Chapter 791: To Old Oterium (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 791: To Old Oterium (2)
“Are you going to start digging now?”
“Yeah.”
Valeria found it strange that he’d suggest digging without any preparation, but on second thought, there were two transcendent masters present. If they truly wanted to, Jin and Hedo were the kind of people who could carve out the deepest, most massive pit in the world.
“I suppose the foundation for the secret shipyard in the Land of the Sword Emperor was built in a similar fashion.”
As it happened, Old Oterium had been an unprotected zone—a completely abandoned land—since long before the Sword Emperor Holy War. This meant it didn't matter if they tore up and smashed this vast expanse of earth to their hearts' content.
Jin and Hedo stretched their limbs and shed their outer coats.
“Miss Valeria, it would be best if you stepped back. Hmm… over there seems appropriate. Please wait a moment.”
Suddenly, Hedo dashed off, taking up a position about a kilometer away. He then proceeded to shatter several boulders the size of human torsos, shaping them into planks and poles. Under his monstrous strength, the rocks crumbled like dry twigs.
What he constructed from the broken stone was a makeshift table and canopy. Once he draped his coat and shirt over the top, it looked surprisingly respectable. On the table were refreshments packed by Latri and even teacups he had somehow managed to bring along.
“Please, relax and have some tea over there. My lady will likely join you soon… I trust you won’t strike her, even if she behaves rudely.”
When Hedo returned and spoke, Valeria blinked, looking back and forth between him and the table. A butler who could create a decent resting place in the middle of such a desolate, dark land—it was a fresh reminder of how extraordinary he was.
“…You seem very used to this. Does this happen often?”
“As you know, our lady requires a great deal of care. Well… I believe that, despite appearances, she doesn't entirely dislike you. I would be most grateful if you could show her a little understanding.”
Watching him, Valeria felt like she was witnessing the plight of a father with a severely wayward daughter; she found herself momentarily solemn. Jin, too, felt a pang of sympathy for the man.
“As long as Sandra doesn't physically attack me first… I suppose I can manage having tea with her.”
“Oh, if there is a saint in this era, it must be you, Miss Valeria.”
“Stop. That’s a bit much.”
[Mya!]
Jin summoned Shuri from the Red Jade Cat. He wanted her to intervene if things turned sour while Valeria and Sandra were waiting.
“Shuri, take Valeria over there and keep her company. If the atmosphere gets tense, step in and calm things down.”
[Mya-mya.]
As Shuri and Valeria headed toward the table, Hedo pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
“I hope that one day, the lady and Miss Valeria can become friends. Miss Valeria seems to have changed a lot since returning from Honka Island, so if the lady changes just a little, it might not be a total pipe dream.”
The moment Sandra, who had been wandering nearby, saw Valeria sitting at the table, her eyes blazed with fury. Hedo simply shook his head.
“You certainly have it rough.”
“It is also a blessing. Now then, shall we begin digging?”
Screee!
Hedo drew his new favorite sword, ‘Colossal Strength.’ It was a massive longsword, very similar in form to Shakan, the blade he had used before handing it over to Vail. It was Picon’s latest masterpiece, and naturally, Hedo was beyond satisfied with it.
“I didn't expect the first thing I’d cut with this perfect and beautiful sword would be dirt.”
“Something incredible might come out, so don't be too disappointed. Like a Gate of the Demon World, for instance.”
“That would be a fitting debut for Colossal Strength.”
Hooo…!
Hedo took a stance, drawing in a massive amount of energy. The act alone caused the surrounding earth to vibrate violently, sending rocks leaping into the air.
BOOM—!
A roar erupted, as if a giant had slammed a castle pillar into the earth rather than a sword. Jin, who had leaped into the air to dodge the shockwave, looked down at the brutally collapsed ground.
A semicircular hole, at least fifty paces wide, had been gouged out. Its depth already far exceeded Hedo’s height.
‘If it hadn't been for Yona-nuna in the Sota Desert, we all would have died at Sir Hedo’s hands,’ Jin thought.
Before Jin even landed, Hedo struck the pit again, channeling his monstrous strength into his sword once more. Massive boulders soared high into the sky like kernels of corn being roasted.
After a few more thunderous booms, Jin thrust Sigmund into the shattered earth. Every time lightning exploded from the blade, the pit deepened by two paces. The ground grew harder the further down they went, and debris occasionally cascaded down like a landslide.
Of course, neither of them was buried. The debris was pulverized into dust by the sword energy and shockwaves that incessantly radiated in all directions.
At some point, Jin and Hedo began to work in harmony like seasoned laborers, taking turns swinging their blades. The site of the Dark Magic Association’s former castle had long since been swallowed by the pit without a trace, and the earth continued to scream.
Sip.
Valeria sipped the tea she had chilled with mana, watching the bizarre spectacle of two men tearing the world apart. She did this partly because there was nowhere else to look, and partly to ignore Sandra, who sat across from her with a rebellious, sharp-eyed glare.
“Hey, Shuri!”
[Mya?]
Sandra called Shuri before she could unleash a torrent of abuse at Valeria.
“Why are you letting this redhead lean on your tail? Turn it toward me. I want to lean back comfortably, too.”
[Mya-mya-mya.]
“Ugh, hurry up!”
[Mya, myaa.]
Shuri glanced at Valeria, and seeing no reaction, the cat slowly moved her tail toward Sandra. Of course, Sandra’s harassment didn't end there.
“Redhead, stop looking at my Jin-ssi.”
“Jin disappeared down that pit a long time ago.”
“I mean look somewhere else besides where Jin-ssi is!”
“Uh, I was looking at the empty air beyond the pit.”
“Eek! You… ughhh!”
Sandra was momentarily speechless. And at that moment, surprisingly, Valeria felt that Sandra was like a child for the first time. She felt as if she were dealing not with Sandra ‘Zipple,’ but with a little girl who had gone astray due to unfortunate abuse. Yes, what fault does the child have? The monsters who made her this way are the problem, she thought.
So, Valeria pointed to the cookies in front of her.
“I saved these for you. Stop glaring and just eat.”
“Ha! My share? Everything Hedo brought was mine to begin with! There were never any cookies for you; you’re a thief who ate them without my permission. Do you understand?”
“How are these all your cookies? Master Latri packed them for everyone to share. Strictly speaking, since it looks like you and I are going to eat them all without leaving any for Jin or Sir Hedo, if this is theft, then you’re an accomplice.”
Sandra was speechless once again. Even if she had no retort, hurling random insults wouldn't deal any damage to this damn redhead.
“Who said… we’re eating them all? I’ll make sure to save Jin-ssi’s share myself.”
“Then I’ll just save Sir Hedo’s share.”
“Who are you to look after Hedo?”
“Then you look after both of them.”
“Then I won’t have anything to eat!”
Pfft.
When Valeria burst into laughter, Sandra finally couldn't take it anymore. She jumped up as if she were about to throw a punch, but Shuri caught her with her tail.
“Let gooo! You’re dead, I swear!”
Thanks to that, Valeria had one more thing to look at. The sight of Jin and Hedo mindlessly digging a pit, and Sandra flailing about while tied up by a tail. Neither was a common sight.
‘Thinking of her as a child makes her not so annoying.’
Cr-crack, snap!
Just as Valeria had that thought, the ground near the table suddenly split open. Even with a kilometer between the pit and the table, the entire surrounding terrain had begun to collapse due to Jin and Hedo’s excavation.
They needed to move further away.
[Mya-mya!]
Shuri took the canopy and table in her mouth. Valeria grabbed the teacups and naturally climbed onto Shuri’s back, while Sandra remained tied to the tail.
“Consider yourself lucky we have to move right now, redhead!”
“I told you before, just eat this.”
Valeria flicked a cookie, and it landed right in Sandra’s mouth. Feeling like she had somehow lost, Sandra swallowed the cookie while shouting profanities as Shuri sped away from the excavation’s zone of influence.
*
“As expected. When I went up just now, I saw the ground near the table starting to fail. Shuri is moving the ladies. Though for some reason, the young lady was tied to the tail like luggage.”
“Fortunately, it seems the atmosphere over there wasn't too bad.”
“I’m just grateful to Miss Valeria. Phew, I don't know how much we’ve dug. It feels like roughly five hundred paces.”
“I think it’s about that much for me, too.”
“If we keep exerting ourselves like this, you and I might end up digging the deepest hole in human history.”
“Shinu said that even if the Demon World exists on the same planet, it’s a realm that can never be reached by normal means. So we have to do at least this much.”
Naturally, the depth of the pit they had dug already far exceeded the limits of modern technology. It was only possible because two individuals who defied all convention were performing the excavation themselves.
“By the way, I didn't realize there were so many monsters underground.”
Hundreds of monsters had already met their end, caught in the massive excavation. Most of the creatures hiding underground had vanished along with the soil and rock without even letting out a single scream.
“They’re the types that would have eventually come to the surface to wreak havoc, so it’s good they were caught. Let’s keep digging. I have a good feeling about this.”
Jin and Hedo were feeling a certain catharsis in unleashing their power to the fullest. Like workers caught up in the rhythm, the excavation continued for half a day.
The two men, covered in dirt and soot, stopped their blades only after another two hours had passed.
Clang!
For the first time, a sword bounced back from the subterranean floor that had been yielding like tofu. Something hard enough to withstand even a full-force strike from the two men was repelling their blades.
“Oh!”
The two let out simultaneous exclamations and peered downward. When they brushed away the dirt and stones covering the sword mark with their palms, a smooth, massive, mineral-like object was revealed.
However, to be precise, it wasn't an object. It was a living being.
“…Scales? Jin, this… it looks like dragon scales.”
“Yes, Sir Hedo. To my eyes… it looks that way, too.”
Why were there dragon scales here, of all places?
The moment that thought crossed their minds, a gloomy, dark voice echoed throughout the entire pit.
[Who dares… disturb my slumber?]