episode_0027

*****

The first thought that came to mind when I saw the empty gathering place was escapism. Even after my trainer and I were gone, the team was supposed to patrol regularly. So, the other team members haven’t arrived yet, so if you wait here for a little while, you’ll be able to meet them soon.

That delusion was quickly shattered by Yangachi’s words.

“Kid. I think something happened. Look at this.”

The smartphone the gangster held out had both antennas missing. It would be normal for the first antenna to be missing, as it is unlikely that there would be a radio repeater in the pile of ruins, but the absence of a second antenna that communicates through magical engineering meant that there was something lying nearby that was interfering with communication.

“It seems certain that something happened. Is there anything I can use for navigation?”

“Wait. ‘Andromalius’.”

The roar of a snake-like demon emerging from the magic circle echoed in all directions. Is it a sonar type? Usually, such a format has low precision, but since speed is important now, it would be appropriate.

I held on to the magic I had gathered so it wouldn’t dissipate, and anxiously waited for the results.

“I found two. One life reaction, one dimensional reaction. Which way do you want to go first? Anyway, they are both close by.”

“Life. Please guide me.”

“Okay, follow me quickly.”

Fortunately, the life reaction wasn’t too far from the gathering point. Between the gaps in the building. Inside, Mare was lying covered in blood.

“This… .”

“It’s becoming a bother. ‘Nebiros’.”

As the hand that protruded from the gangster’s summons touched, Mair’s wounds were gradually disappearing. Recovery magic? Magiro?

I was surprised at the devil’s versatility, but when I looked closely, I saw that blood was seeping from all over the gangster’s body. indeed. Did he target himself with a curse that spreads the wound instead of healing it? Of course, that was also great.

“If you want to move it, move it to me. Because it has the ability to recover.”

“If you don’t have troll-level resilience, don’t come forward. Even if I have some wounds, it won’t hinder me in battle, but you are the vanguard, so if it affects your movements, I will be in danger too.”

… You are sincere in this regard. Well, if you do that, I would be grateful.

It was a pretty severe wound, but after moving about halfway, Mair regained consciousness. She looked around as if in a daze, and when she saw us, her eyes widened.

“Leader, and Fafnir? Is it over? What happened to the others?”

“I want to ask what happened to the other kids. I thought they were patrolling or at a gathering point, but where has everyone gone?”

“Oh, no… .”

Mair’s complexion turned pale after hearing the gangster’s words. She then explained the situation she was in just a moment ago.

Immediately after Yangachi felt the divine power and escaped. It is said that Mair and the other two were on their way to a point to join Surt’s team.

Meanwhile, Mair said, the moment he left to go to the bathroom, he was attacked by a stranger who looked exactly like him.

“A strange person who looks exactly like you?”

“Yes. I asked for help, but no one came because there was a barrier or something, so I tried my best to resist, but eventually collapsed… ”

And you are saying that you just mixed in with the other team members and joined the Surtur team? hmm.

Anyway, I couldn’t leave Mair like this, so I lifted her up.

“Go, are you hugging me like a princess…? .”

“Why? Are you uncomfortable?”

“No, that’s not it. Well, I thought it would be better to carry you on your back since it frees up both hands in case of emergency.”

“It’s okay, I’ll throw it away as soon as the battle breaks out.”

“It’s too much!?”

Leaving Mair’s protest behind, we moved toward the dimensional reaction that Yangachi had found.

It wasn’t that far away. If you had found the mare, it was a location where you could easily find it using your normal magic sense if you worked a little harder.

hmm.

“I can’t enter this.”

What greeted us was not a crack created in a normal dimension. Artificial dimension. The enemy seemed to be a high-level barrier magician or wizard.

Entering here was like laying siege to a well-prepared fortress. To put it more simply, it was an act of suicide. At least with these three people.

Of course, I couldn’t completely ignore it. From what I could see on the way here, there were no new signs of battle around.

If the fake Mare wasn’t strong enough to prevent the four people from even resisting, he would have set up some kind of trap, and there was a very high possibility that this crack had something to do with it.

“Ah, that, that… .”

“Huh?”

“I think my smartphone is in here.”

“Smartphone?”

“Yes. I often lose things, so I put a tracking spell on my important belongings.”

“The gunman took your smartphone on purpose?”

“Well, we often communicate between teams through smartphones. Maybe that’s why you thought you’d get caught if you didn’t have it?”

If what Mare said is true, then at least the fake Mare is in here. One more reason to go in here.

Still, what I just said is still very suspicious. Okay, let’s throw some bait.

“Hey, you idiot.”

“Huh? What. I’ll tell you in advance, even if I die, I won’t go in here. What does it matter to me whether everyone else dies or not──”

“That’s not it, so don’t drink kimchi soup. I want to get out quickly and call the teacher, so please help me.”

They both seemed very surprised by what I said. Mary was so surprised that she even stuttered.

” is going!? Well, my team and Surtur’s team might be in here too… .”

“Whenever I go, it’s a 1+1 sausage agency. In that case, it’s definitely better to call help.”

Now, how will it come out? Although my eyes were looking at the crack, I used all of my other senses to see Mair’s reaction. This was also the reason why I bothered to hug the princess.

Mair seemed very hesitant about something. What caused that hesitation? It would be nice if you could figure it out with these words:

“… If so, please take me down. I have to go in and save other people.”

“What, were you that close with them?”

“Not really. But because I was attacked, other people are in danger, right? If that’s the case, we can’t just leave it like this.”

Not only the horse but also the mare struggled out of my grasp and walked towards the crack. Although his steps were staggering, there was no hesitation.

Ugh–um.

“Young arch. The wound you just healed was the wound transference curse, right? Can you do something like cancel that?”

“You can do it, but then you will have one more piece of luggage.”

“Anyway, there isn’t much difference as it is now. Because there is a reason.”

“Hmm. Well, I think I know roughly why.”

Just right. When the gangster snapped his fingers, Mair’s wounds doubled in an instant. Perhaps unable to handle the increased amount of blood loss, Mare stumbled and fell over. Of course, I went and caught him before he fell completely.

“So what is the conclusion? Is this guy a traitor?”

“… Did you notice?”

“Just roughly. There’s no reason for the attacker who transformed into this guy to keep him alive. Of course, it would be faster to clean it all at once than to hurt it like this.”

okay. That was what made me suspicious. Strangely enough, he fell down very close to the crack, and I didn’t bother to carry him on my back.

In particular, I was most suspicious of the information that the crack was related to other kids. Isn’t it as if they want us to go inside?

“So what is the conclusion?”

“I don’t know. First of all, physical reactions such as redness and tremors were normal. Even when he tried to leave us alone and go in alone, he didn’t hesitate.”

However, those parts can be controlled to some extent by a trained awakener. The reason he went in alone was because he was trying to persuade us, but he may have given up and tried to return to his colleagues.

The fact that he claimed that a fake was used instead of him was also a part that made the judgment confusing. If he really was a traitor, he wouldn’t have made such a claim.

Even if you change your appearance using illusion magic or axillary bone ball, it will not work for Soul City. To claim that a fake was brought into a team with such soul poetry is like making propaganda by saying, “I am a fake.” You wouldn’t do something like that unless you were extremely stupid.

In the end, the only conclusion I could come to was that I wasn’t sure right now.

“Anyway, there are many ways to find out if you take it to the teachers.”

“I see. Then let’s go quickly. You have to report quickly so we can either bring in reinforcements or deal with death during the mission.”

“Huh? No, I’m going in? You alone are enough to bring in reinforcements.”

The gangster who was about to walk suddenly stopped and looked at me with eyes as if he were looking at some strange animal. What I just said was an act, and this must be a truly surprised expression.

“Are you crazy? There are many other ways to commit suicide that don’t hurt.”

“No, there is a very reasonable reason for this. Listen.”

Unfolding a barrier of this magnitude is by no means easy. To put it bluntly, if the magic power to create this was used in the attack, in the worst case, Surt’s team and the gangster’s team would be annihilated.

But why did they have to create a barrier and trap them in this way? This tells the enemy that they need to prioritize preventing other kids from escaping.

And based on the assumption that Mair was a traitor, looking at Mair’s actions, there was a high possibility that the enemy had both me and the gangsters in their sights.

“So, there is a high possibility that the children are still alive to be used as hostages. So, if I go in and take my time, reinforcements can come and buy everyone. What do you think, that makes sense, right?”

“Ili is freezing to death. Even if you are told to believe in the Tao while walking down the street, it will be more persuasive than that.”

I guess it wasn’t there. It’s only natural that I just picked up whatever I heard.

“I don’t know, it’s annoying. Then, go on your own and report back. I’m going in no matter what. Anyway, I’m going in~.”

“Hey… .”

When I said that it was my stomach, the cold gaze returned. Ah, this is a very familiar pattern. Somehow I felt like I was back in the old days. Of course, it’s just a feeling.

“Well, if you say you’re going to die, how can I stop you?”

“Okay. So, bring in reinforcements quickly. Oh, just in case, make sure to subdue the mare properly. Because you could pretend to faint.”

“… Why are you going?”

Why are you going? It was such an obvious question that I couldn’t think of anything to answer for a moment. Since I didn’t answer, the gangster seemed to have misunderstood something and added a question.

“It’s not like you didn’t understand the situation. I could really die. Do you have the loyalty to do that to kids you’ve only known for two weeks? Or are you drunk on playing hero?”

hmm. The words were harsh, but to sum it up, they meant ‘Why are you going?’ If you interpreted it very positively, it sounded like you were dissuading them by saying, ‘Don’t go to die.’

Of course, if you look at the bully’s expression, it doesn’t seem to have that tsundere meaning, but pure ‘curiosity’ that doesn’t understand people who are different from themselves.

Here, as a senior in life, I should give you a word of advice. I put my arm on the boy’s shoulder, … Hmm, that’s a little high. He placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder and spoke proudly.

“Ma, let me tell you one thing I like about you. A true hero is someone who turns the original hero game into an achievement. When you encounter a wall in life, don’t go back, jump over it or break it──”

“Oh, that’s right.”

He jerked my hand away as if he was not interested, then called a white horse, got on it, and flew away. Carrying the mare tightly tied to the horse like a piece of luggage.

… after. It’s inevitable that you don’t understand my profound view of heroes. One day, that guy will look back on this day and realize that he received valuable advice. Anyway, it will come.

After convincing myself like that, I jumped into the crack in front of me as if to vent my anger.

***

Let’s go back in time a little bit and Fafnir and the demon trainer had just joined. Four people, including Surt, were also finding some time to look around.

The scenery looks no different from where it was just a moment ago, except for a little bit of fog. But in the wizard’s eyes, it looked completely different.

“So, now we’re in a second dimension like a dungeon, Raon?”

“Yes. Let’s be careful. You never know when and where something will pop out.”

Even as he said that, Raon was comforting the Cyclops in his arms. Cyclops was the one who panicked the most when he was first brought here. It must have been quite shocking to see a team member named Mare change into a different person.

“In the end, was that person a mare? Or was it replaced?”

“Well. Soul poetry, which is said to see souls, is not able to distinguish between them. So that means we have the same soul, so you know it’s you?”

“But you also said that your soul changed or something like that. How about it, Cyclops? Was the mare just now real?”

Cyclops just shook his head while being held in Raon’s arms. I couldn’t tell if the back of my head shaking back and forth was denial or not.

Seeing that scene, Surtur sighed softly so that no one else could hear.

“Because I can’t stay like this forever. Let’s move slowly.”

Everyone followed the instructions of Surtur, who had been the leader from the beginning. Breaking through the fog, Surt and his party attempted to move to the location of the gathering point they remembered. If this place is modeled after reality, there will be a place that is classified as a gathering place.

And it didn’t take long to realize that it was impossible.

“It’s spinning around.”

Surtur spoke while looking at the knife marks on the wall. It was a test done because the target gathering place was not found and similar scenes continued. In the end, everyone’s attention was focused on Raon, who was the most skilled in this type of event among the group.

“What should I do now?”

“Wait. I will think about it. Ugh──Um.”

“No. Unfortunately, I don’t think we can afford that. The enemy.”

Beyond the fog. The faint silhouette gradually became clearer, revealing several shapes. However, the appearance was familiar to them, but not familiar to them.

“… ? What is that? Warwolf? Grizzly?”

“If you ask me which of the two, I can only say it is both.”

“There’s one whose lower body is a horse and whose upper body is a lizardman. What should I call that?”

The monsters themselves were recognizable even to those who did not yet have much experience working as heroes. However, the sight of parts of those familiar monsters combined together was very unfamiliar.

It doesn’t look like a natural living thing, but rather a horrible appearance, as if a child had modified a toy.

“… Chimera?”

As soon as Surtur called out a plausible name, the synthetic monsters roared and rushed at him.

“Tch! I’ll take charge of the front line. Raon, Cyclops, stay out of the middle of the road. Jabberwock, take charge from the back. It looks like there will be a shortage, so I’ll save fire as much as possible. Please do as usual.”

“Okay.”

Surtur also created a sword made of magical power in his hand after seeing the Jabberwock disappear with the answer.

How long can I last? As if to erase the doubts in his mind, Surtur jumped forward to attract the monsters’ attention.

***

“It’s holding up better than I thought.”

“It’s a matter of time. There are limits anyway.”

The center of the technique that creates cracks. In a place that could be called a control tower, Mayer and Lilith were watching the Surtur team’s battle.

It was literally a ‘fight’. The chimera monsters of a mysterious doctor who once devastated New York.

Of course, most of the main forces were left on the North American continent, but even low-level chimeras would not be easy to deal with for a normal hero team.

In addition, the barrier that Lilith had spent the past week preparing was designed to create an infinite number of chimera monsters that were sacrificed. Without an understanding of magic to understand the structure of the barrier and overwhelming force to destroy the barrier itself, escape was almost impossible.

“But we also have a time limit. Ah, that’s why I told you to ask others for help!”

“Hmph! Are you going to give other guys a chance to intervene? The kids I brought in now are more than enough! Besides, this guy is there when you need something.”

“So, with that… .”

Lilith, who was about to continue her next words, barely managed to swallow them. Unlike the old gentleman, Dr. Goe seemed to take a lot of pride in the things he made, so it would be better than not doing anything at all.

Lilith saw the monster that the monster doctor pointed to as ‘this guy’. It was a huge man, well over 2 meters tall, with muscles like steel, and a head like a cow, and it looked similar to the monster commonly called a minotaur.

The actual Minotaur is a monster nearly 4 meters tall. In other words, the minotaur in front of me was the size of a dwarf compared to the actual minotaur.

However, the sight of him kneeling calmly like a knight waiting for his master’s words gave me a feeling of power that was incomparable to the mere size of the Minotaur.

It is definitely a force worthy of dealing with S-class heroes. Combined with the monster army in the U.S., it could indeed be said to be a fighting power worthy of Genesis’s level of leadership, but… .

‘Now in Seoul, there are three S-class heroes and one hero! This is not a place where you can do anything with just one cow!’

And that was only considering official military power. Even though Lilith couldn’t do it, she was sure that there was at least one more S-class hero hiding there.

Of course, in an incident like this, not all of that power will come out. At best, the limit would be Titania, the Slaughter Queen who is related to the target, Fafnir.

However, just because that Minotaur can face an S-class does not mean that it can beat an S-class. Also, if Titania was the opponent, that Minotaur could have become an S-class Korean beef instead of an S-class monster.

‘I never want to see that piranha woman again… .’

According to the original plan, the people inside the barrier should have been captured and captured at this point. Because being hostage is one of the perks of being a villain. However, the plan went awry for two reasons.

‘Ah, if it wasn’t for that wizard bitch! And if only it weren’t for that boy!’

Originally, Lilith had planned to reveal her true form and enter the barrier together. However, while the crack was forming, the wizard girl interfered with the barrier and slightly twisted the equation, causing herself to be ejected.

As Lilith was quite confident in her barrier magic, she did not consider the possibility that the girl had done it on purpose. However, I just thought that I accidentally touched the structure of the barrier while struggling with my magic power.

Moreover, Surtur’s presence was also very annoying. That boy is one of the few people in Genesis who has been ‘recommended’ to be captured alive.

Of course, there were some people, like the Sword Demon, who attacked this as if it was none of their business, but Liris could not go out so boldly because she had some idea of the inside story.

And now, the fact that the ‘boy who shouldn’t be killed’ was at the forefront and taking on the role of tank was very annoying for Lilith, who had to quickly subdue them.

“First of all, will we make the chimera appearance time within the barrier shorter?”

“Do whatever you want. It’s not a barrier that runs on my magic power anyway.”

After comparing the risk of taking her time with the risk of taking it down quickly, Lilith ultimately chose the latter. From the looks of it, those kids’ skills weren’t that bad, so I thought they wouldn’t let Surtur die.

“Ah. Now, a target has appeared in front of the barrier.”

“Good! I’ll go to the location. If you succeed in subduing the kids, send a message here!”

Goal—Lilith shook her head as she looked at Mayer, who was excited like a child at the fact that Fafnir had arrived.

Judging from his reaction, it seemed like he had already taken the capture of Fafnir as an established fact and was thinking about the subsequent experiment in his head.

‘Maybe it’s because I have that much confidence.’

For the past week. What Lilith herself did was create this barrier. And because other members of Genesis did not come to help, this barrier had a very simple function for a trap.

A space where all the monsters brought to Korea by Professor Goe can run wild. That was the true nature of the trap that Lilith had created while staying up all night for the past week.

*****