Chapter 208: Primordial Sun (2)
Chapter 208: Primordial Sun (2)
About three seconds after being blinded by the bright light, a voice reached my ears.
“Are you questioning your own magical abilities? Enroll in Halex Magic Academy today! First month’s tuition is free!”
It was a bizarre sentence, heard with such startling clarity that I doubted my own ears.
Startled, I opened my eyes.
A waterfall of brilliant light rushed toward me.
Blue holograms drifted in the air.
Signs glowed like neon.
The sounds of syncopated songs drifted from here and there.
In short, it looked like a bustling downtown area commonly seen on Earth, yet it was not a downtown I recognized.
It looked like what the world might become after hundreds of years had passed.
I called it a downtown, but that wasn't quite the right word for it.
When I looked up, there were steel walls reaching for the sky; when I looked down, there were iron cliffs that seemed to have no end.
Nestled into those walls were countless shops divided by floor.
I was merely standing on one level amidst those innumerable tiers.
The reason I could see both above and below despite that was simple.
The floor of the tier was an infinitely transparent blue ground.
Wondering if it was glass, I stomped my foot.
Thump.
A blue ripple spread out, and a repulsive force pushed back from the floor where I stepped.
…I think this is what force fields looked like in SF movies.
Then, I suppose I could call this a Force Field Floor.
Perhaps it was because I stood there dazed, lost in thought.
Bump.
Someone brushed past my shoulder.
“Ah. My apologies.”
“No, it was my fault.”
The gray-skinned Sentient Being who had bumped into me bowed his head as if truly sorry and disappeared into the distance.
It wasn't a pickpocket or anything of the sort; it was just a simple collision.
There were so many people that such an occurrence seemed natural.
Perhaps the place where I stood was the equivalent of the first floor, as the other tiers visible above and below the force field had fewer people.
…I should probably move.
I didn't understand the situation at all, but at the very least, I was blocking traffic.
With that thought, I walked slowly among the others.
The Sentient Beings were so diverse that it was hard to find any two who looked alike.
A quick glance revealed skin of every color.
Even the number of arms and fingers differed.
Some weren't even humanoid.
One being had a round, polished silver metal body with a single eyeball and mechanical arms, floating through the air.
Another was a gelatinous, slime-like creature.
I even saw a creature resembling a crane flying through the sky with a Magic Staff in its beak.
Bump.
“Ah. Sorry.”
“No, excuse me.”
After exchanging such greetings a few times, the crowd began to feel bothersome, so I looked for stairs to head to a less crowded tier.
Fortunately, I found the stairs to change floors quickly.
In addition, a path that turned at a right angle like a crossroad entered my vision.
That alleyway-like path probably led to another place similar to this long thoroughfare.
If one looked down from the sky, the whole layout would probably look like a grid on a Go board.
Thinking this, I climbed the translucent stairs.
Since there were an absurd number of floors, I assumed there would be something like an elevator somewhere, but I just kept climbing the stairs in silence.
For some reason, I felt a desire to take this place in with my own eyes.
As I climbed the floors, various sights caught my eye.
Weapon shops, food stalls, and even martial arts dojos that I couldn't quite understand.
And, in certain places, various beings appeared accompanied by a flash of light.
…So they’re teleportation devices, not elevators.
Even after seeing that, I continued to climb the stairs.
After quite some time had passed.
Perhaps because I was getting closer to the sky.
Things I hadn't seen before began to appear.
In the sky, several airships—not particularly large—were drifting about. Those ships had elegant curves like those in SF movies and were fitted with turrets.
And the atmosphere of the shops changed.
If the lower floors were thick with the atmosphere of daily life.
The upper floors were clearly recognizable as places for combat.
Armories selling swords, spears, bows, magic staves, and armor.
Old bookstores selling books or objects I couldn't identify.
Even strange buildings with plaques labeled as research institutes.
These were things that didn't seem to fit this SF-like civilization.
But their foundations were likely different from ours.
Perhaps because of the nature of the place.
The number of people wandering the streets decreased significantly; only five or six people were visible on the massive main road, and accordingly, the gazes fixed on me grew more intense.
However, those gazes were far from hostile; they were filled with curiosity.
They were likely wondering what race I was, or why a child like me had come to this floor.
I was curious about the gazes, and the armories and bookstores piqued my interest as well.
But I pushed that curiosity aside and continued toward the sky.
Because the closer I got, the more I felt something calling to me from above.
Further. Further still.
* * *
Finally, I reached the top of the steel wall.
The scenery there was different from what I had expected.
Red, blue, and green plants.
A large number of restaurants.
And numerous Sentient Beings walking the streets in groups.
Unlike the grim lower floors, the atmosphere here was peaceful.
Nature sprouting atop a cliff of steel.
It was quite an interesting sight, so I threw myself onto a nearby bench and stared blankly at the sky.
The voice calling me—the reason I had rushed up here—had grown faint.
I figured I could just wait here.
Until something happened.
I don't know how long I sat there staring at the sky with that thought.
A sweet scent drifted into my nose.
Sweet and salty, mixed with a hint of char and the aroma of oil.
A smell that stimulated the appetite.
For the first time, I turned my gaze toward something.
I had been looking at the sky for a while, but there had been no sign of anything.
…I still have time.
I slowly stood up from the bench, went to the street stall where the scent was coming from, and spoke.
“About this…”
“Ah, you want a Brishu, kid? Shall I give you one?”
The person busily grilling Brishu at the stall spoke kindly.
“How much is it?”
“It’s 374. You know how to pay, right?”
At that moment, I realized I had no money I could use in this society.
But soon.
6■@■3■$■■1■%■9
Broken numbers floated before my eyes, and then those numbers transferred to the clerk.
“….”
“Mhm. Payment received. Here, take one.”
“Ah. Thank you.”
There was something I needed to think about, but I reflexively took the Brishu wrapped in a leaf.
Then, I returned to the bench, leaned back, and quietly looked at the Brishu.
A white, square lump wrapped in a leaf.
Seeing the brown charred spots here and there, it seemed to be a variety that used flour.
Lost in quiet thought, I pushed it into my mouth.
And I soon realized it was something entirely different from flour.
“…It was meat.”
What looked like flour was something similar to kneaded meat, and the filled interior contained sweet cream and crunchy vegetables.
The sweetness was a deep flavor similar to honey but without any lingering aftertaste, and while the vegetables didn't feel crunchy to my palate at all, they were likely quite refreshing. Overall, it was a combination that didn't seem like it would work at all, yet the bitterness mixed into the vegetables enhanced the sweetness, and the meat—which resembled flour—also had a unique taste that paired well with the sugar, allowing it to go down smoothly.
It looks similar to a burrito. But it was a completely different thing.
Thinking this, I stuffed the Brishu into my mouth and continued the train of thought that had been interrupted earlier.
Clearly, the Demon Train’s system had functioned.
The numbers were broken, but the method itself had no issues.
That means this place is, for now, inside the Demon Train….
What did that girl Zess say?
Right. Let’s remember.
【The light of a star contains memories.】
【Let us go. To my memories. To my world.】
【To the time of destruction.】
It was similar to Otherworld Erosion, but it was a sentence that allowed no room for a counter-interpretation.
If so, is this inside Zess?
Or is it Zess’s past?
I chewed the Brishu, thinking it must be one of the two.
Then, what does she want to show me?
This world itself?
A world where technology has advanced, combat power is excellent, and society is maintained?
Is this what Al’shel and I were aiming for?
It’s not bad….
At the same time as that thought.
I understood that it couldn't be that simple.
Because she had dragged me here while expressing her negation of our actions.
“Hmm.”
With my lips pouted, I let out a hum of uncertainty.
Gulp.
I tossed the rest of the Brishu into my mouth.
I put my fingers, sticky with leaked cream, into my mouth and sucked them clean.
It’s sweet.
And just as I was about to sink back into thought until something happened.
Creeeak.
Zzzzzzt.
Along with the sound of space cracking—a sound I’ve heard often lately.
The sky collapsed.
A massive, long scar appeared.
The space that shattered as an aftermath of the scar in the sky fell toward the earth.
Craaaaack.
The steel cliff it touched distorted and vanished from the world.
“…Huh?”
What is this?
No. This makes no sense.
It hasn't even been 30 seconds.
But what is this?
Where did the place where people were living just a moment ago go?
Why are fragments of people rolling around over there?
Why did the stall that was selling Brishu disappear?
Even in this incomprehensible situation.
The scar in the sky continued to grow, and accordingly, the shattered space continued to pour down.
By the time the upper part of the steel cliff that occupied the surroundings had all vanished.
Thump.
The sky opened, and they poured out.
Humanoid beings with grim faces, eight arms, and only upper bodies.
“Pillage!”
The one who looked the most powerful among them.
With a massive flame draped behind his back, he shattered space with six of his arms.
The invasion began with the roar of that Leader Entity, who held a spear and a bow in his remaining two hands.
Less than a minute since the sound of space cracking was first heard.
Everything collapsed.
Society. The world. Opportunity.
All by the hand of just one strong individual.
And then. I understood.
What a Strong One is.
Because we were beings who protected.
Because we were beings who fought back.
Because we did not know how to attack.
What is a fight without restrictions, one that has broken free from the framework of a story?
After pulling out The Hammer, I looked down at The Hammer in my hand.
…An object that, without restrictions, could easily blow away a planet.
“Right. This is what you meant, Zess.”
This is what it meant to not know what war is.
For those whose individual races belong to A~B-Rank, and for those who have little concept of 'race.' For Al’shel, who is an absolute Strong One, this is a war he could never know.
It is not I who dies.
It is not I who loses.
And yet, the war is lost.
“Haha.”
This is absurd.
I thought I knew well enough what it meant for people to die.
I never imagined it would feel as insignificant as dust.
That is why.
Grit.
I clenched my teeth until they felt like they would break.
And I screamed.
“You sons of bitches!”
As if responding.
A massive Golden Hammer streaked across the sky.
As if it had suppressed all its power until now because it had no foothold to support itself.
Stepping on a foothold that would never break by the power of will.
According to my power that controlled its weight.
Becoming a massive Golden Hammer that covered the entire sky.
I swung and blew away those Eight-Armed Captain's kin who had decimated everything.
To the point of completely erasing the memories of holding back since coming to the Demon Train.
To the point where the enemies were crushed like ants by the mere impact of touching The Hammer.
I don't know why I'm this angry.
It’s unclear whether this is reality or not, and those below aren't even human.
Nevertheless, I was angrier than I had ever been before.
In a battlefield where everything had vanished.
I released all limiters.
The Hammer swung in such a way ground up everyone positioned on the right side of the sky.
And the moment it was about to reach the massive being in the center.
Boom.
With a massive sound of collision that shook the world.
“Hmph!”
The leader of the enemies, who deflected The Hammer with a loud shout as if he could block at least this much, looked at me.
“…You aren't Zess. Who are you?”
“I’m the Grim Reaper, you bastard.”
Boom!
Once again, I swung The Hammer.