Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Into the Workshop
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Allen realized he had taken too long to answer and met her gaze.
“I don't like having what's mine taken from me. Especially not a handmaiden... That goes without saying.”
“...Thank you. Truly, thank you.”
Allen stared at her for a moment before turning his head to Francisca.
“Miss Francisca, so the creature's location is...”
Just as he was about to ask her how far it had moved, the soldiers waiting nearby shouted.
“Ambush!”
“Young Master, we're under attack!”
“Form ranks! Quickly! Do you all want to die?”
Allen quickly raised his head.
-*Kieeeek!*
-*Kaaaaak!*
-*Kkieeeeee!*
The chimeras were swarming them.
With digitigrade legs perfect for mountain terrain, they kicked off the ground and charged.
Hundreds of chimeras appeared from all directions—front, back, left, and right.
Allen wasn't particularly surprised by the appearance of the chimeras.
*'Just getting this far is enough.'*
After all, wasn't the reason he brought soldiers to have enough people to deal with hundreds of chimeras?
“Everyone, form ranks! Wounded to the rear! Follow your training!”
As expected of soldiers trained directly by the family, they responded swiftly, and in an instant, a defensive line was formed on all four sides.
-*Kaaaaak!*
*Clang!*
“Die, you monster!”
-*Shunk*
Block and thrust. As the standard response began, the number of monsters started to dwindle.
Allen was observing the battle, waiting, when suddenly...
Francisca cried out.
“Young Master! I think the chimera noticed!”
She shouted, quickly looking north.
Allen scanned the surrounding forest.
Despite it being broad daylight, the atmosphere was gloomy. Well-grown ebony trees loomed with their massive trunks, creating dark, shaded spaces.
“It's coming!”
The color drained from Francisca's face. She hastily cast a black protective barrier. At the same moment, a shadow shot out from the shade and struck it.
-*CRASH!*
“To think you could react to that... You're as annoying as ever.”
The one that had ambushed her was the chimera that had fled into the mountains. A monster resembling a demon, just over three meters tall and covered in mottled muscles.
Upon seeing him, Linbelle reflexively cried out.
“You...!”
The chimera, Regnol, let out a cackle. His red eyes curved into crescents, not bothering to hide his genuine delight.
“Oho... Isn't this Inellia's little doll? To think you'd come to me yourself. It saves me the trouble of finding you.”
“Don't you dare say my mother's name!”
Allen grabbed Linbelle, who was about to charge forward, and pulled her back.
The soldiers faltered at the appearance of the massive chimera, but seeing Francisca stand her ground without retreating, they calmly backed away.
“Linbelle, calm down.”
“...Yes.”
Linbelle clung to Allen's arm, glaring silently at the monster.
Seeing her furious expression, as if she would have lunged forward if not for Allen, Regnol smiled back brightly.
“Haha, staring at me like that is a little embarrassing.”
Allen narrowed his eyes, studying Regnol.
Inellia? Not here. That must mean she's in the workshop.
A great circle near his heart began to rotate with a heavy, booming sound.
*Vwooom-*
“Miss Francisca.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Allen drew out threads of prana from within his domain.
“I apologize for this, but could I ask you to handle that creature?”
He knew that the right choice was for the two of them to defeat the chimera together. He also knew that, arithmetically, a two-on-one fight was more advantageous than a one-on-one.
Helping the soldiers clear out all the chimeras before heading to the workshop would be the more correct choice.
*'But.'*
The thought that he had to go to the workshop right now kept nagging at him.
The future he knew was constantly changing.
The incompetent baron responded appropriately, unlike the one he knew.
He had brought Inellia in as a handmaiden to save her, but she was kidnapped just like in the past.
He couldn't let himself be swayed any longer.
*'If I delay here any longer...'*
The events of his past life would repeat themselves.
That's why, knowing he was placing a burden on her, he had no choice but to make this unreasonable request.
He was only able to ask this because he trusted in the skills of the woman who would one day be known as the Witch of Dark Mist.
“If you grant my request, I will be sure to repay you. I promise.”
“I understand.”
“You will...?”
“I'll take care of it. So you should go.”
Allen looked surprised by her clean acceptance, then immediately turned away.
The discrepancy between her and the woman he knew from the future had been bothering him, but he didn't have time to dwell on it.
“Thank you.”
“Young Master Allen, but...”
Linbelle hesitated for a moment, clearly concerned about the woman who had helped her now having to face that monster.
“She is strong. She'll be fine on her own.”
“Because she's strong... yes, Miss Francisca is strong...”
She mulled over his words a few times, then clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white.
“Yes. In that case, let's go, Young Master.”
Regnol watched the entire exchange as if observing a play, then slowly began to move.
“Is the conversation over now?”
Black smoke began to rise from his body. His physique, which could be called a weapon in itself, began to swell slightly.
“I do so love scenes like this. Friendship, solidarity, trust. It makes me feel like the villain, doesn't it? Hahaha. But...”
Regnol vanished in an instant.
“Who said I would let you go?”
Relying on instinct, Allen wove his prana into an intangible shield.
The shield shattered in seconds, but it bought Allen enough time to get out of the way.
*BOOM—*
The ground shook, and clumps of dirt flew into the air.
The soldiers had already moved away from the battlefield. This was a world filled with monsters and superhumans. They knew full well that even a hundred able-bodied men couldn't defeat a single one.
“A good do—”
Just as Regnol was about to charge Allen again, a large tentacle slammed into him.
*WHAM—*
Regnol crashed through several large ebony trees before being slammed into the ground. Large tentacles pursued him, piercing through the air at high speed.
“Go, quickly!”
Francisca shouted, blocking the way behind Allen.
“Then, I'll leave it to you.”
Allen immediately took Linbelle and ran forward.
Behind him, a voice filled with rage and a series of loud explosions echoed.
***
Allen remembered.
Before his regression, the incident hadn't unfolded this way.
Julius had used his ability, [Quest Window], to foresee the attack on the city and devised a plan to prepare for it.
Allen had interfered with everything he did, trying to block any chance for him to gain merit.
But the only result was that the city suffered great damage.
To make up for his mistake by achieving a great feat, Allen had headed to the chimera creator's workshop.
The trail was faint.
However, because hundreds of chimeras had moved, he was able to follow the faint trail with ease, and after a day, he found the workshop.
The workshop's defenses were lax.
It was exactly the kind of workshop you'd expect from a creator who made hundreds of stupid, weak chimeras.
That was why even soldiers of his group's level could easily bypass the traps and clear the workshop.
Unable to bear the horror of the large-scale laboratory he found afterward, Allen had fled...
*'Later, I heard that Julius, that bastard, showed up late and took care of the chimera creator.'*
They said that chimera creator wasn't very strong either.
That was all there was to it. That was the end.
But why?
“Get down, Linbelle.”
“Y-yes!”
Linbelle quickly ducked her head and dropped to the ground.
A massive axe swung over her head, creating a fierce gust of wind. The chimera wielding the axe let out a bizarre cry and retrieved it.
Dozens of chimeras swarmed around him. With his back to a wall, Allen unleashed a weak shockwave at the approaching chimeras.
-*POP!*
The nearest chimera fell, creating some space again.
Allen wove different hand signs with both hands, releasing them and forming new ones.
Strands of prana intertwined, forming a spell.
*'There are too many. Is this really the same place?'*
Until he first entered the cave, he had been relying on his past memories to find his way.
But the unexpected traps and the parade of chimeras, stronger than the ones that had attacked the city, forced him to abandon that idea.
Allen waved his hand, and the first completed spell unleashed a shockwave that blew the head off an approaching chimera.
But another chimera howled and took its place.
Faced with this endless chain, Allen felt the need to deal with them all at once.
The prana core in his heart began to spin rapidly.
*Vrooom-*
With a resounding noise like a ship's horn, the gathered prana became threads and began to take a fixed shape.
[Soul], [Sound], [Impact], [Space].
The four concepts conceived in Allen's mind aligned and were manifested into reality through the magical systems he understood.
*'The essence of magic is not to understand and use the world.'*
*'It is to twist the understood essence of the world under human will.'*
Allen imagined.
A means to turn the situation around, a weapon to harm his enemies. Allen's prana core spun at high speed, drawing out prana.
*'It doesn't need to be too strong.'*
Just enough to neutralize the enemies.
His lifelong understanding of space and soul combined with his imagination and began to take form.
Threads began to weave behind his back, like a tailor who had practiced sewing their entire life.
More precisely, more intricately.
What he was creating was a phenomenon, a spell.
Each formula, controlled by Allen's will, flickered with a gray light and formed into a massive drum.
Yes, this level of magic, a first-tier spell, was his limit, but it was enough.
“Linbelle, cover your ears.”
The chimeras, a step stronger than those that had attacked the city, swarmed him with massive axes.
He closed his eyes.
Beside him, he could feel Linbelle's terrified voice and cowering presence. Allen carefully adjusted the spell, excluding her from its targets.
The gray drum floating behind his head stirred and began to vibrate on its own.
Allen, calm as a musician playing an instrument...
“Call of the Cradle.”
...struck the drum.
*Dooom—*
The drum began to sound.
A gray wave spread out, coiling around the swarming chimeras like a snake. As if this wasn't enough, Allen swung his hand more fiercely.
*Doom-doom—*
“Kieeeek!”
“Krrrrk-!”
The spreading wave began to cling to the chimeras like a curse. From a distance, they looked as if they were shrouded in a gray mist.
And then.
-*Thud.*
In an instant, they began to collapse to the ground, still in their charging poses. After some time, as silence fell around him, Allen waved his hand.
The gray drum scattered and vanished, and Allen's eyes opened.
“Hoo...”
“Is it... over?”
Allen couldn't help but smile at the sight of her, huddled on the ground with her ears tightly covered and her eyes squeezed shut.
“Yes.”
He tapped her shoulder, and her eyes shot open, wide and round.
“Young Master, th-this is... wow...”
As she hurriedly tried to approach them, Allen shook his head.
“Look closely. They're not dead yet.”
“Still, that's incredible magic. If only I were that strong...”
*I wouldn't have just stood by helplessly while my mother was dragged away.*
Allen knew the words she left unsaid. He had tried to change the future precisely because he hadn't wanted this to happen.
“You can be, too.”
“...Me?”
“Yes. Magic might be difficult, but with the sword...”
*Because the person I remember with the most outstanding talent was you.*
As she stared at him with a surprised expression, Allen gave a bitter smile. Compared to her achievements that he remembered, he was nothing.
*'To think she's amazed by magic of this level.'*
The woman he knew from his past life would probably deny that this girl was her.
The magic he had used might have seemed incredible to her, but in truth, it was only half-complete.
*'A spell with clear weaknesses and ambiguous power.'*
The magic he used could be easily blocked by covering one's ears or blocking out the sound.
He had excluded her from its range just in case, but it was a spell that had no effect if you simply blocked your ears to the sound.
The same was true for its power.
The spell's effect varied depending on the target's mental fortitude. It had a definite effect on the low-intelligence chimeras, but a skilled warrior could have ignored it completely.
*'And...'*
If the chimera creator had been watching this battle, he had to assume he couldn't use it in the next one.
Allen didn't think his opponent was that stupid.
From the moment he set foot in the workshop—no, from the moment he encountered the chimeras—the creator would have been analyzing him.
He had to assume the counter was already known.
He picked up a sword lying nearby and brought it down on the neck of a fallen chimera.
-*Slice.*
“We need to cut off their heads and destroy their hearts. Can you do it?”
“Ah. I-I'll try.”
Linbelle managed to lift a sword and began to cut off their necks.
She was awkward at first, but after a few repetitions, her movements became more precise.
*'A genius, perhaps.'*
Allen was quickly brought back to his senses by her voice.
“I'm finished.”
“Then...”
Let's go.
Onward.
From the depths of the workshop, an ominous pulse began to reverberate.