Chapter 64 : Finger

Chapter 64: Finger

Everyone was staring at me.

“Oh? He suddenly quieted down...?”

“But what did he just say?”

“Ransen, did you understand him?”

What? Was I the only one who heard it?

Something about an Annihilation Angel or whatever?

This time, it seemed that the telepathic message had been delivered only to me.

That so-called angel reacted in a strange way solely toward me. Was it because of that thing called 「Zero Code」?

On guard against any possible mishap, I circled slowly around the being that had identified itself as ‘Annihilation Angel.’

I couldn’t rule it out. It could be pretending to stay calm like this, only to launch a surprise attack.

But even as I traced a wide semicircle around it, the Annihilation Angel didn’t move an inch, staying rooted in place.

Only its gaze trailed after me, almost giving the impression of a puppy.

It was as if its whole body was showing me the word ‘obedience.’

So, I decided to test it.

“Hey.”

[Annihilation Angel A12 Omega. Awaiting orders.]

What the... it even reported its full designation?

“Fix your eyes on the ceiling and stay put. No matter what happens, do not move.”

[Understood.]

Ssssk—

The Annihilation Angel really shifted its gaze toward the ceiling. Now, even as I moved around it, it didn’t react at all.

“Did it just follow your command, Ransen? Right? Right?!”

“Ransen. What is this? Why is the angel listening to you....”

The mercenaries whispered, and Cask voiced his doubts.

“Shh. Stay quiet.”

I ignored them for now.

Holding my breath, I slowly stepped toward the Annihilation Angel and in a flash swung Banroa.

Fwoooosh—!

A storm-charged, dark blue Aura Blade stretched right up to the angel’s exposed neck, yet it didn’t budge an inch.

As though entrusting everything to me.

Just now, if I had wanted, I could have cut this angel’s throat.

At this point, I couldn’t doubt it any longer.

‘What? For real? Why?’

I withdrew my sword and swallowed hard.

“Hey.”

[Annihilation Angel A12 O...]

“Forget that, explain what 「Zero Code」 is.”

[「Zero Code」 is the highest-level authority holder and the top priority protection target.]

But that was supposed to be me? Someone from the Continental Calendar year 1,351, sixty thousand years after the Mythic Era?

“Why am I the 「Zero Code」?”

[That is....]

It froze.

The Annihilation Angel, about to answer, stiffened as if locked in place. A flash of crimson flickered across its eyes.

And then it started saying something completely unrelated to my question.

[You should not have come here.]

“What are you talking about? I asked what Zero Code is.”

[This place is a Special Isolation Zone. A tomb where an Apostle was slain and sealed. By the approach of the living, the Apostle awakens from its deathly slumber prematurely.]

“Apostle? What the hell is that now?”

[An Apostle is....]

It froze again!

Again. It froze again. And then, this time—

Wooooong—

With a thunderous noise, it burst out in a red radiance from its entire body.

The Annihilation Angel suddenly cried out, sending a massive vibration drilling into everyone’s heads just as before.

[Anomaly detected! The Apostle’s awakening speed is skyrocketing at an incomprehensible rate!]

Fwaaah!

It spread wide the folded wings of light, scattering them in every direction.

[Within 10 minutes, the Apostle will awaken from its deathly slumber!]

What the hell...?!

Just as I failed to make sense of the situation—

Whoooom—!

A vast wave-like force brushed past us.

Every hair on my body stood on end.

Goosebumps ran down my skin, and a sharp sting filled my nose.

W-woo-woo—

Banroa trembled in a way it had never shown before.

Yes.

It was afraid. Banroa.

A sword that should have had no will other than to ‘cut’... was ‘afraid.’

[The stirrings have begun. Recalculating. Within 9 minutes. Revision—7 minutes. Recalculated—within 3 minutes, the Apostle will emerge!]

The Annihilation Angel turned its back on me completely now.

It drew forth a massive sword of light and aimed it beyond the barrier.

Not Aura, not magic, but some terrifying power flared behind it.

And then—

Chwarrrrk!

The Book of Fate shot out on its own from the Subspace Necklace.

[Ruceras Calendar, Year 4681. May 22nd. This history is forcibly altered by the hand of ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛. By the finger of ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛, unlike in the original history, a complete resurrection is achieved.]

Letters etched themselves onto the book.

What was that supposed to mean?

Something unknown was rewriting history at will?

Did it mean that this Apostle, with this so-called “finger” awakening now, would become stronger than it had been in real history? Could that be possible?

A woman’s voice whispered in my ear.

I had heard it a few times before, but now her tone was completely different—laden with emotion.

[Due to the knot in the Timeline, this mission cannot be repeated. A single failure will mean the ultimate defeat.]

Up to this point, her words were relatively businesslike, but what followed was not.

[…Please, do not lose your courage. The only chance left to us now lies within the crisis itself.]

I was speechless.

I couldn’t understand it, but I could feel it.

Something absurd was happening.

A cataclysm that even my power—close to Peak Expert by ancient standards, beyond a Swordmaster by modern ones, a force that had always seemed undefeatable—could not withstand.

That recurring wave of chilling dread tearing through my body.

The Annihilation Angel, radiating overwhelming power yet tense with fear.

And on top of that, the Book of Fate’s warning.

Something that should never happen was happening.

The fear I was feeling wasn’t just a simple bodily reaction.

My very soul was delivering me a clear warning.

[Prioritize the survival of 「Zero Code」. Activating 「Final Wedge」 to temporarily exhaust the Apostle.]

Final Wedge.

When the Annihilation Angel spoke those words, trembling as it scattered blinding radiance in all directions, I realized.

‘It was... this strong?’

If I had fought it earlier, I would have lost.

Before even weighing experience or swordsmanship, its sheer output was utterly beyond me.

An overwhelming surge of energy whirled around the Annihilation Angel.

And yet... the dread gnawing into my chest didn’t subside.

Even with such a powerful being on our side, I couldn’t feel the slightest relief.

[Executing 「Zero Code」 escape protocol.]

[Long-range leap impossible. Resetting to the best available location.]

The moment I heard that, my mind snapped into focus.

This wasn’t the time to be dazed.

“Hey! Don’t just evacuate me! Everyone here! Do you understand?! Every single one of us has to get out!”

[Correction. At 「Zero Code」’s request, escape protocol is being reset. Please establish physical contact with those who will evacuate together.]

As expected, this thing had intended to send only me away.

By now I was acting almost purely on instinct.

“Everyone, pull yourselves together and gather! Hurry!”

Now I could clearly sense it.

Something was awakening beyond that barrier.

Something that must never awaken was about to tear its way through.

Something so absurd that even I could not resist it.

We had to run.

That thought filled my head completely.

The vague dread had already become a tangible presence, dominating the space.

Crack! Craaack!

The barrier blocking our view crumbled, and from within, a force seeped out.

The mercenaries, overwhelmed by that pressure, trembled uncontrollably—

“Snap out of it!!!”

My roar jolted their focus back, and they staggered toward me.

All but one.

Only one failed to come to his senses until the very end.

Cask.

He hugged himself tightly with both arms, shuddering.

His mouth spilled words without pause.

“This... this is impossible. Something like this. Something like this can’t be real. An arbitrary definition of mana? This... this cannot exist in this world....”

I grabbed his shoulder and yanked him forcefully.

“Get a hold of yourself! You’re the leader! What the hell are you doing?!”

“R-Ransen...?”

Only then did Cask look at me. Yet the tremors in the shoulder I held showed no sign of stopping.

“Forget it. Just stick close for now.”

I could feel it now. It was truly dangerous.

Fssshhh—

Even the Annihilation Angel, who seemed invincible, someone I felt I could never defeat even at full power... was now crumbling bit by bit.

The barrier had already collapsed.

The ashen aura pouring out from within struck down the Annihilation Angel that had stood guard before us.

There was no time.

“We’re all here! Now send us out!”

[Executing... escape... protocol.]

The Annihilation Angel answered in a voice slower than before.

Wiiiing!

A pure white light enveloped us, and within it I saw the angel drawing back its sword.

As if becoming a wedge itself, it shot forward explosively into the endless stream of ashen energy—

Paaaah!

The pure white light erased everything from sight.

Fssshh—

A moment later, as the scattering brilliance faded, a familiar scene emerged.

The entrance of the ruins.

The very place we always passed through for exploration—where all six of us had returned.

“R-Ransen! What on earth just happened?!”

For some reason, Lorraine, Master Eodran, and several researchers were already gathered at the entrance.

Well, it made sense. With that kind of chaos raging down below, it would have been stranger for them not to come out.

The ground must have shaken, an unknown aura must have surged up.

Still—

‘At least I can breathe again.’

Compared to the oppressive force I had felt down there, this place was heaven.

If only for a little while.

That suffocating pressure, felt all the more vividly and fearfully because my level was higher than the others...

Soon, it would sweep over this place as well.

“Ransen! Say something, anything! And just now—was that spatial leap? But Cask can’t use spatial magic...!”

Lorraine bombarded me with questions.

But this was no time for idle Q&A.

“Lorraine!”

I called her sharply, dropping all honorifics.

Pressing her as though she were a soldier.

“Y-yes?”

“Prepare for immediate combat readiness.”

“C-combat readiness?!”

“No time! Now! If you want to live, get into battle formation first!”

Her eyes wavered.

Then she bit down hard on her lip, pulled out a strange rod from her chest, and twisted it.

Weeeeeeeng—!

It fired a signal.

Emergency alarms resounded through Lorraine’s entire laboratory.

Earsplitting sirens, flashing crimson warning lights.

The researchers, who had been trudging about like zombies at their work, must have been left dumbstruck.

But when Lorraine put an artifact to her lips and shouted, her voice thundered throughout the lab.

[All hands to combat readiness! Full mobilization! Not a single one stays behind—move! Move! You know how much money went into combat training, and you’re going to waste it like this!?]

Only then did the researchers snap to their senses and scramble into motion.

After giving her orders, Lorraine fixed her pale green eyes firmly on me.

“Now explain. What exactly is going on?”

“I don’t know the details either. Just... some absurd monster is coming up. Soon.”

Lorraine furrowed her brows.

“A monster strong enough to make you this tense? Stronger than you?”

At that—

I couldn’t answer truthfully.

“...No. I’m still stronger.”

If I spoke the truth, it felt like my spirit would collapse before the battle even began.

But hope wasn’t entirely gone.

“What? Stronger? Then why....”

“I need it.”

“Need what...?”

“Dragon’s Magical Armor.”

I held out my hand to Lorraine.

“B-but that hasn’t even finished testing...!”

“There’s no time. With it—I can win.”

“Ah...”

Lorraine’s strength was her speed of judgment.

She drew out a key and placed it in my palm. The key that unlocked the seal of the secret vault.

Why did that light key feel so unbearably heavy?

“Then, I’ll leave things to you until I return.”

There was no time to hesitate even for a moment, so I launched myself forward immediately.

Now, I could only trust.

In Lorraine.

That she would hold out until I came back.

That her “dream of a lifetime” would function as it should.

*         *         *

Kwaaang!

The moment I kicked open the secret vault door, I had only one thought.

‘Take everything.’

This was the last time anyway.

The reason the Book of Fate had sent me to this era—surely it was to kill that Apostle, that so-called Finger that had resurrected.

So this was it. The final task.

If I was going to take anything, this was the only chance.

Crash! Thud!

I didn’t care if the furniture shattered; I shoved every magical armor and artifact displayed in the vault into my subspace.

If I fought that monster, everything would be destroyed anyway. No need to feel guilty.

I had to take them now.

In just thirty seconds, I had gathered everything, and at last, I stood before the “Dragon’s Magical Armor.”

‘So in the end, I really am going to wear you.’

I never imagined it would be under these circumstances...

My sentiment lasted only a moment. I stripped off the armor I wore and hurriedly donned the Dragon’s Magical Armor.

And the moment I finished equipping it and activated it—

[Diiiiieeeeeee!]

The dragon’s will, seething with rage, slashed into my mind like a sharpened blade.

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