Chapter 1029 – Rebuilding

000

Cleon flew away somewhere in the mountains due to the forced transfer magic that appeared from the crow.

Aside from the fact that he himself is embarrassed, the one left behind-

So, the person who was trying to cross the bridge to enter the mountain with Cleon a little while ago would also be confused.

Sasha looked blankly at where Cleon had disappeared like smoke in front of her.

Lila, who noticed the commotion, quickly flew into the sky and moved to the front of the line.

“Sasha! What’s going on? What about Cleon?”

“Well, that’s… Mr. Cleon was here just a moment ago…”

When Sasha sees that Sasha is not explaining properly, she uses Sasha’s mouth to speak on her behalf.

“It seems like Mr. Cleon was forcibly transferred due to an enemy’s curse…”

Then, he mutters while making a sad face.

“It was my mistake… If I hadn’t pointed out the crow to Sasha, I never would have guessed that I would have placed a curse on the surveillance familiar that activates upon death…”

“A curse that is triggered by the death of a familiar… It’s a curse that uses stronger-than-usual magic power generated by the familiar’s thoughts at the time of death. It will be activated much more powerfully than ordinary magic…”

So, even though Sasha was looking at her, she was so fast that it was difficult to avoid her.

Cleon hit him with magic without even giving him a chance to defend himself.

“First of all, I guess we should check Cleon’s safety.”

Lila let out a small sigh, closed her eyes, and reached her hand inside herself to keep her composure.

It is to scan the thin thread of magic that goes from oneself to the outside, the passage that connects oneself and others.

And among those thin threads, there is one that is thickly connected…

If you take the hand in your heart as if you were flipping that taut thread.

Geek…

‘Huh…?’

Normally, by flicking the thread, magical energy flows, making it possible to communicate with Cleon through imprinting.

Since magic moves in the image of the form of vibration, even in her mental scenery, you would normally see the thread shaking up and down when she shakes it.

However, even if Cleon’s thread was flicked once again, it did not move, as if it was frozen in midair.

I’ve experienced this kind of situation before.

A situation where there is an invisible wall between you and the other person, making it impossible to exchange voices.

‘It’s a pain in the ass… The direction is towards the inside of the Four Dragon Mountains… But you’re saying it’s difficult to interfere with each other?’

However, the fact that the thread is not broken means that the other side still ‘exists’.

Now that she can confirm that much, Laila lets out a sigh and returns to reality.

“Even though Cleon flew away somewhere inside the mountain range, it looks like his life is still attached.”

When you say that and open your eyes.

Before my eyes, Sasha was crying.

“Uh, what should I do… Because of me, Mr. Cleon…”

As the reality that Cleon was gone because of her slowly began to sink in, Sasha covered her own face with her trembling hands, as if in a panic.

What if Cleon doesn’t come back like this?

What if it has been transferred somewhere, to a dangerous place?

Bad thoughts keep creeping up in Sasha’s head.

“Sasha… Sasha!”

Lila calls Sasha’s name in a sharp voice and grabs her wrist.

Then, with her dizzying eyes just as her head was spinning, Sasha met Laila’s eyes.

“… Calm down, Sasha. It’s not your fault that Cleon flew away. Rather, Cleon did his job. Cleon is the vanguard of our party. What is the vanguard’s role?”

Sasha rolls her eyes at Laila’s half-name and half-examination voice, but answers her question.

“Well, that’s… Standing at the front, protecting other party members from enemy danger…”

“Yes. Cleon sacrificed himself to save you. So Cleon did his job.”

Sasha, who heard Laila’s words, responds with a slightly confused expression.

“B-but… Isn’t Mr. Cleon also dangerous…?”

“Yes, it would be dangerous. But, Sasha, there is a higher chance of survival if Cleon transfers alone, rather than if you transfer alone. Thinking about it objectively… Right?”

“…”

Sasha must have been convinced by Lila’s voice, so she nodded.

“Besides, if that familiar’s curse was originally aimed at you, Sasha, then she would have broken one of the other party’s intentions when it was Cleon who was hit by the curse.”

Lila releases Sasha’s wrist from her hold and strokes her head.

“Your detection ability is higher than Cleon’s. No, you may be better than anyone else in our expedition. Sasha, who is the eyes, ears, and nose of this expedition, sees you as a bigger obstacle than Cleon. Think about whether it will have meaning.”

“… It means there are a lot of traps and things like that waiting for us inside the mountain range…”

Sasha then, more than just lost in the shock of Cleon’s disappearance, she rediscovers what she has to do and why she is here.

That’s why he pricks up the wolf ears on her drooping head and wipes her eyes with his hands.

“Yes! I will lead the expedition to a safe path! And I will find Mr. Cleon, who must be somewhere in the mountains!”

“Okay, that’s it.”

Confirming Sasha’s resolve, Laila decides to stay there rather than return to her original place.

This is because, in place of Cleon, who disappeared, a person was needed to check the overall situation on the front lines and contact them quickly.

[Laila, are you okay?]

And, Laila will hear Kuon’s voice in her ears.

Lila explained her situation to Cuon, and Cuon accepted the facts that Lila said more calmly than she expected.

[… Okay. Then, I’ll ask for Sasha. You have to be careful. Lila.]

[Huh. Tell Artis about the situation as well.]

Lila asked, and she focused on the front.

‘Yes, it looks like they prepared quite hard to avoid getting hit.’

Lyla’s eyes sharpened as she stretched out her hand and gripped her wand.

‘You’ve always been the one on the attack, so you’re probably flustered because it’s your first time being dealt something like this.’

It reminds me of Vajra, the gigantic fortress that cast a shadow over the entire landscape of Asteris from a height higher than the sacred tree.

‘But this time, it’s your turn to have your territory invaded.’

With her burning will, her and Sasha’s steps brighten the expedition’s path.

When you think about why they came here.

There was no way that they who gathered here were in a light mood and had no resolution.

001

“… I regained my cool faster than I thought.”

There was someone watching this whole situation in the basement of the mansion, deep in the research facility.

With her eyes glowing in the dark, she was displaying an illusion of images transmitted through the neural network created by the familiars deployed to survey the entire Dragon Mountain Range.

As she said that, she leaned back in her chair while making a squeak.

Half of her face was stitched together, as if it had been taken from someone else’s skin.

She may have originally been a very beautiful woman, but her appearance faded due to repeated injuries and the side effects of the medicine she tried to force herself to recover from… No, it would be better to say that she was corrupted.

“In order to stop them inside the mountain range, there is an obstacle… I tried to deal with the ‘Wolf God’s Vessel’ first, but I couldn’t believe it. That man. He took the curse on his behalf.”

After all, is it better not to look down on it?

As Darwin, the executor of the regressors, said this, she covered her throbbing face with her hands.

Although she was a little embarrassed when she cursed Cleon, she thought it worked out well in the end.

Because in that expedition, that man was the most annoying when it came to ‘combat ability’ and ‘situation judgment’.

And, their party is centered around that man.

If that man disappears, their power will definitely be down, and it won’t take much effort to disintegrate afterward.

In fact, with the disappearance of Cleon, who had wrapped himself around him, the Wolf God’s vessel instantly showed a strong shake in its soul.

The weak part of the soul caused by agitation will definitely be a good point to delve into.

But… Contrary to her thoughts, when the Flame Witch intervened, her vessel quickly recovered her own soul.

“… I feel like I’ve become stronger than when I saw it before… That’s how I feel.”

I heard the sound of teeth clashing.

It may have been purely an expression of jealousy.

Their organization has disintegrated, they have lost colleagues who were like family, and they are in a corner.

The denomination to which they had devoted their allegiance until now… Was still ‘silent’ in responding to their call.

“Hmph…”

Ever since we confirmed that the fortress had been destroyed.

“A cut-off tail… I guess it’s because once they get this far, it’s difficult for them to make any big movements.”

As Darwin muttered that, a voice came from behind.

“Wouldn’t it have been better? It would be unbearable to bow down to such an unpleasant and crazy machine forever.”

An old gentleman who, unlike his gentle voice, uses a caustic tone.

He wears a stylish suit that appears to be made of luxurious fabric and strokes his gray mustache.

“Descartes… Looks like he’s enjoying this situation.”

That’s what Darwin called the man.

“You look like you’re having fun? It’s rude, Madam, if you look like that. It’s been a while since you’ve been outside, so you seem excited.”

“I don’t want you to forget that I was the one who brought you out of that stuffy mansion.”

In other words, this old gentleman is ‘Oldburn Descartes.’

He is the grandfather of Fleur Descartes, and she is also an executive of the regressors with the same status as Darwin.

Originally, he had to be locked inside the mansion according to Fleur’s will.

“Of course I am grateful. If it weren’t for Madam’s help, I wouldn’t have been able to escape from there just by putting the precious ‘seeds’ to sleep without hurting them.”

As he said that, he picked up the teacup that was sitting right next to him and lightly quenched his throat.

In response to such a relaxed attitude, Darwin suppressed his anger and growled as he spoke.

“You could have escaped at any time. The problem is your love for that granddaughter. Thanks to that, funding for returnees was cut off.”

“It’s a request from my cute granddaughter, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Even though I locked her in her room, she always says hello to me once a day, how lovely it is. But I have to vacate the mansion because of the Five Elements Festival… Ugh.”

Tsk tsk, Old Burn clicking his tongue.

Darwin asked him as if he was dumbfounded by his words.

“… Then you weren’t there the whole time?”

“Wouldn’t it be quicker to come here and wait to meet my granddaughter whom I haven’t seen for a few days?”

“…”

In any case, ‘Fleur’ was at the center of his actions.

Darwin clicks his tongue after confirming that fact once again.

“Hehe. Madam. The basic principles of behavior are the same for you and me. Madame is ready to sacrifice everything for her precious son… And I am ready to sacrifice everything for his granddaughter.”

“Then you too must prepare for battle, Descartes. If you want to get your granddaughter back from those who come against us.”

At her words, Descartes squeaked and swiveled his chair while sitting.

Behind him, there was something, an object covered with cloth.

“Whew. How many years has it been since I got to use this again?”

When I spoke with an expression full of longing, Darwin spoke as if he did not believe me.

“If you feel like your body won’t move during times of emergency, should I give you some medicine? When you were young, you were a sailor who swam the sea like a dolphin.”

“There were times like that…”

Descartes nodded his head and turned to look at Darwin.

I smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

“But I will politely refuse the medicine. My current role is that of a ‘dandy grandfather.’ Isn’t Madam taking the medicine to become a ‘kind and beautiful mother’?”

“… Dandy is freezing to death…”

Darwin sighed, recalling the brief excitement he had felt when he was young.

Descartes answers Darwin, who cannot trust him.

“The lack of movement can be compensated for with additional weapons. It would be a mistake to think that he was just locked in a room for several years.”

As he said that and relaxed, his eyes were sparkling like a young man with a purpose.

002

“Wow… It’s been a while since I hiked, so it’s quite difficult.”

As Cleon said that, he wiped the sweat from his face.

I pass through lush grass and walk along a place that is not even a road, where even animals don’t seem to pass by.

After being transported inside the mountain range, Cleon continued to move his steps to somehow look around.

It seems like you can fly and look down from above, but the flight magic doesn’t work properly from earlier.

Something was strongly interfering with the activation of magic.

Therefore, what Cleon is heading for is-

Unless you use flying magic, all you have to do is physically head to a high place.

Thinking like that, he was heading towards the nearest mountain peak.

Fortunately, the magic itself wasn’t completely blocked.

His specialty, magic like Mana Shock, remained.

The question is, of course, when can I join my colleagues?

Now that I can’t even see how far away I am, I have to head to the top as quickly as possible.

Saying so, Cleon goes forward through the bushes.

At that time.

Rustle!

“…!?”

I hear something rustling in front.

Cleon placed his hand on the sword at his waist with caution.

On the way here, I encountered several monsters.

There haven’t been any tough opponents yet, but it is said that the higher you go in the Sarong Mountains or the deeper you go underground, the stronger the monsters appear.

It wouldn’t be surprising if a guy who was quite difficult to deal with alone appeared soon.

Thinking like that, you hold your breath and carefully stick your head out from behind the tree.

There─

Rustle! Struggling!

My feet without shoes were struggling, my butt was pointing towards the sky.

Someone was burying his upper body in a place that resembled a thorn bush.

“It hurts, it hurts! My hair got caught in a thorn! It’s dark! Take me out~!”

With a girlish voice, it was trying to escape from that situation.

“… What is that…?”

Cleon had no choice but to mutter like that.