Chapter 117
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: How to Survive in Fusion Punk
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Bagmar.
One day, he opened his eyes.
A space thick with the smell of iron.
There, amid the massive rumble of an internal combustion engine vibrating through the floor and walls, figures just like him carried out their tasks in perfect sync, repeating the exact same motions at precise intervals.
It felt as if he had awakened alone among thousands of reflections.
Bagmar sensed his own solitude amid that emotionless cycle. Stumbling awkwardly, he turned and left the space behind.
It had happened 9,967 days ago.
"You, tall guy! Stop!"
A frantic voice. Short legs pumping furiously as it rushed up and grabbed his sleeve. Jin turned around with an annoyed look.
"What now?"
"You're really going to the royal castle? Why? Do you have to?"
"How many times do I have to say it? There's no other way. Put yourself in my shoes."
Jin's situation was this.
His comrades who'd entered with him... were they even comrades?
Anyway, the survival of the Law Inducers was unknown.
Naturally, he had no idea how the operation was progressing.
On top of that, how long the Pilgrim could keep Apophis pinned down was anyone's guess.
With things like this, what choice did he have?
He had to move.
Before he became a lost child with an 84-year rescue cooldown.
"If you're that worried, you stay here. I don't mind."
"Ah, no. That's..."
Jin stared down at Bagmar, whose face had instantly clouded over with conflict.
An android dwarf who'd lived 28 years.
Not sure if "android" was the right term.
Today's AI had even succeeded in cultivating emotions, but Bagmar felt different.
Not that one was better—just a different vibe when it came to acceptance.
Meanwhile, the hesitating Bagmar finally spoke up.
"...Fine, let's go together. I'm sick of this place too."
Then, turning his head, he added a single word: "Chloe."
As if waiting for it, the machine stood up straight behind him.
"No shortcuts or anything. But tall guy, since I know the layout here better than you, I can at least guide you."
"I'd appreciate that. By the way, how long are you gonna keep calling me tall guy? My name's Jin. Jin Evernight. Just call me Jin."
"...Jin. Got it."
With that brief introduction done, the two retraced their steps and pried open the manhole cover again.
Afterward, as they headed toward the distant royal castle...
Jin chatted with Bagmar about this and that.
They both had a ton of questions for each other.
It naturally turned into a back-and-forth Q&A.
For example, when Bagmar asked what the surface was like...
Jin trailed off with "I don't know much myself yet," scratched the back of his head, and added, "It's ridiculously flashy. Sometimes so much I forget who I am."
Then it was Jin's turn.
"So how'd you survive 28 years down here?"
"Wandered around. Got lucky sometimes and found tunnels dug by the ancestors. Learned to read there, studied books, honed my skills."
"Learned to read?"
Language was something you could self-teach?
Jin, who hadn't even mastered the depths of Korean—not to mention international English—could only marvel at Bagmar studying letters in that vast sea of near-zero input.
"You're smart, huh?"
"...It was as natural as breathing. Like knowing my name is Bagmar without anyone telling me."
"Hmm."
As Jin nodded with a strange expression...
Bagmar, riding on his girlfriend's shoulder like a scarf, cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke.
"My turn? So... on the surface. Are there lots of, uh, lovely fairy ladies like Chloe? For reference, my type has ears angled at exactly 62 degrees..."
"Fairies? They're extinct."
"Mu-wak!!"
Chloe reached out and caught Bagmar as he toppled backward with a dying screech.
The dwarf avoided a fall thanks to her, but the shock must have lingered. After a stunned silence, he unleashed a machine-gun barrage of words.
"Ex-extinct? Why? How? What about the World Tree? The great Fairy King? His 12 knights?"
"No idea. Anyway, none of that exists."
"Gyaaaaaak!!!"
Jin smirked at Bagmar's disbelieving scream.
"That big a shock that the fairies are gone?"
"Of course! Pointy ears! Slender legs! Silky hair fluttering in the wind! Perfect marksmanship! And now no chance to see it in person? What the hell did humanity do?!"
"Ooh."
A gnome automaton, perched on a machine modeled after a fairy, wailing over the fairies' extinction.
Confusing. So confusing.
As Jin let out a hollow laugh at the dizzying scene...
"Th-then, what about beastmen? What happened to them?"
"Hey, it's my turn to ask..."
"Please!"
"..."
Jin reluctantly shut his mouth at the desperate plea.
Tsk, beastmen...
Stroking his chin thoughtfully, he replied.
"Beastmen's doing okay, relatively. Their bloodline's hanging on somehow."
"H-how?"
"Beast King or whatever—they managed to extract a serum from his blood. Inject it into people, and there's a 30% chance you turn into one. Which kind depends on the person, though. Sucks if you're unlucky and end up a raccoon dog or camel beastman."
Thanks to bits and pieces he'd picked up here and there, Jin gave a pretty solid answer.
Maybe I've got a knack for explaining?
His shoulders puffed up a bit as he grinned.
"Beastmen survived, but fairies went extinct? How could this..."
Bagmar's sighs deepened as surface reality sank in.
Catching it out of the corner of his eye, Jin cautiously added,
"Not asking about dwarves?"
"...? Why would I?"
"Well. Dwarves too... uh."
Jin swallowed the word "extinct" with effort.
Was it rude to say that to a machine who called himself a dwarf? Was this AI sensitivity? Right then...
"Guess the surface folk think dwarves went extinct too, huh?"
Jin shrugged at Bagmar's words.
"Yeah. Pretty much."
"Hah, big mistake. Dwarves didn't go extinct. Look at me..."
His words trailed off like taffy.
At some point, Bagmar's eyes had lifted to the sky. Jin felt the chill first, whipping his head up before Bagmar could process the change.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom—!!!
Beyond the artillery fire blanketing the sky once more.
The sound of wings tearing through the air.
Dodging the explosions painting the heavens with ease, a massive bird descended.
Bang!
With a destructive flap, the giant gained propulsion. Its beak ripped through the empty air as it plunged toward Apophis.
"Wh-what the hell is that?!"
"No idea!"
Before Jin could shake his head at Bagmar's question, the colossal bird vanished beyond the distant castle.
The sky it crossed.
Explosions scattered by fierce wind pressure hinted at the power in those wings.
A summon?
No, no mana felt.
Then what?
Before his swirling thoughts could settle...
Jin slammed the ground and shouted, turning his head.
"Run!"
"Uh, o-okay! Chloe!"
At Bagmar's urgent call, Chloe widened her stride.
The next moment.
With springy motion no human could mimic, Chloe overtook Jin. Bagmar yelled from atop her.
"What's going on?!"
"Not friendly!"
That short reply carried volumes.
The giant bird crossing Apophis's skies was no ally. Whoever it was, this wasn't the time to stand around gawking.
"Fastest way from here?"
"Northwest slope! But it's super steep...!"
"Fine! Keep up!"
Jin kicked off hard.
Immediately after.
Deep footprints gouged as his body accelerated, piercing the dense forest path like a bullet.
A physique that had shattered human limits countless times.
The [Superhuman] constellation, having fully absorbed pure blood, had sculpted it perfectly.
Even without spinning, his speed rivaled a top racehorse.
And he didn't tire easily.
Lucky for them, the pursuer was a machine designed with long legs in mind. Otherwise, Jin's slope-scaling sprint would have left even augmented humans in the dust long ago.
"Wh-what kind of human moves like that?!"
Bagmar, shocked beyond count today, gasped. In one burst, Jin crested the slope.
The castle nestled in a valley filled his view.
A gray giant dominating where sky met earth.
Its majestic form, needing no walls, resembled nature's sculpture.
Windows hidden between cliffs, paths along sheer drops—etched into ashen eyes transcending eras.
But no awe.
Jin only heeded his instincts' whisper.
Feeling the wind trailing from the sky like a slipstream, his eyes soon locked onto a spot on the fortress.
There!
To the left where Jin looked.
A door between aligned spires.
Bam!
Chloe stuck close as Jin traversed the now-downhill slope.
"Western Gate of Trials?"
Ignoring Bagmar's mutter over his shoulder, Jin slid to a perfect landing.
The looming fortress pressed down with its gaze, now closer.
And so, the west gate.
Finally at his goal, Jin stepped toward the open gate.
The dwarves' millennium palace, still standing.
Ancient winds stirred dust amid ornate stone walls and towers.
Beyond, an agent lay fallen.
"...!"
Jin rushed over and flipped the face-down body.
The lifeless face was familiar.
He recalled exchanging nods once or twice.
The team's rear-guard sniper, if memory served.
Now with a hole in his neck, the corpse stared blankly. Jin closed the eyes with his palm after a silent gaze.
Then slowly raised his head.
At the end of that gaze: the main gate, yawning open like a monster's maw.
"..."
Bagmar, arriving late and falling silent at the body.
Jin removed the goggles from the dead agent's face.
But realizing they were dead, he tossed them aside and stood.
Thus entering the inner keep.
How many steps along the luminous stone-lit interior?
Clang.
A clawed metal foot skittered noisily across the lobby floor ahead.
A figure bent at the waist came into view.
A man with a sporty crew cut. His extended hand touched the dead agent's face—that's when Jin confirmed it.
Crackle!!
Boom!!
Spinning fiercely, Jin's form vanished from the spot.
The next instant.
Appearing in midair, Jin stomped down with his heel.
Kaboom!
A thunderous kick like a lightning bolt. The bending man's eyes widened.
"Hmm?"
Then he raised his idle hand to block.
Kaboom!!
Shockwaves rippled from the clash, slamming walls and raining dust from the ceiling.
"Hey, hold on."
The man waved dismissively—but Jin flipped midair using the impact, landing and kicking off again.
Bam!!
Explosive acceleration. His body hurtled forward, fist swinging from behind the shoulder.
Front foot slamming between the opponent's legs.
Close enough to feel breath.
Inhaling a storm.
The next moment.
Kraka-ka-ka-ka-ka-boom!!
Time fragmented.
Flurried strikes at full throttle hammered the man.
Intending to shatter even his guard protecting vitals.
Roars layered and overlapped, shaking the air.
Finally, blinding light flashed, flooding the lobby.
In the flickering world.
The shoved-back man spat blood-flecked saliva sideways.
"Ha?"
He worked his jaw side to side, eyeing Jin. Behind mismatched glasses, his pupils had narrowed to slits.
Then he spoke.
"Cassian? Who's this kid?"
Muttering to the air.
Brief silence.
He twitched an eyebrow and continued.
"Hm. One sec. Transferring funds."