Volume 11 Chapter 14 Fragments of the Truth
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I carried a dull ache in my chest, though I couldn’t say why. Once more, I inspected the room. As I had suspected, this was the final defensive line protecting the innermost chamber. Nothing of note cluttered the space, save for several cylindrical magic tools scattered across the floor—the same kind our foes had wielded earlier.
”Hm. Must be single-shot weapons,” I murmured. “That’s why they stockpiled so many—fire one, grab the next, keep the barrage going.”
It was that realization that made me strike fast, overwhelming them before they could reload. A swift charge, a crushing blow, and I left them no chance to counterattack.
”Still… this is troublesome,” I muttered. “Even someone without mana could unleash magical attacks with these. Really, who comes up with such dangerous toys?”
I stared down at the tubes, sighing half in admiration, half in dismay. Whoever invented this was a genius—or rather, a deviant genius. Lydia’s kind of brilliance, just aimed in another direction. And that meant the mastermind…
”…might be waiting beyond that door?” I whispered.
We faced the last door, the one beyond the chamber we had stormed. Surely, someone—or something—important lay within. At least, I hoped so. Picking off slavers one by one, chasing scraps of information—it was all getting old. We needed progress. And from the way my companions nodded at my muttered words, they were just as weary of the hunt. Weapons in hand, the three of them tightened their grip, eyes fixed on the door.
Then—
“The lock’s already open.”
The disembodied voice reverberated through the chamber.
”What!?” Lena hissed, crouching low, awaiting my signal.
”There,” Vera pointed toward a black box in the corner.
”No living scent lingers here,” Georgia added, claws ready, gaze sharp.
”Right. Well then, excuse us,” I said lightly.
”Ehhhhh!?”
Ignoring their stunned cries, I pushed the door open without hesitation. Their wide eyes bulged, as though I had just dashed headlong into a trap.
”S-Sir Soyuz?” Lena stammered, her lips trembling, her gaze clinging to me in reproachful desperation.
But come now, Lena. You noticed it too, didn’t you? Only one presence in the next room. No bloodlust. Fragile, like a child or an old man—hardly capable of a fight. You should have realized that.
* * *
”Ah, welcome,” the man said, his voice flat, emotionless. “To think anyone could slip past that barrage unscathed… this world’s inhabitants truly are terrifying.”
He sat at the very back of the chamber, in a chair. Or rather—his lower body was fused into the chair itself.
”As you can see, I cannot move,” he continued. “Forgive me for such a poor welcome.”
His tone remained as dull as stone. He looked to be late thirties, perhaps early forties, yet his hair was snow-white, his skin ashen and lifeless, his eyes utterly void of spark. A living corpse.
”Your body… fused to that chair-like magic tool?” I asked. “First Volodya, and now this. Who even thinks of such things?”
”Linking the body to a device was cutting-edge even in my world,” he said.
”…Device? Your world?”
”Yes. And here, unlike my own, there exists mana. By harnessing it, such technology surpasses what was possible back home. There remain… many issues, but still.”
His words struck me cold.
”You mean… you came here from another world?”
He only nodded.
”They call it isekai teleportation. We were summoned from other worlds by your magic.”
”No way…”
I remembered what Mama Vintenica had told me long ago. To summon a being from another world required dozens of magicians working for years, a grand magic long since forbidden. A taboo art, lost to time.
”That magic… it was supposed to be erased from history,” I whispered.
”So I hear. Yet here I am, plucked away. Once, I lived a plain life in a country called Japan. Just an engineer. Not a savior, not a magician. I had no power—only knowledge of technologies unknown to this world.”
So that explained the strange magic tools. Technology, reshaped by mana. That much, I could accept. But—
”Who summoned you? Was it the Apostles of Rebirth?” I demanded.
He shook his head slowly.
”No. We were called by mages of another nation. They wanted power enough to risk forbidden arts. Greedy rulers exist in every world, it seems.”
”A nation like that still holds such lost knowledge? And you said we. Others like you were summoned?”
”Please,” he chided softly. “One question at a time. I’ve only one mouth.”
Strangely, his lips curved into a faint smile at my outburst. Then he continued, each word measured.
”That country used us to design weapons such as those tools you saw. They suspected other worlds harbored alien technologies, and through us, sought military power. That is why engineers like me were brought here. Absurd, really. Back home, I only developed household appliances.”
Unfamiliar terms slipped from his tongue—engineer, appliance. Words foreign to this world.
”But they underestimated us. Our world was steeped in malice. Especially our leader—cunning enough to trick them, win freedom. Escaping their grasp wasn’t difficult.”
”Oh! Sounds like such a thrilling world!” I burst out.
”Sir Soyuz…” Lena groaned.
”Soyuu…” Vera muttered.
”Master…” Georgia sighed.
Ah. Damn. I’d let that one slip. I ignored their pitying stares with what strength I could muster, cleared my throat, and faced the man again.
”So, this ‘Apostles of Rebirth’ group—did you create it?” I asked.
”Yes. Our leader especially. He despises this world that abducted us, and his aim is simple: reset it all.”
Ah. So that was it. They wanted the world destroyed. That explained the forbidden inventions, the magic tools, the empowered monsters, even the taboo act of hunting elves. All threats to mankind—yet tools they wielded without hesitation. Still—
”Should you really be telling us all this so freely?” I asked.
That was the problem. He had status in the organization, clearly. Yet here he was, spilling secrets as though it were nothing.
”It doesn’t matter,” he said. “Unlike him, I don’t hate this world all that much.”
”Really?”
”Oh yes. I resented being dragged here, forced to serve, told I could never return. I gave them their due payback for that. But inventing magic tools has been… genuinely enjoyable. Perhaps it’s the engineer in me. The first time I realized how much magic circles resemble circuit boards—ah, I was thrilled. Combining two alien systems to create something new, that was impossible back home. It’s been fascinating.”
His glassy eyes flickered faintly to life when he spoke of magic tool creation. The only thing that animated him at all.
”But no, I won’t stop them either. Their rage, I understand well enough. And half-hearted opponents will never succeed anyway. At the very least, no one who can’t bypass my traps could hope to stop them.”
”I see. So that’s why we’re being tested right now, isn’t it?” I said.
He chuckled. “You catch on quickly. You might even get along with him.”
A thin smile stretched across his face. Yes. He was the last trap.
”Well then, I’ve heard enough. Time for us to leave. Lena, Vera, Georgia—let’s go.”
”Eh? Wait, what—?” The three looked dissatisfied, but I shoved them out of the room regardless.
”Sorry, but I won’t dance through your traps. I’ve still got work left to do. Goodbye.”
Just before the door shut, I flicked a dart at him. Its tip was smeared with a paralytic toxin—enough to rob him of muscle control, even the ability to breathe. Slow death in a few minutes. Truth be told, he already looked halfway to the grave; his time was short anyway.
”And with that, we’re gone. Fireball!” I cast.
A small fireball smashed the window, walls cracking apart. I scooped up a few of those scattered magic tools.
”Move! Let’s go.”
I jumped from the third-floor window. High, yes, but hardly dangerous for trained adventurers. Lena and Georgia leapt gracefully, landing with ease. Vera, as expected, called on a sylph—descending like a drifting feather.
”Sir Soyuz, what’s going on? Why the sudden—” Lena began.
The words died. The floor we had just left erupted. Windows shattered outward, flames billowed.
”That’s why we had to hurry,” I said. “His death was the trigger. He wagered the last of his life to kill us. Cunning, I’ll grant him that.”
Had we tried to kill him directly or strip the tools from him, the blast would have come all the same. His earlier words hadn’t been lies—he truly didn’t want weaklings claiming his homeland’s blood. When I shut that door, his faint smile told me everything.
The three of them stared blankly at the burning ruin. Still too naïve, these girls. They hadn’t learned yet how deep cunning could cut.
Notes:
• Lydia – Sara’s master, a gentle and commanding figure possessing both male and female traits.
• Lena – Female. A young slave girl in her early teens. Her appearance is emaciated with brown skin, long black hair, and grotesque scars across her face, including one that blinds her left eye. She wears a black collar and tattered clothing. Her relationship to the protagonist is that of a rescued victim. She is silent and appears to have endured severe physical and emotional abuse.
• Volodya – A mysterious and powerful elf, never seen by Soyuz before, who seeks to purge Lucia. He exudes killing intent and is strong enough to intimidate Soyuz.
• Vintenica – She is a tall, slender magic user, appeared as the new mistress buying six boys, wearing a deep purple robe with her right half face hidden by a white mask, half beautiful young woman and half eerie with blood-red lips, mysterious and slightly frightening.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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