Amid a Storm of Bullets and Lasers
Among the countless bullets and lasers, not a single attack pierced his sword barrier. Had it been the barrier as it once was, the lasers might well have punched through. But he now possessed the trait Genius (EX++), claimed with a gem of the highest grade, and the barrier's performance had advanced to a level that made its former self look embarrassing by comparison.
KWA-KWA-KWANG! KWAAAANG!
Far from piercing the barrier, the bullets ricocheted and slammed straight into the robots. Struck by their own fire, their assault faltered. They scrambled for a solution once it became clear nothing was getting through, and no matter what they tried, they reached the same conclusion: the sword barrier would not break.
In that instant, Yujun drove his sword into the ground.
KUGUGUGUNG.
Weapon Earthquake (EX)
A large-scale area skill unleashed through the sword.
KUGUNG. KUUNG! GRRRRK. The ground shook like mad. The shockwave traveled from the blade into the earth and on into the robots, delivering a devastating impact to their internal mechanisms. Every robot standing on the ground collapsed where it stood. The drones hovering in the sky remained intact, but their attacks were hardly fierce.
And then the building behind him came down with the ground itself.
"Ah—"
Yujun couldn't hide his startlement. He had only meant to deal with the robots around him; the force had clearly been far too much. Even the tower standing over the underground base was collapsing.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG! KWANG!
Yujun scooped Heminine up and got clear in a hurry. When a building of more than a hundred floors came down, the aftermath defied imagination. Massive chunks of wreckage slammed into neighboring towers and birthed still more collapses. A scene that belonged in a blockbuster was unfolding right before their eyes, and watching the buildings tumble in a roaring cascade, he had never seen a spectacle quite like it.
"Whoa. That's amazing."
"You did this yourself..."
Heminine stared at him, dumbfounded.
"You're not entirely without blame either."
"What? Out of nowhere? What did I even do?"
"I had to cast the skill with one arm because I was holding you. That's why I couldn't control the force properly."
"What kind of excuse is that..."
"It's not an excuse."
Yujun said it with a perfectly straight face.
"...Did you plate your face in iron?"
"Are you trying to shift the blame onto me?"
"No. This is absolutely not my fault..."
"There's a Swedish proverb. Shared joy is doubled, and shared sorrow is halved."
"What?"
"The place with the base collapsed, but every robot threatening us went down with it. Should we be happy right now, or sad?"
"...Maybe neither?"
"Exactly."
"What on earth are you trying to say?"
"Ah. This isn't the time for this."
Yujun pointed toward where the base had been.
"Doctor Sammington's request. Did you forget?"
Heminine let out a deep sigh.
"...How about we just do whatever you want?"
"Sounds good. Follow me."
A storm cloud settled over Manuela's face.
"Still nothing?"
At Paranet's question, she nodded.
"They say he's somewhere that can't receive messages."
"Hmm..."
"You're not even worried? How is your face that bright and cheerful? Hmm?"
Manuela suddenly lit into Paranet.
"Eh?"
"Your master has gone missing. Why does your face look like that?"
"How am I supposed to make an expression? I haven't a muscle in my face..."
"Don't talk back!"
Paranet was so dumbfounded he couldn't get a word out.
She's been like this the whole time.
She had been in that state for hours, grown far more irritable than usual.
"What if he's dead?"
Anxiety had Manuela biting her nails.
"My, my. You do worry a great deal, my lady."
"That's what I'm saying—why are you so calm!"
"Would my master perish somewhere far from home? Besides, I have not been reverse-summoned. I remain right here. That means my master lives as well."
"...Even so. What if he's trapped somewhere?"
"He will slip free in no time, I am certain."
"Can't you use spatial movement and bring him back?"
"That is unreasonable. How am I to go when I do not even know where he is?"
"You always said you were mentally linked to Yujun and could find him anytime."
"That only holds when we share the same dimension. At present I cannot even reverse-summon myself... and it seems my master is in no position to call me, either."
"You're no help at all!"
Paranet was just as uneasy, but he trusted his master. Yujun was simply not the sort of man who died. Even sucked into a black hole, he was the kind who would walk back out without a scratch. Manuela surely understood that in her head, but for now her feelings were clearly running ahead of her reason.
"Such a worrier. Truly, you are every bit the lady of the house. Heh heh..."
Paranet smiled, thoroughly pleased.
"See! You can smile!"
"Ah, this is... different."
"How is it different?"
"I cannot form expressions for negative emotions—sorrow, gloom, anger, and the like—but I can manage those tied to happiness. It would seem the reason is that I am a man of positivity—"
WHACK!
Manuela smacked the back of Paranet's skull. True to what she had learned by watching Yujun, the sound was exceptionally crisp.
"Ack! Why did you strike me!"
"Yujun's gone missing, and you're happy about it?"
"...Is that how it comes across?"
"Then what is it?"
"It would appear to be my fault. I apologize."
"It's not me you should be sorry to. Apologize to Yujun."
"Master. I am sorry."
"You have to say it to his face. That doesn't look sincere."
"How am I to see my master's face at a time like this..."
"Don't you remember what Yujun said? If it can't be done, make it so it can."
"He has never said any such thing."
"Sorry. Must have been my imagination."
Just then, Do Jiyun returned from inspecting the warp gate.
"There's nothing wrong with the gate itself. It looks like the energy on the other side—the energy that warps us through—suddenly vanished."
"Why did it disappear?"
"I don't know. Even the gate administrator couldn't get a read on it."
"Can't we go back?"
"They said the energy in the passage has to return to normal first. It'll take at least half a month. Maybe more."
Manuela's expression darkened further.
"From what I can see, Yujun is the type to come back soon. Please don't worry too much."
Even Do Jiyun's reassurance showed no sign of improving Manuela's state.
"There's no point standing around like this. How about we take a look around the Sky Prison—this place, I mean?"
"But Yujun..."
When Manuela hesitated, Do Jiyun took her hand.
"You know Yujun, don't you? If we just stand around here, he might like it even less."
"My lady. I am of the same mind. My master detests wasting time on useless matters. Much like the present moment."
Paranet chimed in as well. Manuela nodded as if she had no choice.
"Fine. I'll go."
KWANG!
Yujun lifted a chunk of concrete wreckage with one hand and tossed it aside. Steel, scrap, plastic, robots—every kind of debris made getting into the underground base considerably difficult. Perhaps this was the karma of toppling a building of more than a hundred floors.
"Well. Infiltrating is going to be difficult."
"...Infiltrating?"
"If no one catches you, that's infiltration. There's no one around, is there?"
"That's a novel way of putting it."
Heminine had grown used to the way he talked and acted, and she no longer bothered arguing over most of it. She simply accepted it as the way things were.
He solved everything with strength. He cleared away heavy slabs of concrete, bent steel out of the way, and kicked obstructive walls into the air. It was far too loud to call infiltration, but once he put his strength to work, progress came in a rush. Heminine wasn't content to sit and watch, either. She wasn't as fast as Yujun, but she cleared the debris at a brisk pace all the same.
Another five minutes or so passed, and they found an elevator leading underground.
"Tsk..."
"What is it?"
"That thing probably doesn't work, right?"
"What is that?"
"An elevator. You wouldn't know even if I told you, would you?"
"No."
"Then you may continue not knowing."
"...Here we go again."
Whether Heminine sighed or not, Yujun kept moving without pause. He needed to find a staircase. But even after clearing wreckage and circling the first floor, there were no stairs. It seemed the only way between the upper and lower levels was the elevator.
He turned to face Heminine.
"A brief explanation of elevators, coming right up."
"All of a sudden?"
"It's also called a lift—a machine that carries you between the floors of a building. You've probably even seen ones that run on magic."
"I haven't."
"And inside there are hoisting machines, hoist ropes, counterweight guide rails, governor pulleys, and so on. Quite a lot of things."
"Excuse me. I don't understand a single word. Why are you explaining this in the first place?"
"Because we have to go in there."
"It's closed, though."
"Doors exist to be broken."
KWAAAANG!
He drove his fist straight into the elevator door. It went well past denting and shattered completely. A fragment flew toward Harp, and Yujun snatched it out of the air.
"Dad, you're so cool!"
"R-really?"
The car was down below. He stepped inside and immediately cast flight magic, and after descending one floor, he smashed the closed door with his fist.
KWAAAANG!
Mindful of Harp, he hit it even harder than before.
"Ooooh!"
When the reaction he had been hoping for came, Yujun broke into a wide grin.
So this is what it feels like to be a dad.
It wasn't bad.
"Which basement floor did they say it was on?"
"He didn't tell us. Doctor Sammington."
"Then I'll have to ask."
"Did you exchange messengers?"
"No."
"Then how are you going to contact him?"
"I secretly left a vision orb in a corner."
"...Really?"
"Yes."
"I didn't see that."
"If it were something you could notice, there would have been no point installing it in secret."
"That's true. Do you think Doctor Sammington knows?"
"He can know. It doesn't matter if he doesn't. If I shout, the doctor will hear it too."
"...You're sneakily thorough."
"Please call it deep thinking."
Yujun said it with a shameless flourish. He wouldn't be seeing Heminine for long, but while he remained in the Illusion Queen's world, it was better to stay on good terms with her.
There will definitely come a moment when I need illusion magic.
Heminine might not be essential right this moment, but looking ahead, she was someone he could not do without.
"The others will be swarming in soon."
"Who?"
"My rivals."
"Ah. Sorsin?"
"It would be a relief if it were only him, but the nobles who want to make him king are a problem too."
"Are they strong?"
"Less strong than... there are many who handle illusion magic well. Especially the older nobles. You need to be careful of them."
"They're all beneath Sorsin anyway, aren't they?"
"That's something you'd only say if you didn't know. The frightening thing about illusion magic is that its power can be combined."
"What exactly does combining power mean?"
"You can vastly expand the scale of an illusion. Creating a new world, for example, and imprisoning a player's mind inside it. The larger the scale, the harder it is to escape."
"Are there side effects?"
"There are. Severe ones. But at this golden chance for a new Illusion King to be born, do you think they'd care about a few side effects?"
"We have allies too, don't we?"
"Compared to my brother's faction, they don't even amount to a drop in the bucket."
"Then give me a clear answer."
"An answer to what?"
"...Yes."
His words were arrogant to the point of insolence, and yet, for some reason, that very bearing struck Heminine as something she could trust.