Chapter 39 - Reason to Fight [1]

A Pylon consists of three segments and a concept: the Domain, the Frame, and the Core—essentially, the body, the bone, and the heart.

The Domain, which was the barrier Camellia encountered, prevents any external influences that the Pylon considers a threat.

It also restricts individuals inside from leaving unless they fulfill certain conditions.

The Frame, which shapes the Pylon's physical appearance, is heavily affected by its environment.

Due to its nature, it grows like a tree, extending high into the sky and producing what we now call Eldians from its twisted harvest.

Lastly, the Core serves as the Pylon's heart, providing nearly infinite energy to power the structure.

Once the Core is destroyed, the Pylon collapses and withers away, severing the connection to the Eldritch God.

All of this knowledge boils down to the fact that the concept, <Erudition>, influenced the Pylon, cultivating an eerie atmosphere that felt liminal.

Its Domain was the entire capital of Demiurge.

Its Frame was Arcadia, the Land of Magic itself.

Then, its core took control of the artifact that powered Arcadia.

What Camila and I were fighting against was a supercharged Pylon capable of killing us in an instant if it chose to.

Only then did we uncover the reason behind the strange silence that enveloped this place.

—Thump...! Thump...!

At the Core, an unidentified monolith stood, menacingly proclaiming its presence.

The monolith resembled a red lotus poised to bloom, its appearance striking yet its thorns deadly.

Pylons are known for generating Eldians at a rapid pace, but this one was doing something different.

—It was as if it was trying to nurture something.

‘No… Now's not the time to be thinking about that.’ I shook my head and focused on the present.

—Tap Tap Tap...

I crawled my way to avoid being spotted by the Eldians from a distance.

Meanwhile, Camila was on the other side, waiting for me to execute the plan.

—Voom...!

Once we were in position, I started the countdown for the operation.

“Three...” I formed a giant hand with Ichor, counting down with it so she could see it clearly.

Its golden hue and gigantic size were handy in a situation like this, heh.

Camila had warned me not to be reckless, but the plan I had concocted was nothing short of suicidal.

However, to fight against a horde of Eldians, we had no choice.

“Two...” I tightened my grip on Libera.

I calmed myself, took a deep breath, and reflected on the journey that had brought me to this point.

This month-long journey has brought me face-to-face with things I never imagined.

I've encountered creatures beyond human comprehension, monuments that defy logic, and I've survived near-death situations.

My gut tells me this will be my final struggle. One more step, and the doors to an unknown future will open.

—Kachick!

“One…!” I prepared my legs to run; this was my moment to shine—a role that could put my life in danger.

To make this work, I prepared myself to use a special skill I inherited from a man amongst men, a legend passed down from my previous world to the current one, that is…

Running away.

“ZERO!!!”

—BOOM!!!

I initiated the chaos with a bold shot to the red lotus in the midst of everything.

—Flick!

But as if I expected this, when my <Overcharged Bullet> struck the lotus, it was deflected as if it were nothing.

“Eh, it was worth a try." I thought as I ran, knowing this wouldn't be over that easily.

“■○●□○●…?!" The Eldians who were mindlessly guarding the core became agitated by the loud gunshot, marching toward the lotus like a swarm of bees protecting their queen.

‘Tch, things will never be easy, huh?’ I clicked my tongue in disappointment.

This pattern felt unnatural, as if the Pylon was directing the Eldians with a sentient mind.

‘Alright, here we go!’ I hardened my grip and looked at Camila from a distance.

It was time for her to do her part.

“○○□■○●□♤○□●!!!" The Eldians in charge of notifying the others, whom she referred to as Sirens, began initiating their call.

At that moment, Camila lifted her hands, using <Telekinesis> to the extreme to target specific Eldians.

Then at that moment...

—Crush...!

“■○□○●—"

—Squelch!!!

Camila crushed the ground beneath the sirens, encasing them in debris and immobilizing them all at once to prevent them from calling for reinforcements.

“Nice!” I felt a wave of relief as Camila successfully immobilized the sirens.

Camila's control over her Magic Art was beyond mere proficiency.

Perhaps it was the environment that allowed her to grow so rapidly, especially after breaking free from the collar that had restrained her.

It wouldn’t be long before she reached a new stage in her magic, one that could surpass her current abilities.

Now, it was time to enact Plan B.

If the attempt to shoot the core failed, we would switch to Plan B, where I would become the bait while Camila immobilized the Sirens.

It was a troublesome situation, but after sneaking around corners, we calculated that there were a staggering total of 53 Eldians—almost ten times the amount I had fought before.

Of course, killing all of them would be equivalent to suicide.

Even if we managed to do that, the Pylon could easily create more Eldians at will and alter the space around it.

However, it had one significant flaw that could turn the tide of battle.

Like the Eldians, a Pylon was a living entity, an animal that lacked basic intelligence.

Even though the Pylon can command the Eldians to follow its orders, it was no different from a beast.

“Camila! The Pylon can only alter space if it hears extremely high-frequency noises made by the Sirens!” I shouted, sharing this crucial information.

I couldn't see her, but Camila gave me a thumbs-up, and that was all I needed.

Now that the distractions were out of the way, it was just me... against a horde of hellspawns.

“○○□■■○●□♤○●!!!” The Eldians all screeched at once.

The noise was deafening, but I didn’t flinch; I kept running to the opposite side.

—Thud Thud Thud!!!

Their footsteps alone shook the ground like an earthquake. It was only a matter of time before they caught up to me.

—Tap Tap Tap!!!

Meanwhile, as Camila watched, her expression was pale, showing nothing but concern for me.

“Come on, come on, come on…!” Her eyes wavered.

She could do nothing but hold off the sirens while I was being chased.

She felt irrational for agreeing to this reckless plan, especially after just telling me to stop taking risks.

How could someone have so much confidence and charge forward without hesitation?

'…Either you’re a genius or incredibly stupid; I don’t know anymore,’ she thought, flabbergasted that such a person could exist.

Deep down, she admired me for being willing to go to great lengths to pursue what I wanted.

Just as I envied her for being my ideal self, she envied me for how free I was to do whatever I wanted.

So why couldn't she do the same? Was she still a coward, even after all this time?

No. She had never had the chance to shine in the spotlight herself.

Like the person shining before her, Camila’s eyes shone brightly, fueled by a fiery determination that made her blood boil to do whatever it takes to save me.

—RUMBLE...!!!

“What the?!” As I ran away as fast as I could, giant boulders were hurled at the Eldians, momentarily slowing their advance.

“This wasn’t part of the plan, but...” I quickly drew Libera, using both firearms at once.

—Kachick!

“THANKS!!!” I yelled unnecessarily, turning around just in time to squeeze into a corner.

From my vantage point, I could see the Eldians more clearly, still adjusting to their nightmarish appearance.

Each one of them resembled a monstrous creature from hell; their limbs and body parts were grotesquely malformed, twisted together like a human rope writhing in agony.

The more I gazed at them, the more I felt as though I was staring into an abyss, stepping deeper into a never-ending nightmare.

It hadn’t even been a minute since the Eldians began chasing me, yet they were already closing in.

Steeling myself against the horde, I focused on one singular goal:

Escaping this damned place.

Suddenly, time began to slow down, using <Heightened Senses> at will to aid me.

My mind raced and processed everything, perceiving everything in slow motion.

My eyes tracked the Eldians' positions, accurately telling me where to go.

And my hand readied itself to pull the trigger—not to kill them yet, but to create an escape route.

—Kachick!

With only a moment to spare, I pulled the trigger on the Libera strapped to my left arm.

Then, in an instant, I was launched high into the air.

—Fwooosh!

With that pull of the trigger, I soared into the sky at high speeds, propelled by a <Gale Bullet>, encased in a ball of Ichor to protect myself from falling and meeting a reckless end.

I never thought this would become my most-used mobility equipment, but somehow… it morphed into my signature move, or whatever you call it.

—BOOOM!!!

After landing on the floor with the force of a wrecking ball, I shot toward the direction of the sirens.

“Ugh… I’ll never get used to this,” I groaned as I stood up in pain.

If I wanted to survive, I had to adapt to this crude method of running away.

With this strategy, I managed to increase the distance between the Eldians and me significantly, but it would only take a minute or two for them to catch up.

But that's more than enough.

“OPEN THEM UP!!!” I shouted so Camila could hear me and initiate the next phase of the plan.

In moments like this, I couldn’t help but wish for a device that would make communication easier.

My throat hurts.

—Clink!

I loaded the second Libera on my right hand with an <Overcharged Bullet>, not at the pursuing Eldians, but at the sirens Camila had taken down.

Taking a deep breath to focus, I watched as the rubble began to shift in the air, slowly revealing the Eldians who were about to recover.

"■○□■○—" Realizing they had been freed, the sirens attempted to jump out and call for reinforcements immediately.

With me here, their time was short-lived. I pulled the trigger without hesitation.

—BOOM!!!

The siren was pulverized at its core, instantly disintegrating into thin air.

—BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

But it was far from over. She continued lifting the sirens one by one, and I kept firing shot after shot in a relentless cycle, eliminating a total of four Eldians at once.

—BOOM!

"I skipped one...!" I messed up and missed one, leaving an opening for the last siren to escape.

—BOOM! Crack…!

After using six shots, the Libera broke after I fixed that mistake, leaving us with only three sirens left to take down.

“Ugh…” I grunted in pain; my left side was sore from using the wind bullet twice, and my right hand throbbed from the severe recoil with every shot.

Without thinking it through, I created another Libera to avoid wasting any more time.

'One… two… three…' I counted in my head while running away from the Eldians.

"○■●■●■■!!!"

—VING! VING! VING!!!!

Before I could continue, the Eldians in the distance began to hurl projectiles at me.

They used everything, from bullets to spikes to acid, each projectile the size of my torso.

"I knew this was going to happen!" I exclaimed as I raised my arms to create a wall of Ichor.

Utilizing my <Heightened Senses> to the fullest, I added a soft material, such as rubber, to the front of the wall to soften and spread the impact.

I designed it with a honeycomb structure for maximum efficiency, making the next layer as hard as possible.

With all of this in place, the wall successfully absorbed the barrage of projectiles as if they were nothing.

—Blam! Blam! Blam!!!

But the Eldians didn’t back down; they kept shooting, forcing me to create more walls and preventing me from forming another Libera properly.

"Aria!!!" I heard Camila scream, unable to help when her hands were tied.

"DON’T MOVE!!!" I raised my voice, "...I'll be fine." My voice remained steady. In fact, I felt confident that I could handle this.

Understanding that I won't fall so easily, the fight continued as we slowly took down the Eldians this way.

It was an atrocious yet straightforward plan, where a single mistake could spell disaster for us.

Camila was exhausted, using all her power to bind the remaining sirens that could call for reinforcements.

And I felt numb after using Libera consecutively, repeating the same process over and over again without any respite.

However, the battle is far from over.

If I break my leg, I’ll crawl my way to survive.

If I lose my arms, I’ll use my teeth to fight.

And even after losing my limbs, I’ll use the Ichor to make it happen.

Ever since the Ichor was absorbed into my right hand, things have never been the same.

The more I accepted these unknown feelings, the more I began to feel...

—Kachick!

“ALIVE!!!” I finished forming Libera after 25 seconds had passed.

As the Eldians closed in, I didn’t hesitate. I aimed at the remaining sirens that Camila had immobilized,

—BOOM BOOM!

And shot them dead in an instant despite still being covered by rubble.

To showcase Libera's overwhelming firepower, the sirens I shot were obliterated, leaving only one alive.

Before I killed the last one, I launched myself into the air at the last moment.

The Eldians pursuing me were close enough that if I didn't time my shot perfectly, I would have been mauled to death.

—Whoosh...!

But there was no time to hesitate. Camila was about to lose control of the last siren, so I decided to risk it all.

—Shaaa...

Time seemed to move even slower than before as I did everything I could to make this work, no matter how impossible it felt.

I tightened my grip on the Libera in my right hand and, while airborne, aimed at the siren...

—BOOOM!!!

And killed it instantly.

What must my face look like as I fight so recklessly?

Am I in immense pain? Am I utterly exhausted?

Or perhaps I felt a strange sense of joy in this desperate situation?

My life had been so mundane that I resented myself for not even trying to change it.

I knew that my life wouldn’t be perfect if I lived alone, as I had initially intended. Obstacles would always appear to disrupt it, one way or another.

Now, I think I understand what Noah was trying to tell me back then.

The thrill of the unknown, a future that was unpredictable and could not be easily defined.

Once I push past the fear that has haunted me since I escaped Aleph...

What's left is liberation.

“COME AT ME, YOU SHITHEADS!” I glared at the remaining Eldias after I landed on the ground, encased in an Ichor sphere.

A determined smile formed on my lips as I resolved not to let them pass.

“CAMILA!” I yelled her name as loudly as I could, prepared to pass the torch to her.

Camellia Historia, a character meant to shine on stage, one of the main characters in the novel.

With her fiery red hair and hot-tempered personality, she was the rowdy one in the group.

Her massive ego was annoying, but her heart was kind, making her somewhat of a misunderstood character.

To such an infuriating, awful person... I raised my fist high, accepting who she had become, and resolved to stand firm as well.

“—I’m counting on you.”

I despised her.

I hated her so much that I imagined all sorts of terrible things happening to her, even envisioning beating her into a pulp.

Yet at the same time, she was my favourite character; someone I aspired to be, the person I wished to become.

Prideful, full of confidence, and exceptionally gifted—the complete opposite of me.

That’s why…

“NOW GO!” I screamed for the last time; my throat was sore from shouting so much.

“…!” Camila flinched at my words, eventually choosing to trust me unconditionally.

Before, she had always been suspicious of me for entering this city without a reason. It was no wonder, since only members of the Morze Cult could enter this place.

But after spending time together, we had each other’s backs and learned to trust one another—something she failed to do in the past.

This time, she wouldn’t run away.

This time, I wouldn’t run away.

Together, we had a reason to fight.

To pass the torch to those who come after us.

To survive.