Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Third Archive: Sirius (2)
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The heart of the Great Forest, where massive trees stood densely packed.
There, the leader of the Leobrant Brotherhood, Isaac Leobrant, was riding onward with his subordinates.
The number of those following Isaac had dwindled significantly compared to when he had first entered the Great Forest.
After the battle with the leader of the Eight Sword Society—the Sword Ghost Raphaelia—had concluded.
Isaac had sent a substantial force back to the Empire along with his right-hand man, Cora.
“This damned forest is getting on my last nerve.”
At the head of the procession cutting through the Great Forest, Isaac spurred his horse forward with a voice laced with irritation.
Isaac's field of vision, gripping the reins, was filled with the same monotonous forest scenery he had faced every single day.
Under normal circumstances, he should have wrapped things up long ago and been throwing a feast in the elves' village by now.
But thanks to Raphaelia's sudden intrusion onto the battlefield, Isaac was still forced to wander the Great Forest's woods.
“......”
The wound on his chest, sliced by the Sword Ghost, still sent sharp pain through him even now.
Grind.
The sound of his teeth gnashing echoed through the forest.
Deep down, he wanted nothing more than to slaughter the elves right then and return to the Empire.
However, he couldn't just leave empty-handed after coming this far.
At the very least, he needed to take the elves' treasured "Fruit of the World Tree" to vent his frustration.
“......Someday, I'll make them all pay the price.”
The Leobrant Brotherhood's forces, led by Isaac, pressed forward for only a short while longer.
Clop, clop.
Soon enough, Isaac's sharpened senses picked up the presence of a large group approaching him.
Swoosh.
Isaac's gaze turned toward the direction of the presences.
Beyond the countless trees obscuring his view.
He spotted a band of knights riding toward them.
“......”
Isaac raised his head, scrutinizing the unidentified force approaching the Brotherhood.
At the forefront of those bearing ornate banners rode a man of imposing build.
Judging by the robes he wore, he was clearly a high-ranking cleric of the White Order.
“After such a long ride, my rear is getting sore. Everyone, slow the pace a bit.”
Moreover, the burly cleric's voice boomed, echoing through the Great Forest's trees.
Isaac scowled as the voice reached his ears.
Yet the other side still hadn't noticed Isaac, carrying on their conversation with composed faces.
“Come to think of it, weren't the Great Forest's fruits renowned for their uniform deliciousness from the start?”
“Yes, indeed! Even the picky elves love the fruits of the Great Forest.”
“Then the elves' treasure, the Fruit of the World Tree, must be some unimaginable delicacy.”
“Of course it will be incredibly tasty. Soon enough, Your Eminence can savor it and share your impressions with us.”
Fruit of the World Tree.
Isaac Leobrant's lips curled upward at the familiar words.
“Heh, exactly. Unfortunately, there's only one fruit, so not everyone can have a taste.”
“Precisely. The Fruit of the World Tree should be for someone of Your Eminence's stature. We're content just hearing about it.”
Snicker.
Hearing the opponent's bold claim of eating the fruit made Isaac unable to suppress the laughter bubbling from his mouth.
Who gave them permission to lay hands on it?
The notion that they would share its taste was so absurd it drew involuntary chuckles.
Clank.
Isaac's hand went to the hilt of his demon sword, his eyes glaring murderously at the approaching foes.
“How dare they spout such nonsense.”
Neigh.
The paladins' procession, upon spotting Isaac, came to a halt before him.
Cardinal Yuda at the lead regarded Isaac with indifferent eyes.
“Hey! Someone go inquire about the identity of these fools blocking my path.”
“Your Eminence, it's dangerous! Please fall back!”
However, Isaac Leobrant had already bared his killing intent toward them.
Shing.
A longsword wreathed in ominous energy was drawn from Isaac's waist.
The sword's keen ring upon unsheathing was enough to stir the very air around him.
“You vermin dare lay hands on whose property?”
—Heptagon.
It was the moment one of the continent's seven revered powerhouses drew his demon sword.
* * * * * *
Kwaaaaang!
The propulsion unit on Sirius's rear spewed immense heat as it soared through the skies.
- “We'll enter the Great Forest soon, so get ready.”
There, Austin was gazing down at the ground while enduring the fierce winds.
A lush forest of enormous trees standing thickly.
The vast woodland known as the "Great Forest" to the continent's inhabitants sprawled directly beneath Austin.
Austin Rainer, member of the Secret Society.
Today, as always, he piloted the pitch-black arcane mech using his intuition.
- “No set landing point, so just search based on your judgment, Austin. You've got great instincts, right?”
Austin's ears rang with Lua Polaris's voice issuing instructions.
Screeech.
Austin suppressed the fierce g-forces, delicately maneuvering the mech's flight systems.
Sirius, flying on intuition, performed acrobatic maneuvers as usual.
Swoosh.
Austin, aboard Sirius, quickly scanned the ground below.
‘Hard to see inside the forest from up here.’
The continent's widest and densest forest.
The demonic realm from which even the boldest intruders rarely escaped lay below Sirius.
The Great Forest, overgrown with trees, made its interior impossible to discern from above.
It clearly required landing on the ground for any proper search.
Austin made his decision swiftly and responded to Lua aiding his flight.
- “Understood. I'll prioritize my intuition for the search.”
- “Oh, and... the new gear is tricky to handle, so use it carefully!”
Another message from Lua came through the comms.
It was about the new combat equipment mounted on Sirius.
- “I'll do my best to handle it properly.”
- “Good luck, then.”
- “Yes. I'll report progress details from the library—.”
Zzzt, zzzt.
With that exchange, Lua's voice cut off in Austin's ears.
Lua Polaris had fully shut down the mana comm device relaying her voice.
‘No problem. I can handle things solo now.’
Even without Lua's voice, Austin continued controlling Sirius without worry.
Thanks to numerous tests, Austin now knew the mech inside out.
He could interpret most of the displayed readings, so he no longer needed Lua's strict support like before.
Kwaaaaang!
Sirius, flying at high speed, began slowing gradually at Austin's will.
It had switched to low-altitude flight to halt its massive bulk.
‘Where's the best spot to land?’
Austin's eyes scoured the Great Forest's landscape.
However, finding a suitable spot using only visual cues was nearly impossible.
The view below the flying Sirius was nothing but uniformly lush greenery.
Hah.
Letting out a sigh mixed with mechanical tones, Austin soon began maximizing his intuition.
‘A place where I can gather info. Need to find somewhere in the Great Forest with signs of human presence.’
The senses shared with Sirius expanded rapidly.
His subconscious filtered countless data, intuition reviewing optimal spots one by one.
Dense underbrush. Verdant foliage. Snapped trees.
Elements of the Great Forest flashed through Austin's mind.
And soon, Austin's gaze locked onto a particular spot in the Great Forest.
- “......”
A massive tree in the Great Forest's center.
It looked identical to everywhere else at a glance, but Austin was certain people were there.
Not due to any obvious clue.
Simply because his intuition screamed that landing nearby was the best choice.
Chiiiik.
Austin quickly reduced the flight output, preparing to land in the Great Forest's midst.
Clank, whirr.
Sirius's landing aids activated, deploying anti-gravity magic to cushion Austin's descent.
‘First time approaching people in this form.’
With landing prep complete, Sirius's frame descended into the Great Forest's heart.
A half-turn just before the ground.
Using the reduced speed, Austin's body committed to landing guided purely by intuition.
Kwang! Rumble!
Sirius plunged its mana blade into the ground, friction with the earth bringing its massive frame to a halt.
Dense dust billowed up, but the anti-gravity magic and barriers absorbed most of the impact.
Screeech, thud!
Sirius, kicking up thick dust, soon stopped completely in place.
Pleased with the stable landing unlike before, Austin looked up just as Sirius's violet eyes glowed.
“......Ah.”
- “......?”
Soon, an unfamiliar girl's figure entered Sirius's view.
A mysterious girl shrouded head to toe in cloak and muffler, glaring down at Austin with sharp eyes.
She stood atop a rugged rock, silently staring at Austin.
She appeared to be a prior occupant who had claimed the spot first.
As Austin pondered what to say to the first person he'd encountered in the Great Forest—
“I'll never forgive you.”
A cold voice leaked from the girl's lips.
Creak.
Sirius's face, tinged with confusion, turned toward her.
* * * * * *
Priella Atria, one of the sword masters of the renowned mercenary group "Eight Sword Society" across the continent.
Currently, under Sword Ghost Raphaelia's orders, she wandered the endless vast forest.
The "demonic realm" that permitted no human stay.
She had lost her way in the Great Forest, where even famed guides struggled to navigate.
“......Raphaelia.”
Of course, she hadn't come here planning to get lost from the start.
Priella had received Raphaelia's promise of an elf guide before entering.
The problem was that the guide had abandoned her at the forest's entrance and fled.
Priella had chased the fleeing guide but couldn't play tag with an elf in the dense Great Forest.
In the end, Priella was lost inside, left with only a large backpack of scant remaining rations.
“You definitely... promised a proper guide......”
Bubble, bubble.
Priella hugged her knees, staring at the single pot before her.
The stew inside brimmed with onions, potatoes, carrots, and meat.
It was Priella's creation, dumping all her bag's veggies and spices into it.
The meat came from hunting nearby beasts, but without that, no ingredients were procurable here.
After this, she'd be stuck eating tasteless beast meat and tree fruits.
It was practically her last supper.
“Raphaelia......”
Priella clutched her starving belly, unfed for a full day, glaring at the stew before her.
As she glowered, the image of the Eight Sword Society's leader, Raphaelia, flickered in her mind.
Left alone in this alien wilderness, was that why?
Today, the usually stern Sword Ghost felt nostalgically missed.
Grrrrr.
Her stomach waged a desperate battle against hunger.
“At least... get me a proper guide......”
Her dazed eyes swept over her remaining possessions.
The deliciously aromatic boiling stew.
And beside it, the large bag with barely any supplies left.
That was all she had now.
“......”
A wave of grievance welled up inside Priella.
Grrrrr.
She was hungry.
Her lone body felt listless.
Lonely.
Her wretched state ached at her heart.
Yet the stew before her looked utterly delectable.
“......Probably done by now.”
Gulp.
Priella swallowed, her eyes fixed on the stew.
The sole light in her despairing plight.
The one salvation to comfort her with warm, rich flavor.
And the Great Forest's final feast.
Priella picked up a twig, her hand reaching toward the boiling solace of her heart.
Swoosh.
She rose to her feet, about to prod if the potatoes were cooked—
“......Ah?”
- “......”
Kwang! Rumble!
A sudden roar filled her vision with thick dust.
The sound of something enormous crashing to the ground.
Priella's eyes widened in shock at the dust cloud engulfing her sight.
But her nightmare didn't end there.
Screeech, thud!
With the alien noise in her ears, the pot that had been right before her flew far away.
“......”
Her trembling eyes followed the pot's trajectory.
The pot floating midair.
Its contents spilling downward.
Potatoes, onions, and carrots scattering into the air—
The stew's collapse flashed before Priella like a montage.
Whirr.
Witness to the stew's demise was a knight in massive black armor.
- “......”
“......”
The black blade stabbed into the ground.
The pitch-black metal armor kneeling.
Crackle.
Violet eyes met Priella's gaze.
A brief silence.
In it, Priella drew the sword at her waist.
“I'll never forgive you.”
Shing.
Priella's sword aimed at the enemy before her.