Chapter 573: The Origin of God Confirmed!
After returning to the ship, Rem walked out with a bright smile.
"Captain, I did a good job just now, right?"
"Yes. You did very well."
Ryuunosuke smiled, but his expression was a little awkward.
"Still… the Marines are in a miserable spot now. Zephyr is probably going to beat them half to death."
His tone sounded sympathetic, but the truth was obvious.
There was far more amusement than pity in his eyes.
Just imagining those three former admirals getting scolded until their souls left their bodies gave Ryuunosuke an oddly satisfying kind of joy.
Ding! Successful fusion with the divine essence. 10% of the goal achieved!
The system notification rang in his mind.
"Hm?"
"When…?"
Ryuunosuke's eyes sharpened.
"Gaino!"
He suddenly remembered what had happened before he arrived here.
After extracting the energy from Krul Busurud and Keshia, Gaino had begun digesting it.
If you counted the time, it should be almost completely processed by now.
And just that alone raised the progress by 10%!
Do not underestimate that 10%.
This improvement confirmed one crucial thing.
Ryuunosuke's guess was correct.
The divine essence could really be extracted from the bodies of the Guardians and the Evictors.
"Captain."
Right then, Gaino appeared in front of him.
"Did the fusion succeed?" Ryuunosuke asked immediately.
"It succeeded."
Gaino's voice carried unmistakable satisfaction.
"The special energy previously extracted from Krul Busurud and Keshia has perfect compatibility with the Eternal Heart I fused with before."
"Even without my guidance, the Heart of Eternity began absorbing and integrating it on its own."
"Also, with the infusion of that energy, a special cycle formed among the five Eternal Hearts."
"Now my actions no longer require Infinity Stones or any external energy source."
"I am delighted."
For a long period of time, Ryuunosuke had been feeding Gaino an absurd amount of pure gold as fuel.
Tesoro provided the gold.
Dr. Acier provided the technology.
With those two working together, the supply of pure gold was practically endless.
And Ryuunosuke had already fulfilled the promise he made to Tesoro.
That Celestial Dragon had died by Tesoro's hands.
From that day on, Tesoro lived entirely for Ryuunosuke.
In Tesoro's own words, if Ryuunosuke ever stopped needing him, he would not hesitate to leave this world and reunite with the people he loved.
And Gaino was not some cheap toy.
Its abilities were powerful in every category, offense, defense, and even multiple special functions.
But power always came with a price.
Gaino was like a money devouring beast.
It consumed pure gold at a terrifying rate.
If those resources were used normally, they could have bought long lives for thousands of people.
To Gaino, that was just a few months of expenses.
That was why Gaino was genuinely happy.
Not needing to burn through mountains of resources anymore was like being freed from a chain.
"Any other changes?" Ryuunosuke asked again.
He was not surprised about the energy source part.
After all, after the Eternal Heart fused with the fifth one, Gaino's energy consumption had already dropped significantly.
There was a good chance it went deeper than that.
"Yes."
Gaino lifted its chin, proud.
"I can sense which people carry the essence of God within their bodies."
"That's a good ability."
Ryuunosuke's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Does the sub ship have this function too?"
"Yes."
Gaino smiled.
"And the captain should have been endowed with this ability as well."
Even though it was only 10%, it had caused a fundamental change in Gaino.
One was just touching the threshold of God.
The other had already stepped through the most critical part of the door.
At this point, Gaino had already placed one foot into the realm of gods.
"I see."
Ryuunosuke paused, then raised a hand and swiped, bringing up his own panel.
He clicked the location of the Ark of Eternity.
Sure enough, a new ability appeared.
Eye of Insight
The Eye of Insight: Capable of detecting the source of God
One sentence.
That was all it needed.
"By the way, Captain," Gaino added casually, as if discussing the weather.
"There is also the source of God inside Sevian's body."
"How about we extract the divine essence now?"
After all, it was right here.
No need to go hunting outside.
"Not for now."
Ryuunosuke refused without hesitation.
"As for Sevian, we can extract it later if we need it."
"Right now, we prepare for the battle that's coming."
There was another reason Ryuunosuke chose to fight alone this time.
He wanted to test Gaino's strength.
Before, there had been no opportunity.
Not because Ryuunosuke refused to let Gaino fight.
The real problem was that Gaino could not compete with those lunatics for monsters.
The moment there was a battle, every one of them rushed faster than anyone else.
Gaino's attacks were mostly wide area attacks.
If it fired freely, it would injure their own people.
That was why this time, Ryuunosuke sent everyone away.
So Gaino could finally get the stage it deserved.
Gaino had been improving nonstop.
And because of its unique nature, Ryuunosuke's expectations for it were high.
"Dinner's ready."
Akame and Kuina walked out carrying food.
"Let's eat first, then talk business."
Even though most of the crew had left, there were still quite a few people on board.
Putting aside Krul Busurud and Keshia, even Sevian was a terrifying eater.
Ryuunosuke and the others were no better.
So the amount of food prepared was, as always, excessive.
"Thanks for the hard work."
Ryuunosuke smiled.
"Everyone, come eat."
He called everyone over.
As for Krul Busurud and Keshia, who were in the cabin, they appeared the moment Ryuunosuke snapped his fingers.
The two of them had been unusually quiet these past few days.
Even with battles raging outside, they did not get involved at all.
Even if Ryuunosuke had not officially agreed to let them join the Dragon Hunter Pirates, they would not act without his orders.
They had fulfilled their duties like perfectly obedient subordinates.
......
Meanwhile, on the island of Yaroyahi.
"Shino, the information Morgans sent says Alcatraz is now the prime suspect."
Kirito's voice was steady.
"Prepare to move."
"Whether they're there or not, we check it first."
Then he turned slightly and looked at the group in front of him.
"Mars, what do you think?"
Besides the group from the Sword Art Online world, the Five Elders of the World Government were also present.
That's right.
The Five Elders were now acting alongside Kirito and the others.
In truth, it was not strange.
In this world, there were no eternal enemies.
Only eternal interests.
And no one understood that better than the Five Elders.
The structure of the World Government had completely collapsed.
Economic pillars.
Military pillars.
Everything.
After the system crashed, they had to find a way out for themselves.
Otherwise, only one ending waited for them.
Death.
"If we make direct contact, we'll become too obvious a target."
Mars spoke without hesitation.
"We can go with you as your crew."
"No matter what kind of battle we run into, we will take action immediately."
Those words were not exactly convincing.
But it was the only guarantee he could offer now.
Otherwise, if they went to the island in their real identities, they would be discovered instantly if Vegapunk truly was there.
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