Chapter 121: Ilunia’s Life

The night air blew cool. The dark night sky, scattered with twinkling stars between a moon shining with soft light.

Under the reflection of the moonlight, Ilunia tucked her hair behind her ear. The wind was somewhat strong, so her hair kept blowing and tickling her face.

The faint scent of damp earth mingled with the cold wind, and their footsteps echoed softly on the quiet street.

Behind her, Ariel escorted her home all the way to the end of the street in front of her house. Ilunia smiled, nodding toward Ariel, whose presence felt faint yet far more certain than usual.

“I know. You did well, well then, good night.”

“Thank you, Miss Ilunia, and good night to you too.”

Ariel bowed his head politely. His footsteps faded softly as he walked away, then vanished into the silence.

After that, Ilunia walked along the cold, empty street. It didn’t take long before a car stopped in front of her, accompanied by a familiar voice.

“Come here, Miss Ilunia.”

“Yes, Wilson.”

Ilunia extended her hand, and a warm, steady hand quickly took it.

With Wilson’s help, who always came to pick her up and assist her, Ilunia entered the car, soon leaving the residential area.

“Are we heading home now?”

Hearing Wilson’s voice, Ilunia shook her head gently.

“Not yet. Could you take me to the nearest park from here? I heard there’s a very nice park around this area.”

“Ah, yes, indeed, there’s a park that sounds beautiful when entering nighttime like this.”

Even though Wilson might not understand why Ilunia suddenly wanted to go to a park, the man just nodded and said nothing.

The car drove along the main road, now very quiet. Only occasionally would a car working at night pass by, but otherwise the road was so quiet that almost no one could be seen.

The lights of each building flickered along the roadside. Amid all that, Ilunia could only imagine it all and feel the cool breeze brushing against her.

The slightly open car window let the night wind slip in, carrying the scent of asphalt and wet leaves.

It didn’t take long before Ilunia reached the park in question. Wilson guided her out, then, after a moment, she heard Wilson’s voice.

The sound of trickling water could be heard from a distance, blending with the rustle of leaves brushing against each other.

“Ahead there’s a large fountain, surrounded by four pillars with lanterns giving off a pale red light. Uniquely, at the edge of this park there’s a circular small river flowing, reflecting the starlight around the park.”

“…Thank you. Is there a bench to sit on?”

“Yes.”

After providing that visual assistance, Wilson immediately guided Ilunia to sit on the park bench. Still not understanding what Ilunia’s actual purpose was right now.

The surface of the bench felt cold and slightly rough beneath Ilunia’s palms.

The man didn’t question anything, but he was certain that whatever action Ilunia took, even something as ridiculous as this, surely had a clear purpose.

And, so, Wilson just waited. He waited for something to happen.

Ilunia did nothing except sit, swinging her legs alternately while enjoying the cool breeze.

The wait wasn’t long. Because, after a while of silence, filled only by the sound of insects chirping at night, Wilson felt the air around him shift.

Something faint tore through the empty air not far from him. It was noticed quickly, making Wilson’s face darken and break into cold sweat.

The insect sounds suddenly stopped, as though the entire park were holding its breath along with him.

“Miss—”

“—Calm down. I know them.”

Ilunia patted Wilson’s tense arm gently, her movement so light and calm.

He intended to carry Ilunia away to safety, but Ilunia instead remained calm and became the figure who calmed Wilson down.

His gaze froze as he stared at a dark circle opening in the air. A dark circle with a deep blue color swirling around, showing something familiar.

But, it wasn’t a breach.

‘What is this? Know them? Know what?’

Wilson felt his heart pounding, he was in full defensive mode in case something wrong was happening.

With a complicated feeling, he decided to trust Ilunia, but didn’t let his vigilance drop even a little.

Kririring—! Kring! Kring!

The sound of a gentle bell echoed, then an Alien figure stepped out. Distorting the air around it until it seemed muffled and separated from the surrounding environment.

At first, only one bell sound, but the next instant…

Kring! Kring! Kring! Kring! Kring!

The bell sound rang out successively in an unreasonable number. At first only one Alien came out, but then several Aliens with similar appearances but different colors and clothing now appeared one by one.

The chimes piled up and echoed, making the night air feel like it was trembling against the skin.

Wilson froze in place, unable to move. If there had only been one, he was confident there’d still be a chance to flee, but with this unreasonable number, how could he possibly escape?

His palms were damp with cold sweat, and his breath caught in his throat.

‘Almost all of them are at Rank-B.’

And, Ilunia had said that all these creatures were an acquaintance?

As the silence continued, Wilson couldn’t hold back the discomfort enveloping his body.

He watched them all very carefully, but at that moment, one of them lowered their body, their head, and finally dropped to their knees.

All of them followed, leaving Wilson stunned.

The bells stopped one by one, and all that remained was the sound of the fountain trickling in the distance.

Then, a voice difficult to comprehend, a mixture of male and female merged into one in an absurd unity, was heard.

“Our greetings, to you, Oracle.”

***

Ilunia looked at them all, the smile on her lips forming somewhat awkwardly.

She realized just how influential she herself currently was, how valuable she was to the Alien species before her. However, that didn’t mean Ilunia could immediately act comfortably as they knelt and worshipped her as something very special.

‘Well, they really are quite desperate.’

Even within that prophecy, Ilunia could feel the threat coming felt so terrifying that they were willing to do anything to stop it.

And, after some time of thinking, they had now reached a conclusion and decided on something.

“Oracle, can we trust you?”

“Did you come here to say that sentence?” Ilunia smiled thinly, her face bathed in the gentle moonlight as she added:

“When you all came here, I thought you’d already made some kind of decision.”

The figure speaking at the front and representing the others was none other than Aclyris themselves.

The last time Ilunia met them was about two days ago when they met at Ilunia’s request to get that skill book.

And now, they met again here, with a topic far heavier and more important than before.

Sensing that they might be hesitant right now, Ilunia let out a small sigh and said:

“That threat can only be resolved by ‘him’, and he alone is capable of it. If you think that I, an Oracle, would be able to stop that, then you’re sorely mistaken.”

Ilunia shook her head, “I’m just a seer without meaningful power. And, if you understand… you should understand that the previous Oracle has already said that the answer to resolving this problem lies with me.”

Ilunia was an Oracle, she had the answer to resolving this problem, but she wasn’t the answer itself.

Aclyris and their species were the type of Alien extremely loyal to their family, friends, and their own principles.

That was exactly why, since they considered the previous Oracle a close kin despite the difference in species, they shouldn’t have much doubt.

They could doubt Ilunia, not trust Ilunia, but they couldn’t doubt the previous Oracle who had given the prophecy about this situation.

And in the end, they only had one choice left. Ilunia didn’t intend to corner them, but Ilunia had her own reasons.

Whatever happened, she had to do this regardless of the risk.

‘Because… my god needs it.’

As the silence continued, freezing the air with Wilson unable to understand anything across from her.

Meanwhile, Aclyris, who seemed to be silent, pondered without saying anything. Ilunia understood that Aclyris might be discussing something in silence. Not just with their own kind, but also with their own leader.

That’s what happened over the next three minutes, then after time that felt like forever, as though time had slowed down like an eternity.

Aclyris curved their lips.

“…We will submit… and follow your proposal, Oracle.”

The smile on Ilunia’s face became soft and sweet for a moment, while Aclyris continued.

“We will… worship ‘him’ as our god.”

That smile then became far more hysterical. Ilunia couldn’t hold herself back, her lips curved widely, filled with a fanatical gleam, obsessed and crazed over one single thing.

It was a smile Wilson sometimes saw, but the man shuddered with dread this time.

The man… he no longer understood anything.

Had… their cult just grown with an extremely powerful Alien as an addition?

Was… this how they would become a cult raising a “god”?

With the Aliens’ help, by working together with them?

“I’m glad to hear it.”

Wilson snapped back to attention as, finally, Ilunia spoke again across from him.

Something that initially felt like it was being exaggerated now became far bigger than Wilson had thought.

With this scale and this speed…

‘This girl probably has no doubt at all that man holds the identity of a god.’

Wilson lowered his head, no longer trying to guess anything. The night air felt far heavier, the atmosphere shifting so cold that he himself felt a chill.

The fountain near them still flowed calmly, as though not caring about what had just been decided.

“Well then, could you prepare that for me?”