Chapter 127
Chapter 127
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Floating Island Siege
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Everyone gathered here was a genius.
They immediately understood what Dre meant.
Regardless of the true identity of the woman before them, she was an extraordinarily powerful being who had formed a pact with Dre—one that included a clause forbidding her from harming humans.
And now, he was suggesting they adjust the pact to allow her to harm people?
What would happen if they unleashed that arrogant, immensely powerful entity? It was impossible to predict.
The woman in front of them had effortlessly subdued Gorgar, the Demon King of the First Layer of Jade Hell.
Her combat prowess was beyond doubt, given that she had taken down a monster far larger than a mountain.
The instructors weren't the type to cower in fear at the drop of a hat, but if they clashed with her, the floating island would undoubtedly be reduced to rubble.
As everyone waited in tense silence,
"However, I refuse!"
But the red-haired noble beauty declared as much, and Dre shrugged as if he had expected it.
The atmosphere shifted to one of confusion, the tension easing just a fraction, when Dre spoke up.
"Don't you have a favor to ask of me?"
"Huh? It's not a favor—it's an order."
"If I mess up, I could die right here. Then I wouldn't be able to follow your orders."
Prostia's eyes narrowed at Dre's words.
"What? What nonsense is this? Are you trying to mess with me?"
"No, I'm dead serious."
"You bastard... I could do the same to you next!"
Even as she shook Gorgar's head and spat those savage words, Dre remained utterly composed.
"That works too."
Only then did the instructors realize Dre's intent.
He couldn't fully control the woman before them.
But he could provoke her into a fight that would turn everything into chaos.
And if the name Almiraz had called her was true... then that woman was...
A few of them eyed her warily, suspecting her identity.
And at that moment.
"P-Prostia?"
The response to Almiraz's words came from an unexpected source.
Ashita, who had been fidgeting anxiously a short distance away, glanced back and forth between Dre and her before breaking into a bright smile.
...In this situation?
The people staring at her with slightly aghast expressions heard Dre's voice ring out.
"...Anyway, as you can see, my acquaintance has dealt with Gorgar. In practical terms, I've resolved every crisis on the floating island, haven't I?"
No one spoke.
His words rang true, but the nonchalant man had done so many outrageous things that no one could predict his next move.
Besides, with nearly half the instructors already siding with him, there wasn't much they could do.
The now-calmed Alfred asked,
"So what do you plan to do with him, Instructor Dre?"
"I'd like to interrogate him but spare his life."
Principal Renea sighed.
"Haa..."
Rubbing her forehead as if her head ached, Renea stepped forward, her cute eyes sparkling as she stared at Dre.
"Then, just answer this one question."
"......"
Dre fell silent, as if to say, go ahead. Explosions and roars echoed around them.
The monsters made of blue moonlight were growing stronger by the moment.
They could no longer afford to delay.
Yet the principal, Renea, pressed on despite the crisis.
"Why do you want to keep him alive?"
"......"
"I know Almiraz is quite special, even among outsiders. To extract information? That doesn't seem right. If he were a woman, I might understand, but..."
How would that make it understandable? The others reacted that way, but Dre flinched.
He wondered if she was referring to what he'd done when he broke the seal—cold sweat broke out at the thought.
Things like licking armpits... it was deeply embarrassing.
But Renea just stared piercingly, demanding an answer.
Her gaze was so earnest that it reminded him of a scene he'd witnessed long ago.
And the words that person had spoken.
'I hope people get what they deserve for their actions.'
"Goodness for good, malice for malice."
"Pardon?"
A murmur.
Renea's hearing far surpassed that of humans and all other creatures; she clearly heard what Dre muttered, but she couldn't grasp its meaning.
There was no specific reason Dre didn't want to kill Almiraz.
As he'd said repeatedly, Almiraz hadn't done anything warranting death. He sought no personal gain.
After a brief pause, Dre spoke.
"He said he killed quite a few Murderers."
"Including today, over twelve hundred... and that's just what we know. It might be far more."
It was outright mass slaughter.
Almiraz was undoubtedly a villain someone would want to devour alive.
Thinking of that, Dre smiled.
"Very well."
"...What exactly do you plan to do?"
As Renea remained silent, Alfred spoke up, and Dre drew his sword, slowly approaching Almiraz.
"I'll drop him from here."
[......]
For a moment, no one grasped his meaning, then their mouths gaped open.
Drop him from the floating island to the ground below?
Dre's movements were decisive.
Flash! A sword gleam sliced through, carving out the area around Almiraz. A massive chunk of rock floated up.
Manipulating the stone with the floating island's authority, Dre said,
"I can't possibly ignore all your opinions."
As eyes turned to him, Dre's voice echoed.
"I don't want to kill him, but you do. His crimes are too grave to overlook. So, let's leave it to chance. Of course, from this height, the odds of him dying as you wish are high."
Dre's finger pointed at Almiraz.
"Right now, this man is covered in wounds from my sword, making regeneration of his monstrous exoskeleton impossible. He's taken internal shock damage too, so the core inside won't move easily."
He'll definitely die if he falls. No one spoke amid the ominously chilling words.
The silence didn't last.
Almiraz let out a creepy laugh.
[Kuhuhuhuhu...]
"Ah, sorry. I tried to save you, but it didn't work out."
[No matter. I didn't expect anything.]
"Right. Hypothetically, what would you do if you survived?"
As if wondering why he was asking, a blue flame flickered from the shattered skull head.
[Naturally, I'd move to resurrect the Forgotten God. Until this filthy, repulsive puppet show ends.]
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Ding! Ding! Nearly a hundred piercing sensations stabbed through Dre, but he ignored them cleanly.
What the gods babbled meant nothing to him.
Instead, he said,
"Give me a break. At least for my sake."
[...And what are you to me?]
"I tried to save you. Still am."
[Hmph.]
"And I'm stronger than you."
[......!!]
As Almiraz moved to rage in fury, the severed rock began to float upward.
His voice cut off as the rock drifted away, eventually sailing beyond the floating island's edge.
"Well, see you around if we cross paths again."
No sooner had Dre finished speaking than the rock, drained of magic, plummeted toward the ground.
Everyone watched with the naked eye, yet for some reason, only Renea sighed deeply.
Kuuaang!
"?!"
Suddenly, something massive swept through their midst.
Those who leaped aside looked up to see a blue giant the size of a building withdrawing its fist.
Not just it—blue monsters of all shapes had surrounded them before they knew it.
"When did they multiply like this?"
Mullin, bottle in hand, said with a dumbfounded look.
The sight of diverse monsters all emitting the same eerie blue glow would terrify any ordinary person into wetting themselves.
The instructors weren't frightened, but they grimaced.
"Their physical power is negligible, but..."
Alfred trailed off, but everyone felt it: the light those monsters emitted dispersed magic.
That meant magic-based skills would vanish before hitting or, at best, lose much of their power.
"Mullin, how does holy power fare against that light? Does it weaken?"
"Gulp gulp."
"...It doesn't weaken, but it feels strangely ineffective."
Maria answered in place of Mullin, who ignored Blurt and chugged her drink.
Dre had a rough idea why this was happening.
Thanks to the Wisdom of All Things proving its worth once more.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Test Result. The powerful demon's corpse and grudge-filled users' ? are resonating with ??? ?.] The powerful demon's corpse likely referred to Gorgar.
The question marks probably meant the Forgotten God, Dre figured.
If it was resonating with the demon's corpse, could they end it by pulverizing Gorgar's main body to particles? Turning to look, Kaiz was already gripping the head of the main body, doing something.
"Oh, fitting for a hero—pinpointing the cause and resolving it?"
Dre was about to give a thumbs-up in genuine admiration when Prostia tilted her head and said,
"What are you talking about? The hero of the era is extracting the core when he could just smash it?"
"?"
"Don't you get it? He's actually making it worse."
"......?"
Dre stared blankly at Kaiz, who explained,
"It's necessary later. Yeodre, these things are drawn more to strong magic, so keep that in mind."
Kaiz cut off Prostia as he spoke.
"...No, you son of a bitch..."
The whispered tone, audible only to Dre, was particularly infuriating.
Still, Kaiz wasn't one to lie, so Dre swallowed his anger.
Without his info today, things could've gone south.
"Alright then. Shall we kill the Murderers first?"
The sacrifices still impaled on spits.
Killing them might stop something, right?
But Kaiz objected again.
"No, they have another use. He says extracting the cores will end this phenomenon, so wait."
"He says?"
The phrasing grated, but now wasn't the time.
A muscle-bound monster was charging the students.
"Tch. Hurry it up, Kaiz."
Clicking his tongue, Dre dashed off at high speed.
In his flame state, he moved faster than usual, checking on the students.
Most students were proficient in close combat, handling it surprisingly well. Heirs of the Ten Great Families wielded artifacts seemingly unaffected by the blue light, even pushing back.
The problem was Ror, Raies, and Plaan—three of them.
Their styles resembled mages, so they were getting overwhelmed by the blue moon monsters' magic resistance.
Plaan had something sturdy in his shadows, and Ror was at a distance from the monster horde.
Raies, with strong magic but no close combat skills, was drawing aggro and in the most danger.
Decision made, Dre accelerated.
Embers trailed in his wake.
"Ah...!"
Raies felt her spell bounce off harmlessly, her magic dispersing, and stared blankly at the blue fleshy tank closing in.
Getting hit by that would pulverize her.
Terror surged, her vision blurring rapidly...
"...Hah...!"
When she gasped in fear, the scenery had shifted slightly.
The altitude was higher than usual.
Am I smashed, my head flying toward the sky? The timing was that perfect.
But no.
Her limbs were intact below, and beside her was a smell of blood and sweat—no way it could be called pleasant, but warm to the touch.
Lifting her head, Dre looked down at her.
"...Instructor."
"You alright?"
"Ah, yes. Yes..."
Dre set Raies down and gestured for her to fall back with one arm.
Unaware or uncaring of her surprise, he focused on the enemies ahead... and Renea's irritated voice rang out.
"Pardon? What did you say, Gijaier? Pardon? Lena? Why is Instructor Dre's subordinate...? What do you mean—no, why am I... Haa..."
Renea's body flashed as she vented her frustration.
And the sky lit up.
What glowed was the hexahedron Gijaier had boarded long ago.
The emitted light felt almost cozy... and where it touched the sky dissolved into holes.
Paat! Pong!
Mysterious creatures popped out one by one—red, blue, yellow... varied colors, each naturally spewing fire, water, and such.
"Spirits?"
No sooner had Raies beside Dre spoken than an aurora unfurled in the sky.
It blanketed the blue sky, sweeping the spirits like waves, doubling their sizes.
Puuung! Kuuaang!
The enlarged spirits attacked the blue monsters fiercely.
The blue light had no effect on them.
If anything, the blue moonlight withered against the spirits' power.
The massive Holy Fish swimming the air glowed more intensely, surging with power.
As it bit into a nearby giant, the blue giant collapsed without a scream.
Dre extended his senses.
The phenomenon was occurring across the entire floating island.
Whatever it was, the island was out of danger.
Dre kicked a goblin-shaped blue monster rolling nearby, exploding it, then sent Raies back and approached Kaiz.
"......"
Looking at the hero staring up silently, Dre said,
"Seems fine now, so take your time."
"......"
Seeing Kaiz's subtle expression, Dre couldn't resist a jab.
"Useless bastard."
"......Not quite."
What do you mean, not quite.
He wanted to unleash a tirade, but Gorgar's main body head shattered, revealing a burning orb.
"That's the core?"
"Yes."
Kuuaaah...
Faint light gathered from Kaiz's body into a blinding beam shooting afar.
The golden light pushed back the blue moonlight, dyeing the sky gold momentarily before it reverted to pitch-black night.
The moving blue monsters crumbled to dust, dissolving into mana.
The crisis was truly over.
He'd have to retract the "useless" comment, but Dre didn't voice it.
"...Hoo."
Confirming the area safe, Dre released his Flame of Self.
No penalty was no bluff, but his overexerted body screamed in protest.
Dre grimaced, knowing tomorrow's muscle pain would be brutal.
Then, Mayal approached.
Her face was tear-streaked.
"Uh, Mayal. What's wrong?"
"Wh-what do you mean...! Dr, Dret. Th-that...!"
"Huh? What?"
Looking closely, Mayal held something wrapped in white cloth, rapidly staining red.
The pure white cloth turning bloody evoked a twisted image of deflowering—Dre realized his thoughts were off.
Peeling back the cloth revealed a cleanly severed leg, jogging his memory.
"Ah, right—I cut my leg off."
"......"
As Mayal sniffled and stared, Dre said,
"Gonna pass out for a bit."
And he collapsed for real.
"Dr, Dret!"
"Dreeng!!"
Lulled by the voices from all around, Dre closed his eyes.
It wasn't exhaustion-level fatigue, but he decided to fake sleep.
Earlier, during the debate on Almiraz's fate, he'd been too sharp with others.
Staying awake might invite trouble, so he postponed it.
But faking it without actually sleeping would fool no one keen-eyed, so Dre sealed his own acupoints, drifting off...
'...Ah. Will that bastard come next time?'
Thinking that, Dre dozed briefly.
Goooooh...
Far below the floating island, on the dizzyingly distant ground.
The pitch-black earth matched the night sky in eerie darkness.
At its center lay a massive rock amid shattered debris.
Atop it sprawled Almiraz, the monster rabbit with severed limbs.
[...Dropped me in a clever spot.]
Exactly.
He'd thought it random, but it was far from the capital, hard to track.
Dre's words about leaving it to fate or wanting to save him seemed sincere.
It made escape easy if he survived.
[Pathetic.]
Did he think this would make him give up?
After eons of preparation.
This time, an irregular named Yeodre foiled it, but now he knew him.
He'd tasted defeat countless times. No despair.
Investigate, prepare, persist, strike weaknesses relentlessly, and summon the Forgotten God again.
One defeat meant nothing.
Leave it to luck? He'd make him regret that foolish mercy.
Almiraz vowed to make Dre rue his idiotic pity.
No surrender.
Resolved, Almiraz shed his reinforced suit.
The black body with missing limbs melted away, the skull crumbling into the air.
"Does he think the shock reached inside this idiot."
Why else wear this cumbersome shell.
Dre was strong, but aside from the severed limbs, damage was minimal.
Mostly superficial scratches on the core; no technique save Sword-God Union could shock internally.
And even that seemed held back, offset by Almiraz's own powerful strikes—no way it penetrated fully.
Currently, fully mobile.
He could rampage back on the island right now...
"......"
...Why am I fine.
The question he'd ignored resurfaced.
How high was the floating island?
Falling from that height—survival aside, the rock should've shattered completely, not just cracked.
More importantly, sticking to the rock on impact? Normally, he'd bounce off mid-fall.
The mystery solved itself.
Nearby, black feather patterns—emergency float items for civilians—were fading.
Sitting up, something rolled from his chest.
"......"
He remembered. Of course.
Items he'd scattered infiltrating the extremists for civilian safety.
Too bulky for combat, so Almiraz hadn't carried it then.
Planned warp gate escape; if failed, grab one anywhere.
This particular one was familiar: larger than most, he'd slipped it admiringly to an enemy scout with fine craftsmanship, unlike other outsiders.
Used falling from the Archmage's haven—did that mean Dre climbed unaided?
"...Ha."
A disbelieving chuckle escaped.
So bulky.
Dre showed no subspace—fought carrying this?
From the start, to hand it over for escape?
...Never thought he'd lose.
No, that's not it.
His eyes showed readiness for defeat or death.
Not planning to drop him initially.
Then, for contingencies, that hassle?
"......"
Nothing fit except the intent to save him.
Puhahat—a laugh burst out.
His venom and will to fight ebbed.
He'd only wanted to kill; the guy only to save.
Defeated too utterly—rivalry gone, mood not bad.
Lost.
Perfectly.
"Kyahaha. What an idiot."
Almiraz laughed heartily for the first time in ages.