Ch.254Chapter 254: Confrontation (1)

#

The cold, hard wasteland of the night rushed past me in a blur.

Even with clothes and shoes covering my entire body, I could feel the chill penetrating through various parts of my body.

For ordinary… or rather, for superhumans who had successfully awakened their fighting spirit, there would be quite a few who would shiver in this level of cold.

Whether fortunate or unfortunate, I was more accustomed to this kind of cold than such people.

It’s not about liking or disliking the cold—I’ve experienced this weather so many times that it no longer affects me much.

Before my regression, I had been thrown into the cold of this place so severely that even describing my joints as aching would have been an understatement. That experience had given me a resistance to cold that persisted even after turning back time.

Because of that, the chill entering through my extremities was merely a factor indirectly informing me about today’s weather, nothing more.

…Of course, even with my resistance, wandering alone through this wasteland without anyone else was undoubtedly both tedious and painful.

Even as I pursued Excel’s faintly perceptible energy through my spiritual sense, my mind was filled only with thoughts of quickly finding Excel and Sister and returning home.

If my prediction is correct, Excel, who rushed out after detecting Sister’s presence in a different way than I did…

I imagine he probably found Sister and ran to her excitedly, only to receive some appropriate “punishment” from Sister for leaving his post without permission.

[This is strange.]

If it weren’t for Fafnir’s voice echoing in my head while I was lost in imagination, I would have been vividly picturing exactly how Excel would get scolded by Sister.

[What is this energy?]

With Fafnir detecting something unusual not once but twice…

‘What do you sense?’

As I continued walking without pause, I asked what strangeness he had detected.

[…It’s an extremely alien energy.]

Fafnir’s answer was rather ambiguous, only fueling my curiosity further.

An alien energy?

…I don’t feel anything?

Excel’s energy, who had sprung away like a coiled spring while calling for Sister, was moving so fast that it was challenging to follow, though my spiritual sense could still faintly track it.

And as for Sister’s presence, which Excel had somehow detected, I couldn’t sense it well no matter how much I used my spiritual sense.

Was Fafnir detecting something unusual besides the two presences I was trying to find?

[I simply cannot understand it. It seems tainted with negativity, yet it doesn’t emit the malicious energy typically associated with such taint. Moreover, it seems aware of us but doesn’t emit any hostility… What on earth could this be?]

With each step I took, Fafnir’s voice echoing in my head continued to mutter to himself, trying to identify what he had detected.

Since it didn’t seem like he would give me any clear answers even if I asked…

I simply accelerated my pace, using Excel’s faintly perceptible energy through my spiritual sense as a guide.

Whatever it was, I figured I’d find the answer when I got there.

And then, in an instant, my seemingly endless pursuit of Excel reached its final stage.

Through my spiritual sense, I confirmed that Excel’s wild rush, which could only be described as an unstoppable rampage, had suddenly stopped.

I was about to slow down my pace now that this chase—or whatever you might call it—had finally ended, but…

[That fool is in danger. Hurry.]

Since Fafnir, who had been relaxed the entire time since arriving at Night Haven, was unusually urging me on, I couldn’t afford to slow down.

…Still, what exactly did he sense? No matter how much I expanded my spiritual sense, I couldn’t detect any unusual signs other than the fact that Excel had stopped.

No… wait.

The fact that he stopped most likely means he found Sister, whom he had been desperately searching for.

And if Excel had stopped because he discovered Sister, at a distance close enough for that, my spiritual sense should be able to detect Sister’s presence somehow, but I couldn’t feel anything?

This was indeed troubling.

It could mean that Excel had encountered something dangerous that my spiritual sense couldn’t detect, rather than Sister.

Only then did I recall the masters of the night wasteland, whose strength I hadn’t been able to perceive since gaining power incomparable to my mercenary days.

Powerful magical beasts that roamed the wasteland freely, possessing enough self-awareness to reject the control of the magical realm and not active during the day.

…Though I don’t think they’d be a match for Excel, whose eyes were rolled back in his head while searching for Sister.

Understanding better than anyone that most human mistakes stem from haste…

I quickened my pace, intending to help him immediately if he was in trouble.

If I couldn’t accurately detect anything through my spiritual sense, the only option was to approach close enough to observe with my five senses.

[Hurry!]

‘As you wish.’

At Fafnir’s unusual urging, I dashed toward where Excel had stopped with even more intensity than before.

Thanks to Excel having completely stopped, it took only the blink of an eye to reach the point where he was.

“…What’s this?”

And upon arriving there, I finally understood why Fafnir had been urging me.

He was collapsed.

“…”

Excel was lying unconscious on the ground, in a way that could only be described as sprawled out.

The very faint breathing I could hear indicated that he wasn’t dead but merely unconscious, which was somewhat reassuring, but I couldn’t be completely at ease.

“…”

As I mentioned earlier, the cause of Fafnir’s urgency was right before my eyes.

It was staring indifferently at the collapsed Excel without saying a word.

Carefully regulating my breathing, I closely observed the “something” that filled my vision.

The uneasiness I felt from the moment I encountered it didn’t fade with time but rather intensified, and its appearance was peculiar in many ways.

Despite being right in front of me, I couldn’t sense any energy from it through my spiritual sense.

Even observing with my own eyes, it had so few distinguishing features that I questioned what exactly it was.

The only noticeable things were the ominous black armor that completely covered its entire body except for part of its face…

And a few strands of hair visible through the helmet, so faded that I couldn’t tell if they were originally gold or brown.

Ah, there are a few more things.

Though I couldn’t read its expression due to the strangely concealing helmet, it had a rather slender jawline.

And judging by the hair, which might have been quite lustrous if well-maintained despite its current color, I could tell the figure was female.

Plus, there was something draped over her shoulder.

I could immediately identify what was draped over her shoulder.

“Sister…”

It was Sister.

I finally understood why I couldn’t detect Sister’s presence with my spiritual sense.

My spiritual sense wasn’t refined enough yet to detect the presence of someone who was unconscious.

[This is no ordinary trouble.]

Even without Fafnir’s voice echoing in my head saying such things…

Sister was unconscious and draped over the shoulder of an unknown figure.

And Excel, who must have charged in a rage upon seeing this, had been subdued by the opponent with a single blow. This situation was indeed no ordinary trouble.

However, unlike me, who sensed the gravity of the situation and felt tension beginning to take over my body…

“…”

The mysterious figure’s indifferent gaze toward Excel showed no sign of shifting despite my appearance.

Her demeanor suggested an arrogance as if only she herself, Sister on her shoulder, and the Excel she had knocked down existed in this place…

As if I wasn’t even worth acknowledging.

The amusing part was…

Despite facing an opponent who was so blatantly ignoring me…

While I naturally felt the tension one experiences when meeting a strong opponent…

Strangely, I didn’t feel any hostility toward this threatening figure who had taken down Sister and Excel.

Of course, regardless of my muted sense of hostility toward the opponent…

[Move carefully. I sense an unfathomable depth.]

Fafnir’s voice, warning me of the opponent’s strength, echoed timely in my head.

#

As I continued walking, the movements of the suspicious figure I had unexpectedly encountered remained unchanged from when I first saw her.

She firmly supported Sister, who was draped over her shoulder, with one hand.

And maintained an indifferent gaze toward Excel, whom she had presumably knocked down.

“…”

Since she remained motionless like a statue without saying a word…

The scene before me was so static that it almost seemed like an illusion.

It felt as if she was treating me as a non-existent person.

While her behavior made me entertain the impertinent thought that I could treat her as non-existent in return…

I couldn’t do that if I wanted to retrieve Sister from her shoulder.

“Hey.”

I quietly opened my mouth toward the opponent who was ignoring me, but…

“…”

There was no response from her.

The only fortunate thing was…

Her gaze, which had been fixed only on the fallen Excel, finally turned toward me.

Since she showed a reaction to my call, I could at least tell that she understood language.

“That person on your shoulder. That’s my sister. Hand her over while I’m asking nicely.”

I revealed my main point as soon as her gaze turned to me.

With a somewhat sharp tone in my voice.

I didn’t say this expecting that an opponent exuding such intimidation would simply comply with my words.

It was an action taken to provoke a reaction from her by deliberately irritating her emotions with my pointed words.

Whether she put Sister down after hearing me or took action to knock me down…

She wouldn’t likely act while keeping Sister on her shoulder.

The die was cast this way.

All that remained was to wait and see whether my opponent would break the die I had cast or accept it quietly.

“…I cannot give her to you.”

In response to my request, the opponent merely answered with a brief statement rather than action.

No less peculiar than the strangeness of not being able to detect her energy with my spiritual sense despite seeing her right in front of me…

The voice that addressed me was also the epitome of strangeness.

I had expected a voice befitting her feminine appearance, but…

“Because I need her for my purpose…”

The voice that came from the opponent rejecting my request was so distorted, as if artificially modulated, that it was impossible to even guess what kind of voice she originally had.

It was so strange that her words were clearly audible despite such a voice.