Ch.40Three Together (2)

Foreign gods cannot approach areas with high Aether concentration.

And humanity’s living zone, the ‘Aether Belt,’ was safe from foreign gods due to its high Aether concentration.

But one day, a hole appeared.

A small but significant hole.

[“That looks good.”]

A foreign god chuckles while scouting the galaxy.

It was a still-growing black hole.

Around that black hole, entropy sometimes rewound, causing time to flow backward, and heavy particles repeatedly underwent pair production and annihilation.

Inside a world that looked like a cold metal sphere.

The foreign god made a decision.

[“…Let’s give it a poke.”]

***

After several attacks from the Renanyai, the knights finally exhausted their strength.

“Urgh…!”

I took on the role of moving them to a safe place.

When the targets disappeared, the monster headed further north.

All B and A-rank knights were either injured or had lost their lives. No one could move properly. At least the students were safe.

Except for one, no, two people.

“…”

Gone.

Rustila had disappeared.

Zernya was missing too.

“Damn it all.”

I turned my head in the direction where the monster had vanished.

It wasn’t because the targets were gone. The creature had followed those two deeper into the mountains.

If I leave things like this, I won’t be able to face Seti. At the very least, I need to bring Rustila back safely.

Just then, knights and a medical team were arriving for support.

No S-rank in sight, I see.

If they encounter the Renanyai, it will only increase casualties.

I ran ahead toward where the monster had gone, avoiding the knights’ gaze.

***

Ten minutes before Eidel and Seti arrived, Rustila had joined the scene with remarkable speed.

She quickly raised her sword, heated the blade, and created condensed plasma.

Then she drove it in.

Kwang!

With that, she saved the life of a knight who was about to be swallowed by the monster’s maw.

Soon after, Rustila felt a tingling sensation in her hand.

“Who are you?”

In front of Rustila, a girl with a white scarf landed gracefully after performing an acrobatic maneuver.

Zernya von und zu Trisha Adelbein.

She immediately assumed a stance while holding her thin sword.

Rustila also prepared for the next attack and responded.

“Rustila Kersil.”

“Kersil? Never heard of that family.”

Zernya actually knew about the Kersil family, but due to her characteristically twisted personality, she deliberately provoked by pretending not to know.

Rustila didn’t flinch.

Her gaze was fixed solely on the monster.

“…How boring.”

“Focus. That thing is at least A-rank or sub-S-rank, no matter how you look at it.”

“Hmm.”

Having nothing else to say, Zernya responded with a nasal sound.

In truth, Zernya had been confident she could win within the first five minutes of battle.

But unexpectedly, the creature was tougher than anticipated. It definitely wasn’t something that would be classified as B-rank.

Rustila’s assessment had some credibility.

“We need to stop it before there are more casualties.”

“What are the academy personnel doing? Can’t they subdue one lousy bug?”

Eight A-rank knights had arrived three minutes after Zernya engaged, but they retired without making much of a difference.

“An S-rank knight should arrive soon.”

“I’m not counting on it.”

While the two girls were engaged in their verbal sparring, the monster thoroughly subdued the remaining knights. Screams and groans erupted from everywhere like a flood.

Rustila and Zernya didn’t explicitly exchange opinions. Nevertheless, for a moment, they shared the same thought.

‘We can’t allow more casualties.’

‘I can’t let these bugs take credit by chance.’

They lured the monster toward themselves.

The monster, taking the bait, moved its body to the east.

Rustila swung her blade as if cutting it down.

The monster turned west again.

This time, Zernya left a shallow hole with a thrust.

After continued aggression, the monster turned around, moving its grotesquely twisted legs.

‘It’s easier for the monster to move in open spaces.’

‘Let’s use the terrain to our advantage.’

The monster charged at an insane speed. The two leaped into an area dense with trees, as if by prior agreement.

The monster’s body was massive enough to trample ordinary vegetation. But it was enough. They relied on undamaged undergrowth and occasional large trees to launch surprise attacks.

‘Hit…’

‘…and run.’

The hit-and-run tactic.

It was the maximum fight a weaker opponent could put up against a stronger one.

Rustila felt her throat burning at this, while Zernya felt greatly displeased.

Nevertheless, the tactic itself was effective, and they succeeded in drawing the monster away from the clearing.

The problem was that they themselves had nowhere else to retreat.

‘It’s a cliff. What should we do now?’

‘It doesn’t look stupid enough to just fall off.’

Rustila looked at Zernya and spoke.

“How about trying to make it fall off the cliff…?”

“You’re really stupid.”

“What?”

“Just look at what it’s doing.”

Rustila’s brow furrowed. The monster had slowed down at some point and was now slowly closing in on the two of them. It was even uprooting trees indiscriminately to secure its line of sight.

“It’s smarter than you.”

“But we should at least try…”

“Do you think it would die easily from falling? Even my sword strikes only managed to make a few shallow holes.”

“We can do it. If I put in maximum Aether…!”

Zernya clicked her tongue, cutting off Rustila’s words.

“I’ve been watching your swordsmanship, and it’s terribly sloppy. Didn’t you have anyone to teach you? Did you learn by yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Well, coming from a well-off family, you must have had at least some lessons. But talent is something you can’t… Wait, what did you say?”

“I taught myself.”

Kugugung!

While the two were talking, the monster began to increase its speed. Rustila and Zernya scattered to the left and right.

And though there was a cliff ahead…

The monster showed surprising turning ability and changed its course once more.

‘Now’s the chance.’

Rustila moved nimbly with instantaneous judgment. She intuitively found a weak spot and drove plasma into it.

She drove it in and discharged it.

“Kieek!”

The monster let out a weak groan.

“It worked!”

“You idiot! If you land a hit, you need to back off-!!”

“…No!”

I’ll end it here.

[— 5000 coins have been paid.]

She would make sure to finish it off. With that thought, Rustila paid most of her remaining coins to her constellation.

What remained was to receive a technique in return, but.

Thud-!

The monster’s hidden hand snatched Rustila’s body first.

“Kyaak…!”

“That fool.”

Zernya clicked her tongue and stomped on the ground. Her amethyst eyes reflected the sword Rustila had driven in.

‘Since it’s come to this, I’ll finish it myself.’

She judged that with the monster distracted by Rustila, it wouldn’t be able to pay attention to her for 2-3 seconds.

As it turned out.

It was the wrong judgment.

The black, cicada-like abdomen was scratched, and hundreds of pairs of eyeballs popped out from a net-like structure.

‘It had… visual organs on its side too…?’

Zernya momentarily covered her mouth. It was too disgusting just to look at.

Nevertheless, she thrust her thin sword without hesitation, but due to her disturbed posture, it didn’t penetrate properly.

“Damn it…!”

Thud-!

A hand that sprang out from the opposite side grabbed Zernya’s body.

“Why am I being caught by such a bug-!”

She regretted rushing in like a moth to a flame in a moment of bravado. This made her no different from Rustila.

As soon as the monster caught the two, it opened the mouth attached to its body wide. Beyond the mechanical mouth, sticky tar and sloshing mercury could be seen.

The monster’s maw grinned and created an incomprehensible language.

[“I, will, eat, you, now, ah…”]

The unmistakable appearance of a monster belonging to Maxwell’s Forces.

It was futile to try to move.

Captured bodies. Delicate strength. It was a miracle they weren’t being crushed.

Soon they felt their bodies being lowered. The monster was using its long, strong arms to drag them into hell.

Both Zernya and Rustila.

They closed their eyes tightly and thought.

‘If someone were to come and help at a time like this…’

‘…I’d be willing to treat them well for the rest of my life.’

That’s when it happened.

[— 13500 prons have been paid.]

[— EX-grade conversion, using <Multiple Mental Failure>.]

A momentum like being hit by a bullet penetrated the monster’s lower abdomen.

That tingling sensation was soon transmitted to the two girls as well. Zernya’s vision went dark.

[— ‘God of Purity and Resolve’ protects you from the effects of the foreign god’s attack!]

A salty taste filled Rustila’s mouth. Blood scent. Her lungs felt blocked as if she had been sprinting.

Nevertheless, because of her constellation, she was able to maintain consciousness.

The next moment, what Rustila’s sea-green eyes saw was…

“…Eidel!”

The figure of her friend… wielding a caliper.