Chapter 60
The light and the intense noise that tornted my eardrums gradually subsided.
When I opened my eyes, I saw a massive airship obscuring the sky.
It made the ultra-small airship we were on look shabby and insignificant, like a firefly in front of the sun.
It felt as if a giant fortress was floating in the sky.
In addition, the number of escort ships flying around it was four large ones, and dozens of dium and smaller ones.
Player ranking 2nd place.
However, in terms of pure combat power, it was the strongest fleet in White Hero, acknowledged by everyone.
Odin's full force had appeared in the skies above Ahinlab Fortress.
“All hands….”
Sergel clutched Count Dman's rank insignia and opened his mouth.
What kind of order was he about to give?Retreat?Or prepare for battle?
But Sergel didn't finish his words.
He knew it too.
That whatever it was, it was aningless.
‘Large-scale teleportation magic…. So you finally completed it.’
In the past, Odin had driven a large-scale fleet of the Empire to the brink of annihilation.
It was an important battle where they could have obtained not only achievents but also a huge amount of loot if they had succeeded.
However, due to the large-scale teleportation magic used by the Empire, they beca a dog chasing a chicken, staring blankly at the empty sky.
This experience was enough to crush the pride of Reysia, who was the originator of the operation at the ti.
One failure was enough.
Reysia, who had declared so, researched ways to counter large-scale teleportation magic, and in the process, she also studied large-scale teleportation magic itself.
I had completely forgotten about it because there had been no results for a long ti.
Even in the few months that my interest had shifted away from D&K, Reysia had clung to and researched large-scale teleportation magic.
And she must have finally succeeded.
If I hadn't been a lowly soldier of the Alliance, I would have been jumping for joy as if it were my own accomplishnt.
Instead of being happy about her growth, I had to feel embarrassed, troubled, and even despair.
The current reality was simply deplorable.
Everyone on the battlefield, including myself, stared blankly at Odin's fleet like unbelievers awaiting judgnt.
And a short while later.
A pure white light burst out from Odin's main ship.
“Uaaaaargh!”
Screams of unknown origin were heard simultaneously from close by.
The light was so intense that it was no less than the light that accompanied large-scale teleportation magic, making one close their eyes instinctively.
However, unlike the teleportation magic, which was just a dazzling light, this light contained a clear malice.
A sudden wave of dizziness and nausea washed over .
Although unintentional, the Eye that Seeks Truth was automatically activated.
“Is this ntal-type magic….”
“Rian….”
Beside , Ririsa collapsed with a thud.
She had failed to resist the ntal magic and had been consud by it.
Still, thanks to the nurturing system, Ririsa, who received so ntal strength correction, was on the side of having endured it well.
As for the regular crew mbers, they had been scattered on the floor since the mont the white light burst out.
The mages, with their strong ntal fortitude from handling magic, were still resisting, but the opponent was White Hero's strongest nad character.
The red-eyed witch, Reysia.
“Father….”
Selina collapsed weakly first, followed by the old man, who lost consciousness and dropped the cane he always carried like a clone.
The only person standing tall was .
No, I wasn't sure if it was right to call this being fine.
I too was barely holding onto the end of my fading consciousness.
I was holding on thanks to my unusually high ntal strength stat, but I was so defenseless that I thought even a child with a knife could easily cut my throat right now.
Along with my consciousness, my vision gradually blurred.
Reysia's specialty was flashy and destructive attack magic.
She didn't particularly favor this kind of attrition-style combat.
Furthermore, the opponent was a makeshift fleet composed only of small and ultra-small units, so it was embarrassing to even call it a fleet.
They would have collapsed without resistance even if she had crushed them with force, so the fact that she was using such a troubleso thod ant….
“…You've co.”
Thud.
I heard footsteps in my fading consciousness.
Since everyone except had lost consciousness, it ant that the owner of these footsteps was an outsider, not a mber of Unit 917.
I slowly raised my head.
White shoes with a subtle sheen.
The white uniform that enveloped her body was beautifully decorated with gold and red ornants, yet in a way that did not hinder movent, and the lining of the fluttering cape was also red.
Her long, flowing golden hair rippled in the wind, and the eyes visible under her pressed-down hat were also red.
Everyone who saw those eyes for the first ti had the sa thought.
It was as if the masterpiece of the world's best craftsman, carved with all his soul, had been placed there intact.
Our eyes t.
I knew this mont would co soday.
In the past, I was a player who managed Odin, but now, I was a lowly soldier of the Alliance, which was hostile to White Hero, to which Odin belonged.
My position then and now were different.
How would she react when she faced now?
Would she still treat as a commander?
Or would she be greatly disappointed and turn her back on ?
Or would she just stare at coldly without any emotion?
The thought that the answer to that long-standing question would be revealed at this very mont made desperately cling to my fading consciousness.
And Reysia.
“……”
She smiled without a word.
And she ca closer and took my hand.
The warmth that was transmitted, the careful attitude, and the uncontrollable trembling that was transmitted through our clasped hands.
I finally realized it now.
That there was no malice in the reason why Reysia had been trying to find using Odin.
As my mind was at ease, a hole seed to have been pierced in the barrier of consciousness that I had been keeping up.
My consciousness rapidly faded.
Reysia said nothing.
She just caught my collapsing body and moved her lips slightly.
I couldn't hear the sound, but I knew what she was saying.
‘Rest well.’
* * *
“…Rian! Open your eyes! Rian! You're alive, right?”
Soone shook my body violently.
I wanted to sleep for just five more minutes.
The urgency in the voice I heard finally made my heavy eyelids open.
“Ririsa?”
“Seriously…. You had worried. You were lying there so still, I thought you were dead….”
Ririsa's face was a ss, covered in tears.
When I struggled to raise my head, I saw a few people who had already regained consciousness, either waking up those who were still unconscious or carrying those in serious condition to their rooms.
Selina had also regained consciousness early on and was staring at with worried eyes.
“Rian. Are you okay?”
“I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with my body.”
“That's a relief. It's really a relief, but….”
Selina, who had struggled to get closer and sat down leaning against the railing, furrowed her brow.
“I don't understand Odin's purpose.”
“…Co to think of it, where is Odin's fleet?”
“When I ca to, it was gone. So cleanly that I wondered if we had all seen a mass hallucination. Our only losses were two ultra-small airships without auto-pilot systems that crashed. There were no airships that were shot down by a direct attack from Odin, other than the ntal attack.”
“……”
Certainly.
From the perspective of the Alliance mbers, including Selina, it was a difficult situation to understand.
The place where they had appeared after using a magic like large-scale teleportation, which was the height of inefficiency, was just Stage 1.
They had completely neutralized the enemy by widely spreading ntal attack magic, and then they had returned without taking any advantage.
The only thing I could think of was that they were avenging the killing of Odin's hero, but….
As you can see, I was also alive and well, so it was only natural that Selina was struggling to figure out Odin's purpose.
And as the person involved, I also had a hard ti understanding Reysia's actions.
First, I had confird that Reysia was not hostile to .
If she had been, I wouldn't have been able to have a leisurely conversation with the two of them here right now.
There might be personnel who were hostile to like Balta, but at least the fact that Reysia, who held the greatest authority in Odin, was favorable to was a great relief.
The problem was that Reysia had just left without saying anything.
It didn't seem like she was trying to take to Odin.
I had no idea what her purpose was.
‘Did she really co all this way just to see my face once?’
Even though I knew it was impossible, I couldn't help but have such a foolish thought.
It would have been nice if she had said sothing, anything at all.
What she was thinking.
What her future plans were.
Things like that.
“…Let's return for now. There's no way a proper answer will co out of us putting our heads together without any information, and we can't stay here forever.”
Selina gave the order to return on behalf of Sergel, who had not yet regained consciousness.
The airships that had been floating in the sky like seaweed floating on the sea began to return to Ahinlab Fortress one by one.
As she said.
No matter how much I rack my brain, I can't read Reysia's thoughts.
A chance to talk will co soday.
As I thought so and stood up from my seat.
Thud.
Sothing fell to the floor.
“Rian. You dropped this.”
Ririsa, who had picked it up, smiled and held it out with both hands neatly folded.
“……?”
The object was a ring with a red jewel.
I took it inadvertently because she held it out to , but it wasn't my ring.
In the first place, I wasn't the type to carry around accessories.
“This is….”
It's not mine.
The mont I was about to say that, a symbol engraved on the inside of the sparkling red jewel caught my eye.
It wasn't just anyone; it was a symbol I definitely knew.
It was a crest that Reysia had made and given to in case of an ergency, a crest that only she and I knew in this world.
That ant that the owner of this ring was .
“…Thanks.”
After receiving the ring, I made the excuse that I was tired and returned to my room.
I sat on the bed and rolled the ring on my hand.
It was a ring with no particularly special features, and it didn't look like it would function as anything other than an accessory, but if that were the case, Reysia wouldn't have co all this way to give it to without a word.
There must be a reason.
And most reasons could be solved through the Eye that Seeks Truth.
A slight pain was felt in my left eye, and a system ssage was displayed.
“Frei, Roka….”
I knew that na.
The place that had sent nurous airships plumting into the deep, dark sea below.
The graveyard of airships.
The stage of Stage 2-1.
The Sky Island, Frei Archipelago.
The fourth island.
Roka.
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