novelraw Chapter 77 : Chapter 77
Chapter 77 : Chapter 77
Chapter 77
“Lee Seo-han.”
Rian Kaltz murmured my name and smiled.
Through a bright smile I had never seen before, I could tell that he was feeling a pure joy welling up from his heart.
But that was only for a moment.
Rian Kaltz, having composed his expression, continued the story.
“The Black Dragon’s assassination plan was successful. Taking advantage of the chaos in Odin’s defense and intelligence network caused by Rodos, they delivered a fatal blow. As a result…”
Suddenly, Rian Kaltz frowned.
After hesitating for a moment, he let out a sigh and his shoulders slumped.
“I do not think I can say any more than this.”
“Why not?”
“Although we have briefly escaped the Queen’s surveillance range due to the massive mana storm, it is not perfect. We must be cautious. A single mistake could make us lose everything. So, even if it is frustrating, I would appreciate your understanding.”
It seemed that even if I pressed him further here, I wouldn’t be able to get the answers I wanted.
It would only be a waste of time and emotion.
As if he had nothing more to say, Rian Kaltz just stared at me blankly.
Taking this opportunity, I asked something I had been curious about for a while.
“I have one question.”
“If it is something I can answer, I will.”
“Was it Reysia who brought me… Lee Seo-han, into this world? Or was it the Purity Queen?”
“No.”
Fortunately, it seemed to be a question he could answer, as a sharp reply came back.
With an expression that was difficult to describe, he placed his hands on his hips and let out a soft sigh.
“I cannot tell you the detailed process. But this much is certain. The cause of your coming here is the Black Dragon. We have neither the reason nor the ability for such a thing. In the first place, even if we had such an ability, we would not have wanted to bring you into this perilous world. To begin with, the Black Dragon, despite posturing as the guardian of this world…”
“Enough.”
Suddenly, a third party interjected.
The black-haired Rian Kaltz, who had been nowhere to be seen until now, was standing next to the white-haired Rian Kaltz when I came to my senses.
He glared at the white one with a furious face.
“I give you an opportunity, and you spew nonsense.”
“…I believe I told you not to appear because it is dangerous.”
The white one did not hide his displeasure, but the black one roughly covered the white one’s mouth and took a step toward me.
“Listen well. The Black Dragon is the guardian of the world you stand on. The Queen is nothing but a dirty invader. There is a deep meaning in everything the Dragon does, so believe and follow. That is the path you must walk.”
“……”
I still wasn’t sure about their identities.
But one thing was clear.
The white one, although not following the Queen from the bottom of his heart, was a being belonging to the Purity faction, and the black one was a being with a deep faith in the Black Dragon.
I had thought they were the same person, just with different hair colors and personalities, but they were completely separate entities.
“What are your identities?”
At my question, the black Rian Kaltz stepped forward without a hint of hesitation.
With his eyes wide open like a fierce beast, he spoke with an arrogant attitude and voice.
“Rian Kaltz. To be precise, it’s a nickname? No. It’s a name for camouflage. My real name is…”
“Disclosure is forbidden.”
“…Damn it. So it is. But there is one thing I can say for sure.”
The black one pointed his index finger at me.
“Lee Seo-han. You are a parasite in my body.”
“…So you’re the owner of this body, is that it?”
“Yes. So always be grateful to me, and handle it with care. I always feel this, but your fighting style is too messy, undignified, and rough. A fighting style where you injure your own body and walk a dangerous tightrope just to kill an enemy… Always remember that that body is not yours!”
Perhaps because he had a lot of pent-up complaints, the black one chattered on like a fish in water.
Yes.
Thanks to him, I was able to learn that the man before me was Rian Kaltz, the owner of the body I was using.
That led to another question.
Rian Kaltz’s body, and me, dwelling within it.
Then what on earth was the identity of that white one?
My gaze naturally turned to him.
Although I hadn’t said anything, he seemed to have understood what question I wanted to ask just from my gaze.
He hesitated for a moment, then gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
“I do not have a name. I cannot tell you about my identity either. However, I have no doubt that you will be able to figure out what kind of existence I am sooner or later.”
Having said that, the white one raised his head and looked up at the sky.
To me, it was just the same strange sky, but what the white one saw seemed to be different.
“Our time is up. I will give you the second ability that you rightfully deserve to have.”
The white one grabbed the black one by the scruff of the neck, pulled him back strongly, and stood before me.
Although the two were in the same space, it was clearly revealed through these small attitudes that they did not get along, like cats and dogs.
The white one took my hand.
The body temperature I felt was so cold it gave me chills.
“I have one favor to ask.”
“……”
“Hobelerus. I would like you to take his life with your own hands. That would be Hobelerus' wish.”
* * *
I opened my eyes in a daze.
The first thing I saw was a clear sky, but the surrounding air was so thick it was suffocating.
I fumbled with my face and confirmed that my gas mask had been blown off, likely due to the shock of the explosion.
If not for my poison resistance Authority, I might not have opened my eyes again.
“……”
I opened my mouth, but no voice came out.
My throat tingled, which I suspected was the aftereffect of the poison.
I sat up and surveyed my surroundings.
“……”
If my voice had come out, a sigh would have escaped on its own.
A scene of sheer brutality, impossible to capture with a word like “devastating,” unfolded before me.
The collision of the Leviathans, and the enormous mana explosion that resulted from it.
Afterward, the back of Leviathan Tet was in tatters.
Far in the distance, the part that had collided with Roka was deeply dented, and a lake of blood had formed, from which a red liquid was emitting a heat haze.
The ground was torn to shreds by the storm, and blood was seeping out, creating a red river.
Tet must have been in considerable pain, as its gasping breaths echoed like thunder.
Roka’s form was… nowhere to be seen.
And the surroundings were filled with corpses.
Countless people, without distinction between Purity and Alliance, lay dead, submerged in the poisonous blood.
Judging by their condition, most seemed to have died because they couldn’t take their antidotes in time, or because their gas masks had been blown off by the storm’s aftermath, like me.
The number of people who died by being directly caught in the mana explosion was small enough to be counted on one hand.
There were no signs of survivors.
I guessed they had probably evacuated to a safe place.
Unit 917… Unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury of checking on their life or death.
Right now, it was a struggle just to take care of myself.
“…Haa.”
The voice I let out after barely managing to pick up and put on a gas mask was cracked like a drought-stricken field.
I tried to fly into the sky, but the Fairy Wings seemed to be broken, only sputtering unpleasant noises and smoke, not operating properly.
I activated the communicator to request rescue.
If Unit 917’s airship hadn’t been caught in the accident, and Selina heard this communication, she would dispatch a rescue team.
But there was no response.
“Is it broken?”
This communicator.
I knew it was a sturdy object that would be fine even if caught in a battle between named individuals…
In the end, if the communicator wasn't working properly, I would have to fly to where the allied airship was on my own.
Inevitably, I retrieved the Fairy Wings from the surrounding corpses and checked their condition.
It seemed that everyone had been in a similar situation, so finding a device in good condition was not easy.
Walking on the poison-filled ground seemed to be draining my stamina about twice as fast.
“…Ah.”
Among the corpses, I saw a familiar face.
I was pretty sure his name was Plati.
A soldier from the Squad 2 led by Byan.
He had been a decent fellow with a good sense of combat.
Judging by his condition, it seemed he had died after inhaling the poison-filled air, like the other corpses.
I tried to find a memento to give to his family, but I couldn't see anything suitable.
In the end, all I managed to retrieve were a uniform button and a lock of his hair.
Though it was brief, he had been a comrade in the same unit, so I offered a simple condolence and resumed my original purpose of searching for Fairy Wings.
“Ah, found one.”
It wasn't perfect, but I succeeded in finding a set of Fairy Wings that could fly to some extent.
The only problem was that it was a Purity item.
The mana wavelength flowing from the Purity and Alliance devices was different.
If I was unlucky, I might be mistaken for an enemy and shot down before I could reach an allied airship.
Still, I couldn’t stay here forever, so I filled the device with the energy packs I had gathered one by one.
The operation method was also slightly different from the Alliance’s, but I could quickly get used to it with my past knowledge.
“Alright, then…”
SCRAAAPE.
The rough sound of a blade scraping the ground was heard.
I reflexively tightened my grip on my sword and turned my gaze to where the sound came from.
“…This is driving me crazy.”
Hobelerus.
He was approaching me, dragging his spear on the ground.
He seemed to be enduring the poison to some extent with antidotes and poison-resistant tools, but he was in a state no different from a zombie that couldn’t die.
If he were to find a working set of Fairy Wings like me and return to his base right now, his chances of survival were high enough.
A Level 4 hero, and an Odin hero at that, would surely have that much potential and survivability.
However, Hobelerus chose to aim his weapon at me.
Even on the brink of death, his eyes did not hide the killing intent and madness directed at me.
I had no obligation to fight him.
If I just used the Fairy Wings to escape from here, Hobelerus would run across the land until his life force ran out and he collapsed.
But I didn't want to do that.
I still didn't know what had happened to Odin's soldiers, to the Hobelerus before me, or what had changed him so.
But at the very least, I could tell that Hobelerus was sacrificing himself for me.
And that he was not in a state of normal thinking.
The words of that person I had heard in the strange mental world came to mind.
The words that had asked me to take care of Hobelerus' end.
“……”
Hobelerus kicked off the ground.
I, too, ran toward him.
There was a level gap between us, but the current Hobelerus, soaked in poison, would be no match for me.
The distance between us closed quickly.
THUD.
The ground rumbled.
And a low, bestial growl, and a large shadow cast over the surrounding land.
The Lava Fiend, Galakal.
It had appeared.