episode_0252

KWA-AAAAANG!!!!

“Keugh!!”

The deep-sea city, Laputia, was completely collapsing.

The protective barrier that had been protecting the city from the deep-sea seawater and water pressure could not withstand the aftermath of the battle and cracked, causing a massive amount of seawater to pour into the city through the gaps.

And fighting against the hero Leon in that situation is the being that combines the consciousness and fate of all the people of Laputia.

The one who symbolizes and represents the country of Laputia itself.

‘Laputia’ was feeling an overwhelming sense of powerlessness.

‘What is this strength?’

‘Laputia’s’ power is the same as all the power of the highly developed city-state, Laputia.

A massive group condensed into a single individual.

Nevertheless, the being in front of them, despite being a single individual, was displaying an overwhelming power that was not thought to be possible for an individual to handle.

It was hard to think of this as an individual anymore.

That is….

“Huuuh!”

But they couldn’t just sit back like this.

Laputia drew upon the consciousness and personality of outstanding soldiers from among the countless personalities sleeping in the sea of their own consciousness.

Laputia army’s close-quarters combat techniques unfolded by such soldiers.

‘Laputia’ unfolded close-quarters combat techniques, thoroughly researched and perfected, with near perfection, but….

“Sword King Secret Technique”

KWA-AAAAAAAANG!!!

Just a single strike.

The single strike unleashed by the opponent cut through Laputia’s close-quarters combat techniques too easily and cut them down.

Each time, they recovered from their wounds with the backing of the collapsing city, but the new wounds were greater than the city’s backing.

In the end, they couldn’t win with technique.

“Huuuh!!”

So they used close-quarters tactical equipment developed in Laputia.

Tactical equipment that converts magic power into explosive force and fires iron beads embedded within the equipment.

No one could avoid the attack of this tactical equipment fired at high speed.

…That’s what it should have been.

“Wow, I didn’t expect to see something like that here…. That looks really fun?”

*Swish*

The opponent dodged the bullets too easily, and then swung their sword to sever their arm.

Then they naturally took the close-quarters tactical equipment.

Regenerating their arm again with the city’s backup, they simultaneously took out an object from their chest and threw it at the opponent.

*Ping! Whoosh!*

The magic formula embedded within is activated through a very slight physical impact.

After a short time, the magic formula explodes, scattering several metal fragments in all directions, inflicting fatal injuries on the opponent with another tactical equipment. But, despairingly, the opponent….

“They even made grenades?”

Even that didn’t work.

They endured the firepower of the tactical equipment with their body, and then shattered the ground with the wind pressure created by swinging their sword in reverse, scattering the fragments of the ground in all directions with a power greater than the power of the tactical equipment.

“Haaap!!!”

A very small, fist-sized magic circle appears in ‘Laputia’s’ hand.

Laputia’s close-quarters magic combat technique, which subdues the enemy with a simple but sure power that omits the incantation of magic, reduces the size of the magic circle, accelerates the activation speed, and concentrates the power on one point to explode.

*Thud!!*

But the opponent blocked their attack too easily with the flat of their sword.

“…It should have been broken along with the sword….”

“If it could be broken by something like that, I would have broken it while swinging it a long time ago.”

The man, speaking while mocking them, lightly swings his sword.

Unable to withstand the force, ‘Laputia’ is pushed back.

At the same time, the opponent readjusts their grip on the sword and takes a stance.

“Sword King Secret Technique.”

A warning bell rings in ‘Laputia’s’ head.

They began to look for a means to overcome this situation, and the trump card ‘Laputia’ pulled out was the strongest being among ‘themselves’.

“…!”

They draw out the magic power of ■■■■ and cast a massive magic spell.

“Time Prison”

A magic that stops a certain target, in a certain area, for a certain amount of time.

Named Time Prison.

No matter what kind of being in the world, they are bound to be defenseless once time has stopped.

And using the gap where the opponent has become defenseless….

“Earth Divide”

“?!?!”

KWA-AAAAANG!!!

* * *

What is it? Why do I feel Tammiel’s magic power from this guy?

Moreover, was that magic just now Tammiel’s magic?….

What was it…. I’m pretty sure the effect was to stop time, wasn’t it?

[system : Entering clock state.]

The moment Time Prison manifested, I immediately entered the clock state.

This world state is a technique that shifts my existence to a level above this world.

As an additional effect, my speed feels like it has accelerated tremendously to others.

‘I was wondering if it would work, but it did.’

But what’s important here is the point that ‘shifts my existence to a higher level’.

Whether time stops in this world or not, my existence exists above it, so it is not affected by time stop.

It was a technique I used based on that speculation, but it worked well.

‘It was worth getting beaten up by Sun Wukong to learn it.’

“…That’s that. This is this.”

“Huuuh…, Huuuh….”

“Hey, why don’t you just give up? It’s going to be full of water here soon, you know? If you know anything, spill it right now. Where did Tammiel go?”

The surroundings were already full of seawater.

It was only because this place was full of tall buildings that they could barely set foot on the fragments of the collapsed buildings. Even that would soon be swallowed by the seawater.

When that happens, I’ll have to use ‘Water Surface Walk’, and even if that reaches its limit, I’ll have to swim to the surface with all my strength.

‘I’d like to avoid that, considering I don’t even know how deep this place is….’

I looked down at the man who was trembling while gasping for breath.

He’s a man who exists in Tammiel’s memories as well.

I remember that he was a guy who used honorifics to Tammiel….

“…She is no longer here.”

“…What?”

“She is already…. The princess has become one with us.”

“…What the hell is….”

KWA-AANG!!

Just as I was about to ask if he was talking nonsense, the protective barrier blocking the sea began to crack even more.

Then the amount of seawater pouring in also increased rapidly.

“….”

The man blankly stares at the collapsing city.

And then….

“That child is underground.”

I felt something out of place.

A feeling of becoming a different…, different ‘being’ than before.

The moment I looked at him to confirm the identity of that sense of incongruity, he was something….

With a relieved smile,

“Please take care of my daughter….”

“!”

He left those words and collapsed.

* * *

*Bubble*

‘Damn it, where is she!’

The city was already half submerged.

Only the sporadically rising buildings were barely providing a foothold, and everything else was sinking into the pouring seawater.

I was searching underwater, chasing only the man’s last words that Tammiel was underground, but I couldn’t find her at all.

“Puhah!!”

I came up to the surface after searching.

I took a deep breath of the oxygen I couldn’t drink while in the seawater and exhaled it, gnashing my teeth.

“Let’s think…. I’ll never find her if I just search recklessly.”

The safest way to escape this city being submerged in the sea is to find Tammiel and escape with space leap magic. In a situation where I don’t know how deep this city is, if I fail to escape to the surface before my breath runs out….

I’ll die of suffocation in the sea.

I, who even defeated the fragments of the Demon King, am going to have a suffocation ending in the sea, I really want to avoid that.

“Surely the last place I felt Tammiel’s presence was….”

The central building of Laputia.

Then….

“…Is it there!”

I take a deep breath and go below the surface of the water. Using [False Sky] underwater, I quickly arrive at the bottom of the submerged city, and I arrive at the central building of Laputia, which stands tall even in that battle.

It’s a building without an entrance, but that’s no problem in front of me.

*Swish*

The power is weak due to the resistance in the water, but it was easy to cut through the building.

*Chwaaaaaa!!!*

A large amount of seawater is sucked into the hole I created.

I also mix with that seawater and enter the building.

Thanks to Tammiel’s memories, I know the approximate location of this place.

The basement of this building….

I headed to the place where the ‘Transfer Gate’ is.

“Haa…. Damn it.”

“….”

Instead of the transfer gate, there I saw Tammiel, trapped in something like a capsule, with her eyes closed.

I wondered whether I should forcibly tear this open or not, but there is no time to think right now.

In this urgent moment where seawater is pouring into the building, thinking is nothing more than a luxury, so I smashed the capsule Tammiel was trapped in and took out Tammiel, who was asleep inside.

“Hey! Tammiel! Wake up!!”

“….”

“Ah, seriously!…. I’m going crazy!!”

I shook the sleeping Tammiel, but she showed no signs of waking up.

I think this is screwed?….

*Kwaang!!*

At that moment, seawater rushes into the place where I am.

There’s no time.

There’s no way to wake Tammiel up, so in the end, what’s left is….

“If I knew this was going to happen, I would have abandoned her and ran to the surface!!!”

I take a deep breath.

[Sword King Secret Technique : Great Sea Divide]

KWA-AAAAAAAANG!!!