READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 41 - Arma Valentine
Chapter 41 – Arma Valentine
—–CROW—–
Arma Valentine.
One of the world’s top ten superhumans.
Known as the Weapon Master for her mastery of all existing weapons.
She was a complete enigma in the original story, never appearing, not even in a portrait, leaving her age, appearance, and everything else shrouded in mystery.
Upon her first appearance, Integra commented in a nonchalant tone,
[I knew it would be like this.]
A beautiful woman.
A beautiful woman in her early twenties, no less.
One of the ten strongest people in the world, a warrior, and a model-esque beauty.
Arma Valentine was truly beautiful.
Her actual age, according to the background setting, had to be at least over fifty, but her appearance was that of a youthful woman in her twenties.
Long, straight, dusty rose hair, a white blouse, and a black skirt reminiscent of office attire. Standing with her arms slightly crossed within crimson armor, she narrowed her somewhat sharp eyes and said,
“You’re Luther.”
It was condescending from the first meeting, but it felt incredibly natural.
The unique aura exuded by those with absolute power.
Her youthful appearance was irrelevant.
Arma Valentine was an absolute powerhouse, and the corpses of dragons and monsters surrounding them were proof of that.
“Yes, I am Luther.”
As Luther replied in a slightly subdued voice, Arma Valentine took a cigarette from a compartment within her crimson armor, lit it, and took a puff.
It was a very thin cigarette.
“Huu-”
Exhaling a long plume of smoke, she continued with a slightly languid expression,
“I’m Arma Valentine. That Lilia child cried and begged me to save you and Karen, saying you were in danger.”
Her monotone voice sounded strangely bored.
No, she clearly seemed genuinely bothered.
Integra, who had been quietly observing Arma Valentine, spoke.
[It seems the signal was sent to Lilia when the bracelet broke during the fight with the Tanus.]
[She doesn’t mention Max, though.]
[Poor Max.]
Come to think of it, that was true.
Luther glanced at Max, who, seemingly unaware that his name hadn’t been mentioned, simply stared at Arma Valentine with a mixture of awe and bewilderment.
“At any rate, it seems I’m not too late.”
Muttering softly, Arma Valentine took another deep drag of her cigarette.
Just then,
[Master, something is strange.]
[Wasn’t Arma Valentine human in the original story?]
“Huh?”
He’d inadvertently spoken aloud.
Wasn’t she human *even* in the original story?
That meant-
“Oh, you noticed?”
Arma Valentine spoke first.
She seemed to have grasped the situation from the sudden change in Luther’s expression.
[The Arma Valentine before you is not human.]
[Most of her body is metallic.]
[She’s more cyborg than human—no, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she’s entirely mechanical, a full-body prosthetic.]
What was going on?
Could the Arma Valentine before him be a fake?
Or was she originally a mechanical device—a doll—in the original story as well?
“Well, it’s not a big deal.”
Taking another drag of her cigarette, Arma Valentine pointed at herself with her free hand.
“This is just a terminal. It’s not the real me. It’s a homunculus, a relic of the ancient Magic Kingdom, that I modified. The real me is much farther away.”
Weapon Master Arma Valentine.
She was a warrior, a collector, and a renowned archaeologist.
Most of the artifacts she used were excavated by her personally.
[Is this also the power of magic?]
[To create such a sophisticated android and even control it remotely…]
[I require information on the ancient Magic Kingdom.]
The ancient kingdom built by the elves who flourished long ago.
But now wasn’t the time to discuss such things.
Arma Valentine brought up a new topic.
“I’ve heard the story. And now, seeing this, I can be certain. There’s some connection between you and the mysterious artifact that destroyed my house, isn’t there?”
Arma Valentine’s gaze rested on the white fragment, still connected to Luther.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but her previously languid eyes now seemed sharper.
[This is it.]
[May Master rest in peace.]
‘If I die, you die too, you know?’
But Luther knew it was a joke.
And Integra’s joking like this meant they had already decided how to deal with Arma Valentine.
Luther detached himself from the fragment, straightened his posture, and said,
“My name is Luther Light Seeker. I come from the sky.”
In other words, an angel.
Curiosity flickered in Arma Valentine’s orange eyes.
—–CROW—–
Angels didn’t appear in Dragon Hunter Origin.
There were a few items introduced as angelic weapons, like the Heavenly Armor, but that was about it.
‘You know, it’s a common RPG trope. Equipment with descriptions like “from another world.” But the other world never actually appears in the story. It’s like that.’
Settings that exist solely to enrich the world.
Therefore, Luther didn’t feel any burden in calling himself an “angel.”
After all, he was never going to encounter a real angel.
“I’m certain. This isn’t from the Magic Kingdom.”
Arma Valentine examined the Nanosuit with a serious expression. Karen and Max smiled.
They were clearly pleased, as if saying, “Just as we thought!”
[Heheh, just as expected.]
Luther also smiled faintly inside his face mask.
But Arma’s next words were a bit strange.
“It’s like the Heavenly Armor. No, this seems to be a more advanced version.”
Karen and Max nodded again.
But Luther couldn’t.
‘Like it?’
The Nanosuit and the Heavenly Armor?
This wasn’t just an assumption like Karen and Max had made.
Arma’s words held strong conviction.
“Arma, you’ve seen the Heavenly Armor yourself?”
Max asked, somewhat excitedly. Arma, still fiddling with Luther’s Nanosuit—specifically, the arm section—nodded.
“I’ve seen it a few times. It was interesting because it was made with a completely different type of technology than the relics of the Magic Kingdom.”
Arma Valentine wasn’t lying.
She was one of the world’s top ten superhumans and an expert on the artifacts of the ancient Magic Kingdom.
Someone like her would have had the opportunity to observe the Heavenly Armor, treasured by the Holy Empire.
[Master, what’s going on?]
[The Heavenly Armor and the Nanosuit are the same? Could the “angels”—no, the “Celestial Realm” mentioned in Dragon Hunter Origin actually be the “Galactic Federation”?]
The largest political entity in the Star Savior universe.
If the current conversation was anything to go by, the “Celestial Realm” was the “Galactic Federation,” and the “angels” were “aliens” belonging to the Galactic Federation.
‘Combining the world settings like this? No, but it’s possible.’
Luther, a playable character from Star Savior, had already appeared in the world of Dragon Hunter Origin.
Moreover, if this was reality and not a game, such a connection would be even more natural.
‘Yes, it’s possible. It would even explain why angels don’t actually appear in Dragon Hunter Origin.’
The founding emperor, Clausewitz, lived over a hundred years ago.
Could he have been a member of the Galactic Federation, like Luther, who crash-landed on this planet?
Or perhaps a human from this planet who encountered such a person?
[An interesting hypothesis.]
[Moreover, it’s a common cliché.]
[If we add time travel or timeline shifting to the mix, “Clausewitz” could actually be you, Master, from the future!]
‘No, even if it’s a cliché, that’s a bit much…’
There were limits, even with clichés.
[Hmm, I suppose so?]
[I also thought it was a bit of a stretch while I was saying it.]
[If that were truly the case, there would be no need to change the name. He would have used the name “Luther” as a hint to his future self and me.]
[It’s intriguing, nonetheless.]
[It could genuinely be technology from a hundred years ago, but if we don’t discard the hypothesis of timeline shifting due to warp, it could be technology from within the last 10 years—no, perhaps even contemporary technology.]
[Master, were there any other “angelic” artifacts besides the Heavenly Armor in the original story?]
There were.
The founding emperor, Clausewitz, left behind more than just the Heavenly Armor.
‘There were weapons. And… wow, could that be it too?’
[Master?]
[What’s wrong?]
[Please share your thoughts with me.]
The reason Luther suddenly exclaimed in wonder.
The only things that appeared in the original story were weapons and equipment used by Clausewitz, such as swords and shields.
But according to the setting, there were even more remarkable things.
‘The Sword Emperor’s Eight Divine Treasures. The Heavenly Giant and the Mobile Fortress.’
[What?]
‘There’s a giant and a mobile fortress.’
Gigantic artifacts said to have been used by the founding emperor of the Holy Empire, the Sword Emperor Clausewitz.
But what if they were all created with Galactic Federation technology?
[Oh my, are you talking about a giant combat robot and a battleship?]
‘Perhaps?’
No, he couldn’t think of it any other way.
That explanation made much more sense.
[Master, it seems we have a new objective.]
[We must gather the legacy of the Sword Emperor Clausewitz.]
[Even if it’s a hundred-year-old technology, a battleship changes everything.]
Indeed.
Moreover, Luther now had Integra.
If they could find them, and if they were repairable, they could even upgrade them.
[I was going to report this after the situation was resolved, but I acquired new information while absorbing this fragment.]
[If the fragments and even a spherical Galactic Federation battleship could be combined…]
[Master, my heart is pounding.]
Luther felt the same.
Not only was his heart pounding, but all sorts of fantasies were running wild in his mind.
Just then,
“Are you alright? You’ve been quiet for a while.”
Luther looked up at Arma’s question and saw Karen and Max looking at him with concern.
He had been so engrossed in his conversation with Integra that he hadn’t spoken for several minutes. It was natural for them to be worried.
“I’m just a little tired. How about we find a place to rest before we continue this conversation?”
Karen and Max nodded immediately.
They seemed to think it was natural for him to be exhausted, having fought a fierce battle and absorbed a fragment before Arma arrived.
“That would be good. The fairies seem to be waiting as well.”
At Arma’s words, everyone turned to look at the fairies, as if they had forgotten about them.
They were mystical, fairy-tale creatures, but Arma Valentine’s presence was so overwhelming that it was easy to overlook them.
However, the fairies, perhaps worried about their Queen, or perhaps because they had heard that Luther was an “angel,” didn’t get angry or complain. Instead, they spoke in slightly more polite tones.
“We’ll take our Queen back for now.”
“We must repay your kindness. Let’s meet again tomorrow night at the place where we first met.”
“Just crush this.”
The fairies, led by Bidel, placed a small, glowing fruit in Karen’s palm.
“Then we’ll be going now.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Waving their hands, the fairies surrounded the still-sleeping Fairy Queen and vanished in a flash of light.
It was Spatial Jump, one of the fairies’ unique abilities.
[The technological balance of this world is quite mysterious.]
[There are no cars, yet spatial jumps are possible.]
‘That’s because it’s fantasy.’
Luther replied casually and looked at Arma, who had returned to her crimson giant armor.
She closed the hatch with an indifferent expression and said in a languid tone,
“Lead the way to the campsite.”
The place where they had met the fairies.
Nodding slightly, Luther lifted the fragment.
—–CROW—–