episode_0040

12. Towards the second tower (4)

I rode Yeonseo’s summoner into the botanical garden in the National Assembly building, pitched a tent to use as a base, and came out and looked at the tower in the center.

The National Assembly building was so damaged that it was difficult to regard it as a building representing the administration of a country, with a tower appearing where the central fountain had been.

Fortunately, it had only been about three months since the tower appeared, so the devastation caused by the tower had not been as severe. The only things that were visible were the outer parts corroding and the ground drying up and cracking as if it had been subject to drought.

After conquering the tower, this place will return to its original state, and considering the facilities and size of the buildings here, it could be used as a new settlement, or as a base for passing from one settlement to another.

But the number of demons was unexpectedly enormous.

The large roads surrounding the National Assembly building, which we visited on our way here, were covered with harpies, so there must be thousands of them.

Pedro opened his mouth in shock at the sight.

” Wow… There are so many. What should I do? ”

Right in front of the tower was a demonic beast that had wrapped its body with huge wings and formed a cocoon-like shape called ‘Hanjin-oh’. The harpies around it also had wrapped their bodies with their wings and were maintaining a dormant state in the form of cocoons.

Of course, that wasn’t all, but there were also harpy nests on the roofs of the National Assembly Library and the Assembly Hall to the left and right of the center, including the National Assembly Building, and there were also guys there that were in a dormant state.

” Surely, as Pedro said, there are a lot of them…? ”

Hyunseok looked back and forth between the center and the roof of the building and spoke in a small voice.

” Even if I summon a lot of beasts, this number might be a bit too much… ”

Yeonseo, who was looking at the demon with half-closed eyes, seemed to feel a little helpless in the face of the overwhelming number of people, and her voice was weak.

‘What should we do… Even if the four of us fight, it might be a bit difficult with this number. If we even think about conquering the tower…’

If it had been a place like before where the buildings were all right next to each other, then it might have been different, but this place was like an empty lot, so it was difficult to defeat them individually.

The opponents there are Harpies, guys who can even fight in the air.

” How do you find the one who cursed your uncle among all these guys? ”

Pedro glared at them, clenching his fists as he trembled at the number of men and worried that he might not be able to save his uncle.

Sure, I’ve been saying that the curse is what’s important to us right now, but my top priority is to find the guy who injected Mr. Vincent with the evil spirit and purify him.

If we spread the divine power widely, we may be able to find those with the aura of an evil god, but at the same time, that giant demon may sense that aura and become aware of our presence.

Even as I was pondering this, time was passing by.

If we leave it like this, there will come a time when that group wakes up again, and when that happens, it will be even more of a headache.

*****

Well, that’s it. We are not all commanders skilled in strategy, and I have fought many groups in this world.

As I was wondering how to move since I had never fought in a battlefield with such a large difference in numbers, the guys started to move, trembling little by little.

” Ugh, what should I do…! ”

As I was thinking, rubbing my head with both hands, something suddenly occurred to me.

” Hyunseok! How big can you make that technique just now? ”

When I suddenly asked him a question after being quiet for a while, Hyunseok looked slightly flustered, then he looked at me, touched his chin, and began to think. Then he opened his mouth.

” At maximum size, it could cover the entire center, centered around that tower. But why are you asking… Wait, you…!? ”

” There’s nothing we can do. Even if we try to defeat them individually, they’ll definitely be discovered once they reach the roof, and since they fly anyway, we’re at a disadvantage in terms of mobility. This is the only way. ”

When I spoke seriously, Hyun-seok said that we shouldn’t do that and that we should find another way, but what can we do? We have to quickly defeat those guys to save Mr. Vincent.

” Haa, you’re really being reckless, aren’t you? Hyunseok, there’s nothing you can do, but give up and get ready. ”

Yeonseo sighed, shook her head, and then scolded Hyunseok.

” But! No matter what, isn’t this too dangerous?! Even if you can recover, this is too much of a stretch! ”

Hyun-seok was shouting his opposition so that the guys wouldn’t hear him as much as possible, and Pedro was looking at us with an expression on his face that said he still didn’t know what we were talking about.

” Hey… what are you talking about? Please explain. ”

” I’ll be the bait. And then, I’ll use the skills Hyunseok showed me earlier to the max and take them all down. ”

Only then did Pedro seem to understand, his eyes gradually widening, and he quickly grabbed my shoulders and began shaking me.

” Wait a minute! This… This isn’t it! Even if it’s to save my uncle, this… This method…! Hyunseok hyung needs to stop him quickly! Why are you… just staying still! ”

” Pedro, stop shaking and listen to me. There’s no way out for us right now anyway.

If we were a bit stronger or had a wider range of skills, we might be able to deal with them, but we’d have to gather them all in one place to deal with that many. ”

” But…but…this is…”

I continued speaking, pushing Pedro’s hand away.

” Pedro, you have to save your uncle. It’s okay! Even though she looks like this, my sister is good at surviving~ ”

I patted my chest and told him not to worry and that I was okay. Then I headed toward the center, leaving behind Hyunseok, who looked unconvinced, Yeonseo, who was preparing to assist, and Pedro, who had a sad look on his face.

Hyunseok needs to prepare a big technique, so bait is too much, and the only person who can help him prepare and defend is Yeonseo.

Pedro looks fine, but his hands and legs are already shaking, so he seems to be very tired from the previous fight.

After all, no one can buy time as much as I can while others try to be bait.

‘And if Hyunseok uses his skills, I’m the only one who has the means to stop him.’

Before going to the center, I instructed the three of them to prepare as much as possible until I could gather them.

The signal was set to be the moment when the curtana was taken out and the area was expanded.

By then the guys will probably be focusing their attacks on me, so I’ll think that spreading out my territory will block their attacks.

And I decided to throw it from the roof of the Capitol building, thinking that throwing it from as high as possible would make it possible to get the guys in the air involved.

Anyway, there was no time to move to another place, and there was also the problem of range because there were tall buildings nearby.

Of course, even if I lure them, there will still be guys left on the roof, but Yeonseo and Pedro will take care of that.

I took out Durandal, held it in my hand, and made twelve Flambergs behind my back as I headed towards the center of the tower.

As they walked step by step, the ground became increasingly dry and the ground cracked and crumbled, making a crunching sound as they walked. The boys began to open their eyes.

Since I was going to get caught soon anyway, I was spreading my divine power around to find out who the guy with the aura of an evil god was, but the result was unexpected.

The only one with the aura of an evil spirit was Han Jin-oh, who had turned into a giant demon.

*****

After Charlotte left, Yeonseo, Pedro, and I slowly started to move away.

” Hey, are you sure it’s okay? ”

” Kid, worry about how you’ll get around or avoid getting caught when you have time to worry about others. ”

Yeonseo continued to look around, worrying about Charlotte, and snapped at Pedro, who was sobbing.

” Pedro, I’m worried about Charlotte too, but what can I do? It’s already spilled milk. We have to trust Charlotte and be ready before the signal comes. ”

” Okay… Okay. ”

Only then was I relieved to see Pedro following us, having stopped sobbing and prepared to use his powers.

Actually, when I came to rescue Pedro, I was worried that I got angry without realizing it, but now that we’re together like this, I feel a little better.

‘Why… were you so angry back then…? Thinking about it now, there was no need to react that way.’

As I recalled that time when my body gave out before I could even think, I began to picture Charlotte being hugged by someone, and soon I felt uncomfortable.

Why is this happening? Is it because I stopped thinking of her as my sister and started seeing Charlotte as she was, despite Yeonseo telling me not to see her as my sister?

Certainly, Charlotte’s smile of gratitude since then has been quite destructive.

Clearly, when she smiled like that before… I felt relieved and at ease, perhaps because I was looking at her like my younger sister.

Since I hadn’t seen my sister before, whenever I thought of Charlotte’s smile, my heart would beat faster and my face would get hotter.

‘ At that time, it was hard to see that smile… so I turned my head away…? ‘

Thinking back, the reason I turned my head away was because I kept looking at that smile, and for some reason my chest started to hurt and my heartbeat started to race.

I don’t know why I suddenly reacted this way, but… it wasn’t a bad feeling.

Maybe it was because I had been imagining Charlotte all along, but only then did I notice Yeonseo watching me with a sly smile.

” What… do you have to say? ”

” Heh heh~ No~ Not really? I think it would be better to go past the parking lot and to the back of the National Assembly building. It would be more stealthy to use your skills, Pedro, rather than my skills to get up there. ”

Yeonseo made a sly expression, but soon changed it back to her usual expression. She spoke to Pedro and walked ahead.

” Okay, I understand. Should I make it have a hook at the end? ”

” No, then you might get caught because of the sound. So here, it would be better to increase the viscosity at the end. ”

” Let me try it! ”

As I watched the two of them planning the operation, I thought of Charlotte running out alone.

I said it was okay, but if I saw her get seriously hurt by my technique or collapse before that… I would regret sending her alone for the rest of my life.

And as I thought about her like that, my heart started to prickle more and more, so I turned around and looked in the direction she was heading.

‘Please, hold on until I get there.’