Reincarnator

“Captain, what shall we do now?”

“Mmm.”

R-Koronaita Nell looked below as he listened to the lieutenant commander’s words.

At the tremendous amount of energy that even they could feel in the space above Nelkipa.

That energy was flowing out from Nelkipa’s head.

From three separate locations.

‘…It’s not something we can ignore.’

R-Koronaita Nell fell into deep thought.

Originally, they’d assumed that Aokan was the core structure of Nelkipa and tried to take over that place.

They had thought so because the Mimir surrounded it.

But looking into it, the Aokan was just a side structure, and this was the true core.

‘If we knew this earlier, then we wouldn’t have wasted our forces. We would have come here right away.’

R-Koronaita Nell frowned.

Because they had been led astray by some useless place, they had lost nine suits of Dragon God Armor.

At this point, he was now thinking that Aokan had been a trap.

A trap to lead his focus somewhere else while the enemy accomplished their original goals.

Of course, if that insect race had successfully warped to Angkara, it would have been a catastrophe.

He didn’t regret his decision to go to Aokan because of this, but the end result was still an issue.

They had lost nine Dragon God Soldiers.

And those nine Dragon God Soldiers hadn’t even stopped the Quantum Transmission either.

The two aliens had done it all.

Losing nine Dragon God Soldiers was something that would cause a bit of trouble even to him.

He was sure that this incident would cause a few of the families to charge at him and chew him apart.

They would say that an incompetent fleet master like him should receive retribution.

‘And try to fill up their own stomachs in one go.’

R-Koronaita Nell frowned.

He could not let that happen.

‘I need to deal with N-Aroel first.’

If someone who had witnessed everything with his own eyes were to tell the truth, then his situation would become much worse.

If he could push the story that he’d sacrificed the Dragon God Soldiers to stop the Quantum Transmission and twist some facts, he could deal with the flames for now.

‘Killing him would be too eye-catching… I’ll just have to handle his words.’

If he knew that this would happen, then he would have dealt with N-Aroel the moment he came up here, but it was too late.

If somebody who had safely returned were to suddenly die, then the hyenas would jump on him for that as well.

R-Koronaita Nell spoke to his lieutenant commander.

“Call N-Aroel to the captain’s room.”

“Understood. But what of the situation below?”

R-Koronaita Nell frowned at these words.

‘Mmm… What to do?’

He wanted to throw everything they had at that structure.

Those bombs didn’t make him feel at ease at all.

He wanted to sweep the three locations with a huge burst of firepower.

But his instincts, hardened by decades of experience, made it clear.

That it wouldn’t be that simple.

A strange incident on top of a strange creature.

‘Wait… I can just handle this together.’

According to what he’d heard, N-Aroel was an amazing scientist.

He would know some things about the situation below since he had survived there for quite a long time as well.

He didn’t know how much N-Aroel knew, but it would be of great help if he could pry that information out from him.

“I’ll decide after I speak to N-Aroel. Continue watching over Nelkipa until then and if a situation that could threaten the fleet arises… attack without holding back.”

“Understood.”

‘I should hurry.’

The situation really was dire.

R-Koronaita Nell quickly walked towards the captain’s room as he thought to himself.

………………………………………………….

“You called for me?”

“Yes. Sit.”

‘Look at him.’

R-Koronaita Nell looked at N-Aroel and frowned. The man had on a calm expression.

He continued to stare at N-Aroel with a frown and then shook his head as he said:

“Let’s get to the main point. Do you know anything about the situation below?”

R-Koronaita Nell asked with a hardened expression.

He really didn’t like N-Aroel’s attitude.

An N-level shouldn’t be this calm in front of an R-level.

They should be wary and careful of every action and every word.

Since the R-levels had the strength to change their entire lives.

That was the difference between their ranks.

Even more so to an apex R-level like him.

‘If his responses aren’t satisfactory… I’ll just clean him up.’

N-Aroel wouldn’t like that, of course.

Unlike before, his current mood wasn’t quite the best.

He was actually looking forward to seeing N-Aroel stutter out his words.

He could handle him with much more ease if that happened.

But unlike R-Koronaita Nell’s expectations, N-Aroel spoke with a smile.

“Of course. I know very well about the matters below.”

“…You know well?”

R-Koronaita Nell frowned.

An unexpected answer had come out.

‘He knows well?’

On his way over here, R-Koronaita Nell had lowered his expectations towards N-Aroel’s answers.

Because… he wouldn’t have been reduced to such a state if he’d known a lot.

Melchizedek had ambushed them to drive out the forces of Angkara and then focused on his objectives from that point on.

If N-Aroel and others knew a lot about Nelkipa and Melchizedek, then they wouldn’t have been pushed back this badly.

But how could N-Aroel, who’d hidden around Aokan like a rat, know anything?

‘That’s what I thought at least, but… he knows a few things, huh?’

R-Koronaita Nell was shocked but soon spoke with a serious tone.

“Speak. What’s going on below? What is that high energy reaction?”

N-Aroel laughed as he said:

“Simple. Those three locations are the core locations to control Nelkipa, and by the looks of things… someone is trying to make them self-destruct.”

“Huh? Self-destruct?”

R-Koronaita Nell made a confused expression.

Why were they trying it blow it up?

‘Melchizedek… Didn’t he want to take over Nelkipa?’

At R-Koronaita Nell’s words, N-Aroel suddenly looked as if he remembered something.

“Oh. Sorry about that, there was a misunderstanding. The ones trying to cause the self-destruction is not Melchizedek, but the aliens. Melchizedek is using the crystal for a different reason.”

“The aliens?”

N-Aroel nodded.

“Right. Those aliens… don’t really like each other. One side hates another, and another side hates them both. This is why they’re trying to destroy Nelkipa, so they won’t even have a place to come to anymore.”

“…Dumb creatures. Truly barbarians.”

R-Koronaita Nell was at a loss.

For them to go to such lengths to destroy each other.

They were apes.

At that moment—

“Hahaha!”

—N-Aroel suddenly broke into laughter.

And R-Koronaita Nell was enraged at this sight.

‘This filthy…’

For an N-level to act like this in front of him.

There was nobody who had acted like this in the past.

But of course, R-Koronaita Nell couldn’t decide what to do with N-Aroel.

He’d never dealt with a situation like this before, so he didn’t know how to handle it.

He wanted to call the guards and torture N-Aroel, but he didn’t live his life like that.

He always thought through his actions, calculated how his actions would change things, and did not act on his emotions.

R-Koronaita Nell decided to take a step back and spoke to N-Aroel.

“What’s so funny?”

He didn’t do anything, but he didn’t hide his contempt.

N-Aroel shook his hands and said:

“Oh… I apologize. I just found it funny that you called the aliens barbarians because of their actions.”

“…”

“For the fleet captain of the war planet, Angkara, to say something like that. Isn’t it funny for someone who’s lived his entire life killing his own kind to call something like this an act of barbarians?”

R-Koronaita Nell’s expression turned gruesome.

‘…Is this guy crazy?’

He wasn’t even angry anymore, but just simply at a loss for words.

What did he have backing him up for him to act so confidently?

He had heard that some people lost their sense of fear after spending a long time stranded by themselves.

R-Koronaita Nell looked at N-Aroel with a strange expression and then spoke with a severe tone.

“Watch your words. I am holding back a great deal right now, and you’ve done more than cross the line..”

“Right… Understood. If I hurt you with my words, then I apologize. Anyway, where was I… Ah! The crystal, right? Two of the reactions below will cause the crystals to self-destruct, and the other is Melchizedek’s. They’re using them for different purposes.”

“…”

R-Koronaita Nell decided to hold back on what to do with N-Aroel and refocused on his original objective.

To understand the situation.

“So, what is Melchizedek planning?”

N-Aroel had said so just now.

That Melchizedek had a different goal from the aliens.

And in his opinion, that was the most important point at this moment.

N-Aroel chuckled.

“Right. That’s the most important part.”

N-Aroel breathed in and out and then asked R-Koronaita Nell.

“Captain. The Nelkipa over there. Do you know who created it?”

………………………………………………

—rumble!— 

“Phew.”

‘I’ve entered at last.’

—chiiiiiik— 

Hansoo looked around as he cooled down his heated body.

He’d had to smash apart everything before entering because of their persistence, but in the end, he had managed to enter the castle.

But it seems like that was only the beginning.

‘What a greeting.’

A castle of machines, covered in machines.

Bright armor walking out from the darkness.

“Dragon God Armor… The crystal’s energy. Artificial Transcendents… He really spent a lot.”

Are you saying I must at least get through all this to meet you?

Hansoo muttered at the air.

Actually, it was quite loud.

More than enough for Melchizedek to hear.

And Melchizedek, who loved to talk, could have easily created a hologram before his eyes to reply.

But there was no response.

Which meant that there were two possibilities.

‘Either he thinks I’m not worth talking to, or…’

He was so focused on something that he didn’t even have time to talk.

‘What are you up to, Melchizedek?’

Hansoo looked into the dark depths of the machine castle and thought to himself.