Chapter 398
Chapter 398
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 398
Chapter Title: 2-20. Great Counterattack (7) (Revised)
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#20
With Abel's incantation, light enveloped my body.
It didn't take unexpectedly long.
The world, which had gone pitch black in an instant, brightened again.
"...A cave?"
The first things that caught my eye were the walls and ceiling made of pure white stone.
The air was dry.
Light was leaking in from not far away.
I realized this was a massive cavern beneath a giant boulder, reminiscent of a beast's lair.
I was in the middle of looking around.
"Huff... We're lucky. Their eyes... Huff, we landed somewhere out of sight..."
"Abel."
Abel was leaning against the wall, gasping for breath.
His face was pale, heaving as if he'd marched in full armor.
"What? What's wrong with you?"
"I suspected as much, but you're completely fine... Monster. You must be Cain's son."
Abel let out a disbelieving chuckle.
Come to think of it, there was no queasiness despite the spatial transfer.
"Isn't this normal? It's way better than regular spatial magic."
"You're talking nonsense... Look over there."
Abel jerked his chin toward the back of the cave.
It was the direction where I'd sensed presences.
The other three were writhing in the darkness.
Thud!
Thud!
Pantasion was slamming his head against the wall.
Each time his horn struck the white stone, the entire cave shook as if it might collapse.
"Urk! Eeeek!"
Rtansie was vomiting like a farmer on his first sea voyage.
From the hearty way she was spewing it out, it seemed she'd followed my advice to eat well.
"Grr... Grraaah...!"
Orse was gritting his teeth, holding back the contents trying to escape.
He was barely maintaining his dignity, but paying the price with purple flames spewing from his eyes and nose.
Honestly, it was a bit scary; better to just puke it out.
"What the fuck."
I was the only one completely fine.
It was strange.
Maybe it was my imagination, but I felt more energized than usual.
"Why are they like that? They look half-dead."
"It's the natural result. We crossed tens of millions of light-years. Consider it heavenly luck that the side effects stopped there."
"Light-years?"
"Haa... The distance light travels in a year. Even if Dahinar's progress is slow, how can even this basic concept not be common knowledge? Truly barbaric monkeys... Gah!"
I drove my fist into his gut, and Abel toppled over.
Still yapping without knowing his place—he was a villain through and through.
To instill manners, I'd need to beat him periodically like Rtansie.
Regardless of Abel's attitude, the info itself was intriguing.
"Holy shit, so those baldies come from that far every time? What a bunch of idle bastards."
"Cough, cough! How dare you...!"
"Want to be treated like a person? Fix that attitude first. So, where are we?"
"Damn it, I don't know."
"What?"
I thought it was bullshit.
As I placed my hand on my sword hilt, Abel flinched.
Even pretending to be fine, his body remembered the beautiful time spent atop Winter's Horn.
Abel hurriedly continued.
"I said I don't know! Transferring five people at once without coordinates—impossible even for a god. Be grateful we're not scattered."
"Who's complaining? Why are you yelling?"
"We're here now; no turning back. You worms, snap out of it!"
Abel shouted.
It was the loudest he'd been so far.
Rtansie wiped the vomit from her mouth and whimpered.
"Hic... Sniff... Where are we? A cave?"
"You've come to the most dangerous place in the world. Achieve the objective and run—that's your only way to live. Get up unless you want your souls stolen, you stupid deer and lizard!!"
"How dare you call me... Ugh, a lizard...!"
Orse raised his head.
Pantasion also stopped headbutting and glared at Abel.
Was this villainous charisma?
He certainly had a knack for grabbing attention.
"We have two goals.
One: Hunt the king of the race they call 'That One.' Two: Destroy the 'Origin.'"
"Origin?"
"A mass of power that's the source of the invading race. It's condensed with all the souls and life forces they've collected roaming the universe. Destroy the Origin, and they all vanish. The king included."
"Then why not ignore the king and just destroy the Origin?"
Pantasion interjected.
His eyes, regaining composure, burned fiercely again.
Abel nodded.
"Very clever, Pantasion. Indeed, destroying the Origin would suffice. But do you think their king will be knitting on his throne until we reach it?"
"......"
"Of course not. The king rarely moves, but if the Origin is threatened, that's different. He'll intervene for sure."
"Then what do we do?"
"We have to fight the king eventually. To maximize success in this situation, minimize unnecessary battles until then. No point killing endlessly here where they spawn nonstop. Meaning: infiltration."
Before we knew it, we were listening intently to Abel.
His explanation was crystal clear, rivaling Phileon Academy professors.
He even drew diagrams on the ground with his sword as he explained.
"Can't get spotted by even one. Luckily, they drop their guard in their home base, so no detection unless we make a racket. Play dead, use Rtansie and the dragon's flight to reach the Origin."
"If few, just kill them, no?"
"Idiot. They share senses basically. Their brains are completely different from ours. Get spotted by one, and you've been exposed to giants across the universe."
I knew this.
That's why we used the previous king as bait for the declaration of war.
It was a high-difficulty mission, but not impossible.
My dumb uncle knew where the Origin was.
I turned and pointed to the cave exit.
"Alright. Let's move out. No time to dawdle, like this bastard says."
"Y-Yeah, we have to, right? Right? Whew... I'm ready."
Rtansie steeled herself.
Admirable, squeezing out courage despite her fear.
Orse and Pantasion were already radiating bloodlust, battle-ready, bodies tense.
I'd worried they'd be unreliable, but needless concern.
Abel said,
"To pinpoint the Origin, scout the terrain first. Run the moment we exit. Hide behind trees, rocks—natural cover."
"Sounds good. On three, we go together. One..."
My heart pounded.
Tension hung in the air.
As Rtansie chanted, my body felt feather-light.
Months of fighting together had honed our synergy.
The wind from the cave entrance tousled my bangs.
"Three!"
We burst out of the cave like a gale.
A desert landscape unfolded before us.
The sky, blanketed in pale clouds, was neither bright nor dark.
White sands and gray shadows stretched to the horizon in dunes.
The lack of color felt like a painting by a demon.
"Tch."
Abel clicked his tongue.
No hiding spots anywhere.
Scouting the terrain openly would take time.
We were charging forward, eyes fixed ahead.
Suddenly, an eerie presence loomed overhead.
"What?"
No one else reacted; I alone sensed it.
I looked up.
The grotesquely churning clouds occasionally flashed like thunderheads.
As I ran, gaze on the sky—
Suddenly, a section of cloud dispersed circularly, shooting a beam straight at us.
"From now on, I shall execute the insolent intruders."
"What?!"
"Shit, dodge!"
"Huh?"
Rtansie tilted her head.
No time for explanations.
I kicked off Pantasion's horn and leaped.
As my feet left the ground, the beam split left and right.
The divided light rays crashed beside the group.
Kwaaaaaang!!
Sand erupted like a waterspout, blotting the sky.
Through the sand rain, two massive craters appeared.
As I twisted midair to land—
"Ah."
"You have revealed your sins."
The voice echoed again from where the beam originated.
It was a giant with six wings.
Far larger than the four-winged ones.
Each of its two pairs of arms gripped a sword of light.
But the group wasn't frozen because of that baldy.
Hundreds of giants were arrayed in a circle in the sky above us.
"Ha. Well."
I let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
The unexpected situation flustered us, but being so blatantly exposed felt almost amusing.
Did they know we were coming?
Fuck, layered like a wedding cake.
"W-We’re done for..."
Rtansie, staring at the sky, started sobbing.
Her chattering teeth could crack walnuts.
Muttering incomprehensibly, she whipped around to Abel.
"Abel! It was you!"
"Don't blame the innocent. Forgot I fought them too?"
"Th-Then how did those baldies know to come here!"
"How should I know? Just bad luck."
Abel sneered.
His tone and expression suggested he truly didn't know.
His signature smug grin and cold sweat trickling down his temple proved his innocence.
One thing was certain.
The plan had gone very, extremely awry.
"Foolish ones. Regret setting foot on the children of the stars and perish."
"Perish."
The six-winged baldy pointed his sword tip at us.
The four-winged baldies chorused.
So many, their voices alone thundered.
As they extended hands, white particles gathered from all directions.
A spectacle like billions of fireflies feasting.
"...Beautiful."
"R-Run, quick!"
Abel admired.
Rtansie clutched her hair.
Soon, spears of light formed in each giant's hand.
Hundreds of spears glowed several times larger and brighter than those in our world.
The baldies powered up at home.
'Brutal.'
No escape in sight.
An overwhelming sight that despaired even our prepared commando team.
Only one option left.
A huge pain in the ass, but reliable.
"Rin."
I sought her permission first.
"Yeah. I'll give it my all."
The blade hummed in response.
Gripping the hilt, sunset hues climbed the edge.
I slowly raised the sword, aiming at the six-winged baldy.
"Hey. Ironed ballsack."
『......?』
The giant looked down at me.
Thanks to my declaration experience, he didn't ignore me.
That condescending glare still pissed me off, though.
"Come down."
I gripped the hilt two-handed.
First big swing since the war; it'd work somehow.
『What...』
As the baldy spoke—
The condensed sunset light exploded from the blade.
Paaaaah—!!
The entire sky dyed crimson.
Giants engulfed in light flapped in panic.
So many, it took real effort.
Veins bulged on my forehead; arms swelled to bursting.
"Haaaaaaaah!!"
Still, I had to do it.
Teeth gritted.
I swung the heavy sword downward.
As the red-tailed blade hit the ground—
『!!!』
Kwagwang!!
Giants swallowed by the sunset plummeted en masse.
Sand pillars erupted.
Snapping wings echoed sporadically.
Falling baldies resembled fruits in a gale.
Sword raised, I yelled at the group.
"Snap out of it, you idiots! Plan change!"
"Hiiik?!"
"We're fucked! Totally!"
Panicking Rtansie fell on her ass.
The two bruisers and Abel gawked at me, eyes wide.
From their ragged breaths, sanity was returning.
"So, just..."
I trailed off.
Racking my brain again, no alternative.
Pointing to the distant horizon, I bellowed.
"Frontal assault!!"