Mushoku Tensei: Reincarnated as a Beast Race Chapter 398: 397 - The World in Disorder

The world was in disorder.

Not to mention the Begaritt Continent, which had been the stage of the greatest battle of the last millennium, the rest of the world was also suffering the lingering consequences in various ways.

The most obvious change was in the climate.

Masses of hot air crossed regions where cold winds should have blown. Storm clouds formed in a matter of minutes above peaceful cities. Acid rain fell over crop fields, corroding leaves, rooftops, and the skin of unprepared animals.

Sudden winters appeared in the most unlikely places, covering roads in ice for a few hours before disappearing and leaving only mud and flooding behind.

There was, after all, a reason why tampering with the climate was taboo among high-level mages.

Even Saint-level magic could cause severe damage to the ecosystem of a region if not properly controlled.

Emperor-level or God-level magic was far worse.

Naturally, none of the spells used during the battle had the direct objective of altering the world's climate.

But that did not matter.

The adverse effects of such enormous quantities of mana were already more than enough to destabilize the environment.

For that reason, although the battle had ended, the real work had only just begun for many.

The least affected regions were the Kingdom of Gaia and the Demon Continent.

The Kingdom of Gaia because it was already prepared, organized, and ready to deal with almost any difficulty.

Whether through food reserves, evacuation routes, stationed mages, trained beasts, communication circles, medical units, and outposts, everything had already been operating before most countries even understood what was happening.

The Demon Continent, on the other hand, was simply already desolate in many regions.

The demon race was born to endure extremes. Droughts, poisons, heat, cold, monsters, and impossible terrain were part of ordinary life in many territories. For that reason, although they also suffered climatic changes and outbreaks of unstable mana, the damage was not as disastrous as in more fragile lands.

On the Central Continent and in Begaritt, however, the situation was different. They were experiencing true calamities.

The Iron Legion did everything possible to help and control the damage everywhere.

Bridges for more efficient evacuation were built using Earth Magic. Water mages were sent to contain forest fires. Dragons, flying beasts, and transport units carried supplies between affected regions.

The most harmed among the kingdoms of the Central Continent was the Kingdragon Kingdom.

Fortunately, because they were allies, the Kingdom of Gaia could provide direct assistance.

Even so, although the losses were more or less under control, the entire world could still clearly feel the consequences.

And of course, even if everything was moving toward the resolution of its greatest problems, one of the protagonists of that battle was more nervous than ever.

Rygar.

After returning to the Kingdom of Gaia and learning of his daughters' disappearance, he crossed almost the entire length of the Great Forest several times.

Even so, he found no trace of Aurora or Iris.

The only way such a sudden disappearance could happen was Aurora's teleportation. But she had never been able to teleport more than a few hundred meters with her power.

For that reason, the disappearance was shrouded in mystery.

And it was not only Rygar.

Many others were alerted and mobilized the moment they learned of the disappearance of two daughters of the Beast God.

Except for those who were busy directly dealing with the consequences of the apocalyptic battle, everyone searched for the princesses of the kingdom.

Even branches outside the Kingdom of Gaia, spread across the entire world, were notified and put on alert.

But no one found any trace.

After more than a day, Rygar began to seriously consider that it was an elaborate plan by Hitogami, something like a final card against him.

Until finally, while flying over the Great Forest for the umpteenth time, he received a message from Verdia.

Rygar read the message. For an instant, he stopped in the air, and then finally breathed in relief.

In the next moment, he teleported.

---

Gathered inside a large Iron Legion building, constructed around one of the colossal trees of the Great Forest, were Verdia, Aisha, Ornthorn, and a young-looking elf.

The building was wide, circular, and integrated into the gigantic trunk. The elf operated a magical mechanism under Aisha's guidance.

Suddenly, as usual, Rygar appeared in the room with a snap.

He wasted no time.

"How were they found? Where are they? Are they all right?"

Verdia approached with a calm smile.

"Calm down a little, dear. They are fine, okay?"

Rygar had been visibly agitated since returning from the battle, perhaps even more than during the fight itself.

In battle, he had enemies to face.

Now, he did not. He simply could not do anything to find his daughters faster. And every second without answers seemed to make him more nervous.

For that reason, Verdia first tried to calm him down.

Ornthorn, meanwhile, was finally relaxed in a reclining chair.

He had been the one responsible for looking after the children at the moment of the disappearance. If something had happened to Aurora and Iris, he could not even imagine what his fate would be.

Actually, he preferred not to imagine it.

While Verdia spoke with Rygar and answered his questions little by little, Aisha turned around.

"Master, he is already on the line. We can begin at any moment."

Rygar took a deep breath.

"Thank you, Aisha."

He approached the device, and the elf immediately stepped away with a bow.

Rygar picked up the main object of the mechanism. It was strange, resembling an old telephone from his home world, although it was made of wood, some metallic parts with magic circles, and small blue crystals. When he injected mana into the device, the runes lit up one by one.

Then a voice sounded from the other side.

"Nigav Dedoldia, Acting Leader of the North-Central Headquarters of the Iron Legion, listening. Who am I speaking to?"

Rygar was pleasantly surprised to recognize the voice.

Nigav had trained at the Sword Sanctuary at the same time as him.

He reached the rank of Sword Saint younger than his peers and, since then, had remained in that region, commanding that headquarters of the Legion.

It had been a long time since Rygar had direct contact with him.

But he had heard from Aisha that Nigav had reached the rank of Sword King a few years ago. His political influence in the Magic Triumvirate was also enormous due to the position he held in the Iron Legion.

Rygar would have liked to speak with him more calmly and learn about his recent years. But, at that moment, he had other priorities.

"Nigav, it's me, Rygar. Set the procedures aside. Did you find my daughters? Where are they?"

There was a brief silence on the other side. Nigav seemed surprised, but answered quickly:

"Ah, commander. Understood. Actually, I was not the one who found them, sir. It was a professor from Ranoa Magic University, Roxy M. Greyrat."

Rygar raised an eyebrow. He recognized the name immediately.

"Roxy M. Greyrat?"

"Yes, sir. She was the one who found them... and in a rather peculiar way, actually. But their safety has already been confirmed. She came to the Legion Headquarters to inform us and is here beside me. Do you wish to speak with her, commander?"

With the safety of the two confirmed, he could be calmer, but now he was more curious than anything else.

The same could be said of the others in the room.

The first possibility would have been a kidnapping.

But, if that were the case, why would Roxy Greyrat return the two?

Rygar answered:

"Yes. I want to speak with her. Call her."

"Yes, sir."

Nigav's voice stopped. For a moment, only the noise of the magical communication device remained in the room.

Aisha spoke at the right moment:

"Master, do you think Lady Roxy already knows about his death...?"

Rygar had reached the same line of thought. Rudeus Greyrat's death would certainly affect her, since she was his wife.

Verdia answered before him:

"She should not know. They do not have a communication network as broad as ours, and only a few hours have passed."

Aisha crossed her arms.

"But the Dragon God helped his subordinates leave the Begaritt Continent safely. There is a chance they could move quickly through some hidden Teleportation Circle, no?"

Rygar remained silent for an instant.

Then he spoke:

"We will find out when she speaks."

Nigav's voice returned through the device.

"She is here, commander."

Soon after, a doubtful female voice sounded from the other side:

"Hm... Hello?"

Rygar answered:

"Roxy M. Greyrat?"

A small gasp of surprise could be heard.

"How does this work...? Ahem! Yes, it is me, Lord Beast God!"

"Call me Rygar. Could you describe exactly how you found my daughters?"

From Roxy's manner of speaking, everyone in the room realized that she still had no concrete information about the scale the battle in Begaritt had reached.

Much less about her husband's death.

Roxy answered carefully:

"Yes. Ah, hm... What happened was that I was preparing to go to the market, and when I went to speak with my daughter, Lara, I saw two more girls in the room with her."

She paused briefly.

"When I tried to say something, one of them, the green-haired elf, used some kind of Gravity Magic and completely paralyzed me..."

Rygar sighed.

Verdia put a hand over her face.

Aisha merely narrowed her eyes, smiling, mentally confirming that this was just like Aurora.

Roxy continued quickly:

"And then she interrogated me for a long time, asking where she was and how she had ended up there... Ahem, well, afterward she released me and apologized, so there is no problem. Really."

Rygar remained silent, listening.

"From what I understood of the story, your daughter Aurora's Miko power activated suddenly without her control. Then the two of them teleported into Lara's room..."

Roxy hesitated.

"On the other side of the world."

Another brief silence.

"It is still unbelievable even saying it out loud. Actually, when I learned they were your daughters, I panicked, imagining that we would be attacked in the next instant. But your daughter simply told me to report what had happened at an Iron Legion Headquarters and that someone would eventually come pick her up... And well, here I am."

Rygar carefully analyzed Roxy's intonation and story, and it seemed to be true. And, well, it sounded exactly like something Aurora would do in that situation.

He sighed once again.

"I apologize for my daughter's behavior. And thank you for contacting us. Where are they now?"

"Ah, I wanted to bring them with me here, but Aurora refused and said she was fine there until someone came to pick her up."

Roxy hurried to add:

"It's true, I did not force her to stay there or anything. I even tried to convince her to come with me, but I think she was teaching Lara something. The three of them seem to have become friends very quickly..."

Verdia smiled bitterly at her daughter's actions. Aurora really was a little pest.

She could disappear to the other side of the world, paralyze a professor from the Magic University, interrogate the owner of the house, make friends with her daughter, and still decide that she would wait there as if she were merely visiting a classmate.

Nigav's voice emerged from the device again.

"Commander, we have just received news that the Dragon God has arrived in Sharia."

Everyone in the room paid closer attention at the same instant.

Nigav continued:

"He contacted one of the members of the Iron Legion and instructed him to deliver a message to you. He says he will be waiting at his base here in the Magic City, in case you still wish to discuss the terms of the agreement."

The unexpected development changed the atmosphere of the room, and Rygar remained silent for a moment.

Aisha observed her master without saying anything.

Verdia and Ornthorn also stayed quiet. No one else knew exactly how the conversation with the Dragon God in Begaritt had gone, only him.

Rygar pondered for a few seconds, then spoke:

"All right. Thank you, Nigav. Please guarantee the girls' safety. And, if possible, tell the Dragon God that I will be on my way."

"Understood, commander."

Rygar calmly ended the communication, and the glow of the device faded.

He looked at the magical mechanism, then at Verdia, Aisha, and Ornthorn.

Throughout his entire life in this world, he had never truly visited the famous Magic City of the Magic Triumvirate.

Apparently, this would be his opportunity.

----

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