Helium, 9th Chapter | The Power Beyond Science
(What was that… just now?)
Thought Shin when when he looked at the smile floating up on the face of the man and recalled the event that transpired before his very eyes.
He didn’t seem to be carrying any gun type firearm. However, he could be seen clenching something in his hand, and that something was shining.
It was different from an electromagnetic gun. What soared toward Shin was clearly a ma.s.s of fire.
‘Was there a weapon, which enabled such a phenomenon, in the Earth of the past?’
It wasn’t something that was impossible, but it was impossible when it was clenched in hand. Shin judged that he wouldn’t be able to bear it.
“…Lemme do it, too…”
Suddenly, the man from before, who had his sword broken and was kicked away, unsteadily got on his feet and grumbled.
“It’s a pity, Rick. You watch this guy burn from over there!”
“It’s not a joke! Do you have any idea how much I have risked on this Mana Machine (Mana Core)? Kill him already! This piece of s.h.i.t, gaaah!”
The man set the broken sword up over again. While holding it aloft, he closed in on Shin.
‘This jerk wouldn’t learn,’ the moment Shin a.s.sumed the stance to face him-
“Flame Dance Cut!”
-The man’s sword, which was supposed to be broken, burned brightly. He swung the flaming sword down at Shin.
“!!”
Although Shin dodged it by back stepping, the side sweeping attack of the enigmatic flame clad sword grazed his mesh armor.
Unfortunately, however, the mesh armor had complete fire insulation, durable flexibility and superior permeability. It was a superb armor that wouldn’t corrode.
Although it felt a little hot due to it being mesh, the attack of the blade itself could inflict no more than a trivial bruise.
It was a fact, though, that Shin couldn’t hide his unrest given the situation.
A line of sweat dribbled down his forehead.
Whether it was owing to the heat of the flames blazing in front of his eyes or due to anxiety… it served for Shin to grasp the gravity of the situation.
The phenomenon of the flames breaking out of a sword.
It wasn’t impossible. For example, butane, acetylene of any inflammable gas could jet out of the sword. Then, some method could be employed for electric discharge in order to ignite it.
However, the flames blazing in front of his very eyes were showing no sign of dying down.
Could the breadth of the sword compress such a volume of gas…? No.
Every element had a set atomic weight. There was a limit to how much it could be compressed.
Then, what kind of a method was used to clad the sword in the flames?
The sword had been continuously burning, yet it was showing no sign of melting under the heat.
‘Although it looks like an ordinary steel, is it different in actuality?’
No matter what he conjectured, the present situation was contradicting it.
The present situation couldn’t be explained given Shin’s knowledge.
“Oraaa! Booo! Don’t stand still. You think I’m here to talk――――Buu!?”
He shook the flame clad sword off through side fall break and kicked the man, who was full of openings, in the rib cage. With one hit, he was flung to where his companions were.
When the man squatted on the ground, the flames spewing out of the sword dispersed, too.
“…I don’t get it.”
Shin decided to put the mystery event on hold for now.
Currently, he was in the middle of a battle.
He had no choice but to adapt to the power of the objects being wielded in front of his eyes and cut his way through by exploiting the maximum of his current self.
Shin had always done that. Be it the flames breaking out of a sword or a fireball soaring at him. See. Move. If he could, it would do.
“Tch, deadhead! You f.u.c.kers shoot Mana, too. Pierce this guy with a volley!”
“Wha, Vice Leader! We don’t have any Mana Calculus (Manamite) on us!”
“Fools! What do you think they’re collecting there? Use Water Mana Calculus!”
Upon the leading man’s shout, the men picked up the ores piled up in the wheelbarrows at once and held their hands out in succession.
“Do it!”
“Light Arrow of Water (Water Ray)!”
The moment a pale blue light Shined from the men’s hands, Waterb.a.l.l.s that looked like arrows streaked toward Shin.
They were looming at almost the same speed as the Fireball from before. Initially, their number was the same as the number of men. In a blink of an eye, the number increased to tens.
He observed calmly. Out of those the trajectories of which were predicted to inflict fatal wounds, he evaded a few of them. However, evading all of them was as big ask.
“Gukaa!”
3 of the Water arrows struck his chest. The impact rushed through his nerves.
While it was an ordinary Waterball, the impact so to speak was as if a softball was hurled at him.
“Haahaaaa! Beat him to death!”
‘That was unexpected.’
It was a fact that he was scared, albeit only slightly, of the mysterious phenomenon taking place in front of his very eyes.
On the Earth, an ordinary water shot at high pressure could cut through a solid stone statue. However, the mesh armor could withstand even that. Nevertheless, he couldn’t shirk the unease off.
But what of the Waterb.a.l.l.s shot just now at his body by those men?
Although the shock absorption capability of the mesh armor was incredible, a blow from an Android Killrer’s superalloy arm would be more of a life and death matter than this level of water pressure.
On this occasion, though, the anticlimax was actually a good news to Shin.
He decided to think over the mysterious phenomenon in the future. For now, he had to recover the Device and the boots.
He wasn’t able to obtain any information in this town anyway. ‘I will inquire about the Capital and leave,’ thought Shin as he prepared for total suppression.
“Do it――――”
“Do what!!”
The leading man once again signaled the men around him to fire the Waterb.a.l.l.s. At that moment, a shriek infused with anger resounded from behind Shin and echoed inside the entire grotto.
“Oh… Leader!?”
“Leader…”
“!!?”
Upon that voice, the men stopped moving.
Tempted, Shin slowly turned his head back.
“…You…… what’s this?”
A woman who had her chestnut hair bound behind her back.
Had gorgeous looks; a voluptuous chest pressed underneath a silver breastplate; and further down, only the a.s.sets of a woman safeguarded.
Her legs, which were exposed downward from thighs, reaffirmed the fact that she was a woman. Her figure, however, was that of a western knight’s.
While dragging a man whom she was grabbing by the nape of his neck, she scowled at the leading man with an expression that was a mix of shock and anger.
Step by step, the woman advanced in his direction.
The man, who was being dragged along, seemed to have lost consciousness. His body, that was no different from a lifeless puppet, was rubbing against the ground.
Upon looking closely, he seemed to be the man at the inn yesterday.
“Leader… you’ve come back――――”
“I asked you ‘what’s this’! Zack!”
“…Kuh!”
Apparently, she was superior to even the leading man. Speaking of which, he was indeed called ‘Vice Leader’.
‘This woman must be the real leader,’ guessed Shin. The current situation threw his head into confusion.
(Seriously, though… it really has gotten troublesome)
The two leading figures, a man and a woman, were glaring at each other. The men around them were frightened.
Shin, who was caught in the middle of all, loosened his stance as he had nothing to do.