Chapter 1079 – It Was Possible, Right?

000

Since the terrain called a canyon is a narrow path between high cliffs on both sides, the light coming through the sky is often blocked by shadows.

Except when the sun is overhead, the road is humid and dark all year round.

That is, plants do not grow properly, and molds and mushrooms take over.

Thanks to this, every time you step on the ground, you can feel the texture of the soil holding your feet, even if it is not mud, and it intimidates those walking on it.

In addition, there are a lot of ferocious guys flying in the sky here.

Sub-dragon (亞龍), that is, wyvern.

Shuung! When you think you hear a voice, a shadow falls on the group.

Just before the beast of the grassland died, it seemed like it was targeting the expedition party, like eagles wandering around and eating the corpse.

When these various causes come together, it is inevitable that no matter how brave you are, your steps will become heavy.

“Ugh… Do I really have to walk in front?”

While Schrödinger thought so, he looked back and spoke in a very withdrawn pose.

It seems that what Lila said just before she left was not a joke on her part to tease or scare her, and it was Schrödinger who ended up walking at the front of her expedition.

Then Leila followed her at a little distance behind her, heard her Schrödinger’s words, and answered.

“Why are you so worried? We’ve already set up the barrier and are moving, so we’re safe.”

As he said that and pointed upward, the transparent magical barrier surrounding the group was clearly visible to everyone.

When the cart carrying the barrier stone moves, the barrier moves along with it.

Schrödinger was just at the very front of the barrier, not outside the barrier.

“Ugh… That’s right, but… !”

Schrödinger tried to protest something in a nervous voice.

But at that very moment.

Coo!

[KIaaaaa!!]

“Uhhhhh!

A sharp cry and Schrödinger’s startled scream rang out in almost the same octave.

This may not be called harmony, but that wasn’t the important thing.

Quad deuk! The place where the sound is heard is above the barrier that covers the group.

A wyvern that had rushed into the barrier raised its claws and scratched the surface of the barrier blocking it.

“Oh, there’s another one here.”

With Schrödinger sitting down in front of her, Lila crossed her arms and looked at the wyvern as if she was fed up.

Is this already the 5th or 6th time?

Only about 10 minutes had passed since they entered the canyon, but the expedition team was being attacked by wyverns at short intervals.

Every time, Lila saw the annoying crying sound that felt like it was going to tear her ears, and the foolishness of running into the barrier even though she knew she couldn’t do it, and her reaction was that she was ‘tired.’

At first, it was a bit refreshing because it seemed like it was within reach if you stretched out your hand, but it’s inevitable that you’ll get bored if you see the same scene over and over again.

With her yawn, Lila looked behind her.

Then, Quartz slowly walked forward, remembering that it was his turn.

As she told Kshat, she was confident in her fight against the wyverns, but as long as the barrier was safe, she did not have to fight them directly and see blood.

She came right next to Schrödinger with a gentle gait—

“──Go away.”

With a low voice, the assassin’s signature deadly force emanated from her entire body, threatening the creature in front of her.

Saaaaa…!!

Even if you don’t show in person the skills you honed while traveling the world with past warriors-

If there was a clear difference in capabilities, animals accepted the hierarchy much more docilely than humans.

[Ki…!]

The wyvern looked at Quartz who suddenly appeared in front of him and hurriedly flapped his wings as if his fear had been clearly imprinted on him.

And then, it went up high in the sky and went far away.

“Whew. That’s it. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Then she looks back at Schrödinger, who was sitting next to her, and asks.

“Yes, yes… Old man…”

With her completely pale face, Schrödinger turned to her and answered.

“… It looks like it’s not just the wyverns that have suffered…”

Quartz couldn’t help but scratch her head looking at Schrödinger like that.

001

After that, the expedition’s march became a kind of talent show.

There was no change in walking with Schrödinger in front, but it was decided that each person would take turns chasing out the wyverns that appeared.

It was impossible to drive out the anti-ghosts by sharpening their way of life like Quartz, but in that case, they could just cause damage directly.

A scene was created where a wyvern was chased away using attacks using wire, daggers, and throwing knives.

In Kshat’s case, it was a loud shout.

When a deafening roar flies towards the wyvern in front, the wyvern is startled and flies up into the sky.

“Did sharks have that ability?”

Despite covering her ears with her hands, Laila, feeling her eardrums hurt, stuck out her tongue and asked Kshat.

“No. This is just something I practiced.”

Why…? A group of people who may have the same question, but just bury it for now.

In addition, Kuon used a spell to make the wyvern drowsy and made him get out of the way, and Lyla could have easily made the wyvern run away by threatening him with flames.

And, perhaps most unexpectedly, the person who was able to chase away the wyvern using a method similar to Quartz was ‘Sasha’.

To be more precise, it would be better to call it the ‘Ruben’ inside her.

Ruben, the god of the hunt, seemed to make the beast in front of her feel, ‘She is this hunter’s prey’ just by her presence.

Just by alternating with Sasha and glaring at him with his arms crossed, the Wyvern was more embarrassed than when he was attacked by Quartz, and his wings were flapping in sync, so he ran away.

“That’s great…”

“Well, I didn’t do it…”

Quartz clapped for Sasha as if he was impressed, but Sasha looked a little embarrassed.

“Well, that’s it for the talent show, and if we keep this serious, I think we’ll be able to get out of the canyon without any problems.”

Artis spoke as if he felt a little relieved seeing the group like that.

I thought that meeting a wyvern might be more dangerous than meeting a guardian, but if you compare a guardian that uses the technology of an ancient civilization with a very ferocious beast that just flies in the sky, the former is probably more dangerous.

“In the end, should we say that Laplace’s idea was correct…”

“I hate to admit it, but it seems that way.”

In response to Attis’ monologue, Kshat who was next to her nodded her head somewhat hesitantly.

But then.

“Wait. Stop.”

As Lila made such a voice, she stopped the expedition team that was moving forward.

Then, the cart that maintained her barrier stopped, and each of her companions stopped and looked back at Lila.

After Lila said that, she didn’t say anything for a moment, looked around her, and-

“There’s something on the left…”

She spoke in a somewhat unsure voice.

Then, the group’s gaze naturally turns to the left from the direction they were heading.

… There, like other places, there were only high cliffs of the canyon.

“What is there? It’s just a wall.”

“Illusion. I don’t know if it’s illusion magic or another technique. … According to Laplace’s memory, it seems like there was something to ‘prepare’ around here.”

Laplace had no information or knowledge about this moving barrier.

However, he was planning to bring the party to this canyon, so that would mean that there was something to replace the ‘barrier’ and a way to safely protect the party.

“… I guess it’s the safety book he prepared.”

To Attis’ words, Laila nodded her head and answered.

“Yes, probably. … It may not be necessary for us now. I thought it would be better to confirm. Kuon, can I ask you to cancel the illusion?”

“Uh, yes. Okay.”

Disarming the illusion magic itself may be possible for Laila, but she leaves it to Kuon first and prepares attack magic herself in case anything happens.

Because no one knew whether what Laplace had arranged would be beneficial or dangerous for them.

“You, take off the hidden veil and show us the truth.”

As Kuon finished chanting, she slightly swung the staff in her hand, and green light spread out like mist and flowed into the cliff.

Then, Kuon’s magic touched the ‘invisible membrane’ that covered the cliff, and the illusion collapsed from there.

“…!”

And the party could see that what had been a ‘cliff’ just moments before suddenly twisted and a ‘cave’ appeared.

The entrance is quite wide. It was bigger than the barrier covering the group, so it looked like they could all enter the cave together.

“Cave?”

“I don’t think it’s that deep. There’s something inside.”

When Schrödinger asks a question, Sasha will answer with a sparkle in her eye.

“I have a bad feeling…”

Attis muttered that because he had never found anything real in a cave like this.

“I hid it with the utmost care, even writing a welcome, but I can’t help but check it. Let’s go in.”

“Ha. I thought so.”

In response to Lila’s answer, she just sighed as if she couldn’t stop it.

“We need to maintain the barrier, so a few people should stay here. The ones going inside are… Me, Sasha, and Amelia.”

Once Laila had selected the number of people, Attis spoke to Laila with her hands on her waist.

“You mean I don’t have to go in?”

“That’s right. It doesn’t matter if you go as a non-combatant.”

“Ugh… I’ll understand that you’re thinking of me…”

Artis’s pride was slightly hurt, but since Laila didn’t say anything wrong, she agreed.

The group, whose number of searchers was quickly determined, entered the cave with Amelia at the head.

I was able to reach the deepest part of the cave in less than a minute of walking.

It wasn’t that there was no light at all, but in this strangely dark place, Lila saw the silhouette of a crouching being.

It was only when she created light with magic in her hand and made it float that she was able to figure out its identity.

That’s right-

“Wow, wyvern…!?”

It was a wyvern.

The wyvern was curled up in place, covering her body with her wings, breathing quietly.

Why is there a wyvern inside the cave hidden by an illusion?

In addition, not only Lila but also Amelia and Sasha were surprised by the rather weak breathing and somewhat lifeless appearance.

“… I wonder if I have a disease.”

Amelia saw that the wyvern did not respond at all even when she raised her voice, so she asked carefully.

However, when Lila heard Amelia’s words, she narrowed her eyes for a moment as if examining the wyvern…

“No. This. ‘Dead’.”

In that way, a diagnosis was made regarding the wyvern’s current state.

“Yes? But, breathe…”

“It means that the ‘body’ is alive, but the ‘spirit’ is dead.”

Lyla answered Amelia’s question immediately, walked up to the wyvern, removed its wings, and looked at its hidden head.

At that bold action, Amelia and Sasha immediately raise their weapons and think about saving Lila just in case the wyvern moves, but-

Unexpectedly, the wyvern did not move at all and was just breathing repeatedly.

“As expected. Here.”

And as if to reveal what she had discovered, Lyla pointed with the tip of her finger to the head of the wyvern.

What is there?

If both Sasha and Amelia squint their eyes and look at her-

“Huh…? Line?”

“Okay. Should I call it a seam line or a perforation line…”

There, a line was seen that seemed to go around the head of the wyvern.

And was it sewn shut with something like thread?

“Why are there traces like this?”

“Why? It’s simple. This is the body that Laplace was trying to use.”

After saying that, she put her hand on the wyvern’s head, grabbed the top of the head, and pulled it upward.

Then, the sound of the thread breaking was heard and-

The lid of the head was opened so easily that a rattling sound effect was heard.

Not a metaphor, really.

“Hehe!”

When Sasha screamed like that, Lila just laughed.

“Wow. How are you still alive like this?”

Lyla looked down at the wyvern’s head – when the lid was opened, what was supposed to exist inside the cleanly split skull was not visible.

This is the wyvern’s ‘brain’.

Since a wyvern is also a living being, a ‘brain’ must exist, and if the brain does not exist, it is naturally impossible to move the body.

In other words, it could be said to be close to a ‘brain-dead state.’

Of course, if an organ as important as the brain is lost entirely, a normal living being must die.

What is keeping it alive is probably Laplace’s technology.

“This body was what Laplace was trying to use as a way to escape the Wyvern Canyon. He probably intended to control this body by inserting his own brain into it.”

As Lila said that, she quietly closed the wyvern’s lid.

The thread is torn, but if you somehow put it back together…

“However, wyverns sometimes fight over food, even if they are of the same species.”

Amelia would still talk to Lila as if she had doubts.

“Even if a wyvern is with our group, it wouldn’t be impossible to escape the canyon without a barrier…”

“That’s…”

As for Amelia’s words, Lila trailed off as if she couldn’t come up with a proper answer, but-

At that time.

“Ah!”

Sasha walked up to Lila’s side, as if she knew something about her.

And Lila was referring to the pair of horns that grew from the head of the wyvern she had just returned.

“Look! The direction of the horn is curled toward the front.”

“… I see? So?”

“All the wyverns we’ve encountered so far had horns pointed backwards, right? This is a characteristic of female wyverns.”

When Sasha pointed that out, Amelia said ‘hot’ and gave an understanding look.

“… Indeed. That’s right. Wyverns live with one female and several males. In general, female wyverns are known to be larger and stronger than male wyverns.”

In addition, the sex ratio of wyverns was so low that it was considered to be 9 males to 1 female.

A wyvern with multiple husbands mates with multiple male wyverns at the same time and lays many eggs.

So, it would be natural for females to have a higher status than males in a wyvern group.

“Hmm… Then Laplace must have thought that by using this female wyvern, he could make other male wyverns retreat.”

“Yes. But it’s only possible with Laplace. As you can see, the brain is empty.”

Amelia looked a little sad at Lila’s words.

“… Hey, how about we make this wyvern more comfortable?”

And, Sasha will ask Lila.

No matter how much of a wyvern he was, he was brainless – waiting only for the fate of becoming Laplace’s vessel – because it felt more miserable than death.

Amelia nods her head as if agreeing with Sasha’s words and looks at Lila –

“What? Why?”

Lila looked back at them, as if she had different thoughts than the other two.

“Eh, ha, but…”

“Don’t animals need mercy too…”

When Sasha and Amelia respond with a shocked look-

“That’s what happens when this situation continues forever, right?”

Lila said that, and then she denied the two people’s thoughts.

“This wyvern’s brain still remains. If we retrieve it, put it back in here, and take appropriate measures, it will return to its original state.”

“Yes, yes!?”

“How do you know that?”

Sasha raised her voice in surprise at Lila’s words, and Amelia tilted her head.

“Take a look with magic vision. You will see a thin thread connected to this wyvern’s head. Didn’t I just say, ‘How is it still alive in this state?’? The brain was not completely separated, but was temporarily removed using magic. It was dropped.”

When Lila said that, Amelia also tried using her magical powers, but she couldn’t see the thread that Lila was talking about.

However, Sasha was only able to ‘feel’ its presence by using the hunter’s imprint.

“Well, there’s no reason to go that far… But wouldn’t it be more pitiful to kill him right now?”

“… I see… If there is a way to get my brain back…”

“I’m sorry, Layla. I misunderstood Layla a little. I thought you meant to use her instead of killing her because she clearly has value.”

Sasha nods and Amelia apologizes to Lila.

“…”

Then, after hearing Amelia’s words, Lila kept her mouth shut for a moment.

That expression was an expression of realization, like ‘That could have happened…’.

“… Lila?”

Then Amelia will call her name as if she is somehow anxious.

“Would you like to go and fetch Melusine for a moment?”

“Yes? But Melusine is responsible for maintaining the barrier stone…”

“Ask Cuon to change for a moment… No, help Amelia too. Just Melusine needs to come.”

There may have been many things that bothered Lila’s words, but Amelia and Sasha looked at each other and nodded.

The perception of both people was that it was impossible to break Lila’s will without Cleon.

And, the two people are shocked by what happens a little while later.

A few minutes after sending Melusine in as Laila requested.

Thump, thump. When you think you heard a voice, two people inside the cave-

And then one appeared.

“W-Mr. Laila!?”

“Why is it moving…! What about that wyvern?”

There, the wyvern that the party had clearly confirmed was ‘brainless’ walked out unharmed.

Then Lila scratched her head and smiled as if she was having trouble-

“Huh? Necromancy!”

“Ha…”

Ignoring Melusine’s sigh from beside her, she proudly revealed her means.