The Lone SF Transmigrator in the Otherworld Forum

GROOOAR-

Kameira’s death throes set goosebumps across the skin of every fighter on the battlefield.

But the sensation was short-lived.

Boom-

As its massive body that filled the fleshy cave collapsed with a thud, an even greater thrill washed over them.

Finally…!

At last…!

As expected of His Majesty!

Thud- Thud-

“Haa… Haa…”

“Unreal…”

“I can’t believe it.”

It had been a full month since they began fighting after finding Kameira’s core. Even Karlstein, who usually never showed signs of fatigue, was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.

They were within a massive cave infested with webs of flesh. In the center of the cave, a giant heart was pulsating, with a massive spear thrust into its center, spewing burning black blood.

Karlstein removed his hand from the giant spear, turned around, and took in his surroundings.

He saw his allies sprawled on mountains literally made of Kaiju corpses. They were the ones who shaped the battleground and protected the surroundings while he thrust the spear into Kameira’s heart.

He saw the eyes of his subordinates, full of loyalty despite being covered in blood and cold sweat, Leira who had lost her right arm, and Maxien who was staring blankly at her shattered pendant.

And he saw Palteon, lying cold with his lower body missing. Yet Palteon was not the only one who had fallen to death.

It was all thanks to his loyal subjects who threw their lives to buy even a second more time, to complete their respective missions. They were why Karlstein managed to spear Kameira’s heart.

While they had succeeded in completing the Galactic Empire’s great mission, there was no way to avoid casualties.

“Hoo…”

If there was any consolation, it was that their mission had succeeded with incomparably fewer sacrifices compared to the past Single Number subjugation.

Not that it’ll bring them back to life.

Karlstein’s gaze fell on Palteon, whose body was half-crushed. He could not help but smile bitterly.

Palteon…

Though the man had shown a desire for power before the subjugation began, it was only secondary. He truly cared for Karlstein and acted in the Empire’s best interests.

When the rear formation was broken during the battle and faced annihilation, it was Palteon who sacrificed himself. He threw himself in without hesitation, asking his emperor to take care of the rest.

And he was not the only one sacrificed.

Bitern, who mainly used dual swords.

Siaran, young but a promising candidate to join the 1st Corps.

Soyeurn, who was the head of the Ability Management Department.

Meiana, who wielded the power to distort space.

Each and every one of their names and faces weighed heavily on Karlstein’s heart.

Nevertheless… as the Emperor, he could not remain silent.

“As of today, the Galactic Empire has succeeded in hunting another Single Number.”

“!!”

“——!”

“—!”

Those who had been mourning the sacrifices and deaths of their comrades slowly raised their heads at Karlstein’s voice.

“As always, we have emerged victorious.”

It was not that Karlstein did not mourn their loss, but as the Emperor, it was not the time for such feelings.

This moment demanded gratitude for their triumph, relief for their survival, and recognition of their dedication. And above all, glory to the Galactic Empire.

“Everyone… you’ve worked hard.”

Karlstein declared victory, and all the heroes who had participated in the subjugation felt their hearts tighten at those words.

But just as Karlstein was about to speak further….

Pzzt-

There was an ominous sound. The burning black liquid that had been spewing from Kameira’s heart began to surge and be absorbed into Karlstein.

“!!”

“Protect His Majesty!”

“What in the…!”

However, Karlstein stopped them by raising his palm. This too was expected.

“…Max—ien. I leave…”

Nod-

Some, including Maxien who had participated in the past Single Number subjugation, were aware of this phenomenon. Though there was worry in their eyes…

Grin-

Karlstein’s relaxed smile dispelled even that last bit of anxiety.

[I will wait, Master.]

As Kameira’s power flowed into Karlstein’s body, his vision turned pitch black and he abruptly lost consciousness.

The last things he remembered were Maxien’s still worried gaze and Aria’s voice.

***

How much time had passed?

Karlstein had lost his sense of time and distance. He could not feel even the five senses of his body.

Upon regaining consciousness, he tried to recall his memories.

It did not take long.

Am I in the process of absorbing Kameira’s power?

Karlstein could easily imagine it since it was the same during the Delroa incident in the past.

Hmm.

If there was any difference…

Back then, it was dangerous as he almost went berserk, but now he was quietly hibernating.

When he went berserk in the past, it had worried his subordinates. Though their worry had been rather excessive, the fact was that he woke up safely.

Still, how long will this go on…?

The sensation of not having a body was liberating, but also frustrating. In the last subjugation, Karlstein had to spend roughly a year unconscious after consuming Delroa’s power.

At the time, the Galactic Empire fell into panic and was on the verge of falling apart, but…

It won’t be like that this time.

Aria had made sufficient preparations, after all.

Something was curious, though. Karlstein was unable to regain consciousness like this before.

How did this happen? Why was he conscious?

It felt like he was floating in a dark space where nothing could be felt.

Karlstein tried to do something out of frustration, but it was not easy.

Fwip- Fwip-

There was nothing he could do.

But then…

Pzz-

[Welcome to the Integrated Dimensional Community.]

Eh? The Community works?

Though puzzled, Karlstein naturally did not refuse.

However…

[Cos!#%Em!@# connection to the server has been lost.]

[Connection to !@%#@#% !@# has been @#^##.]

He could not log in to his account.

Mmm… I guess it won’t work completely after all. What should I do?

He would have been better off unconscious. Being unable to do anything in the current situation was like torture.

Resting comfortably without doing anything was what he had dreamed of, but a situation where he literally could not do anything was a slightly different matter.

As Karlstein was trying various things…

[Welcome, ‘I’mThePirateKing’.]

Oh!

Joy rushed in at the unexpected result.

My alt works huh?

Having logged in with his alt account, Karlstein looked around the Community.

[Does this @$#%@! make sense?][1355]

[Worsh!#%^ the Galactic !#%.][33]

[What do you @$^@#^ think about Oradge?][112]

The text was half unreadable, but he could see it was slowly recovering.

Karlstein could access the Community despite losing consciousness. His main account could not connect, but his alt account could. The text was broken due to an unstable connection.

All these phenomena were worth pondering over…

But that’s a job for the researchers.

It was not an issue for him to worry about.

The researchers would be sad to hear his thoughts, but regardless, Karlstein waited patiently for the Community functions to recover.

Oh, the message function recovered first? Then I should let Aria know—

Suddenly, a message from someone else arrived first.

[You have received a message from ‘RulerofDawn’.]

[You have received a message from ‘DimensionalMercenary’.]

Huh?

Upon examination, it turned out it was not their first time contacting him. He could see records of them sending several messages during the subjugation when he barely used the Community.

Never seen these guys around. I wasn’t even that active with this account…

As Karlstein checked the messages… he was dumbstruck.

Ah.

A strange feeling came over him.

Haha…

It was an account he had once used to post half anti-Empire, half pro-Oradge posts for fun, with a bit of ego-searching.

Of course, half the purpose was killing time, and the other half was…

I did it just in case something like this happened…

Who would have thought such contacts would actually come?

He was dazed. From surprise? No. In fact, he was pleased.

The messages were not anything significant. Though they were beating around the bush and speaking metaphorically…

-I’d like to have a deeper conversation about your ideology.

-There’s a group you might be interested in… what do you think?

-I’ve had my eye on you for a while.

Curious, Karlstein replied to their messages.

First, I need to see what level they’re at.

Then Karlstein paused. His subordinates were surely waiting for him. For a moment, he thought he should inform Aria of his current situation, but…

No. Who knows? I might get disconnected again, even though it’s working right now.

Surely they would worry more if the connection was suddenly lost? It would not too late to contact them after confirming that it was fully restored.

With a slightly lighter heart, Karlstein started a conversation with one of them.

-(I’mThePirateKing): ya?

-(RulerofDawn): Hello. Thank you for replying.

At first, Karlstein tried to coax them gently with polite speech, but then remembered that he was always casual when posting with this alt account before.

Gotta maintain concept!

-(I’mThePirateKing): why’d you call me?

-(RulerofDawn): Huhu. It is just as I heard.

Just as you heard? But I wasn’t actually that active with this account though.

In any case, seeing that the other person seemed to be waiting for an answer, Karlstein quickly replied.

-(I’mThePirateKing): what u want

-(RulerofDawn): I’ve been watching you.

The response was more serious than expected, and Karlstein’s interest grew even more.

-(I’mThePirateKing): hm.

-(RulerofDawn): Let’s go. There are people I want to introduce you to.

The subtle underlying confidence only further piqued Karlstein’s interest.

-(I’mThePirateKing): oh yeah?

Haha, just when I’m feeling bored. Perfect timing.

Guess I’ll take a look at what they’re up /genesisforsaken