Chapter 813 – Fourth Wish (After)

000

＂Sure, if it were here, there would be no people watching… ＂

The party followed Cleon to a place that no one would see when fighting Tindalos, and looked up at the moonlight pouring in through the collapsing ceiling.

“Why do you know this place?”

“That’s because… A lot of things happened.”

Cleon, thinking about the only answer he could give, entered the shelter in the hill full of broken machines that Kanon had left behind.

“I don’t think there’s any time to hesitate. How many minutes are left?”

“Yes. I moved as fast as I could, but considering the time it took to get from there to here.”

As Noctis answers Cleon’s question, he checks the time on his pocket watch from time to time.

Cleon also nods to her words and tells Noctis to stay back while he prepares to take on Tindalos with Aisha.

Of course, there was one more thing to prepare before that.

Cleon took out the dominant cylinder from his bag and left it to Noctis.

“If I remember correctly, this guy will be glowing when the last firework explodes. Because magic light is a reaction phenomenon when magic power is consumed. When the cylinder starts to glow, that’s proof that you’re using the cylinder’s magic attribute.”

＂Well, I see. It won’t explode or get hot all of a sudden, right?”

Cleon couldn’t answer Noctis’ worrying question because he didn’t know for sure.

But soon she shook her head.

“Are you okay. If it had exploded or gotten hot, the bag and the items inside it would not have been left behind in the previous round.”

“Ah, ahaha. That’s also true…”

When Cleon heard her answer, she seemed a little relieved and hugged the cylinder tightly.

And then, Cleon looked back at Aisha.

On the way here, Aisha stopped by her house and brought with her favorite weapon… A large iron club with a well-polished surface.

“I attacked him with that when we first met.”

＂Ugh.＂

When Cleon spoke like that, as if reminiscing about her past, Aisha blushed and her body stiffened with shame at having her shameful past revealed.

＂Attack someone with an iron club…? What kind of person is Aisha…”

＂Ah, this guy, robbing with his men-＂

“I don’t do it anymore! Because I washed my hands thanks to Cleon!”

When Cleon’s revelation brought her to tears, and she raised her voice, Noctis looked at her with a perplexed expression and said, ‘Eh…’, But Cleon only shrugged her shoulders.

“What makes Tindalos so dangerous is that they have the tenacity to never give up on their target and the ability to regenerate almost infinitely.”

＂It’s scary just to hear it… Wait, ‘guys’?”

Aisha made a disapproving look on her face, then repeated the words as if she was concerned about the vocabulary Cleon used, and Cleon nodded her head in response.

“Oh, that’s right. Tindalos is not a single entity; there are many of them. So, the longer you wait, the more numerical disadvantage you will have…”

“Huh, why are you telling such an important story now!?”

Cleon also felt sorry for answering, “Because I didn’t ask,” So Cleon kept his mouth shut when Noctis shouted.

Should I say it was a reversal? It was because Cleon fully understood the unfairness of people who usually left important stories undisclosed and then told them later.

“Anyway. The places where Tindalos appears are mainly at angles and corners. It’s best to stay away from there as much as possible.”

“This place is full of sharp corners.”

From the remains of collapsed ceilings, pieces of machinery, and even pieces of metal rolling on the ground to things that used to be furniture.

They are all square or triangular.

“Well, there is no place where people live without angles.”

After hearing Cleon’s answer, the two people soon felt confident in their understanding, ‘Is that so…’.

＂And is there anything else I need to be careful about…?＂

“The more I listen, the more I realize that the Hound of Tindalos is an incredibly scary being, so why not fight without information…”

At Noctis’ words, Cleon sighed slightly and shook his head.

“There’s a saying in the Eastern countries that if you know the enemy and yourself, you can fight a hundred times and win a hundred times, right?”

＂I want to fight that monster a hundred times─＂

The group, who were spending time having a casual conversation, suddenly stopped talking for a moment when they heard an explosion sound coming from afar.

And that moment.

Once again, a chill-like sensation running down the spine hit all three people at the same time.

Both Aisha and Cleon looked around with nervous expressions, paying attention to where the enemy might appear.

[Back.]

At the same time as Caliban’s short words, Cleon quickly turns around.

Nearest to Noctis, its front legs appeared first, aiming for Noctis’ defenseless body.

＂Noctis damage!＂

＂Eh!? Wow!”

Immediately after hearing Cleon’s words, Noctis recognized the guy’s front leg swinging towards him.

The blood-red claws attached to the shadow-like body ripped Noctis’ legs –

─I couldn’t throw it away.

Kang! With a sound, Caliburn’s blade plunged between her and Tindalos’ forelegs.

What happened in an instant caused Noctis to fall to the ground, but Cleon focused on blocking Tindalos’ body, which was slowly manifesting into Caliburn, as if in a power struggle with Tindalos.

＂Oh, Sha…! Noctis!”

＂Yes, yes!＂

At Cleon’s words, Aisha pulls Noctis away from her Tindalos.

Then, another one crept out from the corner of her shadow, this time targeting her with Aisha.

＂These guys…! Focus on the person who seems the most helpless!”

Aisha raised her voice as if she were enraged by the cunning of such monsters, and boom! And swinging her iron club from top to bottom, she hit Tindalos on the head as he rushed in.

Crispy! And when a sound as if the dried bark of a tree were being broken was heard, in addition to Aisha’s mighty power, a hard iron club smashed the hound’s head.

＂Wow…!＂

Noctis couldn’t help but cover his mouth, sounding like he was sick of the sight.

The shadows spread in all directions and scattered like blood. Because I saw it slowly returning to its original form and regenerating.

“I really want to play… But!”

However, Aisha listened to Cleon’s words and thought about her plan for her rebirth in advance. It is…

＂Haaa!＂

And she swung the club again.

Towards its flesh that is coming together to regenerate.

Then, the part that was playing bursts and returns to its original state.

Aisha strikes the club again in a different area.

As if he were playing whack-a-mole, if he continued to hit the ground with the club, his body would continue to collapse without being able to regenerate.

“Like this! Underneath! You won’t be able to play it!”

＂…＂

Noctis was a bit speechless at Aisha’s destructive behavior, which seemed somewhat enjoyable, and could only stare blankly at the scene.

In fact, Aisha was a bit stressed as she suppressed her nobleman’s violent impulses and continued to endure them with a vow.

She was unraveling it towards Tindalos, which could not be completely broken no matter how much she broke it.

And, Tindalos, who first appeared and was stopped by Cleon, fully materializes and charges at Cleon once again with his huge body and face dripping with an unpleasant saliva-like liquid.

Then, Caliburn spewed out pure white divine magic from his sword body, covering the guy’s body with magic.

The guy’s body, made up of magical power from another dimension, began to gradually dissolve due to the divine magic power.

Meanwhile, Cleon took a breath, moved his feet, and delivered a diagonal blow to the guy’s sluggish body.

For these guys, Caliburn’s slash, which was full of poison-like divine magic, split their bodies in two, and their regeneration also slowed down due to the divine magic seeping through.

Looking back at the guy lying on the ground with his upper and lower body separated, Cleon quickly swings the hand that is not holding the sword.

Then, the flames that exploded from the hand burned them and turned them into a heap of ashes.

＂…＂

However, as Cleon looked around without relaxing, he was wary of another Tindalos appearing.

Aisha sighs as if she is a little relieved that there are no other Tindalos in sight, except for the one she is beating hard to death.

“Excuse me! Cleon! I wish you could completely burn this side too!”

＂Ahahahaha!!＂

And when Noctis spoke in a panicked voice, Cleon poured flames and holy magic at Tindalos, who was repeatedly beating Aisha to a pulp while laughing, ending her life.

＂Hot!? What am I doing now?!”

When Aisha, whose violent impulses had subsided at that time, came to her senses and spoke, Cleon shrugged her shoulders.

There was a bit of admiration that I was able to suppress that impulse normally.

＂… There is no more reaction than this that makes Tindalos appear. The fireworks will soon end. Let’s watch the cylinder.”

“Yes. I think that would be good.”

Noctis nodded at Cleon’s words and held up the cylinder he was holding in his hand so that others could clearly see it.

The time for the final fireworks is slowly approaching.

Three people looking at the cylinder with nervous expressions, and one sack.

At that time-

＂Wow!?＂

There was a reason why Noctis suddenly let out something like a scream.

Inside the cylinder she was holding in her hand, her magic began to fluctuate violently, emitting an intense light.

＂Ugh…!＂

And, when Cleon and Noctis are struck by intense dizziness at the same time, they almost lose their balance and fall to the ground.

Compared to the time when the cause was unknown, Cleon was able to prepare for it to some extent, so he continued to stare at the cylinder to confirm the phenomenon until the end.

Even if I lose my mind and go back in time like last time, I want to hold onto some clues.

And then.

Pow!

An even louder sound came from the direction of Asteris.

Perhaps, it is the final firework that makes wishes come true.

[Again, once…]

And the three clearly heard.

A woman’s voice flowing from that cylinder.

[─I want to… Click…]

The voice was interrupted at times, but it was clearly audible.

＂U, ghost!?＂

“Calm down, it’s not like that. Inside the cylinder… Ugh…”

Calming Noctis, who almost lost her cylinder in her panic, Cleon took it upon himself to hold her hand to keep her from dropping it.

However, the strong dizziness that comes at the same time completely robs the balance of the two people’s bodies, causing them to lose strength and collapse.

Perhaps it was because the balance of Noctis’s body was tilted backwards and Cleon’s was tilted forward, so the two people fell-

Cleon was covering Noctis from above, and the two people who were about to lose consciousness were also in a state of shock.

But that atmosphere is fleeting.

The three people were engulfed in a dazzling light that surrounded them—and in the end, everything returned to ‘an hour ago’.

The only big clue left was the last voice I heard coming from the cylinder.

Once again, the three people’s time goes backwards.

And there is also a monster that follows these three people and does not forgive those who disrupt the flow of time.