Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Chapter 3 - Fragment #2
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“Kyaaak! Kyak!”
As everyone recoiled in surprise, the leader Lyca let out a deafening roar.
The Lycas that had leaped from the trees hesitated but turned back toward the group, baring their fangs.
[They're coming!]
Unable to resist the leader Lyca's fury, four Lycas glanced at each other before charging simultaneously.
Straight at them.
Instead of charging head-on, Luther fired his Energy Gun at the oncoming foes.
-Papapap!
“Kyak?!”
“Kak!”
Three of the charging ones collapsed, struck in the head or chest by energy rounds.
The remaining one somehow reached the group, but waiting for it was Max's razor-sharp sword.
“Luther?”
“Max?”
Max and Luther, having swiftly dispatched the Lycas, stared at each other in astonishment.
Max was shocked by the Energy Gun he'd never seen before, while Luther was amazed by Max's swordsmanship, which was sharper than expected.
‘This guy's pretty skilled.’
[Master! More are coming!]
No time to get distracted.
Luther hurriedly turned forward and fired the Energy Gun again.
He had equipped the nanosuit and upgraded the axe, but that was one thing—this was another!
‘This is exactly why I printed the Energy Gun!’
With ghostly rapid fire, Luther downed two more Lycas, then stuck close to the ground to kick away an oncoming one.
Max stepped forward, swinging his sword aggressively—his skill was exceptional.
Each swing sprayed blood, and the Lycas dared not approach.
And Karen.
She was no pushover either.
Spotting a gap, she caught a Lyca leaping from right above her head with psychokinesis in midair, then slashed open its chest.
“Kki, kkiik!”
“Kheek!”
Nearly ten fell in an instant, and the remaining Lycas began retreating with frightened cries.
But it wasn't time to let their guard down yet.
“Kyaaak!”
The leader Lyca roared once more and launched itself forward, kicking off a branch.
Its momentum was so ferocious that stopping it with the Energy Gun seemed impossible.
So Luther swung his axe.
A wide horizontal sweep.
The leader Lyca leaped high, evading not just the attack but Luther himself entirely.
[Right behind you!]
Just as Integra warned.
The beast landed and spun around, charging at Luther again.
But Luther hadn't been idle.
The moment the attack missed, he let the centrifugal force from the swing carry him into a roll on the ground, then sprang up swiftly.
The distance was short.
The leader Lyca was right in front of him, fist cocked and about to thrust.
He'd lost the range.
And the initiative.
Swinging the axe now would only mean the fist hit first.
Even so, Luther raised the axe.
The leader Lyca thrust its fist.
And at that exact moment, Integra shouted as if seizing the instant.
[Booster!]
-Kwaang!
The thrusters on the axe blade ignited all at once, generating immense propulsion.
That force converted entirely into devastating destructive power.
-Kwagang!
It was like a lightning bolt.
The instantly accelerated axe blade engulfed the leader Lyca, producing a truly shocking result.
-Ku-kung!
The leader's body split in two, crashing to either side.
Less cleaved than shattered.
One strike.
A single, lightning-fast and ferocious axe blow.
No one could speak at the scene unfolding before them.
Not Max or Karen, nor even the Lycas—all stared blankly.
But not everyone.
[Combat data acquired.]
[Disengaging equipment.]
Following Integra's slightly more upbeat voice than usual, the blue lines climbing the axe handle faded away.
A few seconds passed.
Luther exhaled deeply, yanked the large axe from where it was deeply embedded in the ground, and let it hang at his side.
For the current Luther, no further movement was needed.
“Kki! Kkiik!”
“Kkiiik!”
“Kyak!”
The remaining Lycas screamed and scattered in all directions.
Like a swarm of rats fleeing a cat.
[Monkey-like alien lifeforms have lost the will to fight.]
[Master's victory.]
Luther smiled at Integra's gentle voice, but it quickly turned bitter.
The price of that monstrous slash was no joke.
Not just his arms from swinging the axe, but his shoulders, back—his whole body screamed in pain.
[Master, in your current state, you cannot repeatedly use booster-assisted slashes.]
[There's also the thruster energy issue, so maximum usage per battle is currently three times.]
[Please keep that in mind. Got it?]
“Yeah.”
Luther softly replied, alternating glances between the axe in his hand and the leader Lyca's remains rolling on the ground.
Truly monstrous power.
The restrictions Integra mentioned felt entirely reasonable.
But Luther didn't just stand there in shock.
This immense power belonged to no one else—it was his own.
‘I can do it.’
He could.
And he could get much stronger than this.
Amid deep elation, Luther took a deep breath and looked around again.
The Lycas had long fled, but some remained here.
[Max and Karen both seem greatly shocked.]
[Max feels deep respect for Master.]
Integra's words weren't exaggerated.
Max's eyes sparkled like bright stars as he looked this way, and Karen blinked in stunned silence, her small mouth agape.
Feeling awkwardly embarrassed, Luther cleared his throat lightly and approached them.
“You two aren't hurt, right?”
“Huh? Oh, yes! W-we're fine!”
Karen snapped out of her daze and replied hurriedly. Luther smiled again—her flustered blushing was utterly adorable.
[Master really does have a weakness for cute types.]
Where did she even learn that?
With a wry smile, Luther turned to Max after Karen.
Max swallowed dryly before speaking.
“I'm unharmed too. But that... on your arm, Luther... Could it be the ‘Heavenly Armor’?”
Heavenly Armor.
The armor worn by Sword Emperor Clausewitz, founder of the Justia Holy Empire.
Of course not.
What was equipped on Luther's right arm was a product of superscience—a nanosuit.
But with Max and even Karen's eyes sparkling in anticipation, Luther nodded vaguely instead of correcting them.
“It really is...”
“You're a real angel...”
Max and Karen's faces turned dreamy, like boys and girls lost in fantasy.
To people of this bygone era, the ‘Heavenly Armor’ held great significance.
As the sacred gear of the Holy Emperor—Sword Emperor Clausewitz—who protected humanity from monsters and founded the first nation, it was legendary in itself. And as an item from the ‘Heavenly Realm,’ its prestige was immense.
Of course, Max and Karen didn't think Luther's gear was the exact Heavenly Armor worn by Clausewitz.
They just assumed it was a similar heavenly armor worn by angels—and that alone was enough for their reaction.
“Anyway, let's hurry. Before more show up.”
At Luther's words, Karen and Max snapped to attention, secured their weapons, and headed toward the crater.
Luther shook the blood off his axe and followed.
[Master, special energy is emanating from the fragment.]
[It could be harmful to humans, so have Karen and Max stay back.]
Luther flinched at Integra's words.
“Could it be a problem for me too?”
[Master is a combat-type homunculus, not human.]
[Besides, that fragment was originally with you, so it shouldn't harm Master significantly.]
It made reasonable sense, so Luther stopped Karen and Max, who were about to enter the crater.
“You two wait here. I'll check first.”
In a normal treasure hunt, such an action might draw objections, but not now.
To Karen and Max, Luther was an angel, and that meteorite a heavenly object.
“Understood.”
“We'll wait.”
Max and Karen obediently crouched near the crater and waited.
Luther couldn't help but chuckle at the sight but held it back and entered the crater.
“Doesn't look like a spaceship...?”
At the crater's center lay a half-buried cylindrical object.
Covered in pure white metal like Luther's own nanosuit, but too small to be a spaceship.
Even accounting for how much was buried, it seemed far too tiny for an adult man to fit inside.
Barely enough for a four- or five-year-old child?
[Still worth checking.]
[Even if it's an escape pod rather than a spaceship, it could greatly help Master.]
Luther agreed.
It might even have expansion functions like the nanosuit.
“I'll get closer.”
Muttering softly, Luther approached the fragment and examined it closely.
The basic shape was cylindrical, but up close, the top was badly damaged, exposing the interior.
Black metal.
Blue lines threading through it.
And at the center, a pure white cube.
[Master, best to extract the fragment's main body from the crater first.]
Agreeing with Integra, Luther gripped it with both hands, shook lightly, and pulled.
Perhaps the Lycas had already tried digging it out, as it came free more easily than expected.
A slightly dented cylindrical object, as anticipated.
Since he was at it, Luther placed the main body outside the crater and climbed out himself.
[Master, a signal is emanating from the cube.]
[Please make contact with the cube.]
A cube about 10 cm on each side.
At the center of each face was an emerald gem emitting a soft glow.
‘Energy Cube.’
Luther had seen similar ones in Star Savior a few times.
A storage for energy, also capable of processing a substantial amount of data—like a mini-computer.
Squatting down to peer at the cube, Luther slowly reached out toward it.
Karen and Max stood up to watch Luther and the fragment.
But right then—
-Kung!
A massive boom echoed from afar.
Luther jerked his head up, and Karen and Max turned around.
-Kung! Kung! Kung!
Not a single blast.
They came in succession.
And growing closer.
-Kung!
The ground shook again.
Karen whirled toward Luther, and Max shouted urgently.
But his voice didn't reach anyone.
Even the earth-shaking rumbles were swallowed by a single sound.
“Kiaaaaaah—!”
It was like an explosion.
Heaven and earth quaked, and the entire forest fell silent before the roar.
Luther knew what that sound was.
That's why, for a moment, he held his breath.
-Kung! Kung! Kung! Kung!
The ground tremors resumed.
The being responsible for all this was charging straight at them.
A colossal monster.
The same one they'd encountered before.
[Master.]
Instead of replying to Integra's call, Luther swallowed dryly.
Steel Dragon Jogres.
Its roar shook heaven and earth once more.