[Amkena Side Story Episode 7]
* * *
The red lights flickered.
thud!
A huge vibration followed, followed by a loud siren and an unmanned announcement.
[Notice. 1 shield. Shield 1 is destroyed.]
[Shield 2 is under damage. Current situation of destruction 37%. All passengers on board are advised to evacuate as soon as possible.]
Kung! coo kung!
The entire airship shook violently.
Lydigion, who was leaning against the wall inside the ship, murmured.
"It's bothering me."
"…"
Aaron is standing next to him.
"It is dangerous to stay like this."
"Even if we go out, there is nothing we can do. Reserve your stamina for emergencies."
"Isn't this an emergency?"
An unimaginable situation happened.
The airship that Aaron and his colleagues were on board was attacked.
It was a completely different development from the behavior patterns of the guys I knew so far.
"It is, though."
"I think you should at least… go outside."
"Are you saying that we should go out and cheer?"
Ridigion and Aron, who specialize in close combat, are ordered to stand by in this situation.
But I have no intention of following along.
"yes. I will cheer you on."
"Hmm."
After thinking for a while, Ridigion made a decision.
"Don't let me go. We need to find out the situation."
"thank you."
After exchanging glances between the two, they ran out of the ship.
It wasn't long before they were able to come out on deck.
[Lee Yi Yi!]
Outside, the waves of darkness are already coming.
Paperweight! Jigsaw Jigsaw!
The translucent shields installed on the airships continuously emit blue sparks.
They are both snake-like and fish-like.
Those with black bodies writhed and gnawed at the shields.
The number is uncountable.
Hundreds of thousands of them were concentrated, and they already resembled a huge cloud.
"It's embarrassing."
Yurnet said in a low voice.
All of the people were gathered on the deck before I knew it.
"Aren't they only coming to Valhalla?"
Lydigion furrowed his brows.
There are quite a few airships that normally travel to Valhalla and other dimensions.
For example, taking a vacation and going back to your hometown, or going sightseeing to a resort level with like-minded heroes.
But they've never been dangerous.
Because the place where the war is always going to be fixed.
The point where they appear is always constant.
Valhalla has established a defense strategy based on that information.
"Their behavior seems to have changed."
"You mean here today? As soon as Valhalla's core officers vacated the fortress, their behavior patterns changed?"
"It won't be, Lidigion."
Siris said.
"They have already changed from before. it must have been hidden To target our fatal weakness."
Siris closed her eyes.
'Is this the reason why the offensive has been weak lately?'
They were preparing an ambush.
And, aiming for the moment when Han and the 1st party, the core of Valhalla, left the fortress, they attacked them in the dimensional passage, which is the most vulnerable point for defense.
And that airship that the key members of Valhalla are riding.
Even though there must be other airships going to and from the dimension right nearby.
It was an attack aimed at a clearly defined target.
'They also have intelligence… This is it.'
If this place was Valhalla, there would be no need to worry about attacks like this.
Even if only one member of the party steps forward, it will be easily resolved.
However, the current place is a special space where dimensions and dimensions overlap.
Their ability to receive power from two beings, Valhalla's Core and Loki, was greatly limited.
The problem is not only that.
Even if they were defeated, if the coordinate device, the core of the airship, was damaged, they could have wandered here for a long time, isolated between dimensions.
"ha. So you said I was going alone? Why do you follow me?"
Han let out a sigh.
Yurnet bowed her head.
"I'm sorry, Master. Because we were careless."
"done. Because I knew it would come out like this one day. So what is the current situation?"
"Shield 1 is smashed. Shield 2 is about to break as well. The output of shield 3 is also weakened. It probably won't even last 10 minutes."
Did you say you couldn't last 10 minutes?
Han looked up.
They were constantly eating away at the three-layered shield installed on the airship.
And that's not all.
Whoa! Woo woo woo woo!
A large, pitch-black fog was approaching from the other side of the airship.
Tens of millions of fragments come together and look like fog.
The eerie noises they made resonated like vibrations.
"Can't we attack them?"
"When we disarm the shields for an attack, this airship is exposed to them. If something goes wrong and the airship is shot down, there is no turning back."
Siris answered Aaron's question.
"I hate missing children in space…"
"But… wouldn't the result be the same if I stayed still? We have to do something!"
"I guess so. Something has to be done."
Kugu Palace!
The airship shook again.
[Notice. 2 shield. 2nd shield destroyed.]
[Caution! caution! All passengers on board are advised to evacuate immediately. This ship is in a critical situation…]
An announcement was made loudly.
The six gathered on deck and were silent.
Now, the only thing protecting the airship is a single layer of protection.
Siris thought.
'What would I have done if I was my old self.'
The countermeasure is clear.
Maybe send one of the party out of the shield to get some attention. And it would have accelerated the airship.
It is to throw a colleague as bait.
As a way to select the bait, a toy such as a draw will be used.
Giving up the life of one person saves everyone else, and most importantly, the Master.
It was a reasonable and sure way to deal with it.
If it is necessary to save the Master, he will throw away the lives of everyone including himself. I would have done that
in the past
.
The eyes behind the blindfold began to throb.
Siris looked at Israt.
The Master made eye contact with Siris, as if he knew what she was thinking.
'…'
said Siris.
"master."
"What?"
"Please be the bait."
Han stopped Ridigion from jumping out.
After that, Han asked.
"bait? I? why?"
"We are out of our power here. It would be pretty dangerous if any of us were the bait."
"I guess so."
"Masters are different. You can last a long time here too. Just like you did before."
"I don't think so."
Siris' eyes softened.
"Please. We will definitely find the Master wherever he is."
Siris thought.
The reason he made a mistake at that time was because he didn't trust the Master.
It was because he couldn't believe that Loki could overcome even the reality that clearing the game was impossible.
So I acted alone.
Even though he swore allegiance, he abandoned his master's will.
That's why it was abandoned then.
The Master had to be sent alone to the border of the dimension.
"Siris."
"yes."
"Please, as soon as possible."
Han laughed.
And in an instant, he spurred the deck and bounced up.
He leaped several tens of meters at once and eventually disappeared outside the protective film.
[Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!]
Quarreung!
Dark red lightning strikes as if splitting the sky.
A roar or a scream rang out in succession.
Soon after, the movements of those who gnawed at the shield stopped.
"…."
Static.
The airship, which seemed about to explode at any moment, became quiet.
Yunet said.
"Let's go. I will speed it up."
"Master…"
Ridigion narrowed his eyes.
"No, nothing. I just believe."
In this way, the airship safely passed through the passage and arrived at Earth.
However, even with the shields activated, the airship was seriously damaged.
They had to use an emergency landing close to self-destruct.
In return, the first party was scattered.
"This is what happened."
Aaron finished his explanation.
She listened carefully and asked.
"Mr. Han… You were left there alone?"
"yes. You took the bait to protect us. You are probably wandering somewhere in the dimensional rift."
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"If something happened to my older brother, we wouldn't be safe either. Because it's connected. You are all right."
She let out a sigh of relief.
One Israt is alive.
However… he is isolated somewhere unknown.
They must be rescued as soon as possible.
"The two of them felt Han's energy and came to see me. After chasing me, I became like this… Is that right?"
"You are correct."
Aaron and Nihaku were able to join right away due to the proximity of the crash site, but the other three did not.
Their whereabouts were unknown.
"It's hard to see it as a coincidence. What if Master was also kidnapped when we were attacked?"
"I guess so."
"Wouldn't it be quicker to hear from the person who kidnapped you?"
Nihaku tapped the bully who was sitting down.
Other thugs are knocked out from being beaten, but this guy is awake.
"Hee! Save…!"
It doesn't seem normal, though.
"If you answer obediently, there will be no pain. So who are you?"
"Who who…?"
"This is the boss who ordered the kidnapping of the master's master."
The man's mouth fell open.
"A sword you don't want to talk about? Loyalty to the boss, what kind of sword is that?"
There is no way that a municipal janitor would have feelings like that.
Betrayal was a common part of everyday life for those who stabbed their colleagues in the back for a few bucks or for their own safety.
"Money… money… a lot of money…"
"Did he say he would give you money?"
The man nodded with his mouth open.
Saliva was leaking from his mouth.
yes money money
Something that had happened a while ago flashed in the man's mind.
The client said that he would give them a huge amount of money that they could not touch even if they earned a lifetime.
The job is to kidnap an ordinary woman.
She is not the daughter of a high-ranking politician or chaebol family.
She was an ordinary working woman that can be found anywhere.
If you kidnap her and lock her up in a designated place… Money you can play with for the rest of your life…
"So who entrusted you with the job?"
Aaron asked.
"Money… Money… Come on!"
Suddenly the man stood up.
Then he started shaking his head wildly.
who said he would give me money
no it's not money
He said he would die if he didn't.
To the boy, men were like bugs that he could crush and kill with one hand.
"money! honor! life! Hee! Hee! I'm sorry please save me! Help me just once… Save me! I'm sorry, Mr. Niall…!"
"It must be difficult to get information."
Aaron sighed.
I'm already insane
"It is mind manipulation."
"Is it like brainwashing?"
"yes. It's a pretty vicious way."
She blinked.
Mind manipulation or brainwashing.
I know that it's not something an ordinary earthling would do.
Besides, there was a familiar name in the bully's last cry.
"Well…"
was the car she was about to start talking about.
Awesome!
The sound of rubber and asphalt rubbing violently.
She noticed that it was the noise of the tires when the car braked hard.
"…?"
Looking outside, several police cars were pulling tail to tail into the abandoned building complex.