Chapter 183
Chapter 183
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 183
Chapter Title: Heir of the Dawn, Tarhye Rondel (4)
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7.
CRASH────!
I kicked the door open in a frenzy.
The instant I hurled my body into the power plant, my fingertips slashed a long line through the empty air.
───WHOOOOSH!
A wall of flames erupted, sealing off the entrance.
Done……!
I made it this far.
I wiped the beads of sweat from my brow and glared back at the door.
The hunting dogs that had been hot on my tail.
Most of them halted before the blaze, but one apparently couldn't.
「GRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA──!」
It thrashed about, engulfed in flames.
“What the—!”
Screaming madly.
“You bastard, why won’t you just die!”
Only when it lunged right up to my face, jaws gaping wide, did it finally collapse as a charred lump.
“Whew, that was insane…….”
I nearly pissed myself. Way more tenacious than in the game……
“If you don’t want to end up like that, stay put over there, got it?”
I hurried toward the control panel.
SYSTEM :
User civilization knowledge reflected. Output data altered.
Reflect civilization knowledge?
It reads Earth’s civilization level? This is straight-up sci-fi……
The monitor was soaked in blood.
And unsettlingly, it sparked and fizzed every few seconds.
No, even more unnerving were the corpses.
The bodies of what must have been this plant’s operators twitched sporadically.
BEEEEEEEEEP!
Then an alarm blared, and this message appeared on the screen.
SYSTEM :
Unregistered user.
What……?
No need to panic.
This is to be expected. So…… should I burn it? Just as I thought that.
SYSTEM :
User GodSpring’s system access granted by [Master Code: Tersia].
Tersia……?
A strange surge of emotion welled up.
It’s real. She’s really waiting for Park Hyun-su.
SYSTEM :
Shutting down main power. Phase 3.
At that moment, the hunting dogs howled like mad, followed by the sound of massive footsteps.
My heart leaped.
I whipped around instantly.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.
Not yet.
The flames still hold.
This is just my heartbeat pounding in my ears.
SYSTEM :
Shutting down main power. Phase 2.
Hurry.
Please, hurry.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud…… My heart hammered wildly.
SYSTEM :
Shutting down main power. Phase 1.
Right then.
Huge footsteps echoed from the entrance, and something giggled as it muttered.
「Ma gic. Ma gic. Ma gi cfa ther up there? Hee heehee hee heehee.」
That eerie voice……
Blood turned ice-cold in my veins as I snapped my head around…… and froze in place.
The abyss was devouring the flames.
Flames are the abyss’s natural enemy.
Yet one being defied that law of nature…… the [Forgotten Kings].
“Shit…….”
The words slipped out.
A massive wolf shoved its head into the power plant.
A girl sat astride its back.
Worn dark blue school uniform.
Fox mask covering her face.
Dark blue hair trailing down to the ground.
Don’t let that appearance fool you.
That’s one of the [Forgotten Kings]…… Anridal.
「Hel lo?」
Why aren’t you running?
In that instant, something hot burst from my ears.
Blood……?
I remember thinking I needed to wipe the blood trickling from my ears.
[Warning: Madness Level 77%]
[Warning: Madness Level 86%]
[Warning: Madness Level 96%]
Madness level spiking.
But my body wouldn’t obey, and the next moment I collapsed to the ground, laughing hysterically.
「What are you do ing here?」
Dangerous…… so dangerous……
Madness…… at 100%…… I’ll become…… one of the damned too……
「Hm? You re sist ma dness well. What’s wrong?」
Tinnitus rang out.
My head churned like I was about to vomit, then my vision drowned in dark blue.
「Mad ness is there. Hu man na ture. Ac cept it.」
[Warning: Madness Level 97%]
「Ac cept it and it’s ea sy. Eve ry thing’s ea sy.」
Snap out of it. Snap out of it.
Please, fight back.
[Warning: Madness Level 98%]
「That’s why you be come Ed el vice’s sub or di nate. How’s that? Good? Good? Good?」
No…… no……
Consciousness…… hold on……? Consciousness? What…… is that……?
Then it all happened in a flash.
SYSTEM :
Phase 0: Main power shutdown complete.
The room plunged into darkness.
The front glass shattered……
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
……and with the gale and moonlight, void demons surged in.
“………………………….”
“………………………….”
“………………………….”
They swarmed Anridal, who had been stroking my head, and shoved her far back.
[Warning: Madness Level 88%]
As madness receded, awareness flickered back dimly.
Faceless demons……?
NightFaces, right?
If they’re here……
It’s him.
The legendary Abyss Hunter has come.
The thought hit, and amid the chaos, I started running.
Running.
And running more.
Until I leaped out the window.
[Warning: Madness Level 81%]
Being on the top floor didn’t matter.
Survive first.
[Warning: Madness Level 74%]
The suffocating abyss stench gave way to.
Fresh air caressing my body……
But.
This is getting dangerous now?
……My cloak and ponytail whipped wildly.
Hey, Mr. Abyss Hunter?
Blood-soaked ground rushed up at insane speed.
Big trouble.
I thought the Abyss Hunter saved me with the NightFaces.
Does he see me as a threat?
Then I need a flame burst for an updraft.
With what?
What spell?
Can’t…… think…… I’ll die on impact. I’ll───
“Shirak!”
Something snatched my nape from midair.
“Shirak! Shiak! Shirak!”
Cold.
The sensation on my neck.
Colder than ice…… but a truly pleasant chill.
Speed slowed, but still perilous.
Next instant.
I slammed into the ground hard, breath cut off, rolling across it.
“Ow ow…….”
Chunks of corpses cushioned the impact—otherwise, my ribs would’ve shattered.
“Shirak.”
As it muttered.
Something cold landed on my head this time.
What the hell……?
I looked up and blanked out for a moment.
A hatchling covered in ice crystals.
A cat-sized hatchling tilted its head down at me.
“S…… ke…… Sa…… Rhi!”
The hatchling produced a voice clear as ice with its underdeveloped vocal cords and tongue.
Skesari?
Skesari?
The ice dragon final boss……?
“For real?”
I stifled a disbelieving laugh and forced out words.
“You’re really Skesari?”
“Shishishishi.”
The ice dragon barked amiably.
Meeting the final boss as a hatchling…… surreal.
Then Skesari snapped its head up and growled fiercely.
He’s here……
I whipped around, calculating a spell in my head.
Good call.
Hunting dog packs poured from the shrine’s main gate.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Scratch that—pointless.
No need for my magic.
FWOOOOOSH────!
A crossbow bolt embedded in a hunting dog’s skull. Electricity crackled from the tip.
────KABOOOOOM!
Blinding lightning whitened the sky and slammed into the ground.
Damn.
Yeah, this is it.
This simple power.
Over fifty of Anridal’s hunting dogs turned to ash in one strike.
A crossbow that summons lightning.
In this world, only one: [Heaven-Slaying Thunder].
Wielded by just one person.
RUMBLE……
Piercing thunderclap.
From the lightning’s shadow emerged an unimaginable group.
“Good job, Skesari! Come here.”
Three women, one man.
The lead woman—Skesari flew to her, nuzzling affectionately.
“Good girl, yes you are!”
“Shishishishishishi!”
“So pretty I could eat you up. Come, kiss for Mama.”
Wait, her……?
How could I not know?
Sky-blue bob cut, smile like a goddess.
Dragon Lady Kserinia……!
Mouth agape in shock, a golden-haired saint in holy robes ran up.
“You okay? Tell me if you’re hurt. I’ll heal you.”
Guinevere, one of the Abyss Hunter’s crew.
“She’s fine. Look at her face and body. Perfect. That blood’s not hers.”
The black-haired knight answering for me…… Veronica.
All stunning beauties.
But amid that peak beauty, one man seized my gaze.
“Hey, kid.”
Loading [Heaven-Slaying Thunder].
Military boots marching crisply.
“Anridal up there?”
Worn leather armor.
Raven-feather cloak draped over…… and an ominous raven-beak mask.
“You deaf?”
His presence awed me every time. No surprise, really.
Abyss Hunter Roberto.
One of just two true hero NPCs in this world.
“Wait…….”
Roberto halted, suddenly aiming the crossbow at me. Killing intent like my body might crumble.
“This guy…… an Outsider.”
Outsider……?
Lumping me in as an Asian?
Glancing around blankly.
Guinevere and Veronica’s eyes filled with hostility too.
“Edelvice. Mitsurugi Gensou. Both Outsiders like you. Who the hell are you?”
Just another Asian……
No reasoning with them.
In that crisis, my savior…… Skesari again.
“Out of the way, Skesari.”
Skesari landed on my head and barked at Roberto.
“Shirak!”
“Don’t push it.”
Fearless thing……
Didn’t flinch at Roberto’s killing intent.
“Shirak! Shirak! Shirak!”
“……Won’t say it twice.”
“Enough.”
Finally, Dragon Lady Kserinia intervened.
“He’s fine, Roberto. Stand down.”
“But miss, he’s an Outsider.”
Roberto protested reluctantly, and Kserinia flashed a clear smile.
“An Outsider, huh. So what?”
“Coming from an abyss-tainted place isn’t suspicious?”
“Suspicious? He was fighting the abyss.”
“How do you know?”
Kserinia raised a long white finger toward Skesari.
“Ice dragons are the most sensitive to the abyss among dragonkin. Touch an abyssal thing, and the ice coating turns black.”
Just as she said.
That’s why [Abyss-Devouring Ice Dragon, Skesari] appears all blackened in the final battle.
“But look—Skesari snatched her from the air, now sits on her head.”
“……!”
“And? No part’s turned black.”
At Kserinia’s defense, Roberto lowered [Heaven-Slaying Thunder].
No, not the defense.
A greater foe appeared—he’d turned his aim.
「Ooh, ooh, so ma ny birdies here?」
Abyss storm raging.
Heart seizing in pain, I turned.
「Hel lo eve ry one? That kid’s mine. Hand her o ver.」
Anridal landed lightly on the ground.
[Madness Level: 78%]
I screamed, clamping my ears.
Eardrums tearing……
This is…… the [Forgotten Kings]’ divinity……
「She’ll be Ed el’s play thing, I said.」
Roberto and Kserinia.
Only those two, who’d transcended human limits, stood unfazed before Anridal.
“Afraid not.”
Kserinia smirked provocatively.
“Too bad—my son marked her first. Very thoroughly.”