Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Aether Core [1]
Kael gripped his sword tightly, the distance between him and the dancer narrowing.
He had no grudge against her, but so what?
She was the one who attacked Kael’s group first.
"Don’t blame me, dancer!"
With all his strength and will, Kael’s blade flashed a cold silver, then rushed straight towards the girl’s neck.
Whoosh!
The speed of the sword was so fast that it didn’t leave an afterimage.
And then, when it was too late for the dancer to attack, dodge, or block, the blade successfully pierced through her neck.
One slash.
And that was all he needed.
"...!"
Kael was shocked.
Partly because he didn’t expect it to be this simple.
And the rest was because... her neck was too soft.
It was as if he had just cut a piece of butter.
But at least she was dead, right?
Because the next moment, all of the dancer’s movements stopped, and at the same time, all of those invisible tentacles seemed to have evaporated from this world.
The attacks had stopped.
The atmosphere had also become more relaxed, less deadly.
In general, all the dangers had disappeared.
"..."
Kael should have been happy.
Yet for some reason, his instincts were telling him to run away quickly.
’Run away from what?’
Confused, he looked towards the dancer.
"...!"
And that was when Kael understood why his instincts were telling him to do so.
But by the time he realized it, it was already too late.
Normally, when a person was beheaded, the head would fall to the ground due to gravity.
But this time, the head of the dancer was not falling, but the opposite.
It was floating in the air.
And... slowly expanding.
Like a lost soul, Kael stared blankly at the scene, not knowing what he should do next.
"Kael, run away from there!"
Hans’s worried voice echoed from behind.
"..."
But he did not move.
’Run away?’
Did they have enough time to do that?
Of course not.
Then, like a balloon being continuously filled with air, the head of the dancer exploded.
Boom!
But, fortunately, it was not a normal explosion.
It was an explosion of light.
The next moment, the entire theater was filled with this dazzling yet strangely gentle light.
***
Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!
It was the sound of birds chirping.
"Huh?"
Kael, who still had his eyes closed, frowned slightly.
Why was he hearing birds chirping? He was in the theater.
Wait, something wasn’t right.
This feeling... felt like Kael was lying on a patch of grass.
"...!"
Sensing that something was wrong, he immediately jumped up.
All the drowsiness and fatigue that were trying to invade his consciousness also disappeared not long after.
Blinking a few times in a daze, Kael looked around.
The place he was in was no longer the theater, but a forest.
It was a vivid place, but for some reason, the more time Kael spent here, the more uneasy he felt.
"Urgh..."
He felt a knot in his stomach, as if signaling that there was definitely something fishy about this forest.
And of course, it was true.
Kael had been awake for a while now, but up until now, he still hadn’t felt any wind.
The temperature was neither hot nor cold, strangely perfect.
The lake was calm, without any fluctuations.
It was as if... time had stopped.
...
Soon after, the other three woke up.
And like Kael, they all felt that there was something very strange about this place.
"Do you know where we are, Kael?"
Hans asked.
From some point on, whenever there was a question, the protagonist would always ask him first.
Because in his heart, Kael was like an encyclopedia.
But it seemed that this time, what Hans received was only disappointment.
"...Sorry, I don’t know either."
That was the truth.
Even in the game, he had never experienced this situation before.
So this was the price of trying to follow an uncertain future?
"Hah."
He let out a self-deprecating laugh.
But very quickly, Kael returned to his usual serious demeanor.
"But, I guess it might be because of that dancer we met earlier."
Alaric interjected:
"It’s very possible that we were pulled into the illusion created by her after that head exploded."
Kaede added:
"If that’s the case, then we just need to destroy this place and we can return to reality, right?"
Everything was linking together.
As expected, four brains were better than one.
But, at that moment, a voice belonging to a stranger rang out from not far away:
"I hear voices! It’s human voices! Are there other humans here?"
From the bushes, a skinny man, with a pitifully shabby body, ran out.
"Wow! It’s a human! Four people! Four people!"
He was wearing only shorts made from leaves, looking quite like a prehistoric man.
"Hahahaha! There are more humans! So much fun! Hihihihi!"
Like a child who discovered something interesting, the man ran around the four of them.
Ever since he appeared, his smile had never disappeared.
Yes, there was no doubt about it.
This guy was a madman.
"Who is this? Does anyone know this man?"
Kael asked.
And Alaric was the one who answered:
"No. Even if I do, I will pretend that I have no relationship with this person."
Hans and Kaede nodded, showing understanding.
"Hahaha! Hihihi!"
Meanwhile, this man still acted like a child.
Didn’t he feel tired?
Did a madman even know the definition of stamina?
"Hey, I’m starting to find this guy quite annoying."
If he were a normal person, Kael might have been a little more polite.
But a psychopath?
He couldn’t help but snort.
"So, who’s going to do it? Me, or someone else?"
"Let me."
With that, Hans grabbed the man’s arm, his eyes not showing much friendliness.
And then, he hit the back of the man’s head with a force that wasn’t too strong.
Thwack!
Successfully causing the madman to faint instantly.
With a satisfied smile, Kael spoke up:
"Hmm, that’s a little better."