The Prince Wants to Retire

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The Crown Prince Wishes to Retire

Side Story 6: Operation Name: Catch the Monster (2)

Following the advice from the Attendant Hall, Kariel decided to meet the Empress later and hurriedly exited the Imperial Palace, half-expecting to run into her.

Once he swiftly left the palace in a wagon, he headed straight for a place filled with remnants of the past.

Thanks to the modified airship designed for speed, he quickly arrived at his destination, only to be greeted by a landscape that was quite unexpected.

“Do remnants of the past also undergo ‘evolution’?”

Having lived for many long years, there were divine beasts infused with mana, as well as mutated monsters that had evolved by consuming remnants of the past or their remains.

As these beings began their own evolutionary journeys and started hunting the remnants, the remnants themselves began to change.

Even hiding in rugged terrains to escape human attack didn’t exempt them from being hunted by divine beasts or monsters, so the risk of being hunted started to grow.

And the result was right in front of Kariel.

-…Are they here to kill me?

The bat, as if preparing for death.

It had hidden itself deep within a large cave, even intentionally shrinking its own size to remain hidden.

It was being cautious about gaining strength so as not to be caught by humans.

The reason this creature was discovered was due to the power from the Gate of Other Dimension that had formed near the cave, which it absorbed.

Even though it had hidden itself well, the transient power from other dimensions had allowed it to evolve, surpassing its original strength.

And at that moment, the wave of power spread out, alerting Kariel.

“I didn’t come to kill you; I came to recruit you.”

-Recruit?

“Yeah.”

At Kariel’s words, the bat tilted its head in confusion.

No matter how much it had evolved, it was still a weak being compared to Kariel.

There were much stronger entities hiding throughout the West Continent, so the fact that someone would come personally to recruit it seemed strange.

-Why are you trying to recruit me, of all creatures?

“Using the power of Other Dimensions.”

Kariel answered the bat’s question honestly.

Even though it was not a strong being, the only reason he had come personally was simple.

The bat knew secrets that humanity had yet to uncover.

“You know, if things stay the same, this world will once again face danger. So help me.”

-……

“Don’t worry about the remnants of the past. I plan to meet all of them anyway.”

-Really?

“Of course. Even if they were born from the remnants of past powers, they are still part of this world. But the Other Dimensions are different.”

As Kariel said this, he extended his hand toward the bat.

“I won’t hinder your growth. But you need to cooperate.”

The bat gazed into Kariel’s eyes.

It was one of the first vampires chosen directly by the progenitor of vampires.

But it wasn’t that impressive.

It was merely one among numerous first vampires, and it hadn’t possessed any significant strength back then.

However, it was different now.

‘If I can grow even further this way…’

As those thoughts crossed its mind, the bat’s gaze changed.

For now, the risk of being hunted by humans had vanished.

Moreover, if it cooperated with the research, the risk of being hunted by monsters would shrink as well.

With humans protecting it, it would be able to grow while relying on its meager knowledge.

-I’ll cooperate.

“That’s a good choice. I won’t let you regret it.”

Was this a gift for the first being with whom Kariel had contracted?

He commanded the Knight Order to protect the bat.

Simultaneously, he permitted the prisoners to be turned into its kin.

Creating vampires carried its risks, but this much had to be done to make the creature trust him and spill out all its knowledge.

Thus, Kariel made a formal contract with the remnants of the past for the first time.

From there, he began to seek out others hidden in the regions near the Central area.

“They’re all pretty mediocre.”

Kariel clicked his tongue as he said this.

The Central region of the Empire was a key area, so the surveillance was fierce.

Because of that, strong beings couldn’t possibly remain hidden.

If one was large or possessed great strength, they would inevitably be detected in some form.

Thus, to recruit significant forces, he had no choice but to wander to the outer regions.

But it wasn’t entirely meaningless.

“What are the results?”

In response to Kariel’s question, Duke Welch, who had come directly, reported.

“Still minor. The remnants of the past don’t trust us yet, and most of them act primarily on instinct…”

“So we need time?”

“……Yes. However, thanks to the bat, we’ve managed to glean some meaningful results.”

Sighing, Kariel turned his attention to Duke Welch, who continued speaking.

“According to what we learned from the bat, the power of other dimensions is also akin to mana.”

“Then why can’t we harness it, yet they can?”

In response to Kariel’s question, Duke Welch handed over a report crafted from accumulated data.

“Look at the power used by the remnants of the past.”

“There are multiple types mixed together.”

“Exactly. While it’s obscured by mana, hellish power, and a unique strength the remnants possess, here, if you observe the wave of this power, you’ll find it resembles the wave of the strength from the Gate of Other Dimension.”

As Kariel read the report, his eyes widened in realization.

“Why wasn’t I aware of this?”

“It was very faint, and we didn’t have time to study it calmly.”

As Duke Welch stated, they had only been hunting remnants of the past and hadn’t been inclined to research them properly.

More importantly, the biggest issue was that the remnants hadn’t cooperated even when captured.

Meanwhile, a contract with the remnants of the past allowed for research to become feasible now.

“It seems the reason remnants can grow stronger through the power of Other Dimensions is largely due to their ability to handle various powers, alongside having a fragment of the power flowing from the Gate of Other Dimension.”

“Indeed. I’m curious, though. How do these remnants possess such power?”

After pondering Kariel’s question for a moment, Duke Welch slowly opened his mouth.

“They likely gained it after crossing dimensions.”

Forced into this world by hell, the remnants of the past should be expected to have the power of Other Dimensions.

‘Is it because I crossed into Garum’s power that’s different for me?’

Unlike Kariel, who crossed into hell in a stable manner, the remnants of the past were probably partially forcibly exiled, making their journey between hell and here unstable.

‘Perhaps the power of Other Dimensions could be a universal force.’

While Kariel pondered this inwardly, Duke Welch spoke up again.

“However, we can put up barriers around the Gate of Other Dimension to prevent contaminated areas from increasing.”

“That’s a relief. As soon as results come in, let the military know immediately.”

“Understood! Your Majesty.”

As Duke Welch bowed and withdrew, Kariel let out a small sigh.

In the end, to obtain meaningful information, he had to meet higher remnants.

“Your Majesty.”

“Oh, Talion.”

“It seems you won’t need to take direct action anymore.”

At Talion’s words, Kariel tilted his head in confusion.

“The remnants we contracted have finished agreeing to assist us when dealing with other beings. We’ve already successfully contracted a remnant in the outer region.”

“Oh… That’s good to hear.”

Just in case, Kariel had issued a command.

Having decided to assist humans, he had requested that beings with leeway help when talking with other remnants, and even this yielded meaningful results.

“Now, what we need is time, isn’t it?”

Through contracts with the remnants of the past, they would be able to uncover the secrets of the Gates of Other Dimension, along with securing significant military power for the looming war ahead.

However, time was running out for the Empire.

As he looked at another report Talion produced from his cloak, Kariel let out a sigh.

Initially, there were less than twenty Gates of Other Dimension, but now over a hundred had appeared in the West Continent alone, making it increasingly difficult to keep track of them in real-time.

Having rejected Quetzalcoatl’s proposition, Kariel also gave up on maintaining the barriers, leading to the rapid increase of Gates.

As one side faltered, other divine-like beings also began to give up one by one, resulting in a geometric multiplication of Gates.

The issue was that the scale of those Gates was growing larger with time.

“A war….”

The war, which had seemed concluded, was on the verge of restarting.

Certainly, the number of Gates was rapidly increasing, but it was still manageable.

“It’s at a level that’s still manageable.”

Although he couldn’t predict how strong the beings crossing over would be, he had no regrets about his decision.

The reason Baldur could rest assured and dissolve was that he believed the current level could withstand without his presence.

“Still, the information is too lacking.”

Kariel muttered in disappointment about the vacant spot that Surth had left behind.

Without the presence of the being that always advised him, he felt frustrated.

“Why is it that they’re never around when I need them?”

Just as he complained about Surth, who had yet to make contact…

-Tsk tsk! Looks like you can’t do anything without me!

“Uh?”

A small fireball suddenly appeared before him.

With big eyes, the tiny fireball smiled at him.

-Long time no see?

Seeing Surth greeting him, Kariel was taken by surprise.

“Where have you been!? It’s been ages since I reached out!”

-I’ve been busy! I was too busy fighting off those guys from the Other Dimension.

Kariel’s expression turned to pure astonishment as he tilted his head.

“What do you mean?”

-Just as I said. I’ve been preoccupied fighting an army from the Other Dimension. Phew… I just wrapped up the battle before coming back.

“What in the world….”

Transdimensional armies hadn’t yet crossed into the West Continent or elsewhere.

“Where on earth have you been?”

-In Muspelheim.

“What? That place is supposed to be destroyed…”

-Yeah, it was destroyed.

Surth confirmed what Kariel had said with a nod.

-But it turns out it wasn’t completely demolished. There were remnants left between hell and this place.

“Oh….”

-Luckily, there were also many remains of my kin there, and thanks to that, I was able to bring the remnants that had crossed over with me.

As Surth spoke about the reconstruction of Muspelheim, Kariel realized that the world rumored to be demolished during the Mythical Era.

It was said that only the world of humans was barely left due to Baldur, but that didn’t appear to be the case.

-When I crossed into hell, I had a feeling, and it’s just as I suspected.

Like the Demon Realm, the remnants of a destroyed world had survived.

However, unlike the world rebuilt by Baldur, it wasn’t stable; thus, it was more susceptible to attacks from other dimensions.

-Other summoned creatures are likely in similar situations.

Skoll, who had gone to find his siblings, and Agni, a fragment of the Spirit King, could also reach the remnants of the destroyed world.

The reason they could do this was simple.

It was because they could borrow a portion of Garum’s power through Kariel.

The ability to traverse hell wasn’t a simple matter. It was a high-dimensional force that could cross from world to world, allowing Surth to find remnants of Muspel.

-Once I finish tidying up, they’ll probably start arriving one by one.

“Whew… really?”

-Yeah.

Kariel nodded with a bright smile at Surth’s words.

-Ah! And I have a little present.

“A present?”

-Yeah. I overheard that you’re trying to form alliances with the remnants of the past.

As Surth stared intently at Kariel, who nodded, he smiled broadly.

-We’ll lend our aid too.

“What?”

-The revival of the Fire Giants is practically thanks to you, so we should help, right?

As Surth extended his tiny hand to Kariel for a handshake, Kariel smiled brightly and nodded.

It seemed they secured valuable military power just before the impending war.

Yet, another event that made Kariel even happier happened amidst this pleasant situation.