novelAlta 198 – Absolute Pin – II
198 – Absolute Pin – II
198 – Absolute Pin – II
A massive sandworm burst from the sandy dunes. Raising its maw to the sky, it let out a shrill screech and then lunged towards me.
I glanced towards it and then clenched my left hand.
Magic formations flared into life around the sandworm and then it vanished, replaced by a compressed orb of fleshy mass.
I flicked my wrist and sent it off to the side.
A sphinx that had been charging from the distance suddenly stumbled, a hole appearing in its head.
I sighed and then continued forward, my black cloak fluttering behind me.
At that time, Dad came dashing towards me, gliding along the top of the sandy dunes like water.
Stopping at my side, he whistled and said, "Gotta say, Rudy. You've gotten more ridiculous since the last time I've seen you fight. I think you might even be able to take me on now!"
"I'd better be." I waved my hand, spreading magic formations to terraform the nearby area from a desert to a fledgling savanna. After that, I looked at him and said, "I'm preparing to take down a divine being. If I'm not at least strong enough to take down my dad, it'd be an insult to both me and you."
He laughed and clapped his hand on my back. "Damned straight! You're a proper dad and all now too, so you can't start losing before your kids are even born, alright?"
I paused.
You know, I hadn't really thought about it, but my newest kids were definitely going to be ridiculous growing up, weren't they?
First of all, I was... well, me.
Eri was a sword genius who could naturally use magic in conjunction with her swordsmanship.
Sylphy was a magical genius who could make ice, wind, and water bend to her will.
Rika was an actual reincarnated Demon Empress with a true blueblood Demon God lineage.
And Roxy was a genius at breaking down complex magical concepts to a discrete level and molding everything into new building blocks.
...It made me wonder a bit why the heck Being W was so paranoid about Norn and Stella being born instead of my kids. Or even me.
I mean, you'd think he might have tried to just warp me away or something on my own or like put me into a coma or something. Instead, he seemed to have taken it personally...
Well. I guess gods even back on Earth were known to be petty, so I shouldn't say I was surprised...
Dad patted my shoulder again. This time though, he had a serious expression on. "You holding up well? You know, regarding Ena?"
I nodded. "I'm holding up. It's worrying, but... It should be fine."
Dad smiled. "That's the spirit. Don't give up until the last minute and believe in the best until you've confirmed the worst." He pulled his hand back and said, "I don't have much left to teach you since aren't a kid anymore, but I can teach you that at least."
I chuckled. "That way of thinking is exactly what kept you running into trouble, Dad... but I get it. And thanks."
The ground started vibrating, sending sand flying into the air.
Dad turned around and rested his hand on his sword. "Well. Guess we should get back to it."
I nodded. "Yep." I rested my hand on my sword as well.
It wouldn't be as effective or efficient as using magic... but I needed to vent a bit.
In the distance, a pair of sandworms burst from beneath sand dunes. But the moment they did, Pierre teleported in front of one and cut it down with a slash while Rostelina jumped at the other and slammed it with a shield, bursting its head off.
...Huh. So that was where Sylphy got her ridiculous physique and stamina from...
But anyway.
A swarm of bats burst from the ground beneath the sphinx's corpse. It seemed like they were lured by its mana.
A few monsters burst from the sphinx. Succubi.
Seeing that, I stepped forward.
But before I could do anything, Dad unsheathed and resheathed his sword.
Sand scattered in front of the sphinx's corpse, joined by a crimson mist. And then there was just a bunch of reddish sand where the monsters were.
I blinked and then gave Dad a blank stare. "...That's overkill, Dad."
He met my stare with a serious look and said, "Never overkill when dealing with succubi. I'm sure you could handle yourself, and I have experience handling them... but it's not worth the one in a kabillion chance that they get to either of us. Not to mention that knowing your way with women, you'd probably end up taming a few and bringing them back..."
I felt my face heat up and I said, "I would not!"
Dad just laughed and clapped his hand on my shoulder. "Come on, Kid."
I sighed and then terraformed the nearby area as well.
It wasn't necessary... and it would probably wreck the climate here since I wasn't really taking that into account.
But it was also a helpful marker of where we'd been as well as monster spawn prevention.
Literally and figuratively.
Couldn't burst through the sand if it suddenly turned into much harder clay or dirt, could you?
Anyway, after that was done, I took a quick look around to check our progress.
We had warped in the literal middle of the Begaritto Continent and were slowly conquering the land by clearing out monsters and reclaiming the desert for our own purposes.
I was headed to the southeast with my dad towards where the Teleportation Labyrinth should be.
Ruijerd and Laws had teamed up in the distance to deal with a flock of airborne griffins.
Pierre and Rostelina were now carpet bombing the desert... somehow. And in between those, they were tossing some terraforming magic artifacts.
Behind me, and to the northwest, Roland, Eos, and Cliff were leading the White Knights, Survey Corps, and Millishion paladins respectively.
Their destination was a circular mountain range and whatever was hidden within it.
All things considered, Ena was likely to be in either said mountain range or the Teleportation Labyrinth.
After all, Being W was taking this personally, so he wouldn't just throw Ena in a random place in the ground.
Not to mention that it'd be easy for me to see that in a place like this.
Even if there was a lot of sand and monsters, Ena's mana was very distinct.
To hide it, you'd need a place with dense mana, like a dungeon.
And it'd have to be a powerful dungeon, hence the previous two options.
Ideally, it'd be the Teleportation Labyrinth... but we'd see.
But either way, it was time to get going.
I kicked off the ground, magic formations spreading greenery with every step.
Dad kicked off the ground beside me. Maybe realizing my thoughts, he said, "Even if Ena's not in the Teleportation Labyrinth, she's DEFINITELY somewhere here."
A swarm of giant ants burst from the sand beneath us.
I flicked my hand and froze them before stomping on the ground, shattering them all. After that, I took another step and used them as fuel to revitalize the land. "...It seems so." I nodded and said, "The monsters here are way too frequent to be normal."
Since we arrived, the monster encounters were as bad as an old JRPG. Every few steps, another group popped up.
And case in point, a vortex suddenly appeared in the sand before us, revealing a giant pair of mandibles.
Dad flipped through the air, slashing towards the mandibles as he flew past.
For a brief moment, the vortex and the surrounding sand split, revealing a massive antlion. But then the sand collapsed back on itself, burying the monster.
I jumped and then stomped on the sand right over the antlion. Once more, I converted the terrain, using the antlion's body as fuel for the reclaimed land. After that, I continued dashing forward.
Dad moved to my side and said, "Seems that Being Whatever guy's pretty desperate now. Going out of his way to capture Ena and then send all these monsters after us... Even for a god, that's a bit much, right? Aren't there like divine laws or whatever that he has to follow?"
I shrugged. "That's a god for you. Even if there were, they'd just break them and pay the consequences later."
"Tch." Dad clicked his tongue and said, "And people called me a thug..."
"You still are, Dad. Better, but definitely a thug."
"Well, not everyone's got the looks and brains to become an evil overlord, Kid."
"True. And every evil overlord needs some muscle."
Dad laughed.
I smiled.
And then Pierre showed up on our left, carrying Rostelina in his arms as he dashed with us. As he did, he looked over at us and said, "How are you two not annoyed?"
Dad raised an eyebrow and said, "You're carrying your beautiful wife in your arms and you're talking about being annoyed?"
Rostelina giggled and then looked up at Pierre. "Paul's got a point, Hubby. Did I gain too much weight recently?"
Pierre blushed and said, "W-What? No! I'm talking about the monsters!"
...Was this what it felt like to be around me and my wives?
Hm. Need to remember to add that to the Greyrat book for dummies... This is how you end up irritating people and making enemies if you're not careful...
Pierre cleared his throat and then said, "E-Either way, it looks like we're on the right track."
Dad nodded. "I was just talking about that with Rudy. Dunno if Ena's in this Teleportation Labyrinth, but she's definitely here somewhere."
I nodded. "Right." I took a quick look around with Mana Sight and then with Clairvoyance to be sure.
Typical natural mana signatures you'd expect from a hot desert. Sand stretching maybe 100 feet or so below the surface, with some deeper areas before hitting stone. Various monsters hiding in that sea of sand... that seemed to be blinking in and out of existence?
Hm. That was probably the influence from the Teleportation Labyrinth.
Either way, Ena wasn't anywhere nearby. So...
I turned around and signaled to Ruijerd and Laws that we'd be going on ahead. After that, I looked at Dad and Pierre and said, "Let's not waste any more time then."
Magic formations flared around my feet, and then around Dad's and Pierre's.
"Oho?" Dad's eyes widened and he smiled. "You can use magic like this too, huh?"
Pierre sighed and said, "We are going to cause such a large commotion when we arrive."
I stared at the sea of monsters suddenly springing up from the sand along the way to the Maze City of Rapan in the distance near the Teleportation Labyrinth.
After that, I held out my obsidian sword and said, "Well, that'll make gathering information easier, won't it?"
Dad blinked at my words, and then he let out a deep sigh. "...Okay. Definitely see the bad influence rubbing off..."
Probably.
Considering the significance of this place, they were probably all too focused on just clearing it.
But...
I closed my eyes again and sent a thread of mana through the warp gate.
Similar to the past when I was summoning, I felt my mana spin out like a thread. But unlike at that time, I didn't pull back.
Instead, I carefully traced it.
A stop at a place somewhere to the northwest and pretty far down.
I spread out the thread of mana further, linking with the ambient mana to map out the terrain.
A third area that was a bit further up from the second.
A fourth somewhere off to the far west and deep underground.
A fifth that was directly below us, but a mile or two below.
And then the last... a dozen or so miles directly beneath where the heart of Lapan would be.
But each floor, empty except for the last.
And in that last... I couldn't tell.
There was mana in that last area, and I could detect Ena's mana. But for some reason, I couldn't use any of it.
The ambient mana in the last area was... slippery, if that made sense.
I could definitely do something if I was there to handle it in person, but just following a thread like this wouldn't work.
Still.
"Found it."
Pierre gave me a strange look. "...You do realize that what you're doing now breaks how magic is supposed to work right?"
I rewrote the warp gate in front of me to connect to the last gate and then looked over at him. "And?"
Pierre sighed. "I guess there's a reason why you're the most ridiculous 'Rudeus Greyrat'..."
Dad laughed and said, "Damned straight." After saying that, he focused and then turned to look at me. "So we're jumping straight into a fight then?"
I stepped back and the warp gate flared a bright red. "Yep. Be ready for anything."
Pierre drew his sword.
Dad drew his too.
As for me, I put away my wedding rings except for Roxy's and then held out my left hand.
The image of the sword I used to try and cut down Being W in my mental world. The calculations stored in Roxy's ring that could turn mana into matter, or at least close enough. And then my ridiculously refined mana that would shore up any gaps.
Another flash of crimson lit up the dungeon, and then a hazy crimson katana formed in my left hand.
For a brief moment, it registered that me, Pierre, and Dad all had crimson swords.
But I set that thought aside.
We stepped onto the magic circle for the warp gate at the same time.
Surprisingly, white light flared from the magic circle.
Space bent, mana surged...
And then we were standing in a... temple?
I blinked and took a quick look around.
There were fancy marble arches and braziers on the left and right, with a long hallway in front leading to a room with an arched ceiling.
In the center of that room, there was a pure white crystal suspended in the air with Ena inside of it.
But in front of that crystal, there was a hydra.
Nine heads, each with ominous golden eyes. Matte black scales that sucked in all the light around it, making it appear like a shadow blocking out the air.
And when viewed under Mana Sight, a 'void' that cut out the ambient mana entirely, neither emitting nor absorbing.
I took in that information in a fraction of a second.
But in the next, a surge of pure white light and searing heat flooded the hallway.
*tick*
Time slowed to a crawl.
I saw Pierre move, readying his blade.
I saw Dad already mid-swing.
*tick*
But it was too slow.
The attack had literally been one at the speed of light.
Even with this slowed time, the wave was already an inch before my face.
*tick*
...But it hadn't connected.
And since it hadn't connected, I could act.
So.
Time resumed and the white light- No, the breath attack of pure mana split apart around us.
"Holy fuck!" Dad flinched and stopped his sword swing, staring at the suddenly glowing and melting orange walls.
Pierre flinched as well and said, "W-What kind of monster did Being W create?!"
I shook my hand, ignoring the slight numbing sensation from forcibly moving it in the slowed time and also from scattering the mana attack.
The hydra stared at me with its nine sets of golden eyes, narrowing them. Faint white wisps trailed along its maws as it watched us.
I stared back at it and then said, "Apparently, one smart enough to attack with its strongest move first."
Did it recognize my mana probe earlier as a threat? Or did Being W tell it to get ready?
I didn't know, but I did know that wasn't an attack it could use again any time soon-
The hydra roared, opening all of its heads again. At the same time, the white wisps began turning into flames.
...Okay, guess I'm wrong.
Doesn't matter, we just have to attack first.
I kicked off the ground, sword ready in my left hand.
Dad rushed in beside me, sword ready in his right hand.
There was no time for words.
Nine heads... If we cut them all down, the hydra should drop dead.
Ena seemed to be the reward for clearing this dungeon, so she'd be saved as soon as this dungeon was cleared.
...But we had to hurry.
Although that white crystal seemed to be 'pure' mana, I could see a strange flow of corrosive mana seeping into her very being.
If we took too long, she would be gone.
...No. Even if we finished it now, with how much-
'Focus.'
I shut off that thought.
Pierre said this hydra was probably immune to magic.
I doubted it, but we'd play it safe.
Dad moved in tandem with me.
I charged forward, readying a swing.
The hydra raised its heads, rearing back for a breath attack.
I split off to the right while Dad split off to the left.
As we crossed paths, we attacked.
I swung high, Dad swung low.
Where Dad slashed, space twisted and bent as countless slashes struck at once.
Where I slashed, mana compressed and reinforced my blade to form a pure force vector to split the hydra in half.
But then I felt it.
An instinctual reaction.
The moment my sword connected with the hydra's scales, I would die.
My eyes widened and I let go of my sword.
In the corner of my vision, I saw Dad's eyes widen as well. But unlike me, his slash had already connected.
A single fraction of time.
One where nightmarish memories overlapped reality.
Dad flew off to the side, knocked away by an invisible force.
My left arm flew through the air, blood trailing the entire time.
And then my vision was filled with white.