novelraw Chapter 66 : Chapter 66
Chapter 66 : Chapter 66
Chapter 66: Shura (1)
The tree Magical Beasts no longer moved.
Their countless branches just looked up at the sky.
It could be that they were scared by the appearance of the Giant, or that they were satisfied with the replenished moisture.
Thanks to that, Harad and Kubel were able to approach Ellen without any trouble. She was pointing at the ground.
Although the ground had been messed up by the Giant, it was still recognizable. It was a familiar hole.
"A tunnel."
At the tunnel Ellen had discovered, I let out a hollow laugh.
It was a coincidence, but not a ridiculously great one.
It was the same kind of luck as the Mages from the Ivory and Meteoric Iron Towers who had been searching around the Sanctuary of Fire.
'This is the path they came from.'
The tunnel was near the Deep Sea's path.
"Let's go back this way. There might be a Deep Sea Mage who went in first."
"Are we going back now?"
"I trust that you're not asking that seriously."
"..."
Any further exploration was greed.
Not only did we encounter a Giant, but we even attacked it.
Of course, the Giant, far from retaliating, didn't even seem to feel that it had been attacked, but that didn't erase Ellen's mistake.
"You almost got the three of us killed."
If the Giant had noticed, Ellen would have surely died.
Harad and Kubel would have followed.
"Even if I'm not, Kubel is not someone who should die like that."
Shura only had Kubel.
"...I'm sorry."
Ellen apologized readily.
It was a foolish act, even in her own opinion.
"I am fine. You do not need to worry."
At Ellen's apology, Kubel smiled awkwardly.
The personality of Ellen he had come to know this time was certainly unexpected, but that was all. To Kubel, Ellen was another benefactor.
"I'm sorry."
Ellen also said to me.
Only then did I see his face properly. It was a mess of blood. It must have been because of the white fire.
"You're in better shape than last time."
When he had fought Cassion, it wouldn't have been strange if he had died right then and there.
I was not only able to speak, but even walk.
It was because he had manifested the white fire more weakly than last time. He had also benefited from the compatibility. Water makes the white fire grow.
Of course, the results of this exploration were decisive.
Thanks to repeatedly absorbing hearts, the amount of magic he possessed had increased considerably.
"But I think I'll need to recuperate."
That didn't mean he was completely fine.
He could walk, but he wasn't confident he could run.
"...I won't do it again in the future."
"Alright."
My response was quite bland.
So much so that Ellen was taken aback.
"Is that all?"
"What can I do but trust you."
"..."
"I trust you, more than you trust me."
I smiled gently.
In truth, I didn't trust her that much.
When on the brink of death, Ellen was the type to do it again.
It was my role to control such a person.
It meant that earlier, it wasn't that I couldn't stop her, but that I didn't.
The Giant, which was indifferent even after trampling on a Manifestation, was unlikely to react to Ellen's sword.
'Still, there's no harm in giving her a warning.'
She would be a little more careful in her daily life.
I pointed to the tunnel. When we returned, Ellen was in the lead. Kubel was in the middle, and I was last.
'It won't be a valuable tunnel.'
The location of the exit was quite bad. It was in the Second Stage Boundary, but it was closer to the heart than to the Otherworld.
It was a tunnel where death was closer than asylum.
Of course, a Mage seeking asylum wouldn't be in a position to be picky.
The tunnel was just as narrow.
In front of me, Kubel grunted as he advanced.
'Should I send Kubel on a Knights Order search mission?'
The tunnel was not suitable for Kubel.
I felt so sorry for him that I wondered if he would develop a mental illness if he kept using it.
"I was winning."
How far had we crawled, Ellen's voice, who was in the lead, suddenly echoed.
She seemed to be thinking of the 5th Rank Mage of the Deep Sea.
"It was us, not you."
"..."
Ellen couldn't deny it.
Without me, that Mage would have completed his Manifestation much faster.
"...Would you have stopped me even if it wasn't for the Giant?"
"No."
The Manifestation of the Lake and Ellen's cutting of the heart would have happened almost simultaneously.
The Mage would have died, but the manifested Origin would have struck Ellen.
But Ellen would not have died.
She would have been moderately injured and that would have been it. It was a profitable trade. Thanks to her innate Innate Strength, Ellen's recovery was beyond imagination.
'The last Aura was the thickest.'
In exchange for being moderately injured, Ellen grows noticeably.
For her, the brink of death was not a choice, but a necessity.
The regressed me knew a lot about Innate Strength.
More than the Ellen crawling in front of me.
It was a blessing that could not be simply called a constitution.
"Then please do so next time."
Ellen seemed to be finally regretting not being able to kill that Mage with her own hands.
"I'll try."
I was also regretful.
If it hadn't been for the Giant, I would have been able to take the heart.
The heart of a 5th Rank contained magic incomparable to what I had absorbed so far.
"But I can't promise."
"Why?"
"Isn't that how the human heart is, like a reed in the wind."
I knew she probably wouldn't die.
But that wasn't as easy as it sounded.
"I don't really want to see you get hurt."
"..."
There was no reply.
Instead, for some reason, the crawling speed increased.
Lifting my head slightly, the cozy light unique to the Torch was seeping in.
We had reached the entrance at some point.
At the same time, I sensed a presence.
There was someone outside. There seemed to be two of them, standing on either side of the tunnel entrance.
They must be brokers.
Or Deep Sea Mages who had discovered the tunnel and arrived first.
'They've already noticed us.'
It must be because of the sun.
I could guess why they were standing on either side.
They were probably planning to cut off our heads as soon as they popped out of the tunnel.
'It was a good thing I put Ellen in the lead.'
Ellen would have noticed their presence long ago. She would respond accordingly.
Clang!
A strange sound echoed then.
To my ears, it sounded like iron hitting iron.
"Fuck?"
What followed was Ellen's voice.
She sounded bewildered, and what I felt next was anger.
"What's wrong?"
I asked Kubel, who had stopped as if dead.
From Kubel's position, he should be able to see roughly.
"Th-the... sword struck Lady Ellen's neck."
Kubel trembled.
* * *
There were two brokers waiting at the entrance.
Actually, that wasn't a fact, but a guess.
All I knew was that those two had used swords.
By the time I came out of the tunnel, the situation was already over.
On the ground were two corpses with their heads smashed. The weapons were Ellen's hands. Her two hands were stained red.
Looking back, the tunnel entrance was a mess.
Judging by the traces, Ellen seemed to have swung her fists inside the tunnel.
She must have smashed their heads along with the ground.
As I guessed, the men were not Mages.
There was no magic in their hearts.
There was an acrid smell. Instead of Ellen, whose hands were wet, Kubel was lighting the cigarette in her mouth.
That sight was quite menacing.
"Anyone who saw this would think you're a gangster."
To a stranger, she would look like a gangster from some underworld, not Serzila.
"I almost died."
To my ears, it was an exaggeration, but it was understandable that she was annoyed.
She had been struck in the neck out of the blue.
And with a sword, no less. If it hadn't been for Ellen, she would have died.
Ellen, who had finished a cigarette in an instant, put a new one in her mouth.
This time, I lit it with magic. Seeing that fire, Ellen smiled with her eyes.
"That one's in good shape."
I discovered another corpse behind Ellen. Unlike the other two, this one's head was just severed.
"Huh? Ah. I didn't do that one."
My eyes narrowed.
Indeed, the cross-section of the neck was rough. The skill was poor.
I read a faint trace of magic from the corpse.
It was the kind of presence one could feel from a Mage who had been dead for quite some time. Neglected, with the magic dissipated.
"Tower of the Deep Sea."
He must have been the one who had discovered the tunnel and crossed over.
The cross-sections of the neck and body were different. It meant two swords had cut at the same time.
Just like what had happened to Ellen, the man seemed to have died as soon as he poked his head out of the entrance.
'So it worked on that one, but not on Ellen.'
The corpse was naked.
It must mean the brokers had killed him and stripped him of everything.
"So we would have missed the Mage if it weren't for them."
Ellen pointed to the brokers with smashed heads and let out a hollow laugh.
So even a dog's turd can be used as medicine.
"That's not it. This wouldn't have happened in the first place if there was no tunnel."
I didn't side with the brokers even as a joke.
Come to think of it, I had never once let a broker live.
"Should I go up and catch them all?"
"I'd be grateful if you did."
"Don't mention it, it's for Serzila."
In a deep basement like this, it might be different, but within the domain, I had to be as careful as possible.
If he had manifested magic, there should be no witnesses.
The only ones who knew I was a Mage were the knights and some of the Inner Fortress.
Serzila could keep their mouths shut that far, but anything more was impossible. In the North, my existence was strictly confidential.
"We need to capture the highest-ranking one alive."
"Why?"
"It's time to catch the Tunnel-Digger."
The Otherworld had discovered the tunnel.
* * *
Ios's death was extremely significant.
The man was a stepping stone connecting the Otherworld and the tunnels.
That bridge, I had cut it before it could be reached.
I had effectively cut off the relationship between the Otherworld and the tunnels.
Nevertheless, the Otherworld would still infiltrate the North, but their numbers would surely decrease.
The tunnels of the past life had clearly been of great help to the Otherworld.
But the Otherworld had discovered the tunnel.
'While looking for me, they found a tunnel instead.'
It was like a cow catching a rat by stepping on it backward.
'There's a limit to how lucky you can get.'
I smiled bitterly.
If he hadn't burned the Watchtower, the Otherworld wouldn't have searched around the Sanctuary of Fire.
The tunnel would not have been discovered either.
'I don't know when the Otherworld will find another tunnel.'
Finding other tunnels would be easier than the first.
Before that, we had to figure out the locations of the tunnels first.
It was impossible for me alone. Even in my past life, I hadn't been able to figure out all the tunnels.
'I have to catch the Tunnel-Digger.'
But how?
"The Tunnel-Digger. Do you know him?"
This tunnel was under a shabby tavern.
The tavern owner, his face pale, just shook his head.
He seemed to have lost his speech due to shock.
The inside of the tavern was covered in blood, which was Ellen's work. At her sword, dozens of mercenaries had all been cut to pieces and scattered.
"I'll let you live if you talk."
"..."
The owner just shook his head.
He really seemed not to know. I reached out and broke the man's neck.
"Aren't you going to interrogate him?"
"He probably doesn't know anyway."
Thus, the Tunnel-Digger was meticulous.
And as timid as a mole. He left no traces anywhere.
It was the reason I had put off catching the Tunnel-Digger.
I didn't know much about the Tunnel-Digger either.
Even in my past life, I had never met him in person.
"Let's go for now."
"Where to?"
"Time to switch."
I said, pointing at Kubel.
What was needed now was not him, but Cassion.
"We need to place knights at the tunnel entrances."
Including the one just discovered, there were three tunnels identified.
The 2nd Knights had to be stationed at those three entrances.
Even at this moment, Otherworld Mages might be crawling up the tunnels.
"There must be other tunnels too."
"We have to find them."
"How?"
"We just need to find the Tunnel-Digger."
The Tunnel-Digger would remember all the tunnels he had dug.
"How?"
"We'll have to go to Arika first, she might have some information."
"Ah. We just need to narrow down the suspects a little."
"Are you suggesting we kill them all?"
I tilted my head.
Ellen wasn't that cruel of a person.
"What are you talking about. You can tell just by looking. Whether they're a Mage or not."
"Ah."
A cold sweat broke out.