Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

"You're saying our battle against the Black Dragon will end in a one-sided defeat?"

"This is the choice of history."

Hera smiled dismissively: "What makes you think that the power accumulated by our two clans over a thousand years is inferior to that of a mere ten years?"

Charles turned to look at Hera: "You don't have the key to defeat the Black Dragon. Moreover, after defeating Leviathan and Behemoth in succession, you have no strength left to challenge the end."

"In the battle of Leviathan, you lost Alphia, the largest cannon. Behemoth could only rely on Chardo's sacrifice to peel away the beast's shell."

"With the loss of two of the most promising characters for a comeback, even with Empress and Hero, it's unlikely we can kill that monster in one blow."

The key is……

"That can fly."

Hera frowned; even someone as proud as her had to admit Charles's analysis.

Unlike the other two colossal beasts that roamed freely, the Black Dragon, sealed within Dragon Valley, was shrouded in mystery, leaving Zeus and Hera's Familia with little information. Therefore, unlike the battle against Behemoth, they couldn't prepare corresponding armor in advance.

Hera sighed, "You're right. We planned to use Behemoth and Leviathan to further enhance the strength of our Familia, but it seems we've actually lost more combat power."

“That’s not right.” Charles looked directly at Hera: “You should have known all along that you couldn’t defeat the black dragon, so you dealt with those two monsters in advance to buy time for the lower realm.”

"Otherwise, you wouldn't have voluntarily shared your experience with Loki and Freya's Familia after your defeat."

"I don't believe that even if he is seriously injured, a level 9 would lose to a mere level 5. There's a limit to jokes."

Hera's eyes flickered, and she chuckled softly, "I see. Is this how the choices will be in the future?"

“However, I think you’re mistaken,” Hera smiled. “Hippocrat is not the kind of person who would easily hand over her life to someone else. If she did, it must be because she also felt powerless and chose to give up.”

As the Empress of Amazons, the only woman in the world to reach level 9, having climbed to the pinnacle by stepping over the corpses of countless compatriots, she would never casually give her experience points to a bunch of newbies who are not even level 5, just because she is injured.

"The battle for Amazonian titles isn't that kind of..."

“No,” Charles interrupted Hera, “I’m just stating the facts.”

"Ok?"

"My goal is to change the past and make this fact true."

Saving Metluth is important, but it also allows you to accumulate extra fighting power in the 'past'.

The heroes and the empress died too casually; they didn't fall to the black dragon's claws, but at the hands of Otto and Finn.

One level 8 and one level 9 were just given away to a level 5 and a bunch of level 4s?

Chardo would laugh until he cried.

Charles spoke eloquently: "If we had fought with the expectation of certain defeat from the start, then the 'Empress' and the 'Hero' wouldn't have so easily given away their experience points out of 'despair.'"

"If we had placed our hopes on fifteen years from the beginning and preserved our fighting force, wouldn't that have been better than sending them to their deaths?"

"The reason why Zeus and Hera's alliance failed was not because they lacked strength, but because they were out of luck. What you need to do now is wait, wait for the day when the final hero appears."

Hera shook her head: "The clock of the end is too late. It will arrive before the appointed day."

“Then let’s delay it,” Charles said confidently. “You’ve done that before.”

"They gave up simply because of 'despair.' What if they had treated this battle as part of a strategy from the beginning, setting the real battlefield 15 years later?"

"..."

"This is the reason I came here. I want to deceive the world and buy myself a chance to survive in the future."

Ciel himself had never seen any of the monsters from the three major commissions; his standard for the End was only that "Kraken".

He has a 'fear of insufficient firepower' ingrained in his blood. He wants to accumulate as much power as possible to fight the black dragon. Even though he is already very strong and can be ranked among the top in this era, he still feels that he is too weak.

Training them slowly is too slow and there isn't enough time. It's better to rewrite the past, hide some valuable combat power, and take over it in the future.

……

Hera did not object to Sharl's opinion; it was merely a post-battle strategy by the Black Dragon.

They will still do their best to fight against the end, and even if they fail, they can continue to follow Ciel's advice and be reborn from the ashes.

Hera and Alfia then discussed the matter of Metluja for a long time.

The topic then returned to the plan.

"We need to get the 'Sage' Fels from Uranus first," Charles suggested. "After that, we need to find the 'Charles' of this timeline."

"The way to avoid Belle's timeline is through the world anchor of 'Ciel'."

It is clear from Belle that the "Ciel" does not exist in his world.

Or perhaps it was Ciel from that timeline who failed to awaken his memories and died in the Great Struggle.

Otherwise, they either remain unknown or die young.

The world lines are divided into nodes such as 'Metluja', 'Cial', 'Fels', and 'Black Dragon War'. What Ciel needs to do is to pull these nodes into the "Cial Line" and change the past with the present.

Under the premise of ensuring that major events are consistent with history, the world is reasonably 'deceived' in another way.

"So, aside from the uncertain event of Bell, my existence is also one way to confirm the world line."

Chapter 458 Searching for My Past Self

The past three days have passed as Hera has contacted the guild and Zeus, based on information from Metlujah, and formulated future plans.

Over three days, Metluja controlled her body, following Kuku and Aki as they leveled up in the dungeon.

Alfia, meanwhile, wanders through dungeons and Orario, where she recklessly beats up several disobedient gods, even the guild leader, creating the illusion that a "witch" truly exists, echoing the past.

Ciel took some time to go to the dungeon to check on the progress of the strange people in cultivating the orb embryos, and also to train his ability stats.

Regarding the man-made maze, Loki's Familia is actively assembling a team and continuously exploring in order to rescue the veteran. It is said that the first level has been largely conquered, while progress on the second level is currently only halfway complete.

Valetta also fought Finn several times, with each encounter ending in a stalemate.

Three days later, the past Fels and the present Fels met each other. After verifying their identities using the "Philosopher's Stone" formula, they gradually cooperated with Ciel to launch the "Final Conquest" plan spanning fifteen years.

"The method for replicating the Boots of Hermes has already been given to my past self. The next step is to pass on the 'Grimoire' to Lena of 'The Witch's Concealment,' granting convenience to those who possess the 'code.'" Fels arranged in the past what Charles would do now, following Charles's instructions.

“And your Sage’s Sheath,” Charles reminded him. “Find an opportunity to sell it to old man Pom, and tell him how much you’ll pay for it.”

Charles recalled how he had bought the sage's corpse for a price that was neither too high nor too low, and his expression became indescribably strange.

only……

"Haven't you found the 'me' from the past yet?" Charles frowned as he listened to Fels' report.

"The information provided is too limited. At least among the guild-level residents, there is no one named Charles," Felstan admitted.

Charles was also troubled.

The only way to anchor the "Charles Line," besides Bell's gender, is to find "oneself."

However, his memories of being three years old are vague. He only has a concrete impression of it when he was four or five years old, after his parents joined the Soma Familia and became supporters.

"Do you remember your parents' names?" Fels reminded him. "Perhaps three-year-old Charles is hard to find, but as adventurers' parents, perhaps you can find out."

Charles shook his head: "They didn't tell me their names."

"However, you might have reminded me. I could try looking for girls with the name 'Hill.'"

Ciel couldn't quite recall if his sister's real name was Hill; in his childhood memories, she was always referred to as 'older sister'.

"I see."

……

Several more days passed, and despite the search by the Hera Familia and the guild's requests, no information about 'Charles' or 'Hill' could be found.

Inside Hera's palace, Kuku, who was in charge of the matter, lowered his head in fear, avoiding Hera's angry gaze.

"Why? If they are in Orario, why have we spent so many days trying to find them, even with our current strength?"

"It's my fault for not doing a good job," Kuku said, lowering his head even further.

Aqiu defended Kuku, saying:

"In Orario, there are many homeless children and offspring of those Dark Faction members who are unlikely to be registered with the guild."

"Alfia and the others will be back soon. When they do, we can just wipe out all the clans and protect the children."

Metluth did not hide the puppet's abilities. The [Rotten Flesh Accumulation] requires the death of a 'Blessing Holder' to gain its power, and apart from the 'Black Dragon War', the Dark Faction became the best sacrifice.

A flicker of fear crossed Kuku's eyes as he lowered his head and asked, "Lady Hera, may I ask why we're looking for these two children? Even the Dark Faction wouldn't stoop so low as to abandon their children..."

Hera sighed, "I'm not entirely sure either, but he is the key to 'salvation.' We must find him."

Hera gave Kuku a strange look, sensing a hint of concealment in the woman's words.

"Kuku... are you really incompetent?"

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Kuku's forehead. He lowered his head in fear and replied, "Yes, I... failed in my duty."

Hera realized something; this wasn't speculation, but a genuine 'deliberate' act.

Hera's face darkened, and she said sternly, "You concealed information? No, or rather, you deliberately neglected your duties and evaded the search, didn't you?"

Kuku bit her lip, remaining silent: "..."

A-Qiu beside him opened his mouth: "Hey, Kuku, to deceive the gods with such lies, this isn't like you. Why..."

He seemed to know that his concern would cloud his judgment, thus revealing his true colors.

Her lips curved into a smile, her face contorted with panic: "I'm sorry, Lady Hera, I..."

Kuku paused halfway through his sentence, completely at a loss for words.

“Go ahead and say it… we won’t do anything to those two children,” Hera reassured her.

As she spoke, she gestured for Aqiu to leave, leaving Kuku alone to face Hera.

“You should know that we received Alfia’s request. But I didn’t tell you that it was intelligence from the future, something that shouldn’t be shared with children.”

"The future?" Kuku looked up.

“That child carries the mission of fighting the end times. We need to assist him in the future and pave the way for the future, so we need to ensure his safety and a smooth transition into the future,” Hera admitted.

Upon hearing Hera's words, Kuku gritted his teeth, his eyes turning serious: "I'm sorry, Lady Hera. The Sharl you're looking for... might be my child."

"...Huh?" Hera was taken aback at first, then slowly opened her mouth wide.