Chapter 58. Fortress Assault Operation (3)
I was bewildered.
Gripping my thoughts that threatened to fall into chaos, I first calmly assessed the current situation.
‘The World of Impermanence is activating forcibly? Why?’
This had never happened before.
Besides, a hidden ability unlocked?
I couldn't even begin to guess what was happening, and this wasn't the time or place to ponder each detail.
‘Of all times, during battle…….’
I had already entered the fortress interior, where enemies could be ambushing from anywhere. If I entered the inner world here, my body would be left defenseless.
Becoming defenseless in a combat situation where an attack could come at any moment might lead directly to death.
Enoch swallowed dryly.
? World of Impermanence: Entry completion … 7%
The ‘message’ that only appeared inside the World of Impermanence was now floating like a hallucination before my eyes, beyond the vision where reality and the inner world were blending.
The progress indicator value kept rising.
Truly a situation with no time attack equivalent.
If so, only one option remained. Enoch raised his head and concluded calmly.
‘Finish before completely entering the inner world.’
The point was to end it quickly.
Enoch calmly calculated the time.
Roughly estimating from the progress rate, about 10 minutes remained. If hurried, it wasn't that short a time.
‘Besides, Sirocco is here too. It’s sufficiently doable.’
He judged so.
“The leader is probably at the top of the fortress.”
Just then, Sirocco, who had been walking into the fortress, turned back towards Enoch and said.
“Hey, what are you doing back there?”
Seeing Enoch standing still with a grim expression, Sirocco tilted her head.
“Ah, maybe!”
She thought hard for a moment, then asked Enoch with a remarkably clear expression.
“Do you need to go to the bathroom?”
“Similar.”
Enoch replied vaguely, stepping into the corridor.
“Let’s end this quickly.”
Sirocco nodded once at Enoch’s answer and followed behind him.
“Alright!”
***
Fortress corridor.
In the darkness of the long passage, movements arose to counter the two intruders who had raided.
“Two intruders. Strike!”
Vendetta mages waiting in the fortress interior corridor aimed their magic gears and deployed magic circles. Magic circles formed in the darkness, emitting light.
And simultaneously.
Taat!
From beside Enoch, the red-tailed girl dashed forward.
“Lame uncles, step aside!”
Sirocco shouted confidently, kicking off the corridor walls as footholds to close the distance with them.
Instantly, her red tail, cutting through the darkness, rotated horizontally. Turning her body towards the foremost enemy, she delivered a sharp high kick.
Pooow!
Along with a dull sound, the kick instantly struck the head. The guy’s head smashed into the wall.
The enemy behind quickly aimed his magic gear.
However, Sirocco, without even landing, quickly spun her waist another full circle while airborne.
A second roundhouse kick exploded.
Her bare foot, cutting through the air, struck the enemy’s waist directly. The guy couldn't even scream before flying into the wall and collapsing. Dust and stone fragments burst out greatly.
Kwaang!
Sirocco dashed straight through the barrier of dust.
Watching the enemies fall like leaves in the blink of an eye as she passed, Enoch inwardly nodded.
‘As expected, not Tier 1 for nothing.’
In the original work, Sirocco was a mage who utilized close combat by enhancing her own physical abilities to the limit with physical enhancement type Unique Magic.
「Beast-kin are born with innately strong bodies.」
「Therefore, Sirocco’s Unique Magic, boasting the greatest synergy with such innate physique, is a simple yet most powerful combat style.」
‘In that sense, Sirocco is truly a born genius.’
Even in the original work, that was one of the reasons undeniably establishing Sirocco as the unparalleled Tier 1 close-combat character.
Thanks to freely wielding close combat with such overwhelming destructive power, compatibility and such were often useless before her.
‘However, compared to the original work, she’s still very crude.’
Enoch judged calmly.
Perhaps because he had used her as his main character so much and seen her often, he could tell because all the movements were familiar.
Perhaps naturally, compared to her 5 years later, the power and completeness of her movements looked considerably clumsy.
Yet, possessing such strength even then was simply astonishing.
Meanwhile.
Blowing away the enemies blocking the path ahead, Sirocco headed towards the stairs leading to the upper floors of the fortress.
She leaped up the stairs leading upwards in a massive spiral like wind, without reducing speed.
Whoosh!
Numerous sconces lining the walls flowed past rapidly like a revolving lantern beside her, as she dashed with a lowered posture.
Sirocco, running at her usual pace for a while like that, suddenly realized her mistake and looked behind her.
‘Ah, right! Got too excited and ran at my usual pace!’
Enoch should be following behind her now.
Of course, this wasn't her full speed. But even at just this speed, the Beast-kin warriors couldn't even keep up with her heels during Magical Beast hunts.
Moreover, that boy was an ‘outsider’, known to have far lower physical abilities than Beast-kin like her.
‘Should I slow down so he doesn’t fall too far behind…?’
Thinking so, Sirocco glanced back briefly.
But right at that moment,
Her eyes widened greatly in surprise.
Right behind her. The boy with jet-black hair was following closely behind her as if sliding.
Sirocco’s eyes, confirming that, momentarily flashed with puzzlement.
‘…Huh?’
Meanwhile, Enoch, calmly following her, checked the progress rate encroaching on one side of his vision.
? World of Impermanence: Entry completion … 15%
He had to hurry.
What mattered most to him right now was time.
Thanks to Sirocco stepping forward, things were very smooth so far. But the real part started now.
Before long, at the end of the endlessly continuing stairs, the door leading to the final floor of the fortress came into view.
A thick, firmly closed iron door blocked their path. Sirocco shouted to Enoch while running without reducing speed.
“It’s inside there!”
Shouting just that, Sirocco dashed rapidly towards the large iron door.
Just like that, Sirocco ran, planted her hands on the ground, and jumped high, launching her body into the air.
Spin.
Launching her body thus, Sirocco gathered both feet and kicked the massive iron door blocking the top floor.
Thooooong!
Along with an immense metallic resonance, the iron door immediately bent, then split in half, flying inwards.
The view inside the door cleared along with the dust.
Instantly, Sirocco, seeing inside, hesitated briefly.
The top floor of the fortress.
Inside the door she opened, an interior filled with the heavy darkness of midnight unfolded.
Sirocco, having stopped, muttered unknowingly.
“Here, something…”
A sense of ominous foreboding made her tail stand on end.
Unlike just moments before, she cautiously stepped inside, scanning her surroundings warily.
And finally, when she entered the interior and the sight of the dark top floor came into view.
“……Ah!”
Sirocco, seeing the scenery lined up in the interior darkness, momentarily gasped sharply.
Her tail and ears also stiffened rigidly for an instant.
Utterly unbelievable sights unfolded before her eyes.
-Kidnapped and missing Beast-kin and people.
They were trapped unconscious inside test tubes, submerged in green liquid filling the glass.
“…Why?”
Sirocco’s lips turned pale blue, trembling slightly as she looked upon the atrocities suffered by the kidnapped Beast-kin.
She momentarily moved her lips as if trying to say something, but couldn't form the words and closed them again.
“Why on earth, this…”
Sirocco’s eyes, murmuring weakly like a whisper, lost focus, staring blankly at the atrocity.
Sirocco approached one of the test tubes, touching the glass with the tip of her small finger.
Inside, a Beast-kin floated unconscious.
It was a small Beast-kin child.
Sirocco’s ears and tail drooped powerlessly as she stared at the Beast-kin, much younger than herself, for a long time.
Enoch, following behind, watched her for a moment.
‘In the original work, Sirocco loved her kinsmen to the point of feeling guilt for those she couldn't protect.’
Therefore, after the destruction of the Beast-kin village.
Her heart breaks greatly.
Thus, without caring for her own body or safety, tormented by the guilt of failing to protect the Beast-kin as the tribe’s heir, fighting emptily as the last survivor of the Beast-kin—a lonely figure.
Her retreating figure, no different from a solitary wolf, momentarily overlapped with the current view in Enoch’s eyes.
‘Even though still young, her love and care for her tribe members haven't changed.’
She even openly asked him how to lead a pack well in the car earlier.
‘And the Chieftain and tribe warriors likely deliberately didn't send Sirocco here.’
No matter how strong she was and the heir to lead the tribe, she was still just a young girl of fifteen.
Not involving Sirocco in the fortress recapture until now was likely the last consideration of the Beast-kin adults, trying to prevent her from seeing such a horrific sight.
Facing such a scene directly for the first time must be quite shocking for her.
Enoch calmly checked the remaining time.
? World of Impermanence: Entry completion … 34%
And just then,
“…Wondered when Elsyde would come.”
A rough voice echoed from within the room.
“Faster than I thought. Got hit properly.”
Between the glowing test tubes in the darkness.
Someone slowly revealed himself.
“Long time no see, young Lycaon.”
Lion ears scarred atop his head, and a tail.
A massive Beast-kin warrior with shaggy grayish-brown long hair partially braided and hanging down.
He carried a massive stone axe-shaped magic gear on his muscular forearm.
He stood with his back to the numerous bloodstained test tubes and spoke as if greeting.
“Haven’t seen you since I was exiled, so it’s been 2 years? Seems like just yesterday you were chirping around the warrior barracks, insisting on sparring.”
Sirocco stared intently at him and said quietly.
“Uncle Leontos.”
“Heard the news recently from the exiled guys.”
Leontos tapped his magic gear and said.
“That you defeated all the village warriors in spars as you declared before. Truly worthy of the Lycaon family heir. Quite commendable.”
He glanced briefly at Enoch and said.
“By the way, seems the Chieftain finally joined hands with Elsyde. A bit late, though.”
Sirocco shouted at him.
“Why on earth are you doing this?”
She asked with a desperate expression.
“Weren’t you uncles warriors who protected the village once! Yet suddenly why, such evil deeds…!”
“Evil deeds. Strong, yet still a brat.”
He chuckled lowly, then replied lowly to Sirocco, who was still visibly agitated.
“Everything is for the future of the Beast-kin.”
“…Future…? Like this?”
The light in Sirocco’s eyes had died down.
To her, seemingly heartbroken, Leontos retorted even more fiercely.
“Chieftain’s heir, you should know too, right? If things go on like this, there’s no future for us Beast-kin.”
“What, I don’t understand…!”
“This is the only way to guarantee our future. The Empire abandoned us long ago. What they did to me 2 years ago…!”
And just then,
“Who asked?”
Enoch stepped forward before Sirocco and spoke lowly.
“Shut up, drop your weapon, and kneel.”
Even at this moment, the encroachment of the World of Impermanence was progressing. There was no time to listen to such nonsense one by one.
“Black hair. You bastard.”
Leontos, glaring at Enoch, asked fiercely.
“What exactly are you? How could a mere non-mage, alone defeat Persona, a Rank 10 dark mage…”
Taaaaang!
However, before he finished speaking.
Cutting straight through the darkness, a dark blue sword light sharply struck towards Leontos’s head.
An utterly unexpected, explosive approach.
Leontos’s yellow eyes, unable even to finish his sentence, widened greatly for a moment.
Kaaaaang!
The next moment, an intense metallic clang echoed.
Right before Leontos’s brow.
A chillingly cold sword blade aimed sharply at his head stopped.
Enoch’s sword was barely blocked by the crude axe-shaped magic gear Leontos raised.
? World of Impermanence: Entry completion … 55%