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Chapter 81: The Moving Operation (5)
Lamancha continued to trace the symbols in the air while murmuring incantations.
Swish!
A crimson line appeared on his wrinkled neck. As Ronan tackled him, the old man’s head shot up into the air upon impact.
“Old man?!”
The young man was astonished. The severed head, as if bouncing away, disappeared into the clouds. The death of the once-feared strongman known as Aden’s Bloodstorm was so anticlimactic that it was hard to believe.
“I thought I was royally screwed…”
On the other hand, Ronan exhaled another sigh of relief. There was no doubt that what the elderly man had activated was the protection of the stars. It was similar to what Brighia, who tore Sarante in half, had used.
‘If he had been half as strong as that woman… Just thinking about it gives me chills.’
A shiver ran down his spine. What was supposed to be a simple relocation mission was spiraling out of control. The fact that he had the protection of the stars was a testament to the fact that he was a significant force within the Nebula Clazier.
However, the battle had already been decided. The old man’s lifeless body lay sprawled across Wyvern’s back. Ronan, after glimpsing the blood spurting from the severed neck, grimaced.
“Well, it’s unfortunate.”
No matter how strong one was, death was the ultimate end. Ronan callously lifted the corpse and discarded it. The body, which had dangled awkwardly over the saddle, soon got swept away by the wind.
Despite the passenger’s death, Wyvern showed no particular reaction. Ronan lightly tapped Wyvern’s back with his heel.
“It’s a good ride. They must have trained you well.”
“Damn it, Fire Arrow!”
The young man raised his left hand and pointed it at Ronan. Combat was not his forte, but he had no choice. With a short yelp, a bolt of fire shot toward Ronan. Ronan smirked as he twirled his sword around.
Ronan, with a casual twist of his sword, evaded the arrow and grinned.
“Thank goodness we got rid of the old man first.”
It was clear that his magic was lacking. Ronan shifted his shoulder to dodge the arrow and then swung his sword vertically.
Splat!
The blade shot straight through, cutting the young man’s left arm in half.
“Aaaaargh!”
The young man collapsed, clutching his left arm. Ronan, who had leaped over, swiftly moved to the Wyvern where the young man was and struck a decisive blow simultaneously.
Swish!
The young man’s mangled left arm cleanly severed.
“Ugh…”
Overwhelmed by unbearable pain, the young man lost consciousness. As his torment faded, the madness that had engulfed the Wyverns’ eyes dissipated. The Wyvern carrying the young man suddenly twisted its body violently.
“Kieeeek!”
“Geez.”
Ronan hurriedly placed Lamancha on the back of the Wyvern. As the pain rendered the Wyvern powerless, its frenzy intensified. At that moment, the young man’s body, which had been swaying and tottering, was thrown outward.
“No!”
Ronan reached out desperately but narrowly missed. It was the moment when the clouds seemed ready to engulf the young man. As his body spiraled in descent, it suddenly came to a halt. Realizing the situation, Ronan exclaimed in relief.
“That’s it, Aselle! Just like that!”
“I… I’ve got him!”
An unseen hand was holding onto the young man. It was Aselle’s magical ability, the Invisible Hand. He was still clinging to Wyvern’s head, trembling. Ronan shouted.
“Good job, pull him up!”
“Uh, okay!”
Aselle raised his clenched fist, lifting the limp body of the fallen young man onto the golden Wyvern.
For some unknown reason, the golden Wyvern that the old man had been riding continued to maintain a calm flight path even though its rider was dead. Meanwhile, the red Wyvern, which had been rampaging while Ronan was on its back, roared once again.
“Kiehaaaargh!”
“I can’t stand you either, you beast.”
Ronan tossed Lamancha aside and leaped into the air. He landed squarely on the back of the golden Wyvern that was flying below.
The red Wyvern, meanwhile, soared menacingly into the clouds, having shaken off Ronan. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Ronan looked down at the young man and muttered under his breath.
“Damn it… you little…”
The young man, with his left arm severed, had still not regained consciousness. Ronan, without hesitation, thrust Lamancha into the young man’s right thigh.
“Ugh…!”
“Shut up.”
Just as the young man attempted to shout something while jerking his upper body, Ronan’s palm covered his mouth. Ronan crouched down, bringing his face close to the young man’s.
“Mmmph, mmph!”
“When I let go, you’re going to tell me what you’ve been doing. It won’t be fun every time I torture you. If you understand, nod your head.”
Tears flowed endlessly from the bloodshot eyes of the young man. After a brief moment of silence, he nodded. As Ronan removed his hand, the young man gasped for air.
“Fuck you, you bastard! How dare you come out of nowhere and say—”
Ronan, without a word, twisted Lamancha left and right, piercing through the young man’s thigh.
Squelch!
The severed leg, like a piece of tofu, vanished into the clouds. The young man’s curses turned into desperate screams in an instant.
“Aaaaargh!”
“I told you it wouldn’t be fun.”
It was a good thing he hadn’t cut off his right arm. He snapped his index finger back at the fainting young man.
Crack!
The sound of cracking bone brought the young man back to his senses. Ronan clamped his hand over his mouth and broke two more fingers. Then he removed the palm covering his mouth.
“I-I’ll talk…! If I talk, you won’t… do that again, right…?”
The young man trembled with fear and desperation.
Based on his use of formal language, it seemed quite genuine. Perhaps, as Karaka had suggested, he might have a talent for interrogation.
Ronan took the potion from his pocket and applied a few drops to the young man’s wounds, just to make sure he didn’t bleed to death.
“Don’t leave anything out, or you’ll end up with a body that can’t clean its own poop.”
“Yes, I’ll tell… I’ll tell you everything…”
——————
The young man spoke with a trembling voice mixed with sobs. His name was Kadyon. He claimed to be a monster tamer from the Nebula Clazier and had been on a mission with two others who had died earlier.
“Well, originally, a woman and I were supposed to control the Wyvern and other monsters together. But… because of that foul smell of rotten fish in the air…”
“Don’t waste my time.”
He explained the mission he had been assigned. He and the woman were supposed to control the monsters, including the Wyvern, while an old man, who had used the protection of the stars against Ronan, was their escort. As Ronan had suspected, the rampaging monsters on the ground were merely a distraction and a deception.
“You’re right. Making the monsters go wild was all part of a deception. Kgh… I never thought it would be exposed…”
Kadyon emphasized repeatedly that making the monsters go wild had been nothing more than a ruse. The real objective had been to attack Roma and disrupt the mountain road.
“It’s over… everything’s over… please, just spare my life…”
Kadyon’s mission in the Nebula Clazier had failed. That’s what Ronan gathered from his words.
However, the creases on Ronan’s forehead weren’t easing. He felt like he was missing something important. Suddenly, something he had seen during the chaos crossed his mind.
“How in the world did you know…this was a plan I’ve been working on for years…”
“Hey.”
“…Huh?”
“You’re hiding something.”
Kadyon’s pupils trembled for a moment. He desperately nodded his head. Ronan, with the tip of Lamancha poised at his throat, continued to speak.
How exactly were you planning to destroy it?”
“By drawing attention to the monsters and storming the mountain road with wyverns.”
“Then what is this wyvern holding?”
“That, that’s what you mean….”
“Aselle! Fetch what’s stuck in the Wyvern’s claw!”
“Uh, okay… Ugh!”
With a cautious turn of his head, Aselle looked at Kadyon’s face and retched. Aselle had been supporting Ronan ever since the interrogation began.
Aselle used his telekinesis to extract the object caught in the Wyvern’s talon. Kadyon’s eyes widened when he saw the object that had been revealed before him. Ronan spoke.
“What’s this?”
“Well, you see…”
Kadyon trailed off. At that moment, as Aselle examined the sphere object, he let out a scream. He was familiar with most of the magical inscriptions on the object’s surface.
“Eeek… it’s a… it’s an explosive spell, Ronan! There are thirty of them inscribed!”
“Damn it.”
“It’s designed to explode upon impact or after a certain amount of time!”
Lamancha danced in the air, and Kadyon’s right arm detached from his body. Ronan, while crushing Kadyon’s neck with his foot as he writhed in agony, growled.
“Did I or did I not tell you not to pull any tricks?”
“Da-damn it! We were almost there!”
Kadyon struggled. Ronan kicked his belly to silence him. Suddenly, the clouds that had covered the surroundings dispersed, revealing the landscape of the Roma mountain range. Ronan pursed his lips.
“Damn it.”
They were approximately five minutes away from reaching the mountain road. Down below in Marbas, the sound of alarm bells echoed, and it seemed like they had spotted the Wyvern they were riding.
“Heh, hahahaha! Even so, this should be enough! We’re all going to die together, you fools!”
Kadyon triggered the explosion. Nevertheless, thanks to the time delay, they were able to reach this point. He knew the power of the spells inscribed on the sphere object. Although it couldn’t completely destroy the Roma mountain road, it was more than enough to obliterate the nearby Marbas.
“W-what…!”
The magical inscriptions etched on the sphere object seemed to flicker as if they would explode at any moment. Aselle’s face turned pale. Ronan, who had been pondering silently while stroking his chin, spoke up.
“Aselle, I’m a bit confused here, but the stuff inscribed here is also a kind of magic, right?”
“W-well, yes…”
“That’s enough then.”
Suddenly, Ronan swung Lamancha.
Swish!
With a cheerful sound, the object split in half. Aselle let out a scream like a girl.
“Aaaargh! Wh-what are you… doing?”
But nothing happened. The flickering light of the inscriptions vanished.
Ronan continued to strike the object several more times. It broke into dozens of pieces and lost its form. Watching this, Kadyon’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Wh-what…! How did you…?”
“It’s because of my constitution type.”
Ronan scratched his head frantically. He knew from his past experiences that his abilities could interfere with magical inscriptions. Kadyon’s face contorted in despair. Suddenly, a massive shadow loomed in front of the Wyvern.
“I was wondering where you disappeared to, but here you are.”
“Eeek!”
A familiar low growl resonated through the air. As Aselle almost fell backward, he managed to regain his balance. Ronan raised one hand and greeted.
“You’re here.”
Zaifa’s body was covered in blood, and she had clung to the Wyvern with one hand during the fall. The staggering Wyvern began to descend. Ronan, holding Kadyon by the hair, spoke sarcastically.
“I told you I wouldn’t let them go.”
“It doesn’t matter, I would’ve caught them anyway.”
“Doesn’t matter, my ass. You’d have been blown away by the explosion, turning into a flying carpet. Be grateful to me, you bitch.”
“Explosion?”
Zaifa raised an eyebrow. Ronan considered explaining but gave up—it was too much of a hassle. Kadyon sighed in relief after seeing Zaifa.
“Za-Zaifa!”
The sight of the black Were-tiger seemed like the final nail in the coffin of all hopes. Zaifa glanced at Kadyon and clicked her tongue in disgust.
“Tch, you’re disgusting.”
“Should I cut off the remaining leg?”
“Leave that to Rodollan. Let’s go back.”
Zaifa leaped away with all three people still clinging to her side. The now free Wyvern flew away, and the sound of bells ringing in Marbas ceased.
Those people probably had no idea and would continue living today without a trace of what happened. Ronan sighed deeply and muttered to himself.
“….I didn’t realize moving was this hard.”
Zaifa repeated her leaps and headed back to where they had originally been, just as when she arrived. The constant tickling of the fur was annoying, but it was a hundred times better than having a ragged tail. They were flying at full speed.
“Ah. Is there something you want in return?”
“Want something? Like what?”
“It’s the Emperor’s instructions.”
Zaifa explained that the Emperor had given instructions to reward those who contributed to the capture or elimination of Nebula Clazier. She spoke in a softer tone.
“Thanks to you, we managed to kill fewer Wyverns. You’re more than qualified for this.”
“A reward… a reward, you say…”
Ronan raised an eyebrow. It was an unexpected gain. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke.
“Well, in that case… can you lend me your strength?”
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