«Son of a bitch!» As soon as I opened my eyes, I jumped out of bed. Everything in front of me was blurry and a pungent smell filled my nose. Outside the window there was a lot of noise.
Threatening screams could be heard through the glass. «Anyone on the street will be considered a traitor. Everyone, get into a building!»
«Kyahhh!» I heard screams blowing through the air at irregular intervals, and every time a loud bang erupted in the distance, a subtle vibration shook the bed.
What the hell is going on? I need information.
Step step.
I force my weak body to approach the window. As soon as I opened it, black smoke penetrated the room and a dry cough erupted from my throat.
Tos, tos.
As he coughed, he scrutinized what he could see outside the window. The soldiers walked through the smoke-filled streets, cornering the citizens.
«It really is a fire».
I could see a neighborhood engulfed in flames in the distance. It was the eastern district, the home of Orcules. Although it was quite far from where I was, a fire in a poorly ventilated underground city would fill the entire city with smoke.
¡Bang! ¡Kwa claim!
Watching strange roars explode intermittently, it didn't seem like a simple fire.
«Jesus... what the hell is going on?»
I put a throbbing hand to my head. It felt like my gears were spinning several times slower than normal. It was possibly a side effect of the poison Amelia had administered to me.
Ah, yes, take poison…
That woke me up, and what had happened before I lost consciousness flashed through my mind like a panorama.
What the hell was he thinking? And where has it disappeared?
I did not know. But the less I knew, the more I focused on one thing. This was the same as the day I woke up in this body. All else aside, what did he have to do now at this moment? The answer came to me quickly.
«Drawer».
Amelia told me to open the drawer. Maybe there was an explanation for this situation. I closed the window and headed to the side of the bed. The nightstand drawer luckily contained a note with only a few lines inside.
«Yes...»
The note began with a brief apology. It didn't take me long to read it in its entirety, and as soon as I finished, I tore it to pieces. But even then, my anger did not fade.
To think that today was D-Day.
Amelia had cheated on me. It wasn't written in the note, but the reason was obvious. He probably wanted to prevent him from continuing to interfere in the past, thinking that might change the future.
Ha, I never thought I was someone capable of doing something so impulsive...
I still felt a tingle on the back of my neck, but I tried to focus and looked at the time. It was half past four in the morning. Since it had been just over ten when I drank with Amelia, I had been asleep for about six hours.
Well then. To do?
I closed my eyes for a moment and organized my thoughts. The note Amelia left told me to find the Records Stone Fragment when I woke up and then come back, saying she would take care of the rest on her own. Given the current state of the city, it didn't seem like it would be difficult to infiltrate the castle.
Don't make me laugh. So what, is she going to stay here alone?
I didn't like this plan. But despite those feelings, I also had this thought: What if I really didn't do anything? How would the future change then?
«...Anyway, let's get out of here for now».
I stopped ruminating there and quickly put on the equipment. As time ran out, I decided I could worry about the rest while I moved.
Crujido.
I quickly headed to the castle.
***
Passing soldiers tirelessly herding civilians through the acrid smoke, I soon arrived at the castle. The doors were already tightly closed and even with the label marking me as a member of the castle lord faction, I was not able to get them opened.
«The lord of the castle has banned everyone from entering. They deployed the teams a long time ago. Why are you here now?»
«...I was sleeping.»
«Then head to the eastern district, even if you are late. It seems your clan left to join the campaign a long time ago.»
Ugh, tan molesto.
«Okay. Good luck.»
I turned around without hesitation, walking away from the door. Just because the door was closed didn't mean there wasn't a way in. The barbarians did not ask permission.
There's smoke in the air, so you won't be able to see me.
After moving along the castle wall for a moment, I confirmed that no one was around before jumping over the wall. But unfortunately, there was a person beyond.
«Who are you?» The soldier was startled to see me fall from the sky during his patrol.
Hit!
Before it made too much noise, I quickly silenced it and ran towards the inner courtyard. Just as Amelia predicted, the castle was a ghost town on D-Day and there was no one nearby who could pose a threat. They were all simple patrol soldiers. For now, the main troops would be fighting in the eastern district occupied by the oculi.
«Enemies!»
Hit!
«Enemy invasion!»
Hit!
Thanks to that, I was able to jump this part of the map quickly. The problems began in the inner courtyard.
¡Kwa claim!
As soon as I broke down the doors of the inner courtyard and entered the first floor, fearsome-looking adventurers surrounded me.
Yeah, no matter how empty the house was, something had to be left behind, huh?
They were an elite military unit to which the lord had granted the title of knight. Because he had visited the castle countless times in recent months, he knew some of them.
«...Iron Mask, why are you here? You should be in the eastern district, where the fight is».
«Ah, I have something to discuss with the lord of the castle».
«I never imagined you were one of Orcules' henchmen». A bald man whose name I didn't even remember looked at me with the rage of someone who has been betrayed by a trusted friend.
I didn't feel any remorse. Not only was he not one of Orcules' henchmen, but I never once considered those guys my friends. «Whatever, fight me».
«I don't know what kind of reckless bravery you must have to crawl here, but this is you...»
What are these henchmen saying? I said to fight, not to talk. If you don't come to me, I will come to you.
¡Kwa claim!
Without wasting any more time on a useless conversation, I immediately activated Gigantization and jumped to the center of his formation.
«¡Behel-ahhh!»
I made my hammer, which was already monstrous in size thanks to Gigantization, three times larger by combining Transcendence and Balancing.
¡Whooom!
Then I spun like a top and swung my hammer. It was a movement called Whirlwind. It was taken from the game that used to be my favorite before falling into Dungeon and Stone. The special thing about it was that you could enjoy a cool hitting feel along with a cool sound, like this.
¡Kwa claim!
His bones broke like twigs the moment they were hit by my hammer, and even some of the sturdiest guys flew straight into the wall. This made sense considering the hammer he was holding was not a normal weapon.
I'm definitely made to be a tank, but somehow I do better damage than one.
It was #87: Kraul Demon Crusher, a two-digit numerical item that could increase damage by 500% when a blunt weapon ability was active. Simply put, simply holding this weapon quintupled the power of Rank Three Swing. There was no way anyone could survive a blow.
Oh, although none of that mattered if they dodged it.
«What the hell...?» The guys who fell to the ground as soon as I brandished the hammer and escaped the line of fire were gawking at me. Among them, there was one who managed to come to his senses and counterattack.
Arrow, fire, lightning, axe... I checked each of his weapons and smiled.
How come not a single one of them uses a sword?
That was the funny thing about Noark. Just because you were a knight didn't mean you knew how to use an aura. These guys were only recognized with that title because of their loyalty. The true knights who wore auras were probably one in a hundred.
And as I thought, all those guys were brought to the front.
After that, the fight became hitting each one manually with the hammer. Not even warriors covered in heavy full-body armor could withstand it and fell like flies when I activated the Armor Penetration boost to 50% with Downward Push. About five minutes later, after the few that remained fled, the battle ended. I didn't bother following them and I also skipped the looting. Not only did I not have time for that, but there was no room in my subspace ring after all the loot we had stored for the past few months.
...Ugh, I have to take this hammer with me somehow.
I hurried to get going again. My destination was not the castle studio or the upper floor where the office was, but the underground shelter that Amelia had told me about.
Sprint.
I managed to locate the stairs leading to the basement and began running down them before stopping dead. Someone was coming up from below.
«I was wondering what that fuss was up here...». Coincidentally, it was someone I had crossed paths with once, the knight who came to recruit us under the instructions of the lord of the castle. «Iron Mask, what are you doing here?» His name was Rick Omanus. When he saw me, he drew his sword.
Me... Did I accidentally take the wrong path? There was no time to make up an excuse like that.
¡Voom!
The knight's judgment was so rapid that as soon as he saw me, he immediately imbued his sword with an aura to enter battle mode. Only after that was there an attempt at conversation. «Answer, Iron Mask. Why are you here and also how do you know this place».
Amelia told me not to answer that question. Although no one knew about this underground shelter now, it would not be like that in the future.
«Are you saying you're not going to answer?».
My heart began to beat violently.
¡Thump!
The knights were essentially against a tank. The tanks were strong but slow, and the auras ignored all types of defense. Not to mention that a tank doesn't usually deal much damage, making it difficult to deal it to a knight. I had already verified it during the battle against the knight turned looter named Serpent Knight that we found in the Crystal Cave. He cut off my arm like it was tofu. The only thing I could do was take advantage of that gap and pounce on it, clinging like a cicada. The main reason we won that battle was Raven's magic.
¡Pum!
Not to mention that the situation now was completely different from then. This was a one on one battle with no comrades around to help me. I hadn't even touched on building the stats I would need to handle an aura.
Hit!
My heartbeat cycle shortened and I pressed the gun harder. It was not a physical reaction due to fear. It was natural to feel that level of tension before a battle.
«So you're not going to answer? So first I'll cut off your arm». Rick Omanus made the opening move.
I replied: «Do it, then, if you can».
Yes, it's time to take down a knight.