Chapter 41
Chapter 41
41
EP14 - Small Error Space (2)
"...What is that?"
It was Princess Rebecca's question.
A grotesque object that appeared about 4,000 meters above, three times larger than the sun or the moon.
At first glance, it looked like a long, black rock that had been torn halfway out of the air.
It floated there, frozen like a specimen, giving off an eerie feeling.
"Hehe... I have no idea?!"
"Hmm, I don't know either. Balmung?"
"...I don't know."
Quan, Elise, and Balmung also shook their heads.
Kendrake also shook his head.
Then, naturally, everyone's eyes turned to Kaiser.
How the hell would I know, you bastards…. Kaiser thought, but he said what came to mind.
"...It looks like a [Totem]."
Totem?
So everyone turned their gaze back to the window.
Indeed, now that they heard it, it did look like a [Totem].
A Superpower system that occupies an area and displays overwhelming power within it.
Conversely, it also has the disadvantage of not being able to move once fixed in place.
"But it's not activated at all, even though it's a Totem."
Something was strange.
Unlike other Superpower systems, [Totem System] has a severe Mana leak. But this one didn't feel like it had any Mana at all.
"Besides, it's floating in the air? It's common sense that Totems should be fixed to the ground."
That was also strange.
A Totem fixed in the air? Even a [Grandmaster] couldn't do that.
"Is that right? A Totem?"
"Are you sure?"
Then Kaiser received everyone's suspicious gaze again.
"What do you want me to do? Am I a god who tells you the answer when you press a button? Why the fuck are you always so hard on me????????????"
...He couldn't say that. However, he expressed his position with a serious expression and suspiciously stroking his chin.
"Still, it's very strange. I didn't receive any information about something like that."
"Are you talking about the information from the rebels?"
Rebecca nodded.
"There was intelligence that Assassins from Kreuz would be attacking soon."
"Tch. Those fucking bastards..."
"Is it war?"
"Well, both countries don't want a scale that big, so it'll probably be around the level of an Assassination War."
"Heok…. Th-Then our Assassination Studies department…. Are we responding…?!"
"Everyone who needs to know, including the head of the department, knows about it. Of course, we're responding."
Rebecca's gaze reached the grotesque object in the air.
"But that's not it..."
Kreuz doesn't have anything like that in their arsenal.
She could be sure. Something like that doesn't exist.
In other words, something 'completely unrelated' to this situation was targeting Hiaka Academy right now.
Something that all the reliable informants, including the royal family's and the academy's, didn't know. Something that couldn't be known with money and power...
Rebecca's beautiful brow furrowed.
"...Interesting."
At that time, Balmung, who had sharp eyes, discovered something.
"Ah, an Airship."
Airship?
Indeed. When they looked closely, an Airship was flying. It seemed to be an exploration ship carrying professors.
There was no particular meaning to that discovery. The presence of the grotesque object itself was too strong for anything to be calmed by it.
Currently, Zone 0 was in chaos. The professors, the Hidden Dragon Society.
Of course, the Students were too, and the [Assassin Town] was flooded with posts mixed with panic and worry in real time.
"...For now, go inside and rest. We'll move while watching how things go."
"Yes."
"Understood."
"Lord Reim, you should go and rest too."
"I will stay by the Princess's side."
Meanwhile.
There was an invisible member.
Rebecca asked Kaiser.
"Isn't today Gray's discharge day?"
"...That's right."
"Why isn't she here? What's keeping her?"
"……."
Kaiser thought for a moment.
Gray had been madly absorbed in [Illusion Magic] training recently. It was to the extent that she was training three times more than usual, and later, she continued training even while pouring out nosebleeds due to [Overload].
Kaiser had argued with her a couple of times. As the leader of the Hidden Dragon Society team, he thought the training was too much.
At the time, Kaiser asked, you're already better than Professor Dante, so why are you training so much? Then Gray smiled for a moment, but soon her expression hardened.
Even her fangs seemed to shrink.
- …….
Kaiser, who was usually sensitive to people's emotions, couldn't read that expression at all.
Soon, she laughed, saying, 'I have to widen the gap because I'm better, you idiot.' He didn't know what kind of chemical reaction had occurred in that gray-haired girl's head.
As such, Gray's immunity weakened due to repeated excessive training. She suffered from a severe flu in the early winter weather. Even in that situation, she continued to train, eventually losing consciousness due to excessive bleeding, and was hospitalized to receive fluids.
This morning was her discharge day.
But she hadn't returned.
"...I'll check."
Kaiser first contacted Gray through the 「crystal ball」.
But Gray didn't answer the phone.
"...Damn it. Why isn't she answering?"
* * *
"If that's... a hand, how big is the main body...?"
"Is it a monster? But what kind of monster is so... Head Professor Toy. Do you know anything?"
"No. I've been in dungeons like eating meals, but I've never seen an entity like that before. In the first place, monsters can't be that big unless they're dragons..."
While the professors were whispering and trying to figure out the situation.
I was lost in thought alone.
There were a few things to point out.
First.
'This [Error Space] is about 50 meters in size….'
However, the [Error Space] in Star Gazing Mountain was 1,000 meters in diameter.
Even the [Error Space] floating here now has an overwhelmingly strong enemy appearing, and Star Gazing Mountain's [Error Space] was 20 times larger than that.
I didn't know if size was directly related to danger, but it was unsettling that it was so big.
'What the hell is there? Why is Eve there?'
I couldn't find the answer.
Second.
So how should I accept this situation?
'……It's not as bad as I thought.'
[Error] wasn't always bad.
For example, that monster 'Jinxite' is originally summoned while hiding its appearance with the 『Curse of Concealment』.
Now, its form was revealed as if it had been hit by magic such as [Discernment] or [Detection].
'If it had been summoned while hidden, the academy might have been annihilated.'
In other words, there was time to prepare.
"Why don't we just attack it?"
At that time, Leo jumped at Vaiper's suggestion.
"Professor Vaiper. Are you crazy? How can you attack it without knowing what it is?"
"Well. There are two head professors here. I don't get the feeling that we'll lose, no matter what that is."
"No! That's a rash decision."
The two head professors also had serious expressions.
"I think we should have a little more discussion."
While Collider was mediating, Leo asked me.
"Professor Dante, what do you think? Do you know anything? I can't feel anything no matter how hard I try."
Living as a person of interest means living as a person who attracts everyone's attention whenever anything is said.
Even the head professors, Vaiper, and Collider turned to me.
"……."
What should I do? I decided to be honest.
"...That is a Totem System monster."
When I asserted, the head professor asked.
"Is it an entity that the professor knows?"
"I saw it a long time ago. There's no such thing as a main body. It's just seven arms dangling from its head."
The head professors were puzzled.
They looked like they were in their 30s and 40s, but they were actually in their 70s and 80s.
They were saying that I had seen something they hadn't seen even after going through dungeons for decades.
"Each of the seven arms deals with a different Curse, and it doesn't attack first until the whole thing is summoned."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Let's say what you said is true. Then, is it possible to stop that guy here?"
"Well…. I don't really recommend us crashing into each other here."
I calculated the damage.
There are currently three arms out.
We can cut off three of Jinxite's arms.
Because the head professors are monsters.
However, there is a chance that both of them will not be safe.
'We have to save both of them as much as possible.'
There are eight head professors in the Assassination Studies department.
Three neutrals betrayed us.
That leaves five.
If we lose two more here, the internal damage will be uncontrollable when the Assassination War with Kreuz breaks out.
"Wouldn't it be better to cut them off first when there are three arms?"
"That's because we don't know which arm will use which Curse until the [Curse] is activated. If it's a low-level Curse, the head professor will tear it to death. But if we're unlucky and it's an arm with a Curse in the 90s, even the head professor can't guarantee their safety."
"A Curse in the 90s…! Is it that high level?"
The head professors' expressions darkened.
That's right. One of Jinxite's seven arms has a Curse in the 90s.
In rare cases, it has something like the 96th 『Instant Death Curse』. As the name suggests, it's a Curse that kills the cursed person as is.
"But in the end, it also means that doing some preliminary work now is the way to minimize the damage."
"That's right for now. If we cut off three arms, the firepower will be halved."
"It's efficient to catch it now if we're going to catch it, but the guy who crashes into it first might die, huh……."
The head professor smiled.
That was the fate of an Assassin.
An Assassin is a kind of missile. It pours out power in a short time to kill the enemy.
There is no missile that is expected to be intact after the explosion. Nevertheless, they wouldn't not know that surviving until their 70s and 80s was ultimately good luck.
"What I would recommend is to go back, prepare, identify the Curse, and then start the battle."
"But won't the number of arms increase if we drag it out?"
"Yes."
"...And if a monster of that level is going to use a [Curse], it won't be something you can do by throwing in sheep. In the end, a tiger has to go in for that guy to come out seriously too…."
The head professor understood quickly.
"First, let's have a meeting. Everyone gather."
The strategy meeting began again. This time, Leo was in the position of dissuading, and Vaiper insisted on crashing into it.
And Vaiper's opinion was passed.
"I can't just stand by and do nothing because I'm afraid for my life when I clearly see an unknown enemy in the academy."
I was a little dissatisfied, but it wasn't a very bad direction.
Eventually, we have to fight.
"Then, I'll just set up the [Totem] and start right away."
"Yes. We'll dope up. The professors should all wear 「Parachute Magic Tool」 in advance."
I also checked the Magic Tool and took out 「Liberator⁺₊⋆」.
Fzzzt! Woooong ─
Soon, a huge Magical Imprint burst out, and a storm raged.
Head Professor Toy's [Totem] was revealed.
Kugugugung….
A fluorescent stele emerged in the middle of the deck.
『 Firefly Sanctuary 』
A top-level Totem of level 8.
All allies within the area can use 『Blink』 and 『Void Walk』 multiple times in a short period of time. Through this Superpower, Head Professor Toy had a history of assassinating 52 Kreuz Assassins with 5 Assassins in 2 minutes and returning safely.
"Until the Totem is activated, 180 seconds left!"
It was then. Suddenly, a strange 【Script】 caught my eye.
【 Gray : ‘Huh…. Why is it shaking…?’ 】
What.
Why is Gray's Script here?
"Everyone prepare! We will engage in battle in 170 seconds―!"
"Yes! <Communication> deployed!"
The countdown dropped.
【 Gray : ‘Why is it shaking so much. It's making me dizzy….’ 】
Wait a minute.
What's wrong with her?
She shouldn't be near here.
The reason why all of us are wearing 「Parachute Magic Tool」 is because the Airship might crash.
【 Gray : ‘Ah, what the hell…. Did I drink too much? Why is it shaking so much….’ 】
As I hurriedly turned around, Leo shouted.
"Professor Dante? Where are you going!"
"I'll be back after going inside for a bit!"
When I went inside, the captain blinked.
"Are you looking for something, Professor?"
"Where is there a place where people can come in here?"
"The Airship is for life-saving purposes, so there's nothing really besides here and the deck…. Ah, there's the engine room."
Engine room?
It's different from the noisy engines in reality.
The Airship's engine is, of course, a 『Levitation Stone』. A warm place full of pleasant energy.
I hurriedly headed to the engine room and slammed the door open.
When I turned on the light, I saw it.
Gray hair.
"...Hah, you surprised me."
Gray said, hugging a blanket.
"What is it, all of a sudden…?"