Episode10(S1-4)：PURPOSE

“Hey, Alpina.”

Rocking on his horse, Quon calls out to the girl flying overhead. The glossy-black color haired girl, who is both pretty and cool-headed, descends slowly in front of him, then changes her posture backward and continues flying. Her hair is dominated by the wind, creating a sensational charm that is not in keeping with her external age. She replies with her hands in her coat pockets, looking down with cat-like eyes at the young man being carried by the mechanical horse.

“Yes, Quon?”

“Not surprisingly, the terrain has changed since the old days, but how long do you plan to take from here?”

“It is about 1,000 kilometers at best. Da Darg would take less than half a day to get there.”

The mechanical horse accelerates further and changes its gait to an attack gait. The speed, which seems to be one with the wind, astonishes peddlers and travelers who pass by. The blinding glare passes, and by the time they have regained their wits, they are already far out of sight. They felt as if a scythe weasel had passed away.

The speed of the mechanical horse is not the only thing that makes it superior to the ordinary horse. The creature, which is not of The Earthly Realm, knows no fatigue. The mechanical mechanism of the vehicle outperforms all other means of transportation.

“By the way, while you're at it, can you tell me about the ones you said were The Devil or The Angel or, I believe, The Sons of God?”

Okay," says Alpina, smiling. She then flips her body in the air and rides sideways on the back of the mechanical horse, right behind Quon. Keeping the position in perfect balance, she exhales lightly with her legs crossed.

“But there is nothing special that I have to teach you. We’re just a piece of life, entrusted with the management of The Earthly Realm.”

...... Isn't that what you call special?

Quon, holding back the urge to correct himself, continues the conversation.

“Management. ....... However, how did that get us into this situation?”

“Management refers only to neutrality. It is not protection. If you perish because of this one incident, there will be no damage done to us.”

“...... So, you're saying that someone is trying to reduce the number of The Humans? ......”

“You're a quick learner.”

That's great, Alpina laughs. But her eyes were fixed on the far horizon of the plain, and she was not smiling. But Quon could not see it. He just holds the reins desperately. The fear that he would be easily shaken off otherwise enveloped his body along with the wind.

“But what is its purpose? As The Sons of God, do you have any idea?”

“At least there was no sign of it when I was here. We weren't that interested in The Human at the time. If there is, it will be after that. I don't know. That's why we travel this way.”

“Will that piece of The Piece of Dragon’s Soul or whatever it's called be useful?”

Quon, who has gradually become accustomed to the speed, asks the question while turning his eyes only behind him. Alpina, on the other hand, dismisses Quon's question.

“That's what I need for my personal purposes. It doesn't help the case.”

Or," Alpina mentally rebutted her own statement.

Could it be necessary in some cases?

“But it's owner should be beneficial to you.”

“Owner?”

“The Piece of Dragon’s Souls is what I had instructed my fellow The Devils to collect before I left The Earthly Realm. I'm sure they would have collected all of them.”

In other words," said Alpina, making eye contact with Quon. Her physiognomy is that of a young girl of her age, and she refuses to be alarmed in any way. Quon also looks into her eyes and waits for her to speak.

“They know what The Earthly Realm will look like after I leave. Maybe there's something to be gained from it.”

“I see. But then, do you need me to collect The Piece of Dragon’s Souls? Sure, I have one of them, but it's not hard for you to collect them all without taking me along, is it?”

“Indeed, you are essentially unnecessary for this journey. It's all at my whim, including that. But in any case, you will have to travel too. In the end, you can't complain about the results, can you?”

Indeed, it is," Quon stutters. However, no further rebuttal was forthcoming. In addition, he had no desire to argue. He doesn't seem to be somewhat distracted from the core of the story, but we may find that out in due time. That's what he decided to think.

So," Quon turns the conversation around.

“Anyway, we're heading west like you said, but is that fellow The Devil still in The Earthly Realm?”

“It will be difficult when you are not used to dealing with magical power, but if you open your magical eyes, you will be able to identify its location and approximate strength.”

As if to show this, Alpina's sapphire-blue colored eyes sparkle with gold colored magical eyes. It is sharp like a snake, and it gives you a glimpse into the mysteriousness that seems to see through to the depths of your heart.

“Both I and they generally have a large amount of magical power in their possession. Therefore, it is easy to know the location of both parties as long as they are in the same The Earthly Realm. But their magical power is nowhere to be felt. I can feel the same amount of holy power, though.”

“I thought they were in The Magical Realm or something?”

“I stopped by The Magical Realm once before I met you, but I didn't feel any magical power. The same goes for The Dragonic Vein leading to it. In other words, something happened to them. Not sure what that means, but need to be sure.”

Hm," Quon chimes in. The story was so far from reality that his brain was not able to process it well. Therefore, he used his words to indicate that he understood the situation on the surface.

In contrast, Alpina likewise did not expect much understanding from Quon. Unlike the time when the existence of The Devils was widely recognized, when she once descended to the earth, the existence of The Devils is now questionable. She knew that it could be dismissed as an outlandish and ridiculous story.

“What about The Heavenly Realm? Well, I think it's funny that The Devil is in The Heavenly Realm. ......”

“I wouldn't dismiss the possibility. In the first place, The Devil is incompatible with The Angel. To be precise, The Angel is strong against The Devil, The Devil is strong against The Dragon, and The Dragon is strong against The Angel in a three-way relationship. Thus, The Devil basically never goes to The Heavenly Realm. There is a saying somewhere in The World that "a wise man never approaches danger," but this is not limited to wise men. Fools have their own crisis management skills, don't they? Then there is only one case”

“The Angel attacking The Devil?”

Correct, says Alpina, smiling. But those words are contradicted by Alpina herself.

“However, it is only a threshold of possibility. The tripartite relationship is only about two people with the same capabilities. Because it's hard to imagine them losing so easily.”

“Then why ......?”

“If I knew that, I wouldn't have a hard time either. It would be impossible, especially for you who do not know the history of The Sons of God. I have some predictions, but no evidence to back them up.”

That's why," said Alpina, her fingers forming the shape of a gun. With silence, a magical bullet shot from her fingertips destroys a crowd of Holy Beasts running in the distance. After their physical death, their souls were sent to The Divine Realm by Alpina to await the time of their Resurrection. There remained only dismembered chunks of flesh.

“Let's ask the direct The Angel. As far as the magical eyes can see, a strong holy power is sitting from the town to the west of where we continue on. Or it could have something to do with the attack of the Holy Beasts.”

“I hope so, if possible.”

Quon re-grips the reins. The mechanical horse, running at top speed, passed through the plains and entered The Forest of Cars Amra, which stretches to the west of the kingdom.