Chapter 24 - What Remains [2]
"Why is there a shack in the middle of nowhere?" I stumbled upon a small house that stood out among the surrounding buildings.
Imagine a village house surrounded by modern architecture, sticking out like a sore thumb.
I don’t know how it ended up here, but I suppose it just did, I guess.
"Oh, there’s the motorcycle.” I followed the gasoline trail and quickly found their traces.
For someone who managed to outwit me pretty badly, they didn't notice a gas leakage on their cherished vehicle.
"That works for me." I crouched stealthily behind the shack—or was it a house? Either way, I still felt bitter about what happened, and it was pretty obvious.
As I moved closer to the building, I noticed a peculiar scent that didn't seem normal for this location.
'That smell… spices? Are they cooking curry?' I noticed an alluring aroma that captured my attention, not realizing I was drooling.
With these activities... I found myself in a dilemma, torn between considering them foolish or clever. I expected them to notice the leakage or cover their tracks, yet they chose to cook food and make curry instead.
...My intrusive thoughts tempted me to steal it and run away, but I knew now was not the time, for now.
'Might as well temporarily patch this up for now.' I touched the broken fuel tank with my hand and sealed the leak with earth magic.
Getting back on track with my original goal, I approached their cabin with caution.
“They look very suspicious now that I look at them closely.” I commented, their tall silhouette looks very ominous.
From a distance, my gaze fell on a figure decked in heavy garments, obscuring their appearance.
Except for their dark, thick robe, what stood out was their mask shaped like a crow and a purple collar wrapped around their neck.
For someone who had been caught peeking, they were going about their day as if nothing had happened.
I felt a vein in my forehead pop with frustration.
Before I lost all reasoning and shot them with Libera—a weapon designed to kill Eldians—I shook my head and decided to restrain myself.
'Huh, so they are cooking curry.' I whispered, glancing into their kitchen.
The countertop was filled with chopped-up potatoes, carrots, spices, meat, and various other ingredients.
"Hold on, where did they get all that?" I wondered, only to find out the answer was right in front of me.
To my left, a mini garden encircled the area, flourishing with all sorts of plants. There was even a miniature farm with a chicken coop.
—Grumble…
‘…I'm kinda hungry now.' My instincts nudged me to take some, but now wasn't the time.
All I’ve been eating are canned goods and hardtack, which is about to drive me crazy.
I kept pushing forward until I reached a distance that allowed me to apprehend them with Ichor.
The Ichor is limitless in its potential for apprehension.
I can use the Ichor to create chains, shackles, handcuffs, weights, or even worse, suffocate them. All I need is a single, well-executed ambush, and this farce could end.
I’m not quite sure why I ventured into the idea of torture when most of the items I just listed, except for the last one, are simply binding instruments. Still, I'm being generous with what I'm offering for their previous misdeeds.
Once I capture them, I can finally uncover what happened to this place by questioning them... nicely.
In a world like this, information is everything.
Without it, I’ll die the moment I set foot inside Arcadia, given the guardians surrounding it.
As long as I plan everything ahead of time, then within my calculations, nothing will go wrong—
—Snap!
"Ah," I exclaimed after stepping on a tree branch. It made enough noise for my efforts to be wasted and for the stranger to undoubtedly notice me.
"…"
"…"
In that moment, our eyes locked with each other.
After what felt like hours, they made a definitive decision... to run away.
"Oh, are you kidding me?!"
It seemed they were planning to escape on the motorcycle... again.
This time, however, I won't let it happen again. Not on my watch.
—Smash!!!
The pervert broke through the door and ran as fast as they could to the motorcycle, using telekinesis once more to obstruct my path in a desperate attempt.
Why are they so scared of me in the first place?
Despite my blatant aggression (not going to deny it), I appear to be a frail girl who travels alone, not a burly man who could snap people in two.
Yeah, I may want to kill them, but that doesn’t mean that they have to outright run away from me in fear. I’m literally the least intimidating thing against a nest of actual freakish monsters, for heaven's sake.
—Vooom…!
The pervert's body emitted a faint glow. It was the magic I talked about back then, one that I should learn myself.
—Strengthening magic. The ability to boost physical capabilities.
It looked like they were getting serious this time, especially since I had learned all of their tricks during our first encounter.
‘They're using magic to speed up!' I shouted internally, displeased by how desperate they were.
Thinking that there was no choice but to end this pointless farce, I knew I had to end this here and now.
“You know what? Fine, if that's how you want to play it..."
—Kachick…!
I gave in to my intrusive thoughts and brought out a gun.
"!!!" Upon seeing what I had drawn from my pocket, they hesitated and was cautious of the gun, eventually slowing down and stopped running.
Good decision, there’s no escaping death once you’re shot.
"My god, are you ready to finally talk?” I sighed, awfully tired of this cat-and-mouse chase, “Put your hands up where I can see them!"
"..."
Although hesitant, they eventually complied after a few seconds.
“…Good." I moved closer to be within the effective range to subdue her with the Ichor.
It was fortunate that they readily submitted; I couldn't risk using Libera against a human. The firepower was already excessive even if I used a single element, let alone a highly condensed mana bullet filled with more power.
I didn't expect to encounter a human this early, so I haven't thought of a way to fight one.
"What do you want?" The stranger clad in thick clothes spoke up.
Before I began my interrogation, they said something, or rather, SHE said something beneath her muffled mask.
"Oh… wait, you're a girl?" I remarked, feeling an odd sense of relief that the person I had been pursuing was a girl all along.
Although she still saw me act all cutesy in front of a mirror, knowing that she was a woman lessened her death sentence a little.
"…Yes." She replied, refusing to elaborate further and looked away...
...As if she recalled a particular incident when I asked.
Never mind, I really have to kill this—
"Ahem, I see… then what are you doing here?" I questioned her.
From the look of things, she must’ve been here for a long time if she cultivated plants and even constructed a house in a place like this.
"…" She didn't respond and kept their head low.
“…Alright, why are you here?" I pressed again after she ignored me.
"..." Yet she remained silent, unwilling to respond to someone she had never met before in a ruined city.
‘Sigh... is this what Noah felt?’ I suddenly recalled Noah, whom I used to tease with my short answers.
"Tch, I said, answer me." I cocked the gun higher and aimed it at her stomach.
"…I can't leave."
“You can't leave? What do you mean?"
"..." She declined to provide more information.
There could be many reasons for her situation, but I couldn't figure it out when she cut off what she was trying to say.
The most significant reason that came to mind was the Pylons scattered throughout the world.
In a timeline where the 2nd Cardinal Sky has passed, only a few places were considered truly safe.
However, this place wasn't one of them; in fact, a Pylon is terrifyingly close to here, resting in Arcadia.
"You're a student in Arcadia, aren't you?” I guessed, trying to figure out her identity based on the abilities she had revealed.
Given her proficiency in Telekinesis, this was the only possible explanation for her talent.
"…Yes." She nodded.
"Hmm, then if that’s the case… there's a Pylon inside Arcadia, am I right?" I went straight to the point.
"!!!" This time, she reacted violently at the mention of the word “Pylon”.
If she's a student in Arcadia, that would simplify things for me.
"So I am right. Hmm, this makes things complicated…"
"Don't… touch it."
“What?" I tilted my head in confusion.
"I said… don't touch it. You filthy Morze scum!!!"
—Vooom!
Caught off guard, her magic power surged explosively.
“What the…!?” I yelled as everything around me began to float, including me.
"Were you hiding your true powers?!" Her mana's wavelength intensified when she snapped.
"You people took everything away from me!!!" She roared, clearly no longer in the right state of mind.
Following her sudden counterattack, she launched me into the air at high speed, slamming me straight into the wall with incredible force.
—Boom!!
The girl, dressed in her heavy outfit to conceal her identity, squinted through her mask, realizing that she had used too much mana.
In a fit of anger, she threw the black-haired girl into her house with enough force to kill her.
“Is she dead?” She took a deep breath to calm herself as she gripped her choker tightly.
But before she took the chance to breathe, the mana that was sealed in her went haywire.
"Ugh!" She struggled to stabilize her mana before it spiralled out of control. If she used any more of her mana, everything would fall apart.
She knew she had to put an end to it before something much worse happened.
She took a moment to regain control of her mana, successfully avoiding an undesirable situation.
Believing it was over, she approached the mysterious girl with golden eyes to check if she was alive.
'That person...' She pondered, recalling what had happened in the mall.
Although she hadn’t seen everything, she remembered the moment she caught her eye.
With her unusual beauty and striking facial features, it was as if a higher being had handcrafted her appearance.
However, this made her uneasy; there was no way a human could appear out of the blue after she hadn’t seen anyone for two years.
Although she acted... rather boyish and embarrassing in front of a mirror, it could have all been a trick to deceive her, just like before.
'I won't make that same mistake. Never again.' She shook her head, contemplating what to do with the girl’s dead body.
...
...
...
—Crack...!
Before she moved any closer, she heard a whirling in the distance.
"...?" Feeling on edge, she sensed that something was amiss and braced herself for what was about to come.
—Nyoom!!!
Unable to react, a strong gust of wind swept through, nearly lifting her off her feet.
'She's still alive!?" She was rendered speechless.
An ordinary person would have been reduced to a puddle of blood if someone had taken her attack head-on.
'But this person...'
—Tap... tap... tap...
“Ouch... that hurts. Not only did you peek at this innocent girl changing and run away without apologizing, but you also tried to harm me without understanding the situation...”
The black-haired girl stood up and scratched her head, completely unscathed despite having been flung at high speed.
"That's it. You pissed me off." The black-haired girl scowled, her expression contrasting sharply with her appearance.
Her ominous, golden eyes made her feel uneasy, as if she was a snake that had her cornered.
"She's dangerous." She swallowed her saliva at the absurdity of the situation.
It was right not to judge a book by its cover after all.
