NOVEL NEXT Ch. 97
Chapter 97
The bracelet on my right wrist glowed, transforming into dual pistols in my hands.
I fired multiple shots simultaneously.
“Argh!”
“Ugh! Gah!”
The two men’s limbs were shredded by the bullets.
They collapsed, writhing in pain.
It’s fine.
I avoided vital spots, so they won’t die.
“…Tch.”
Standing up, I saw my filthy state more clearly.
Covered in sewage and grime, it was deeply unpleasant.
‘With the power of Stellar Force.’
Stellar Force (Lv 3) purifies your body.
All the impurities on my body were washed away or burned by holy flames, leaving me clean.
Releasing the dual pistols, they turned back into a bracelet.
‘Convenient.’
I drew the hunting rifle from my back and approached the two men groaning in pain on the filthy floor.
“Listen.”
They looked at me with fear-filled eyes.
“Guide me to your hideout. If you don’t, I’ll kill you.”
To them, I was terror itself.
“Of course, I only need one of you.”
***
“Here… here it is… Please spare me…”
The sewage and filth flowing through the sewer stopped, and the floor split, revealing a passage to the underground.
‘Impressive.’
The Defardly Empire Liberation Army’s capabilities were more formidable than I thought.
To create such a secret hideout in the sewer.
“Hey…! You’ll let me live, right? Right?”
Thud!
A muffled shot from the silenced barrel cut off the pleading voice.
I tossed the limp body onto the now-empty sewer and jumped down.
The passage closed, and sewage began flowing again.
‘This is the hideout.’
Though old, the passage felt maintained, suggesting recent use.
Multiple paths branched out, indicating a significant scale.
‘This is troublesome.’
It’d be nice if I could find everyone here.
Know-It-All (Lv 3) analyzes that, compared to others, Martin has no political value, so he was likely discarded.
The rest should be found here.
Good news, but…
Wild Instinct (Lv 3) examines the hideout’s complex structure.
It feels an unknown energy flowing through the entire hideout.
Senses are being disrupted by an unknown phenomenon.
The irritating news that my senses were being scrambled in this massive structure for the first time overlapped with it.
Still, there was only one choice.
‘Keep moving forward.’
Fortunately… there’s something suspicious.
For such a perfect hideout, there were no CCTV or listening devices.
There were detection and alarm magics, though.
‘To build a hideout of this scale with such lax internal security…
Suspicious.
Is there a reason?
Are they that confident in the hideout’s concealment?’
Whatever trick they’re pulling, it can even disrupt an intruder’s senses, so maybe they relied on that.
Wild Instinct (Lv 3) focuses on hearing, picking up sounds.
But Wild Instinct isn’t an ordinary sense.
‘Aha.’
I hear it.
Sounds are coming through.
“Lunch today…”
“Keeping up with Princess Anette is tough…”
“Phew! Hah!”
“Ugh, everyone’s at the ritual site, and I’m stuck here…”
All sorts of noises.
My ears hurt.
“Tch, what are these guys? Hanging out with the Four Great Ducal Families’ heirs?”
“Well… there’s something to exploit, right?”
That’s it.
“Lina, you okay?”
“Yes, Your Highness. But what’s going on…?”
Of all people, Gilbert and Lina.
…No choice.
I have to save them.
I headed toward the sound.
‘The more I see, the more suspicious this place is.’
While heading toward the sound, I didn’t encounter anyone.
Well, as I overheard, they’re all gathered at some ritual site.
But what’s stranger is the security.
No surveillance or listening devices, yet the alarm and detection magics are quite sophisticated.
‘Hmm.’
Something’s up.
‘Suspicious.’
I was almost at the spot where Gilbert and Lina were likely held.
“Oh, I wish we could join the ritual site too.”
“Hmm, no choice. Someone has to guard these guys.”
“Yeah… but finally, our true leader will return…”
“Right. We even teamed up with those damned demon worshippers for this…”
Yeah, I didn’t know.
The Defardly Empire Liberation Army.
Demon worshippers.
I never dreamed they’d join forces.
“Phew.”
“Sigh!”
I thought it was important information, but the conversation stopped there.
‘I can’t take this.’
Turning the corner, two guards saw me and opened their mouths.
But before their voices could ring out, gunshots echoed, and they collapsed, splattering blood.
‘The original story’s already messed up.
I don’t know everything, just the first part’s conclusion, and only the broad strokes afterward.’
I kicked the door open with a bang!
All eyes in the room turned to me.
‘At this rate, it might accelerate the final apocalypse…’
Gilbert and Lina were seated, bound with sturdy metal chains.
And… two soldiers were reaching toward Lina, looking quite sleazy.
‘I’m not here to deal with perverts.’
My hunting rifle fired repeatedly, instantly killing the two soldiers.
I shot again, breaking the chains binding Gilbert and Lina.
I spun around and slipped out.
Wild Instinct (Lv 3) finds a new clue.
Activating senses.
“Wait, Cadet Martin!”
Gilbert followed, calling out to me.
This clingy guy.
He probably thinks I saved him because I like him.
A heavy sound traced a trajectory.
Turning, I aimed the rifle’s barrel at Gilbert’s face.
“Shut up… I didn’t save you because I like you. Keep your mouth shut and follow.”
My sharp voice stabbed at Gilbert’s chest.
His face darkened, and his mouth closed tightly.
Instead, he drew his sword and began scanning the surroundings.
Lina stood behind me.
Knowing the tension between me and Gilbert was palpable, Lina spoke instead.
“We were already bound when we woke up. They said the heirs of the Four Great Ducal Families are in another room.”
“Any more information?”
“They took Prince Kazaks and Princess Adela to the ritual site. They mentioned summoning a soul.”
“A soul…”
What a mess.
The Defardly Empire Liberation Army I knew was just a terrorist group.
Far from necromancy or soul summoning.
Wild Instinct (Lv 3) has found new traces.
‘…This.’
Turning a corner, I reached an intersection.
“Nothing here.”
“It’s too quiet.”
That’s what they said, but my Wild Instinct’s eyes saw droplets of water falling.
It could be easily overlooked, but…
‘Traces left by a water magician.’
It’s definitely Mary.
Her timid nature and sensitivity to malice likely helped her recover quickly.
Following the droplets, I found a more professional-looking prison.
There were guards, but I didn’t need to act.
“Argh! What are these guys?!”
“How did they escape?! Where are the guards?!”
Gilbert and Lina swung their swords, taking the lead.
Then, one guard opened the cell door, roughly pulling out a bound girl and holding a knife to her throat.
“D-Don’t come closer! Back off! Or I’ll kill her!”
“Eek!”
It was Shuga, tears in her eyes, her face pale.
“Ugh!”
“Hmm…”
Gilbert and Lina hesitated, but…
“As expected.”
I dropped from the ceiling.
Anticipating this, I’d been hanging upside down.
As I fell, I kicked the guard’s head and swung my rifle to knock the knife from Shuga’s throat.
Then, I grabbed Shuga with one hand, retreated, and aimed the rifle at the guard’s head.
My dark green robe draped over Shuga protectively.
“H-How…”
“I know the mind of a pathetic villain like you.”
I pulled the trigger.
“Because I’m one too.”
The guard’s head exploded.
With the minor hostage situation resolved, no one could stop Gilbert and Lina anymore.
“Gilbert!”
“Bord!”
Gilbert opened the cell door and freed Bord.
They hugged, showing off their manly bond.
Not just Shuga and Bord, but Elisha, Mary, Muller, and Luri were rescued too.
“Phew, we’re alive. Thanks, Lina. What the hell is going on…? We were attacked at Imperium Academy, right?”
“Thanks, Lady Sword. I’ll repay this with my spear next time.”
…I couldn’t let go of Shuga.
Her legs seemed to give out, and she kept collapsing.
‘They say bold kids get hit hard when they’re shaken.’
Bold doesn’t even cover it.
Shuga was outrageously arrogant.
Like a bad version of Adela and Elisha.
Fortunately, there was a chair used by the guards, so I sat her down.
“Rest.”
“Uh, ah…!”
As she was about to fall, Shuga grabbed my sleeve.
When I looked at her, she flinched and let go.
“S-Sorry…”
“….”
Is this the same kid who was rudely yelling, ‘Wanna die, Hound?’ earlier?
“U-Um, Cadet Martin…”
I turned to see Mary.
She bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle.
“T-Thank you for saving us…! Especially for saving my sister!”
“No need to thank me. I still think I owe you, Cadet Mary, so no gratitude necessary.”
“S-Still, thank you…!”
This is why I can’t dislike polite kids.
Then someone called me.
“Hey, Martin. We don’t have time to linger.”
It was Luri.
“Look at this. The prison is this big, but we’re the only ones captured. Even though some time has passed.”
Her sharp observation drew everyone’s attention.
“The attack wasn’t random. The enemy’s goal was clearly us.”
So the strategic-level magic and demon horde were aimed solely at us?
“Most of us were just extras. Their real targets are probably Prince Kazaks and Princess Adela, who aren’t here. Any guesses where they might be?”
Right.
No time for this.
I had to move.
I’d already heard hints about where to go.
“The ritual site.”
“Let’s go!”
But first, we needed to understand the hideout’s structure.
We decided to split up and search.
With no time to waste, I took command.
“Let’s split into pairs. Like this, this, this, and this. If you find a map or the ritual site, send a message through the cadet handbook immediately.”
Bord and Mary, Gilbert and Luri, Lina and Elisha, Muller and Shuga formed pairs.
One close-range, one long-range.
Looking at the well-organized teams, Luri said,
“Wait, what about you, Martin?”
“I’m better alone. The numbers don’t match anyway.”
“Tch, fine.”
Each pair went in a different direction.
I picked one and ran.
Being alone made moving fast easier.
I ran to finish quickly, but…
“…?”
After running for a while, I reached a familiar intersection.
“….”
Unlike before, I was alone now, but I’m not an idiot.
‘Wild Instinct.’
Wild Instinct (Lv 3) enhances vision to the extreme!
A tingling sensation hit my eyes, and I began seeing things normally invisible.
All sorts of footprints became visible.
‘No way.’
I lifted my foot and examined the footprints.
The ones from when I headed to the passage and back were identical.