Because I Am Surtr Chapter 10

Mm, good. That's how we'll do it.

She checked the time and confirmed the schedule. Then she looked at the device she carried with her. A familiar marker had entered her operational area.

A Catastrophe was imminent.

There should be about a day left until the Reunion Movement launched its full-scale offensive.

Then...

"First, I'll talk some people out of throwing their lives away."

She slipped soundlessly down from the dome. This time, however, the air was not saturated with embers and sulfur.

Her target was still beyond the horizon.

It was a covert unit.

To preserve secrecy, this special squad had abandoned heavy vehicles and heavy firepower.

Though the squad belonged to the crumbling Sarkaz Babel Tower, it also belonged to Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals as it now existed.

"Scout." A whisper drifted through the hot wind.

But It Still Wasn't Strong Enough

I was strong.

I knew I was among the strongest in this world.

The Ursus feared me and called me the Ember Demon. I had crushed the Winter Palace Guards head-on, climbed the giant bear's throne over blood and bones. Cutting off the Emperor's head had been as easy as cutting a reed, and the counterattacks and vengeance that followed could not harm me in the slightest.

The Sarkaz feared me, even though I shared their race. They called me the Hunter King, the Demon King's Killer. I had slaughtered my way from the entrance of Theresis's camp all the way to the inner hall. Generals, warriors, even the Absolutionists lurking in the darkness all fell silent beneath my sword. Had Theresis not prepared a substitute capable of perfectly replicating even Originium Arts, the Sarkaz would have lost two Monarchs at once.

The people of Lateran feared me. When I set foot upon the land of the towers, the tower Monarchs who had foreseen my path through astrology locked down their domains one after another. They did not dare send out knights, nor did they dare let any spellcasting attendants appear within my sight. I tore down three towers in a row without finding a single tower lord who dared resist. When I left after losing interest, they fearfully called me Twilight.

Twilight—the twilight of rulers... They did not even dare flaunt their tongues over my renown.

The Kazimierz people feared me just as much—their Grand Knight Commander still fell beneath my sword, even after I gave him the chance to arm himself fully, assemble legions, and even activate a Mobile City to wage war against me alongside his campaigning knights. In the end, I spared their lives and merely took away part of his fighting strength. As I trampled their knights' banners and departed, their knightly poems began to sing the painful legend of the World-wandering Hunt.

—"Oh, hatred of the world, hunter who commands the sun. You march through sulfur and ash; twilight is the fringe woven from the glory you scatter."

—"The giant bear of the north crawls at your feet."

—"The goats and hares of the south tremble within the stones."

—"Reckless pegasi reveal your terror with their lances. Red dragons and lions are left bloodied and broken beneath your authority."

—"You shall command Catastrophes and crush snowy mountains and seas."

—"Even the revived dragon of the Far East shall halt before your Footprints."

...They were not wrong. I had indeed invaded Victoria, and I had once made Yan's Emperor send his imperial carriage eastward on a hunt. Yet they were not entirely right either. For I was not without rivals in this world.

The domes of snowy mountains, the ends of the sea, the depths of Ley Lines. Powerful forces beyond conventional measure still existed in this world. Not to mention that this so-called land of Terra was ultimately no more than a tiny planet. Above it lay the vast, endless starry sky.

The battle in the snowy mountains had dealt me a grievous blow. Though ordinary people knew nothing of that fight, it had indeed weakened me to the point where I could be injured by Sister Complex Slash—but that was nothing much. In Terra, where I was like a world-shaking shadow, I was often beaten senseless by all sorts of gods and immortals in the dream world, like a drowned dog.

Getting flattened was nothing. A tool had long since grown used to it.

But I had learned one lesson from it... If I wanted to change everything, pure strength that was not yet sufficient to rise above all else was not enough.

I had once wanted to kill every Monarch and ruler on this land, forcing society to move in the direction I expected, the direction I knew. But I discovered that so long as the interests and order of the old era remained, this world would never lack new rulers and Monarchs.

When one emperor died, another remained. When one tyrant fell, countless more rose to take his place.

They could not be killed to the last, nor slaughtered without end, unless I ruled them through terror. But that would ultimately do no more than turn dozens or hundreds of tyrants into one tyrant. It would be regression, not progress.

I was strong, but not strong enough.

So I knew that I could not turn the tide alone. I had to borrow the strength of many people.

Just as I had told Yelena to persuade her, the foremost prerequisite for my success was making my ideals into something accepted by the majority of the world.

—Unless I no longer needed the people of this world, unless I intended to build from nothing amid the wasteland.

And under that premise, every companion was important.

Not one could be missing.

Not one!

Scout stopped walking.

He raised one hand, his arm standing upright like a flag. As he halted, the twelve squad members behind him stopped as well—within half a second, they subtly shifted their positions and formation. Some concealed themselves, while the Operators serving as heavy defenders moved forward to shield their comrades.

They had come bearing ideals, and they had already resolved to sacrifice everything for them.

Then, at the end of the road, a red-haired, horned Sarkaz woman stood quietly in the middle of the path.

"There are quite a few new faces... How many of you still recognize me?" Her voice was calm, and a faint smile rested on her pretty face. The moment they saw her, several veteran Operators in the formation cried out in alarm, while the newer Operators who did not know her felt terror.

Fear. Dread. She merely stood there quietly, yet she was like a cliff, an abyss, a dark maelstrom upon the sea that shook their hearts and souls. It felt as though the entire sky and earth would rush at them in the next instant, and they would be crushed to powder like mantises beneath a wheel.

"Surtr..." someone murmured, her eyes vacant and her voice noticeably distorted.

Then everyone watched Scout take a firm step forward.

"Have you come to stop us, Surtr?" His voice was muffled, hoarse like sandpaper.

"I won't deny it." The Flame-haired Woman's faint smile gradually faded into indifference. "Travelers from afar, your journey ends here."

"Turn back. Do not go to Chernobog."

An obvious stir ran through the team. Just as one of the younger operators was about to make a move, the veteran beside him firmly pinned down his hand.

"...Amiya has already agreed to awaken the Doctor." Scout's concealed Adam's apple bobbed beneath his mask. "And Rhodes Island does indeed need the Doctor's mind right now."

"To my knowledge, Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals has not suffered any personnel losses in recent years," Surtr said blandly—of course she knew no one had died. With her watching over them in secret, even the most dangerous missions could be turned from peril to safety.

But...

"Yet Rhodes Island is still weakening." Scout's voice grew even lower. "We know how to achieve victory, but we cannot make use of those victories. Our enemies... are growing more numerous. And our friends are growing fewer. Ms. Kal'tsit cannot hold up the whole situation alone, so we must seek the Doctor's help."

Ah... right. That was it.