Chapter 134 - The Academy’s Weapon Replicator

Arc 41: School Trip (6)

Thompson fell silent for a moment.

A traitor within Indus.

It was a possibility they had been aware of, but had never taken seriously.

Until now, Indus had accepted anyone who called themselves a member. That made it difficult to gauge the organization’s size or determine who stood at the top and who its leader was.

It was fine if a little dirty water flowed in at the bottom. They could simply filter it out and replenish their ranks.

But what if that dirty water had pooled all the way at the top?

In other words, what if someone in Indus’s leadership was a traitor?

“Hah. Then you could be the traitor too, couldn’t you?” Thompson said with a show of bravado.

[“That’s right.”]

Kian answered calmly, showing no particular reaction to his provocation. Thompson clicked his tongue in irritation as she continued.

[“Keep that in mind when you act from now on. We don’t know who betrayed us. If it’s you, me, Kraken, or Skyler, that person needs to be eliminated immediately.”]

“Well, let’s not be too hasty. We still don’t know who muddied the waters. It could be someone much farther down.”

[“... Right. If someone’s considering the worst, I suppose someone else needs to look on the bright side.”]

“Are you being sarcastic?”

[“I mean it.”]

It happened then.

Thompson abruptly stopped talking and frowned. He retracted the telescope into his prosthetic arm.

Meanwhile, Kian kept talking.

[“Anyway, when is Kraken coming? Still trying to decide where to use the remaining heart?”]

“No idea. Find out yourself.”

[“What? That’s irresponsible. We can’t move forward here until Kraken finishes up. You need to make sure you know—”]

“That’s not what I mean.”

Thompson turned and took his stance, checking the operation of each finger on his prosthetic hand. As the machinery creaked, he sensed something approaching from afar.

“We have a visitor.”

[“... Constel?”]

“Probably.”

[“All right. See you later.”]

The call ended.

As he put his phone away, the source of the presence Thompson had sensed came into view.

It was a woman with a stiff gait and an exceedingly stern face.

“... What can I do for you?”

“Hello.”

Thompson feigned nonchalance, and the woman replied in much the same manner. Neither lowered their guard.

They were on the summit of a rocky mountain overlooking the elevated railway: rugged high ground with a sheer drop immediately behind him.

It was no place for a woman to visit alone for no reason.

The woman asked, “My name is Isamaya. I teach at Constel. I’d like to take you into custody. Would you be willing to cooperate?”

“Who are you taking into custody?”

“You, of course.”

Hah.

Thompson laughed. His prosthetic arm whirred like an engine starting up. He had fed mana into it to activate it.

“You can’t arrest anyone if you’re fucking dead.”

“... Oh my.”

Isamaya took a pair of glasses from inside her clothes. Putting them on made her already stern face look even sterner.

“Quite right. I’ll be careful not to kill you by accident.”

“... You crazy bitch!”

Thompson charged first.

* * *

Kora was hiding at the foot of the cliff.

After a little while, someone approached him.

“Have you been waiting long, Kora?”

It was Pascal, smiling warmly.

So far, everything was going according to plan.

“Where did Frondier go?”

“... He left to carry out his part of the operation.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Pascal nodded.

Pascal didn’t really know what Frondier’s individual assignment was. Only Ospreet knew. Everyone else simply trusted it because Ospreet had arranged it.

Still, there were a few things he could infer.

Ospreet was floating conspicuously in the sky to lure out Indus’s members.

Some spider girl had indeed appeared, though she had been a dummy.

But Ospreet’s real target was probably Heldre, the other Zodiac within Indus.

If Indus truly wanted a “revolution,” Ospreet was the most troublesome enemy standing in its way.

If Indus really planned to do something at the elevated railway, then Ospreet had personally come to meet them in the heart of enemy territory, all to draw Heldre out.

‘Hmm. Even so, this is far too dangerous.’

Pascal didn’t know how powerful Ospreet or Heldre was. But in simple terms, if they were both Zodiacs, wouldn’t whoever attacked first have the advantage?

‘Could that be where Frondier comes in...?’

Was the plan for Frondier to do something to Heldre after they lured him out? Wouldn’t that be the most dangerous assignment of anyone participating in the operation? No, not dangerous—reckless.

“... Pascal.”

Kora spoke in a tense voice.

Pascal stopped his train of thought. Apparently, there was something else to deal with first.

“There’s something up ahead.”

“Yes.”

Pascal and Kora stood at the foot of the cliff, with an empty plain stretching out before them.

Nothing obstructed their view, and no one was in sight.

Yet, just as Kora had said, something was unmistakably approaching them.

CRAAACK!

When the unseen presence drew close, the cliff face suddenly shattered. Huge chunks of rock flew as though possessed of wills of their own, gathering in front of Kora and Pascal.

The stones clung together, assembling themselves into legs, arms, a helmet, and armor.

The resulting suit of stone armor had a helmet filled with darkness, though naturally, it was empty inside.

And yet, astonishingly, a voice emerged from within.

“Greetings.”

Kora wrinkled his nose as he looked at it.

“... That thing doesn’t smell like anything.”

“So it seems.”

Pascal narrowed his eyes.

‘Some kind of ghost?’

Even when ghosts lingered in the world, most had only a vague presence. They had died once, after all. Most had no memories and wandered aimlessly.

Even when detected through mana, their forms were indistinct. Left alone, they would eventually disappear.

But those that lingered with a clear grudge, resentment, or murderous intent—commonly called evil spirits—took on more distinct forms.

Even so, like ordinary ghosts, many lacked intact memories after death.

Most had developed a grudge for some reason in life, only to forget the reason and act on the grudge alone. They harmed people who had nothing to do with them for no reason whatsoever. They were the most dangerous kind to ordinary people.

“I am Skyler.”

Skyler introduced himself quite normally. There was no hint of resentment or lingering regret in his voice.

... If a ghost lingered not out of resentment, but out of “conviction,” and that conviction was so powerful that it could sustain its soul even after death...

The result was a monster like the one before him.

“A pleasure. I’m Pascal. I’m new at Constel.”

Skyler looked at Pascal for a moment, then raised a finger, pointing at Kora.

“The boy beside you.”

He curled his finger in a beckoning gesture.

“Hand him over. He has the makings of a fine member of Indus.”

“Oh?”

Pascal looked at Kora, who was shaking his head with his face twisted into a deep grimace.

Skyler continued, unconcerned.

“A beastfolk with White Tiger blood. Pure, destructive power and wildness combined with human reason. Perfect. Ideal. Only someone like him can become a truly perfect ‘soldier.’”

Skyler’s praise for Kora was sincere. The armored hand opened gently, as though welcoming him.

Pascal looked at Kora.

“What do you think?”

“W-what?”

“Would you like to join Indus?”

Kora stared at Pascal, his expression turning cold, as though wondering what kind of lunacy he was spouting. Pascal chuckled.

“I’m joking.”

Even that failed to soften Kora’s expression. Now his face seemed to ask how Pascal could possibly joke about something like that.

“How disappointing. A joke, was it? I thought we understood one another.”

“Liar. You knew I was joking.”

“Indeed. You are a proud teacher of Constel, after all. I hear all its teachers possess firm convictions and a lofty sense of duty. You would never casually abandon a student.”

This time, Skyler praised Pascal. There was not the slightest trace of mockery in his words.

“However...”

Skyler rummaged inside his armor. When he withdrew his hand, it held a small pouch.

Pascal watched with interest.

‘There shouldn’t be anything inside that armor. Where are these objects coming from?’

Skyler spoke.

“If a student turns into a monster, shouldn’t you put him down? As a teacher of Constel, I mean.”

WHOOSH!

As he spoke, Skyler threw the pouch.

It contained the powder that robbed Kora of his reason. Even if Pascal sliced it apart, the powder would get on Kora. If he tried to catch it, the pouch would burst.

‘Now, what will you do, teacher of Constel?’

Skyler watched Pascal as though putting him to the test.

In the brief moment the pouch took to fly toward them, Kora froze completely, while Pascal kept smiling.

When the pouch came within reach...

‘What?’

Pascal did nothing. At least, that was how it looked.

POP!

The pouch burst in midair, but the powder reached neither Pascal nor Kora. Whenever the grains drew near, they curved gently away and scattered.

“... Aura!”

Skyler was startled as he realized what it was.

At first, he had thought it was a magical barrier. Yet there had been no preparation. He had sensed no incantation, spell formula, activation word, or any other step.

“You released aura through your bare hands and used it as a screen!”

Skyler drew a sword from behind his back and slammed it into the ground with a thud. Interest returned to Pascal’s eyes.

Once again, a steel sword had emerged from behind his back, where there should have been nothing. It couldn’t have been made the way he had formed his armor upon arriving. There was no steel anywhere nearby.

“Splendid! I would like to test myself against you!”

“Haha. Such praise from an enemy. I hardly know what to do with myself.”

Pascal drew his own sword. Kora backed away without being told.

Pascal drew his sword back, and aura flared around the blade.

“Be careful. My sword can cut souls.”

“Just what I was hoping for!”

They were still too far apart for their blades to reach each other, but both swung, and their aura clashed in midair.

* * *

Meanwhile, I surveyed the situation from atop the opposite cliff.

Below, I could see Pascal facing off against someone.

‘Skyler.’

Skyler, a member of Indus.

He was a wraith, and a rather high-ranking one at that.

The “Slave” I had encountered in the dungeon was a similar kind of monster. But Slave clearly remembered who he was and even whom he resented. That was why he had been so powerful.

‘Now Skyler’s shown himself too.’

For Constel, which had to counter Indus’s attack, the most important thing was knowing where Indus’s members were.

That was why Ospreet was floating so conspicuously in the sky, and why Isamaya had tracked down Thompson and confronted him.

Now we knew Thompson’s and Skyler’s locations. Kraken probably wasn’t here. As far as I knew, Kraken was currently carrying out a plan somewhere else entirely.

‘The problem is Kian.’

In the game, the teachers usually dealt with Indus. For the player controlling Aster, this event was a chance to see what Constel’s faculty could do, particularly how powerful Ospreet was.

Besides, it happened much later than this. By then, Aster and his companions had each grown stronger, so the standard strategy was to team up with the teachers and defeat Indus’s members separately.

That made it difficult for a player to get a look at every member of Indus. While you were fighting one, the others were already engaged elsewhere. Often, you knew their faces but not their abilities. In plenty of cases, you only heard their names without even seeing their faces.

‘But there’s no way I wouldn’t know Kian.’

Kian was the biggest nuisance in Indus.

For starters, her ability to make a dummy that looked exactly like her was incredibly annoying.

Worse, it wasn’t a doll or anything like that, but a swarm of spiders that cunningly impersonated a human. Anyone without a keen sense for presences couldn’t distinguish it from a real person.

But she was definitely somewhere nearby. She would have to stay close to control her dummy and all those spiders.

‘All right.’

Now it was time to begin my operation—not Constel’s.