Chapter 463: In the Heart of the Sky Kingdom

In the Heart of the Sky Kingdom

* * *

“What makes us royalty? It’s not the ‘wings’ on our back. It’s the resolve to protect the lives of our people… that we bear on our back.”

It was a young girl of only ten who told ‘him’ that.

Her long, golden hair, flowing down to her waist, shone like the sun, and her blue eyes were as clear as the sky…

She was a beautiful girl, with an intelligence that belied her age.

“Make up your mind, Sekiran… Be a good king.”

The girl… his strict but kind, beloved sister…

…Smiled and said that.

Those were her last words.

* * *

“…………”

Sekiran Neverfall, the Sky King of the Neverfall Sky Kingdom.

He awoke, his handsome and youthful, yet somewhat frail face, with dark circles under his eyes and slightly hollow cheeks, contorted with a deep frown between his brows.

He slowly opened his eyelids, and the first thing that came into view was the endless Eserem Sea of Fog, and the beautiful blue sky spreading out above it.

But he isn’t taking a nap somewhere, like on a deck with a panoramic view of the outside world.

He is in the heart of the Neverfall Sky Kingdom… in the control room, located in the deepest part of the labyrinth.

All the inner walls of this dome-shaped room are monitors, constantly displaying images of the outside world from all directions.

“…………I had a dream I didn’t want to see…”

The Sky King roughly wiped away the traces of tears from his cheeks with his fist, then forced his heavy, sleep-ridden body out of the throne, and stood up.

And he blankly stared ahead.

What he sees there is a steering wheel, instruments, and a control panel… of a type similar to the ones currently used in airships.

In other words, these are the devices used to manually operate the Sky Kingdom of Neverfall… or rather, the aerial fortress, Neverfall.

This country is currently being kept afloat by ‘Great Spirit Atmo’, but just in case, the Neverfall royal family must learn how to manually operate this aerial fortress using these devices.

Well… there has never been a single ‘just in case’ situation in the history of the royal family, as far as the royal family’s history books go.

This is a fact unknown to many of the citizens, but… this country has existed under Atmo’s protection ever since it was founded.

……‘Protection’, sounds nice though.

But another word for that would be ‘control’.

The royal family is supposed to ‘bear the lives of the people on their back’.

Therefore, they can’t defy the control of Atmo, who keeps this country afloat.

If they disobeyed, the country would sink to the bottom of the Sea of Fog, and all the humans would die.

Atmo’s pronouncements are absolute.

In this country, the royal family is nothing more than a ‘convenient’ pawn, or a disposable…

“…………”

The Sky King shook his head, forcing himself to stop thinking.

He can’t think about this any further.

It’ll show on his face.

The Sky King tried to maintain a neutral expression as much as possible, but ended up sighing and looked behind him.

There, a giant, mysterious sphere, shining in seven colors, floating in the air, extending cables in all directions from its lower part, like a jellyfish.

This is the ‘Atmo Sphere’, said to be the jewel that houses the Great Spirit Atmo.

The Sky King looked further up, above the Atmo Sphere.

A funnel-shaped glass tube hangs from the ceiling.

And inside that tube, filled with a faintly glowing, pale blue liquid, a single girl was quietly sleeping, floating gently.

Her long, golden hair, flowing down to her waist, shone like the sun, and her blue eyes were as clear as the sky…

She’s a beautiful girl, although it’s hard to tell now because she’s submerged in a mysterious liquid, her eyes closed.

In other words, this girl…

Looks exactly like the Sky King’s beloved sister.

She is the Sky King’s daughter.

Air Neverfall.

“…!!!”

The Sky King immediately turned around, unable to bear it.

He can’t even look at her for a moment.

He can’t stop the tears from flowing.

The Sky King, his head bowed, trembling, quietly sobbed.

But his sobs were soon interrupted.

Buu, buu, buu…

With that sound, the communication device on the Sky King’s arm notified him of an incoming ‘email’.

An email… In other words, a pronouncement from the Great Spirit Atmo.

The Sky King didn’t notice, but it seems that many emails were delivered while he was napping.

The Sky King hurriedly displayed the unread emails on the LCD screen of his bracelet-type communication device.

And then, those emails… all had the same content.

There was no text in the email body.

The message was simply displayed in the subject line of the email.

In other words.

‘Hasten the Princess Sacrifice Ritual’.

The Great Spirit Atmo persistently sent that email, again and again.

Why?

Atmo had given the Sky King three days to say goodbye to his daughter.

And yet, why is he telling him to hurry, before the deadline?

“Kuh… Kukuku!”

The Sky King, realizing the reason, involuntarily chuckled!

In other words!

In other words, in other words!

To Air!

To the Sky King’s daughter, who looks exactly like his beloved sister, who he lost to the Princess Sacrifice Ritual!

Help has come…!!

As if to prove it, just then, the Sky King heard the heavy door, the only entrance to this control room, slowly begin to open behind him.

Gi… gi… gi…!

That heavy sound, like a groan of agony, sounded to the Sky King like a song of blessing from the gods!

The Sky King has been neglecting Air.

He wouldn’t even see her.

That’s true.

But he’s happy.

That there is someone who’s trying to defeat him, a wicked king, and rescue his daughter.

He’s incredibly happy!

It’s twisted, incredibly twisted.

But after all, he loves his daughter.

That’s why he’s happy!

“You’ve made it this far…”

And the Sky King, muttering that quietly, had an idea of who the intruder was.

It’s probably Takataka, the Mouse beastman boy.

The brave airship pilot boy who befriended Air…

The Sky King had been secretly keeping track of Air’s movements after she escaped from the palace.

He was eventually forced by Atmo to bring her back, but until he was forced to do so, he was always aware of Air’s whereabouts, using various methods.

Naturally, he knew about Takataka.

“To you who worked hard to save Air… First, as a father, let me say… thank you.”

Although his back is still turned, the Sky King thanked the intruder in a loud and clear voice.

“But as the king… I have to stop you. The Great Spirit’s pronouncements are absolute. The ritual… will be carried out.”

But immediately, the Sky King added hostility to his words and spoke coldly.

“Therefore.”

The Sky King finally turned around.

And!

“If you want to save Air… Defeat me!!”

He spread the large, white ‘wings’ from his back, floated into the air, and faced the intruder!

Yes, the intruder!

Air’s precious friend!

Takataka!

…That’s who the Sky King thought it was.

But, however.

It wasn’t.

It was…

Someone he had never seen before.

A black-haired, black-eyed girl, with an ominous presence.

“…………”

The Sky King canceled his levitation, landed on the floor, and stared at the intruder girl.

And then, he said.

“…Who are you?”

…!!

And the intruder girl, Emi!

Puffed out her chest… stood tall…

And declared!

“No, who are YOU!?”