Childhood Anime Grand Tour

Chapter 81 Muska Enters the Laputa Central Hub

General Muro continued to guard his treasure, while a soldier came to report the situation.

"What?! Muska has sabotaged all communications."

"Yes, they sent people to sabotage us while we were fighting!!"

In fact, the soldiers weren't telling the truth at all, because this wasn't the first time Muska had sabotaged their communication systems; the army had long been riddled with Muska's agents. Just then, another soldier reported:

"General, the colonel has entered a black hemisphere!"

Upon hearing all this, Muro was initially surprised, but then sneered:

"Heh, finally showing your true colors, huh?"

At this moment, Muro still couldn't figure out the situation and still thought that he was the one in power, while Muska was just a traitor who wanted to take everything for himself and overestimated his abilities.

"Assemble the soldiers and prepare to capture the traitor!!"

"General, that monster!!"

"Act quickly!!"

Muro was also an extraordinary man. Although Liu Yufei was powerful, he was still an external enemy, while Musca was an internal strife, which Muro could not tolerate.

"Gather immediately!!"

At the messenger's command, the soldiers, who had been looting treasures over the corpses of their comrades, barely managed to assemble. One soldier was even peeling the gold plaster off a palace pillar. This scene was all too familiar.

Liu Yufei led Balu to the outside of the metal wall.

"Oh no, are you sure we're here?"

Although Liu Yufei asked the question, he knew that the hidden door was right there. However, the key issue was that although Liu Yufei's physical body was strong, he still couldn't break through this specially made wall by brute force.

Soon Liu Yufei heard footsteps in the distance. Although he was not afraid of these soldiers, he did not want to get entangled with them now that Xida had been captured, so he immediately headed into the distance.

Meanwhile, Muska had brought Sheeta to the interior of the lowest black hemisphere, the Laputa Central Hub that Muska had been longing for. The sturdy castle surrounding it was there to protect this place.

Looking at the floating, cubical stones all around, this is the soul of Laputa, and the core of its advanced science and technology.

"Colonel, where is this?"

"The control center of Laputa is just a dilapidated castle outside. Laputa's science and technology converge here!"

As she spoke, the black cube, like an elevator, carried the group down. At this moment, Musca looked down on them with an air of superiority, but her tone remained polite.

I don't know when he got a new pair of sunglasses, and the orange scarf around his neck has been replaced with a white one. No matter what, he always maintains aristocratic etiquette.

Of course, you can also interpret this handkerchief as a bib, because Musca, well, you could say he's annoying, but he really is just a child, and even that child's heart isn't as strong as Balu's.

Upon arriving at the command room, Muska took out a flight stone and imprinted it on the wall, revealing another hidden door. She then turned and said:

"You two wait outside!!"

Muska clearly knew that this was the sacred ground of Laputa. Even though they were her subordinates, they were still just mortals. It was an honor for mortals to be able to come here, and the sacred ground of Laputa was not to be defiled by them.

That might sound too humane, but ordinary employees shouldn't be able to freely enter and exit the boss's office! It's the same here; after all, you're just a working person. Being allowed to stand outside the door is already a great favor.

Sheeta remained silent, already knowing the outcome, and still struggling internally. With the arrival of the two, the previously dark environment suddenly brightened considerably.

But what happened next was unbearable for Muska. Instead of the cutting-edge control instruments, she saw a tangled mess of tree roots, and Muska panicked.

"How could this be? The tree roots have already extended this far?"

He frantically pulled out his notebook and started checking, praying the worst wouldn't happen. If the trees damaged the control system, he'd be in deep trouble. Then, somewhat exasperated, he said:

"Once this is all over, we're going to burn all of these!"

This tone was hardly the gentlemanly Musca would have uttered. Just as General Muro had said, at the very last moment before victory, Musca finally revealed his true nature and threw a tantrum for the first time.

These tree roots represent the gaze of Laputa's higher spiritual civilization upon its lower technological civilization, meaning that even at the very last moment, Laputa did not lose control over the technology below.

In this respect, Laputa truly deserves to be called a great kingdom, because when most countries face a crisis of survival, they have no choice but to shift their internal conflicts onto external ones in order to prolong their existence.

In other words, it's war; either you are born in war, or you perish in war!

This is by no means an overinterpretation! As everyone knows, the old man was a leftist, and Laputa may have been his most lofty ideal, but even such a divine kingdom could not escape the fate of destruction.

The subsequent demise of a once-great nation perfectly illustrates this point.

Many anime have also referenced this setting, such as Skypiea in One Piece, the huge kingdom that disappeared 800 years ago, and its last king, Joy Boy. Isn't that Laputa? And the history of Laputa is exactly 700 years, which is exactly 100 years different from the huge kingdom in One Piece.

"follow me!!"

Having found her way, Musca walked forward, while Sheeta, her eyes still darting around, followed.

The long, narrow tunnel, enveloped by tree roots, gave off a sense of oppression. Seeing that the way out ahead was once again blocked by tree roots, Musca could no longer bear it and directly reached out to tear off those tree roots.

"Damn it, these annoying things! Ah! Found it, this is it!!"

His resentful expression instantly turned into joy, or rather, madness. He then stared back at Sheeta with wide eyes, and Sheeta was so frightened by Muska's sudden appearance that she took a step back.

Muslim took out the flying stone seal again and placed it on the door. As the door opened, light shone through, but what appeared before him was not high technology, but some blooming flowers and plants.

"How could this happen? Damn it!!"

Looking at the puddles under her feet and the blooming plants around her, Musca completely lost her temper this time. Her eyes were full of anger as she stomped on the flowers and plants in front of her and walked towards the light in the middle.

Unlike most villains, Muska's entrance is extremely low-key, yet his unique charisma makes him impossible to ignore. He is naturally aloof, or rather arrogant, and has an extreme worship of power.

But deep down he looked down on those who greedily pursued power, like Muro, because in his heart, his pursuit was an ideal, while others' was a desire.

This distorted ideal is innate, like the last emperor of a dynasty, who is compelled to pursue things that have passed and are out of reach.

Unlike the clown-like behavior of the last emperor, Musca believed in this ideal and worked hard to put it into practice. For this, he was able to hide, endure, and even work with people like Muro.

From Muska's perspective, isn't this a kind of greatness?!

This is definitely not an attempt to whitewash! This doesn't need whitewashing, because although we may dislike Musca on a sensory level, Musca does represent two sides of Laputa, and also two sides of humanity.

It's normal for us to feel disgust towards such a vile existence, but how should I put it? We can't become Muska, and we'll lose Balu.

Knowing that life isn't our main focus, we can't even become detached sky pirates, and even the greedy Muro is someone we look up to.

While we yearn for light, our souls involuntarily draw closer to darkness! As a saying circulating online goes, I used to scoff at it, but now I learn it frame by frame. Ultimately, I've become a shell chasing desires, living the life I once despised.

So our remaining conscience makes us hate people like Muska, but you and I are both like that. So, is Muska really wrong?

You can hate him, and you must hate him, but we can't blame him! Unlike Hidabal, who grew up in a secluded environment and whose soul was never corrupted by the world, Hidabal, like Ashitaka, had a pure heart.

Muska was born from the Impure World, and like Eboshi, she pursued the goals and directions given to them by the Impure World. What's wrong with that? It's just that Eboshi pursued Heaven, while Muska pursued God's Kingdom.

So Musca really is like a child who is going in the wrong direction. His worship and attachment to his own ideals is the driving force that has enabled him to persevere for so many years.

If he doesn't get what he wants, he'll throw a tantrum like a child, get emotional, and become anxious. Although he hides this trait very well, it comes out completely when he faces the central authority of Laputa or when he has power within his grasp. This is why, in the original story, the arrogant Pazu was given three minutes of mental breakdown.

"The black stone is just like the one described in the records!!"

Upon seeing the black control panel, an excited Musca pointed with trembling fingers as he flipped through his notes. The once tall and imposing man now willingly bent down to look down at the descriptions on it, as if he could already smell the scent that made his soul tremble.

Some flying insects were buzzing around, but to Kodomuska at that moment, they were just a nuisance. She frantically waved her hands to drive them away, while her eyes were fixed on the words on the stone platform, and her face showed an expression of ecstatic joy.

"It can definitely be deciphered, it can be deciphered!!"

Now that victory is within reach, Muska's soul and emotions have become restless. Sheeta looks at the crazed person in front of her, wondering what could make someone like this.

"Who are you anyway?"

Musca continued studying her notes, then revealed her long-hidden real name.

“You and I share an ancient, secret name. Rohida, my name is Romuska Paulo Uru Laputa!”