“...What did you say?”

At Alon’s question, the Wanderer fell silent for a moment before speaking.

[Just as I said. That is the power of Monster blood. More precisely, it is the power of the second.]

“...The second?”

[Yes.]

At the Wanderer’s calm reply, Alon thought for a moment before opening his mouth.

“If possible, could you tell me about Monster blood?”

[About Monster blood.]

“Yes. Even if it is only what you know.”

At that, the Wanderer sank into thought for a moment.

[To be honest, there is not much I know clearly myself. At most, what I can tell you is the process behind the birth of Monster blood.]

“...The birth of Monster blood?”

[Yes.]

And then it began speaking about Monster blood.

[Before anything else, let me ask just in case. Are you aware that Monster blood were originally Divine blood?]

“I have heard something along those lines before.”

[...Then, in truth, that means I have already told most of the story.]

The Wanderer let out a thoughtful hum, remained silent for a while, then spoke again.

[As you already know, the Divine blood that exist here all fundamentally share one goal.]

“...You mean becoming a god?”

[Correct. Of course, there are rare exceptions like me, or those who were never interested in becoming a true god in the first place, but ordinarily, the goal of Divine blood is to become a god.]

“...Did the Divine blood before they became Monster blood have some different objective?”

Alon asked.

But the answer that came from the Wanderer was unexpected.

[No?]

“Then...”

[From what I know, Monster blood were more desperate than anyone to become gods. I even heard they committed vile acts without hesitation.]

“...I see.”

[On the contrary, is there some reason you thought otherwise?]

“No. It was just that from the way you were speaking, it sounded like the story would go in the direction of ‘Divine blood used to be different.’ But apparently not.”

[As I said, it was the opposite. Monster blood supposedly came closer than anyone to truly becoming a god.]

“...They came close to becoming a true god?”

[Yes.]

The Wanderer continued speaking without much change in tone.

[You know this already, do you not? This continent is a seedbed created for the birth of a god, and unless a god is born, the same cycle repeats endlessly.]

“I do.”

[Monster blood could have broken that cycle from the very beginning. Because the primordial victor, whom no one now properly remembers, was Monster blood. But as you can see—]

“...They did not become a god?”

[Correct.]

The Wanderer closed its mouth for a moment as though thinking, then continued.

[He did not become a god.]

“...Do you know why?”

[No. No one knows why it refused to become a god.]

“Why is that?”

[Isn’t it obvious? Think carefully about what it means for him to have obtained the chance to become a god.]

“Ah.”

A quiet exclamation escaped Alon.

Just as the Wanderer said, for a Divine blood to obtain the chance to become a god meant that no other Divine blood remained in the world besides him.

When Alon nodded in understanding, the Wanderer continued.

[That is why no one knows why it did not become a god. But one thing is certain. The moment it chose not to become a god, it also chose to remain on the surface.]

“...Remain on the surface?”

[When all Divine blood die, they return to the sky. If no god appears, then according to the laws, they restore their bodies again and repeat the same actions once the conditions are fulfilled. But Monster blood were different.]

“......”

[Monster blood remained on the surface. I do not know how or for what reason, but that much was certain. And immediately afterward, it began restraining the Divine blood.]

“...Restraining them?”

[Yes. So that none of us could become gods. Perhaps—]

The Wanderer paused briefly before continuing.

[—as though it wished for this world to repeat its cycle forever.]

“......”

[That is the process behind the birth of Monster blood as I know it.]

Alon remained silent for a moment at the Wanderer’s words before continuing with another question.

“Then what are the children of Monster blood?”

[Quite literally, those who inherited the power of Monster blood.]

“...Those who inherited the power of Monster blood?”

[Did I not tell you? That Monster blood interfered with the Divine blood.]

“You did.”

[When Monster blood interfered with the Divine blood, it was not the main body itself that appeared. It was the four sons and daughters who inherited its power.]

“......”

As Alon quietly fell into thought, the Wanderer cleared its throat softly.

[In any case, that is all I know. As I said, what you brought is the ability of the second among them.]

At those words, Alon looked once at the flask before putting it back into his pocket.

“Thank you for telling me.”

[It was nothing.]

Right after that—

[More importantly, since you came here, I assume you heard the story already. Shall I begin speaking about my side of things now?]

“Yes.”

At the Wanderer’s words, Alon nodded.

“I heard that all the Divine blood are going to fall.”

[That is correct. Though we did buy a little time.]

“You bought time?”

[Yes. For some reason, the shattered sky stabilized slightly.]

Though it is only a few months at most, the Wanderer added before continuing.

[In any case, we gained a little more time.]

“...Just in case I ask— is there any way to stop the Divine blood that are falling?”

[No. There is not.]

“Not even one?”

[No. I can say that with certainty.]

“...This will not be easy.”

As Alon let out a quiet sigh, the Wanderer continued.

[But that does not mean things will inevitably reach the absolute worst-case scenario. Not if we prepare properly.]

“...Prepare?”

[Yes. Prepare.]

And the Wanderer continued speaking.

####

After some time had passed—

[Then I will leave the rest to you. It seems my time is almost up.]

“...Was there a time limit?”

[Compared to last time, I certainly have more leeway, but yes.]

The Wanderer spoke as though it had finished everything it needed to say.

[We will probably meet face-to-face next time. Ah, and there is one more thing I should say.]

“...There is still more?”

[This is only within the realm of concern, but—]

After leaving Alon with “one final thing”—

“...Is that really true?”

[It is only speculation, but I would like you to confirm it. As I said, if what I suspect is true, then that may become the first step of the preparations.]

“...Understood.”

With those final words, the Wanderer vanished.

And after leaving the room, now completely silent, Alon decided to remain in Rosario for a day at Yuman’s suggestion that he should at least rest before leaving.

“So what exactly did you hear?”

The moment they entered the surprisingly spacious room prepared through the consideration of Yuman and Yutia, Evan asked the question.

At that, Alon recalled the Wanderer’s words and spoke.

“It told me to prepare.”

“Prepare?”

“Yes.”

If one divided the things the Wanderer told Alon, there were three main points.

The first was that the Divine blood would descend in less than a year—a fact Alon had already more or less suspected himself.

The second was that, surprisingly, although all the Divine blood would descend, their number would not actually be that large.

“...Not large?”

“Yes. Apparently only around ten will descend at first.”

“...What? Ten?”

“Yes.”

“That is all?”

“For the second stage.”

At Alon’s words, Evan made a strange expression.

“No, but if it is only around ten, doesn’t that sound manageable?”

Evan asked.

And to a certain extent, his reasoning made sense.

After all, to someone who had seen first-tier Divine blood swarming everywhere, the number ten honestly did not sound that large.

But despite that, Alon could not think of it so lightly because of what the Wanderer had added afterward.

‘Remember this well, Star Eater. The ones descending from now on are different from the incomplete things you have faced until now.’

‘...To that extent?’

‘Even if you gathered every Divine blood currently existing on this surface together, it would still be impossible to oppose the Divine blood descending from now on— no, the karmas.’

‘...Those ten possess that much power?’

At the question from the Alon within that memory, the Wanderer fell silent for a moment before muttering—

‘...It seems my explanation was insufficient.’

And then it declared:

‘...Listen carefully, Star Eater. I am not talking about ten of them. I am talking about what even a single one of the karmas descending from now on can do.’

That was what it said.

And remembering those words now, Alon thought of the final third thing the Wanderer had told him.

‘...At least the fortunate part is that the next stage will remain sealed for a certain period even after descending onto the surface.’

Meanwhile, Evan, who had been tilting his head while watching the suddenly quiet Alon, seemed to catch onto his mood without much difficulty.

“...Just asking in case, but are these ten something like several hundred times stronger than the current Divine blood?”

he asked.

And—

“Surprisingly enough, that is fairly close to the truth.”

“...That really is not easy, then. At that point, does preparation even matter anymore?”

At Evan’s continued question—

“...That may not necessarily be true. Assuming what I heard was correct.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Recalling the Wanderer’s words, Alon continued.

“Ah, and once we return to the territory, I think I will need to head to the Empire immediately.”

“...The Empire?”

“Yes. I had already intended to go, but—”

Murmuring that there was now something he needed to confirm, Alon briefly recalled the Wanderer’s words before suddenly asking:

“...By the way, where is Penia?”

He asked that because until now, his thoughts had been entirely focused on his conversation with the Wanderer.

And almost as if she had been waiting for that question—

“I’m right here.”

Penia entered the room, carrying a strangely determined expression.

“Where did you go?”

“Ah, I just had something to think about, so I was outside for a bit.”

Answering Alon’s question like that, Penia then said:

“Lord Alon.”

“What is it?”

“Would rubbing noses perhaps also be acceptable?”

“...What???”

“...Pardon?”

####

Around the time Penia, far more nervous than expected, accidentally blurted out complete nonsense—

inside the room Alon had left behind, where no one else remained—

[...I wondered who it was that called for me, but it was you.]

“Yes— I did not particularly want to speak with you, but there was something I needed to say.”

The Wanderer, who had disappeared after the time during which it could manifest itself in this manner had ended, looked at a young girl—

No.

At Yutia Bloodia.

[The daughter of Monster blood.]

it said those words.