself and Liera, and realized one thing.
"It actually did not deny the competition for survival between humanity and monsters. The only person it truly resented was me."
"That doesn't make sense though. IlHan, you only wanted to survive too!"
The Yu IlHan from a thousand years ago was also the same as the other humans, monsters and Chaos Will. He only struggled for survival. So, if Chaos Will wanted to accept humans, then it had to accept Yu IlHan as well. Otherwise, it was self-contradictory, no?
"No, it's not that. It's a different sort of problem."
Liera's words this time were very reasonable as well, but Yu IlHan, who was sure about his thoughts, retorted to her with a simple explanation.
"In the kingdom of animals, it doesn't matter if a lion eats a deer, but you would still be enraged if a friend was killed by a lion, no? It should be something along those lines. It had been alive from a thousand years ago, and was perhaps one of the animals that was almost damaged by me! In the end, it turns out to be so simple, no?"
"...... Yup, very simple. I don't want to understand but I still do."
Yes. The target of its resentment was not against the entire humanity but Yu IlHan alone. That resentment was neither grand nor idealistic. It was a very private thing!
"Then what is it?"
Liera summed up the story with a strange expression.
"So, in the end, only you, IlHan, was its target of elimination, and the rest didn't matter at all? And to think back, the one that expelled humans from Earth was the Earth itself and not that guy......"
"It's not just that. Perhaps it wanted to become the lord of Earth. Like, developing Earth to its tastes, and raise an army inside it?"
Without Yumir the ratio of survivors would be even more pitiful. However, the child that grows alone within that hell would become a strong being suited to that of Earth. Moreover, the child would be shared 'its' record, so there would be a possibility of becoming a higher existence as well......
"So that's it."
At that moment, the vague and unacceptable story instantly cleared up.
"It was preparing for the moment Earth becomes a higher world, in its own way."
"...... That's true, there's also the creation of 5th class monsters that became less and less flawed. And there's the fact that it did something to the children sent to the hell dungeon.... ."
However, there were two unknown variables in that perfect plan, which was Yu IlHan and Yumir. Yu IlHan had created the Flying fortress to wipe out all the monsters on Earth by himself, and Yumir had wiped out the hell dungeon by developing the children who should have otherwise grown up naturally.
Although the two's methods of going about ruining this plan was very drastic, one very loner-like and one very popular, it did not change the fact that they struck a huge axe in the plan.
"The expression of 'lord of the Earth' really sounds suitable. If there's a lord of Earth right now, wouldn't it be you and Mir? You've taken the throne in a splendid manner."
"What good is that? I don't need it. Take it back."
Yu IlHan shook his hand and looked at the children again. The children that might have become the forces of monsters, had become Yumir's army and were here. This was a good thing at least for his son Yumir.
However, Yu IlHan couldn't stay smiling all the time.
"And so? How many children are here in total again...... ?"
"Yeah, it's 9, 300 in total."
That was because the number of children Yumir had taken in were overwhelmingly small in number. There should have been much, much more children who were born after the Great Cataclysm, but the survivors only numbered 9, 300!
This was also thanks to Yumir proactively rescuing the children while going around the dungeon, and if things had gone as Chaos Will had predicted, then the survival ratio would have decreased to a tenth of this.
Just the scale of casualties was way beyond Yu IlHan's thoughts so Yu IlHan gave up thinking about it. Humans could not revert time, and so he could only proceed with what he had in his hand right now.
"...... Well done, Mir. Very well done."
"Yeah."
Yumir liked it when Yu IlHan praised him and stroked his head. Despite being a monstrosity of over level 230, and being a commander of a 9, 300 large army, Yumir was merely 6 years old; an age where he would do anything in order to be praised by his parents. It's just that the results became like this due to his abilities!
"Is it really the hero's parents?"
"But what are 'parents'?"
"Hiing, I also want to see mommy."
The 9, 300 children who were wary against Yu IlHan at the beginning saw that Yu IlHan and Liera didn't have any hostility at all, and also saw that Yumir was acting pampered in Yu IlHan's arms, they dispelled their wariness a little. Although they were still talking from far away.
"IlHan, are you going to leave them like that?"
"No, ...... I think I have to do something."
Yu IlHan made a bitter smile while looking at the children who were high levelled, but were still no better than babies.
They couldn't stay on guard against each other forever. He thought about what would be the best in this situation when......
"Good."
Yu IlHan spoke so that everyone could hear it.
"Let's eat up first."
Yu IlHan used everything he could use to make food for all 9, 300 children. He wiped out a field without an owner to make a salad, cast a giant net from the Flying fortress to catch fish to make soft boiled fish, boiled soup using the Giant Bucket, and grilled meat.
The above things all happened within 2 hours. The children only drooled while watching one miracle after another occurring in Yu IlHan's two hands. It was no wonder, since all of these children only had demon flesh for food for nearly 3 years!
[The skill, Cooking, has become level 98. Roughly made food tastes better now. ]
Perhaps due to doing a large-scale cooking after a while, his skill level increased as well. Yu IlHan installed numerous tables in the garden of his mansion and was satisfied.
"Good, I'll be able to master the Cooking skill as well one day."
"Nomnom...... this is what's unfair about the Akashic Record. Although, I don't care since the meat is tasty."
Muttered Liera, while stuffing her cheeks with meat. Perhaps she had become more easily hungry after she became a lower existence. Yu IlHan gave her a smack on the forehead.
"I didn't even set the table so don't eat it first."
"But it would be a pity for the meat to turn cold! It's cooking made with my dear IlHan."
"Then don't eat it and help with the setting up."
"Yes sir."
Even though they were quarreling like the usual, it felt as if flowers were being scattered around them. The stable mood around the two left no room for Mystic to tease them. Yumir, who was only looking at his father until now, also noticed Liera at that time and shouted in shock.
"Liera noona became weaker!"
"No, I became stronger, Mir. With love, that is.... . Oh, and call me mother."
"But in fact noona's strength is.... ."
"I became stronger! And call me mother!"
Biting off a large chunk of vegetable salad like a rabbit, Liera said again with a stronger tone. Yumir really wanted to retort since he knew the strength of Liera's 6th class days, but gave up after seeing Liera's eyes full of stars and hearts. At that time, Yu IlHan give her a punishment in Yumir's steed.
"I said work."
"Ouch."
The large lands of the mansion was wide enough for all of the over 9000 children to fit in it. Tables were put between them, and cooking was put on all of those tables, the children, who hesitated to eat at first, started to eat after seeing Yumir eat without holding back.
"Wow."
"It's not tough."
"What do you call this?"
"Tasty!"
"Good, eat to your heart's content."
It didn't take that long for the delicate and quiet meal time to turn into a party of chaos. Yu IlHan, who already predicted that such a thing would happen, scooped out food for them while cooking meat stew using a giant pot.
It was like a battle. The children who was eating away at everything they saw, clashed against Yu IlHan's will to make them collapse with full stomachs.
[They looked like they starved for at least 3 days. ]
[You shouldn't be able to say that if you know the environment inside that hell dungeon. ]
"Orochi's words are right. No matter how it had tinkered with something, no matter how Yumir was there, it is still amazing that they were able to survive until now......"
The dinner only ended three hours after Liera had finished her meal and went into spectator mode. The children, who only repeatedly ate and drink, all collapsed on the ground only when half of the food ingredients in the mansion were emptied out.
"So happy."
"I feel like I've wasted half my life thinking about how I couldn't eat such a tasty thing."
"What's life?"
"It's living."
"How long can we live?"
"Hero's dad is a good person."
"What's a dad?"
A very four-dimensional conversation, which made him wonder if they were clever or idiots, played out. Perhaps they were spouting whatever words that came to their minds since they were full and were relaxed.
Yu IlHan left the children to rest like that and checked with Yumir.
"And so, Mir. What do you want to do with those children?"
"I'm going to let them do what they want."
But the problem was that they all wanted to follow him, he added. Yu IlHan heard that and made a bitter smile while facing him. Then, he thought for a bit, before speaking.
"Then what about we let them act with us for a while? In fact, dad is thinking about one way to return Earth to the normal state.... ."
Yu IlHan explained the plan, and Yumir nodded. The children who heard his words, of course, followed him without any complaints. The fact that Yu IlHan had gained their trust with food also played a role.
With that, The Flying fortress and the Dragon's army combined.
This was the creation of the strongest and the worst organization on Earth.
Author's notes
It's obvious what IlHan is about to do!
Translator's notes
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