129. King’s Ruins (2)
As in the previous room, there was one door in each of the other three directions except for the entrance.
“Cain, it’s the door on the left!”
With Silverfang’s shout, Cain ran towards the left door.
He placed his palm on the door and infused mana to begin unlocking the lock pattern.
“The pattern is complex and takes time.”
“Everyone, cover Cain!”
Ashen wolves surrounded Cain in a semicircle. In that state, he fought a battle with the mechanical doll.
The mechanical doll’s attack was sharp and fierce, reminiscent of any other beast.
wiggle- wiggle-
The joint was bent at a strange angle, and the attack flew in from an unexpected direction.
It clings to the ceiling and falls, or crouches on the floor and leaps.
The number is about 30.
Kwajik!
One of the waists was split in half by Silverfang’s claws, and the magic crystal in that area was broken and scattered.
The upper and lower body, which were divided in half, were no longer moving.
Woo-
The mass of machinery that lost power was surrounded by light and disappeared like a seep to the floor.
Without a trace, as if it did not exist from the beginning.
“There is a magic crystal that is the power source inside the body! Aim for the nukes!”
At Silverfang’s command, a gray wolf attacked the mechanical doll’s waist.
Kwajik!
However, there was no magic stone on the waist that was split in half. The mechanical doll with only the upper body swung its arms at the gray wolf.
Nettle!
‘It’s too late to avoid.’
The gray wolf was dizzy.
It was an attack that I entered thinking that the mechanical doll would be incapacitated in combat.
It was not easy to dodge, and the other comrades to help were fighting each other.
‘Is this the end?’
As I was about to close my eyes, I felt an unfamiliar energy rising from my body.
“… … !”
The muscles all over his body twitched and the strength of the soles of his feet entered.
Kwajik!
The gray wolf quickly turned around and avoided the attack with an intermittent car. One after another, he kicked the mechanical doll and blew it away.
A black energy was circulating all over his body. When I looked around, my colleagues were the same.
“Don’t panic! This is Cain’s magic!”
I turned and looked at Cain.
Cain reached out his untouched hand toward the gray wolf.
Eight lines of black mana extending from the palm of their hand were connected to Silverfang and the Ashen Wolf.
The gray wolves, who gained confidence, changed their movements more recklessly.
Cain once again took out the manastone and swallowed it.
Using enhancement magic on multiple objects at the same time meant doubling the mana consumption.
Mana was decreasing in real time at a frightening rate.
“Leader! This guy didn’t have a nucleus in his lower back!”
The answer to the gray wolf’s question came from Cain’s mouth.
Through the communication device installed before entering the ruins, it was transmitted from Cain’s mouth to the ears of the gray wolves.
“The location of the nucleus is different for each individual. You can tell by observing the movement. Lacqueard, bend your back to dodge the attack and aim for the enemy’s right foot!”
The gray wolf called Lacquer followed Cain’s instructions without any hesitation.
Kwajik!
The foot of the mechanical doll was broken, and the magic stone inside it scattered. The fallen mechanical doll disappeared surrounded by light as before.
Wee-
The lock pattern on the door was about half unlocked. There was still a lot of time left to endure.
“Beotan, two steps back. Dodge the attack and stab him right in the shoulder.”
Cain changed the channel of the communication device and gave instructions to each gray wolf.
It was a different experience than when I was conducting Supreme Security.
The gray wolf immediately followed instructions without delay.
To a level where it is safe to say that the body is synchronized with Cain’s commands.
It was the only reaction speed that humans could not have.
Cain did not forget to control and maintain the output of the enhancement magic at the same time.
Something fishy came up from his throat.
blood.
It’s not the time yet. The gray wolf will be agitated when it shows bloodshed.
Cain took out the magic stone and swallowed it.
The blood that had been rushing up was swallowed deep in my heart again along with the magic stone.
At least on the surface, Cain’s face was calm, and there was nothing wrong with it.
Kwajik!
As the gray wolf struggled, the number of enemies decreased. But at the same time, a new halo was created and an enemy was added.
“Captain, something is strange. This guy’s movements are obviously a while ago… .”
It was definitely an enemy that was defeated.
It was the impression that the destroyed body was completely restored and put back into the battlefield.
Seeing the scene, Cain was once again convinced of the reward in the last room of the ruins.
‘It doesn’t matter if my body is broken now. It might be possible to delay the timing of using the Resurrection attribute once.’
Leica’s escape to the ruins was unexpected, but it wasn’t too bad.
“Focus on holding out as much as you can!”
The battle continued, and everyone did their best to keep Cain open.
Weing- Clap!
The door opened the moment the mana injected into the door followed the last pattern.
Cain entered the next room and turned towards the gray wolf.
He stopped maintaining the enhancement magic, and spread a huge protection with the secured mana.
“This is it! Everyone come in!”
The door was closing quickly as soon as it opened.
Silverfang and the Ashen Wolf heard Cain’s call and hurriedly moved to the room.
Meanwhile, the mechanical dolls clinged to the shield like bugs.
With an intermittent difference, all the personnel crossed the room, and the moment the door closed, the sound of the protection breaking was heard.
Cain and Silverfang said at the same time to the gray wolves who took a moment to breathe.
“Get ready.”
“Get ready.”
Dede-!
A huge wall was being pushed towards this side. Between the wall and this side, I saw dolls appearing wrapped in a halo of light.
The gray wolves exhaled harsh breaths and stood up.
Despair, fear, fear. Those were words that were far from them.
The battle sense that had been dormant for a long time was awakened, and the blood was boiling hot.
* * *
The beast was dizzy.
Maybe it was because he moved too much with one arm missing?
Or maybe it’s because the thoughts I’ve been ignoring have exploded all at once?
The exact reason was not known.
Maybe it’s because of both factors.
“… … .”
The beast looked down at one of its empty arms.
Somehow, the broken arm looked quite natural. As if it was like that from the beginning.
lack of.
empty.
lack of.
It was.
He was born with a deficiency from the beginning.
Ever since I was able to develop a proper self, I have always felt an emptiness.
Fighting while pushing your body to the limit, spending all your money and drinking alcohol, being faithful to your instincts and releasing your s*xual desires without love.
There was a feeling of lack that could not be satisfied no matter what he did.
I felt like a stranger who had no choice but to wander for the rest of my life without belonging to any place.
「Why don’t you read it once? Books are the food of the mind.”
The place I went into the dreary and gloomy place was an unknown bookstore in a remote area.
In the book I picked up involuntarily, I saw something about the forest.
forest.
It was an unfamiliar concept.
It is a place with a lot of trees and bushes that you can only see once in the streets where the wealthy live.
I turned to the next page like I was possessed.
The moment I saw the imaginary picture of the forest drawn on the old page, my heart was overflowing with unknown emotions.
I bought the book and went home. I stayed up all night reading. It felt like a new world had opened up, and I started to read all kinds of books about the forest and collect information.
and realized
What is the identity of the lack of which he has been harboring for a long time, and where he should return to.
Long ago, in ancient times, it was said that the entire continent was covered with greenery.
The greenery and flora and fauna that filled the entire field of vision were no joke.
But in modern times, forests do not exist. no place to go back
But it didn’t matter.
If there was no place to return to, he had to create the place himself.
The beast put his hand into his bosom. I felt the smooth touch of the seeds on my fingertips.
I thought I had reached the end of my goal.
I’ve collected a few seeds of life so far, and I thought the timing was good enough to carry out the plan.
Had it not been for the unexpected events that happened last night, I would have done so.
I thought I could avoid or survive any magic with a smile, but the magic that Cain used was beyond the normal level.
Shrek.
The beast lifted its back from the wall and stood up. I almost fell, and I managed to get my body back on track.
In front of him, in the middle of the room, a huge beast made of mechanical parts had fallen.
Scattered fragments and rubble all over the place predicted the fierce battle that would have taken place in this room.
“… … .”
The beast turned his back and looked to the other side. There was a glass wall around the door that could not be opened due to lack of mana.
Beyond the door was a long, gigantic scaffold with a railing at the end.
Leica lowered her gaze.
A reddish-brown land spread out beneath the distant heights.
It must be a basement that exists under the ruins.
Just below the scaffold, two huge pits opened their mouths like a furnace.
A red liquid and a blue liquid were boiling, respectively, and smoke was rising above them.
The beast thought it looked like a great fountain.
There were mechanical dolls around.
Push-!
The mechanical dolls were pouring cans of ore into the red spring around them.
The ore melted without a trace, smoking a smoke of its own color.
On the other hand, entering the blue fountain was a mechanical doll with a broken body. The doll was carrying the doll.
The doll that had entered the blue fountain was completely restored and brought up again.
This was the scenery I had seen when I visited this ruins before.
Even then, I couldn’t open the door and went back.
‘Obviously, a lizard with a severed leg fell into a blue spring and when it came out, it was growing again.’
I didn’t know the principle, but I knew it intuitively.
The red spring melts the target and converts it into energy, and the blue spring has the power to restore the state of both living and non-living things.
The beast put his palm on the door once more.
The infused mana was sucked back into the palm of the hand without drawing a pattern.
It was due to lack of mana.
“Is this the end?”
I tried to hit the glass wall with all my might, but to no avail.
muttered in a self-contained voice.
The pursuers must have been following them by now.
Even if it wasn’t, I couldn’t go back the way I came because I had no more energy left.
Those dolls keep appearing no matter how much you knock them down.
click.
Whoo-
He lit a cigarette and made a long smoke.
There were times when I felt disappointed that he, who was called the king of beasts, had his end in a place like this.
“Leica, is this your last luxury before you die?”
The beast’s body turned like lightning at the sound of the momentary voice.
Cain was standing.
Behind Cain, behind the half-closed door, Silver Fang and wolves were seen fighting the mechanical doll.
“Cain! This is us— even you—!”
shudder! thud!
The door is completely closed.
As if not allowing the intruder to advance any more, at a speed different from before.
In fact, the speed at which the door closes increases as you enter the ruins. Because of this, there were people who were trapped in another room and left behind.
Cain looked at the closed door and looked back at Laika.
“… … .”
Anyway, it was clear what he had to do. It was to put an end to this fight so that their sacrifice would not be in vain.
“I didn’t know you would follow me to the last room. You’ve turned into a monster in the blink of an eye, Cain.”
Laika pondered for a moment if she was hallucinating. However, as time passed, Cain’s appearance did not disappear.
Cain didn’t answer.
It was just quietly going through the mana refinement in the circuit.
The only thing that resonated in the silence was the rough breathing of the two characters.
Weary of each other, we knew intuitively that this was the place to end a long fight.
“You must have tried to take a dip in the spring in the basement. Do you think your arm will regenerate?”
Leica chuckled.
“I’m not sure. But it’s well worth a try. Because life is basically a gamble.”
Cain snorted.
Both himself and Leica were far from gambling.
It was the common tendency of the two to avoid unmeasurable variables and move according to a thorough plan.
Cain threw a magic stone at Laika.
“Open the door.”
He was also exhausted, so he couldn’t take down Laika right away.
It was calculated that the amount of door opening would be just right by adding the mana recovered with mana stones to Laika’s current mana.
“Your purpose must also be the fountain down there.”
Laika looked at the magic stone with her cloudy eyes and swallowed it.
He knew he was trying to completely drain his mana, but there was no other way.
Woo-
Mana spreads up and down the door in a pattern.
In an instant, both Cain and Laika raised the nerves of their entire body.
shudder!
As soon as the door finally opened, the two figures left their seats and moved at the same time.