5. A Hero’s Responsibility>
Bakuron, who had arrived at the beach while chewing on snacks floating on the surface of the water along the way, felt two strange sensations.
One was an emotion of tremendous fear.
The other was an emotion of tremendous displeasure.
Both beings that gave him these conflicting feelings existed on the beach.
The frightening feeling was… like the feeling he had when seeing his mother body.
So immense and overwhelming that he felt he could never resist it.
That aura was openly threatening him as he approached the shore.
The fortunate thing was that it seemed to be a land creature, and that it did not look particularly inclined to chase after him.
And the unpleasant feeling was… similar to the resonance that had ruled him until now.
The difference was that this resonance was far weaker than the last one… and yet it was trying to make him submit completely.
It kept trying to place him beneath its feet.
Because it was unbearably arrogant, Bakuron—who had never had an equal in the sea until now—felt his displeasure grow even greater.
And so Bakuron pondered.
Should he flee, or should he attack?
The aura he felt from the beach was too frightening for him to attack, and the weak resonance flowing from there was too unpleasant for him to flee.
Since he had never experienced anything like this before, Bakuron decided to remain near the shore a little longer while keeping a distance from which he could escape.
☆ ☆ ☆
“This is driving me mad… Why is that thing not coming any closer?”
After evacuating Liria, Rameuran had used Lorun-Tak to return alone to the pillar where the coffin had been placed, and he let out a sigh.
Rameuran was currently back at the place where the original coffin was, exerting control over the creature in the sea.
There was no concern that the flow of Exar would be visible. Though this coffin operated by consuming Exar, once activated, the waves of domination extended outward with extreme secrecy.
However, he had needed a place to avoid the security force’s evacuation order, which was why he had returned here.
Even though he had come as close as possible to the beach near the creature and was exerting his control, it continued to resist his commands without end.
If it came a little closer, it seemed as though it would fall under him, but it would not approach beyond the point several kilometers from the shore.
‘Could it be that it fears me…….’
No matter how he thought about it, that was the only cause. The creature must have been too afraid of being dominated by him to come any closer.
But this would not do. He had to place the creature entirely in the palm of his hand. Having it merely fear him was not enough.
Rameuran resolved himself thus and focused his mind even more.
He was becoming more and more accustomed to using his power.
At this rate, it would not be long before the creature came beneath his feet.
‘Yes… I will become the hero who saved Margaran.’
And when that time came, everyone would like him and acknowledge him.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Hehe… Little Brother Sian, is it going well?”
Steel smiled brightly as she looked at Sian, whose expression was full of frustration.
“…
That thing is rather clever.”
Sian’s plan was not going as smoothly as he had expected.
Since he could not frighten the people, he had focused his aura toward the sea.
If he was going to do it, he had to do it properly, so he sent out enough aura to truly make that mudskipper keel over in terror. Enough that a thing that had only just reached six horns should have fled with its tail falling off.
Yet, strangely, that thing was not running away.
Seeing that it was clearly unable to approach any farther, it was not that it had failed to sense his aura.
But it was staying here, at a distance where it could be seen from Margaran, and was not fleeing any farther.
Thanks to that, the city’s people had bought time to escape, but they were even more terrified instead.
It was not close, but the creature’s body was so enormous that the people could clearly see it from the high ground where they had evacuated.
How could they not be afraid when a creature the size of a small mountain was exhaling over the water? And near the city where they lived, no less.
From what the creature was doing, it looked as though it was waiting for the lunchboxes that had fled to come back down.
Because of that, Sian could not even suggest launching a ship.
‘Are all creatures called Harijan originally like that……?’
Sian had never seen a Harijan before.
That was why he found it strange.
For any living creature, survival should take priority over appetite, so he wondered if that thing was refusing to leave because it was hungry.
Sian was slowly beginning to agonize over it.
He had thought that if he just sent out his aura once, it would flee immediately, but the creature was more persistent than expected.
“Ugh… What a pain… Why won’t that thing run away…….”
Steel watched Sian worrying and found it truly fascinating.
“Little Brother, why don’t you kill it?”
“Mm… It’s just… because it blocked the way a little… Killing it is a bit…….”
“Really? Even though it harmed humans?”
“Well… That doesn’t particularly matter. It has to eat to live too.”
‘As expected…….’
Steel was gradually coming to understand the child called Sian.
Whether it was a human or a Harijan did not matter.
What mattered was whether or not it trespassed into his territory.
He was lenient to those who did not enter, and merciless to those who did.
Because he had drawn such a clear line, he also did not like trespassing into another’s territory from outside.
It was probably the influence of parents who had taught him not to cause harm.
Even now, that was the case.
If it had been her, she would have immediately rushed out and sliced that fish-like bastard into sashimi.
It had done nothing else wrong. It had blocked her path, so it would die.
A superhuman should be like her.
A superhuman’s territory should be wherever their hand reached and wherever their feet went. That was better for everyone.
Just look at him now.
Because he had set his fence too narrowly, was he not fretting like this out of fear that if he simply stretched out his hand, the ones he touched would die?
This child’s ability was somewhere between a superhuman and a god, but his mindset was somewhere between a human and a superhuman.
This was the first time Steel had seen such a peculiar case, so she could not make a hasty judgment, but at least thus far, that was how it seemed.
Watching him grow frustrated was amusing as well, so Steel chose to observe for the time being.
“So are you going to keep holding back?”
“Hmm… That thing isn’t going to run away, is it?”
In the end, the first one whose patience ran out was Sian.
It should have fled after being scared moderately, but there was a limit to his endurance.
He would not kill it, but he decided to beat it up appropriately, and Sian exploded with power as he leapt out the window.
There was quite a distance, so he would have to use a certain amount of strength to catch up.
It was at that moment.
The creature that had been merely watching from afar began fleeing at a truly incredible speed.
Kuuooooo! Kuuooooo!
“Ha, haha…….”
Sian was dumbfounded.
That thing had seemed as though it was just standing there casually, but as it turned out, it must have been staying at a distance where it believed it could escape from him.
In fact, the creature’s thinking was not wrong.
In the brief moment that Sian hesitated, it had fled incredibly far away.
For something with a body the size of a mountain, it was so fast that it felt as though an entire island had vanished from sight in an instant.
The problem was the trace it left behind in its haste.
Kuaaaaaaaa!
There was no way the sea would remain calm when a mountain-sized creature fled at such speed.
The moment it fled, thrashing its body, an enormous wave was created.
And as that wave surged toward the shore, it grew larger and larger.
The tidal wave that had grown like that rushed toward the city and swallowed the city and the beach whole.
Kwadudududuk.
Wooduduk.
And with that, every single ship anchored at Margaran’s once-beautiful beach and trade port was smashed to pieces.
All that remained were frames and wreckage… The beautiful city had been turned into ruins by a single thrash of its body.
It had all happened in the blink of an eye, so there had been no way to stop it.
“…
There aren’t any ships left there, are there?”
“Hehe, probably not.”
“…
Even if there are, no sailor would be willing to depart after seeing that, would they?”
“Hehe. If you asked a child I know, perhaps, but… probably not?”
“…
Haa, I suppose we’ll have to go by land.”
To reach Kiaran by land, they would have to take a truly enormous detour.
That was why he had tried to travel by ship even if he had to push himself.
But the only large ships nearby that could go to Kiaran were here in Margaran.
That creature had eliminated his options.
Sian’s insides were boiling with rage, but it would be difficult to chase after the creature that had fled, so he simply gave up and began preparing to travel by land.
“…
Grit…….”
Kuuooooo!
Sian ground his teeth as he looked at the small island that was leisurely staring at the beach from the same position.
Perhaps realizing that it could escape because he was not chasing it, the creature had returned. And whenever he tried to go out, it fled; whenever Sian began preparing to leave, it came back. It repeated that over and over.
Perhaps because of that, it was looking at him with an expression far more relaxed than before.
He could not read a Harijan’s expression, but there was no doubt it was thinking that.
As if playing a prank, the creature was whirling about some unidentified organ that might have been its tail or might have been its spine, sending waves toward the beach.
Each time the creature playfully swished its tail, the waves stretched out in long lines and struck the shore.
Margaran, which had once been a beautiful city, had already had its entire beachfront destroyed, and the city farther inland was half-ruined as well.
“…
This won’t do.”
There was a limit to holding back.
‘Father, I have endured as much as I could.’
Sian touched his necklace. Then he summoned a black Crona-Phone into his hand.
There was a bit of distance between him and the creature to slice it up from here, but it was not impossible.
An ironic situation in which he could kill it, but could not catch it.
To strike at that distance, he would have to use his original body’s power, so the creature might die… but it had brought it all upon itself.
“Grit! If you’re lucky, you’ll get away with only your tail sliced off…….”
At that moment, Steel, who had gone somewhere and returned, saw Sian draw his sword and spoke with a bright smile.
“Oh my! Little Brother, are you going to make sashimi?”
“…
What sort of expression is that for a lady to use? Sashimi?”
“Hehe… This or that, as long as you understand, it’s fine. By the way, yesterday you said it was a bit much to kill it, didn’t you?”
“…
Even so, I’ve held back plenty. Just look at what that thing is doing.”
The creature was spinning its huge body around just outside the distance where it could escape, thrashing its tail.
At first, it had been so frightened, but it must have grown accustomed to it in the meantime, because its guts had clearly come out beyond its belly.
“Hehe… True, Little Brother, you have held back plenty at this point. But wouldn’t simply killing it be too much of a luxury?”
“What do you mean?”
“Little Brother, you’re trying to kill that thing right now, but it’ll be cut to pieces all at once before it even has a chance to realize its crime.”
“…
But if I try to beat it up, that thing runs away too fast.”
“I have an incredibly good idea. Want to hear it? Hehe, once you hear this, Little Brother, you’ll be extremely grateful to me.”
Sian’s ears perked up at Steel’s words.
He was furious, but killing it still felt a bit much, and since Steel said she had a better method than that, he became curious.
“Mm… What is it, Miss Steel?”
And Steel began explaining her idea, while Sian looked at Miss Steel with eyes full of admiration for that astonishing plan.
“Goodness! That is truly amazing. When did you prepare something like that?”
“Hehe… Something of this level is nothing.”
“We should put it into action immediately. Thank you.”
“Not at all… Hehehe.”
Having wholeheartedly agreed with Miss Steel’s plan, Sian began moving quickly.
☆ ☆ ☆
While Sian was grinding his teeth at the creature provoking him from the coast, Steel grew curious.
Sian had said this was his first time seeing a creature called a Harijan, so he thought perhaps they were originally like this, but Steel had fought many Harijan until now, and because of that, she knew their habits well.
Those creatures were ferocious, but more than anything, they were obsessed with survival.
Unless there was something, they were not the sort to stay rooted here like that.
In particular, there was no way they would act so impudently toward a strong being.
Instinctively realizing that it was related to the altar that had stopped a few days ago, Steel searched every inch near the altar, and it was not difficult for her to see that something was underground.
If she had no interest, that was one thing, but if she focused, it could not escape La-Bander’s gaze.
When she smashed the ground and went down below, she saw a face that looked familiar.
Searching through his memories, he realized it was the fellow who had been controlling that Rokum.
He did not know why this fellow was here, but one thing was certain.
The one provoking the Harijan outside was this fellow.
The fellow was so intensely focused that he did not even notice Steel had come in.
Who are you? How did you know this place!>The fellow was extremely wary of her, but after she patted him a few times, he quickly became docile.
Once the fellow was ready to answer, Steel asked him why he was doing this here, and he soon confessed.
With this fellow’s capacity, all he could do was make that thing outside angry.
Only then did Steel understand the entire situation.
The thing outside wanted to run away from Sian in terror at any moment, but because of this fellow, it had gotten so enraged that it refused to flee and had been squatting out there.
Even if it was a monster, there was no way it would not get angry when some insignificant little thing tried to climb above its head.‘Heh heh heh…….’If the people of the city had known this, the boy would have been beaten to death on the spot.
Inwardly, Steel was dying of laughter at this aspiring hero who had ruined an entire city, but she busily turned her mind.
Then she called out.
You will bring me to that monster?>
If one tried to use power beyond one’s level, the burden on the brain became too great, leaving little capacity to use the brain for anything else.
In other words, it made one stupid.
To think he would bite so readily at such a suspicious offer.
A significant portion of the young man’s brain had already begun to deteriorate.
That artifact might be useful, but it was a monster among monsters. It was not an object a person could use for long.
But since it was very useful for achieving her own goal, Steel grabbed the fellow by the scruff of the neck and dragged him straight back to the mansion.
And then, after shoving him into a corner of the mansion, she proposed her idea to the furious Sian.☆ ☆ ☆“Heh heh. Sian, then I’ll make the other preparations… Little Brother, you go make what I asked for.”
“Hmm… Understood. Miss Steel, you said you would bring the bait?”
“That’s right. Wouldn’t finding bait to lure that thing be harder? Or we can switch.”
“No. Then please wait.”
No matter how he thought about it, Sian had no confidence in finding bait that could lure such a thing, so he headed for the shore to make what Steel had requested.
There was more than enough material. Every single ship in the harbor had already been smashed to pieces.
Sian flew to the harbor and landed on the prow of a sunken ship.
Then he began tearing out every anchor and chain on the ship.
Small boats used rope for their anchors, but large ships had to withstand the weight of their anchors, so they used iron chains.
Sian picked out only those kinds of ships and began tearing out their anchors and chains.
After the blockade order had been issued, all ships had remained in the harbor, and since many of them were large merchant vessels that traveled the considerable distance to Ragaopora, he was able to obtain a sufficient amount of iron chain from the sunken area.
After piling all the anchors and iron chains in one corner of the harbor, Sian tore off the anchors and began gathering only the chains separately.
Creeeak. Crunch. Snap.
And once he had gathered as many iron chains as he had in mind, Sian began joining them together and twisting them.
He made the thin parts thick.
He connected the thick parts to other places.
As he made it in this manner, an incredibly long iron chain was completed in no time.
Now that he had made the fishing line, next came the hook.
Sian gathered the anchors he had piled in the corner and began molding them into one.
The chain was fine even if it was a little thin, since it would not break once his power was infused into it, but the hook was a different story.
If it was small, the thing would shake it off.
Because of that, even after using all the anchors, he still had to use the remaining chains.
Perhaps his effort paid off, because a hook of quite decent shape was completed.
Now he only had to leave this here and bring the bait.‘But where is Miss Steel going to get bait?’He was quite curious, but it would be ready if he went to the mansion, so he decided to go and check.
“Mm… Somehow, that person looks like someone I’ve seen somewhere before.”
“Oh, you’re right, Little Brother. You have a good memory. I barely managed to remember.”
“Well… I saw him in quite an impressive situation. But why is that person here?”
“Mm? What do you mean? I told you I would prepare it.”
“Yes. But you said you would prepare bait.”
“Heh heh, what do you think?”
“…….”
“Little Brother, I didn’t force this.”
When Sian looked dumbfounded, Steel hurriedly made excuses.
“Does that make any sense? Anyone can see he’s been beaten.”
“Hmm… hmm… That was for another reason. That child definitely volunteered on his own. Want to see?”
Then Steel called Rameuran, who was still concentrating his mind toward the sea from one corner of the room, and woke him.
“Are you ready to become a hero?”
“Heh heh, leave it to me. If you only bring me before that thing… I will surely dominate it and protect the peace of this place.”
Seeing that, Sian took Steel to a corner of the room for a moment.
“…
That person seems slightly strange right now.”
“Heh heh. The crown he’s wearing on his head is the problem. It makes a person a little lacking.”
“…
We can’t. No matter what, how can we use a living person as bait…….”
“Really? That child is the very one making that thing over there angry.”
And Steel explained the circumstances to Sian.
After hearing the story, Sian finally understood the behavior of the thing clowning around in the sea.
“Hmm… Shared fault, then. That thing and this person named Rameuran… In any case, this person caused quite a disaster…….”
If this man had not made that thing angry, it would have fled when Sian drove it away, and if that had happened, there would have been no reason for the city to be smashed like this.
“Heh heh, it’s fine as long as he doesn’t die, right? Little Brother, you don’t intend to kill either of them, do you?”
“…….”
“Don’t worry, he absolutely won’t die. And that thing was called here by that child. Then isn’t it right for that friend to resolve it?”
At those words, Sian nodded.
Since the destruction of this place was that man’s responsibility, he agreed with the idea that it was right for him to share some degree of the danger.
Even if he did not die, that man had some responsibility to bring this situation to an end.
“Understood. Then let us do that.”
“An excellent choice. Heh heh.”
And Sian and Steel began preparing the final stage of the fishing.
Sian charged toward the fellow floating in the middle of the sea.
Then the fellow fled, as usual.
Unlike at first, when it had bolted in fright, it slipped away quite leisurely.
Seeing the fellow flee, Sian fell into thought.
He wondered if it would be enough to just let it run away like that and remove the crown from the young man’s head.
But soon he dismissed the idea.
Since that devastation had been created by both that thing and the young man named Rameuran, both needed to take responsibility.
For Sian, and for the city called Mareugaran as well.
Now, for the sake of his own comfortable future, that thing was absolutely necessary.
Thinking so, Sian hurried to prepare while the fellow had fled.
Cruuunch!
As there happened to be a small island nearby, Sian took out the fishing line and hook he had brought from Nicheumatan.
A large cavity big enough for one person to fit inside had been carved into the fishing hook, and a door had been made so it could be closed.
It was possible because the fishing hook was so enormous.
Then Sian placed Rameuran, whom he had carried over his shoulder, into the cavity of the fishing hook.
Since Miss Steel had made it with great care, as long as he stayed inside it until the fishing was over, he should be safe.
After carefully putting Rameuran inside while he was still concentrating so hard that he could think of nothing else, Sian dug into the island and buried the thing—now far too huge to be called a fishing hook—in the sandy ground.
Then he let the iron chain trail beneath the sea and walked back to the shore.
“Done?”
“Yes.”
“Good, good. Then now we… shall hide.”
“How very…”
“Mm? What’s wrong, Little Brother?”
“This fishing thing is quite a labor-intensive hobby.”
“…….”
Sian and Steel held the end of the iron chain and completely concealed their energy.
If it came close, they would be discovered… but they had made it quite long with that in mind, so it should be fine.☆ ☆ ☆Rumble!
Bakuron looked toward the beach with a suspicious expression.
After going away to avoid that ominous energy, it returned to find that the energy had completely vanished.
Bakuron, who was extremely sensitive to such energy, came back cautiously, but at least from this much distance, it could not sense it.
However, the extremely unpleasant resonance trying to control it was, on the other hand, located much closer.
Bakuron hesitated for a moment.
Should it first withdraw from this suspicious situation?
But for that, the energy making it unpleasant was too close.
After hesitating, Bakuron crept toward the place from which the energy was approaching.
It still could not sense that ferocious energy.
Even if it was hiding, at this distance, it could still escape.
Thinking so, Bakuron bit down in one gulp on the small lump of earth from which that unpleasant resonance was leaking.
It would crush it in its mouth and flee.
Clank.
Craaaunch.
At that moment, something strange was caught between its teeth.
It tried to break it, but at that instant, a mysterious energy flowed from the thing it had bitten and hardened it, so it could not break it.
Sensing something ominous, Bakuron instinctively turned its head to flee. At that moment, a ferocious energy exploded from the shore.
And a tremendous force, the likes of which it had never experienced in its life, began pulling it toward the beach.☆ ☆ ☆“Heave-ho!”
The moment Sian saw the fellow swallow the island in one gulp from afar, he exploded the energy he had been hiding.
If he had charged in without the iron chain, that thing would have fled, but now it would not be able to.
He fiercely poured Vander into the iron chain he held and pulled.
And then a bizarre tug-of-war began.
A tug-of-war over an iron chain between an island the size of a house and a small human.
No matter how strong the human side was, in this situation, the difference in mass should inevitably cause the human to be dragged away.
Yet, astonishingly, the sandy beach beneath Sian’s feet did not even cave in.
And Steel, who was watching this from the side, was once again astonished.
That child was so bottomless that she wondered if he truly was the same Ra-Vander.
Even if he was a superhuman, to ignore the laws to that extent…
The laws and constants applied to the body of a Ra-Vander were not something one could change at will.
They were determined according to one’s realm and “path.”
Steel herself was confident she could win in a tug-of-war, but she would probably have been dragged quite far toward the sea.
Thanks to that, Steel, who had been ready to help if necessary, ended up simply watching quietly.
“Wow! This is quite fun, isn’t it? Hahaha! So this is why everyone fishes.”
“…….”
Unable to break the iron chain, the fellow had been thrashing this way and that, and now its struggles were closer to a rampage.
If Sian had not protected Rameuran with Vander, the man inside its mouth would have had his whole body crushed long ago by the recoil, even if he was surrounded by steel.
Of course, it would still feel as if his entire body was being beaten.
Kwagwagwang!
Crunch!
The shallower the water became as it was pulled in, the more the ground shook as the fellow rampaged, and the small islands in the middle began to shatter one after another.
When it rolled to the left, a deep hollow was gouged into the beach.
When it rolled to the right, an island with a vacation villa built on it was smashed to pieces entirely.
The vibrations reached the people of Margaran clearly, even to those watching this spectacle from the highlands far in the distance.
“Good heavens….”
“Oh, my god…!”
The sight of a monster the size of a small mountain being dragged onto land was undoubtedly a spectacle not commonly seen anywhere.
It looked almost as if an island was gradually moving onto land.
Of course, if it were truly an island, it wouldn’t be dragged here while smashing everything in its surroundings to pieces.
But even that rampage was gradually dying down.
Whether it was running out of strength or had realized that trying to escape was futile, the creature’s resistance gradually diminished, and soon it was pulled about halfway onto the shore.
Now Sian was pulling the creature in with even more ease, and in its wake, a deep, heavy trail remained along the beach where it had been dragged.
Regardless of the rampage, the speed at which it was pulled remained constant.
Everyone who saw the creature half-dragged onto land trembled in horror.
The dragged creature looked like a sea creature overall, but it had six sturdy legs attached to its body that looked ready for use at any moment.
Furthermore, as if capable of breathing on land, it was panting through a massive mouth located on its face.
They had thought they would be safe up in the highlands like this, but they had nearly been devoured whole.
If something like that chased after them, there would be nowhere to run.
It would chase them while crushing mountains—where could they possibly go?
Resistance would have been useless, too.
On top of the monster’s head were five large horns and one small horn that had just begun to grow.
It was a creature on the verge of evolving into a six-horned Harijan.
This was undoubtedly that Bakuron, the one said to have sunk the Grang-Vander in the past.
At the same time, they wondered just who could possibly be on the other end of that chain.
Could it be the legendary Archmage Brockxian, descended to protect them?
There was no way something like this could happen otherwise.
Even after seeing the Harijan dragged out of the water and unable to move, the people could not move themselves.
Because the human on the other end of the chain was far more terrifying than the Harijan.
And so, everyone stared blankly at the half-destroyed city and the monster for a while. ☆ ☆ ☆ “Heave!”
Sian pried open the captured monster’s mouth.
The monster might have tried to resist at least once, but it only swiveled its eight eyes around nervously.
It had been able to endure it somewhat from afar, but now that it had been dragged right up to him and felt his presence, its thoughts had frozen in terror.
Moreover, recalling how it had acted up, the monster was now watching for cues and only blinking its eyes.
Sian pulled out the fishing hook lodged deep inside the creature’s mouth, then opened the door attached to it and took out Ramuran.
Ramuran was unconscious, but since Sian had taken care to protect him, aside from bruises all over his body, his condition wasn’t bad.
Even so, he was clutching the crown tightly in his hand.
Sian had considered taking it with him, but such a hideous artifact that tried to turn its user into an idiot was something no one would want, and he had no intention of using it either, so he lost interest and left it alone.
After pushing Ramuran to the back, Sian looked up at the struggling creature dragged before him and smiled sinisterly.
“Heh heh… friend, there’s something you need to do.”
Mumbling that Lady Steel was truly a genius, Sian held the chain that had now served its purpose as a fishing line and slowly approached the creature.
The struggling Bakuron lay on the white sandy beach, unable to even think of resisting, panting and swiveling its eyes around.
But at least it was fortunate. That being didn’t seem to have any intention of harming it.
“Ah, I almost forgot.”
Sian stopped carrying the chain and summoned the Crona-Pon, smiling viciously.
“First, you need a beating.”
Kwoooong!
Sian looked at the creature wailing plaintively and put on a fiendish grin.
Since it weighed so much, it wouldn’t go flying when hit, which would be convenient.
“Heh heh. Good, it’s complete.”
“…You really have a talent for combat, little brother.”
“…That doesn’t sound like praise. I just performed a creative piece of crafting, though.”
The back of Bakuron, now covered in bruises—or rather, Struggler No. 1—was tightly wrapped with the chain Sian had used for fishing.
It was not for binding.
Attached to the tightly wrapped chain was a steel box about the size of a small house.
The chain was serving to fasten that steel box onto Struggler No. 1’s back.
It was a box made by hand from the leftover fishing hook and chain.
“Heh heh. Lady Steel, thank you regardless. How did you come up with the idea to cross the sea on this thing?”
That’s right. The box up there was a box made for dwelling.
Sian and Steel intended to cross the Kiaran Sea on Struggler No. 1.
If they crossed on this thing, the annoying Harijans wouldn’t dare to attack.
Moreover, it would be much faster than a boat, and since the creature itself was a delicacy, there was no need to separately bring food.
They could simply slice sashimi right beside the box on the spot.
Harijan meat was famous for being delicious, and the more horns it had, the more of a delicacy it was.
This thing’s meat would probably taste incredible.
And even if they carved out quite a bit, it wouldn’t show on a creature of this size.
It was truly the perfect means of transport.
Sian resented himself for not thinking of it the moment he saw the creature.
If he had cut this thing to pieces, he would have had to walk all the way to Kiaran whether over land or water.
“Heh heh heh. I told you, little brother. I’m versatile in every field, I told you.”
“Then why didn’t you make that steel box yourself?”
“Little brother… don’t you know division of labor? I provided the idea. The labor force is your department.”
“Tsk… anyway, now that it’s made, it does look a bit crude.”
The steel box was made larger than Sian had planned.
Because Steel had insisted on putting in a bed the size of a mansion’s garden.
Sian had also taken quite a liking to that bed, so he agreed, and the steel box ended up being made bigger than expected.
“Hmm… what happened to that person called Ramuran?”
“Well… he didn’t look good. Those security force fellows took him away earlier.”
Sian felt slightly sorry for him, but considering the consequences this young man had brought about, even the saying ‘you reap what you sow’ felt insufficient.
The damage Margaran had suffered from this incident was beyond astronomical.
Total destruction of the coastal area.
Half-destruction of the residential district above the coastal city.
Half-destruction of the noble villa district.
And above all—the halt of the altar’s operation.
The last factor was a devastating blow unlike anything else.
From now on, this place could not function as a trade city.
Likewise, it would be difficult to thrive as a tourist city.
With Ragaopora gone, it couldn’t even recover.
A prospering city had been ruined in a single moment due to one young man’s reckless actions.
Since this wasn’t something the young man could have done alone, the armed forces were all over him investigating who he had conspired with.
The very fact that a youth who had been performing circuses knew the secret of the altar that no one had been able to uncover was suspicious in itself.
But the youth called Ramuran’s brain had degraded to the level of a small child, so the investigation itself couldn’t proceed.
The bigger problem was that even placing the casket back on top of the altar did not make it work.
Because of this, all the law practitioners were currently clinging to the casket under Babil’s command, but they were making no progress whatsoever.
In many ways, Margaran was falling into despair.
If it hadn’t been for Count Talruk’s swift response and Sian’s fishing, there would have been no need to despair.
Because there would have been no one left to despair.
Count Talruk consoled himself that it was fortunate at least that no lives had been lost, and was diligently researching how to revive the city, but it seemed impossible to regain its former prosperity.
Sian stopped thinking about this around here and kicked Struggler No. 1 in the side to load up on food supplies and other goods.
Thud!
Then, amazingly, Struggler No. 1 seemed to understand what he was saying and used the tentacles on its tail to carry the supplies up onto its back.
“This thing is clever, more than it looks.”
For something so hideous and the size of a small island, its actions made it look like a clever puppy.
“Heh heh. Harijans are basically smarter the stronger they are. They can’t survive to grow strong if they’re stupid.”
“Oh, I see.”
“And if you beat them that much, anyone will listen well. Heh heh.”
“…Shall we depart if you’re ready.”
Sian climbed into the steel box, and once Steel got in too, he kicked its back again with his foot, and Struggler No. 1 let out a plaintive sound and splashed into the ocean.
Keeping only its back, with the box hanging from it, above the water’s surface, it began to leisurely cross the Kiaran Sea. ☆ ☆ ☆
“Hoo… I simply don’t understand this.”
Babil sighed as he studied the casket.
He couldn’t figure out anything—what material it was made of, what principles it operated on, who had made it, or what techniques were applied.
He had even searched through historical records, but there was no way to know; it was as if it had fallen from the sky.
Moreover, the only person who had been able to use it had become an idiot, so they couldn’t even ask what they wanted to know.
“I’m tired… I should sleep.”
The surrounding law practitioners had long since gone home.
Since armed soldiers were standing guard here, Babil placed the casket on top of a pillar and went back to rest.
And not long after Babil disappeared.
Something small rippled, distorting the space above the pillar where the casket was placed.
Then the space there distorted and a hand suddenly reached out toward the pillar.
The owner of the hand carefully stared into the empty air.
No, it wasn’t empty air.
Because in the eyes of the one Ramuran had called ‘the oddity,’ clear words were visible. [Quest: Find the
—Obtain the unusable casket through a descendant of Ragaope.
—Reward:
“…Good.”
The oddity, Kal-Kirat, smiled.
When he first received this quest, he had been overjoyed upon first seeing the item given as a reward, but due to the vicious additional option attached to it, he hadn’t considered using it himself.
Furthermore, the casket could only change and reset its existing command words after absorbing the blood of a descendant of Ragaope.
That was why he had orchestrated things in such a complicated manner.
To get the casket into his hands and reset the command words.
The command words that maintained Ragaopora were of no use to him.
Fortunately, everything had gone well.
The command words had been excellently reset, and since he had been monitoring the lad’s every move via the
And an unexpected gain. ‘Gnash… to think it was in a place like this…’
At first, he had tried to take revenge on the lad’s family.
But after hearing the words of the Great Elder who had recently achieved the clan’s long-cherished wish, he gave up.
Since these were the words of the Great Elder who had reached the Realm, they must be correct.
For some reason, his voice had trembled slightly, but… it was undoubtedly because he was overjoyed at having achieved the clan’s long-cherished wish.
This casket he had obtained today would become a great power for his revenge.
That half-blooded descendant hadn’t been able to utilize this casket fully, but if he used his skills, he could minimize the side-effect damage and draw out all its power.
If this were fishing, this outing had been a great success. He had caught a trophy fish.
Thinking so, Kirat stowed the casket away and vanished back into the darkness just as he had appeared.