Chapter 192: Demon Train (1)
Chapter 192: Demon Train (1)
"I don't care if it's a 'Demon Train or a 'Horse' Train or whatever. We were warned, so shouldn't we be running away?"
That woman had seemed plenty strong herself, yet she’d gone out of her way to advise us to flee.
It must be some kind of freakish monster on the level of the Atlantic Nautilus.
"Hmph. My, my. Since when did the great Lee Ha-ram become such a coward?"
In response to my question, the arrogant octopus let out a strange hum... No, he doesn't have a nose, so was it a blowhole hum? Anyway, he hummed a tune as he replied.
The provocative answer naturally made my blood boil, but I suppressed my anger like an adult and gave Un-ho, who was nearby, another twist.
"That guy looked pretty strong too. If someone like him is openly warning us to run, it must be dangerous. Besides, I don't usually pick fights I can't win."
As soon as I finished speaking—
What kind of nonsense is that? He might as well just say he's being 'wise.'
Al’shel’s mutterings reached my ears.
I endured it once again.
"Gyaaaagh! 108 rotations is a bit much, gyaagh!"
"Yes, well. It is true that the Demon Train is dangerous. But surely you haven't forgotten the promise you made when you came here?"
"What promise?"
"The promise to follow my judgment regarding the Otherworld. And I believe it is obvious which you should trust: a suspicious creature you just met, or a creature you are already acquainted with."
To be honest, in terms of reliability, they both seemed about the same...
But thinking about it, I realized I couldn't even understand why I trusted the mosaic creature in the first place, so it all balanced out in the end.
"You can guarantee our safety, right?"
"Hmm. I can guarantee that it won't be safe."
...Has this octopus finally gone mad from Otherworld Erosion?
"Stop thinking whatever you're thinking; it's written all over your face. This is the Otherworld. It's a place where you might die just by sticking a hand outside this white sphere. In this mess, where on earth could I possibly guarantee safety?"
Krr-krr-krr.
Al’shel let out a laugh that sounded like an Old Man with a throat full of mud.
"Whether it's a normal trip through the Otherworld or the Demon Train, I cannot guarantee safety. However, I can promise you one thing."
The octopus made a bizarre gesture with both hands as he continued.
"Using the Demon Train... will be much faster and involve far fewer variables."
With that one sentence, the conversation was over.
* * *
How much time had passed since that conversation as we drifted through the Otherworld within the range of the Reality Anchor?
I had remained still ever since, quietly floating in the void with my body tensed.
I slept or quietly counted numbers.
Based on my calculations, not even a day had passed, yet it felt like an eternity.
"Ha! Royal Straight Flush!"
"...Isn't that cheating?"
"Hmph. You know very well that's impossible since I already have detection magic active. Poyo."
"...I suppose so. Here are the dates."
"Shall we continue?"
"Of course."
Meanwhile, those two idiots from the Otherworld were playing poker using dates they’d found somewhere as chips.
After all that talk about the Otherworld being dangerous, they were acting like they were on a school retreat. Damn bastards. This is why you can't trust anyone from the Otherworld.
Of course, Al’shel would occasionally mutter something and change our direction, or Un-ho would fire magic arrows outward, so it seemed like something was happening. But for me, I couldn't feel anything at all outside the Reality Anchor’s field of influence.
Should I take a look?
With that thought, I squinted my eyes and looked out past the white bubble.
All I saw was pitch-black darkness.
Occasionally, I saw things with different shades of light and dark, or some kind of flow, or a faint, flickering light. But even those vanished in an instant.
Maybe that mosaic entity's prediction was wrong, and the Demon Train wasn't passing this way. Like how scientists occasionally get meteorite impacts slightly wrong due to a minor calculation error.
Just as I was lost in that thought—
Thud. Shhh.
Along with the sound of a deck of cards scattering.
"Po... Poyo? ...W-what is that?"
"It's here."
Hearing the two idiots' reactions, I opened my eyes and slowly landed on the floor.
"Where is it?"
"Even if you ask 'where'..."
"You'll see it soon enough."
The two Otherworlders gave contrasting responses to my question.
One was panicking, his eyes darting everywhere.
The other, as if the panic was only natural, quietly closed his eyes and clasped his hands together.
As if in prayer.
A brief moment passed.
"Huh? It's suddenly so qui—"
The moment Un-ho opened his mouth.
■■——-.
An indescribable noise slammed into my ears.
As if every loud sound I’d experienced in my life was a mere joke, a massive roar swallowed even the ringing in my ears.
Even though my eardrums couldn't withstand it and destroyed themselves, erasing the ability to perceive the sound, the immense noise physically battered my entire body and hammered at my brain.
The noise continued without end.
Then, another form of violence struck us.
Shockwaves and vibrations.
I remembered reading in some book that in a vacuum like space, shockwaves and vibrations would be weak because there was no medium to transmit them.
That theory was rendered meaningless by the noise that thing produced.
An entity creating that much noise in a world of nothingness.
If the sound had reached us first, what could be said for the physical force following it?
"Holy shit."
Since I’d gone deaf, I didn't even know if I’d pronounced it correctly.
Regardless, I spat out a curse, summoned my hammer, and slammed it into space to anchor myself.
"——!"
I grabbed Un-ho, who was shouting something and about to be blown away.
I had Un-ho. What about the other one?
I looked toward where the other one had been, but I soon realized I was a fool for worrying about the Octopus Head.
He had deployed his own barrier and was staring straight ahead with a calm expression, as if nothing were wrong.
That damn bastard.
Of course, I knew he wouldn't have the spare energy to protect me from an impact of this magnitude.
But he could have at least given me a heads-up.
If I hadn't reacted instantly, both Un-ho and I would have been sent flying.
As I cursed the octopus and endured the pain of the shockwaves, another anomaly occurred.
Creak. Screeech.
Sound began to filter into my deafened ears.
"Damn it, what now?"
How could I hear anything through this roar, and why was it so clear?
When I forced my eyes open, I saw the source.
Blue lines were encroaching upon the dark space.
They gradually multiplied until they covered everything in sight.
Like a shattering mirror.
By the time there was more blue than black—
Screeeeeech!
The Black Space I thought would last forever crumbled away, and something massive revealed itself from beyond the shattered blue lines.
Emitting a blue glow and adorned with blue lights.
A grotesque, colossal entity resembling a black-skinned serpent or a whale, baring huge, square, white teeth.
It spewed blue smoke from its head as it flew toward us.
No, it wasn't aimed at us.
It was simply so massive that it only felt like it was coming for us.
Given its sheer scale, we were likely nothing more than dust motes in its path.
At first, I could make out its shape in a single glance, but after closing and opening my eyes, it had grown so large I could no longer see its boundaries.
And then, I realized what it was dragging behind it.
Square masses made of black metal followed the entity.
Both the beast leading the metal and the metal itself looked several times larger than Earth.
So that's why it's called the Demon Train.
It was so enormous and possessed such overwhelming power that my sense of reality vanished, leaving only that absurd thought swirling in my head.
The meaningless thought that it truly deserved the name 'Demon Train.'
After a brief moment of escapism ended.
By the time it was so close that it was impossible to grasp its full form, and only a black wall reflecting blue light filled my vision.
For some reason, the shockwaves and noise battering our bodies subsided.
Only then could I continue my train of thought.
Can I... stop that?
The Demon Train showed no sign of slowing down.
Even so, there was no way to avoid it.
It was so massive that no matter how much I struggled, the best I could hope for was getting hit by it.
That left only one option: a contest of strength.
And so.
Can I... stop that?
I narrowed my eyes and gauged its power against an object that was now so large I couldn't even perceive it growing anymore.
Limiter 100% Release. Defeat.
Hammer Gigantification. Defeat.
S-Rank Technique. There was a possibility.
If I poured all my strength into it and unleashed it, it might be possible.
That was the nature of that technique to begin with.
And no matter how massive the entity before me was, it couldn't be as large as the stars in the sky.
The problem was, could I meet the conditions?
With Un-ho here, one condition was met, but I didn't think that thing was my 'enemy'...
A forced activation wouldn't be able to contain all my power.
Still.
I had no choice but to try.
Kiiiiiiing.
Perhaps my hearing had recovered while I was thinking, but a new sound began to consume me.
However, that sound wasn't the meaningless, massive roar created by the entity before me.
It was the sound of my hammer's engine starting up in response to my will.
"Wait! Forced activation is—"
"Just start the chant."
I’ll take all the responsibility.
It's not like your body or mind is the one getting trashed.
And even if I become a vegetable, Al’shel is right here.
With that, I took my stance and gripped The Hammer with both hands.
I don't need a Pseudo-Otherworld... so at least the burden will be lighter.
This is the Otherworld. I don't have to worry about blowing up the surroundings.
What I need now is physical force that transcends common sense.
Power to overwhelm an opponent I can't even look at.
At the moment everything before me lost its color as the price for resolving to realize the impossible—
"Stop."
A short word and a voice blocked it all.
The activation sequence was halted.
"Mmph! Mmmph-mmph!"
Following that was the sound of Un-ho struggling and muffled groans.
I shifted my stance and directed my hostility toward the being in front of me.
"Why are you stopping me, Al’shel?"
"Because I must."
He spoke in an incredibly flat voice while covering Un-ho’s mouth.
"Then what?"
"Just wait quietly."
Is that supposed to be a plan or just octopus slime?
"Just wait? Can't you see that thing flying at us?"
"Yes, I know. It won't stop. That is the nature of such an entity."
Ha. Is that so?
"So you're saying we should just let it hit us?"
He’d been singing about suicide this whole time; was he trying to take me down with him?
"If you don't have a plan, let go of Un-ho and get out of the way before I blow you away too."
As I snapped at him and prepared to swing my hammer at Al’shel—
"Lee Ha-ram."
A voice so cold it was terrifying flowed into my ear.
"I will say it again. You must trust my judgment."
Without any inflection. Completely dry.
Without making a single move, Al’shel spoke.
"If you truly cannot trust me, you may continue what you were doing. However, I shall withdraw."
He let go of Un-ho.
With a casual gesture, as if nothing were strange.
Then, he quietly stared at the blue light.
With his back turned to me.
"..."
I stared at his back for a moment, agonizing over the choice.
But I soon made my decision.
"...If we die, it's on you."
I stood beside him and stared at the blue light as well.
"Yes, I'll take the blame. I don't know if there's an afterlife in the Otherworld, but I'll buy you a drink after we're dead."
I'd rather not see your face even in death.
I grumbled internally, but my mind felt at ease. No matter how the situation changed because of this choice, the die was already cast.
"Gyaaaaaakh! Ha-ram! We're going to die! The chant! You said we were going to chant!"
Meanwhile, a certain beast was making a racket.
The two of us quietly ignored him.
And after a short while.
The blue light with its black walls drew so close.
By the time my entire vision was covered in blue.
We were swallowed by the pale light.