Chapter 280
So, Manager and Matsumoto, the people who came here from another world, decided to live here . Obviously, they didn’t have any choice, but that didn’t make it any easier . As for me, there was still something comforting about there being others from home that were here as well .
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Daniela and I hunted down monsters in the dungeon before the labyrinth closed off . I had wanted Rachel to help us, but she apparently had important matters to attend to . It would have been an opportunity to see how strong she was, so it was unfortunate .
Karma said that she didn’t mind if we slept in the center room, and so we did .
‘Just call me if you need anything . ’
She said before the hologram vanished into the monument-like console . It was a magic device that the ancient elves had invented . It was like a computer, I suppose . Well, I decided to see it that way, at least .
And then several days went by . Minotaurs, Arachnes, lamias . And golems, goblins, kobolds, imps, and werewolves…a parade of monsters from my childhood . I got so excited hunting them down, but the experiment lab where the gene-splicing was taking place was eventually restored, and the monsters stopped coming out . And so we went around and killed the remaining monsters in each room and tunnel . We were able to gather a lot of materials from unknown creatures .
There were a few merchants and Adventurers we were able to save as well . But not many . There were definitely more . We heard about it on the second day .
The military arrived after that . And as planned, they used human wave tactics to rescue the others . Manager’s friend turned out to be pretty high in rank, and my letter had also been useful . Or so Mister Tames later told me . While people were responsible for their own safety, I had urged them to at least try and help those that they could . I wasn’t sure if the Emperor himself was notified…but the thought of being called out before him again made my stomach turn .
In any case, we were eventually able to rescue everyone that had been involved in the labyrinth disaster…that is, everyone that was still alive . Many were less lucky and died during their encounters with the monsters .
It was yesterday that Daniela, I and several other military personnel confirmed it by using Presence Detection . As this was the last day, I decided to use it to ask Karma some final questions .
“…I see . So, this facility turned into a labyrinth in order to fight back against the intruders…”
‘Positive . Humans invaded this facility five hundred and eighty-nine years ago . Weather and a shift in the terrain created a fissure that allowed them to enter . And so the facility entered defense mode . And then it happened again recently . The facility switched to intercept mode and changed to its current state . ’
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In other words, the Reserentrible labyrinth had already been fighting invaders while in defense mode . And then more people had entered, so it was no wonder they were attacked . But how was anyone supposed to know?
It started to get dark outside as we talked . We would have to be leaving soon . Tomorrow, right when the day ended, this place would become flat ground once again .
“Well, we best be leaving now . I’m glad I was able to talk to you . ”
“As an elf, it has been a pleasure to meet you . Thank you . ”
‘I have done nothing to earn your gratitude . While I may have the personality of an elf, I am still a tool . This is how I was made . ’
She returned bluntly . I suppose AI were just like that .
‘However…if I was allowed to have my own thoughts, I would say that I find it regrettable that you were all summoned, yet are unable to return . ’
Shocking . She was a device, but was capable of emotion… But maybe it wasn’t that surprising . I mean, it was actually kind of cliche?
“Thank you, Karma . It might have been unfortunate at first, but my life is great right now . ”
“It is thanks to the Nova that I met Asagi . ”
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I would have died if I didn’t come to this world . So in a way, I was saved . It was sad that I couldn’t meet my family again, but our hearts were still connected .
‘I am happy to hear that . Now, go . Farewell, my descendant, and kind human from another world . ’
Karma smiled gently and waved before disappearing . Daniela and I bowed and then left the room .
As we had Lemon’s map, and also walked through the dungeon for nearly a week, we had the layout mostly memorized, and we were able to get out in less than an hour . The military had set up camp in a field just a short distance away from the town . Manager would be there too .
“Let’s go then . ”
“Aye . ”
We were the last ones to leave . I could see them waving to us from afar . They were probably the people who used Presence Detection with us . It had been very high-level Presence Detection, so they would have known when we came out . We turned around and took one last look at Reserentrible as the shadows of the night fell over it .
“…Do you think the experiments will continue?”
“They likely will . Karma only manages one of the facilities . They gather mana from the dragon vein and send it to the main base… Unless all of them shut down, the Nova will continue to experiment . ”
So we’d have to visit all of them in order to end the ancient elven experiments . Maybe it would be faster to destroy the main Nova, but I didn’t know where it was . It was a secret .
“…I’d rather…there not be more people like us . ”
“I feel the same . The Nova brought us together, but aside from that, they should be destroyed . ”
In the near future… We would have to journey to do just that . But we had too little information right now .
“Oh?”
“Huh . ”
As we walked towards the group of tents, the ground started to shake . It started off small but grew larger .
“I think it’s magnitude three…”
“Ah! Ah-ah-ah…!”
It wasn’t bad at all, but Daniela had frantically dropped to the ground . I remember seeing people do this in Japan, when they had just come to the country and weren’t used to earthquakes . It was pretty cute . However, she was clearly scared .
“Asagi! Be careful!”
“It’s fine . We’re not even inside of a building…”
There was nothing to crumbled on top of us . Well, maybe the ground could split… No, I had Legs of the God Wolf, so that wouldn’t be a problem .
Still, I felt bad for her . And so I sat on the ground and held her . As for the shaking, it was likely because of the town .
“Calm down, Daniela . Look over there . ”
“Huh?”
Daniela continued to clutch at me as she sat up . I chuckled and pointed towards Reserentrible . Just as she turned her head towards it, the tallest part of the tower began to collapse . The roof, then the walls . The windows and doors and verandas that stuck out at odd places . Even the walls that surrounded the town . All of it turned into dust . Then the wind blew it all away until there was nothing left . All that remained was a wasteland where even grass did not grow . Of course, that was just for now . It would turn into a prairie again one day . Then no one would ever know that it had once been an ancient elven ruin .
“That was incredible…”
“Yeah . A rare sight . ”
The shaking ended when the destruction subsided . Nothing was left . When I turned around, I saw the military personnel were also watching in stunned silence .
I had told them that this would happen, but it didn’t make it any less shocking .
And so the matter of the labyrinth disaster of Reserentrible was resolved . We had learned something that involved our future . I would live here with Daniela . Who knew what Matsumoto and Manager would do…
But I didn’t think any of them would go down a self-destructive path . After all, we still had each other . If one of us started to go down the wrong path, the others could stop it . We could help each other . At least, I hoped we would . Besides, Rachel’s room would make it easier to keep tabs on each other . It would be a waste not to use it .
Though, she’d probably get very annoyed if I went in too often .