Chapter 400
Chapter 400
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 400
Chapter Title: 2-23. Major Counterattack (10)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Light poured down.
Orse's tail broke through the cloud layer.
A world unlike any I'd ever seen revealed itself.
"Whoa."
Everyone except Orse was left dumbfounded.
"Surreal" didn't even begin to cover it.
Even by my standards, having witnessed all sorts of spectacles, this was one for the ages.
At the center of a vast void, two seas of clouds faced each other above and below.
"M-my goodness... Am I dreaming right now?"
"Remarkable."
Orse burst into laughter.
As expected, it had taken a toll—his breathing was ragged. This was undoubtedly a monumental feat.
I mechanically repeated in my mind that Orse was the greatest dragon of all, as I surveyed our surroundings.
"Yes... To call yourselves a higher race, you need at least this level of aesthetic sense."
I was certain of it.
This had to be one of the most beautiful sights possible in a colorless world like this.
There was no blue sky as we knew it, but the clouds above were so distant that they resembled the heavens themselves.
The two cloud seas stretched out in parallel lines that seemed eternal, as far as the eye could see.
"......"
We forgot we were deep in enemy territory and simply admired the spectacle.
A chill wind swept through our lungs, cooler now.
Orse was the first to break the silence.
"...Yeah, that's right. Over there."
Abel nodded.
This alien sky held a mesmerizing allure, even for those who'd seen it before.
He pointed toward the direction Orse was gazing.
Far across the sea of clouds, a strange cluster of lights shimmered.
"That's their city. I haven't been there myself, but I recommend extreme caution. You should sense it, Ronan."
"Yeah. There's a shit-ton of them."
I clicked my tongue and nodded.
Even from this immense distance, I could feel them clearly.
An enormous number of baldies were clustered around that light.
So that's what he meant by "they'll notice once you're up here."
"Well, no other options, right? Anyone got a better plan than charging straight in?"
I glanced around at the group.
Honestly, even I didn't want to barrel in head-on against that many.
How many would I have to kill just to reach the dimensional gate?
The thought of my clothes soaked in bright blue blood all the way to my underwear soured my mood.
No one answered after a wait.
"Figures. Knew it."
My fate was one of hardship, it seemed.
I was about to accept it and order a frontal assault.
"If... if we find a path quickly... it might be possible."
"What're you talking about?"
"I think I can disrupt their perception with my magic... I've been researching it nonstop since joining the resistance. Of course, it's extremely tricky—could fail easily, and the duration's short... but... ahem."
"...Perception disruption?"
Lutansie gave an awkward smile.
We all stared at her like we'd been brained with bricks.
I'd completely forgotten.
Genius wasn't exclusive to Asel.
The flying squirrel before me had been a notorious witch long before becoming the Archbishop of Nebula Klazie.
Fantasion asked,
"You sure?"
"Yes. Give me a moment. First... Orse, you'll need to polymorphed into a human. Can't handle that size."
Orse reacted positively too.
This piqued my interest as well.
We could probably force our way in, but the very existence of a giants' city was intriguing.
After some thought, I spoke.
"Alright. Let's do it."
The giants' conversation echoed through the heart of the sky.
The deep bass tones that always excited me were starting to feel routine after hearing them so much.
Lutansie's face paled.
"Th-this... was a bad idea..."
She trembled as if on the verge of fainting.
We were floating in midair, less than twenty paces from the baldies.
Even more giants brushed past us.
"It's over... We're done for... We'll all die... Mmph!"
"Shut it, you scaredy-cat."
Unable to take it anymore, I clamped my hand over Lutansie's mouth.
She flailed her limbs, suffocating.
Only after extracting a promise to stay quiet did I release her.
"Pha...!"
"You pulled it off perfectly—why would we get caught? You're doing great. What're you freaking out about, after being archbishop?"
"B-but I've never done anything like this. With everyone's lives in my hands... it makes me nervous... Urk."
Lutansie dry-heaved.
I couldn't blame her, all things considered. She was juggling telekinesis and ultra-advanced perception disruption magic simultaneously.
"Keep this pace. You're doing fine."
"Ugh... Okay."
Encouraged, Lutansie sniffled.
The five of us relied entirely on her.
The perception disruption was working.
The baldies passed right by us without noticing.
"Hoo... Hoo..."
Of course, we had to avoid any noise or commotion, lest the spell break.
Lutansie had warned that any loud sound or destruction would end it instantly.
Her telekinesis kept us airborne, ferrying us toward what we guessed was the city's center, where the dimensional gate lay.
Per Abel, we'd already entered the city, yet no buildings were in sight.
He muttered to himself,
"Way more than I thought. It'll be dicey if the magic drops."
"Don't jinx it, man. What if she pukes from nerves?"
"Just stating facts."
"Anyway, even for the outskirts, isn't it too barren? It's a city—no houses at all?"
Honestly, a bit disappointing.
I'd been curious what giants lived in, but all we saw were clouds and distant lights.
"I told you it's not like our common sense. Don't you get what 'a star hundreds of times wider' means?"
"Even so, they'd have some signs or markers out of courtesy. Our training grounds weren't this desolate... Hm?"
I was grumbling when something anomalous caught my eye far off. My eyes narrowed.
"A ball?"
A massive sphere floated in the air.
About the size of three Phileon Academy buildings combined.
Surprisingly, the mystery orb wasn't white—it was black. Abel shrugged.
"Ah. A warehouse."
"Warehouse? That?"
"Yeah. The most common facility. Only building I've seen."
"Interesting... Lutansie, let's check it out."
"Th-that thing?!"
Lutansie freaked out.
She clearly hated the idea, but I clenched my fist to shut down her complaints.
We soon arrived before the sphere.
Up close, its overwhelming scale hit harder.
"Fucking huge. What the hell do they store in there?"
These bastards didn't eat or drink—what could they possibly keep?
I stroked the sphere.
Its bald scalp-smooth surface consisted of thin hexagonal panels.
Millions—maybe tens of millions—precisely interlocked to form one colossal orb.
It reminded me of a honeycomb when—
- Save me.
"Shit, startled me."
I flinched involuntarily.
Definitely a human voice.
Lutansie whipped around, mouthing silent screams.
"D-did you hear that!?"
"...Yeah, I did."
Not just me, then.
Abel chuckled inscrutably.
Pressing my ear close cautiously, the voices came again.
- Let me out of here.
- It hurts!
- Just let me die already... Please...!
My heart sank.
No mistake.
Tormented voices echoed from the sphere's surface—or perhaps within.
Suddenly, I recalled the baldies' ecology.
Come to think of it, they did consume something.
If this was a warehouse, what they stored was surely...
"Souls?"
"Quick on the uptake. Correct."
Abel snickered.
The voices persisted even after I pulled away.
"All of them?!"
Lutansie gasped in horror.
Orse's brow furrowed.
Sadly, my guess was spot on.
Each hexagonal panel was forged from sentient souls.
"Fuck."
Impossible not to curse at the sight.
We froze, listening to the wails from the sphere.
In the world I'd known, everyone I cared about had likely met this fate.
Sis.
Asel and Marya.
Schlieffen and Erzsebet too... The anguished cries dredged up forgotten memories.
'This ain't good.' A flash from my first life hit me.
The 20 days of apocalypse.
That's what we called the time after the three giants descended.
Despite the Grand General's efforts, the blood wouldn't stop.
Families, friends, lives themselves.
The baldy triplets stole everything people held dear.
Still vivid.
After a routine relief op, towel-drying my hair while pondering dinner, a messenger burst in: my hometown was gone.
"......Sis."
Ahayute's doing.
He said Numbton alongside the Roma Mountains had vanished.
In that instant, my sister's face—always a nuisance—surfaced.
Along with her habit of calling me her treasure.
- Bullshit! Mountains vanishing? You serious?!
- I-it's true, Corporal! Why would I lie about this?!
- Shut up, fuck. I don't buy it.
I deserted on the spot, racing to the site.
Ditching the brain-dead MPs was child's play.
I ran at my fastest ever, covering a three-day trek in under one.
But by arrival, it was over.
The trout stream, cozy paths, our shabby shack where sis and I grew up—all gone.
Just a massive crater gulping rain.
- Sis.
- Iril?
- Iril sis.
No answer, no matter how I called.
Torn clothes, shattered furniture.
Village remnants amplified the despair.
I roamed like a beast, searching for her.
Digging wet soil bare-handed till collapse, then resuming upon waking.
For a single strand of her hair.
No luck.
"...Useless memory."
I gritted my teeth.
The resurfaced memory pounded my heart.
Every panel here was just like sis.
People living happy, everyday lives—could've died much later.
My hand drifted to my sword hilt unconsciously when—
"Wait, stop!"
Abel shouted urgently.
A thunderous boom followed.
Kwaaaaang!!
Bad feeling.
Turning, I saw heaving Fantasion and a double-bladed axe buried deep in the sphere.
Lutansie shrieked.
"F-Fantasion! What have you done?!"
"......Sorry."
His large eyes were bloodshot.
His axe-gripping hands trembled.
Bowing his head, he muttered hoarsely,
"Couldn't hold back."
"Idiot! Destroying the core solves everything anyway!"
Abel clutched his forehead.
His face ashen.
Confirming the giants' gazes upon us, he kicked Fantasion's shin.
"Now what, you damn deer?! Every baldy nearby saw us. Lutansie busted her ass on that spell, and you—"
"No. Good call."
I cut in, patting Fantasion's back.
Details pending, but he'd had a similar experience.
Not pitying his self-inflicted mess, though.
"Happens. Shit happens."
But I empathized with his rage.
White light leaked from both sides of the axe blade.
The liquid-like glow surged skyward eagerly.
I remembered.
Same as when we smashed the core.
Trapped souls being freed.
The surrounding giants buzzed frantically.
Perception disruption obviously broken.
By their behavior, they'd swarm in minutes.
Their city—reinforcements would be swift.
Turning from Fantasion, I drew my sword.
"Reflecting. I lost my edge for a sec."
"Edge? What nonsense is that?"
"Nothing."
The holy sword gleamed as it left its sheath.
Resonating with my emotions, the blade hummed at high frequency.
Of course.
No one could stay cool seeing this.
Calling others' souls "resources"? Fucking assholes need to chill.
"Hoo."
Gripping the hilt two-handed, I slashed diagonally.
The fluid cut met no resistance.
A pristine white line etched across the sphere.
The arcing blade halted.
Kwaaaaang!
The soul-forged orb split in two.
"What?!"
Abel gasped.
Inside brimmed with soul-processed panels.
As the hemispheres slid along the cut and plummeted toward the clouds—
Kwakwakwakwa!
Millions of souls erupted from the vast cleavage.
"You."
Like juiciest orange bursting—refreshing as hell.
Fantasion's eyes widened.
The giants' voices tripled in volume, but I ignored them.
Yeah.
Lately, I'd definitely lost my beginner's fire.
Spinning the sword once, I muttered at the giants.
"A swordmaster can't get lazy about slicing. Right?"