Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: Child of Prophecy (3)
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“⋯⋯With only four hours left, shouldn’t we set out right now?”
Gray’s lips spilled forth a perfectly reasonable question.
If something that terrifying was on the verge of launching, there was no time to linger here. Even departing immediately would be cutting it close—what kind of nonsense was this?
“It’ll be a swift battle anyway. We plan to resolve it with just the people here, and any riffraff would only get in the way without meaning anything.”
Felix added her calm explanation.
While Gray could handle a baron-level demon on her own, if there were two higher-ranking ones...
Certainly, taking them out quickly with a small elite force would be far more convenient.
Unless one had reached a certain level of power, they’d just end up as baggage, tossed around by the demons anyway.
In that regard.
“Coordination and planning are key. We can’t just charge in barehanded.”
Felix said, glancing around the room.
“They’ll have defenses ready too.”
Because of the baron demon—Astarion—showing pointless loyalty, time had dragged on until the launch was imminent.
If they were firing off something this massive, the enemy side would surely be fully prepared.
Soon.
“⋯⋯Breaking through in this short time without any sacrifices is impossible.”
“⋯⋯.”
With those words.
The atmosphere in the room grew heavy in an instant.
No one there failed to grasp what Felix meant.
Perhaps.
One of the people in this room might not see tomorrow.
“Gray, you absolutely have to go. I’ve already spoken to Dean Shea about it.”
The two strongest available in the imperial palace right now had to participate. Without these two, nothing could proceed among the immediately deployable personnel.
The problem was.
“⋯⋯Who to take for the rest.”
“⋯⋯.”
Felix silently agreed to Carlyle’s words.
From what had just been said, everyone realized the level of danger they were facing.
Soon.
Excluding the two just named, no one could be certain of surviving if thrown into the fight.
And the first to raise his hand was Carlyle.
“I’ll go—”
Before he could finish, reactions erupted from all sides.
“Are you insane?”
“No.”
“N-No, you can’t!”
In order: from Gray, Felix, and Vespa.
Not vehement, but even Panhima furrowed her brow and shook her head.
“Sorry, but fellow countryman. In your state, you’d just be a hindrance wherever you went.”
“⋯⋯.”
Generally speaking, that was true.
Generally speaking.
“⋯⋯I guarantee you, without me, things will get even worse.”
There was no expert on demons like Carlyle anywhere in the world, no matter where you searched.
He hadn’t spelled it out, but everyone seemed to grasp the meaning and fell silent, staring at him.
Carlyle’s gaze remained fixed on Felix, who was puffing on her pipe.
In the current situation, she was the shot-caller. The one he needed to convince.
“Cardinal.”
Carlyle grinned.
“I’ll bring everyone back alive.”
“⋯⋯.”
“No one else can do it.”
Felix remained silent at the declarative words.
Her mind was surely racing with calculations.
She’d quickly conclude that Carlyle was right.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
As one pipe’s worth of tobacco burned down, Felix quietly watched him.
At last, her lips parted heavily.
“⋯⋯Still, no. Even if someone dies, it’s better if you—”
“It’d be better to take him along, I think!”
If someone hadn’t interrupted midway, she might have finished that sentence.
Everyone’s gazes turned to the speaker.
Rachel, who seemed to have bitten her tongue mid-sentence, looked around in flustered panic, her face flushing red under the focused stares.
“⋯⋯Y-Yes, I, I foresaw it! With Carlyle here and without him, there’s a huge difference!”
“⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯.”
As Rachel stammered it out, Felix opened her mouth, looking like a migraine was brewing.
“⋯⋯I know who you are, Child of Prophecy. Your skills are impressive, they say.”
“Huh? Am I that famous⋯⋯?!”
Shocked that the Gray Cardinal knew her, Rachel trembled, her face paling.
“⋯⋯So I don’t want to snap at you either. Explain clearly and straightforwardly.”
Felix continued, eyes narrowing sharply.
“Why does this guy absolutely have to go?”
“⋯⋯.”
Rachel swallowed dryly, her face even paler.
But her next words carried clear conviction.
“Without Carlyle, half the people here will die.”
“⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯My foresight doesn’t show every future perfectly straight, but it’s pretty accurate for events like this.”
“⋯⋯And if he goes?”
“High chance everyone survives, low chance⋯⋯”
Rachel swallowed the rest.
Felix shot her a puzzled look, but Rachel hurriedly shifted topics.
“Th-That won’t happen! I’ll lend my power to make sure it doesn’t.”
“⋯⋯?”
Everyone’s expressions turned strange.
They’d realized what that implied.
“⋯⋯Hold on. Why lend your power?”
“Well, because I’m going too.”
“⋯⋯.”
“Don’t worry! I’ll definitely be helpful.”
“⋯⋯.”
Felix clutched her head in a ‘mountain after mountain’ gesture.
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The magitech motorwagen, which he’d ridden once before, roared to life and lifted into the air.
As expected of a world where they could stuff something into a rocket and slam it into the capital, it wasn’t crude forced flight like Carlyle’s old Holy Sword trick—it had hover devices attached for smooth, elegant flight.
“Ah—”
As he voiced that impression, Vespa, who often visited the Mage Tower following Letty, gave a wry smile.
“When Carlyle caught Blackie, a lot of people got inspired watching him use the motorwagen.”
“⋯⋯.”
“This one you’re riding now is the result of that research⋯⋯”
⋯⋯What terrifying bastards.
Seeing his crazy stunt and immediately turning it into practical tech—truly, the world is wide and full of lunatics.
Still, it was a relief that it slashed the hours-long walk to the central spire down to mere tens of minutes.
And inside the packed motorwagen.
Shea whistled.
“You’ve got a lot of hardship ahead in the future.”
“⋯⋯.”
At the words directed at Carlyle, all eyes turned his way.
⋯⋯From Carlyle’s perspective, it was enough to make cold sweat pour.
“What do you mean by that⋯⋯?”
“No, just that a happy future awaits.”
Everyone but you is a woman.
⋯⋯Carlyle wasn’t a psychopath for wanting to punch Shea’s smirking jaw.
But instead of voicing that, there was something urgent he needed to ask.
“Dean.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you okay?”
Shea tilted his head at Carlyle’s question.
“What wouldn’t be okay?”
“You don’t look okay.”
He hadn’t spent ages with this man.
But it was enough time to roughly gauge his character.
In that regard.
“⋯⋯You seem really pissed off.”
Shea just smiled faintly instead of answering.
No denial, so it could be taken as affirmation.
“⋯⋯.”
This guy. Thinking about it.
Even the Hero in the Holy Sword had once said that, excluding himself right now, this man was the strongest.
Whatever had him so furious, if it led to losing control, that could be dangerous in its own way.
As if reading that thought, Shea chuckled and replied.
“I haven’t gone senile enough to trouble my juniors, so don’t worry.”
“⋯⋯.”
He had a few more questions.
But clearly no time for them.
The spire loomed closer at the motorwagen’s front. Now visible to the naked eye.
And at the same time.
The hairs on Carlyle’s entire body stood on end.
Thanks to countless crises honing his senses into instinct.
And he wasn’t the only one noticing—across from him, Rachel’s face drained white in horror.
“Everyone—”
“—hold on tight—!”
Carlyle and Rachel’s voices crossed as they shouted.
And simultaneously.
-⋯⋯
-⋯⋯⋯⋯!!!!!!!!!
A black beam from inside the spire slammed into their motorwagen.
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