Chapter 1038 – Scenery From the Summit

000

Thanks to Uni’s careful treatment, Cleon was able to recover relatively quickly compared to the injuries she sustained.

It was a bit of a trauma to see her treatment with my own eyes, but wouldn’t it be nice to think of it as a reward for the beautiful girl’s spit?

Even though she tried to rationalize it, the damage she received from her SAN did not completely disappear.

Ah, the hygiene of the scary mountain beast.

─, Even if you complain, if you think about what Galatea says and what she experienced and felt herself-

If she hadn’t applied her spit to herself, she might not have died, thanks to Caliburn, but her recovery might have taken quite a long time.

It was such a deep wound that she had to rest for a full day.

No, if a person has holes in their limbs and can shake them off in just one day, wouldn’t that be surprisingly worth it?

Yes, it’s just as you said, but the situation is the situation…

It was a self-evident fact that there was no time to lie down, and Cleon had to return to his colleagues as soon as possible.

Even if your legs are cut off, your arms are gone, or even if you crawl on the ground.

“… Is this the summit of Mt. Chukryong?”

And when he finally reached his first destination, he was able to look around in wide open spaces.

The road to get here was arduous, but standing at a higher place than anyone else and looking around the scenery was a privilege that only those who climbed there could feel.

What you can see in the wide field of view are forest trunks that seem to extend anywhere, and clouds flowing between the valleys.

Even Cleon, who is not a naturalist, once again realizes how small he is in this vast nature.

It wasn’t my intention to climb a mountain, nor was it a hobby, but if I could see this kind of scenery on a regular basis, I couldn’t understand the feelings of explorers who set out to conquer high mountains.

… That impression ends here.

At least, after passing through the sensitivity that must be felt by climbing a mountain like this, Cleon’s eyes once again looked sharply at his surroundings.

This time, it was not to appreciate nature, but to find the location of ‘companions’, which was the original goal.

However, after turning 360 degrees from the summit and looking down, Cleon stops his steps and lowers his hands that were above his eyes.

Then, when he remembered that he had forgotten the most important fact, he asked Yuni, who was quietly watching next to him.

“Yuni. Which is Cheonryongsan Mountain or Inryongsan Mountain?”

Without knowing the direction, Cleon could not know which direction his companion was in.

First of all, from what I heard from Laila and Attis, the Sarong Mountain Range is a deep mountain, and the higher the mountain, the northeasterly.

And Chukyongsan Mountain, where Cleon is now, is the fourth mountain in the Saryong Mountain Range.

I didn’t measure how long it had been since my colleague entered this mountain range, but it was clear that he was still on the first mountain, or at the earliest, the second mountain.

So, all you have to do is look to the southwest, but unfortunately, you need a compass to find the direction.

The compass was in the bag that Cleon left behind on the expedition.

Yuni seemed to be a little worried as she answered Cleon’s question with ‘So~’.

She spread her fingers and pointed to one side.

“This way!”

When Cleon narrows his eyes in the direction indicated and tries to look as far away as possible-

“What do you think? Can you see something?”

And Galatea is with her arms crossed as if she has no intention of seeing them together.

“Haaam…”

Caliburn is yawning, waiting for Cleon to be satisfied.

“…”

And Cleon couldn’t help but sigh as he realized once again that he couldn’t use the hunter’s imprint.

To be honest, the fog was so thick at the top of the mountain that I couldn’t see the bottom properly.

“It’s a shame that I can’t control my magic properly…”

If only I had been able to strengthen my body using magical power as usual…

Well, if that had happened, we wouldn’t have had to suffer so much during the previous fight.

“It’s just like this, how about we go to Jade Dragon Mountain first?”

When Cleon reacted as if he was thinking, Galatea said so.

“… It’s not like I didn’t think about that too.”

In that case, the expedition team would inevitably have to pass through the remaining mountains without him.

If I didn’t know how strong the ‘Guardian’ was, it might have been okay, but thinking that other Guardians were just as strong, I couldn’t be at ease.

“If it’s about them, you don’t have to worry.”

It was that time.

Without any sign, Cleon had no choice but to quickly raise his head upward at the sound of a male voice coming from above him.

Not only Cleon, but Yuni who was next to him was also there-

Also, instead of moving their gaze, Galatea and Caliburn changed their form and returned to their original form as swords, which were placed in Cleon’s hand.

After getting ready for battle in an instant, what Cleon and Yuni saw at the end of their eyes was a ‘bat’.

“… A bat coming out of a cave in broad daylight like this…?”

When Uni said that and pointed out her strangeness, Cleon narrowed her eyes and moved the fingers of her hand holding Galatea.

Wouldn’t it be right to cut it down without asking questions?

To gauge that fact.

But then, the bat, flapping its wings and circling above their heads.

He cracked his neck unnaturally, like a machine.

“Hi!”

… No, it would be a bit absurd to say that it is just unnatural.

It would have been right to say ‘bizarre’.

The bat guy bent his neck at an impossible angle and looked down.

And the face did not have the face of a normal bat, but was grotesquely twisted, with a long torn mouth, empty eyes, and blood flowing between them.

As soon as Cleon saw that face, he couldn’t help but think of it.

Previously, the artificial demon beast that Sasha faced together.

In order to dispose of Gryphon, a biological weapon called ‘Vhopal Rabbit’ was sent by ‘Laplace’.

“… Laplace?”

Cleon himself was at odds with the conclusion he reached at the end of his thoughts.

That’s because Laplace, the leader of the regressors, was killed by cutting them down with his own hands.

“For you, it’s been a long time since we’ve reunited, magic swordsman. To me, it feels like just yesterday. Kikit…”

With an unpleasant laugh, Laplace stopped spinning and continued to flap his wings in one spot, looking down and speaking.

“Ah… And you really seem to be ‘Laplace’.”

Cleon would still frown as if he was in a bad mood.

“How is he alive? It’s a bit tactless to ask. Looking at that, it seems like he may have transferred his mind to a demon he created in advance.”

“It’s good that you understand quickly.”

Laplace agreed to Cleon’s words and slowly lowered his altitude and came down this way.

But.

Shoo! With the sound of cutting through the air, the tip of Cleon’s sword stabbed toward the sky.

“Do you think I’ll let him get closer?”

Of course, there was no way he could forgive him for what he had done just because he had killed him once.

That he was still a piece of trash could be seen just by looking at him using the body of a demon beast.

That’s why Cleon did not allow him to approach and clearly revealed his hostility.

“Oh my gosh. I just want to talk. Kkeukkeuk… You and your party have the same temperament. Come to think of it, when you cut me down, was it your ‘first meeting’? In fact, I mean.”

“I can’t bear to breathe the same air as a guy like you. … Wait, this is my party?”

Cleon answered like that, and then had no choice but to react to the words he said.

And, to recall the first words he said earlier, he turned the recorder in his head for a moment.

“… It looks like we also met with the expedition team.”

“Yes. I thought that he would make more sense than you, but I was wrong in my calculations. That person was even more reckless.”

Cleon looked for a retort to Laplace’s words for a moment, but soon gave up.

“They are still near the entrance. They are slowly advancing, breaking through the surveillance and traps laid by my old comrades. It is not a bad thing to take care of safety, but if we keep going like this, how many days will it take? Hehe… “

“That’s okay. I don’t want them to overdo it either.”

Cleon answers Laplace bluntly.

Then, she returned her outstretched sword to its sheath.

“Hoo.”

Laplace reacts with surprise to Cleon’s actions.

Obviously, I thought I wouldn’t put my sword in until the end.

But Cleon spoke to Laplace.

“Don’t be mistaken. I just returned the sword because I could cut it down at any time. But before that… I just thought it was worth hearing the story.”

Even as Cleon said that, he never let down his guard, and as he himself said, he did not remove his hand from his waist so that he could draw his sword at any time.

“Cleon…”

And, Yuni, who was standing next to him, cautiously raised her voice towards Cleon.

She seemed to be extremely alert after seeing Laplace suddenly appear.

“It’s not like ‘nice to meet you’ either, you’re a unicorn who suddenly mutated. You’re a ‘twisted being’ who lost the innocence of a magical beast.”

“As expected… You are the same as the monsters that came into our territory from time to time and tried to kidnap our colleagues!?”

“I’m not interested in you. I’m interested in the pure magical beasts you protect.”

Laplace said this and shook his head at Yuni.

“The demonic beasts that live in a harsh environment are the true magical beasts. In that sense, Chukyong Mountain, which has a particularly large number of demonic beasts in the Four Dragon Mountains, is like a treasure trove to me.”

“It’s still disgusting…”

In response to Laplace’s answer, Cleon thought, ‘Should I cut it down now?’

I think I’ve tolerated quite a bit at this level.

“I thought he had given up because I couldn’t see him recently… I never thought he was alive and looking like that.”

Uni frowned as she said that, and Laplace responded to Uni.

“Well, there’s nothing to talk about with you here right now. What’s important right now is the conversation with that man.”

“…”

Yuni seemed momentarily taken aback by those words, but then she looked at Cleon’s face and, perhaps thinking that he had the information Cleon needed, took a step back, as if trying to put her personal feelings aside for now.

“Okay then. Let’s talk.”

When Cleon saw Laplace saying that to him, he responded by keeping his mouth shut.

“Your comrades… So, the expedition team obtained a safe route to Jade Dragon Mountain. Thanks to the help of someone kind.”

“… Do you want to talk about it?”

Cleon immediately read the intention of Laplace’s words and answered as follows.

“Yes. In terms of result and process, I provided them with a ‘safe route to Jade Dragon Mountain.'”

Of course, if you just listen to that story and look at the current situation of the expedition, the ‘Route’ was indeed delivered to them through Laplace.

In any case, it was something they unilaterally achieved in a failed negotiation.

Talking about it as if it were his own contribution would have been so absurd that if someone who knew the situation had seen it, they would have burst out laughing.

But no matter what, Cleon had no way of knowing the truth.

“They will continue like this… To Jade Dragon Mountain. No, they will head to ‘Gwiryong Mountain.'”

“… Gwiryong Mountain? Why isn’t it Jade Dragon Mountain?”

Cleon felt a natural doubt about his words.

The purpose of the expedition is to enter the underground ruins through the round hole in Jade Dragon Mountain and excavate Leviathan.

Of course, Guirong Mountain was a place they had to pass by on the way, but it was not their destination.

“Yes. Because there… Is the home of my lovely comrades.”

“… Is this a returner’s hideout?”

When Cleon said that, Laplace smiled and said, ‘Keket.’

“Yes. Darwin, that old lady is working hard to prepare to welcome you there. And your proud leader, Professor Artis, will definitely come looking for us without passing us by in the name of avenging his father.”

“…”

Cleon frowned slightly at those words.

“Did you sell your colleague?”

And if you ask me again-

“──Kkeuk.”

He just smiled.

There was a tense silence between the two for a moment.

Then, the first to speak was Cleon.

“The evil deeds you have committed so far. And your nature. The way you prolong your life even while giving up being human. When you think about it all together, there is not enough material for me to trust you.”

“It’s a reasonable decision. It’s sad, though.”

To Cleon’s words, he responded.

“Then one more thing. Let me give you some good information. With this, you will definitely be able to trust me – and most of all, your unicorn will be grateful too.”

“What…?’

Yuni was puzzled, putting a question mark on his words referring to her.

“A little while ago, I sensed a problem with the function of the guardian who protects Mt. Chukryong. There are only a few beings on this mountain who can freely manipulate so much magical power…”

Cleon frowns as he remembers the battle from earlier.

“But… If there’s a problem, it’s the same guardian who was protecting the magical beasts of Mt. Chukryong from the ‘returners’. Of course, it was mainly ‘me’ who hunted the magical beasts, but Darwin is Darwin. In the experiment, Because we need materials.”

“──No way!”

Yuni looked surprised by his words.

“Darwin must have sensed the guardian’s cessation of function. And she decided that she needed to prepare even just a little bit before you came… Of course, she would target the demonic beasts. There is no guardian now, and after that guardian, they are the most annoying. Because the ‘Holy Water Unicorn’ is not there either.”

When Laplace said that, he looked somewhat happy.

“Cowardice, do it…!”

Uni made an angry voice, and Laplace responded.

“Are you resentful? That’s right. The timing when you feel that resentment is the most effective moment. Darwin knows that better than anyone else. That’s why you act ‘now’.”

At his words, Yuni clenched her fists for a moment as if she couldn’t control her emotions.

I immediately turned my head.

“Sorry, Cleon…! If I don’t go back to everyone…!”

Uni is trying to hurry back to where the group is.

“… Wait.”

Of course, Cleon couldn’t just look at Yuni like that.

“… Let’s go together. Even so, it’s better than going alone.”

At Cleon’s words, Yuni looked surprised for a moment, but then nodded.

She received his help again, but she was in no position to discuss such matters now.