When I returned to the main force, the fight was over.
The scout monster lay beside the people.
As expected, the main force had brought it down.
[The number of dead is as expected too.]
Eight corpses laid out on the ground.
Fortunately, the dead did not amount to even half.
It was fewer than the number I had anticipated, but not greatly different.
The mood was grim.
A third of them had died in a single battle, and there were wounded as well, so there was no way it could be good.
The only one who had not changed from before was Catherine.
Catherine was having the uninjured members gather the bodies while she examined the monster’s corpse.
“I don’t think it’s on this side.”
“Even dead, its hide won’t cut properly. I don’t think it’ll be easy to make more holes with spears or swords.”
The members of the main force who had been examining the monster’s body shook their heads and stepped back.
Catherine approached the monster’s corpse.
It seemed she intended to cast magic.
Having arrived just then, I asked her,
“Are you looking for the Dark Stone?”
Catherine turned her head and looked at me and my unit.
Seeing us unharmed, her eyebrow twitched.
“You’re back. Is everything settled on your end as well?”
She had seen me deal with the magic that flew in.
From that, she seemed to have realized what we had done at the ruins.
I had no intention of hiding it, nor any need to.
I answered casually.
“Yes.”
Catherine stared at me.
“That was magic I’d never seen before… No, let’s talk about that later.”
Shaking her head, Catherine pointed at the monster’s corpse.
“That’s right. We’re looking for the Dark Stone now. The hide won’t cut properly, so I was thinking of using magic again.”
Catherine’s face, as she said she would use magic, was terribly pale.
“You look short on energy.”
“That may be true, but we can’t waste time with spears and swords that can’t even cut the hide.”
At her firm words, I spoke cautiously.
“Shall I help?”
Her pupils moved quickly. She seemed to be thinking about what I meant.
She soon arrived at the right answer.
“Do you have a way to find the Dark Stone?”
“Yes.”
Though she had thought of the answer, she did not seem to have expected me to confirm it.
Her brows drew together in a troubled expression.
“If you could know the location of the Dark Stone… I made a mistake. Back then, I should have asked you to help.”
She was right.
If I had helped, far fewer people would have died.
But it was already in the past, and at the time, I had something I had to do as well.
“It’s in the past. And if I had fought with you, we wouldn’t have learned as much about the enemy as we have now.”
Catherine nodded.
It was the sort of thing that could invite misunderstanding when people had died, but Catherine did not misunderstand.
“Certainly, we have properly learned how strong the new enemy is. And I’ve also learned that I underestimated your abilities.”
As though those words displeased him, Sterling, who had been listening, frowned.
“I was able to learn because we fought it ourselves. The monster that more than twenty of us rushed at and barely managed to kill after losing eight people, you killed alone.”
It seemed he could not bear to keep listening to her.
Sterling cut in.
“But I heard he received outside help.”
It was not wrong.
But Catherine did not seem to think that way.
She replied calmly.
“You should know that without one’s own ability, outside help is meaningless.”
At her words, Sterling shut his mouth.
[Is it because of her personality? She has no bias even when assessing people.]
Perhaps because she was a realist, she had recognized my ability faster than the others.
However, due to the lack of information, she did not seem to have grasped the full extent of it.
While she was speaking with Sterling, I approached the monster.
The scout monster was scorched by fire, its hide sliced to tatters.
Looking at the severed tentacles and the wounds on its body, it seemed the monster had died from blood loss.
As I approached the corpse, people moved aside.
I placed my hand on the body.
When I heightened my senses, I felt the Dark Stone inside it.
“It’s here.”
I pointed to the nearest spot where I could sense the Dark Stone.
Catherine came up beside me.
“Thank you. Then, if I cut here with magic…”
Before she could finish speaking, I cast magic.
Puk!
The monster’s hide burst open.
There was not much blood left, so almost none flowed out.
I pushed my spear into the cooked flesh.
The spearhead touched the Dark Stone.
I turned the spear once, then pulled it back out.
When I withdrew the spear, the Dark Stone came with it.
I handed the Dark Stone to Catherine.
“Here is the Dark Stone.”
Looking at the Dark Stone she had received, Catherine said,
“…That certainly shows how you managed to bring one down alone.”
Seeing how her words had slowed, she seemed shocked by my magic.
She was not the only one shocked.
Sterling and the others were all looking at me with startled eyes.
Just then, Magreta called out.
“Now, hurry. We have to go back. We can’t leave the dead here.”
At her words, the people came back to their senses.
I also helped them collect the corpses and the monster’s body.
After placing all the recovered bodies and the monster’s corpse into boxes, we turned our steps toward the terraforming ruins.
We decided to return together.
Now that we knew what danger might come, there was no need to move separately.
With their comrades dead, everyone’s steps had grown heavy, but I stood at the front and urged them on.
There was still time before the monsters arrived, but that did not mean we were in a situation where we could afford to take it easy.
Fortunately, Catherine accepted my request and had the people continue walking even after the sun went down.
Even so, we could not walk through the night.
After leaving the swamp, we made camp at a place I had chosen.
The campsite was a place where large rocks overlapped in a clever formation.
We draped monster hide across the gaps between the rocks to block the wind, and spread tents above to make a roof.
Once it was finished, it turned out to be a more comfortable shelter than expected.
After setting a night watch, the people fell asleep immediately.
The same was true of my unit; they were soon asleep as well.
Since I was not as tired as I had expected, I decided to take the first watch.
Holding my spear, I climbed onto the rock.
It was a dark night past midnight by this world’s time.
The sky was full of stars, along with the half-destroyed satellite.
It was a sight that made it seem as though countless stars were alive and moving.
I lowered my head.
Unlike the sky, the ground was silent.
There were no native monsters in sight, making the world seem dead.
I asked Sof,
“It really is desolate. Will this star just keep dying like this?”
[I cannot know either. If the terraforming ruins are intact, there is no reason it should be like this…]
“Then why did it end up this way?”
[I am not certain. Whether the contamination exceeded the limits of the terraforming ruins, or whether there is another reason, or perhaps it is because of the sealed Demon King…]
Sof seemed to be saying something important at the end, but I did not hear it properly.
Someone else had climbed up onto the rock.
It was a woman, but not Magreta.
The one who had come up was Catherine.
I offered coffee to Catherine, who had climbed up.
It was coffee I had heated with magic for myself to drink.
“Would you like some coffee?”
“I’m fine.”
Unlike Magreta, Catherine refused the coffee.
“I came because I have something to ask.”
“At this hour?”
“I thought it shouldn’t be heard by anyone else.”
She had come at just the right time.
I also had something to say to her.
Catherine stood beside me and opened her mouth.
“From what I’ve observed, Captain Hyun, you are not only highly capable, but also quite adept at handling matters.”
The first thing she said was a little different from what I had expected.
I was bewildered by the sudden praise, but Catherine continued in a calm tone.
“Everything you did seemed to have been part of a plan. Moving separately from us, blocking the magic that flew in, dealing with the monster in the ruins together with the exploration members—it was all part of your plan, wasn’t it?”
At her words, I nodded.
“Not all of it… but this time, yes.”
Contrary to what she said, things often did not go according to plan.
This time, I had been lucky.
“I thought so. Then there must also be a reason you’re hurrying to return to the base.”
“Yes.”
At her words, I nodded again.
That was something I could answer easily.
Because it was exactly what I had wanted to say to her.
Catherine was truly sharp.
There was no need for me to speak first.
What she had realized was no different from what I had intended to say.
“Until I saw it myself, it was hard to believe you could sense enemies far away. But now that I’ve confirmed it myself, I have no choice but to believe.”
Catherine looked at me.
“If someone who can know the enemy’s location is hurrying our return, there seemed to be only one conclusion.”
There was no need to ask what conclusion she meant.
“Have the monsters come out of the ruined city?”
I answered immediately.
“Yes. Dozens of monsters stronger than scouts have left the city. They are coming this way.”
This was what I had meant to tell her.
“I didn’t say it because I wasn’t sure you would believe me, but it seems there was no need to worry.”
It had been my mistake to think of Catherine like the others.
I quickly laid out what I had intended to tell her.
“We’ll need to call the hunting members back to the base, then hide in the base for several days. The terraforming ruins have a defensive magic called Sandstorm, so we should be able to buy time. In the worst case, we can also flee into the underground ruins.”
Catherine stared at me.
After a moment, she asked,
“Will several days be enough?”
Even now, her face was calm, but I could tell by looking at it.
She knew everything.
“…Did you figure that out too?”
“Yes. I heard there are teleportation ruins beneath the city. If the monsters swarm out, you intend to raid the city… Is that correct?”
To think she had realized that much—I could only admire her deduction.
“You’re impressive.”
Despite my admiration, she frowned and continued speaking.
“What are the chances… No, that’s meaningless. If they are monsters stronger than the scout monster, there won’t be another opportunity like this.”
She thought for a moment, then said something unexpected.
“We will not stop the hunt.”
“What?”
The question immediately burst from my mouth.
“I’ll tell them it will be dangerous, but I will send the main force outside.”
“You can’t! The monsters won’t stop here.”
At her words, I raised my voice.
The monsters that had poured out would surely pass through this place and search for people.
I could not understand how she could hear my entire plan and still send people outside.
But she continued to insist.
“I know. That is why I’m sending them.”
Seeing her expression, I realized the reason as well.
“Don’t tell me…”
“If the monsters in the city noticed that a monster died here, they will also notice if we raid the city.
In order to keep the monsters that came outside from going back, we need bait.”
At her words, Sof spoke in a horrified voice.
[Surely she isn’t planning to use all her comrades as bait? This goes beyond being realistic. She truly is a ruthless woman.]
Listening to Sof, I looked at Catherine.
In the darkness of the wilderness, only her eyes shone.
Formulating the Operation (2)