Chapter 182
Chapter 182
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 182
Chapter Title: Reversal of the Law (3)
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After advancing ten meters, the smell of blood grew stronger.
Just as a tense Tess was about to tell Shirone to slow down...
The cave suddenly shook, and blunt pillars shot out from the walls. Not only were they fast, but they were also large enough to crush a person.
Shirone's group reflexively retreated.
Observing from a distance, it looked even more bizarre. Dozens of pillars jutting out from the cave walls crisscrossed each other.
“Is everyone okay? Anyone hurt?”
Shirone shouted, and Amy's reply came back.
“Yeah. I think we're fine. What about you, Shirone?”
“I'm okay, too. Was that a trap?”
“No. There are no signs of artificial modification in the cave. Besides, for a trap, it triggered way too early.”
Tess was right. If the goal was to kill them, the trap would have been sprung after luring them to a point of no escape. But the pillars had shot out from ahead, as if to block their approach.
“If it's not a trap, then what is it?”
A boy's voice echoed from the end of the cave.
“Identify yourselves! I won't miss this time!”
Shirone held out his Shining to illuminate the interior.
A boy who looked to be about their age was crouched down with both hands on the ground. Behind him, a tough-looking, bearded man sat with his legs stretched out, blood seeping through the fingers pressed against his stomach.
It was Gardock, the guide from Nor's Shelter.
Gardock, after studying Shirone's group, spoke to his apprentice.
“Clove, I told you not to use earth magic in a cave. If the ceiling collapses, we'll die too.”
Hearing his master, Clove slowly stood up. Still, the wariness in his eyes did not fade.
Shirone felt a sense of familiarity from their conversation, as if he had returned to his own world. He couldn't understand the Nor language, but its pronunciation and intonation were similar to the continental common tongue.
Canya approached them and spoke in the Nor language.
“You're Nor, aren't you? We've been looking for you.”
“Oh? Now that I get a look, you're the high and mighty Divine People. So, what business does the Meka Clan, who despise exploration and adventure, have all the way out here?”
“To get to Nor's Shelter, of course...”
Canya trailed off and looked closer at Gardock's condition. He was smiling, but his face was pale.
Blood was flowing from his stomach.
It was strange. What could possibly cause an injury in the Valley of the Maelstrom Serpent, where only a single law existed?
“You're hurt? Was it the Maelstrom Serpent...?”
“No, it wasn't the law. We were attacked by the Kergo.”
The word "Kergo" caught the attention of Shirone's group. At first, they thought they had misheard, but as Canya brought the Nor language to the surface of their minds, their conversation began to be translated.
“Kergo? You mean they're hunting all the way out here?”
“There are no heretics here, so it's not really a hunt. It seems they were targeting us specifically. Fortunately, I avoided a fatal wound, but if this bleeding continues, who knows what will happen.”
Shirone interjected into their conversation.
“Did you just say Kergo? What did they do?”
“The Kergo are another clan of the Divine People. The Valley of the Maelstrom Serpent is a safe place since no monsters live here, but that also makes it a popular route for heretics trying to reach Nor's Shelter. And where there's prey, there are always other hunters.”
“So the Kergo hunt heretics.”
“They'll probably catch up to us soon. They're excellent trackers. On top of that, they use the giants' technology. It wouldn't be a problem for them to find this place by smell, just like Tess did.”
Shirone guessed the giants' technology was Schema. If so, this was no time to stand around talking.
Arin attempted to use telepathy directly on the Nor.
“Can you take us to Nor's Shelter?”
Gardock and Clove's expressions turned to disbelief. It was clearly a language they couldn't understand, yet they comprehended its meaning perfectly.
“What are these kids? Is this the power of fairies?”
“No, they're from the Land of Earth. They use magic, just like you. Well, maybe it's a little different, but in any case, they seem to be descendants of the Nor.”
Canya framed it in a way that would make the Nor as receptive to Shirone's group as possible. To survive even a little longer in Purgatory, joining the Nor community was their best bet.
“What, so they're Counterfeits?”
Clove's gaze toward Shirone's group turned to one of disgust.
The Nor were a curious people, and for that reason, they were the clan in Heaven that broke the laws most often. Consequently, they knew more forbidden secrets than the Meka Clan.
The same was true regarding the Land of Earth.
The Land of Earth was said to be a shadow that imitated the perfect world, the Land of the Sky. Therefore, the humans living there were nothing more than Counterfeits, modeled after the humans of Heaven.
In Clove's mind, Shirone's group was inferior to everything in Heaven. The gap between a Nor and a Counterfeit was as vast as the one between a creator and their creation.
“We're Counterfeits? What's that?”
Ignoring Shirone, Clove pointed to the backpacks lined up against the wall.
“Hey, you lot. Come here and carry these bags. One each.”
There was no need to use the Mind's Eye. Clove's tone was dripping with contempt. Amy, infuriated by the arrogant way he stood with his chin tilted up, snapped back.
“Why should we carry your bags?”
“Isn't it obvious? Because we have to run.”
“And why should *we* be the ones to carry them?”
“Because you're Counterfeits. If it weren't for us, you wouldn't even exist, right? You should follow our orders with gratitude.”
Clove seemed to take it as a given that Shirone's group was obligated to obey him.
At the same time, while sizing her up, he flared his nostrils and began toying with a strand of Amy's hair.
“You're not bad for a Counterfeit. How about coming to my house? Don't you want to live safely in Purgatory?”
Amy's eyes sharpened.
Divine People, Counterfeits—she could let that slide as part of this world's way of thinking. But his lecherous hands on a woman's body had nothing to do with Heaven; he was just a rotten person.
“Get your hands off me. Or I'll send you flying.”
“Haha! You? Me? Well, I suppose you can use a little magic, being a Counterfeit. But you're no match for me.”
“That's enough, Clove.”
Sensing the anger in his master's voice, Clove backed away.
Only then did he feel the atmosphere in the cave. Shirone's group was glaring at him with murderous intent in their eyes.
“What? What are you going to do, stare at me?”
“Clove, we're out of time. Do you intend to let me die here?”
Realizing his master was injured, Clove hastily helped Gardock up. Leaning on his apprentice's shoulder, Gardock stood and apologized on Clove's behalf.
“My apologies. This is the first time even I have seen Counterfeits, so my response was... lacking. In any case, you're human too, I suppose. I am Gardock. It seems we must leave this place. Would you be willing to help us? It looks like you came here to find Nor's Shelter. We can guide you.”
Gardock, at least, acted like a mage. Apologizing in front of his apprentice couldn't have been easy, but he knew that cooperation was crucial for survival, whether they were Counterfeits or not.
Shirone's group also judged that lingering here was dangerous, so they shouldered the backpacks without complaint.
They reached the tangle of pillars that was Clove's handiwork.
Clove, supporting Gardock, had to struggle for quite a while to get through.
Amy snorted. The sight of him being thwarted by his own magic was satisfying, but it also made her think he wasn't very bright for not having anticipated this.
Shirone paid no mind to Clove, instead contemplating the magic he had cast.
The magic that made pillars erupt from the walls was aggressive and dynamic. But he felt that casting it using the methods he knew would be incredibly inefficient.
Perhaps the principles of ancient magic are different. With that thought, Shirone asked Gardock.
“By the way, what kind of magic is this?”
Clove cut in with a derisive laugh.
“Haha! What, you can't do this? That's ridiculous. Earth magic is the most basic of the basics.”
As he said that, he winked at Amy.
“I could teach you, though.”
“No, thanks. I don't like making my friends suffer.”
Clove's face turned red at her sarcastic jab about the earlier situation.
Gardock was also curious about Shirone's magic. A Counterfeit who used such peculiar spells.
As far as he knew, the sphere of light floating in Shirone's hand was a type of magic impossible to manifest here. After all, a cave was the domain of darkness. It might be possible with a contract with a light spirit, but judging by its lack of activity, that wasn't it either.
“Hmm, it's difficult to explain. I take it you don't use this kind of magic?”
“We have magic that uses the earth attribute, but nothing that makes pillars shoot out from cave walls.”
“The principles might be different. We borrow the power dwelling in nature to cast our magic. Fire magic where there is fire, water magic where there is water. The reason Clove used earth magic is the same. Though it seems he didn't consider the risk of collapse.”
“That's not it, Master. I was really desperate at the time.”
Clove tried to make an excuse, but Shirone's group wasn't listening anyway. They were too busy conversing through their mental channel to pay attention to anyone's nonsense.
-Magic that uses the power of nature. Quite unique.
-The destructive power was impressive, too. The spell that Clove guy cast would be considerably difficult in our world. Yet he did it so easily. And he's such a dimwit.
Amy added to Canis's words.
-There's another advantage to borrowing nature's power besides raw force. It allows one person to handle multiple elements. It's different from how we train, specializing in a single field.
Arin pointed out a drawback.
-But it also seems to lack versatility. You're bound by the environment. If the element you want isn't around, you can't cast your magic.
To summarize the characteristics of ancient magic: it was wide-ranging, powerful, and allowed for the use of various attributes. On the other hand, it was heavily restricted by the environment, and in some cases, the magic itself could be completely sealed off.
The magic of the sky and the magic of the earth. It was still too early to say which was more efficient.
After exiting the cave, Canya turned back to Gardock and asked.
“So, where is Nor's Shelter?”
“I can't tell that to a member of the Meka Clan. Just know that it's not here, at least. We have to use magic to get there, but that's impossible from here. Follow me.”
At that moment, Rena, receiving a signal from her drone, checked her retinal vision and shouted.
“Sister! We're in trouble!”
Canya also closed one eye to receive the information transmitted by her drone. A group was approaching at high speed from a not-so-distant ravine.
“Damn, it's the Kergo! We have to go, now!”
A look of resignation settled in Gardock's eyes.
“It's no use. We're too late. Their sense of smell is incredibly keen. They've caught the scent of blood.”
They couldn't even hear the sound of their approach yet. To have caught the scent of blood despite that meant at least one person in the group was a master of sensory skills.
“What do we do? Master, what do we do?”
Clove asked, stomping his feet in panic.
Gardock had no brilliant plan to offer.
According to Rena, there were about twenty pursuers. Gardock was injured, and Clove lacked real combat experience. If they clashed now, they would be annihilated.
“What if we try this?”
All eyes focused on Shirone.
@
The Kergo pursuit team, mounted on black horses, galloped over the stream.
Clad in red armor that reflected the sun, their eyes glinted like newly forged swords from a smithy.
Arriving at the cave, the captain of the pursuit team raised a hand, halting their approach.
“Halt! They're inside the cave!”
Led by the captain, twenty subordinates came to a stop. A woman with a long ponytail rode her horse up beside the captain.