Chapter 55
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: The Silver Beast
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The longsword and twin swords that Abel and May had picked up looked like ordinary weapons, but in fact, they were 'artifacts' obtained from the ruins.
These artifacts possessed the ability to transform their properties, allowing them to change into other forms of weapons or even wrap around the body like armor.
Unlike when piloting a Gigant, Abel's personal combat ability wasn't particularly high, so these were essential artifacts for him.
The problem was this bracelet.
'In the original game, the relic was a circlet.'
The original relic, the circlet, could influence nearby living beings.
It could amplify emotions or do the opposite.
However, what Abel had obtained was not a circlet, but a bracelet.
One might think it was just a different shape with the same abilities, but that didn't seem likely.
Woooong-!
The bracelet, emitting a bright light, was vibrating with an ominous sound.
The pilgrims who had been approaching with weapons saw this and showed wary expressions. One of them stepped forward and spoke.
"I'll make you a proposal."
The man who appeared to be the leader pointed at Abel's arm.
"Hand over the item from the ruins, and we'll let you go."
Abel showed no reaction to his words.
His attention was focused on the suddenly reacting bracelet.
If it had some special ability like in the game, it might help resolve this situation.
"You're choosing the hard way."
But the man interpreted Abel's silence as refusal and warned him in a sinister voice.
At the same time, the pilgrims who had stopped began slowly advancing, closing the distance.
Abel broke out in a cold sweat.
'If I stay still, I'm done for. There has to be some way...'
As the encirclement tightened, Abel desperately tried to think of a solution.
But then.
Kwaaaang-!
Something suddenly burst up from the ground.
The man who had been slowly approaching Abel flinched in surprise and looked that way.
And in the next moment.
Kwachik!
A gruesome sound rang out, followed by a spray of blood.
"Aaaak!"
A scream echoed.
It was the scream of the man who seemed to be the leader.
He was clutching one arm, the part below the elbow gone.
"E-enemy!"
Someone else shouted in his place.
They hurriedly scanned the surroundings and soon spotted 'it'.
Charrururuk-!
It was a silver beast.
Its appearance was one that couldn't be identified as any specific species, but Abel felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity from it.
Tadak!
The beast moved at incredible speed, charging into the enemy ranks.
Its speed was tremendous, but the enemies didn't go down easily.
They formed a defensive circle around the one-armed leader, completely blocking any chance of attack.
As a result, the beast couldn't approach recklessly and merely circled warily.
Seeing this, Abel snapped out of it and said to May.
"Let's go!"
May nodded immediately, and the two ran like mad, leaving the pilgrims and the mysterious beast behind.
"They're running—!"
Shouts came from behind, but no pursuers followed.
As Abel glanced back while running, he saw the beast blocking the pilgrims' path, preventing them from moving carelessly.
It almost looked like it was helping Abel escape.
"Huff, huff. What was that?"
Even while running, May asked with a confused expression.
"I don't know!"
Naturally, Abel didn't know either.
The timing was so coincidental that he suspected it was related to the bracelet, but it was just a guess.
It might have no connection at all.
May nodded for now.
And so Abel and May ran and ran.
There was no sign of pursuit, but they didn't let their guard down.
How long had they run?
They squeezed out every ounce of strength until even breathing became labored.
"Hoo, hoo. Let's rest a bit."
Abel confirmed no one was around and said to May.
May, reaching her limit, nodded silently.
Abel leaned against a tree, panting heavily.
"Huuu. Doesn't seem like anyone's chasing us right now."
In the meantime, May had scanned the surroundings with her mana and reported to Abel.
Abel wiped his sweat and replied.
"Good. But where are we now?"
"No idea... Everything looks the same."
"We probably can't go back the way we came."
Turning back and running into the pilgrims again would be disastrous.
As they rested, they pondered what to do next.
By the time the sweat soaking their bodies had cooled and their breathing stabilized.
Tadak-!
The nearby bushes rustled, and the sound of something approaching rang out.
Abel and May immediately raised their weapons and stared in that direction.
But what emerged from the bushes was completely unexpected.
"Huh?"
May blinked in surprise.
Abel was equally shocked.
What came out from between the bushes was the silver beast they had seen earlier.
Abel spread out his mana to check for any followers, but he sensed neither people nor even small animals.
Swish-.
Abel turned his head again to look at the beast wagging its tail as it gazed at him.
Its appearance resembled a Gigadeus Fragment.
In that its body didn't look like ordinary flesh and blood but like metal, the beast was just like a Gigadeus Fragment.
Yet strangely, unlike when seeing a Gigadeus Fragment, he felt a subtle sense of closeness.
It was as if his instincts were telling him.
That thing was not an enemy.
"It's... not attacking."
May murmured at the sight.
As she said, the beast stood still in place after revealing itself.
"Yeah."
Abel nodded in response and, after a moment's thought, spoke.
"Could it be... that it helped us?"
He hadn't expected a clear answer, but the result was unexpected.
In response to Abel's question, the beast nodded up and down.
May saw this and looked at Abel with wide eyes.
"...It understands speech?"
When Abel asked again, the beast nodded once more.
Abel groaned at the sight.
"Hmm."
From the circumstances, it was clear this beast was connected to the ruins—and furthermore, the bracelet.
However, taking it along posed numerous problems.
Even if they traveled together for now, bringing it to the academy could lead to who-knows-what.
'If we're lucky, they might want to study it first and take it along?'
As May hesitated without an immediate reply.
Swish.
Suddenly, the beast approached and extended a front paw toward Abel's sword.
Wondering what it was doing, Abel watched without stopping it.
Then, something astonishing happened.
Charrururuk-!
Suddenly, the beast's body scattered into hundreds of metal cubes and began sticking to the sword.
By the time he came to his senses, Abel's claymore had become a massive sword wider than his palm.
"...?"
Abel gaped as he lifted and stared at the sword.
Yet, despite looking enormously heavy at a glance, it felt light in his hand.
'It feels lighter than a normal sword.'
Kung-!
But when he set it down on the ground, a loud thud echoed.
"..."
Regardless of how Abel felt, the sword's actual weight was far from light.
May blinked in bewilderment, unsure what was happening.
But they couldn't stay dazed forever, so Abel collected himself and spoke.
"It seems... it merged with the sword?"
"...Is that even possible?"
"Yeah..."
Naturally, the two couldn't figure it out on their own.
Woooong-!
But then.
The sword began vibrating intensely.
At the same time, Abel, gripping the sword, felt as if it was pointing in a certain direction.
As if telling him to go that way.
Abel told this to May without hiding anything.
She had witnessed everything, so there was no reason to conceal it.
"Let's move for now. Staying in one place too long is dangerous."
May had calmed her surprise by then and nodded with her usual expressionless face.
In response, Abel picked up the sword appropriately and resumed moving.
About 10 minutes after they started walking.
Passeu-.
At the spot where they had been standing for a while, two men appeared.
They were men who had been exploring the ruins around the same time as Abel.
"...Outside?"
"Y-yes."
The taller, thinner man of the two looked around and suddenly swung his fist.
Kwaaaang-!
With that single blow, a nearby massive tree exploded into pieces.
Still not satisfied, he churned up the ground nearby like plowing a field. Only after a while did he grit his teeth and speak to the plump man.
"Contact the main force. The operation failed. The plan might have leaked."
"Yes!"
The plump man received the order and immediately ran off somewhere.
The thin man watched him go, then clicked his tongue and leaned against a nearby tree.
"Preempted by someone."
Whoever it was, losing the relic this time was a painful blunder.
The chance for a two-birds-with-one-stone gain—securing the relic and striking the academy—had slipped away.
"Is this fate as well?"
But he suppressed his irritation and muttered softly.
Mistakes could happen anytime.
What mattered was the final plan's success, so he couldn't let frustration control him.
He slowly closed his eyes.
Unaware that he had erased the traces of that '先行者' while throwing his tantrum.
* * *
The tension of not knowing when they might encounter enemies. Hunger and thirst.
But above all, the most grueling part was the uncertainty of how much further they had to go.
The only consolation was that they weren't alone.
"How much time has passed?"
Abel deliberately spoke to May to shake off his dazed mind.
May, who had been walking silently for some time, replied.
"Who knows... At least a day, probably."
Without a watch, they couldn't know exactly, but to Abel, it felt about that long.
The sun had set once and risen again.
Neither voiced the question of when they might arrive.
Holding out false hope would only deepen the disappointment.
They simply endured the hunger and pain, walking in silence.
As they reached the top of a high hill while persevering.
Paat-!
Suddenly, bright light pierced their eyelids.
It happened so abruptly that they hurriedly shielded their eyes and raised their weapons. It could be an enemy ambush.
"Abel! May!"
But the voice that rang out was entirely different.
Abel forced his eyes open despite the squint and soon gaped upon recognizing the figure.
"Instructor?"
There stood Kaul with the other instructors.
It was the end of their agonizing journey.