Chapter 422
Chapter 422
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 422
Chapter Title: The Second Command (1)
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Shirone headed to the Second Command with Plu.
Clove and Gadrak served as their guides, and as they traveled via spots of light, they were able to gather various pieces of information.
“According to research, the angels’ ‘Gaze’ isn’t about the observer’s sight traveling, but more like pulling a desired location right in front of them. It’s similar to opening a drawer in a room and rummaging through it. So, how did the rebel army avoid the Gaze?”
Gadrak’s words were translated through a drone they had received from command.
The drones produced in Heaven didn't have the language of the Land of Earth, but the items from ‘Yamaeng’ were programmed with the languages of numerous borderlanders.
“Hmm, putting a lock on the drawer?”
At Plu’s words, Gadrak nodded.
“That’s the Mecha clan’s way. They disrupt the landscape with a self-developed magnetic field, preventing them from focusing.”
Shirone said.
“Then is the second way to make a lot of drawers?”
“Correct. The Second Command we’re currently heading to operates scattered like a cell organization. It’s a classic stealth strategy, but because of that, the risks are much lower.”
Plu asked.
“What kind of place is it? The Second Command, I mean.”
“I’ve never been to the command headquarters myself. I was serving in the 13th Battalion before being transferred to the First Command. However, compared to the Mecha, who emphasize leadership, the Norr prioritize individual ability. They believe that the one with power should be the commander.”
Shirone said.
“In that case, the commander must be an incredibly strong person.”
“So I’ve heard. She’s a woman named Lacis, and rumor has it her Spirit Force is as high as 32 percent.”
Spirit Force was an indicator of one’s affinity for spirits, a mental state much closer to the essence than the Spirit Zone.
Plu asked.
“How amazing is 32 percent? If it reaches 100 percent, can you command spirits freely?”
“That’s impossible. It’s just an affinity, after all. With 32 percent, it’s like providing drinking water for a hundred people with a single drop. The average Norr’s affinity is only 7 to 8 percent. Even a 1 percent difference increases magical power exponentially.”
Shirone vaguely pictured the commander of the Second Command in his mind.
“In any case, I approve of this journey. The Mecha are strong against giants but weak against fairies. On the other hand, the Norr are strong against fairies. An alliance is essential if we want to survive.”
While they were talking, Shirone’s party arrived at a spot of light.
Particles of light floated gently above a clear stream that sparkled like diamonds.
Splashing through the water, Gadrak entered the stream, held out his fist to the spot, and prepared the light magic, Elizer.
Watching the light seep into his fist, Plu asked.
“Do we have to go further? This is already the third time.”
“This is the last one.”
He had saved those words, in case they were attacked on the way here and the information was leaked.
Plu nodded and approached Shirone.
She was more at ease than when she was with her star-studded seniors, but now, she alone had to protect Shirone.
She recalled the conversation she had with Gaold last night as she left the bunker after finishing negotiations with Krud.
“Plu.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Gaold, who had called Plu, glanced at Shirone before speaking.
“I’m concerned. The other teams have veterans mixed in, but you and Shirone are different.”
Plu readily admitted it.
Of course, she knew Gaold wasn’t worried about her and Shirone’s safety, but about the failure of the project.
“I am fully aware. I will risk my life to ensure we don’t become a liability to our seniors.”
“If, by some chance, things go wrong…”
Gaold paused.
To Plu, that was truly astonishing.
The mere fact that he—a man who could be compared to a machine with broken brakes—had hesitated felt like a reward in itself.
Plu smiled faintly and said.
“Do not worry. I know that if one life must be lost in this project, it will be mine. As a supporter, no matter what happens, I will ensure Shirone makes it back alive.”
Shirone, who had joined the team in the position of Terminator, was the master key of the task force, someone who had to survive until the very end, even if most of the team members died.
To even weigh her life as a supporter against that of a key figure with such a grave mission was shameful for a mage.
Gaold stared at Plu silently for a moment. Then, he turned away, a wicked grin spreading across his face.
“Heh heh, I’ll trust you then.”
His last words sank deep into Plu’s heart.
Staring blankly at Gaold’s broad back, a wide smile spread across her face as she gave a sharp salute.
‘I don’t mind dying. I’ve joined the best team, after all.’
“Um…”
Just then, Krud, who had been watching the two from a distance, cleared his throat and walked over.
A firm believer that humans should live like humans even in wartime, he cautiously revealed his feelings.
“If there’s anything bothering you…”
“There is not.”
As if it had never been there, Plu’s smile vanished, and she turned away with a cold expression.
Shirone was playfully kicking at the minnows in the water.
If he weren’t on a mission in a place like this, he was every bit a nineteen-year-old.
She would do her best to protect Shirone.
But in a real battle, a word like ‘best’ was meaningless.
All that mattered was completing the objective by any means necessary, and for that, Shirone also needed resolve.
“Listen up. Now that you’re here, you’re a mage too. An unofficial one, since you haven’t graduated yet.”
Shirone looked at Plu, bewildered.
“So from now on, I’m going to treat you like a professional. I’m saying you need to focus on the mission, not get swayed by emotions. I’m not telling you to do anything unreasonable. In fact, it’s impossible to even distinguish what’s unreasonable. That’s what war is. If you ever feel confused, just focus solely on the mission.”
It wasn't as if Shirone didn't understand.
His seniors, whom he looked up to, would willingly lay down their lives to protect him, someone who didn’t even have a mage license.
What made him most tense was the fact that, knowing this, he had to send them into the jaws of death without hesitation.
‘I have to live. That’s my mission.’
Shirone nodded with a determined expression.
“Yes. Don’t worry.”
No one wants to be saddled with an unpleasant job.
If you can’t do it, someone else will eventually have to bear the burden.
Shirone resolved. No, he prayed.
That no matter what situation arose, he would not hesitate.
“We’re leaving.”
A massive flash from Elizer shot up into the sky.
* * *
The world was enveloped in a warm light, and the forest scenery shimmered.
When the light faded, the scenery had changed from the valley with the stream to the middle of a dense, lush forest.
Plu looked around and asked.
“Is this the command headquarters?”
“No. The gatekeeper of the command will lead us. We’ll probably have to go much deeper from here.”
It was a measure to avoid being followed. It showed just how thoroughly they were hiding.
Gadrak put his fingers to his mouth and whistled.
The sound magic, Peri, was cast, and a sound like hundreds of birds chirping soared into the forest sky.
A moment later, a man emerged from behind a tree.
“Where are you from? I haven’t received any reports for today.”
He was a man with a cold impression.
He had blue hair and sharp, upturned eyes, with the left side of his head shaved. His hair on the right, which reached his shoulders, covered one eye.
Gadrak pointed to Shirone and said.
“We’re from the First Command. You must have heard the rumors, this boy here is…”
“Ah, I see.”
The man raised his hand and cast a spell.
The forest magic, Ophrica.
The trees behind him rustled, and numerous wooden vines, growing at a rapid pace, shot toward Shirone’s party.
“Gah!”
Terrified, Clove and Gadrak lost their balance and fell on their behinds, but Shirone and Plu didn’t move.
The trajectory of the incoming vines wasn't aimed at them.
Perhaps anyone could have figured that out if they had remained a little calmer.
The vines slammed into the ground, embedding themselves, then grew in place, forming an arch.
In an instant, Shirone’s party was trapped in a prison woven from arched patterns of wood.
‘This is ancient plant magic.’
According to the afterimages from his fight with Bosun in Kazra, not even a certified 4th-class mage could produce such a rapid growth effect.
That didn’t mean he thought the man was stronger than Bosun, but there certainly seemed to be an advantage to ancient magic that utilized spirit affinity.
‘In any case, this won’t be easy.’
The fact that groups who made a show of force from the very first meeting rarely engaged in proper negotiations weighed on his mind.
The gatekeeper cast Ophrica again, pulling more branches and aiming them at the party.
“What business do those who betrayed the Norr have with us?”
Clove grabbed the bars of the prison and shouted.
“What is this? Do you have any idea who this is? It’s Shirone, the Light of District 73!”
The more hostile the relationship, the more active the espionage.
The gatekeeper also knew that Shirone had returned.
“So?”
“What do you mean, ‘so’? Are you not going to fight the war? Are you asking because you don’t know how much Shirone’s presence boosts the rebel army’s morale?”
A branch as sharp as a spear shot through a gap in the prison and stopped right in front of Clove’s nose.
“Hk!”
Clove hastily backed away, his back hitting the opposite side of the prison.
Ophrica was a magic that couldn't be cast without an affinity of over 10 percent.
With an affinity of only 7 percent, he couldn't resist the man’s power at all.
“What about the Light of District 73? When was it you were denouncing and condemning the Norr, and now you want to fight alongside us? We don’t need the power of those Mecha clan bastards. How can we fight angels with guys who rely on mere machines?”
“How would you know that?”
Shirone said.
“We came to see your leader, not you. I don’t think you have the authority to make decisions that stake the fate of the entire Norr clan, do you?”
The man turned his gaze to Shirone.
He had heard Shirone’s heroic tales until he was sick of them, but the Norr, who had an absolute standard of power, were not swayed by mere myths.
If the Light of District 73 thought that defeating a mere Fairy Chief Igirin would be enough to get by here, he was either a considerable fool or a brat drunk on his own power.
“Perhaps. But I have authority as a gatekeeper. Whether you’re a Nephilim or the Light of District 73, what matters in war is power. I don’t know how it is with the Mecha, but whining while trapped in a wooden prison won’t make a Norr even snort.”
“Is that so?”
Shirone slammed his palm against the prison.
As light began to gather in his hand, the gatekeeper hastily retreated.
According to what he’d heard, Shirone could wield light freely, regardless of affinity, and could even destroy objects with it.
“Hmph! Even so…!”
The gatekeeper, too, was a skilled practitioner of ancient magic, entrusted with the grave duty of guarding the path to the rebel command.
He gathered all the surrounding vegetation, twisted the vines into sharp spears, and prepared to counterattack.
‘What is this?’
But the chance to counterattack never came.
The light gathered in Shirone’s hand gradually darkened, and the wooden vines began to twist bizarrely.
Amgu.
The gatekeeper could only drop his hands and stare blankly at the sight of the thick wood twisting.
*Crrrack! Crrrunch!*
With a sound like bones being crushed, the hemispherical prison of entangled wood was torn from the ground.
*Crrrruuuuuunch!*
Eventually, it began to distort and be sucked entirely into a hole that had formed in space.
As if a glutton were swallowing a living creature whole, the wood struggled from its roots, but was ultimately consumed by force, vanishing without a trace.
Clove and Gadrak’s faces turned pale.
They hadn’t been this shocked even when Shirone had shattered a boulder with light before.
“W-what kind of magic is that, Master?”
“…”
There was no way Gadrak would know. The gatekeeper was likely in the same boat.
All the Norr were staring at Shirone, utterly dumbfounded.