The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns-Chapter 363

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Chapter 363

Controlling R'lyeh isn’t an easy task.

Borrowing the Librarian’s power makes it manageable, but even so—

once you’ve become the master of this place, not being able to control it yourself would be pretty embarrassing.

The problem is that while I understand roughly how to operate it, actually becoming proficient is another matter entirely.

It would’ve been much easier if the required skill resembled the techniques I’ve trained all my life.

Unfortunately, R'lyeh’s control method was something wholly different—nothing like martial arts or mana manipulation.

There was no hidden, long-lost talent waiting to bloom in me, the man who once gave up the sword for lack of talent.

Because of that, all I could do now was slowly—very slowly—guide the massive sky-island that had appeared above the Lazarus continent, making sure nothing went wrong as it drifted toward Bata.

“Librarian. You’re more capable than I thought.”

[Correct.]

I was currently in the central mansion standing at the heart of this artificially created island.

R'lyeh had originally been an underwater city submerged beneath the sea.

But once the Librarian took control and remodeled it, the sunken city transformed into a sky-island overflowing with forests.

Its structure, system, and very nature had changed drastically.

Beautiful greenery, clear spring water, and a massive mansion rising from the center of the island—

I had somehow become a landowner of absurd proportions.

What was remarkable was the abundance of rare resources covering the island.

And none of it had been created by the Librarian.

The island’s immense energy circulated naturally, generating them on its own.

Knowing how impossible that should be, I wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or worried.

Rumors of orichalcum alone would cause enough chaos—

but resources from a sky island?

Thankfully, because we were high in the sky, no one could trespass, and no one even knew about these resources.

One thing was certain.

Melissa’s reaction would be easy to predict.

Just imagining my air-headed little sister’s expression made me chuckle without realizing it.

Not that I could show such a smile to the person who would soon arrive.

“Are… are you all right?”

The girl entering the mansion created by the Librarian looked utterly exhausted, without a hint of vitality.

“Yes… I’m fine…”

“There aren’t many survivors. I regret saying this, but… rebuilding Baltosma will not be easy.”

“The capital may have fallen, but… the regions outside it should still be intact. Though this catastrophe will likely tear Baltosma apart…”

“Most likely, whichever provincial noble holds the greatest influence will try to enthrone you and seize power.”

If some loyalist existed, things would be better—but Baltosma’s current political structure was notorious for being unfavorable to her.

“Even so, I must try… I can’t let the kingdom our ancestors protected—and the country my brother tried to preserve—collapse like this.”

She spoke in a trembling voice, desperately trying to hide her reddening eyes.

“I will never forget this debt. Thank you… Young Master. No matter how thorny the path ahead is… as a Baltosma royal, I am obligated to preserve our house.”

“Then where will you go first?”

“To Gardan, which is closest to the capital. My uncle, who served the royal family for many years, lives there. I plan to hide there for a while. And…”

She paused.

“My brother’s body…”

“I hate to say this, but cremation is best. Once a being has been contaminated—especially by something like that—the fact that his body remained intact at all is a miracle.”

Meaning: before the corpse becomes dangerous, let him leave this world with dignity.

“May I… ask you to…”

Tears began falling as she asked me for help.

The cremation preparations were handled quickly.

We cut down nearby trees, stacked them, and laid the prince’s body atop the pyre.

The surviving Baltosma citizens and Rebecca, now conscious, all helped.

The princess wept uncontrollably before her brother’s body, unable to let him go.

Rebecca, silently watching, wiped her eyes.

I approached the grieving princess and spoke quietly.

“He sacrificed much.”

“S-sacrifice…? What could he have possibly done so wrong that he had to die like this? He lived his entire life without committing a single misdeed! What sacrifice could justify taking him away!!”

Her cries finally burst.

No one dared say anything.

Royalty or not, noble or glorious death or not—

the grief of a child losing her only family was beyond judgment.

She froze the moment our eyes met, embarrassed by her outburst.

I opened my mouth.

“I’m not good with complicated words of comfort. But he protected you even after becoming a monster. Show him the respect he deserves.”

“I… I don’t need any of that… I just want him alive…”

She collapsed, sobbing, and Rebecca gently guided her away.

“Should I do it?”

“It’s fine. I’ll handle it.”

I dismissed Rebecca’s offer and activated a circle, igniting the wood with intense flames.

His soul was already gone.

The huge body had been moving only because of faint remaining echoes of his spirit.

That was why I believed what happened was a miracle.

Normally, no living being could have done what he did.

As the flames grew higher, the princess cried even louder, but no one stopped her.

And so—

The body of the Prince of Baltosma returned to the embrace of nature.

* * *

When R'lyeh finally reached Baltosma’s skies,

I used spectral wyverns to lower the princess and her people to the ground.

The survivors who had endured from the capital until now bowed in gratitude and left, clutching the urn containing the prince’s ashes.

Depending on what kind of man her uncle was…

Baltosma’s future looked grim.

Even so, I didn’t offer any further help.

Anything beyond this would be meddling—and meddling without taking responsibility was something I avoided.

The only one left was Rebecca, member of the Moon Watchers and native of the Labyrinth City.

Originally, I planned to hand her over to the Watch member who had ferried her here.

But the moment R'lyeh broke out of the sea and emerged into the sky, our position shifted.

And when I tried to send word through a specter…

The assigned Watch member had already vanished along with the ship.

As if they had intended to abandon her from the very beginning.

Still feeling something off, I stared at Rebecca.

She flinched under my gaze.

“W-why… why are you looking at me like that?”

“You guys—did something happen? A split in the Watch?”

Wasn’t this someone assigned directly by their leader?

And yet they abandoned her?

“That can’t be. I haven’t heard anything like that.”

“But the situation says otherwise. Someone personally assigned by your leader disappears the moment the job’s done.”

I didn’t expect an answer from her; she was too low-ranked to know.

“I… I’m not sure. This isn’t normal…”

“Whatever. They’re probably busy. I’ll give you a specter wyvern—go back to the city.”

“Thank you… for saving me…”

“Yeah.”

As I answered dryly, she spoke again.

“I wish Senior Meryl were here too…”

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She didn’t know.

Meryl Dyne’s spirit—the first Watch member I ever met—had been lingering around me lately.

Whether she would remember anything once her soul fully recovered and settled back into her body was uncertain,

but for now, her spirit was indeed watching us.

Rebecca stared at me with a troubled expression, then cautiously asked.

“Um… can I ask you something?”

“What.”

“What do you… think of humans?”

“Humans?”

“Or… this continent of Lazarus.”

“What else would I think? It’s the land I live on, and I’m human. Why would a human harbor strange thoughts about other humans?”

Hearing my answer, she seemed conflicted, opening and closing her mouth.

“Then… ah… no, never mind. Please don’t forget that feeling.”

“You people really make me wonder. What exactly did you see in that prophecy to make you all so paranoid of me?”

“That’s…”

“What annoys me most is that most of you are meeting me for the first time.”

Yet they acted like they knew me.

Thinking about it, Meryl Dyne had been strange too.

She had used the soul-splitting ritual—something I had never taught anyone.

“I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t act that way toward someone who saved me…”

“Am I scary?”

“I-I’m sor… sorry… my body reacted on its own… I know it’s wrong…”

“Forget it. Just go.”

“Thank you…”

Once Rebecca left on the wyvern, only I remained atop R'lyeh.

Well—me and the three spirits.

After spending so long in the Labyrinth surrounded only by silence, screams, and monstrosities,

I found quiet solitude rather unpleasant.

“Father! It’s super big here!”

Having roamed the forest, Grivy, Sur, and Serqet returned, placing a flower crown woven from giant blossoms atop my head while laughing happily.

Yes—unlike the Labyrinth, this place had my little sister.

Luna.

And these endlessly chattering, inexhaustible spirits.

Grivy adjusted the flower crown on my head with the seriousness of a craftsman, the others watching.

I chuckled quietly and let them do as they pleased.

Then—

[Unidentified groups approaching R'lyeh.]

People leave, and more people come, huh?

As if to say exactly that, uninvited guests were converging on R'lyeh.

The amusing part was that none tried to enter the island directly.

[Multiple factions appear to be in a standoff.]

“Grivy. Let’s get popcorn.”

“Popcorn!! Grivy loves popcorn!”

Grivy was far more expressive than when I first summoned her.

What was this?

A suddenly appearing sky-island, and every power wanted a bite?

Well, it made sense—

if a floating island drifted into your territory, you’d be interested too.

Unfortunately for them, the island already belonged to me.

Which made their little staring contest meaningless.

I had no intention of letting anyone land here.

Regardless of alliances or friendliness—

after everything R'lyeh put me through, that was only natural.

Lifting Grivy onto my shoulders and placing Sur and Serqet on top of her,

I strolled toward the edge of the island like a father taking kids for a walk.

Soon, I saw many riders on wyverns and griffins floating in the air, watching each other warily.

Grivy scrambled down from me like a squirrel climbing off a tree.

“People riding birds! Grivy wants to ride a big bird!”

Upon hearing that, Sur spread his wings as if to say “Ride me!”

“But Sur, you’re too small. If I ride you, you’ll turn into jerky.”

—Piiiii!!

Sur deflated like a wounded hero.

Serqet ignored everything and stretched out leisurely on a rock.

I reached toward a suitable viewing spot and manipulated the island.

Hmm… this should do.

The island slowed for a moment, but compared to before, it was a huge improvement.

Sitting on a natural wooden bench, I took out popcorn from subspace.

Grivy rushed in, cupping her hands politely.

I gave her the basket, and she scampered over to share with the others while watching the factions below.

They say watching fires and fights is the best entertainment.

Not that bloodshed was likely.

Honestly, I didn’t know why western factions were involved, but perhaps they thought they might get lucky and snatch something.

Whatever their intentions—

I adjusted the island’s resonance, reproducing their conversations around us like surround sound.

“The island’s appearance point was clearly within western territory.”

“Since when was that your territory?”

“Regardless, we have as much right to enter as you do. This standoff is laughable.”

“Apologies, but regardless of its appearance, the island is currently over our—the Kingdom of Lapal’s—airspace. Since it has no owner, it belongs to us.”

“Ridiculous! So if it drifts into Verdant Kingdom territory later, it becomes ours? At this speed, it’ll be ours in four days!”

“This is a naturally formed island. We must investigate what power it holds, and whether it’s dangerous.”

Each side spouted excuses to claim entry.

Honestly, if I didn’t know the truth, I’d have climbed up here too.

Eight factions?

Maybe more.

Just as the tension threatened to erupt into conflict—

They came to their senses.

If they fought, the strongest—Pascalia Empire—would win.

No one wanted that.

So they settled for “shared exploration.”

Pooling manpower, assigning sectors, and sharing information.

“There’s no need for conflict. Let’s combine our strength.”

“Divide the island into sectors and share what we find. Set up a central base camp…”

Their murderous atmosphere melted away instantly.

I tossed my popcorn basket back into subspace.

Grivy, copying me, jumped down and proudly threw his basket into the portal as well, puffing up her chest.

“Stop playing around. Let’s go home, Grivy.”

[What will you do?]

“What do you mean? They’re planning things without me? I’m not letting that slide.”

[Beginning spatial isolation.]

A massive force erupted from R'lyeh.

A translucent barrier expanded, wrapping the whole island.

The scouting parties, caught off guard, hurriedly fell back.

The barrier blocked all entry.

While the factions shouted in shock, I turned R'lyeh toward Cascadia and slowly increased speed.

With the Librarian assisting, control wasn’t difficult.

As angry shouts echoed below, I decided to move up my schedule.

“Librarian. Move us to Cascadia—quickly.”

[Confirmed. Using R'lyeh’s resonance ability to initiate dimensional leap.]

Dimensional leap?

The moment he said that, enormous energy rippled across the island.

Sensing something was wrong, the factions stopped talking and stared.

Then—

The slow-moving island suddenly stretched like a flash of light—

—and vanished.

Crackle… crackle-crack!!

Sparks danced in the empty air.

Moments later, a streak of light extended across the sky far away—

—and R'lyeh reappeared over the skies of the Duchy of Cascadia.

Probably thanks to the barrier—or the Librarian adjusting the output—

the sky island was invisible from below.

Wuuuung…

Just then, Melissa contacted me through a communication artifact.

“What?”

—Is everything dealt with?

“Yeah. I’m heading back.”

—I see. Good work. But… there’s something we need to discuss.

“What is it?”

After a moment of hesitation, she answered:

—A massive unidentified sky island was discovered in the direction you traveled.

“Sky island?”

—Yeah. Bigger than most territories. And when we analyzed debris that fell from it… it contained extremely rare materials almost never found on the continent.

Because of that, multiple factions were moving to secure priority over the island.

—Even the Bata royal family is preparing to participate.

“That island. Is it… that one floating in the sky?”

At my words, the distortion around R'lyeh dissipated, and with a cascade of sparks, the giant sky island revealed itself.

—Yes! It looked exactly like— Wait. Why… why is it there!?

“Why? Because it’s mine.”

The artifact fell silent.

People seemed to misunderstand.

R'lyeh’s value wasn’t just its resources.

It was a strategic asset—

a massive aerial fortress capable of transporting an army and launching surprise strikes across the continent.

In other words—

The Lazarus continent now had its first flying aircraft carrier.

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