Chapter 1040 – I Don’t Know

000

Going back in time a little, Cleon sent Yuni to the home of her group.

Uni trusted Cleon, so she ran down the mountain at her full speed, disappearing beneath Cleon’s sight in the blink of an eye.

It’s so fast that you can’t help but think that her words are for her own sake.

As Cleon admired her inwardly, he himself began to move her steps to follow her.

“Keu… You seem to be in quite a hurry.”

Laplace talks about Uni as if he were laughing at her.

To him, it didn’t really matter what happened to Uni’s group, but the only reason he provided her information was to prove to Cleon that she was valuable.

For him, the sensitivity to sympathize with and understand the hardships of others would not have existed from the time he was born.

After uttering a voice that made his stomach throbbing just by hearing it, Laplace followed behind Cleon, flapping his wings.

If this was a crowded place, it would not be difficult to be treated as a villain just by walking around with a bat with such a bizarre appearance.

And Laplace speaks to Cleon, who was moving his steps in the direction where Uni disappeared.

“But Demon Swordsman Cleon. How are you going to follow that courser? In this mountain, your magic control will be limited, and flight magic and body strengthening will not be possible. Hehe… If you don’t hurry, the group guarded by that unicorn will die before you arrive. ‘S home will turn into hell.”

Cleon looked back at Laplace at the voice talking as if he was looking forward to that scene.

The face of the giant bat flying in the sky, cackling, was distorted in a grotesque way and was laughing at me.

Cleon felt that it was the face of a human being who wished for a person’s failure from deep in his heart.

However, Laplace had a point.

Cleon himself said that he was chasing after Uni, who ran away first, but the current Cleon could not move as quickly and freely as Uni.

Above all, Cleon did not know where Uni’s home was.

In a way, it may have been inevitable for Laplace, who knew that fact, to say that to Cleon.

However, Cleon looked back at Laplace in a relaxed manner and spoke.

“Ah. I know.”

“I know… Kkk… So you deliberately sent the unicorn to hell alone? So that you could slowly watch her helplessly lose her herd?”

Laplace said, choosing only words that Cleon would dislike.

Cleon thought about slashing at those words, but he held back his anger and answered him.

“It’s a funny joke. I’m different from you.”

Normally, he would have cut it down, but Cleon had a ‘plan’.

“Oh. Then answer my question, magic swordsman. Why did you send the unicorn first and alone?”

Although he has now been transformed into the body of an animal, even though he is rotten, he still calls himself a scholar and asks Cleon with persistent curiosity.

“Of course. I can’t fly, and I can’t run as fast as uni. And the surprising thing is, I don’t even know where the nest where the uni flock is.”

In response to Cleon’s slightly embarrassing confidence, Laplace said nothing for a moment.

“─Keke… You are literally incompetent and ignorant.”

Despite the mockery that seemed a bit harsh, Cleon just shrugged his shoulders.

Then, he stopped moving and said this.

“The most important thing I have learned while living this life as an adventurer is that there is no shame in saying that you don’t know what you don’t know or that you can’t do what you can’t. Rather, it is better to say that something is possible when it is impossible, only to later say ‘I guess it can’t be done.’ It’s a much more shameful thing.”

“…?”

Laplace must have reacted as if he did not understand the meaning of Cleon’s sudden theory.

“And, only by acknowledging that can you be prepared to receive help from someone you know.”

“… What─”

Are you talking like a fool?

That was the moment I was trying to say.

That means my legs have become heavy.

Laplace didn’t know what was happening for a moment, but when he looked down at this bat body he was writing.

There, Cleon was hanging by his legs.

“Then you can do it like this…! You can fly, and you know where the uni group is!”

It was the weight of Cleon and three swords, but it seemed like he could fly without a problem even with Cleon hanging on him, perhaps because it was his own temporary body created by Laplace.

“What…!

Laplace sounded more embarrassed than ever, but Cleon only raised his eyebrows at his embarrassed appearance.

“I don’t know why, but you want me to cooperate in taking down the returnees, right? In that case, you need to move me to where Uni’s group is right now!”

“You mean to use me… Laplace as a means of transportation…!”

After being astonished, Laplace closed his mouth for a moment.

And, when there is a tense silence between the two people.

“Kkekeke… Okay. As long as I can get your cooperation with a little effort. I can endure this level of humiliation. But, magic swordsman, the reason I want to be hostile to my old colleague is-“

Laplace smiled and tried to explain his situation in a somewhat grandiose tone.

“I’m not that interested! Just move fast!”

“…”

It was a story of little interest to Cleon.

It is a common occurrence for an insane person like Laplace to betray others.

In the end, Laplace decided to grab Cleon, who was clinging to him with his mouth shut, and move him away.

If it does anything suspicious or seems to have a strange route, it will immediately destroy the bat’s body and threaten not to cooperate.

As a result, Cleon was able to shorten the distance that would have taken over an hour if he had been alone, and arrive at the location where Uni’s group was located on time.

001

Cleon lifted the men he had cut into small pieces and knocked them to the ground.

The fusion of living things and machines… It looks like the terrible tragedy has been portrayed as is.

I’ve seen it before.

It was similar to the one seen when the Black Giant Poltuk fought them in the brothel, using the elixir of evolution to forcibly fuse the magic armor and wyvern.

‘That means… I guess these are the guys sent by Darwin. Did they use an evolutionary elixir on humans and force them to merge with machines…”

Cleon judged that these creatures did not fall into the category of ‘living beings’ after seeing that even if their heads were cut off or limbs were cut off, the parts connected to the body survived and tried to move.

Therefore, it was only after cutting off all the limbs and heads and destroying the heart of what was left of the body that it was finally confirmed that it slowly stopped moving.

These guys seemed to have threatening long-range weapons, but when they jumped into close quarters and started a melee, their movements were slow, and they couldn’t react properly, so for a swordsman like Cleon, they were good scarecrows.

It was perfectly possible to think of it as a unit dispatched with the intention of dealing only with the magical beasts of this place.

“Whatever happens? Is this the end?”

When Cleon arrived, he dismantled all 13 of the demon beasts that were confronting him. After confirming that no one was moving anymore, Cleon slowly returned the two swords to their scabbards.

[Hey. These guys had blood, so why didn’t they use me!]

However, I heard one last complaint that was quietly waiting at my waist.

“I’m sorry. I was in a hurry. If another similar guy shows up, I’ll use you.”

After speaking as if to appease Slash, Cleon turned his body towards Yuni, who was taking care of the lion from behind.

Unlike what she had done to herself earlier, Yuni placed her mouth directly on the wound on the lion’s leg and applied her own saliva.

“Wait a minute.”

Seeing her like that, Cleon would approach her.

“Beep!”

At that time.

Something flew over Cleon’s head and landed on top of him.

That was Tweety, the blue bird who was watching this situation.

As the wings moved frantically above Cleon’s head, he became embarrassed and stopped his steps.

[As Yuni said, his skills were amazing, but… This guy! The smell of blood is coming from your body! Plus, he showed up with a strange bat! Is it okay for a guy like this to be close to Uni?]

Tweety is wary of Cleon while chattering like that.

“W-what…?”

Of course, Cleon couldn’t understand the language of animals, so even when he heard Tweety’s words, he could only hear them as the chirping of a cute bird.

And after hearing Tweety’s words, Yuni takes her face away from Nemeia, turns to Cleon, and speaks.

“It’s okay, Tweety! I told you before, Cleon was the one who helped me when I was stuck in the bush.”

The sight of her with the blood flowing from the lion’s leg on the corner of her mouth was a little scary, but nevertheless her face was full of innocence and good intentions.

And when Uni said that, the blue bird sitting on her head stopped flapping its wings and became quiet.

‘It doesn’t come down from the head…’

Even as Cleon thought so, she moved her steps again and walked closer to Uni.

And then she looks at the lion lying next to her, bleeding from her leg.

I could see that the hole in the leg, the wound, had penetrated the skin and muscles, reaching all the way to the ‘bone’ inside.

However, the important thing was that the wound did not penetrate through the ‘other side’.

“It is not a good idea to heal the wound like this. Inside… The ‘weapon’ that created this wound remains.”

Uni’s saliva healed the wound, but it did not remove the object inside it.

For example, arrowheads or poisonous needles.

If the wound was sutured with something like that remaining in the body, it was unknown what effect it would have on the inside.

“Then…”

“Get out of the way for a moment.”

When Uni tries to ask what should be done, Cleon asks Uni to make room for her.

And he was talking while taking out Caliburn.

“Caliburn. Can you shrink your body to the size of a dagger?”

In response to Cleon’s request, Caliburn will show his actions without answering.

Kali Burn, who was about the size of a one-handed sword with a bit of light, had shrunk her body to a level slightly smaller than her dagger, to be exact.

It looked shabby compared to usual, and it would be difficult to use in battle.

[This look saves magic power and is nice~]

Caliburn himself seemed to like it.

And, when Cleon tried to bring the small Caliburn to the lion’s wound, Marant next to him reacted and bit Cleon’s sleeve to try to stop him.

“Ah, Dier…”

A moment when Yuni tried to stop Maran.

Chin. And the hand of the fallen lioness was placed on Marang’s torso.

[It’s okay, Dyer. Let this human… Do whatever he wants.]

Although Cleon couldn’t hear it, Nemeia said that to Dyer, and then Marant let go of Cleon’s sleeve and stepped behind her.

He was crouching down and watching Cleon’s fingertips intently.

Cleon sighs softly and then talks to Uni.

“I’m going to pull out the weapon that was dug into the wound. It would be nice if I could anesthetize it, but unfortunately there’s no such medicine… It’s going to be quite painful. So, Uni, you can hold this lion down.”

When Cleon said that, Yuni nodded and said so to Nemeia.

Then, Meia shook her head and answered Yuni.

[There is no need for that. Because I am familiar with the pain of torn flesh and broken bones. I will endure it.]

His pride as a beast did not forgive what was binding him.

Cleon also heard the story from Yuni and seemed a little worried.

Soon, he nodded and carefully brought Caliburn to the wound.

Carefully, incise the wound.

She has tough skin, but if you move her Caliburn starting from the inside of her wound, the exposed area, even though she is tough, the wound opens up a little.

And, when I looked into the inside, shining a light on it, I could see that something like a black lump had penetrated between the flesh.

Bones were exposed in her deep wounds, and just looking at her made her feel like her own legs were starting to hurt.

‘Is this a bullet fired from that weapon…’

It was too deep to stick her fingers in and pry it out, and no matter how patient this lion is, doing that would probably get her head bitten.

She was thinking for a while about what to do.

Cleon was thinking of the bird that was flying above her head.

Swish, Cleon’s hand grabbed Tweety’s body.

[W-what!? What are you doing all of a sudden? Where are you touching! Gaaaaak! Save me! This man caught me!]

Was it because she was concentrating while looking at Nemeia’s wounds, or was she letting her guard down?

Tweety, who did not notice that Cleon’s hand was approaching, struggled in Cleon’s hand and tried to escape somehow as soon as he was grabbed.

“Now, wait. Wait. If we’re going to get the bullet out of this lion, we need the help of a little guy like you!”

When Cleon said that, Uni quickly conveyed that fact to Tweety.

[Uh, what are you trying to do!? What are you trying to do with me!]

“Phew… There’s something like a black lump inside that lion’s wound. I want you to grab it with your beak and take it out. Understood?”

[Are you telling me to stick my face into Nemeia’s wounds!? As expected, this person is out of his mind!]

Uni did not translate Tweety’s answer, but only said that she was asking Tweety for a favor.

Then Tweety screamed loudly, then fell down and said he understood.

It was about accepting that important mission.

Then.

Cleon carefully placed Tweety on Nemeia’s wound.

Tweety stares at the inside of the wound opened by Caliburn, then carefully pushes his beak in.

Nemeia frowned at the sight, but just waited silently for her Tweety’s beak to escape from her leg, enduring her pain as she said.

Zuchuk, Zuchuk.

The sound of Tweety’s head moving up and down inside, mauling his flesh, sent a shiver down his spine.

[Ugh…]

Dyer couldn’t stand it anymore and made such a sound, covering his face with his front paw.

But, even for a moment.

Fudduck! There was a sound and Tweety flew into the sky.

The blue guy’s body was stained with Nemeia’s blood, so half of it turned red.

Hehe!

And he spat out what looked like a black iron lump in his beak onto the ground.

[Now take it out! I took it out! This is it!]

“Yuni, now heal her wounds. Caliban too.”

When Cleon said that and transformed Caliburn into human form, Dire and Tweety looked surprised.

As if she had seen it before, Yuni quickly applied her own saliva to Nemeia’s wound as Cleon had said.

Meanwhile, Caliburn channels her divine magic, easing Nemeia’s pain to some extent.

“Whew… I happened to imitate a doctor, but after all, it’s better for your heart to leave this to the experts…”

Cleon says so.

Well, it might be difficult to find a veterinarian in a place like this.

… No, one person─ let me correct you. One.

There was a suitable guy.

Cleon would glance at the bat flying in the sky, looking down at him.

He doesn’t want the returnees’ executives to know that he’s alive.

Looking at this guy who was just looking at him from afar and not coming closer, Cleon sighed a little.

“Until the lion’s wounds heal, it would be better to be prepared to see if any more enemies come here.”

As Cleon said this, he wondered if there was anywhere he could wash his bloody hands. Then he found a spring behind them and tried to get close to it.

“Are you okay? You were going to look for your colleagues…”

“Ah… Things have changed a bit.”

The moment when I tried to put my hand in the spring while answering Uni’s question.

“Mee~”

And the sound of a sheep bleating was heard from somewhere.

“Huh…?”

It was probably the bleating sound of a golden sheep that stood out among the animals, but as soon as they heard that sound, Maran, Bluebird, and Uni quickly raised their heads.

Accordingly, when Cleon also turns his head towards the direction they are looking…

Thud. Thud. Then, irregular and unpleasant footsteps could be heard.

“… Yeah, that can’t be the end.”

Cleon sighed and shook his head, the hand he was about to wipe instead touching Galatea and-

As promised, I hold the slash in my hand.

“Caliburn and Yuni, just heal the lion. I will stop the enemy.”

Cleon said that and walked slowly in the direction from which the sound was coming.

However, there is something strange mixed in with the sound of footsteps-

When you realize that there is a mixture of sounds that hurt your ears.

I realized that the thud was not the sound of footsteps, but the sound of a ‘tree’ falling from afar.

“… What is it?”

And, when he finally reveals his true nature beyond the bushes.

Nearby trees fall at the same time, and shadows emerge from the bushes at high speed.

Cleon instinctively realized that it was targeting him and protected his body with the sword in both hands.

And-

Kang! Go go go go!!!

A sound similar to the sound of metal hitting each other, followed by something being ground apart.

What Cleon sees before his eyes is a bizarre monster that combines the same human form as before with a machine.

However, it had something like rotating saw blades on both arms, and it had a more bizarre, gigantic body.

The rotating saw blade continued to rotate and sparks were flying as if it were gnawing at both Cleon’s swords.

Of course, a magic sword and a sword made of adamantite will not be cut by a saw blade like this…

“Kekekekekeke!!!”

“This guy even has a voice…”

Looking at this guy who looked much more dangerous than the guys I faced earlier.

Cleon was in a confrontation with the guy wearing a red mask.