Chapter 845 – Meanwhile, on the Ground -1-

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Meanwhile, on the ground of Asteris, there was no greater chaos than expected.

When people thought that clouds had suddenly appeared in the sky, they went indoors to avoid the rain.

And then, the shadow of a large fortress appeared above it, so the government soldiers said that they had to evacuate.

Perhaps it was fortunate that the overall appearance of the fortress was not visible due to the clouds. A few curious people came outside to check out the appearance of the fortress, but all they did was get cautioned by the government forces.

Noctis was one of those people.

Even if you looked up at the sky from the ground, you couldn’t see the fortress, and even if you used the photography tools you had, you couldn’t take pictures of what was beyond.

If I go to a slightly higher place, will I be able to take pictures beyond the clouds? With the same thought, she was caught by the government forces when she was trying to climb high towers all over Asteris.

In the end, he was dragged by government troops like a cat caught by the back of the neck and forced to take refuge in the underground shelter of a nearby store.

Well, it’s clear that she did something wrong

The government forces just did what they had to do.

They probably didn’t know much about the fortress, and they were trying their best to answer questions to alleviate the citizens’ anxiety, but most of the information was vague.

However, there was one thing that was certain-

“So, you’re saying we don’t know when the fortress will disappear? Even if the city turns into ashes…”

“Don’t worry. Skilled charlatans are still working to block the fortress.”

＂A charlatan…＂

No matter how good the perception of charlatans is in Asteris, it is a story about resolving problems between humans or between humans and monsters.

The size of the fortress seen beneath the clouds is slightly larger than half of Asteris, which can be said to be a large city at first glance.

How can charlatans do such a structure?

“Well, even if the charlatans succeed and take down the fortress, if it falls on Asteris…”

When someone muttered that, a murmur spread among the people.

If the fortress made a mistake and fell on top of Asteris, it could have led to a catastrophe.

“It’s okay. To prevent that from happening, the great shaman is putting all her effort into maintaining and strengthening the barrier.”

The government officials responded that way to calm the agitation, and the people seemed to be somewhat convinced by the words, but were also reminded of the fact that the sacred tree had not yet bloomed.

Anxiety will not be easily calmed.

Wouldn’t it be better to leave Asteris right now? There must have been some who thought so.

For those who wanted to leave Asteris, the government military made them fully aware of the dangers of taking refuge and then provided escorts to help them go outside Asteris.

Of course, even if it was explained that there were monsters outside the barrier and that there was no reason for that fortress not to control the surroundings of Asteris, it was only for those who said they had to leave Asteris now.

It was natural that most of them were not from Eastern countries, but foreigners who came to Eastern countries for the Five Elements Festival.

However, most Easterners decided to remain in this country rather than leave their hometown.

There were some people who looked at those Easterners and said they were foolish, but would they be able to easily leave this land where they were born, raised, and their home of life?

Many Easterners thought so.

It was the same with Noctis.

Moreover, she could tell that the government soldiers were talking about ‘Cleon’ as the charlatan struggling to block the fortress.

So, from the morning, she was trying to go to the shrine maiden’s direction.

As expected, Noctis sighed as she thought that Cleon has never been involved in most of the major events that have occurred in Asteris.

It was that time.

What I thought was that the earth was in turmoil.

“Hey, wait! You─ Wow!”

What sounded like a scream from a government soldier was heard.

Naturally, people would be struck by silence for a moment and then look terrified.

The soldiers at the bottom of the stairs, who heard the screams of the soldiers above, naturally looked up at the stairs and aimed their spears.

Could it be that there are enemies inside Asteris, not just outside?

And after a while, the doorway to the shelter opens, and what walks in is-

＂──＂

Several residents, including Noctis, including government officials, could not keep their mouths shut when they saw the face of the person who came in.

Standing there, no matter where you looked, was ‘Cleon’.

In his hand, he was holding a black sword stained with someone’s blood and looking around at the humans in the shelter as if counting them.

‘No, something is different…!’

However, Noctis quickly checks the appearance of Cleon and confirms that there are details that are different from the original Cleon.

Above all – the black sword he was holding was an ordinary sword that looked as if it had been painted with black paint.

It was very ordinary for the sword of Cleon, the magic swordsman.

“Lord Cleon…? Why is this happening…!”

The government seemed to be embarrassed and unable to respond properly to his appearance.

“Come to your senses! That’s fake!”

However, as soon as Noctis shouted that, someone dressed as Cleon swung a sword.

The government soldiers guarding the shelter came to their senses at her words and succeeded in blocking the swing of the sword by raising their spears, but the wooden spear pole was cut by the iron sword, and the government soldiers were cut to the body. He spouted blood and collapsed.

＂…!＂

Everyone there froze.

For them, the government army, which was a symbol of maintaining peace in Asteris, had fallen in one blow.

＂Ugh…!＂

Another government soldier stabbed him with a spear to stop him, but perhaps because the difference in skill between him and the opponent was too great, he struck the spear with his sword and cut down the other government soldier with that sword as well.

＂Aaaaah!!＂

When someone screamed, people immediately fell into panic.

Those two were the only government troops guarding the basement.

In other words, there was no one here who could fight anymore.

Fake Cleon looked at the people in fear and came towards them with a smile.

＂… No…!＂

Noctis was able to know what the enemy’s intentions were.

Even if Cleon drops their fortress and wins the victory.

They are trying to eliminate the place for him to return.

The intention was to eliminate places where he could be.

─If no one here knew that Noctis, or rather, that he was not the real Cleon, it might have really happened like that.

Many people will defend him – but nevertheless, the image of Cleon ruthlessly cutting down government soldiers will be engraved in the minds of citizens.

For Cleon, who was struggling to protect this city and people more than any other Eastern country, losing his place was something he could not possibly forgive.

That’s why Noctis – more than the fear that he might be cut, he stood up feeling anger at the enemies who did such a thing and anger at his own weakness.

Even though he had no weapons and could hardly use martial arts, he only thought that he had to somehow find out that he was not the real Cleon, but a fake.

That’s why she put the small flute around her neck in her mouth and blew loudly.

Beep! And a sound that stimulated the ears of the listener rang out.

The fake Cleon also stopped on the spot when he heard that, but when nothing happened, he slowly walked towards us again.

Spare. His actions showed his confidence that those here could not stop him.

But after a while-

Something, something small, flew in from the stairs, flapping its wings.

Everyone must have been curious about what it was for a while, but when they found out that it was a ‘little sparrow’, they were somewhat disappointed.

＂Zuzu!＂

When Noctis calls the bird’s name, Zuzu flies straight toward Noctis and then-

Thump! And she is captured by the fake Cleon.

＂Beep, beep!＂

You can’t escape from the hands of fake Cleon with just a sparrow.

As Zuz’s screams rang out, Noctis broke into a cold sweat and cried out as he watched Cleon strain his hand to explode her Zuz, killing her.

＂Zuzu! Become huge!”

＂Beep!＂

As Noctis’ command rang out, a cry similar to Zuzu’s response came out, and then-

Pow! With the sound effect, Zuzu suddenly grew to the size of Cleon – enough to easily carry a person.

Except that it still looks like a sparrow.

Kwasik! When I thought I heard the sound, I could see that the hand holding Zuzu could not stand it as Zuzu grew bigger and was smashed, and the fingers were broken.

And, along with the sparks exploding and the dark red liquid flowing between them… There are also metal joints sticking out.

“Machine…! Automata!”

Noctis realizes that the fake Cleon is an automaton and immediately searches his bag.

Meanwhile, the guy, who doesn’t feel pain even if his hand is broken because he’s an automaton, tried to swing his sword at Zuzu, but-

＂Zuzu! Zoom out!”

＂Beep!＂

Once again, boom! After making a sound, Zuzu’s body shrunk to the size of an ordinary sparrow.

Although Zuzu could not be expected to have any fighting ability, her ability to make her body bigger and smaller made it quite difficult for opponents to attack her.

Meanwhile, what Noctis took out was a small canteen.

Of course, there was water in it, and Noctis ran out and immediately threw the water on Cleon’s broken hand.

Wow! And when the water was thrown, crack! And sparks flew out, and soon the fake Cleon’s body began to tremble and seemed unable to move properly.

It was a natural principle that if water was sprayed on the part where electricity flows, the machine would malfunction, even if it was a part covered with an external skin.

What should I do after this? Noctis thought.

However, after a moment of contemplation, she saw the fake Cleon’s mouth open and-

＂Zuzu! Go into that guy’s mouth!”

＂Beep, beep!?＂

Zuzu makes a confused sound because it seems like a reckless order, but Noctis says, come on!

There was no choice but for Zuzu to take advantage of her small size and enter the guy’s mouth – Noctis was giving orders.

＂Giant!＂

Boom!

Once again, when Noctis’ body became gigantic, Fake Cleon’s head, like her previous hand, could not withstand the expansion of Zuzu and burst out.

Several people watching the scene let out her screams, and Zuzu’s feathers were dripping with her oil, but she looked down at the fake Cleon beneath her feet and-

＂Beep~!＂

It was something like a roar of victory.

Noctis looked at Zuzu like that, sighed and took a deep breath, then calmed her pounding heart and ordered Zuzu to return to her normal size.

Then, he looks around at the machine Cleon, which is lying motionless on the ground, and talks to people.

“Listen carefully! This is a fake sent by the enemy!”

＂Oh, fake? “Who is the real one?”

“The truth is, he is a charlatan who is the protagonist of this year’s exorcism. And now, we are fighting in the sky to stop the fortress that attacked Asteris!”

At Noctis’ words, her residents looked at her without saying anything for a moment.

“That person will definitely win and come back. So, everyone… You shouldn’t be fooled by this fake and criticize that person!”

After saying that, Noctis threw the fake Cleon on the ground, picked up the sword he was wielding, and ran up the stairs.

It’s hard to believe that this fake happened to come to Noctis’ place.

Surely, there are fakes like this heading to underground shelters here and there.

＂… We have to stop it…!＂

Noctis thinks so, makes Zuzu bigger again, and climbs on top of it.

＂Let’s go, Zuzu!＂

＂Beep!＂

As if responding to Noctis’s feelings, Zuzu let out a high-pitched cry and ran at high speed toward where another shelter was located.