The people soon got up.
Those who had risen looked bright.
Because, contrary to their worries, no one had been seriously injured or killed.
I had felt it yesterday as well, but the way the Americans looked at me had changed.
After tidying up the bedding and packing it all into boxes, we ate breakfast.
Since we had to come by teleportation, we couldn’t bring anything that wouldn’t fit in the boxes, so a lavish meal was out of the question. Fortunately, we had brought seasonings, so breakfast was passable.
After breakfast, I called the team leaders.
Catherine, Sterling, Magreta, and I gathered in one place.
When the meeting began, Catherine wanted to hear a more detailed account.
She wanted to know in detail how we had caught the monster and how we had operated the facility.
But Magreta blocked her questions from the very start.
“The details are a security matter of the Intelligence Bureau.”
It seemed Magreta wanted to keep everything secret except the fact that we had captured the monster.
Seeing Magreta’s serious expression, I had no choice but to nod as well.
In truth, the Geographic Intelligence Bureau knew nothing.
But there was nothing better for shutting down questions.
Catherine looked disappointed, but she did not press further.
Sterling seemed to have decided to accept me as someone on the same level now.
He didn’t even need an explanation.
“When we return, I’ll recommend you to the others. No matter how I look at it, you’re not someone who belongs in a place like this.”
However, his changed words were hard to accept.
I did want to see Paradise, but I had no desire to get caught among the privileged class.
I could tell just by looking at Sterling’s dead comrades, or at Catherine.
Unless they were family or direct descendants, it seemed hard to receive proper treatment there.
I had no intention whatsoever of going to a place like that and putting myself through emotional trouble for no reason.
Later, after hearing Magreta’s explanation, I realized I didn’t need to worry about what Sterling had said.
“I may be wandering around outside, but I’m direct family too. You’re already known as being in my line, so others won’t be able to summon you recklessly.”
After saying that, Magreta immediately apologized to me for calling me part of her line.
“It’s actually the opposite, but… I’m sorry for making you be treated as part of my line.”
Hearing her words, I waved my hand.
There was no need to apologize. What she said was true.
From the beginning, I had intended to make a connection through her, and even now I was continuing to receive her help.
Until the connection with Earth was severed, I intended to maintain this relationship. And if nothing special happened, we would likely remain friends even after that.
In any case, thanks to Magreta’s help, the explanation ended quickly.
What remained to discuss was our plan from here on out—how we would return.
“Then are we going to punch a hole through the ceiling now?”
At Catherine’s words, I pondered for a moment.
Originally, I had planned to break through the ceiling of the sewage treatment plant and climb up to the surface.
That would be much faster, and if we hurried, we wouldn’t run into the monsters returning by air.
But the situation was different now.
By now, all the flying monsters would have arrived in the city.
In that case, it didn’t matter much whether we went a little faster or slower.
Rather, it would be better to reduce our use of dark energy until we reached the surface.
Besides, we needed more black stones.
I asked the others.
“It would be better to gather more black stones on the way back, wouldn’t it?”
At my words, Catherine’s eyes changed.
Sterling was the same.
Magreta, of course, agreed.
To gather black stones, we had to kill many monsters, and to kill monsters, we had to go where the monsters were.
A place where monsters wouldn’t swarm us all at once like they did on the surface.
Several monsters had come down into the collapsed sewer to assist the control entity.
Gathered there were scout monsters and magic monsters.
Each individual monster was not easy to face, but the people were not worried.
Because I was there.
Instead of breaking through the ceiling and going up, we headed toward the collapsed sewer.
***
The city ruins where the monster production factory had been were noisy all day long.
Kwaang!
Buildings collapsed, and smoke billowed upward.
It looked less like ruins that had perished tens of thousands of years ago and more like a city currently under attack.
Absurdly enough, the ones destroying the city were the monsters born in that very city.
The magic monsters that had returned after receiving the recall order and the defensive-type monsters that had remained in the city were destroying it.
They were low on energy after flying through the sky, but the spider-humans did not care.
The monsters smashed buildings, killed humanoid monsters, and attacked defensive-type monsters.
They even fought among themselves.
By contrast, the defensive-type monsters went around destroying only buildings.
The humanoid monsters were also going berserk, but before they could kill other monsters, they were either caught up in the fighting and killed, or crushed beneath buildings.
The reason the monsters were rampaging was because their connection to the mother body that had created them—the control entity—had been severed.
Unlike the scout monsters, which had no mother body, the monsters born in the city depended heavily on their connection to the control entity.
It was not as though they died when that connection was severed, but it became impossible for them to remain a unified group.
“In simple terms, that means we can defeat them one by one.”
At my excellent summary, Soph added a comment.
[They’ll charge if they spot you, but they won’t be picky about what they fight.]
That much was enough.
I was currently hiding on the rooftop of a building that led into the sewer, watching the monsters run wild.
The squad members and the Americans were inside the building.
Half a day had passed since we entered the sewer.
Nearly a full day had passed since we killed the control entity.
The reason it had taken half a day just to reach the surface was because we had roamed through the sewers killing monsters.
After the control entity flew into space, the monsters in the sewer had scattered in all directions as well.
Thanks to that, we were able to kill them easily.
We killed isolated magic monsters and scouts, and obtained several black stones from the Akzar monsters.
Afterward, the expressions of those who emerged from the sewer were bright without exception.
Even Catherine, who was always blunt and expressionless, had the corners of her mouth lifted.
Of course, most of the credit for killing the monsters belonged to me, but this time I did not intend to take a separate share.
I already had many black stones.
Now that I had even obtained the control entity’s black stone, the black stones of ordinary(?) monsters didn’t even catch my eye.
Of course, I had no intention of handing them over without compensation.
Catherine said she would pay me in money, but I wanted something else.
“Let me see magic relics, or give me useful relics.”
Of course, I did need money if I wanted to develop the underground city.
But even now, there were tens of billions in my bank account.
Even if I didn’t hand over black stones, money would continue to come in, so there was no need to worry about that.
Catherine accepted my condition. Sterling, who was beside her, made the same promise.
Now, unlike before, there was no need to go through someone else in the middle.
After finishing my survey of the city, I rose to my feet.
It seemed there was no need to change the plan.
“Then, since everyone seems to have rested enough, shall we begin hunting again?”
I tapped the rooftop floor with my spear.
At my signal, people came out of the building.
First, an American holding a shield came out, followed by Sergeant Woo and Tom, who stepped through the door aiming Earth-made firearms.
Next came Catherine and Sterling, then the two American mages, and finally Hanna, Magreta, and the man holding the small axe left the building.
The people moved in coordination as though they had been one team for a long time.
While moving upstream through the sewer, I had merged the personnel into one group.
If we were dealing with ordinary native monsters, dividing our numbers would not be a problem, but when facing Akzar monsters, even grouping up did not make things easy.
If we wanted to kill monsters without casualties, I had to step forward.
Since the others had to support me, it was better for everyone to move together.
There was no need to worry that the Americans would not listen, or that they would not be in sync with my squad members.
While passing through the sewer, the Americans followed orders even better than my squad members.
Catherine and Sterling included, everyone moved as if they were my own hands and feet.
Carlo was not among those who had come outside, but there was no need to worry about him.
Because he had come up behind me.
“Shall I lure them over again this time?”
Hearing Carlo’s words, I marveled quietly.
Carlo’s movements were still not easy to follow.
Even in the sewer, thanks to him luring the monsters, we had been able to kill them one at a time with ease.
Unlike before, Carlo now treated me with utmost respect.
He seemed even more wary of me than he was when dealing with David.
I could not bring myself to tell him to act more casually.
“Yes. Lure over the magic entities and scouts. Avoid the defensive-type monsters as much as possible.”
After hearing my words, he lightly launched himself away.
As expected, his movements were difficult to grasp with the naked eye.
Confirming with my super senses that he was quickly moving away, I waved my spear and signaled again to the people who had come outside.
At my signal, the people scattered in all directions and entered nearby buildings.
Each of them climbed to the top floor of a half-destroyed building and took position.
A short while later, I sensed Carlo running back with monsters on his tail.
As expected, he was the best at luring monsters.
After confirming that Carlo had succeeded in luring them, I sent a signal to the group.
When I used magic, the air that had gathered in front of me burst outward.
Bang.
The sound of exploding air rang out, and I saw Hanna, who had climbed onto the building beside me, draw her bowstring with all her strength.
It looked as if the bowstring might snap.
But Hanna did not stop and shot the arrow into the sky.
An arrow flying diagonally.
It was an arrow shot as far as possible without designating a target.
After flying hundreds—no, more than a kilometer, the arrow embedded itself in a ruined building.
Boom!
The arrow imbued with fire magic exploded with a thunderous roar.
It was not enough to injure the monsters, but it was sufficient to divert their attention.
The monsters swarmed toward the place where the explosion and smoke had risen.
Hanna was not the only one attacking from afar.
Sergeant Woo, Tom, and even the two American mages.
Those capable of ranged attacks launched attacks in every direction.
Except for the monsters Carlo was luring over, we had to divert all their attention. In particular, we had to prevent the defensive-type monsters from coming.
Unlike the other monsters, the defensive-type monsters were not easy to kill.
Their bodies seemed tremendously tough even on the inside.
If I pushed them with magic, I could probably bring them down in the end, but if we spent that much time, the monsters would surely swarm us.
Just as Magreta was beside Hanna, those who could not attack from a distance protected their comrades from the side.
Seeing that everyone was carrying out their role well, I lightly leaped down to the ground.
I saw Carlo leading the monster toward us.
Unlike before, the magic monster was following Carlo in an excited state.
I looked at the monster running toward me, then down at my feet.
‘Will it work?’
There had been too many obstacles in the sewer to try it, but here on the surface, everything was wide open.
The starting point was where I stood.
The destination was directly behind the monster charging toward me.
A place I could see could be set as the destination.
I connected a virtual cord between the two.
Whoooosh.
A passage of energy formed above the main road.
Charararara…
Formulas rapidly piled up in my mind, and a magic circle was drawn.
‘So this was magic too.’
If Soph had heard that, he would have been dumbfounded again, but when I teleported, I had not even felt like I was using magic.
One step.
I took a step forward.
My field of vision changed.
The monster’s back was in front of me.
Beyond the Mountains (1)