Live Burial
Strictly speaking, what lay before his eyes differed in shape from the Acceleration Sheath Do-yun had been using.
It had been barely thirty minutes since Do-yun employed his Transformation skill to fashion the component before him into a sheath. Consequently, the sheath rewound across decades had resumed the form of a railgun part.
I was half-afraid it would regress all the way back to iron ore, but thankfully it didn’t go that far.
With this, the number of times he had used Reverse had grown beyond what one hand could count. Perhaps the accumulated experience was finally paying off; Do-yun felt he was beginning to grasp the rules of Reverse.
“So it returns an object to the moment it was in its most perfect state?”
The rewind duration that had seemed random actually carried meaning. Not just any point in time—it rewound the object to the peak of its prime.
“Just what kind of method did you use?!”
Angelina could not contain her excitement as she watched. Eyes round as saucers, she waved her hands while panting hard.
“This is a revolution! It’s no different from completely twisting the laws of physics!”
She thrust a hand into the crossbody bag slung over her shoulder and began pulling out all manner of objects, eyes sparkling as she held various devices out toward Do-yun. The clear implication that she wanted him to use Reverse on those as well left him openly bewildered.
“Sorry, but I can’t use it that often because of the cooldown.”
Do-yun’s words were like a bucket of cold water, yet Angelina showed no disappointment. She simply tucked the items back into her bag with natural ease, as if already planning for the next chance.
“Then what should we do now? Ah—shall I make the sheath with this first?”
Angelina scooped up the railgun component from the floor. She immediately produced a wrench and began tinkering away with rapid, precise motions.
“That person is scary.”
Watching her, Ciel trembled as though her very energy were being drained. Even the reasonably sociable Ciel reacted that way; Angelina’s energy overflowed to the point of excess.
As long as her skill is solid, that’s enough.
Do-yun watched Angelina’s crafting process with a faintly awkward expression.
Alchemy (F)
In truth, there was little to the “crafting.” The skill notification flashed, mana stirred, and the object reshaped itself of its own accord. At a glance it looked little different from Do-yun’s Transformation skill, yet closer inspection revealed a decisive distinction.
She’s assembling it piece by piece.
Where Do-yun’s skill roughly imposed an overall form in one go, Angelina began from individual screws and meticulously assembled everything. The finished product inevitably differed in the fine details.
Even knowing that, I couldn’t copy it.
Do-yun clicked his tongue in admiration. Without a deep understanding of mechanical structure, the work was impossible to attempt. Unless one knew exactly what role every part played and where, the effort would only backfire.
“Done! It’s finished!”
Angelina pushed up her goggles and wiped the sweat from her brow. Do-yun accepted the sheath she held out and fell silent as he read the system window before his eyes.
◈ An Acceleration Sheath into which a master craftsman has perfectly grafted the principles of a railgun.
◈ Damage of the first attack after drawing from the sheath increased by 1.5×
◈ Super-Electromagnetic Draw
◈ Draw speed and impact force rise in proportion to the time mana is infused.
This is ridiculous.
The item description was incomparably more dazzling than anything Do-yun had produced when he tinkered with it. A perfect superior version. He fastened the sheath at his waist and was forced to marvel yet again.
Shing.
The moment the blade slid home, a faint light began to flow. It was clearly thanks to the option that boosted the damage of the first attack after drawing by 1.5 times.
“At this rate I could deliberately re-sheathe mid-fight.”
A 1.5-times multiplier was nothing to dismiss. It was enough to make him seriously consider the otherwise inefficient act of returning the sword to its scabbard during combat.
“By the way, any good ideas for what to do about that?”
After a few practice swings, Do-yun jerked his chin toward El Sion’s corpse. He had already considered several approaches, but he asked in case she had something more ingenious.
“Hmm, we just collapse this place!”
Angelina answered without a moment’s hesitation. The cheerful smile on her face made the brutal suggestion all the more chilling.
“If we bury him alive, even if he revives there won’t be much he can do, right?”
A faint thorn edged her words. Given that the man had nearly killed her in a surprise attack, it was hardly surprising she harbored no goodwill.
Live burial, huh.
It had been the first idea that crossed Do-yun’s mind as well. If feasible, it would be the cleanest and most certain method. Yet the plan’s practicality was questionable.
“Do you have a means of bringing this place down?”
His gaze slowly swept the ceiling and walls. The armory had been built solid enough to shrug off ordinary impacts—an obvious precaution for a vault holding dangerous equipment. Moreover, they were on the first floor. This was part of the lower structure supporting the Company’s towering building, the very foundation and load-bearing core. Bringing the entire place down was a completely different matter from simply smashing an entrance.
I could wreck the entrance with a few swings of Bash, but…
Collapsing everything would require far more mana than he currently possessed. He glanced at Angelina, hoping she had a solution, only to find her staring back with a brazen expression.
“Nope? That’s your job.”
He shouldn’t have asked. Do-yun sighed and started to turn away—only for Angelina to catch his arm.
“Aw, I’m kidding, kidding! Of course I have a method.”
What an exhausting personality.
Angelina grinned and raised her wrench.
“As you’ve probably guessed, I can freely disassemble and reassemble the structure of objects.”
By way of demonstration she picked up a nearby firearm. In her hands the gun twisted and reshaped like clay. She clenched her fist hard, then opened it; what had been a gun was now compressed to the size of a coin. Looking up with an expectant expression, she pouted when Do-yun failed to react.
“Wooooow!”
The reason Do-yun hadn’t reacted was that Ciel, beside him, was already overreacting spectacularly enough for both of them. With Ciel taking care of the amazement, any chance of impressing him evaporated. He had thought it many times, but was she really an angel?
“Anyway!”
Unable to see Ciel, Angelina had only Do-yun’s dry response to work with and should have felt awkward, yet she continued without the slightest sign of embarrassment.
“I’ll weaken the supports myself, and when the timing is right we apply a shock—problem solved!”
Collapsing the place immediately risked catching Angelina and Do-yun in the rubble. Therefore she proposed they first put a safe distance between themselves and the structure before triggering the collapse.
“Sorry, but it doesn’t look like we have that kind of time.”
Do-yun, who had been listening quietly, cut her off mid-explanation. The notifications that had just appeared in his vision made it clear the situation nearby was anything but leisurely.
Dietrich uses Oath of the Holy Spirit (F)
Sua uses Explosive Crush (F)
Kanae uses Rage of the Raging Waves (F)
Notifications kept popping up nonstop; a fight must have broken out not far away. Enough time had passed since entering the ninth floor that encounters between challengers were bound to grow more frequent. Not all of them would head for the armory, but even a single arrival would turn the situation troublesome.
“We start right now.”
Leaving El Sion unattended and fleeing the scene was even less acceptable. Do-yun immediately rolled up his sleeves as if asking what he should do first.
“Hmm, Benefactor also has a skill that can change forms, correct?”
Angelina’s eyes turned serious as she produced the odd form of address. Benefactor—had she decided to call him that because he had saved her life? Pointing out titles was hardly the priority right now, so Do-yun simply nodded.
“Then I’ll handle the angle and load calculations. Just tell me the points where the extreme values occur according to the Zemany formula.”
Do-yun could only stare blankly. He understood not a single word she had just said.
“Wait—what?”
“You don’t know the Zemany formula?”
What even is that?
They regarded each other as if speaking different languages. Apparently, to her, this counted as common knowledge.
“…Just guard the entrance.”
After opening and closing her mouth a few times, that was the conclusion Angelina finally reached. She had clearly decided Do-yun would be of no help whatsoever. He quietly accepted his place and headed for the doorway.
Zzzt.
Goggles in place, Angelina dropped prone on the floor and began some complicated-looking work. Do-yun had no idea what she was doing. He simply stood watch for several minutes.
“The hell are you? Playing doorman?”
A man swaggered straight up and addressed him. Piercings and tattoos covered his body like some common thug; when he opened his mouth, gold teeth gleamed where ordinary ones should have been.
“Something like that, yeah.”
Do-yun answered shortly and gripped his sword hilt. The fact that this man had shown himself suggested the fighting among challengers had entered a lull. Dealing with the thug in front of him would be easy, but the noise might draw others.
Finish it in one stroke before he can even react.
He was about to tighten his grip and draw the blade from the Acceleration Sheath when Angelina’s voice rang out behind him.
“Ready!”
That changed everything. Do-yun redirected the sword that had been aimed at the thug. His target was now the inner wall of the armory.
“Hey. What the hell are you doing?”
Sensing something wrong, the thug tried to question him, but Do-yun paid no attention and poured power into the blade.
KRAAAAAASH!
Amplified by the Acceleration Sheath, the sword tore free at blistering speed and smashed into the wall. Cracks spider-webbed outward from the impact point, racing across the entire armory. The corridor where the thug stood was no exception.
“You crazy bastard?!”
“Try surviving that if you can.”
Do-yun’s sneer was the last thing the man heard before countless chunks of stone began raining from the ceiling.