Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: When the Stars Fall
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As soon as they realized this was the place of the revelation, they investigated in every direction, gathering information.
And then, they finally succeeded in understanding the meaning of the name "Star Cape," the place the tribesmen had desperately sought.
“The Star Cape, the Star Cape… a truly fitting name.”
A cape is usually a piece of land that juts out, surrounded by the sea on three sides.
But where could such a place exist in a desert?
That's why they figured it must be a metaphorical name for something.
They had also predicted that a place befitting such a unique name would be the ruins.
However, they never imagined that the Star Cape would be taken so literally.
“Wow, a shooting star!”
“A meteor! A meteor is falling! Come quick!”
“I told you! It's today! I told you I finished calculating the comet's cycle!”
From outside, along with a clamor of voices, came the exclamations of the academy students.
In the night sky, a massive comet trailed a long tail as thousands of meteors rained down behind it.
And at that very moment, the ground began to shake.
*Rumble—*
“Wh-what is this!”
“An earthquake? S-suddenly?”
“Run! The p-professor! Where is Lord Zaqnir!”
Amidst the violent tremors that shook his aged body, the tribal chief quietly closed his eyes.
“It has begun.”
Soon, the wind of the stars and the tribe's desires will all be fulfilled.
The deeply buried ruins looked like an island jutting out from the ground.
As the earth rumbled and countless screams formed a chorus.
A sea of stars poured down from the sky.
──Stars began to crash like waves around the ruins.
***
The floor, the walls, the ceiling.
Everything surrounding them began to shake.
『Evacuate a 300m radius within 3 seconds. Failure to comply will result in reinforced mental barriers and resistance to spatial movement. Escape from the ruins required within 17 minutes and 18 seconds.』
It all happened so suddenly.
Allen shouted without a second thought. There was no time to hesitate.
『3 seconds』
“Get out of here!”
“Allen, what do you mean—”
“Let's talk about what's happening first—”
The bewildered expressions of his team members flashed across his vision. Allen lunged forward himself. Even the time to persuade them was a luxury he couldn't afford.
“I'll explain later!”
He drew upon his physical strength. First, he grabbed the escape artifact at his waist.
*'Just as I thought, the activation is being interrupted.'*
In this emergency, Allen bit his lip and grabbed Milled, who was nearby.
『2 seconds』
“Allen, tell me what's going on all of a sudden—”
“I'll start by apologizing.”
“Kyaaah!”
Before she could do anything, she was sent flying down the corridor.
Next was Alexius. Allen threw him as he stared at the ceiling as if expecting something.
“I will hear the details later.”
“Understoo—”
Before he could finish his sentence, his body lifted into the air and was sent flying just like Milled.
『1 second』
Evan and Erini were standing together a little further away, and William had also moved away to conserve his energy.
*'If it's impossible to send all three of them anyway...!'* *Crash—*
Footprints were carved into the diamond-hard floor. His extremely accelerated body shot toward William.
With a bewildered expression, he opened his mouth to say something. Allen ignored him. Explanations could wait.
He grabbed his body and threw him. The direction was the opposite of the corridor, toward where Erini and Evan were.
“Uwaaaaaah—!”
William's scream dragged on, and the moment Evan and Erini safely caught him.
『0 seconds』
Space rippled.
His vision flickered as if it would go out, shaking his mind.
Thousands of threads unraveled from Allen's body, resisting the spatial movement.
*Flash—!*
An instant later, he opened his eyes to see Milled, who had rolled a few times down the corridor, getting to her feet.
Erini, William, and Evan had disappeared somewhere.
Just as she was about to say something, a white light of teleportation enveloped her, as if the artifact had never failed to activate.
Realizing she couldn't resist the teleportation, she opened her mouth.
“Be careful...!”
Her body vanished.
Looking toward Alexius, it seemed he had been teleported while still on the ground, without a chance to get up.
*'It's not disappearing this time either.'*
He looked at the white book; unlike during the Witch's Forest incident, the sentences were radiating their presence, showing no signs of fading.
『Pale Storm』
『He Who Withers the Wind』
『The Hawk, Bleached White by the Wind』
The close friend of the Nameless One who will stand at the peak of ash, and an incarnation of wisdom comparable to a pair of ravens.
『Veðrf?lnir awakens.』
Along with a new sentence.
***
By the time he realized the tremors shaking the ruins, it was already too late.
“W-wait, what is this...”
“What's happening...”
“The artifact is activating on its own...!”
*Flash—*
Before his team members could realize anything, they were engulfed in white light and teleported away.
Once Julius realized all his team members were gone, he quickly checked the quest window.
[Slay the ancient monster sealed in the ruins 'yourself' and prevent the disaster! Time Limit: 2:17:18]
[Reward: Fragment of Truth (???)]
“Almost two hours… that's plenty of time.”
Colossal ruins contain precious treasures related to them.
Few people know this, as colossal ruins rarely appear.
However, knowing how much Haizel had gained from this fact in the original story, he had been looking for a chance to get away from his team.
*'If not now, I won't get another chance to go get it.'*
Julius had to obtain the hidden piece.
*'This ruin is a little different from the usual ones, but...'*
There will definitely be a treasure.
That's the rule of the ruins.
This fact was never once wrong in the original story, so it was a given.
“Normally, finding it would be the biggest problem...”
But that was no longer the case.
“Dongdong, come on out.”
He tapped the bag slung over his elbow. A white furball peeked its head out, then leaped energetically from the bag.
*Gyao! Gyao!*
“Dongdong, let's go to the most precious item here. To the place with the thing of highest value.”
*Gyao?*
“Hmm... not gold coins, but an item... hmm, let me tell you.”
Seeing that Dongdong didn't understand, Julius lifted the furball to eye level and touched their foreheads together.
Colossal ruins.
The rule of the ruins.
A high-value treasure.
Something that only one of exists.
It could be a grimoire, a living doll, or the blueprint for a secret weapon.
Julius's thoughts were transmitted directly to Dongdong.
“Understand now?”
Dongdong was a divine beast.
A young but special divine beast with a unique ability.
The divine beasts in the Forest of Divine Beasts grant desired abilities.
So what about Dongdong?
*'The ability to find treasure.'*
For now, it can only search for nearby treasures, but as it grows, it might even be able to find treasures that appear only in legends.
Even armaments that were only mentioned by name in the original story.
*Gyao! Gyao!*
“Alright! Let's go!”
Dongdong moved its furry body energetically and began to bounce along.
*'I'll get the hidden piece first, and then... I'll deal with the boss.'*
There's no extra reward for killing it quickly, and the useful main and supporting characters will survive on their own.
They weren't the type to die so pointlessly.
“Let the rest of them handle themselves.”
What's it to me?
***
Erini ignored the stinging pain in her fingertips and drew her bow.
*Swoosh—*
“Gyaaaaaah—!”
“Grrrrrrr—”
“Kerrk, keck, keck.”
The guardians swarmed in like mad. No, including the monsters that joined in, there was no end in sight.
They had been suddenly teleported somewhere in the ruins.
Fortunately, they were together and teleported as a group, but for some reason, the escape artifact wasn't working.
“Evan! Hold on a little longer!”
“Kh, got it! I can hold out as long as needed, so don't worry!”
Evan moved desperately in a narrow fork in the path.
Baroque Style Secret Technique - Dewclaw. The wolf hunts alone. His body became abnormally fast. His movements grew so quick that afterimages became visible.
A line of blue light blocked the passage.
“Just a little more! Just a little...!”
She poured out the prana she usually conserved as if her life depended on it. Green prana gathered in her eyes. The prana gathered in her eyes connected with her arrow.
The arrows of the Hail family rain down ceaselessly.
Hail Style Secret Technique - Downpour. That is why they are Hail.
“Evan, fall back now—!”
An arrow flew toward the spot her gaze was fixed upon.
A single arrow exploded above the wave of guardians and monsters.
*Boom—!*
Shrapnel like hailstones punched holes all over the monsters' bodies.
“Kraaaaaaak—”
It was the same even for the lifeless guardians.
A hole opened in the center of the tidal wave.
“Erini, you don't have to push yourse—”
“Just be quiet!”
At her shout, William shut his mouth.
He had been seriously injured by a guardian's attack right after they teleported, and his face was pale.
“If I don't push myself now, when will I!”
One more shot, then another.
The number she could defeat with a single arrow was limited.
To survive, to hold on, she had to push herself to reduce their numbers.
But reality was different from her ideals.
“One more shot... *puuk*.”
Having overworked her prana circuits, she coughed up blood. William quickly healed her.
With an exhausted expression, she spoke.
“How long have we been holding out?”
“Well...”
William hesitated before finally answering.
“Only ten minutes have passed.”
“...That's all?”
At this rate, they wouldn't last much longer.
Looking ahead, she saw Evan, now without support, unable to hold on much longer and falling back.
He retreated with a final blow and roughly tore off the necklace he was wearing.
“Baroque!”
As he shouted, a giant clam was summoned from the necklace, setting itself upright and blocking the corridor.
“Evan, is that...?”
“It's an ancient artifact I received from my family. It's originally meant for hiding inside the clam, but...”
He shrugged and forced a smile.
“All three of us can't fit, so what can I do? I have to use it like this.”
Erini, able to breathe a sigh of relief thanks to him, soon spoke with a serious expression.
“What do we do now?”
“...There must be other cases like ours, so a rescue team should be here soon. If not, there were professors who entered the ruins, so we should be able to meet them.”
With something like this happening in the ruins, would they really have the capacity to send a rescue team right away?
How would the professors know they were here?
William suppressed all these anxieties and replied.
“This can't be the first time something like this has happened at the academy. We'll be fine.”
“Really? Do you think so...”
William answered Erini's question, which was filled with doubt.
“Yes, absolutely.”
Seeing William's earnest expression, Erini let out a small laugh as if her tension had drained away, and said playfully.
“William, are you interested in me? The way you're acting is making me a little conscious of it... you know?”
“P-please stop joking. This is an emergency...”
William blushed. Erini looked at him as if he were cute and nodded.
“Let's meet up after this is over.”
“Th...”
“Just the two of us.”
Unable to find a response to her words, William could only give a small nod.
“...Yes, I understand.”
Just as an atmosphere contrary to their perilous reality was forming, Evan, who had been silent until now, spoke heavily.
“William.”
“Evan, it's not that I don't understand the situation. I was, uh, just trying to catch my breath...”
Evan shook his head at Erini's hasty excuse, as if that wasn't it.
“Someone's coming.”
“Coming... what?”
“Someone is heading this way.”
At the end of the corridor he was watching, from where the ruin guardians and monsters endlessly poured, a white furball and a figure behind it emerged from the darkness.
Familiar bright blue hair and a face that had shed its youthful look.
“Oh, there are people here?”
*Gyao—?*
Hope had appeared.
***
“Set up a base!”
“Where are the professors!”
“Forget that, take the injured! Can't you see their wounds!?”
The students' shouts erupted.
The spectacle of thousands of meteors raining down was a sight to behold. But right now, no one was watching it.
The ground was a scene of utter chaos.
When the earthquake that shook the area ended, they thought it was all over, but that was nothing more than wishful thinking.
Not long after the earthquake stopped, all the guardians and monsters inside the ruins began pouring out of the entrance.
There was no word from the professors who had gone down into the ruins, and the whereabouts of the remaining professors were unknown.
Therefore, the ones taking command were the third-year students, who had been through numerous real battles.
They maintained their composure as best they could, defending against the attack centered on the four entrances of the spire.
Fortunately, their swift response was reducing the damage, but the number of guardians showed no sign of decreasing.
“Senior, there are students over there too...!”
“I know, calm down.”
Rachel's role was to safely bring back the students who had escaped using the artifacts.
It was a role only she could take, being able to freely use spatial movement with her family's inherited magic.
“Blink.”
A yellow light flickered.
She approached the newly escaped students, freely using a spatial movement technique that even Allen would find difficult to attempt.
“What in the world happened...”
“Julius, Julius! Hey, where are you!”
“You're...”
Her body, which had been silently going about her duty, flinched.
She couldn't make out their faces in the dark, but they were Julius's team members.
“The remedial class...?”
At Rachel's murmur, Abelin's head shot up.
“Uh, senior! There's a kid named Julius, no, Julius, and we don't know where he...”
“Let's talk again in a moment.”
She spotted a nearby monster and used her magic.
A yellow mist seemed to envelop their bodies, and then she spoke.
“Blink.”
*Flicker—*
Their vision flipped in an instant, and the scene changed.
Rachel frowned as if she had used a lot of prana, then spoke.
“So, what were you trying to say?”
“Um... there's a team member named Julius in our group, and I think he's still in the ruins.”
Abelin, apparently not brave enough to speak informally to a senior, spoke in a rather urgent tone.
Rachel looked at her, seemingly lost in thought for a moment, then nodded.
“I understand. I'll talk to them about dispatching a rescue team, so for now, get some rest.”
Regardless of what they said, Rachel insisted that treatment came first and sent them to the rear where the healers were positioned.
There, their condition would be assessed, and they would either be sent to the front lines or given another role.
'...Allen, you have to be safe.'
Fearing she would be a distraction during the practicum, she hadn't met with him much.
After the incident occurred, she had rushed to help and searched for him, but she had only met a few of his team members, not him.
*'They said he was on the 7th floor, the lowest level, before the artifact activated.'*
A rescue team, a search party. Anything would do.
As long as she had a reason to go down.
She hurried toward the third-years' position.
This was the only way she could help him.