novelLawless Zone (3)
| ← Ch.306 | Ch.308 → |
I hid behind the car and sent a command to Spartan. He quickly appeared in the sky and looked down at us.
Whooosh—!
At that moment, another arrow flew towards us, targeting the car's tire. Aether tried to protect it, but because the tire wasn't strong to begin with, it couldn't withstand the attack even with Aether's help.
Kwang—!
The tire popped like a balloon as Spartan shared his field of vision with me.
I could see the enemy about 5km to the east. It wouldn't be hard to see him at first through Spartan's eyes, but his location was made very clear in the next moment when he shot an arrow at Spartan.
—... !
Spartan flapped his wings and dodged the attack, but the arrow quickly turned and chased after Spartan.
Chwaaaa.... The fiercely flying arrow was quicker than Spartan. At this rate, Spartan would die as well.
The moment the arrow grazed Spartan's feathers, I ordered him to escape. Spartan teleported out just in time, and the arrow pierced through thin air. But at that moment, an unpleasant system alert popped up.
[Spartan's wing has been injured - he is unable to use his Authority. ]
I bit my lips. Returning to my normal field of vision, I looked around the surroundings. We were attacked in the outskirts of the lawless zone. Although a few pubs and inns were nearby, fights were commonplace here. Even if I asked someone for help, it was unlikely for any of them to listen to me.
"... Tsk."
The only thing protecting me was a sedan enveloped in Aether. I was running out of time. I doubted that the sedan could withstand the enemy's terrifying arrows any more than this.
Without any other choice, I took out [Temujin's Bow Blessed By Horus] and [Athena's Moonlight Arrow]. I didn't hesitate much. To save Yoo Yeonha and to save myself, I needed to do this.
The moment I grabbed the arrow, Master Sharpshooter's senses heightened. I looked to the east. My vision quickly stretched out until it reached my target 5km away.
I finally caught a glimpse of the sharpshooter that attacked us.
It was a woman holding a black bow. Her dark eyes seemed to be staring at me directly.
No, she was most certainly staring at me. Our eyes exchanged glances from 5km away.
Kiiik—
The enemy pulled her bowstring.
For some reason, I felt like I knew her. Blue hair flowing down over her black leather armor. Slightly tanned skin and fair facial features... The sharpshooter looked just like the person I imagined while I was writing.
"... Leraje."
That should be her name. She was one of the ten devils I thought of using for the final part of the story - Leraje the Green Devil.
As her title suggested, green was her symbolic color, but the background story was that she hated green so much that she dyed her green hair blue.
Leraje held more moderate views among the devils, and by the looks of it, she still seemed to be staying in her incarnation body.
Still, she was the sole archer among devils. She was not an opponent I could deal with easily.
"Huu."
Why was the 14th ranked devil here?
I was annoyed by the sudden turn of events, but I knew complaining about it wouldn't do me any good.
I took a deep breath and nocked [Athena's Moonlight Arrow] onto my bow. Then, I poured everything I had into it: Stigma's magic power, Random Consolidation System, Constraints and Amplifications.
A terrifying magic power descended on the moonlight arrow, and brilliant rays of light began to stretch out in all directions. The moonlight's holy power enveloped the earth and sky. I aimed the cluster of light at the devil and pulled the bowstring strongly.
... But due to Leraje's strange reaction, I didn't fire the arrow.
—....
She put her bow down and stared at me. Her gaze held no hostility or killing intent. Her expressionless face only showed her cold beauty.
After staring at me for a long time, Leraje muttered.
—My name.
A fleeting voice came out of her coy lips. Next, Leraje suddenly put away her bow and arrows.
I couldn't understand what brought on the sudden change, but it was clear she no longer had any desire to attack. As such, I put my bow down as well.
In that instant, Leraje's form disappeared like a mirage.
"... What?"
I was taken aback.
"Did my arrow scare her away? No, I doubt that's the case..."
No matter the reason, the current situation was better for me. Not only did I conserve my strength, but I also didn't have to risk my life fighting her to the death.
[A huge luck erupted!]
[A Single Word Pays Back a Debt of a Thousand Gold - Your thoughtless mumbling saved your life!]
[The great 'Rank 14 Devil - Leraje' takes interest in the human who recognized her. ]
[Information regarding Leraje has been added to your Gift 「Observation and Reading」. ]
[You obtain 333SP!]
[Narrow Escape from Death (7/9) - Special stat, Accumulation of Luck, becomes partly unlocked!]
Narrow Escape from Death popped up once again.
"That was luck too?"
I exclaimed in surprise, then I remembered someone.
"Ah!"
I quickly ran to the side of the sedan and opened the door. Yoo Yeonha was sitting in the corner, her face pale and her body trembling.
The inside of the car looked different than just now. The remnants of Licros's corpse were nowhere to be seen, and a hot current of electricity was crackling inside.
Yoo Yeonha had burned Licros's blood, flesh, and bones into nothingness.
**
[North Pandemonium - Undeveloped Area]
In the Russian land north of Pandemonium, a temple no human knew about existed.
Monsters swarmed the area, and the temple was shrouded by tall coniferous forest. Inside this dark temple, countless Djinns and demons were gathered to worship the rank 14th devil.
"... She should be fine on her own, right?" The Djinn assigned to this temple, Destruction, said worryingly. In front of him were many Djinns and a few demons who were waiting for their lord to return.
"The outside world is dangerous... We know what happened to Plucas."
Destruction was always interested in the descent of the devil he was serving. When signs of Demon Realm Transformation appeared, he helped the descent of the rank 14 devil more carefully than any other Djinn.
Destruction took care so that no one would find out about his lord's descent. He knew very well what happened to Rank 50 Devil Plucas, whose existence was revealed to the world.
"Don't worry. Lord Leraje is a noble who is among the strongest in the Demon Realm."
But the devil's henchman seemed to be carefree. Corte, the most human-looking servant among the demons, said with a smile.
"Lord Leraje isn't someone a mere human can injure."
And at that moment, Leraje returned to the temple. Her ability allowed her to change the composition of her body freely. She took the form of wind and quickly arrived at her throne.
The servants waiting for her all bowed with respect.
"... ?"
But Corte noticed something. Leraje didn't have the [Dimensional Entropy] in her hands. That was the object she had left to obtain personally.
At that moment, Corte's gaze met Leraje's. Corte flinched, while Leraje simply gave a command.
—Rise.
Her command wasn't in the form of words. She projected letters using Earth's technology known as a smartwatch.
This was a small constraint placed on Leraje. She had to expend her lifeforce every time she spoke, so she used this smartwatch given by Destruction to express her thoughts.
—I didn't bring the object you talked about.
Corte and Destruction stared at the words appearing in the air.
—There was a mysterious human who knew my name.
With that, Leraje leaned against her throne. Her youthful look and soft figure shone seductively.
Corte was displeased. [Dimensional Entropy] was an important item in the descent of a devil, yet Leraje had given up because she took interest in a mere human.
"Lord, you are a nobleman renowned across the Demon Realm. It isn't strange for tales of Lord's strength to have spread to Earth. So how can it be strange for—"
Leraje furrowed her brows and cut him off.
—Humans don't know me. This isn't the Demon Realm.
Tadadak— Leraje typed on the holographic keyboard as she looked around her surroundings.
—He even knew my name.
"... Is that so?"
—Of course, I don't lie.
Next, Leraje yawned. As her descent wasn't fully complete, Leraje slept often.
—I'm sleepy.
—Wake me up if those old devils contact us.
—Look into the human who recognized me too.
—He really was quite interesting.
With four final messages, Leraje fell asleep.
Corte stared at Leraje's sleeping figure and then faced Destruction next to him.
"Destruction."
"Yes, Lord."
"... Look into this human Lord Leraje has taken interest in. You'll also have to bring back the [Dimensional Entropy]."
"... ?"
Destruction widened his eyes in surprise, then put on a deep smile. This was exactly what he wanted to do.
From what he recently learned, the human who took the [Dimensional Entropy] was none other than the daughter of Yoo Jinwoong.
"Understood, leave it to me."
Destruction replied and laughed happily.
**
[Central Asia]
I threw the car away. It could be repaired, but it was already too tattered, and in its current state, it was at a huge risk of being attacked again.
I summoned Sannuri, who I turned into a card, and ran with Yoo Yeonha. Sannuri was burdened by the [Dimensional Entropy] I was carrying, but she was still as quick as ever.
Click— Clack—
As Sannuri sped forward, I checked Yoo Yeonha's condition. She was trembling sporadically, her body was freezing, and her breathing was labored. Like a bird drenched in rain, her frail body was devoid of strength.
Yoo Yeonha needed time to rest.
I saw a natural cave surrounded by greenery with my Thousand-Mile Eyes, and I led Sannuri to it.
"Get down."
"...."
Yoo Yeonha came down from Sannuri's back without a word. She staggered but didn't fall. She sat down against the cave wall, pretending to be fine, and stared at me. I took this moment to message Jin Seyeon.
"Jin Seyeon-ssi, are you okay?"
—....
Tzzt. Static noise rang out a few times before she returned a reply.
—Yes, we managed to survive. The car broke down, but we were able to escape. Where are you now?
As expected, a Master-rank Hero wasn't so easily killed. It seemed she even managed to protect Jin Sechan.
"I'll send you the coordinates. Tell me if you're too far."
I sent her our current location. After a brief silence, a troubled voice rang out.
—Yes, we're far, perhaps two days away on foot. We went in different directions after all...
"Then send me your location. I'll pick you up."
—Pick me up?
I looked at Sannuri. She immediately understood my intention and snorted unhappily.
"Yes, I have a horse with me. She's incredibly smart, beautiful, and kind."
Sannuri's expression brightened. Jin Seyeon's confused voice rang out.
—... A horse?
"Yes. Anyways, send me your coordinates first."
—Ah... yes.
Soon, my smartwatch beeped, and I showed Jin Seyeon's location to Sannuri.
Sannuri stared at the coordinate for about 10 seconds before neighing with a nod. She seemed to be in a good mood.
"It's pretty far, huh? You can run as much as you want."
—Hiiing.
"Yep, you don't have to carry anyone on your way there, so run as quickly as you want. If you run into any monster or demons, feel free to kill them all."
—Hiiing!
Sannuri cried cheerfully before immediately bolting out of the cave. Whoosh—! She was as quick as lightning. Black soot flickered above the ground she passed over.
"... Haha."
I chuckled and sat down as well. It was then that I noticed Yoo Yeonha staring at me fixedly from the side. Her face was pale white, like a patient who was on the brink of fainting.
I met her gaze, then smirked.
"Are you okay?"
"...."
Yoo Yeonha nodded. Did she lose her ability to speak? She hadn't said a word since she got on Sannuri.
To lighten up the mood and to make her talk, I said mischievously, "You look like you're going to die soon."
"...."
But Yoo Yeonha didn't say a word. She only stared at me fixedly. Then, after a long time, she gulped and said simply, "I saw it."
"Saw what?" I asked back nonchalantly.
"You using a bow."
At that moment, a gust of wind blew through the cave. The wind made a strange humming sound echoing off the walls, and I couldn't hear Yoo Yeonha properly because of it.
"... You saw?"
"Yes." She nodded resolutely.
"Your bow, your arrow, and the huge undulation of magic power you aimed at the enemy."
"...."
"Thinking about it now, I was the idiot for not even suspecting it. Even when we were in Cube, your skill with the bow was amazing. I still remember the curve shot you showed during the festival."
I didn't say anything and just scratched my head. I was hoping she was panicking too much to have noticed, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
Yoo Yeonha let out a low sigh.
"That bow you took out. I know what it is. No, even if it isn't me, anyone decently skilled in the field of information would recognize Black Lotus's bow."
I just sat still. I was contemplating how to respond. Should I admit it or deny it? I couldn't think of any excuse.
But, when I heard Yoo Yeonha's next words...
"You're willing to go that far to take revenge on the Chameleon Troupe?"
My head turned blank. It felt like my brain stopped functioning for a moment.
I had no other choice but to maintain my silence... and Yoo Yeonha continued talking.
"You're willing to dirty your hands and hurt yourself to—"
Yoo Yeonha paused and looked at me. Her gaze was filled with sympathy and pity. I didn't understand where they were coming from.
The only reaction I could give in response...
".... ?"
... was to tilt my head.
| ← Ch. 306 | Ch. 308 → |