[Silver Ash] - Become The Strongest In Another World
CHAPTER 116: [Asterisk: Countdown] (2)

...****************...

The first meeting between the members of the 47th generation Asterisk was finally completed. Everyone was returned to their respective places with the teleportation ability that the crystal gave them.

Even if it is called teleportation ability, in fact its ability is not that great. The teleportation ability of the crystal can only be used if at least four of the eight members agree to use it.

Lucia was sitting on the floor in an old temple she found on the border of the holy kingdom of Quinnela. He flipped through the pages of the old book he had just found before.

Thanks to the words 'Seeds gathered, there was a change', and 'All deviations must be destroyed' which he read from the book, he was swallowed up by a strange fog, until finally arrived at the place where the members of the Asterisk had gathered.

There was too much information he received today that he even felt tired. But, Lucia could not allow herself to rest until she could get rid of all the threats that the prophecy had shown her.

Lucia stood up and walked away from the room, noticing the remains of the village that had been charred by the fire.

Putting aside what Asterisk was about, Lucia had just discovered something extraordinary today.

There was something he could not see clearly with his god eyes. It was a very new thing for Lucia.

As he looked at all the members of the Asterisk, that was when his body instantly goosebumps. Everyone there is a monster. Or rather, a figure with the power of a monster in the form of a human.

He could not see it clearly because there was something that seemed to get in the way, but Lucia naturally understood that everyone in Asterisk was the same type of person as her.

Lucia was endowed with the ability of the eye of the god, an ability to see 'all the truth' from the moment she was born. And for the first time, he found people who possessed abilities equal to, or even stronger than his own.

Somehow, Lucia felt happy when she found out. Realizing that he had not been alone all this time. Having such great strength, and being feared by many, it was extremely painful for him. So he was happy when he saw there were people who had the same great power.

"Lucia~ are you done? Grimoald calls you~"

As he was silently pondering what was happening today, Leonardo's cheerful voice suddenly called out to him.

"I'm coming … "

Lucia smiled and left the church to fulfill her vocation.

...****************...

Temple on the top of the sacred mountain, Haten.

Asher silently looked at the vast land beneath him. His hand that grasped the spear seemed so powerful that it could crush an ordinary log in no time. Despite the negitu, the spear showed no signs of being destroyed.

His gray hair fluttered as a gentle breeze struck him, and his red eyes instantly closed to enjoy the sensation.

(Asteril .. )

It all felt so unreal to him. It all just happened without him noticing.

He is suddenly taken to a strange place filled with fog, then must work with people he does not even know his name.

Normally, he would not waste his time, and instantly killed them all with his own two hands, but.

After all, once he got a picture of what would happen in the future, there was no way he would kill all the Asterisk members other than himself. He immediately thought that everyone there was very necessary to change that damned destiny.

As he was silent and enjoying the wind, he felt the presence of someone approaching him slowly.

Asher opened his eyes and turned to look at the figure.

"What are you doing here, Lia? "

The figure who quietly approached her from behind was a beautiful girl in full clothes who described her image as an important figure there.

"Ehehe .. Caught, huh? I intended to surprise you, but .. You're always sharp, yes, Asher."

His face displayed a friendly smile that seemed to match his fragile appearance. His sturdy posture even while sitting in a wheelchair gave a firm impression, but also weak.

Based on the clothes he was wearing, people could clearly see that he was a Saint who ruled over the mountain peak temple, Haten.

Her full name was Leticia, but Asher who called her by the short name 'Lia' really emphasized that the two of them were quite close.

Asher and Leticia were originally just ordinary children from an orphanage. The two of them had been together since childhood, so it was not unusual for Asher to call her by a short name and without the slightest sign of honor.

As can be seen, Leticia had paralysis in her legs so she could only move by using a wheelchair at any time. And as if that wasn't enough, he also had the blindness that he was born with. He cannot walk, nor can he see. Asher's figure was the only guide he had so far.

However, in fact all those defects were not something that he got for no reason.

Leticia was born as a human sub-race, namely [Saint].

He had an unreasonable amount of holy energy in his body so it ended up disrupting the working system on his body.

Normal humans would not be able to spare a large amount of holy energy. That is why, while still in the womb, his race changed from human, to saint.

For the record, 'Saint' was not just a title, but was already an entirely different race.

What distinguishes them from humans is simply the amount of magic energy capacity, and the amount of holy energy they possess. If a saint had fully risen, their body array would also have completely turned into pure holy energy that took on a human physical form.

In the final stage of awakening, they will become an [Angel], or even a [Valkyrie].

Leticia's awakening process did not go well, so she had to lose the nervous system in her legs, and her ability to see.

Once he had to be brought by the church, he also had to part with Asher who had always supported him. However, Asher at that time also immediately decided his goal to become one of the holy knights in charge of escorting the saint.

Until finally, Asher achieved what became his goal. He defeated all his rivals, and became a holy knight. He was even directly chosen to be Leticia's personal bodyguard.

And here he is at the moment. Become a personal bodyguard of a saint destined to guard the mirror of the world.

"Asher ... Here it starts to cool .. Want to come in? "

" … Okay."

It did take a lot of effort and a long struggle, but Asher went through it all without any problems in order to keep Leticia by his side directly.

Asher walks into the temple while pushing the wheelchair occupied by Leticia.

"Lia ... What about your training? "

Asher tried asking to break the silence, but it seemed Leticia could clearly understand his point. Leticia smiled and held onto one of Asher's hands pushing against his wheelchair.

"Everything went well. Thanks to Asher I can do everything smoothly."

The training that Asher meant was the training that Leticia went through to control her strength. If he could control the holy power he had well, then he could certainly keep his position in the church, and there was no need to burden Asher with various jobs that he could not do alone.

" … So, yes .. Don't force yourself. I'll help you whenever you need help."

Asher himself did not want to admit it, but he would actually be happy if Leticia remained in a paralyzed and blind state like this. That way, Leticia would continue to rely on herself for everything. Although, it was very contrary to Leticia's expectations to recover from all her circumstances immediately.

"Mhmm .. I don't want to burden Asher just for trivial matters. So I will refrain from asking Asher for help at all times," Leticia said as she smiled as she shook her head.

" … So, yes … "

Asher continued walking and pushed Leticia's wheelchair without saying anything more.

Without taking a long time, they immediately arrived at the central area of the temple. It was an extremely luxurious room, filled with glittering ornaments, and exuded a strange mystic aura.

The source of all that mystic aura was a gigantic golden mirror that filled one of the walls.

The mirror was what they referred to as the 'Mirror of the World'. It had the proper function of a gate connecting the human world, with nature being called Astral Zero.

Astral Zero was a world where the gods were. They also refer to nature as the 'Upper World'.

The existence of a saint who protects the mirror of the world is important because he is the one who is in charge of being a liaison who is able to activate the function of the gate on the mirror of the world.

The Saint chosen to guard this mirror was the one who was truly doomed. So, that role cannot be given to just anyone. Saints also have a role to convey the 'command' or 'desire' of the gods who become their guardians.

"The aura that the mirror of this world is displaying is huge, isn't it? "

"Mrs."

Asher easily nodded in agreement to what Leticia said. Indeed, the aura that the mirror emitted was so large and so dense that not just anyone could approach it.

"I wonder how it looks .. If I can see later, will Asher accompany me to look at this mirror again? "

" …… Sure."

...****************...

"Mhmm♪ is very convenient~"

Somewhere away from the center of the Empire, Colyn who was lying on the pillow she had just obtained was smiling and swinging her legs happily.

The hovering pillow he was sleeping on was large enough that his own body was not even enough to fill the pillow.

It was a new pillow he got from Souris—Noelle as payment for the work he did earlier.

The lazy pillow was one of the items Noelle had created on a whim. For his ingredients, he was somehow able to obtain everything with relative ease.

In both of Colyn's hands, he tightly held a book of considerable size. It may be slightly larger than the three-language dictionary books that people on earth use.

On the cover of the book, there is a line that says 'everyday magic'. As the name implies, the magic book contains a collection of magic that has a function to help everyday life.

Although it wasn't very valuable to some people, Colyn was quite happy after she got it. He was happy to read and learn all the magic in it.

"Ehehe~ Souris is indeed well~"

Putting aside the confusion he felt when he was engulfed by the strange mist, and the meeting with all the Asterisk members, he was really happy when he got a decent pay after the work he did.

As soon as he recalled the image or prophecy the crystal gave him, Colyn immediately frowned unhappily, and began to sink her own face into the super soft pillow.

It was such a horrible sight to see. Why did he have to experience all of that, while he had even lost everything he had? Why did he have to lose something again? That's vexing.

A pink-colored crystal appeared right beside Colyn, spinning constantly as she floated.

Colyn raised her head, and showed a melancholy expression on her face that looked like those children. He touched the crystal with his finger.

"Dad ... Mother ... Brother ... What should I do? "

His voice that sounded sad as he said it would never reach anyone's ears.

...****************...

Enzio Great Labyrinth – Central area.

Arnaz was lying on a tarp spread out on a hard rock. Around him, countless monster corpses were piled up in every corner of the square room.

Next to Arnaz, there was a figure he called his 'lover. However, there was something strange about that 'lover' figure.

It was not a girl, or even a woman. Rather, a young man who was already lifeless.

However, Arnaz did not show an expression as if disturbed by it. Instead, he smiled and stroked the man's corpse face with a very gentle and careful movement.

"Hehe ... Asterisk, yes .. I think this will be fun."

As he said that, some of the monsters he had previously killed rose again, and intended to attack him.

Aznar responded by just glancing at them a little, and waved his hand. Instantly, thousands, to millions of black insects emerged from the ground and invaded those monsters.

In less than five seconds, the monsters had already become a shapeless pile of flesh as a result of Arnaz's invasion of insects.

It was one of the strange skills Arnaz possessed. It has the ability to control the 'insects' around it.

Although it seems less useful, in fact Arnaz has killed a lot of monsters just by the quantity of insects he has.

That was why he was able to conquer this Enzio labyrinth relatively quickly.

"Well, I have to get ready for tonight."

...****************...

The border area of the Waldenholt Republic.

Damian van Houten, he was a member of the military Waldenholt Republic with the rank of Lieutenant General who was assigned to the border area to guard the conflict-prone area.

More or less, it has been about ten years since he was assigned to the border area. From then on, the battle became daily food for him.

Damian, who had just returned from a strange place filled with fog, and the mysterious statue was sitting in his chair, watching the photo album lying on his desk that was quite a mess.

Asterisk, as soon as he thought of the name, the horrifying image that was given to him upon receiving that Ructus green crystal suddenly shot back in his head.

Damian immediately shook his head to erase the memory, but still he could not completely forget what happened.

The people he met in that fog-filled place, he felt a strange familiarity with all of them.

From his point of view, they all possessed extraordinary strength, and had unique personalities as well. It was all very interesting for him to see. To him, it was like entertainment after a grueling war.

A small smile formed on his face as he recalled all of that.

As an experiment, he swung his finger, and a green crystal instantly appeared right before him.

Damian touched the crystal several times, and disrupted the constant rotation that the crystal was doing.

"Asterisk, yes .. Probably .. If I'm with them … "

Damian then recalled the figure of his three long-gone comrades.

About eleven years ago, the Waldenholt Republic had to face a civil war that began due to a coup.

The coup could have been due to a conflict that befell both sides. The first party was the Reformation who wanted to change the old noble system, and the other party was filled by the adherents of the noble system in the old Order.

Needless to say, the population would certainly support the Reformation faction so that they could easily corner the Old Order faction.

The members of the Old Order faction were annihilated in a cruel manner, and the Reformation took over the military power previously held by the Old Order faction so that Damian, then an ordinary officer, had no right to resist.

Damian has a family he must protect at all costs. For this reason, he refused death and became a sycophant following the orders of the Reformation.

Although his body followed the orders of the Reformation faction, his resolve and loyalty still remained with the overlord he had served before. That is, the Reivans.

The only thing left to be a proof of his loyalty to that family was, his authority protecting the only descendant of the Reivan family. Princess Claudia fou Reivan.

While the coup was in progress, Claudia who was still a baby somehow managed to survive the eradication of the Reformation.

Fortunately, Damian managed to find Claudia before the other Reformers found her first. As a result, to date, Damian is still caring for and protecting Claudia. As it is impossible to reveal Claudia's true identity to others, Damian decides to adopt Claudia and make the girl his daughter.

All of her files and adoption papers were obtained from the court after she told them she had found them from an orphanage.

"Asta, Joan, Ruka .. This time ... I won't make the same mistake … "

Damian clasped tightly onto the gold pendant he had gotten from his three comrades.

...****************...

Slum area in the royal capital of Nothingos, Zeltis.

It was a small bar, and Ethan who was taking a break from his work was walking out of that bar.

He walked to a church and orphanage not far from the bar where he worked.

Since he was an infant, Ethan has lived in the church with other children. Now he is big enough, and able to earn on his own.

He worked as a bartender to make money so that the church he lived in could survive, and the children who lived with him there could live a decent enough life.

Though it's a little tiring to work full-time with his small body, Ethan can't complain. He can only keep doing his job.

His only desire was to protect everyone in the church. The sisters who cared for him, the children who considered him an older brother, and the old priest whom he considered to be his own father. They are all valuable existences to Ethan.

The terrifying future image that the crystal had shown him .. There was no way he would let that happen.

...****************...

『Huh ... Somehow we can reach the 80th floor at the last moment.』

Somewhere in the depths of the dungeon, Tania quickly swung her blood-soaked scythe, and caused all of the blood previously attached to the scythe, to splash into the wall.

"Navi ... How do you think? "

He looks like he's talking to himself, but .. He's actually communicating with a 'someone' named Navi.

『What do you mean ... Asterisk? Wellh, to me it's quite interesting.』

" ……… "

The silence again filled the resting room that was safe from the influence of the dungeon monsters.

Navi's static voice was still busy talking in Tania's head, but Tania seemed undisturbed by it.

From the beginning, he did not consider the figure of Navi as a bully. Although, Navi is actually a kind of parasite that sticks to his soul from birth.

Navi's voice sounded like a woman, but at the same time, it also sounded like a male voice.

『Dan .. Yahh, many interesting things I can see from them.』

" … What is it? "

『Everyone there .. Has something similar like me attached to their soul.』

"Parasites? "

『It's so cruel to call myself a parasite! Yahh .. You can call it that. But ... They still haven't risen completely .. Especially, those two men called Souris and Tristan. There is something that hinders the awakening of their power.』

Despite her annoying existence, Navi herself has helped and given Tania a lot of strength. So, he was a bit surprised when he heard that all the Asterisk members also had 'Navi' in them.

"Something is in the way .. What is it? "

『Gift god.』

The short answer from Navi was enough to make Tania widen her eyes in surprise.

『They both have godly blessings. It became a barrier to their 'strength' rising. Unlike other Asterisk members, they have no blessings so their strength can rise up completely.』

" ……… "

『Tania, be careful. Asterisk may be safe for now, but .. We don't know when they'll betray and attack you.』

" ……… I know it … "

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